The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads) c7.56

c7.56

In fact the body of the Rig-Veda presupposes the ordinary form of the *soma* sacrifice which extends through an entire day, in the manner of the so-called *jyotishṭoma* of the later ceremonial. Or, rather, it is largely a collection of the hymns composed by various priest families for this important sacrifice. The *soma* drink is pressed three times daily: morning, noon, and evening. The gods of the Vedic Pantheon are all interested in these ceremonies; each has a fairly definite share in them. Indra, the god who figures more frequently than any other, has part in all three pressings; but the mid-day pressing belongs to him exclusively. Ushas, the Maiden Dawn, and Agni, God Fire, play, as we have seen, a very important part in the morning. The Ādityas¹ and Ribhus, the latter a sort of clever-handed elves, appear upon the scene in the evening. A host of hymns are addressed to pairs of divinities whose coupling is not always based upon any special natural affinity between them, but upon purely liturgic association: Indra and Agni, Indra and Varuna, Agni and Soma, and so on.