Saturday Reading!

Saturday Reading!-Drink of Gods

Soma Ras-the Drink of the Gods!
Soma is exalted in the Rig Veda, an Indo-Iranian scripture, as a drink that brings immortality and
 divinity to the drinker. 

the Soma plant is Ephedra.

ápāma sómam amŕ̥tā abhūma
áganma jyótir ávidāma devā́n
kíṃ nūnám asmā́n kr̥ṇavad árātiḥ
kím u dhūrtír amr̥ta mártiyasya

“Good Soma containing nourishment, we drink you. You are the elixir of life, helping us 

achieve physical strength, the Divine light, and control over the senses. In this situation, 

what can any hostility do to me? O Immortal God, what can even violent/malicious 

mortals do to me?”

- Rig Veda 8.48.3

Moon God, Soma

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.

 Upon ingestion, the soma was said to ‘roar’ and create a bridge between mortals and divine beings. 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.

Ephedra gerardiana Alpine Shrubby Horsetail Somlata Plant of the Moon

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.’ 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.


-Searched and Illustrated by Tejinder Kamboj

 

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