Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s17.580

v1.c3.s17.580

Tvac, ‘skin,’ ‘hide,’ (a) denotes specially in the Rigveda¹ the hide used in the process of extracting the Soma juice from the plant. The Soma was pounded with stones (adri) upon the skin laid on the pressing boards (adhiṣavane phalake),² which, however, are not mentioned in the Rigveda. Or if a pestle and mortar were used, the skin was still placed underneath them to catch the drops of juice, not above, as Pischel³ thought.