Soma - The Energy Drink of Ancient India

SOM- RUS-

No separate introduction is needed for Soma. A drink, a booster of energy, a giver of energy,wealth and health, a God. There are many dimensions to a single name. Owing to it's ample references in the Rigveda and all other post-Vedic scriptures, we can conclude that Soma surely was an important constituent of Yagyas and for pleasing Gods.

An entire 9th Mandala of the Rigveda is dedicated to Soma. Soma is the third-most mentioned noun in the Rigveda with nearly 1500 mentions.  Almost in every Yagya, an oblation is offered to Soma. Apart from that, there are separate Soma-Yagyas. The Soma was either consumed by the people, believed to be consumed by Gods like Indra,Varuna,Mitra or offered to the fire, Agni. It depended on the usage of the plant.

Soma Characteristics 

It becomes important to discuss characteristics of Soma.

• Soma is a plant found on mountains. That is why Soma has adjectives like Parvatavrudha and Giristha. Rigveda (RV) 9.18.1 clearly mentions that Soma was found on mountains. So does Atharvaveda (3.21.10). 
• A proper description is given by well-known Ayurvedic scholar Sushruta in his Sushruta Samhita saying that Soma is found growing on mountains like Himalayas, Sahyadri, Mahendra, Malya, Arbuda, Devgiri, Vindhyas,etc. It also mentions that Soma grows in aquatic habitats like Sindhu (Indus) river, Manas Sarovar, etc. This just proves that there were many varieties of Soma whihc were used.
• Since the varieties existed, the color also varied. Colors like brown,green, ornage and bright red existed.
• The confirmation also comes from Avesta, in both Yasna and Vendidad, where Haoma ( i.e Soma) is said to be growing on mountains. The Avestan and Vedic rituals were quite common in those days like fire worship, sun worship and Soma consumption. 
• There is a lot of debate among modern day scholars regarding the actual Soma herb. Various species like Euphedra, Sarcostemma, etc
• The description of Soma plant comes in the commentary of Dhurtaswamin. It says Soma is dark,sour, without leaves, milky and fleshy, produces phlegm and vomiting and is a food for goats.  

Preparation of Soma

The preparation of Soma also finds mention in the Rigveda. It is mentioned throughout that the Soma plant is pressed and the juice is obtained. The stalk of the Soma is pressed as mentioned in RV (9.67.28) and RV  (9.74.2). The Sanskrit name for stalk is Amsu. The stalk is said to be pressed with stones RV (10.94.1). The stones are 4 in number and the Rigveda mentions that the Soma flows like a 'flood' after being pressed. 

Now the juice is not consumed just like that. Proper purification is required for making it consumable. RV (9.3.9) mentions that the Soma is passed through woolen straining cloth for purifying it. At other places, a fleece or a sieve is also used. The Soma that is thus purified is called Pavamana or pure Soma. This pure Soma is given to Indra. The Soma is mixed with water or milk and consumed by others. Oblations to other Gods are offered by mixed Soma. 

The Soma is collected in Darbhas or pots and it's oblation is offered in Grahas or vessels. The Soma is either directly fed to fire RV (1.94.14) and RV (8.42.11) or is drank like that by the priests and the Yajamana. An instance mentioned in the Bhagvata Purana where king Marutta of Vaishali dynasty had conducted a never-like-before Yagya. The priests and Indra himself were given infinite Soma and they got intoxicated by it.  Ashwini Kumaras had no right to drink Soma but rishi Chyavana gave them Soma to drink in return of them granting him youth. Other kings like Dasharath, Nimi, Sharyati,etc have also performed Somyagyas.

Vaivasvata and Trita Aptya, both composers of Rigveda, are said to have excelled in the preparation of Soma. 

Eulogies and Allegories of Soma

Pertaining to it's important position in the rituals, certain eulogies were created in the name of Soma. 

• Soma bestows supreme energy. Indra is said to drink Soma and under it's intoxication, goes on a war with Vritrasura and defeat him.
• The person who drinks Soma becomes pure at heart as it washes away the sins.
• Soma drives away all the enemies and prevents it's drinkers from coming in contact with any unwanted tribe. Besides, it bestows the best of health.
• Treasures like cows, wealth,etc are received. 
• Soma is said to be brought on the Earth from the heavens and thus it pleases the Gods the most. Soma is said to be like a smell that spreads everywhere and attracts the Gods towards it, thus inviting the Gods to bless the Yagya being performed. 
• Being the best of all the herbs, Soma is also said to be the king of all herbs (Vanaspati). He is also called the king of people. 
• Soma is also considered to be the moon or Chandra with the 27 Nakshatras as his wives. 
• Soma also is equated to trees, birds, cows, mind,etc at different places in the Rigveda. 

Soma-Yagyas or Somyaga

Since Soma has such an important position in Yagyas, let's talk something about Somyagas. Every Yagya is not a Somyaga. Soma is offered only in specific Yagyas to Gods like Indra,Mitra,Varuna,etc. We find that Somyagas have continued from the Vedic period right till the Brahmana-Sutra period. 

There are 3 types of Ygyas mainly - Pakayagya, Haviryagya and Somyagya. Each has 7 types. The 7 types of Somyaga is mentioned by different rishis like Gautama, Satyavrata Samashrami and Dhurtaswamin. They are -

• Agnishtoma
• Atyagnishtoma
• Ukthyah
• Shodashi
• Vajapeya
• Atiratra
• Aptoryamah

Different scriptures like Yajurveda, Ashvalayana and other Grihya Sutras deal with Somyagas and the rituals and verses to be recited there. Let's not go deep in the rituals of Somyaga. But one thing to note is that in almost every ritual you have one Soma hymn from Rigveda being recited to please Soma. 

For example - In the Sankhyayana Grihya Sutra (1.26.3), depending upon the star in which the child is born, oblations are given. Oblation to Soma in a Yagya is given if the child is born in the Mrugashirsha star.

Apart from this, we also find in the Grihya Sutras an option to using Soma like Kusha needles,etc. It could be because of the decline in the use of Soma as also it becoming less available. 

The rituals might show slight variance, but the concept of using Soma in Yagyas has lasted for centuries and continues even today. The Yagyas are done for the betterment of general public or for specific purposes. 

From   Ashutosh Kulkarni
 

SOMA or SOM RUS- Decoded real meaning.

We have drunk of the soma; we have become immortal, we have seen the light; we have found the Gods…

Rig Veda 8.48.3

The search for the elixir of life, the quest for the Holy Grail has been since time immemorial the preoccupation of every arcane mystery religion. From the Chinese to the Greco-Egyptian, to the Gnostic, the Semitic, and the Hermetic, to other ancient alchemical traditions, all the conceptions of an ‘elixir of immortality’, ‘philosopher’s stone’ or ‘water of life’ have had their roots in the Vedic conception of ‘Soma'; for the ancient vedic soma ritual was the oldest form of alchemy known to man.

In the Vedic tradition, Soma was not only a sacred ritual drink of the Devas, but was also seen as the supreme deity- the Lord of Ananda- Absolute Bliss. Soma was indeed considered the bliss of all existence- which is the source of the universe and which is ultimately the key and secret to immortality. It was this experience of Soma that was associated with the transcendental light of higher realms of wisdom; and it was by the discovery of Soma that man became God for it was the commonly shared spirit and essence of Soma which linked man with the Divine in spiritual lineage. Apart from being associated with our immortal body- the ananda-maya kosha, Soma was also later identified with the moon:

I come into the earth and with life-giving love I support all things on earth. And I become the scent and the taste of the sacred Soma, which is the wandering moon. (Bhagavad Gita 15.13)

Like Fire, Soma was understood to exist in plants, in the waters and within man as the core essence of divinity. In the symbolization of the Vedic sacrifice, the human being was likened to the jar in which the Soma was stored as well as strained, endowing man with the secrets and powers of greater knowledge. However the physical form of the man that experienced the ecstasy of soma was expected to be prepared to receive this flood of elixir by his equally strong endurance of the burning fires of life; which in the larger context pointed to the ultimate evolution of his consciousness:

I come into the earth and with life-giving love I support all things on earth. And I become the scent and the taste of the sacred Soma, which is the wandering moon. (Bhagavad Gita 15.13)

Like Fire, Soma was understood to exist in plants, in the waters and within man as the core essence of divinity. In the symbolization of the Vedic sacrifice, the human being was likened to the jar in which the Soma was stored as well as strained, endowing man with the secrets and powers of greater knowledge. However the physical form of the man that experienced the ecstasy of soma was expected to be prepared to receive this flood of elixir by his equally strong endurance of the burning fires of life; which in the larger context pointed to the ultimate evolution of his consciousness:

Wide spread out for thee is the sieve of thy purifying, O Master of the soul; becoming in the creature thou pervadest his members all through. He tastes not that delight who is unripe and whose body has not suffered in the heat of the fire; they alone are able to bear that and enjoy it who have been prepared by the flame.

The strainer through which the heat of him is purified is spread out in the seat of Heaven; its threads shine out and stand extended. His swift ecstasies foster the soul that purifies him; he ascends to the high level of Heaven by the conscious heart.

Those who are utterly perfected in works taste the enjoyment of his honey-sweetness… King with the sieve of thy purifying for thy chariot thou ascendest to the plenitude; with thy thousand burning brilliances thou conquerest the vast knowledge.

(Rig Veda 9.83.1-5, translated by Sri Aurobindo)

Many ancient schools which propounded similar conceptions of Soma even believed that the human body contained trapped within it an infinite storehouse of light particles that one could release through the experience of altered states of bliss-consciousness to re-enter and re-experience the source and realm of universal light. This was the process by which they believed that man encountered his soul and attained immortality. The mystery hymns of the Rig Veda similarly associated Soma with the experience of divine immortal light which was at the core of man’s own boundless Self:

Where the inextinguishable light shines, the world where the sun was placed, in that immortal, unfading world, O Purifier, place me. O drop of Soma… where Heaven is enclosed, where these young waters are- there make me immortal… where the worlds are made of light, there make me immortal. O drop of Soma, flow for Indra. (Rig Veda 9.113.7-9)

In ancient India, the Soma ceremony was not only central to cosmological theories of sacrifice through which emerged the universe, but it was also central to discovering the true essence of man and propelling his ascent into Godhood. It was this visionary understanding of the basis of life that influenced all later alchemical traditions of the world which further catapulted their ancient quest for the elixir of life.

Source-
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