V Soma Mystery
Soma's philosophical meaning can be deconstructed to showcase its
entheogenic properties as the elixir of immortality.
Given these myriad interpretations and the poetic nature of Vedic verses,
how does one really understand what Soma actually refers to? The
interpretations are so varied that when I was going through the Rigveda for
the very first time, I decided to completely skip the Ninth Mandal
dedicated to Soma because I didn’t really have the luxury of time to
understand its mysteries at that moment. However, since the past few
months, I am being constantly accosted with the term in random literature,
discussions with friends and even on television in mythological shows.
Taking the hint from the Universe I decided to plunge myself into the study
of Soma and emerge only when I had made enough sense of it to thread the
seemingly disparate references into a cohesive string. So, without beating
about the bush any further, let me initiate you into the mysteries of this
enigmatic Soma as I have understood.
The first step is to realize that the term refers to two distinct yet
related entities – one, the Moon-god also known as Chandrama and second,
the *invigorating (NOT intoxicating) drink* that was consumed by the gods.
The excerpts I am going to share below should be able to help us understand
the distinction between the two as well as their relatedness.
To start with, let us take a look at the Shathapatha Brahmana, an ancillary
text to the Shukla Yajurveda that gives us some really interesting stories
about the origins of the fire-sacrifices and rituals related to them. Verse
24 of the Section 1.6.3. mentions:
The sun, indeed, relates to Agni, and the moon to Soma; the day relates to
Agni, and the night to Soma; the waxing half-moon relates to Agni and the
waning one to Soma.
So here, we have the first hint of the connection between Soma, the drink,
and Soma, the moon-God. The next Section details this further through the
following verses:
The gods said, ‘Nothing but Soma will satiate him: let us prepare Soma for
him!’ They prepared Soma for him.
Now this king Soma, the food of the gods, is no other than the moon.
when he (the moon) is not seen that night either in the east or in the
west, then he visits this world; and here he enters into the waters and
plants.
He is indeed a treasure for the god, he is their food. And since during
that night he dwells together (amâ vas), therefore that (night of new moon)
is called amâvâsyâ (the dwelling together, or at home). Satapata Br 1.6.4.5
These verses, besides giving us a poetic meaning of the word ‘Amavas’, also
help us understand how exactly the moon is related to the drink that was
offered to Vedic gods like Indra. Soma, the moon-God comes and resides in
the water bodies and plants on Amavasya night and his essence is collected
by gathering the Soma plants and water. Now it is all very good to say that
the moon comes and resides in the plants but it begs the simple question –
why?
The answer comes from the Puranas since the connection made in the Vedic
scriptures is preserved in the later literature as well. Vishnu Purana
tells us that Brahma made Chandrama or Soma the lord of plants, Brahmins
and constellations (nakshatras). In the Puranic story of the rishis called
Prachetas, once the world is overrun by vegetation and massive trees block
wind and sunlight from people living on earth. When the Prachetas see the
condition of people, they immediately decide to burn down the forests and
Soma, the patriarch of the vegetation then takes the responsibility of
calming down the rishis for the sake of his subjects.
That the moon is connected to the water-bodies is quite evident if we just
remember how the tides are formed. Many believe that it also affects the
fluids within our bodies and they cite the connection of women’s periods
with the lunar cycle. Be that as it may, the connection between Soma and
the plants and water-bodies is not as far-fetched as it seems in the first
glance.
Now that we have established the connection between the deity and his
subjects, let us see what more can we learn from the scriptures. The next
few verses from the Shatapatha Brahmana mention that Soma resides in cows’
milk! Now this seems a little far-fetched and one may wonder how these
bovine species come into the picture, but the answer is quite simple –
since cows consume plants and water, turning it into milk, this milk is
believed to have the essence of Soma.
This will become clearer with these verses:
They prepared it (Soma for Indra), after having it collected, part by part,
by the cows: in eating plants (they collected it) from the plants, and in
drinking water (they collected it) from the waters. Having prepared and
coagulated it, and made it strong (pungent), they gave it to him. Satapata
Br 1.6.4.6
However, this is true only for the plant and the milk that is collected on
new moon days as mentioned in the below verse.
But as they (the cows), previously (to the new moon), eat mere plants (not
imbued with the moon or Soma), and drink mere water, and yield mere
milk,–so that (milk which they offer on the day before new moon, is not
imbued with Soma, is ordinary milk).
For king Soma, the food of the gods, indeed, is no other than the moon.
When he is not seen that night either in the east or in the west, then he
visits this world, and here enters into the waters and plants. Having then
collected him from the water and plants, he (the performer of the ritual)
causes him to be reproduced from out of the libations; and he (Soma, the
moon), being reproduced from the libations, becomes visible in the western
sky. S Br 1.6.4.15
The composers of the Shathapatha Brahmana totally justify their existence
by giving such beautiful poetic explanations! The gods share one of their
own with us for our sustenance and the human beings offer it back to the
deities, thereby creating a mutually symbiotic relationship. The next verse
actually mentions Soma as the food of the gods and this is also reflected
in the Puranic concept of waxing and waning of the moon caused by the Gods
drinking up the Soma in it:
Thus during that night (of new moon) food moves away from the gods and
comes to this world.
Now the gods were desirous as to how that (food) might (be made to) come
back to them; how it might not perish away from them.
For this they put their trust in those who prepare the libation of sweet
and sour milk (sânnâyya), thinking, ‘when they have prepared it, they will
offer it to us.’
And, verily, in him, who knows this, both his own kin and strangers put
their trust; for in him, who attains to the highest rank, people indeed put
their trust. S Br 1.6.4.17
When our ancestors were conducting elaborate Soma sacrifices, they were
repaying the debt we owed to the gods for sharing their food with us. The
Soma-yagna is a fire-sacrifice in which the priests offer Soma to the gods
with Agnish Toma regarded as the most important one. It has a really
elaborate procedure but for our purpose let us just remember that Soma
juice needs to be extracted three times for its completion: Prātahsavana –
in the morning; Mādhyandinasavana – at noon; and Tṛtīyasavana – in the
afternoon.
For the details of this extraction process let us go back to the Ninth
Mandala of the Rig Veda beginning with the very first hymn:
In sweetest and most gladdening stream
flow pure, O Soma, on thy way,
Pressed out for Indra, for his drink. RV 9.1.1
Flow onward with thy juice unto the banquet of the Mighty Gods:
Flow hither for our strength and fame. RV 9.1.4
By means of this eternal fleece may Sūrya’s Daughter purify
Thy Soma that is foaming forth. RV 9.1.6
Ten sister maids of slender form seize him within the press and hold
Him firmly on the final day. RV 9.1.7
Inviolable milch-kine round about him blend for Indra’s drink,
The fresh young Soma with their milk. RV 9.1.9
The above verses indicate that the juice was ‘pressed’ out of the plant,
filtered through a cloth made of sheep’s wool and then mixed with milk. The
ten maidens could perhaps be the fingers of the two hands used to extract
the juice or a reference to the sieves similar to the ones used by
Zoroastrians in their Haoma extraction. For those who may not be aware, the
Zoroastrian customs have a lot of similarities with Vedic rituals and two
of the major ones are fire-worship and Soma/Haoma rites. In the Parsi
ceremony, a mortar and pestle are used for pounding and extracting the
juice from the plant which is filtered through a nine-holed strainer and
stored in a bowl.
The second hymn mentions the juice being stored in wooden vats that were
known as the Drona-kalash and the sixth hymn re-affirms our notion that the
ten maidens could be the sieves that are also referred to as the
Dasha-pavitra:
Soma, flow on with pleasant stream, a Bull devoted to the Gods,
Our Friend, unto the woolen sieve.
Pour hitherward, as Indra’s Self, Indu, that gladdening stream of thine,
And send us courses full of strength.
Flow to the filter hitherward, pouring that ancient gladdening juice,
Streaming forth power and high renown.
Hither the sparkling drops have flowed, like waters down a steep descent
They have reached Indra purified.
Whom, having passed the filter, ten dames cleanse, as ’twere a vigorous
steed,
While he disports him in the wood,
The steer-strong juice with milk pour forth, for feast and service of the
Gods,
To him who bears away the draught.
Effused, the God flows onward with his stream to Indra, to the God,
So that his milk may strengthen him.
In the next hymns, we are told that the filtered juice is golden in colour
and it is mixed with milk to make it fit for the gods, confirming what we
had read earlier from the Satapatha Brahmana. When mixed only with milk it
is called gavasir, when curd is added it becomes daddhyāśira and when mixed
with barley, it is known as yavāśira. There are many such verses from these
oldest scriptures of Hinduism that tell us conclusively that Soma is not an
imaginary substance or metaphor for immortality but an actual drink that
was made by combining juice from a particular plant and mixed with cow-milk
collected on the new moon day.
Part 2
There are a few things that are relatively clear about the plant – it
was more or less like a shrub with very few or no leaves and it favoured
the hills and mountains. The stem was jointed like fingers and the juice
was extracted from it instead of using the fruits or flowers. It was not
very easy to procure, especially at the time of writing down of the later
texts, which is why it was considered extremely precious. In fact, the
Shatapatha Brahmana also mentions the use of substitutes giving credence to
the belief that the plant was becoming difficult to procure.
Based on the above characteristics, you may feel that it would be fairly
simple to identify the plant but unfortunately it isn’t so. Many scholars,
botanists, and archaeologists have tried to figure it out but have only
ended up with contradictory claims. Being a science student, I have studied
botany to some extent and pharmacology in greater measure, so I am going to
take help of both these disciplines to present to you some short-listed
plants so that you can decide for yourself the identity of this enigmatic
plant.
Many hymns from the Rig Veda mention that Indra drank copious amounts of it
before fighting his biggest wars:
I will declare the manly deeds of Indra, the first that he achieved, the
Thunder-wielder.
He slew the Dragon, then disclosed the waters, and cleft the channels of
the mountain torrents.
He slew the Dragon lying on the mountain: his heavenly bolt of thunder
Tvaṣṭar fashioned.
Like lowing kine in rapid flow descending the waters glided downward to the
ocean.
Impetuous as a bull, he chose the Soma and in three sacred beakers drank
the juices.
Maghavan grasped the thunder for his weapon, and smote to death this
firstborn of the dragons.
When, Indra, thou hadst slain the dragon’s firstborn, and overcome the
charms of the enchanters,
Then, giving life to Sun and Dawn and Heaven, thou foundest not one foe to
stand against thee.
RV 10.32.1-4
Unlike the assumption of many western scholars, Soma was not an intoxicant
and was rather an invigorating drink that filled the drinker with
tremendous energy. Its effect was something similar to the modern day ‘Red
Bull’ and its likes that are supposed to ‘give you wings’.
Some have argued that Soma could have been ‘Cannabis’ based on its ready
availability in the Himalayan hills but again similar objections come to my
mind. Anyone who has ever consumed any of the cannabis products would know
that instead of making the person alert and aggressive, they fill the
person with a sense of relaxation and maybe even disorientation. Instead of
making the consumer practical, it makes them more appreciative of art and
beauty; instead of looking out for enemies as you would expect in a war, it
makes us look within in and introspect. Also, more importantly, the plant
is full of leaves and the stem does not really yield the relevant chemicals
rather it is the leaves, inflorescence, and resin that give the best
results.
I present another Vedic hymn dedicated to the consumption of Soma, or Indu
as it is sometimes called, as a point in favour of it being a stimulant
rather than a psychoactive substance:
We have drunk Soma and become immortal; we have attained the light, the
Gods discovered.
Now, what may foeman’s malice do to harm us? What, O Immortal, mortal man’s
deception?
Absorbed into the heart, be sweet, O Indu, as a kind father to his son, O
Soma,
As a wise Friend to friend: do thou, wide-ruler, O Soma, lengthen out our
days for living.
These glorious drops that give me freedom have I drunk. Closely they knit
my joints as straps secure a car.
Let them protect my foot from slipping on the way: yea, let the drops I
drink preserve me from disease.
Make me shine bright like fire produced by friction: give us a clearer
sight and make us better.
For in carouse I think of thee, O Soma, Shall I, as a rich man, attain
comfort?
May we enjoy with an enlivened spirit the juice thou givest, like ancestral
riches.
O Soma, King, prolong thou our existence as Sūrya makes the shining days
grow longer.
King Soma, favour us and make us prosper: we are thy devotees; of this be
mindful.
Spirit and power are fresh in us, O Indu give us not up unto our foeman’s
pleasure.
For thou hast settled in each joint, O Soma, aim of men’s eyes and guardian
of our bodies.
When we offend against thine holy statutes, as a kind Friend, God, best of
all, be gracious.
May I be with the Friend whose heart is tender, who, Lord of Bays! when
quaffed will never harm me-
This Soma now deposited within me. For this, I pray for longer life to
Indra.
Our maladies have lost their strength and vanished: they feared, and passed
away into the darkness.
Soma hath risen in us, exceeding mighty, and we come where men prolong
existence.
Fathers, that Indu which our hearts have drunken, Immortal in himself, hath
entered mortals.
So let us serve this Soma with oblation, and rest securely in his grace and
favour.
Associate with the Fathers thou, O Soma, hast spread thyself abroad through
earth and heaven.
So with oblation let us serve thee, Indu, and so let us become the lords of
riches,
ive us your blessing, O ye Gods’ preservers. Never may sleep or idle talk
control us.
But evermore may we, as friends of Soma, speak to the synod with brave sons
around us.
On all sides, Soma, thou art our life-giver: aim of all eyes, light-finder,
come within us.
Indu, of one accord with thy protections both from behind and from before
preserve us.
RV 8.48.3-15
If you pay attention to all the highlighted words, you would notice a clear
pattern. Whatever chemicals were present in the Soma-rasa, it made the
vision clearer, helped stay awake, made joints secure, mind more alert,
helped fight diseases and granted wisdom. These results can not be obtained
from a substance that intoxicates or dulls the mind or senses.
Coming to a more likely candidate, we encounter the plant ‘Sarcostemma
acidum’ also known in Indian languages as Somlata or Somavalli.
Notwithstanding the semantics, it also fits the physical description of the
Soma plant being a mostly leafless, and much-jointed shrub that is present
all the way from the Indian subcontinent to Europe, the preferred hangouts
of the Vedic people. However, to my mind, there are two major objections to
its selection as the Soma plant – one, it is abundantly available all
across the country as a weed so the verses that talk about it being
difficult to procure or requiring substitution, wouldn’t apply.
Also, the effect it produces does not really match with what the texts
mention. In fact, the best possible use of its stem extract is as a
bronchodilator and sometimes as an anti-infective but unless Indra had
asthma or some other serious respiratory disorder, I doubt this would be
really helpful in his exploits! Also, it has been shown to have some
anti-spermatogenic activity and in ancient Persia, this particular plant
was used as an anti-fertility drug for men. This does not gel at all with
the virility and manliness of Indra as described in the Vedas or even in
the later texts.
Since there is a lot of congruence between Indian and Zoroastrian rituals,
I feel the correct direction could come from the Parsi ceremony of Yasna
which is very similar to the Vedic Yagna. The Vendidad mentions the Haoma
tree as the plant of eternal life and thriving in the hilly regions. Just
like the Rigvedic hymns, various verses from Yasna 9 tell us about the
health-giving properties of Haoma – it is nourishing, gives strength to
warriors before battle, promotes healing, imparts clear thinking and has
both physical and spiritual benefits.
Fortunately, we do not need to undergo an extensive list of drugs to
recognize the Persian version of Soma. German scientist Joseph Bomrnuller
had identified the Homa carried by a Yazdi Zoroastrian priest as a variety
of the ‘Ephedra’ family. Others like him who were searching for the
mysterious Soma also found that the Ephedra stem was used all the way from
Baluchistan to the Parsi colonies in India who imported the stuff twice a
year from Iran for their ceremonies.
Various Ephedra species grow as shrubs in the Himalayas from Tibet to
Kashmir to Iran. It has yellowish-green, sometimes golden, leafless and
jointed stems. Physically, it seems to fit the bill but what about the
chemical properties?
The Ephedra plant gives us two major chemicals – ‘Ephedrine’ and
‘Pseudoephedrine’. While the latter is commonly used in medicines even
today as a nasal decongestant, what is of more interest for us is
Ephedrine. It is released from the stems when they are pounded or crushed
as in the Soma/Haoma ceremonies, so it fulfils another scriptural criterion
in favour of Soma.
Similar to the effect of chemicals from Sarcostemma, Ephedrine has
anti-asthma bronchodilator activity and is also an anti-spasmodic. But the
biggest effect of Ephedrine is its Adrenergic action – it gives an
adrenaline rush to the body making it capable of a ‘fight or flight’
reaction! It increases the heart rate, redistributes the blood to the brain
and muscles and alters the body’s metabolism, so as to maximise the
availability of glucose in the blood. It causes rapid breathing, sweating,
heightened senses, decreased ability to feel pain, and increased strength
and performance.
It has an even more potent effect than adrenaline on the nervous system and
is even today used by athletes world over as a performance-enhancing drug.
Moreover, unlike adrenaline which needs to be given intravenously,
Ephedrine is active orally and works wonders even with small quantities.
When taken in large doses it can also lead to hallucinogenic effects which
can perhaps explain the rapture and embracing of senses referred to in some
verses. Taken in large quantities it can also lead to paranoia which can
explain why Indra was always so suspicious of rishis like Vishwamitra or
Kings like Sagar and Prithu!
Considering all the evidence, it would seem that this particular plant
found in the higher altitudes could well have been the Soma of our
ancients, particularly since its extraction required the use of wool which
itself comes from the sheep that are reared in the mountains. It seems
extremely likely then, that this same Ephedrine, derived from the Ephedra
plants in the Soma ceremony, gave Indra the confidence or the adrenaline
rush to fight his enemies.
I don’t claim to have found THE Soma plant but an analysis of the
description and activities of the probable candidates has certainly led us
to short-list Ephedra as the most likely candidate. The tricky part now
would be to identify the exact species that was used in the Soma ceremony.
More than fifty species of the plant are found in various parts of the
world and identifying the exact one that used to thrive in the Himalayas
about five thousand years ago could be the real challenge.
Some say Soma is undiscoverable or extinct so it is impossible to identify
it, but judging from all the evidence above, it would seem that it may
perhaps be a rare species of Ephedra rather than a mysterious plant of the
heavens. Till the time we keep thinking of it as a figment of ancient
poets’ imagination, we would never find out its truth, and if we don’t
explore our scriptures for scientific hints and do the due diligence, it
would remain an unnecessary mystery instead of bringing us one more step
closer to our understanding of the ancient Vedic people.
May Soma grant us the wisdom to discover its truth.
Om Somdevaye Namah
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx K Rajaram IRS
10425
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