snake & mongoose in ancient India

[Koenraad Elst]

You may know that snake-and-mongoose is a marketplace attraction.  I once
witnessed it in Karachi.  The two fight it out until the snake is bleeding,
then they are put back in their separate bags.  Fun for the cruel.

A question: I vaguely recall reading (forgetting where) that in the Avesta,
the beaver is mentioned as a modestly sacred animal, and that this is
strange as in its Afghan/Uzbek heartland, no beavers occur.  I was wondering
if by the same name, the mongoose could be meant: as a snake-biter, it is a
miniature dragon-slayer.  Monier-Williams and various etymologists list Skt.
babhru, related to "beaver", as meaning mongoose.

Yours sincerely,
Koenraad Elst