Soma

“ The simple prayers to Soma's grace,
That Vedic verse embalms.
As in that child-world's early year,
Each after age has striven
By music, incense, vigils drear,
And trance, to bring the skies more near,
Or lift men up to heaven! ”

“ 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 to comfort? 7. May we enjoy with an enlivened spirit the juice thou givest, like ancestral riches. O Soma, King, prolong thou our existence as Surya makes the shining days grow longer. 8. 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. ”

“ Dear, grateful to the Gods, on to the beaker moves Soma, sweet to Indra, to delight him. With hundred powers, with thousand currents, Indu, like a strong car-horse, goes to the assembly. 10. Born in old time as finder-out of treasures, drained with the stone, decking himself in waters, Warding off curses, King of all existence, he shall find way for prayer the while they cleanse him. 11. For our sage fathers, Soma Pavamana, of old performed, by thee, their sacred duties. Fighting unvanquished, open the enclosures: enrich us with large gifts of steeds and heroes. ”

“ Soma, as thou art purified with flowing wave, exhibiting thy strength enter thou Indra's throat. Make both worlds stream for us, as lightning doth the clouds: mete out exhaustless powers for us, as 'twere through song. ”

“ Let not those other sacrificers stay thee, Indra: these juices shed for thee are ready. 2. Thine is the juice effused, thine are the juices yet to be pressed: our resonant songs invite thee. O Indra, pleased to-day with this libation, come, thou who knowest all and drink the Soma. 3. Whoso, devoted to the God, effuses Soma for him with yearning heart and spirit,- Never doth Indra give away his cattle: for him he makes the lovely Soma famous. 4. He looks with loving favour on the mortal who, like a rich man, pours for him the Soma. ”

“ Fulfil our vows in battle, fight for us! None can resist thee; give us superiority! O Soma immortal! May we drink to thee and be immortal like thee!' Mr. Baring-Gould says that the whole legend of Soma is but the allegorical history of the plant Sarcostemma viminalis, which is associated with passionate love 'because of the intoxicating liquor which is derived from its juice. ”

“ Since the soma sacrifice, beside the cult of fire, forms a main feature in the ritual of the Rigveda, the god Soma is naturally one of its chief deities. The whole of the ninth book, in addition to a few scattered hymns elsewhere, is devoted to his praise. Thus, judged by the standard of frequency of mention, Soma comes third in order of importance among the Vedic gods. The constant presence of the soma plant and its juice before their eyes set limits to the imagination of the poets who describe its personification. ”

“ Soma is also rich in healing and lord of the plants. When quaffed, he stimulates speech and is the lord of speech. He is a maker of seers, a protector of prayer, and his wisdom is extolled. He gazes with wisdom on men and so has a thousand eyes. The fathers, no less than men and gods, love him, and through him they found the light and the cows. The great deeds of the gods owe their success to their drinking the soma, with three lakes of which Indra fills himself for the slaying of Vṛtra. When drunk by Indra, Soma made the sun to rise in the sky, and hence Soma is declared to perform the feat ”

“ The ritual resolves itself, according to De Gubernatis, into a sun-charm. Soma, the moon, the god of plants, the lord of the dark forest of night or winter, is the good genius who furnishes the miraculous drink wherewith Indra, the solar hero, recruits his forces. It is under its influence, say the Vedas, that Indra performs his great deeds. Soma does really intoxicate the gods in heaven, incessantly renewing the triumph of light over its enemies. The sacrifice of the soma on earth is only a pale, naïve, and grotesque reproduction of that divine miracle. ”

“ Soma speeds onward like a youth to youthful maids, and gains the beaker by a course of hundred paths. 17. Your songs, exhilarating, tuneful, uttering praise, are come into the plains where the people meet. Worshippers have exalted Soma with their hymns, and milch kine have come near to meet him with their milk. 18. O Soma, Indu, while they cleanse thee, pour on us accumulateds Plentiful, nutritious food, Which, ceaseless, thrice a day shall yield us hero power enriched with store of nourishment, and strength, and Meath. ”

“ They who with flowing Soma pray to thee, O Sage, to pour on them thy gifts of opulence and wealth, May they come forward, through their spirit, on the path of bliss, in the wild joy of Soma juice effused. ”

“ As cattle seek their home, so Thunderwielder, come, Indra, first of those who claim our worship. 2. With that well-formed most wide-extending palate, wherewith thou ever drinkest streams of sweetness, Drink thou; the Adhvaryu standeth up before thee: let thy spoil-winning thunderbolt attend thee. 3. This drop, steer-strong and omniform, the Soma, hath been made ready for the Bull, for India. Drink this, Lord of the Bays, thou Strong Supporter, this that is thine of old, thy food for ever. 4. Soma when pressed excels the unpressed Soma, better, for one who knows, to give him pleasure. ”

“ Soma hath risen in us, exceeding mighty, and we are come where men prolong existence. 12, 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. 13. 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, 14. Give us your blessing, O ye Gods' preservers. Never may sleep or idle talk control us. ”

“ Remembering the glitter of his buckles, he turned and ran for the nearest cover. None too soon, for a Mohammedan trooper was after him, shouting "Deen! Deen! Death to the Hindoo pig!" For any cry comes handy when the blood is up and there is a saber in the hand. Soma had to double like a hare, and even so, when he paused to get his breath in a tangle of lime-bushes there was a graze on his cheek. ”

“ His getting out had been the merest chance, depending on his finding Soma as sentry at the sally port of the ruined magazine. He had instantly risked the danger of another confederate for the opportunity, and he was just telling himself with a triumph of gladness that he had been right, when a curious sound like the rustling of dry leaves at his very feet, made him spring into the air and cross the flat shelf of rock he was passing at a bound; for he knew what the noise meant. A true lover's knot of deadly viper, angry at intrusion, lay there; the dry Ridge swarms with them. ”

“ The mystical speculations with which the Soma poetry teems would soon complete the symbolism.
A comparison of the Avesta with the Rigveda shows clearly that soma was already an important feature in the mythology and cult of the Indo-Iranian age. In both it is described as growing on the mountains, whence it is brought by birds; in both it is king of plants; in both a medicine bestowing long life and removing death. In both the sap was pressed and mixed with milk; in both its mythical home is heaven, whence it comes down to earth; in both the draught has become a mighty god ”

“ As the Soma, the world-tree becomes in Indian mysticism a tree of Paradise, at once the king of all trees and vegetation, and the god Soma to be adored. It furnishes the divine ambrosia or essence of immortality, concealed sometimes in the clouds, sometimes in the billows of the soft and silvery light that proceeds from the great-Soma, the great Indu, the moon. Hence this mystic tree, from the foliage of which drops the life-giving Soma, is sometimes characterised as the Hindu Moon-Tree. Out of this cosmogonic tree the immortals shaped the heaven and the earth. ”

“ Mounting thy firm and easy car, O Indra, wise and all-knowing come thou to the Soma. 5. No other worshippers must stay beside them thy Bays, thy vigorous and smooth-backed Coursers. Pass by them all and hasten onward hither: with Soma pressed we will prepare to feast thee. 6. Thine is this Sorna: hasten to approach it. Drink thou thereof, benevolent, and cease not. Sit on the sacred grass at this our worship, and take these drops into thy belly, Indra. 7. The grass is strewn for thee, pressed is the Soma; the grain is ready for thy Bays to feed on. ”

“ That man who having fasted for fifteen days takes one meal on the sixteenth day and bears himself in this way for one whole year, acquires the merits attaching to the Soma sacrifice. Proceeding to Heaven he lives in the company of Soma's daughters. His body fragrant with unguents whose perfumes are as sweet as those of Soma himself, he acquires the power of transporting himself immediately to any place he likes. Seated on his car he is waited upon by damsels of the most beautiful features and agreeable manners, and commands all articles of enjoyment. ”

“ After a time, however, the workmen began to dawdle past from their work, and some of them, remembering Soma, paused to ask him the latest news; a stranger in a native city being equivalent to an evening paper. And, of course, there were questions as to what the regiment thought of this and that. But Soma's replies were curt. He never relished being lumped in as a simple Rajpoot with the rest of the Rajpoots, for he was inordinately proud of his tribe. That was one reason why he stood aloof, as he did, from much that went on among his comrades. ”

“ Soma was the chief deity among the ancient Hindus—the author of life, the giver of health, the protector of the weak, and the guide to immortality. Once he took upon himself the form of man, but was slain by men and braised in a mortar. The similarity with the Christian legend is remarkable, and the method of death should be borne in mind. ”

“ Soma, while purifying, sends hither all things to be desired, He sends the Gods who strengthen Law. 6. Soma, effused, pour on us wealth in kine, in heroes, steeds, and spoil, Send us abundant store of food. ”

“ Soma is not very communicative, but everything seems as it was. I never keep back anything from you. But, indeed, the chief thing in the city seems that there is no money to pay the soldiers. Do you know, I'm afraid Soma must loot the shops like the others. He seems to get things for nothing; though of course they are extraordinarily cheap. When I was a mem I used to pay twice as much for eggs."
He interrupted her with a laugh that had a tinge of bitterness in it. "Do you happen to know the story of the Jew who was eating ham during a thunderstorm, Mrs. Erlton?" ”

“ His arrival ended the incident, for Soma followed him quickly, and in obedience to his curt order to see the groom rub down the horse while it waited, as it had been a breather round the race course, walked off with it toward the well. It was such an opportunity for ordering other men about as natives dearly love; so that the more autocratic a master is, the better pleased they are to gain dignity by serving him.
James Greyman, meanwhile, had paused on the plinth to give a low whistle and look upward to the terraced roof. ”

“ Soma, best Cheerer, takes his seat, the while they cleanse him in the bowls. He as it were impregns the cow, and babbles on, the Lord of Song. 7. He is effused and beautified, a God for Gods, by skillful men. He penetrates the mighty floods collecting all he knows therein. 8. Pressed, Indu, guided by the men, thou art led to the cleaning sieve. Thou, yielding Indra highest joy, takest thy seat within the bowls. ”

“ Immortal god! we soar.” The Soma sap is used as the Soma drink for the initiation of the Djoga; it is said to produce the magical condition in which, raised above the universe to the great centre, and united with Brahma, the seer beholds everything.——In the Hindu worship, libations to the gods were of three kinds—butter, honey, and the fermented juice of the Soma-plant. ”

“ Soma itself becomes a god, and a very mighty one; he is even the creator and father of the gods; 3 the king of gods Soma becomes a very mighty god. and men;4 all creatures are in his hand. It is surely extraordinary that the Aryas could apply such hyperbolical laudations to the liquor which they had made to trickle into the vat, and which they knew to be the juice of a plant they had cut down on the mountains and pounded in a mortar ”

“ The names of the gods underwent much change as time advanced, and the race was scattered. Bel became the luminous deity of some of the settlers in Britain; Soma became a higher deity in importance than Indra or Agni, and absorbed their attributes. In the Zend version the drink soma is spelled haoma. The hymns addressed to Soma, in a later age, are styled Sama Vedas. Hence it may easily be inferred the Belisama of Ptolemy is a Latinised form of the British words which indicated that the Ribble water was the "liquor of the gods" furnished by Bel and Sama for the fertilisation of the earth. ”

“ The fermented juice of the plant called Soma appears to have been the only intoxicating drink used in Vedic times. So much were the ancient Aryans addicted to this drink, that Soma was soon worshipped as a deity both in India and in Iran (under the name Haoma in the latter country) , and we find one entire Mandala, or Book, of the Rig-Veda, dedicated to this deity. The Aryans appear to have been more habituated to fermented and intoxicating Soma than their peaceful brethren of Iran, and some allusions in the Avesta are thought to refer to the hated customs of their Indian brethren. ”