The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c39.s3.57

v2.c39.s3.57

At the same time the sacrifice involves the death of the god in the form of the Soma² or the victim. In the former case every effort is made to conceal the fact of death from the god: he is assured that he is being pounded, not for the sake of his death, but to attain the overlordship of the metres: or again one thinks, as one takes up the pressing stone, of one's enemy, and thus kills him and not the innocent Soma.³ The seller of the Soma is treated with insult and blows as an evil man, and the Soma himself is accorded the guest reception, as he moves to his death in the ritual. These remarks, however, show clearly enough no serious or real feeling for the death of the god: they are products of speculation, not of deep religious conviction.