The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c18.s3.36

v1.c18.s3.36

That the Soma cult goes back to the Avesta³ is notorious: it is there said to grow on a mountain watered by the rains of heaven: as Varuṇa is said to place it on rock, so a god places it on Mount Haraiti: it is brought by an eagle in the Rigveda from the sky: in the Avesta it is taken from its mountain by skilled birds. It is in both India and Iran the king of plants, it gives long life and removes death: it grows in the waters. It was pressed twice a day according to the Avesta: its yellow juice was mixed with milk. But the plant had also a celestial character, and that character distinguished it from the mere terrestrial plant. It is brought down from heaven and is a mighty king. Even the epithet ‘slayer of Verethra’ has been found applied to the Haoma. Beside minor similarities, which attach to any divine natures, there are found the most striking similarities in the legend of the preparers of the Soma: they are in the Avesta Vīvaṅhvant, Āthwya, and Thrita, while those of the Rigveda are Vivasvant and Trita Āptya.