History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.59

v6.c81.59

There is one more word viz. vṛṣavrata, which is analogous to 'dhṛtavrata' and which remains to be considered. That word occurs only twice (i. e. in Ṛg. IX. 62. 11²⁸ and IX. 64. 1) and is an attribute of Soma. Prof. Apte (p. 485, section 48) tries to fit this word in his scheme by referring to the description of Soma as bellowing like a bull, as a bull among cows and as brandishing and sharpening his horns. One must not forget the twofold character of Soma as a very pre-eminent deity (the whole of Ṛg. IX. is a glorification of Soma) and as a beverage produced from the twigs and tendrils of the Soma plant and that these two characters become mixed up. In the process of producing Soma beverage, four sounding holes called uparavas are employed²⁹ (*vide* H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 1154-55 for 'uparavas'): This is described as the bellowing of Soma, when Soma is called a vṛṣa (bull) or vṛṣabha. Most of the great Vedic gods (Indra, Agni, Soma and others), their chariots, their weapons and even the exhilaration on drinking Soma are spoken of as bulls³⁰ When Soma twigs are being pressed with stones (grāvan) the tendrils of Soma look like horns All these descriptions about bellowing &c. apply strictly to the soma plant and are poetically transferred to the deity Soma. Prof. Apte translates 'vṛṣavrata' as 'whose behaviour or deportment is like that of a bull' On the other theory also we can easily explain the word as meaning '(Soma) whose ordinances are powerful like a bull'. Vṛṣavrata is an attribute of god Soma and cannot be easily construed with god Soma, if vrata primarily means some physical activity and its implications are rather against Prof. Apte's theory.