Sunday Special--Som Ras ,The Drink of Gods!

Soma Ras, the Drink of the Gods!

Soma is a Vedic Sanskrit word that literally means "distill, extract,Sprinkle"

The oldest known distiller in South Asia. was discovered from the ruins of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan’s present-day Sindh province. The distiller is said to be over 4000 years old. Displayed in a museum in the Pakistan city of Taxila, archeologists say it was used to distill oil and alcoholic beverages.

An ancient painting showing a Hindu deity drinking soma. Soma was a wine made from the extract of wild mushrooms and some other plants. The drink is first mentioned in the earliest sacred Hindu text, the Rigveda (composed 3000 years ago). Interestingly, though Rigveda advised people to desist from drinking alcoholic beverages, it encouraged them to prepare and drink soma which it described as ‘holy.’

Rigveda 1.91.22 states that:

“O Soma, You alone create the medicines that heal us. You alone create the water that quenches our thirst. You alone create all moving objects, sense organs and living beings and also give us this life. You have provided expanse to this universe and you alone enlighten the world to eradicate darkness.”

( In Punjabi,it means " Daaru peen to.n baad Andar Laatoo jag jaandey')

Soma is exalted in the Rig Veda, an Indo-Iranian scripture, as a drink that brings immortality and divinity to the drinker. Perhaps taking a cue from this reference, Aldous Huxley in his dystopian novel, Brave New World, uses the word ‘soma’ to refer to a recreational hallucinogen. 

Soma, in ancient India, an unidentified plant the juice of which was a fundamental offering of the Vedic sacrifices. The stalks of the plant were pressed between stones, and the juice was filtered through sheep’s wool and then mixed with water and milk. After it was offered as a libation to the gods, the remainder of the soma was consumed by the priests and the sacrificer. It was highly valued for its exhilarating, probably hallucinogenic, effect. The personified deity Soma was the “master of plants,” the healer of disease.

Fermentation mentioned in Rigveda

Soma is an invigorating plant product generally prepared by squeezing juice from plants.
Following statements give an indication of fermentation:

Admixture of a thick juice of Soma with barley powder ( RigVeda . IX. 68.4).
This statement is a clear indication of fermentation with barley.
“Fifteenth day old highly intoxicating Soma” ( RigVeda . X.27.2). In this statement fifteenth day probably refers to the broth fermented in the vat for 15 days.
“Soma being treated is red” ( RigVeda .IX.82: 1) (Soma could be similar to Red Wine in color)

All these statements give an indication of fermentation technology involved in the preparation of Soma Rasa Recipe.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the potent drink soma is related with the Moon God, Soma. Many cultures relate supernatural events and experiences with the moon. Actually, there is a folklore which describes that the waning moon represents the consumption of the Soma Ras by the Gods while the waxing moon represents the phase when the Soma Ras is being replenished again.

The Egyptians had their Blue Lotus, and the Greeks had their Pythia gases while the Aztecs had their mushrooms. And just like the soma, these substances have traditionally been associated with elaborate rituals, from the shaman’s trance to the oracle’s prophecies. The soma has been part of various elaborate sacrifices which invariably end in the attendees consuming the soma prepared during the ritual. Upon ingestion, the soma was said to ‘roar’ and create a bridge between mortals and divine beings.

( In Punjabi it translates,' Banda daler ki Sher ban janda ,zameen to.n uttey uthh ke Swarag vall kadam puttney shuru kar dinda')

The holiness of the soma concoction is reiterated in the fact that Indra (the King of Gods) and Agni (the God of Fire) were supposedly very liberal with their soma helpings. Indeed, so important is soma to the Vedic culture that out of the ten books that constitute the Rig Veda, one whole book is dedicated to it.

Anyone who has trekked in the Himalayas has either seen this plant or overlooked it. So common and nondescript is it that most take it for a useless weed. However, it is treated with much respect and reverence by the shamans and high lamas for its euphoric and stimulatory properties. Its Nepali name, Somlata, or Plant of the Moon is also an indicator of its association with the fabled Soma.

Even if we were to toss out the divinity and immortality talk as hyperbole, it is impossible to deny soma it’s stimulatory and perhaps even psychoactive properties. But what plant was used to create the divine drink? Even though many people these days equate Somras with alcohol, it couldn’t be further from the truth. To begin with, alcohol doesn’t even come close to the stimulatory and psychoactive properties ascribed to soma. And to end it, the Atharva Veda details the way to prepare alcohol which is referred in it as ‘sura'.
Whereas One tenth of Rig Veda is devoted in praise of 'Sura' ( Alcohol).Guru Granth sahib has condemned it:
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Page 1377 
  ਕਬੀਰ ਭਾਂਗ ਮਾਛੁਲੀ ਸੁਰਾ ਪਾਨਿ ਜੋ ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ਖਾਂਹਿ ॥
Kabeer, Bhaang Maachhli Suraa, Paan, Jo Jo Praani Kha-yein
ਤੀਰਥ ਬਰਤ ਨੇਮ ਕੀਏ ਤੇ ਸਭੈ ਰਸਾਤਲਿ ਜਾਂਹਿ ॥੨੩੩॥
Teerath Barat Neym Kee-ye, te sabhe rasatal jaa-hein
 
 While alcohol can be crossed off our list easily, there isn’t a consensus among the other candidates. Some postulate it to be a species of Amanita mushroom while others contest that it has got to be Cannabis. Still, others maintain that it is the ubiquitous Ephedra found along the Himalayas.

If you are trekking along the Nepal Himalayas during late spring, chances are you will see one of the poppies in bloom. While the one above is not the opium poppy, it is nevertheless found here.
Also, common along the mid-hills are fields of Cannabis. Even though it is illegal to cultivate, process, sell or consume it in Nepal, like all other great regulations, this one too is only loosely enforced as long as you are using just a small amount and aren’t trying to cross borders with it.

However, excavations of ruins in Gonur Tepe in Turkmenistan which was inhabited by Indo-Iranian people till around 2,000 BCE suggested that perhaps there isn’t a single plant that can take away the distinction of being soma. Researchers found evidence of a boiler used to make a drink from cannabis, poppy, and ephedra. It is perhaps also of interest that the Zoroastrians of ancient Iran had a drink they called ‘haoma’ which is believed to be identical to the Vedic soma. While the exact identity is still up for grabs, perhaps, the ‘drink of the gods’ was a concoction of the psychoactive but sedative cannabis/poppy along with the stimulatory ephedra.

In Lighter Vein:

Sheraab  = Sher + Aab

In Persian: 'Sher' means Lion and 'Aab' means Paani( Water)

Sheraab is thus a beverage that makes one feel like a Lion!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w3lfmUalww

Difference Between Somras vs Liquor By Rajiv Dixit Ji Install Rajiv Dixit Android App Click Here http://goo.gl/MvVWgj Connect with us:- Like us on Facebook http://goo.gl/2gF9R8 Join Our Facebook Group https://goo.gl/qXmijP Subscribe our Youtube channel http://goo.gl/V8XoZg Follow us on Twitter http://goo.gl/zsHP6T Also visit our website https://www.RajivDixitJi.com Google Play Android App http ... www.youtube.com

Searched,Compiled and Illustrated by Tejinder Kamboj