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The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c30.s8: § 8. The Soma Sacrifice

The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c30.s8

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§ 8. The Soma Sacrifice

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The model form of the Soma sacrifice may be said to be the Agniṣṭoma,³ which is the simplest form of the one-day Soma sacrifice, that is an offering on which the Soma is offered on one day only, in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. The name Agniṣṭoma appears to be due to the fact that the last of the Sāmans used on the day is addressed to Agni. Its time of performance is left vague by the texts: the evidence that it was a spring festival, celebrated at the new- or full-moon, which marked the beginning of the year, at which the nectar of the gods was offered to them in the shape of King Soma, as is held by Hillebrandt, is clearly inadequate even to make probable this thesis.

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³ ĀpÇS. x–xiii; xiv. 8–12; BÇS. vi–viii; MÇS. ii; KÇS. vii–xi. 1; AÇS. iv, v, vi. 11–14; ÇÇS. v–viii; LÇS. i, ii, v. 5 ff.; Vait. xi–xxii; Caland and Henry, *L'Agniṣṭoma* (Paris, 1906); Keith, *Taittirīya Saṁhitā*, i. pp. cxv ff.; *Rig-Veda Brāhmaṇas*, pp. 53 ff.

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In the Soma sacrifice the animal sacrifice plays an important part. In the first place, on the last of the Upasad days, which precede the day of pressing, there is an offering of a goat for Agni and Soma: secondly, there is a victim which is offered throughout the day of pressing, and which is sacrificed to Agni in the Agniṣṭoma, but in the Ukthya form of the Soma sacrifice to Indra and Agni, in the Ṣoḍaçin to Indra, and in the Atirātra to Sarasvatī: the more prevalent view, however, adds the extra victim to each different form, so that the Atirātra form has all four. Thirdly, after the final bath and before the concluding Iṣṭi there is a barren cow for Mitra and Varuṇa, or three for Mitra and Varuṇa, the All-gods, and Bṛhaspati.

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The offering is preceded by the choice of the priests, who are invited to come by a herald announcing the offering, and the obtaining of a place of sacrifice which the sacrificer asks from the prince, and which the latter must give on pain of the grave displeasure of the priest. Before or after this act, the consecration of the sacrificer takes place in the manner above ¹ described. The length of the consecration may last anything from one, three, or four days up to a year: he sends out people to obtain food for him in this time, and his name is absolutely taboo. Then comes the purchase of the Soma, in which takes place a pretended buying by a cow, but it is taken away from the seller: there is a clear mimicry in some measure of the winning of the divine drink from the hands of the Gandharvas. The Soma is then brought forward on a cart, and the Subrahmaṇya utters the formula, whence he derives his name, and which invites Indra to the drinking of the Soma. The guest-offering is then given to the Soma, and the priests and the sacrificer, by touching together butter taken from the guest-offering, conclude a close alliance not to prove false to one another in the rite. The Āgnīdhra brings the Madantī waters which all touch, and the sacrificer undertakes the Avāntaradīkṣā, ‘intermediate consecration’, in which he draws tighter his girdle, clasps more firmly his fist, and only drinks warm milk. Then comes the Pravargya rite, which will be described below, and three days of Upasads, in which offerings are made before and after midday with reference to the iron, silver, and golden forms of Agni. The term refers to sieges, but it is impossible to accept the suggestion of Hillebrandt ² that the rites of besieging cities have been here interpolated: the siege is a mythical one. The second Upasad day is the time for the construction of the Mahāvedi, 'great altar'. The carts, which have the Soma, are placed in it, and three paces east from its west end is the Sadas, 'seat', which is a hut covered over, in which ceremony the Udgātṛ helps the Adhvaryu as in other parts of the service. In front of the axle of the right-hand cart four sounding holes are made, which are used as an earth drum to increase the sound of the pressing of the Soma with the stones. Over the holes, which at the foot are not separated, are placed the pressing-boards, and over them again the skin on which the stones are placed. The earth thrown up from the pit serves to make six fire hearths or Dhiṣṇyas, which extend from south to north, and are appropriated to the Maitrāvaruṇa, Hotṛ, Brāhmaṇācchaṅsin, Potṛ, Neṣṭṛ and Achāvāka. Outside the Sadas, on the right side of the Vedi, is the Mārjālīya hearth, used for cleansing the utensils, and opposite it the hut for the Āgnīdhrīya fire.

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¹ Part III, Chap. 19, § 1.

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² *Rituallitteratur*, p. 127; *Ved. Myth.* i. 300. Hauer (*Die Anfänge der Yogapraxis im alten Indien*, p. 35) suggests that Upasad means fasting.

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The offering of the victim to Agni and Soma is the occasion of an interesting rite: the sons, grandsons, and relatives of the sacrificer are invited to assist in it: the Adhvaryu takes hold of the sacrificer, the wife of the Adhvaryu, of her the sons, of them the grandchildren, and of them the relatives, thus presenting a picture of family ritual, which is the more noteworthy in that it is not connected as usual with the worship of the dead. The whole body set themselves in procession to the Āgnīdhrīya and the Āhavanīya to the recitation of verses for the bringing forward of Agni and Soma. Before the offering is actually made, the Avāntaradīkṣā comes to an end. The sacrificer unloosens his girdle, lets go his fist, and gives up the restrictions hitherto imposed on him. The victim is then offered, and the waters for use are drawn in some place shadowed from the sun, while the cows are milked, and the sacrificer spends the night awake and guarding the Soma.

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The early dawn of the next day sees the service commenced by the performance of the Prātaranuvāka, 'morning litany', addressed to Agni, the Dawn, and the Açvins: the rule according to some texts is that the recitation is to be kept up from very early in the morning to the break of day. At the same time cakes are made ready for offerings to Indra Harivant, Indra and Pūṣan, Sarasvatī, Bhāratī, Indra, and Mitra and Varuṇa. Then comes the ceremony of fetching waters for use in the mixing of the Soma.

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The pressing of the Soma may be preceded by the offering of cups of curds, butter, or Soma, in which case a few stalks only are pressed: in the Vājapeya and the Rājasūya there are also the Aṅçu and Adābhya cups, the first of sour milk merely touched with Soma stalks, the latter of Soma. The great pressing is preceded by the Upāṅçusavana which provides Soma for the Upāṅçu cup. The pressing takes place in three rounds: the Adhvaryu, Pratiprasthātṛ, and Unnetṛ are the performers: the juice is poured into the Ādhavanīya vessel, which is filled with water, and is then passed through a sieve to the wooden tub. The Unnetṛ draws Soma from the Ādhavanīya with a vessel, and pours it into the Hotṛ's cup, and the sacrificer then pours from it an unbroken stream on the sieve from which the next cups are drawn for offering, the Antaryāma, Aindravāyava, Maitrāvaruṇa, Çukra, Manthin, Āgrayaṇa, Ukthya, and Dhruva, which, therefore, are called Dhārāgrahas, as opposed to the other cups, which are made full from the wooden tub with the vessel called Pariplavā. The rest of the Soma is placed in the Pūtabhṛt vessel, except a part needed to fill the goblets, Camasas, of the priests. After libations to atone for loss of drops of Soma, the Bahiṣpavamāna Stotra is performed by the priests to accompany the purifying of the Soma: it is repeated outside the Sadas. The priests creep to the performance of this Stotra, each holding the previous one,¹ and the Adhvaryu starts the performance by handing to the Prastotṛ a handful of Darbha grass, which the latter hands to the Udgātṛ, asking the Brahman’s authority to begin. The song is duly sung, the Āçvina cup is offered, and the victims sacrificed, and a cake offering is made in accordance with the preparation of the early morning. The cups for the double deities, Indra and Vāyu, Mitra and Varuṇa, and the Açvins, are then offered; then are filled the goblets of the priests, and offerings of the Çukra and Manthin cups made for the strange figures of Çanḍa and Marka. The oblations are made from the cups of the priests by the Adhvaryu, and the priests partake of the remainder. The emptied cups are now filled again and placed under the back part of the southern Soma cart, receiving the name Nārāçaṅsa and being allotted to the Fathers as Avamas, Ūrvas, and Kāvyas. The Achāvāka hereupon makes his appearance, and, if the Hotṛ consents to allow this late innovation among the priests to have a share in the rite, he is given a portion of the cake; then follow 12 or 14 season offerings and then the Hotṛ recites his Ājya Çastra, the contents of which have already been given.² The end of the Çastra is marked by the offering and partaking of the cup of Soma and the Nārāçaṅsa cups are also partaken of, but not offered. From them is taken a cup for the All-gods, and then follows the second Stotra, followed by the Praüga Çastra of the Hotṛ; the cup is offered and partaken of with the Nārāçaṅsas as before. Then a third of the Ukthya is taken for each of Mitra and Varuṇa, Indra, and Indra and Agni respectively, and used as the libations for the Stotras and Çastras, three in number, which end the pressing: the Çastras are recited by the Maitrāvaruṇa, Brāhmaṇācchaṅsin, and Achāvāka.

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¹ A very good parallel to this rite is the Mexican water ritual referred to by Usener, *Archiv f. Religionswissenschaft*, vii. 285.

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² Part III, Chap. 20, § 1.

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The midday pressing follows mainly the form of that of the morning: the season cups and those for two deities are omitted, and a new priest appears in the shape of the Grāvastut, ‘praiser of the stones’, whose business it is to say the verses addressed to the pressing stones, and who during his work keeps his head covered in a cloth lent to him by the sacrificer.³ The Çukra and Manthin, the Āgrayaṇa, the two Marutvatīyas, and the Ukthya before or between them form the cups for the midday pressing. The Bahiṣpavamāna is represented by the Mādhyandinapavamāna Stotra. At the end of it there is the place of the preparation of the drink of hot sour milk, the Dadhigharma, which is proved to have existed even in the time of the Rigveda. Then come the cake offering, the filling of the goblets, the offering of the Çukra and Manthin cups, and the further ceremonies down to the depositing of the Nārāçaṅsa cups, after which the fees should be given, consisting of 7, 21, 60 to 1,000 cattle, or all the sacrificer’s goods save his eldest son. In case of these two highest numbers he must also give a mule, for some uncertain cause. The sacrificer divides his largesse, cattle, sheep, horses, elephants, servants, clothes, in four heaps, the Adhvaryu has one share, out of which portions are obtained by the Pratiprasthātṛ, the Neṣṭṛ and Unnetṛ, of a half, a third, and fourth respectively of the Adhvaryu’s share, and so with the other priests. An Ātreya is given a gold gift in addition: Kaṇvas, Kaçyapas, and ignorant Brahmans get nothing: even a daughter may be given in the form of marriage known as *daiva*, ‘divine’.¹ After the fees are received two Marutvatīya cups are offered, and then a third which is the occasion of the Marutvatīya Çastra of the Hotṛ. Then a libation is made to Mahendra, which is accompanied by the first Pṛṣṭha Stotra of the Sāman singers, and the Niṣkevalya Çastra of the Hotṛ. Three Atigrāhyas are offered at the same time, for Agni, Indra, and Sūrya. Then follows as in the morning three Ukthya cups with the second to fourth Pṛṣṭha Stotras and the three Çastras of the Maitrāvaruṇa, Brāhmaṇācchaṅsin, and Achāvāka.

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³ This is a rare feature in Vedic ritual, but recurs in the covered head of the Roman sacrificer. Cf. below, § 9.

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¹ On Vedic marriage cf. Macdonell and Keith, *Vedic Index*, ii. 479 ff.

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The evening pressing is intended by an Āditya cup, which is the means of producing magic effects according as it is prepared. It is made out of the remains of the cups for two deities, and is made ready, when both doors of the hut of the Soma carts are closed. The main pressing is much as in the morning, but the old Soma shoots are used as well as new. The Āgrayaṇa is performed with four streams, not three as at midday, or two as at the morning. The Ārbhavapavamāna Stotra is followed by the proceeding with the unfinished animal offering, then the cake offering takes place, and the rest goes on as at midday until the Nārāçaṅsa cups are disposed of. There follows a libation in which the Fathers are referred to. After that the Sāvitra cup is offered, and thereafter the Vaiçvadeva cup which gives rise to the Vaiçvadeva Çastra. Now a pap is offered: and the Udgātṛs look at themselves in butter. Then a Pātnīvata cup is offered, in connexion with which the Agnīdh sits on the lap of the Neṣṭṛ, who fetches thereafter the wife of the sacrificer. The Adhvaryu starts the Yajñāyajñīya Sāman, the sacrificer repeats the formula called Saptahotṛ, the Neṣṭṛ causes the wife to be looked at by the Udgātṛ, and she pours along her thigh water. Then follows the Āgnimāruta Çastra. With this the rite is drawing to a close: the main sacrifice is completed, the Hāriyojana cup is offered, and finally there is the Avabhṛtha in which many of the utensils are thrown into the water; the sacrificer and his wife have a bath, and put on new clothes. There still, however, have to be performed an Udayanīyā offering, the sacrifice of a barren cow to Mitra and Varuṇa, for which the Bahvṛcas substitute a mere milk offering, an offering to the minor deities, or in the case of a king to the divine impellers, and the burning of the strew and other minor rites, and at last an Udavasānīyā offering.

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There can be no doubt whatever as to the great part played by Indra in the Soma offering: the midday pressing is almost entirely his, the Maruts appearing only in his company, though at the evening pressing his place is comparatively slight. In the morning we find in the Praüga Çastra, which is certainly to be traced to the Rigveda, invocations of seven sets of gods, first Vāyu, then Indra and Vāyu, Mitra and Varuṇa, the Açvins, Indra, the All-gods, and Sarasvatī, while the three litanies of the assistants of the Hotṛ are devoted to Mitra and Varuṇa, Indra, and Indra and Agni. In the evening the ritual finds places for the Ādityas, Savitṛ, the All-gods, Agni with the wives of the gods, and Indra with the bay steeds. The Ṛbhus thus play a very minor part, though they have verses and though their old importance, which is asserted in the Rigveda, may be traced in the name of the Ārbhavapavamāna Stotra. In the case of the Ādityas we have evidence in the Rigveda of their having a share in the offering, and so also in the case of Agni and the Maruts, but so comparatively seldom as to show that the position of these gods was distinctly far from assured as regards their share in the Soma sacrifice. The wives of the gods are also mentioned in the Rigveda as having a part, but never Savitṛ, a fact which is doubtless fair evidence that the Rigveda did not know him as having a place in the rite, and that he was later brought in, perhaps because of his growing importance, perhaps as an Āditya. The position of Agni also in the rite is a proof that he was not at first one of the great Soma drinkers: he appears in it in the main as connected with Indra, or as one of many other gods. On the other hand, the evidence of the Rigveda forbids the adoption of the view that the Soma offering was originally given to Indra alone: if that were the case it lies in times beyond our possibility of knowledge. The exclusion of Rudra, which seems, however, to be post-Rigvedic, though it is marked in the ritual, is the obvious result of his hostile nature.¹

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¹ RV. i. 122. 1 recognizes his share and his dual nature increases in force in the later development.

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In some places it is clear enough that the Soma sacrifice was considered as a rain spell:² the pressing of the juice from the plant, and the pouring of the water and the juice through the sieve, are sufficient in themselves to import a rain spell of the normal Vedic type, and there can be no doubt that this view explains the fact that Soma is often regarded as a rain bringer, though doubtless in part that idea may be merely an extension of the practice of applying to any great god all the powers, which are important to man. But to go so far as to suggest, as Hillebrandt³ does, that the essence of the sacrifice was a piece of magic, the moon’s rays being full of nectar and being represented by the shoots of the Soma plant, so that the manipulations of the priests are adequate to supply the gods with the nectar drink which they love, is to misunderstand the nature of the sacrifice completely, and further the whole idea is vitiated by the assumption which the author has never proved nor even made plausible that Soma in the Rigveda is the moon. Nor, as we have seen, is there any real possibility of proving that the Soma offering has any totemistic flavour: it can be shown to be nothing but the offering to the god of the intoxicating drink, which in itself, on the other hand, creates the conception of the god Soma, who later and only among the Brahmans in the first instance is by the exercise of creative fancy equated with the moon.¹

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² Oldenberg, *Rel. des Veda*², p. 456; Henry, *L'Agniṣṭoma*, p. 486.

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³ *Ved. Myth.* ii. 217 ff.

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¹ Keith, *Taittirīya Saṁhitā*, i. pp. cxx ff. Hubert and Mauss (*Année sociol.* ii. 129, 130) see in the rite the birth and death of the god, but in this case as usual they read into the rite much more than even what the Brāhmaṇas see as a pure speculation: we have no right whatever to regard this view as primitive or popular.

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An ingenious but implausible suggestion is that of von Schroeder,² who, accepting as primitive the connexion of Soma with the moon, holds that the purpose of the rite was to enable the sacrificer to assimilate in the form of a symbol of the moon the strength of the moon itself, just as in the Pravargya ceremony³ we may see the sacrificer acquiring the strength of the sun by drinking the hot milk, which is as naturally offered to the sun as is Soma to the moon. There is, however, clearly no positive evidence to support these suggestions as representing primitive views of either offering.

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² *Arische Religion*, ii. 388, 390, and cf. *Die Wurzeln der Sage vom heiligen Gral* (1911).

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³ See below, § 9.

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