Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India, their Religion and Institutions v5.c49: Section XVI. Soma

Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India, their Religion and Institutions v5.c49

Language
English

Contents

Section XVI. Soma

v5.c49.2

Reference has been already made to the important share which the exhilarating juice of the soma-plant assumes in bracing Indra for his conflict with the hostile powers in the atmosphere, and to the eagerness of all the gods to partake in this beverage.

v5.c49.3

Soma is the god who represents and animates this juice, an intoxicating draught which plays a conspicuous part in the sacrifices of the Vedic age. He is, or rather was in former times, the Indian Dionysus or Bacchus. Not only are the whole of the hymns in the ninth book of the Rig-veda, one hundred and fourteen in number, besides a few in other places, dedicated to his honour, but constant references to the juice of the soma occur in a large proportion of the other hymns. It is clear therefore, as remarked by Professor Whitney (Journal of the American Oriental Society, iii. 299), that his worship must at one time have attained a remarkable popularity. This circumstance is thus explained by the writer to whom I have referred: "The simple-minded Arian people, whose whole religion was a worship of the wonderful powers and phenomena of nature, had no sooner perceived that this liquid had power to elevate the spirits, and produce a temporary frenzy, under the influence of which the individual was prompted to, and capable of, deeds beyond his natural powers, than they found in it something divine: it was to their apprehension a god, endowing those into whom it entered with godlike powers; the plant which afforded it became to them the king of plants; the process of preparing it was a holy sacrifice; the instruments used therefor were sacred. The high antiquity of this cultus is attested by the references to it found occurring in the Persian Avesta;³⁹¹ it seems, however, to have received a new impulse on Indian territory."

v5.c49.4

³⁹¹ See Dr. Windischmann's Essay on the Soma-worship of the Arians, or the translated extracts from it in the 2nd vol. of this work, p. 469 ff.; and the extract there given, p. 474, from Plutarch de Isid. et Osir, 46, in which the soma, or as it is in Zend, haoma, appears to be referred to under the appellation ὄμωμι. See also on the fact of the soma rite of the Indians being originally identical with the haoma ceremony of the Zoroastrians, Haug's Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, Introd., p. 62.

v5.c49.5

(1) *Quotation from Euripides relating to the Greek god Dionysus.

v5.c49.6

As illustrating the sentiments which gave rise to the adoration of Dionysus, the Grecian Soma, I shall introduce here some verses from the Bacchae of Euripides, 272 ff., in which the philosophical poet puts into the mouth of the prophet Teiresias a vindication of the worship of the new god, against the ridicule which had been thrown upon him by Pentheus, together with a statement of the reasons which justified his deification, and a rationalistic explanation of a current myth regarding him:

v5.c49.7

Οὗτος δ' ὁ δαίμων ὁ νέος ὃν σὺ διαγελᾷς
οὐκ ἂν δυναίμην μέγεθος ἐξειπεῖν ὅσος
καθ' Ἑλλάδ' ἔσται· δύο γὰρ, ὦ νεανία,
τὰ πρῶτ' ἐν ἀνθρώποισι, Δημήτηρ θεὰ,
Γῆ δ' ἐστίν· ὄνομα δ' ὁπότερον βούλει κάλει·
αὕτη μὲν ἐν ξηροῖσιν ἐκτρέφει βροτούς·
ὁ δ' ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τἀντίπαλον, ὁ Σεμέλης γόνος,
βότρυος ὑγρὸν πῶμ' εὗρε κεἰσηνέγκατο
θνητοῖς, ὃ παύει τοὺς ταλαιπώρους βροτοὺς
λύπης, ὅταν πλησθῶσιν ἀμπέλου ῥοῆς,
ὕπνον τε, λήθην τῶν καθ' ἡμέραν κακῶν,
δίδωσιν, οὐδ' ἔστ' ἄλλο φάρμακον πόνων.
οὗτος θεοῖσι σπένδεται θεὸς γεγὼς,
ὥστε διὰ τοῦτον τἀγάθ' ἀνθρώπους ἔχειν.
καὶ καταγελᾷς νιν, ὡς ἐνεῤῥάφη Διὸς
μηρῷ· διδάξω σ' ὡς καλῶς ἔχει τόδε.
ἐπεί νιν ἥρπασ' ἐκ πυρὸς κεραυνίου
Ζεὺς, εἰς δ' Ὄλυμπον βρέφος ἀνήγαγεν νεὸν,
Ἥρα νιν ἤθελ' ἐκβαλεῖν ἀπ' οὐρανοῦ,
Ζεὺς δ' ἀντεμηχανήσατ', οἷα δὴ θεός.
ῥήξας μέρος τι τοῦ χθόν' ἐγκυκλουμένου
αἰθέρος ἔθηκε τόνδ' ὅμηρον ἐκδιδοὺς
Διόνυσον Ἥρας νεικέων· χρόνῳ δέ νιν
βροτοὶ τραφῆναι φασιν ἐν μηρῷ Διὸς,
ὄνομα μεταστήσαντες, ὅτι θεᾷ θεὸς
Ἥρᾳ ποθ' ὡμήρευσε, συνθέντες λογον.
μάντις δ' ὁ δαίμων ὅδε· τὸ γὰρ βακχεύσιμον
καὶ τὸ μανιῶδες μαντικὴν πολλὴν ἔχει·
ὅταν γαρ ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸ σῶμ' ἔλθῃ πολύς,
λέγειν το μέλλον τοὺς μεμηνότας ποιεῖ.

v5.c49.8

Ἄρεώς τε μοῖραν μεταλαβὼν ἔχει τινὰ.
στρατὸν γὰρ ἐν ὅπλοις ὄντα κἀπὶ τάξεσι
φόβος διεπτόησε, πρὶν λόγχης θιγεῖν·
μανία δὲ καὶ τοῦτ' ἐστὶ Διονύσου πάρα, κ.τ.λ.

v5.c49.9

“I cannot express how great this young god, whom thou ridiculest, is destined to become in Greece. For, young man, there are two things which are the foremost among men, the goddess Demeter, who is the Earth;—call her by whichever name thou pleasest;—who nourishes mortals with dry food. But he, the son of Semele, took the contrary course. He discovered and introduced among men the liquid draught of the grape, which puts an end to the sorrows of wretched mortals,—when they are filled with the stream from the vine,—and induces sleep, and oblivion of the evils endured by day. Nor is there any other remedy for our distresses. He, born a god, is poured out in libations to gods, so that through him men receive good. And thou ridiculest him by saying that he was sewn up in the thigh (*μηρῷ*) of Zeus. But I shall shew thee how this is rendered reasonable. When Zeus rescued the infant from the lightning-flame, and brought him to Olympus, Hera wished to expel him from heaven. But Zeus, like a god, counteracted this design. Detaching a portion of the aether which encircles the earth, he gave this as a hostage (*ὅμηρον*) to Hera, so delivering Dionysus from her hostility; and in course of time, because he became a hostage to Hera, men began to say,—changing the word, and inventing a fable,—that he had been reared in the thigh of Zeus. And this god is a prophet. For Bacchic excitement and raving have in them great prophetic power. When this god enters in force into the body, he causes men to rave and foretell the future. And he also partakes of the character of Ares (Mars). For panic (sometimes) terrifies a force of armed men drawn up in battle array, before the actual clashing of the hosts. This madness too is derived from Dionysus.”³⁹²

v5.c49.10

³⁹² In an earlier part of the same play, verses 200 ff. the following protest against free enquiry in religious matters is put by the poet into the mouth of Teiresias, who says to Cadmus:

v5.c49.11

οὐδὲν σοφιζόμεσθα τοῖσι δαίμοσι.
πατρίους παραδοχὰς, ἅς θ' ὁμήλικας χρόνῳ
κεκτήμεθ', οὐδεὶς αὐτὰ καταβαλεῖ λόγος,
οὐδ' εἰ δι' ἄκρων τὸ σοφὸν ηὕρηται φρενῶν.
“In things that touch the gods it is not good
To suffer captious reason to intrude.

v5.c49.12

(2) *Prevalence and enthusiastic character of the ancient Soma-worship.*

v5.c49.13

Professor Haug, in his work on the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa (Introd. p. 60), thus writes of the soma sacrifice: "Being thus," (*i.e.* through the oblation of an animal) "received among the gods, the sacrificer is deemed worthy to enjoy the divine beverage, the soma, and participate in the heavenly king, who is Soma. The drinking of the soma-juice makes him a new man; though a new celestial body had been prepared for him at the Pravargya ceremony, the enjoyment of the soma beverage transforms him again; for the nectar of the gods flows for the first time in his veins, purifying and sanctifying him."

v5.c49.14

With the decline of the Vedic worship, however, and the introduction of new deities and new ceremonies, the popularity of Soma gradually decreased, and has long since passed away; and his name is now familiar to those few Brahmans only who still maintain in a few places the early Vedic observances.

v5.c49.15

The hymns addressed to Soma were intended to be sung while the juice of the plant, said to be produced on Mount Mūjavat, R.V. x. 34, 1 (*somasyeva Maujavatasya bhakshaḥ*),³⁹³ from which he takes his name (the *asclepias acida* or *sarcostemma viminale*) was being pressed out and purified.³⁹⁴ They describe enthusiastically the flowing forth and filtration of the divine juice, and the effects produced on the worshippers, and supposed to be produced on the gods,³⁹⁵ by partaking of the beverage. Thus the first verse of the first hymn of the ninth book runs

v5.c49.16

³⁹³ *Mūjavan parvataḥ*, "Mūjavat is a hill," Nir. ix. 8. See also Vāj. S. iii. 61, and commentary.

v5.c49.17

³⁹⁴ See the process as described by Windischman, after Dr. Stevenson, in the 2nd volume of this work, p. 470.

v5.c49.18

³⁹⁵ See Ait. Br. vi. 11, quoted above, p. 88, note 168.

v5.c49.19

Traditions handed down from sire to son
Since time itself began its course to run
By reasonings never can be undermined,
Though forged by intellects the most refined."

v5.c49.20

To this the advocates of a critical investigation into the truth of ancient beliefs might reply in the words of the Messenger in the Helena of the same poet, verses 1617 f. (though their original application was different) :

v5.c49.21

σώφρονος δʼ ἀπιστίας
οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν χρησιμώτερον βροτοῖς.

v5.c49.22

"Nought can to men more useful be,
Than prudent incredulity."

v5.c49.23

thus: *Svādishṭhayā madishṭhayā pavasva Soma dhārayā Indrāya pātave sutaḥ* | “O Soma, poured out for Indra to drink, flow on purely in a most sweet and most exhilarating current.” In vi. 47, 1, 2, the juice is described as sweet, honied, pungent, well-flavoured, and exhilarating. No one can withstand Indra in battle when he has drunk it (*svādush kilāyam madhumān utāyam tīvraḥ kilāyam rasavān utāyam | uto nu asya papivāmsam Indram na kaśchana sahate āhaveshu | ayam svādur iha madishṭhaḥ āsa*). When quaffed, it stimulates the voice, and calls forth ardent conceptions (ibid. verse 3). In a verse (viii. 48, 3,) already quoted above (p. 90, note), in the account of Indra, the worshippers exclaim: “We have drunk the soma, we have become immortal, we have entered into light, we have known the gods. What can an enemy now do to us, or what can the malice of any mortal effect, o thou immortal god?”

v5.c49.24

The plant is said to have been brought by a falcon, i. 80, 2 (*somaḥ śyenābhṛitaḥ*); iii. 43, 7 (*ā yaṁ te* [Indrāya] *śyenaḥ uśate jabhāra*); viii. 71, 9; from the sky, iv. 26, 6 (*ṛijīpī śyeno dadamāno aṁśum parāvataḥ śakuno mandram madam | somam bharad dādṛihāno devavān divo amushṇād uttarād ādāya*); viii. 84, 3; by a well-winged bird, or Suparṇa, to Indra, viii. 89, 8 (*divaṁ suparṇo gatvāya somaṁ vajriṇe ābharat*); or from a mountain, i. 93, 6 (*amathnād anyam (somam) pari śyeno adreḥ*), where it had been placed by Varuṇa, v. 85, 2 (*divi sūryam adadhāt somam adrau*). In iii. 48, 2; v. 43, 4; ix. 18, 1; ix. 62, 4; ix. 85, 10; ix. 98, 9, it is called *girishṭhā* (found on a mountain). In another place, ix. 113, 3, it is declared to have been brought by the daughter of the sun from the place where it had been nourished by Parjanya, the rain-god, when the Gandharvas took it, and infused into it sap (*Parjanya-vṛiddham mahisham taṁ sūryasya duhitā 'bharat | taṁ gandharvāḥ praty agṛibhnan taṁ some rasam ādadhuḥ*). In ix. 82, 3, as we have seen above, p. 142, Parjanya is said to be the father of Soma; and in A.V. xix. 6, 16, the god is said to have sprung from Purusha (*rājñaḥ Somasya . . . . jātasya Purushād adhi*).

v5.c49.25

In other passages a Gandharva is connected with the soma-plant, the sphere (*pada*) of which he is said to protect, and all the forms of which he is said to manifest, ix. 83, 4; ix. 85, 12³⁹⁶ (*gandharvaḥ itthā padam asya rakshati | ūrdhvo gandharvo adhi nāke asthād viśvā rūpāṇi pratichakshāṇo asya*). The Aitareya Brāhmaṇa has the following story regarding the mode in which the gods obtained soma from the Gandharvas, i. 27. *Somo vai rājā gandharveshv āsīt | taṁ devāś cha ṛishayaś cha abhyadhyāyan “katham ayam asmān somo rājā āgachhed” iti | sā Vāg abravīt “strīkāmāḥ vai gandharvāḥ | mayā eva striyā bhūtayā paṇayadhvam” iti “Na” iti devāḥ abruvan “kathaṁ vayaṁ tvad ṛite syāma” iti | sā ’bravīt “krīṇīta eva ; yarhi vāva vo mayā artho bhavitā tarhy eva vo ’ham punar āgantāsmi” iti | “tathā” iti | tayā mahānagnyā bhūtayā Somam rājānam akrīṇan*³⁹⁷ “King Soma was among the Gandharvas. The gods and rishis desired him, and said ‘How shall we get him to come to us?’ Vāch said, ‘The Gandharvas are fond of females; buy him in exchange for me turned into a female.’ They answered, ‘No: how can we live without thee?’ She rejoined, ‘Buy him, and whenever you have occasion for me I shall return to you.’ They agreed, and bought king Soma with Vāch turned into a female, quite naked [*i.e.* unchaste].” See Professor Haug’s translation of this Brāhmaṇa, p. 59, and compare pp. 201 ff.; 294; and 400.

v5.c49.26

³⁹⁶ See Böhtlingk and Roth’s Lexicon under the word *Gandharva*.

v5.c49.27

³⁹⁷ The Taitt. Br. vi. 1, 6, 5 (pp. 90 ff. of Indian Office MS.), tells the same story, but says that they turned Vāch into a woman one year old; and that after she had gone they induced her to come back by singing (the Gandharvas, whom she had left, meanwhile reciting a prayer, or incantation), and hence women love a man who sings (*tam somam āhriyamāṇam gandharvo Viśvāvasuḥ paryamushṇāt | .. te devāḥ abruvan “strīkāmāḥ vai gandharvāḥ striyā nishkrīṇāma” iti | te Vācham striyam ekahāyanīṁ kṛitvā tayā nirakrīṇan | sā rohid-rūpam kṛitvā gandharvebhyo ’pakramya atishṭhat | tad rohito janma | te devāḥ abruvan “apa yushmad akramīn na asmān upāvarttate vihvayai” iti | brahma gandharvāḥ avadann | agāyan devāḥ | sā devān gāyataḥ upāvarttata | tasmād gāyantam striyaḥ kāmayante | kāmukā enam striyo bhavanti ya evam veda*).

v5.c49.28

In the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa iii. 2, 4, 1 ff., it is related that the soma existed formerly in the sky, whilst the gods were here (on earth). They desired to get it, that they might employ it in sacrifice. The Gāyatrī flew to bring it for them. While she was carrying it off the Gandharva Vibhāvasu robbed her of it. The gods became aware of this, and knowing the partiality of the Gandharvas for females (compare iii. 9, 3, 20, and A.V. iv. 37, 11 f.), they sent Vāch, the goddess of speech, to get it from them, which she succeeded in doing (*Divi vai somaḥ āsīt | atha iha devāḥ | te devāḥ akāmayanta “ā naḥ somo gachhet* *tena āgatena yajemahi" iti !* . . . . 2. *Tebhyo gāyatrī somam achha apatat | tasyai āharantyai gandharvo Viśvāvasuḥ paryamushnāt | te devāḥ aviduḥ "prachyuto vai parastāt somaḥ | atha no na āgachhati | gandharvāḥ vai paryamoshishur" iti | te ha ūchur "yoshit-kāmāḥ vai gandharvāḥ | Vācham eva ebhyaḥ prahinavāma | sā naḥ saha somena āgamishyati" iti | tebhyo Vācham prāhinvan sā enān saha somena āgachhat.* And in xi. 7, 2, 8, it is said: "The soma existed in the sky. The Gāyatrī became a bird, and brought it" (*divi vai Somaḥ āsīt tam̃ gāyatrī vayo bhūtvā "harat*). See also the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa, iii. 4, 3, 13, and iii. 6, 2, 2–18, towards the close of which passage, as well as in iii. 9, 3, 18, the Gandharvas are spoken of as the guardians of the soma (*somarakshāḥ*); and Taitt. Sanh. vi. 1, 6, 1, 5.

v5.c49.29

(4) *Soma's wives.*

v5.c49.30

The Taitt. Sanh., ii. 3, 5, 1, relates that Prajāpati had thirty-three daughters whom he gave to king Soma. Soma, however, frequented the society of Rohiṇī only. This aroused the jealousy of the rest, who returned to their father. Soma followed, and asked that they should go back to him, to which, however, Prajāpati would not agree till Soma had promised to associate with them all equally. He agreed; but again behaved as before, when he was seized with consumption, etc. (*Prajāpates trayastrim̃śad duhitaraḥ āsan | tāḥ Somāya rājne 'dadāt | tāsām̃ Rohiṇīm upait | tāḥ īrshyantīḥ punar agachhan | tāḥ anvait | tāḥ punar ayāchata | tāḥ asmai na punar adadāt | so 'bravīd "ṛitam amīshva yathā samāvachhaḥ upaishyāmi atha te punar dāsyāmi" iti | sa ṛitam āmīt | tāḥ asmai punar adadāt | tāsām Rohiṇīm eva upait | yakshma ārchhat*). In the Taitt. Br. ii. 3, 10, 1 ff., another story is told of Soma. Prajāpati created him; and after him the three Vedas, which he took into his hand. Now, Sītā Sāvitrī loved Soma, while he loved Śraddhā. Sītā came to her father Prajāpati, and, saluting him, asked to be allowed to approach him with her complaint. She loved Soma, she said, while he loved Śraddhā. Prajāpati made for her a paste formed of a sweet smelling substance, to which he imparted potency by the recitation of certain formulas, and then painted it upon her forehead. She then returned to Soma, who invited her to approach him. She desired him to promise her his society, and to tell her what he had in his hand; whereupon he gave her the three Vedas; and in consequence women always ask for some gift as a price for their embraces, etc. The Brāhmaṇa goes on to recommend the use of the same paste, prepared with the same formulas, as a specific for producing love or good will (*Prajāpatiḥ Somaṁ rājānam asṛijata* | *taṁ trayo vedāḥ anv asṛijyanta* | *tān haste 'kuruta* | *atha ha Sītā Sāvitrī Somaṁ rājānaṁ chakame* | *S'raddhām u sa chakame* | *sā ha pitaram Prajāpatim upasasāra* | *taṁ ha uvācha "namas te astu bhagavaḥ* | *upa tvā ayāni* (2) *pra tvā āpadye* | *Somaṁ vai rājānaṁ kāmaye S'raddhām u sa kāmayate" iti* | *tasyai u ha sthāgaram alankāraṁ kalpayitvā daśahotāraṁ purastād vyākhyāya chaturhotāraṁ dakshiṇataḥ pañchahotāraṁ paśchāt shaḍḍhotāram uttarataḥ saptahotāram uparishṭāt sambhāraiś patnibhiś cha mukhe alankṛitya* | 3. *Asya arddhaṁ vavrāja* | *tāṁ ha udīkshya uvācha "upa mā varttasva" iti* | *taṁ ha uvācha "bho gantuṁ* (the commentator explains the phrase as if he read *bhogaṁ tu*) *me āchakshva* | *etan me āchakshva yat te pāṇāv" iti* | *tasyai u trīn vedān pradadau* | *tasmād u ha striyo bhogam eva hārayante*).

v5.c49.31

(5) *Properties ascribed to the soma-juice or its presiding deity.*

v5.c49.32

The juice of this plant is said to be an immortal³⁹⁸ draught, i. 84, 4 (*jyeshṭham amartyam madam*) which the gods love, ix. 85, 2 (*daksho devānām asi hi priyo madaḥ*); ix. 109, 15 (*pibanti asya viśve devāso gobhiḥ śritasya nṛibhiḥ sutasya*),³⁹⁹ to be medicine for a sick man, viii. 61, 17 (*tad āturasya bheshajam*). All the gods drink of it, ix. 109, 15 (*pibanti asya viśve devāsaḥ*). The god who is its personification is said to clothe whatever is naked, and to heal whatever is sick; through him the blind sees, and the lame walks abroad, viii. 68, 2 (*abhy ūrṇoti yan nagnam bhishakti viśvaṁ yat turam* | *pra īm andhaḥ khyat niḥ śroṇo bhūt*); x. 25, 11. He is the guardian of men's bodies, and occupies their every member, viii. 48, 9 (*tvaṁ hi nas tanvaḥ soma gopāḥ gātre gātre nishasattha nṛichakshāḥ*).

v5.c49.33

³⁹⁸ This means, according to Sāyaṇa, that it has no deadly effects, like other intoxicating drinks (*somapānajanyo mado madāntara-vat mārako na bhavati ity arthaḥ*).

v5.c49.34

³⁹⁹ The Taitt. Br. i. 3, 3, 2, says that soma is the best nourishment of the gods, and wine of men, and ibid. 4, that soma is a male and the wine a female, and the two make a pair (*etad vai devānām paramaṁ annaṁ yat somaḥ etad manushyāṇām yat surā* | 4. *Pumān vai somaḥ strī surā* | *tan mithunam*).

v5.c49.35

(6) *Divine powers attributed to Soma.

v5.c49.36

A great variety of divine attributes and operations are ascribed to Soma. As Professor Whitney observes, he is "addressed as a god in the highest strains of adulation and veneration; all powers belong to him; all blessings are besought of him, as his to bestow" (Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. iii. 299). He is said to be *asura*, divine (ix. 73, 1; ix. 74, 7), and the soul of sacrifice, *ātmā yajñasya* (ix. 2, 10; ix. 6, 8). He is immortal, *amṛita* (i. 43, 9), and confers immortality on gods and men, i. 91, 1, 6, 18; viii. 48, 3, quoted above, p. 90, note; ix. 106, 8 (*tvām devāso amṛitāya kam papuḥ*); ix. 108, 3 (*tvaṁ hi anga daivyā pavamāna janimāni dyumattama amṛitatvāya ghoshayaḥ*); ix. 109, 3 (*eva amṛitāya mahe kshayāya sa śukro arśa divyaḥ pīyūshaḥ*).⁴⁰⁰ In a passage (ix. 113, 7 ff.) where the joys of paradise are more distinctly anticipated and more fervently implored than in most other parts of the Rig-veda, Soma is addressed as the god from whom the gift of future felicity is expected. Thus it is there said: *yatra jyotir ajasraṁ yasmin loke svar hitam | tasmin māṁ dhehi pavamāna amṛite loke akshite | yatra rājā Vaivasvato yatrāvarodhanaṁ divaḥ | yatrāmūr yahvatīr āpas tatra mām amṛitaṁ kṛidhi* | 7. "Place me, o purified god, in that everlasting and imperishable world where there is eternal light and glory. O Indu (soma), flow for Indra. 8. Make me immortal in the world where king Vaivasvata (Yama, the son of Vivasvat,) lives, where is the innermost sphere of the sky, where those great waters flow." The three following verses may be reserved for the section on Yama.

v5.c49.37

⁴⁰⁰ In regard to the manner in which the gods acquired immortality, see the S'atap Br. ix. 5, 1, 1 ff. quoted above p. 14, note 21.

v5.c49.38.1

Soma exhilarates Varuṇa, Mitra, Indra, Vishṇu, the Maruts, the other gods, Vāyu, Heaven and Earth, ix. 90, 5 (*matsi Soma Varuṇam matsi Mitram matsi Indram Indo pavamāna Vishṇum | matsi śardho mārutam matsi devān matsi mahām Indram Indo madāya*); ix. 97, 42 (*matsi Vāyum ishṭaye rādhase cha matsi Mitrā-varuṇā pūyamānaḥ | matsi śardho mārutam matsi devān matsi Dyāvā-pṛithivī deva Soma*). Both gods and men resort to him, saying that his juice is sweet, viii. 48, 1 (*viśve yaṁ devāḥ uta martyāso madhu bruvanto abhi sañcharanti*). By him (but see p. 270) the Ādityas are strong, and the earth vast, x. 85, 2 (*somena Ādityāḥ balinaḥ somena pṛithivī mahī*). He is the friend, helper, and soul of Indra, iv. 28, 1 (*tvā yujā tava tat soma sakhye Indro apo manave sasrutas kaḥ* | 2. *Tvā yujā ni khidat Sūryasya Indraś chakraṁ sahasā sadyaḥ Indo*); ix. 85, 3 (*ātmā Indrasya bhavasi*); x. 25, 9 (*Indrasyendo śivaḥ sakhā*), whose vigour he stimulates, ix. 76, 2 (*Indrasya śushmam īrayan*), and whom he succours in his conflicts with Vṛitra, ix. 61, 22 (*yaḥ Indram āvitha Vṛitrāya hantave*). He rides in the same chariot with Indra, *Indreṇa saratham* (ix. 87, 9; ix. 103, 5). He has, however, winged mares of his own, and a team like Vāyu, ix. 86, 37 (*īśānaḥ imā bhuvanāni vīyase yujānaḥ Indo haritaḥ suparṇyaḥ*); ix. 88, 3 (*vāyur na yo niyutvān ishṭayāmā*). He ascends his filter in place of a car, and is armed with a thousand-pointed shaft, ix. 83, 5; ix.

v5.c49.38.2

86, 40 (*pavitra-rathaḥ sahasrabhṛishṭiḥ*). His weapons which, like a hero, he grasps in his hand, ix. 76, 2 (*śūro na dhatte āyudhā gabhastyoḥ*), are sharp and terrible, ix. 61, 30 (*bhīmāni āyudhā tigmāni*), and his bow swift-darting, ix. 90, 3 (*tigmāyudhaḥ kshipradhanvā*). He is the slayer of Vṛitra, *vṛitrahan*, or *vṛitrahantama* (i. 95, 5; ix. 24, 6; ix. 25, 3; ix. 28, 3; x. 25, 9), and, like Indra, the destroyer of foes, and overthrower of cities, ix. 61, 2; ix. 88, 4 (*Indro na yo mahā karmāṇi chakrir hantā vṛitrāṇām asi Soma pūrbhit*). In ix. 5, 9, he appears to receive the epithet of *prajāpati*, lord of creatures. He is the creator and father of the gods, ix. 42, 4 (*krandan devān ajījanat*); ix. 86, 10 (*pitā devānāṁ janitā vibhuvasuḥ*); ix. 87, 2 (*pitā devānāṁ janitā sudakshaḥ*); ix. 109, 4; the generator of hymns, of Dyaus, of Pṛithivī, of Agni, of Sūrya, of Indra, and of Vishṇu, ix. 96, 5 (*Somaḥ pavate janitā matīnāṁ janitā Divo janitā Pṛithivyāḥ* | *janitā Agner janitā Sūryasya janitā Indrasya janitota Vishṇoḥ*). He dispels the darkness, i. 91, 22 (*tvaṁ jyotishā vi tamo vavartha*); ix. 66, 24 (*śukraṁ jyotir ajījanat* | *kṛishṇā tamāṁsi janghanat*), lights up the gloomy nights, vi. 39, 3 (*ayaṁ dyotayad adyuto vi aktūn*); and has created and lighted up the sun, the great luminary common to all mankind, vi. 44, 23 (*ayaṁ sūrye adadhāj jyotir antaḥ*); ix. 61, 16 (*pavamāno ajījanad divaś chitraṁ na tanyatum* | *jyotir vaiśvānaram bṛihat*); ix.

v5.c49.38.3

97, 41 (*ajanayat sūrye jyotir Induḥ*); ix. 107, 7 (*ā sūryaṁ rohayo divi*); ix. 110, 3 (*ajījano hi pavamāna Sūryam*). He stretched out the atmosphere, i. 91, 22 (*tvam ā tatantha uru antariksham*); vi. 47, 3 f.; and in concert with the Fathers (*Pitṛis*), the Sky and the Earth, viii. 48, 13 (*tvaṁ Soma pitṛi-* *bhiḥ saṁvidāno anu dyāvāpṛithivī ā tatantha*). He is the upholder of the sky and the sustainer of the earth, keeping the two apart, vi. 44, 24 (*ayaṁ dyāvāpṛithivī vi skabhāyat*); vi. 47, 5 (*ayaṁ mahān mahatā skambhanena ud dyām astabhnād vṛishabho marutvān*); ix. 87, 2 (*vishṭambho divo dharuṇaḥ pṛithivyāḥ*); ix. 89, 6; ix. 109, 6. He produced in the sacrifices the two divine worlds, which are kindly disposed to men, ix. 98, 9 (*sa vām yajneshu mānavī Indur janishṭa rodasī | devo devī*). He is king of gods and men, ix. 97, 24 (*rājā devānām uta martyānām*), elevated over all worlds [or beings] like the divine sun, ix. 54, 3 (*ayaṁ visvānī tishṭhati punāno bhuvanopari | somo devo na sūryaḥ*). All creatures are in his hand, ix. 89, 6 (*viśvāḥ uta kshitayo haste asya*).⁴⁰¹ His laws are like those of king Varuṇa, i. 91, 3; ix. 88, 8 (*rājno nu te Varuṇasya vratāni*); and he is prayed to forgive their violation, and to be gracious as a father to a son, and to deliver from death, viii. 48, 9 (*yat te vayaṁ pramināma vratāni sa no mṛila sushakhā deva vasyah*); x. 25, 3 (*uta vratāni Soma te pra aham mināmi pākyā |

v5.c49.38.4

adha piteva sūnave vi vo made mṛila no abhi chid vadhād vivakshase*). He is thousand-eyed, ix. 60, 1, 2 (*sahasrachakshas*), and sees and knows all creatures, and hurls the irreligious into the abyss, ix. 73, 8 (*vidvān sa viśvā bhuvanā 'bhi paśyati ava ajushtān vidhyati karte avratān*); and guards the lives of all moving beings as a cowherd tends his cattle, x. 25, 6 (*paśuṁ na Soma rakshasi purutrā vishṭhitaṁ jagat | samākṛiṇoshi jīvase vi vo made viśvā sampaśyan bhuvanā vivakshase*). He is the chief and most fiery of the formidable, the most heroic of heroes, the most bountiful of the beneficent, and as a warrior he is always victorious,⁴⁰² ix. 66, 16 (*mahān asi *soma jyeshṭhaḥ ugrāṇām Indo ojishṭhaḥ | yudhvā san śaśvad jigetha* | 17. *Yaḥ ugrebhyaś chid ojīyān śūrebhyaś chit śūrataraḥ | bhūridābhyaś chid maṁhīyān*). He conquers for his worshippers cows, chariots, horses, gold, heaven, water,—a thousand desirable things, ix. 78, 4 (*gojin naḥ somo rathajid hiraṇyajit svarjid abjit pavate sahasrajit*), and every thing, viii. 68, 1 (*viśvajit*). He is a wise rishi, viii. 68, 1 (*ṛishir vipraḥ kāvyena*); strong, skilful, omniscient, prolific, glorious, i. 91, 2 (*tvaṁ Soma kratubhiḥ sukratur bhūs tvaṁ dakshaiḥ sudaksho viśvavedāḥ | tvaṁ vṛishā vṛishatvebhir mahitvā dyumnebhir dyumnī abhavo nṛichakshāḥ*). He is the priest of the gods, the leader of poets, a rishi among sages, a bull among wild animals, a falcon among kites, an axe in the woods, ix.

v5.c49.38.5

96, 6 (*brahmā devānām padavīḥ kavīnām ṛishir viprāṇām mahisho mṛigāṇām | śyeno gṛidhrāṇāṁ svadhitis vanānām*). He is an unconquerable protector from enemies; i. 91, 21 (*ashāḷhaṁ yutsu pṛitanāsu paprim*); x. 25, 7 (*tvaṁ naḥ Soma viśvato gopāḥ adābhyo bhava | sedha rājann apa sridhaḥ*). If he desires that his votaries shall live, they do not die, i. 91, 6 (*tvaṁ cha soma no vaśo jīvātuṁ na marāmahe*). In viii. 48, 7, he is prayed to prolong their lives, as the sun the days (*Soma rājan pra naḥ āyūṁshi tārīr ahānīva sūryo vāsarāṇi*). In x. 59, 4, he is prayed not to abandon the worshipper to death (*mo shu naḥ soma mṛityave parā dāḥ*). The friend of a god like him cannot suffer, i. 91, 8 (*na rishyet tvātavaḥ sakhā*). The friendship and intimacy of such a god is eagerly desired, ix. 66, 18 (*vṛiṇīmahe sakhyāya vṛiṇīmahe yujyāya*). In x. 30, 5, he is said to rejoice in the society of the waters, as a man in that of beautiful young women (*yābhiḥ somo modate harshate cha kalyāṇībhir yuvatibhir na maryaḥ*).

v5.c49.39

⁴⁰¹ Compare some additional passages quoted in the 4th vol. of this work, p. 98 f.

v5.c49.40

⁴⁰² In ix. 96, 16, 19, his weapons are referred to; in vi. 44, 22, he is said to have robbed his malignant father of his weapons and his magical devices (*ayaṁ svasya pitur āyudhāni Indur amushṇād aśivasya māyāḥ*). It is related in the Ait. Br. i. 14, that there was formerly war between the gods and the Asuras. They fought together in the east, south, west, and north, and in all these quarters the Asuras were victorious. In the north-east, however, the gods were not overcome, for that is "the unconquerable region." The gods ascribed their former defeats to the fact of their having no king, and agreed to make Soma their monarch, after which they were victorious on all the points of the compass (*Devāsurāḥ vai eshu lokeshu samayatanta | tataḥ etasyām prāchyām diśi ayatanta | tāṁs tato 'surāḥ ajayan | .... te udīchyām prāchyām diśi ayatanta | te tato na parājayanta | sā eshā dig aparājitā | .... te devāḥ abruvann "arājatayā vai no jayanti | rājānaṁ karavāmahai" iti | "tathā" iti | te somaṁ rājānam akurvan | te somena rājnā sarvāḥ diśo 'jayan*).

v5.c49.41

(7) *Soma associated with other gods.

v5.c49.42

Soma is associated with Agni as an object of adoration in i. 93, 1 ff. In verse 5 of that hymn those two gods are said to have placed the luminaries in the sky (*yuvam etāni divi rochanāni Agniś cha Soma sukratū adhattam*). In the same way Soma and Pūshan are conjoined in ii. 40, 1 ff., where various attributes and functions of a magnificent character are ascribed to them. Thus, in verse 1, they are said to be the generators of wealth, and of heaven and earth, to have been born the guardians of the whole universe, and to have been made by the gods the centre of immortality (*jananā rayīṇāṁ jananā divo jananā pṛithivyāḥ | jātau viśvasya bhuvanasya gopau devāḥ akṛiṇvann amṛitasya nābhim*). The one has made his abode in the sky, and the other on the earth, and in the atmosphere (verse 4). The one has produced all the worlds, and the other moves onward beholding all things (verse 5) (4. *Divi anyaḥ sadanaṁ chakre uchchā pṛithivyām anyo adhi antarikshe* | 5. *Viśvāni anyo bhuvanā jajāna viśvam anyo abhichakshāṇaḥ eti*). In vi. 72, and vii. 104, Soma and Indra are celebrated in company. In the first of these hymns they are said to dispel darkness, to destroy revilers, to bring the sun and the light, to prop up the sky with supports, and to have spread out mother earth (verse 1. *Yuvaṁ Sūryaṁ vividathur yuvaṁ svar viśvā tamāṁsi ahataṁ nidaś cha* | 2. *Vāsayathaḥ ushāsam ut sūryam nayatho jyotishā saha | upa dyāṁ skambhathuḥ skambhanena aprathatam pṛithivīm mātaraṁ vi*). In vii. 104, their vengeance is invoked against Rākshases, Yātudhānas, and other enemies.

v5.c49.43

Hymn vi. 74, is dedicated to the honour of Soma and Rudra conjointly. The two gods, who are said to be armed with sharp weapons (*tigmāyudhau tigmāhetī*) are there supplicated for blessings to man and beast, for healing remedies, and for deliverance from sin (*śaṁ no bhūtaṁ dvipade śaṁ chatushpade | etāni asme viśvā tanūshu bheshajāni dhattam | ava syatam munchatam yan no asti tanūshu baddham kṛitam eno asmat*).

v5.c49.44

(8) *Soma in the post-vedic age a name of the moon.

v5.c49.45

In the post-vedic age the name Soma came to be commonly applied to the moon and its regent. Even in the Rig-veda, some traces of this application seem to be discoverable. Thus in x. 85, 2 ff. (which, however, Professor Roth regards as of comparatively modern date: Ill. of Nir. p. 147), there appears to be an allusion to the double sense of the word: 2. *Somenādityāḥ balinaḥ Somena pṛithivī mahī | atho nakshattrāṇām eshām upasthe Somaḥ āhitaḥ* | 3. *Somaṁ manyate papivān yat sampiṁshanti oshadhīm | Somaṁ yam brahmāṇo vidur na tasyāśnāti kaśchana* | 4. *Āchhadvidhānair gupito bārhataiḥ Soma rakshitaḥ | grāvnām it śṛinvan tishṭhasi na te aśnāti pārthivaḥ* | 5. *Yat tvā devāḥ prapibanti tataḥ āpyāyase punaḥ | Vāyuḥ Somasya rakshitā samānām māsaḥ ākṛitiḥ* | “2. By Soma the Ādityas are strong; by Soma the earth is great; and Soma is placed in the centre of these stars. 3. When they crush the plant, he who drinks regards it as Soma. Of him whom the priests regard as Soma (the moon) no one drinks. 4. Protected by those who shelter thee, and preserved by thy guardians,⁴⁰³ thou, Soma, hearest the sound of the crushing-stones; but no earthly being tastes thee. 5. When the gods drink thee, o god, thou increasest again. Vāyu is the guardian of Soma: the month is a part of the years.”⁴⁰⁴ In the Atharva-veda the following half-verse occurs, xi, 6, 7: *Somo mā devo munchatu yam āhuś chandramāḥ iti* | “May the god Soma free me, he whom they call the moon.” And in the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa, i. 6, 4, 5; xi. 1, 3, 2; xi. 1, 3, 4, and xi. 1, 4, 4, we have the words: *Esha vai Somo rājā devānām annaṁ yat chandramāḥ* | “This king Soma, who is the moon, is the food of the gods.” Similarly in xi. 1, 3, 5: *chandramāḥ vai Somo devānām annam* | “Soma is the moon, the food of the gods.” See also i. 6, 3, 24: *Sūryaḥ eva āgneyaḥ | chandramāḥ saumyaḥ* | “The sun has the nature of Agni, the moon of Soma;” and xii. 1, 1, 2: *Somo vai chandramāḥ* | “Soma is the moon.” In v. 3, 3, 12, and in ix. 4, 3, 16, Soma is said to be the king of the Brāhmans (*Somo ’smākam brāhmaṇānāṁ rājā*). In the Vishṇu Purāṇa (book i. chap. 22, p. 85 of Wilson’s translation, vol. 2, Dr. Hall’s ed.) the double character of Soma is indicated in these words: “Brahmā appointed Soma to be monarch of the stars and planets, of Brāhmans and of plants, of sacrifices and of austere devotions” (*nakshattra-graha-viprāṇāṁ vīrudhāṁ chāpy aśeshataḥ | Somaṁ rājye dadau Brahmā yajnānāṁ tapasām api*).

v5.c49.46

⁴⁰³ The word so rendered is *bārhataiḥ*. In the Lexicon of Böhtlingk and Roth, *s.v.*, its sense is said to be doubtful. Professor Weber (Ind. St. v. 178 ff. where these verses, with the rest of the hymn in which they occur, is translated and annotated) renders it “lofty ones” (Erhabene). Langlois makes it “overseers.” The moon is mentioned again in verses 18 and 19. In R.V. viii. 71, 8, Soma sparkling in the cups is compared to the moon shining on the waters (*yo apsu chandramāḥ iva somas' chamūshu dadṛiśe | piba id asya tvam īśishe*). See Professor Benfey’s note on R.V. i. 84, 15, in his Orient and Occident, ii. 246.

v5.c49.47

⁴⁰⁴ Weber and Langlois take *māsaḥ* for a nominative. Böhtlingk and Roth cite the passage under *mās*, thus making it a genitive.

Linked texts (9)