The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c27.s5.50

v1.c27.s5.50

There is no ground on which any totemist nature can be applied to the Soma sacrifice:⁴ much as the Brahmans speculated on the question,⁵ there is no real proof that the offering ever really lost its true character, that of the offering to a god, in the main Indra, of the intoxicating and exhilarating drink, and the share in the drink by the priest. The killing of king Soma in the pressing, the eating of the substance of the moon, were no doubt seen by the ingenuity of the Brahmans, but these are speculations, not Vedic religion.