Soman (सोमन्).—m. 1) The moon. 1) Soman (सोमन्):—[from soma] m. one who presses or prepares Soma, [Ṛg-veda; Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska; Nirukta, by Yāska]
Tamil dictionary Sōmaṉ (ஸோமன்) noun < sōma.1. Śiva; சிவபிரான். [sivapiran.] 1. 3. Man's cloth. See சோமன் [soman], 10. 4. Kubera. See சோமன் [soman], 3. 5. A Vasu. See சோமன் [soman], K R IRS 12525 On Mon, 12 May 2025 at 17:29, APS Mani <[email protected]> wrote: > In short, what is Panchagacham is soman for us! Thanks, Mani > > On Mon, May 12, 2025 at 4:26 PM Rajaram Krishnamurthy < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> In Sanskrit and Hinduism, "soman" (सोमन्) has multiple meanings, >> primarily related to Soma, the moon, or a Soma sacrificer. It can also >> refer to a plant, Śiva, or Kubera, depending on the context. Additionally, >> related terms like Somanātha (Śrī Somanātha, the shrine of Śiva, or the god >> of the moon) and Somanandin (an attendant of Śiva) exist. >> >> Moon: The word "soman" can be interpreted as the moon itself. >> >> Soma Sacrificer: It can refer to someone who practices the Vedic ritual >> involving the Soma drink, the "Soma sacrificer". >> >> Plant: "Soman" can also refer to a plant, specifically Valeriana >> jatamansi in Nepal, >> >> Other Meanings: "Soman" can also be associated with Śiva, Kubera, or a >> particular kind of cloth, depending on the specific context. >> >> Somanātha: This term refers to the sacred shrine of Śiva, >> particularly one known as Śrī Somanātha, and is also associated with the >> worship of the moon >> >> This is the name of a gaṇa (attendant) of Śiva, mentioned in the >> Skandapurāṇa, >> >> In essence, "soman" is a rich Sanskrit term with a variety of meanings, >> primarily related to Vedic rituals, the moon, and specific deities in the >> Hindu pantheon. >> >> Soma (सोम).—A son born of Atri's eyes; honoured at birth by Śiva and >> Uma; borne for 300 years by dik (directions) and when released became an >> aṃśa of Brahmā who took him in his Vedic chariot of 1000 horses to his loka >> where Brahmaṛṣis adored him as their king and was praised by mantras; >> nourished the crying Māriṣā in her babyhood with nectar; presented Pṛthu >> with undying horses.1 Appealed to Pracetas not to destroy trees and offered >> their daughter Vārkṣī in marriage to him, married the twenty-seven >> daughters of Dakṣa; Kṛttikā and other stars as his wives; cursed by Dakṣa >> he had no issue and was struck with disease propitiated Dakṣa and >> recovered. Appointed by Brahmā as Lord of Plants, Brahmans and stars; >> worshipped for a life of enjoyments; also called Rājā; father of Budha; got >> rid of his consumption by bathing in the Prabhāsā; worshipped largely in >> Śālmalidvīpa; conquered three worlds and took Tārā, Bṛhaspati's wife by >> force. Tārā who was pregnant was given back to Bṛhaspati through the >> intervention of Brahmā. This was Budha. >> >> Somā (सोमा) is another name for Somavallī, a medicinal plant identified >> with Sarcostemma brevistigma (synonym of Sarcostemma acidum or leafless >> east-Indian vine) from the Apocynaceae or “dog-away” family of flowering >> plants, according to verse 3.98-99 of the 13th-century Raj Nighantu or >> Rājanighaṇṭu. The third chapter (guḍūcyādi-varga) of this book contains >> climbers and creepers (vīrudh). Together with the names Somā and Somavallī, >> there are a total of eleven Sanskrit synonyms identified for this plant. >> >> Soma (सोम) refers to one of the twelve yugas of Jupiter’s cycle, >> according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 8), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work >> written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian >> astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “The twelve yugas of Jupiter’s >> cycle are known as belonging to the Devas 1. Viṣṇu, 2. Jupiter, 3. Indra, >> 4. Agni (fire), 5. Tvaṣṭā, 6. Ahirbudhnya, 7. The Pitṛs, 8. Vāsudeva, 9. >> Soma (the Moon), 10. Indrāgni, 11. Aśvinideva, 12. Bhaga (the Sun)”. >> >> Soma (सोम) refers to the Moon, according to the grahaśānti (cf. >> grahayajña) section of the Yājñavalkyasmṛti (1.295-309), preceded by the >> section called vināyakakalpa (1.271-294), prescribing a rite to be offered >> to Vināyaka.—[Names of grahas]—The nine grahas are enumerated in the >> week-day order plus Rāhu and Ketu. This verse is indispensable since in the >> rest of this section this order is presupposed and the nine grahas are >> referred to only by this order instead of by their names. The names are >> standard ones: Sūrya (Sun), Soma (Moon), Mahīputra (the son of the earth, >> i.e., Mars), Somaputra (the son of the Moon, i.e., Mercury), Bṛhaspati >> (Jupiter), Śukra (Venus), Śanaiścara (Saturn), Rāhu, and Ketu. >> >> Soma (सोम) represents the number 1 (one) in the “word-numeral system” >> (bhūtasaṃkhyā), which was used in Sanskrit texts dealing with astronomy, >> mathematics, metrics, as well as in the dates of inscriptions and >> manuscripts in ancient Indian literature. —A system of expressing numbers >> by means of words arranged as in the place-value notation was developed and >> perfected in India in the early centuries of the Christian era. In this >> system the numerals [e.g., 1—soma] are expressed by names of things, beings >> or concepts, which, naturally or in accordance with the teaching of the >> Śāstras, connote numbers. >> >> Rig Veda 1.135.6 >> >> इमे वां सोमा अप्स्वा सुता इहाध्वर्युभिर्भरमाणा अयंसत वायो शुक्रा अयंसत । >> एते वामभ्यसृक्षत तिरः पवित्रमाशवः । युवायवोऽति रोमाण्यव्यया सोमासो >> अत्यव्यया ॥ >> ime vāṃ somā apsv ā sutā ihādhvaryubhir bharamāṇā ayaṃsata vāyo śukrā >> ayaṃsata | ete vām abhy asṛkṣata tiraḥ pavitram āśavaḥ | yuvāyavo 'ti >> romāṇy avyayā somāso aty avyayā || >> >> “These Soma <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/soma#hinduism>, >> poured out in our rites, and borne by the priests, are prepared for you >> both; the pure Soma, Vāyu >> <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vayu#hinduism> (and Indra >> <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/indra#hinduism>), are prepared; >> these pervading (effusions) have passed through the oblique filter for you >> both; the Soma intended for you both, pass through the woolly fleece; the >> inexhaustible soma.” >> >> *Commentary by Sāyaṇa: Ṛgveda-bhāṣya* >> >> Abhyasṛkṣata tiraḥ <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/tira#history> >> pavitram: >> pavitram is a term applied to bundle of kuśa >> <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kusha#hinduism> grass, which is >> supposed to purify the Soma or the butter poured upon it; it is here >> explained the receiver of the Soma plural ced slopingly or obliquely, or a >> filter or a strainer made of wool >> <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/wool#history>. atiromāṇyavyayā >> somāso atyavyayā: Soma having gone through (ati) the unclipped (avyayāni >> for acchinnāni) hairs; or, avyaya >> <https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/avyaya#hinduism> = avimayāni, made >> from the sheep, sheep's wool; fall into the vessel that receives them; in >> the second occurrence, avyayā = unexpended, unexhausted. >> >> Association of Soma with other Gods >> >> In the Rigveda the Soma hold the third position following Indra and Agni, >> from the point of view of the total number hymns dedicated to them. The >> Gods were originally mortal[1]. For immortality was bestowed on them by >> Savita[2] or by Agni. They are also said to have obtained it by drinking >> Soma, which is called the principle of immortality[3]. The benevolence of >> the Gods resembles that of human being recited while the Soma is pressed, >> the offering is cast in the fire and priests attend to the intricate >> details of the ritual. The beverage of the Gods is Soma. The abode of the >> Gods is variously described as heaven, the third heaven, or the highest >> step of Vishnu, where they live a joyous life exhilarated by Soma. Soma is >> an all powerful God. It is he who gives strength to Indra and enables him >> to conquer his enemy Vritra, the snake of darkness. He is further, like >> Vishnu, Indra and Varuna;the supporter of heaven and earth, and of gods and >> men. Therefore, Soma is closely associated with all other Gods. >> >> Indra’s excessive love for the Soma drink is beyond controversy. He is >> the best drinker of Soma; full with Soma his belly swells like the >> ocean[4]. He proceeds towards the Soma libation with the same urge as the >> horse approaches the mare. The more Indra is in the rapture of Soma the >> more he showers wealth in the form of cows, etc. to his worshippers. >> Invigorated by Soma, Indra fights his enemies, kills them and devastates >> their cities. When Indra is entangled in long battles, his wife also offers >> the Soma drink to him in the house. Invigorated by Soma Indra exhibits his >> martial feats; in the battlefield he enjoys Soma the best. Stimulated by >> Soma he destroys ninetynine ramparts of Shambara[5]. The strongest of >> Indra’s enemies was Vritra. He became competent to kill him after being >> invigorated by Soma. Indra’s fried Agni (according to Sayana) cooked three >> hundred buffaloes and prepared three pools of Soma for him in order to >> render him strong enough to kill Vritra[6]. After consuming all this he >> killed Ahi and released the rivers[7]. The refrain, ‘somasya ta made >> indrash cakara’[8] in the exhilaration of Soma Indra did all these, >> signifies the important part played by Soma in the Indra-myth. >> >> Indra drank Soma just after his birth[9]. Indra drank the ambrosia >> (piyusa) which he had desired and which was hidden in the mountain; his >> mother gave Soma the infant as the first thing to drink in her parental >> home (according to Sayana, even before she gave him breast milk she gave >> him Soma[10] ); Soma was brought to him from heaven by the hawk (syena). >> ‘Indra found the Soma from heaven kept in a hidden place as the nestling of >> the birds is kept in vast endless rocks’. The bird in mental speed went >> across the city made of ayas reached heaven and brought Soma for the vajra >> holder. >> >> Indra is somapah somapabnam[11] ‘the Soma drinker of Soma drinkers’. He >> is enriched by the Soma drink—somavriddha[12]. He is the best Soma >> drinker—somapatama[13] and he is the lord of Soma—somapati[14]. Indra is >> the only Deity to enjoy all the three oblations and the midday oblation was >> solely for him (madhyandinam savanam caru yat te)[15]. >> >> Soma has an intimately close connection with Agni because of the equality >> that is drawn between its inebriating qualities and the subtlety of flames >> respectively. Both Soma and Agni were major rituals described in the >> Rigveda, therefore, they were both distinctly connected in their roles >> regarding communication with the other vedic Deities. Agni in ancient >> Indian myth is seen as the ‘God of Fire’. And as fire is associated with >> earthly occurrences, so too is Agni linked with the terrestrial realm; >> where he is the most important Deity in the terrestrial hierarchy. But not >> only is he the most powerful Deity in the terrestrial realm, but is also >> one of the most powerful Vedic Gods in general. He is seen as the destroyer >> of darkness and the force that drive away the demons at night. He is >> consider the ‘messenger of the Gods’. He is the one who is responsible for >> the delivery of rituals to the Gods. But besides being just a courier, he >> is also portrayed as the devourer of the rituals. Agni is the fire of >> ritual and this is s mediator between men and the Gods and Soma is the >> hallucinogenic drink of the ritual. >> >> Varuna is the most prominent of the celestial Deities. He is very closely >> associated with the Soma, in Soma’s incarnation as the drink of the Gods. >> Varuna is one of the most important of the Vedic Gods. Varuna is the keeper >> of the cosmic order, a force called rita. It is rita which keeps everything >> working as it should, and Varuna’s role as the one who governs rita makes >> him very important indeed. >> >> Varuna sits on the strewn grass at the ritual[16], and like other Gods he >> and Mitra drink Soma[17]. Nor are spices peculiar to Varuna and Mitra, for >> they are also attributed to Agni, to Soma[18]. Varuna placed fire in the >> waters, the Sun in the sky, Soma on the rock[19]. He is connected with the >> waters as Soma with the mountain[20]. As a divine father he sheds >> rain-waters[21]. Varuna or the Adityas are sometimes called guardians of >> order (ritasya gopa), but this term is also applied to Agni and Soma. >> >> Gandharva is moreover, in the Rigveda often associated with Soma. He >> guards the place of Soma and protects the races of the Gods[22]. Observing >> all the forms of Soma, he stands on the vault of heaven[23]. Together with >> Parjanya and the daughter of the Sun, the Gandharvas cherish Soma[24]. >> >> Through Gandharva’s mouth the Gods drink their draught[25]. The >> Mai.Sam[26] states that the Gandharvas kept Soma for the Gods, but having >> allowed it to be stolen, were as a punishment excluded from the Soma >> draught. Doubtless owing to this association with Soma, Gandharva is >> described as knowing plants[27]. It is probably as a jealous guardian of >> Soma that Gandharva in the Rigveda appears as a hostile being, who is >> pierced by Indra in the regions of air[28] or whom Indra is invoked to >> overcome. For in a later text Soma is besought to elude the Gandharva >> Vishvavasu in the form of an eagle[29]. Soma is further said to have dwelt >> among the Gandharvas or to have been stolen by the Gandharva Vishvavasu, >> but to have been bought from the Gandharvas, as they were fond of females, >> at the price of the Goddess Vac[30] . Moreover, the archer Krishanu, who >> shoots at the eagle that carries off the Soma[31], appears to be a >> Gandharva, being expressly said to be one in Tai. Ar.[32]. >> >> Gandharva is some times connected with the waters. Soma poured into water >> is called ‘the Gandharva of waters’[33]. The union of Gandharva with the >> water nymph is typical of marriage. He is, therefore, connected with the >> wedding ceremony and the unmarried maiden is said to belong to Gandharva as >> well as to Soma and Agni[34]. >> >> Maruts are also associated with Soma. In rituals the Maruts are offered >> with the usual Soma libation, sometimes independently, sometimes with Agni >> and other Gods and mostly with Indra. “May the Maruts who are of one mind >> come to the Soma offering like a flock of swans[35]. Soma is pressed >> between the two stones for the Maruts”. The Maruts are the regular enjoyers >> of the midday Soma libation[36] along with Indra and with other Gods as >> well. >> >> Maruts are several times called singers in the Rigveda. They are the >> singers of heaven. They sing the praises while drinking the intoxicating >> Soma and they also know the previous heroic deeds of the hero[37]. In >> Rigveda, the poet praises the Maruts for the songs sung (by them) and >> generating the might in Indra (indriyam)[38]. Later in the same hymn they >> are said to have cleft open the (of Vala) while blowing the pipe and >> praised for having performed heroic deeds after consuming large quantities >> of Soma, made Somasya ranyani cakrire. The Maruts praised Indra and pressed >> Soma for him, when he killed Ahi Vritra. It seems that the Maruts were >> equipped with a group of poets well versed in the art of composing and >> singing the praises of warriors on the battle field in order to rouse their >> vehemence and fire con cess, >> >> God Vishnu is associated with Soma. During the Ᾱtithya-ishti of the Soma >> ritual which is dedicated to him[39], before the Upasad[40], during the >> Udavasaniya of the same. Of the Aikadashina animals one belongs to Vishnu >> and one to Indra-Vishnu. Elsewhere distinction is made between three types >> of Vishnu: Vishnu, Vishnu urukrama, Vishnu uruga and these are >> characterized by the offering of different animals[41]. Vishnu appears like >> a yajamana who presses the Soma for Indra. It is true that at several >> places in the Ninth Mandala of Rigveda he is mentioned beside the Gods, >> particularly next to Indra, as a partaker of the Soma draught[42]. On the >> fourth day of the Ashvamedha, the section intended for recitation begins >> with the words, somo vaisnavah. It is said in Shatapatha Brahmana: vishna >> urugayaisha te Somas tam rakshasva ma tva dabhann iti yajna vai Vishnus tad >> yajnayaivaitat paridadati[43]. >> >> Vishnu is introduced into Soma ritual only through Indra. When associated >> with Indra as a dual divinity, Vishnu shares Indra’s powers of drinking >> Soma. Owing to this friendship Indra drinks Soma beside Vishnu[44] and >> thereby increases his strength[45]. Indra drank the Soma pressed by Vishnu >> in three cups[46]. The little attention paid to the God is all the more >> striking since during the Soma ritual Vishnu is not at all mentioned in the >> verses, but he is drawn into association in this ritual, as in others[47] >> with various implements, particularly with the Havirdhana cart[48]. At the >> individual parts of the cart or of the hut, mantras are recited which >> contain Vishnu’s name[49]. Offerings are made on both the wheel tracks of >> the cart with verses addressed to Vishnu[50]. Agni and Vishnu are >> worshipped often outside the Diksha of the Soma ritual also. As early as in >> the Atharva Veda[51] they are spoken of as guarding ghritasya guhyasya >> nama. One who wishes to practise or avert witchcraft is advised to offer a >> purodasa for the two Gods[52]. >> >> Brihaspati or Bramhanaspati is also associated with God Soma. He, like >> Indra, is called the Soma drinker. His most important achievement is that >> he causes the Sun and the Moon to ascend alternately—a deed not done by any >> other God. The specific quality of Brihaspati of causing the Sun and the >> Moon to rise alternately has reference to his abstract and concrete >> functions. The motor centre of speech is the storehouse of spoken and seen >> words. They must rise to consciousness as thoughts before they are >> expressed in speech. The material areas of speech in the brain do not >> themselves originate words which are located there. It is through the >> agency of Soma that thoughts are brought to consciousness, in the Rigveda >> Soma is called the ‘awakener of thought’[53] ; he is said to stimulate >> voice, which he impels as the rower does his boat[54]. He is even called >> ‘Lord of speech’, vacaspati[56]. It seems, according to the Rigveda idea, >> that Soma has a definite connection with the conscious expression of >> speech. Soma as the cerebrospinal fluid must ascend to exert a certain >> amount of rhythmic pressure on the motor-speech centre to evolve speech. In >> fact, all the creative acts of Indra and Brihaspati are ascribed to Soma. >> He is the exciter of conscious movements. >> >> The twin divine physicians, the Ashvins, hold an important position in >> the Vedic pantheon. In the Rigveda the Ashvins hold the fourth position >> following Indra, Agni and Soma, from the point of view of the total number >> of hymns dedicated to them. The Rigveda singers generously offer Soma >> libation to the Ashvins. For about fifty times they have been offered Soma >> in fifty one hymns dedicate to them. Along with other words of invocation >> in which they had been offered Soma libation five times they had been >> invoked with the prayer, pibatam somyam madhu[55], thrice with, somam >> pibatam Ashvina[57], twice with patam somam ritavridha[58], one with, >> pibatam somyam madhumantam Ashvina[59] and once with, pibatha inmadhunah >> somyasya[60]. A deliberation on the Ashvinas without referring to their >> close relation with madhu is simply impossible. Of the many epithets of the >> Ashvins that are found in the Rigveda a few are madhuvarna[61] ‘honey >> coloured’, madhupau[62] ‘drinkers of honey’, madhvi[63] ‘honeyed’. >> >> The Ashvins had been deprived of the right to the Soma libation and that >> later they regained that right has been recorded for the first time in the >> Taittiriya Samhita[64] and then in later literature. In the Taittiriya >> Samhita we learn for the first time that the Ashvins had been denied the >> right to the Soma drink on the ground that they were doctors and that they >> had mixed much among men and have become impious; the Ashvins, however, >> established themselves to that much coveted right by dint of their own >> merit. >> >> It is mentioned in Taittiriya Samhita: >> >> yajnasya siro cchidyata te deva ashvinav abruvan bhisajau vai stah idam >> yajnasya sirah prati dhattam iti tav abrutam varam vrinavahai graha eva nav >> atrapi grihyatam iti tabhyam etam ashvinam agrihnan tato vai yajnasya sirah >> prattyadhattam yad ashvino grihate yajnasya niskrityai tau deva abruvan >> aputau va imaumanusyacarau bhisajav iti[65]. >> >> There exists a special relationship between Soma and Surya. The verses of >> Rigveda tell us of the meeting of Soma and the Goddess, the daughter of >> Surya[66]. What is most significant is the commingling of the voices of >> Soma, Surya and the priests. There is, moreover, a kind of linkage or >> relation between the God and the Goddess, which is coupled with a mode of >> progression. Soma begins a process by setting the word in motion. Surya who >> is endowed with the rava is like an incamation of Vak. It is known that >> Soma is also vacaspati. Besides, Soma is patir gavam. Vak and the milk of >> the cows can go very well together for some reason according to another >> verse of the hymn, although Vak is not mentioned by name[67]. >> >> Various individual Gods are said to have produced the Sun. Indra-Soma >> brought up Surya with light[68]. Soma placed light in the Sun[69], >> generated Surya[70] , caused him to shine[71] or raised him in heaven[72]. >> >> Rudra, Lord of Yoga, who restores the wholeness of the absolute. Rudra >> heals the ills of mortals with the remedies that he himself created in the >> waters into which he plunged when Brahma had asked him to create mortals. >> Rather than creating mortals, fallible by nature and prone to disease, he >> chose to do tapas and create the herbs and plants that would be their >> medicine. Rudra is associated only with Soma in a quite indifferent hymn. >> VI.74, of the Rigveda and in some wish fulfilment rituals performed for >> attaining progeny, for warding off diseases etc[73]. In the case of the >> caru for a sick person, the Hotri is led blindfolded into the forest and >> then the bandages are removed a caru for Brahmavarcas, for which the milk >> of a white cow with a white calf is used, is offered behind an enclosure. >> >> Rudra holds the arrow in one hand and a plant or a water vessel in the >> other. He holds the destructive and the vitalizing fire that pulsates in >> water and plants and heals. It was Soma himself, Soma who is God, plant and >> elixir of life, who revealed to a Rigveda poet the healing power of the >> waters[74] and the plants. Soma, the elixir of life, the drink of >> immortality, was pressed from a plant. Soma the God arose from the drink >> and inspired the poet-seers. From far away, the plant was brought to man by >> a falcon[75]. Krishanu, the archer, by an infinitesimal fraction of time >> had failed to pierce with his arrow the falcon who had raped the Soma and >> who, with the Soma plant clutched in his claw, precipitated himself toward >> the world of man. Krishanu could not prevent the immortal God from coming >> within the reach of those who would witness his presence on earth by their >> songs, which he inspired. Nor could be prevent the balm of Soma from >> healing mortal ills. The elixir of life inspires the seers, heals the sick, >> and assuages the ills of life. Soma and Rudra are healers. Rudra heals with >> the remedies that he has created for the ills that he has inflicted on man. >> These medicine heal the ills of mortals whose coming into existence Rudra >> failed to prevent. >> >> Soma and Rudra are invoked together in one and the same hymn of the >> Rigveda[76]. They are dual divinities, co-operative powers. No other God is >> ever associated with or takes part on equal terms in Rudra’s being domain. >> ‘Soma is the bestower of seed; Agni is the begether of affspring’[77]. In >> as much as Rudra is Agni, they co-operate in the very field that Rudra, the >> wild hunter, meant to be nonexistent. Whereas life has come into existence, >> Rudra and Soma conjointly heal the ills of the body and free it from guilt. >> Sickness is only a consequence of sin. Soma, the elixir of immortality, is >> the hidden essence of Tvashtri. Tvashtri is a name of the Father. He does >> not create per generation but per artem. Soma, the elixir of immortality, >> is stored in a wondrous container, the Moon[78]. The Moon vessel goes on >> changing its shape cyclically, within its own limits. The changes measure >> time, from the shape of the crescent to the full disc that dwindles, >> disappears, and shows again as crescent, repeating the same sequence of >> shapes time after time. The Moon is a mystic container, a vessel from which >> the Gods and the dead, the ancestors, drink Soma, the ever-refilling water >> of life, of immortality[79]. On his head Shiva carries the crescent Moon, >> symbol of the renewal of vegetative life, of recurrent time and the abode >> of the dead. Thus the Moon is the lord of plants, luminous vessel of Soma >> and one with Soma, who himself from ancient times is their king. Rudra >> heals the wounds he inflicts. When he frees the body of man from sickness, >> it is guilt from which he liberates him. Sickness is seen as a consequence >> of sin, Rudra-Soma, the healers of the ills of the body; also free the mind >> from the concerns of the body[80]. Soma, the drink of immortality >> transports the seer into the regions of the Gods, where he seer into the >> regions of the Gods, where he sees them face to face. Rudra, the thousand >> eyed God, puts into the right hand to the seer an herb that makes him see >> everything—the three heavens, the three earths and all existences down to >> the sorcerers and the ghouls[81]. >> >> The Gandharva Krishanu aimed his arrow from on high so as to prevent the >> Soma, which had been raped by the falcons from being brought down to man on >> earth. Rudra let fly his arrow against the Father, who was engaged in the >> procreative act. Rudra avenged the infringement of pre-existential >> wholeness, but didnot prevent the seed of the Father from falling down to >> earth. Soma and semen had the same fate and destination. The semen of the >> Father was to bring about the life of man on earth and its continuity. Soma >> was to raise man to a level of inspiration so high that from it the fated >> descent of Soma and that of the semen of Father Heaven could be intuited. >> From the high peaks of vision would appear a panorama of many paths of >> ascent, by rituals to be performed and by inner realizations expressed in >> hymns and other works of art. Krishanu by his failure was instrumental in >> letting Soma and inspiration come to man; Rudra, in a time caused reverse >> effect of his intention, brought the life itself of mankind to this earth, >> and with it he brought time. At the first dawn of the world he rose, the >> fiery archer. >> >> The Apah or waters are associated with God Soma. The waters of the sea >> are compassed between heaven and earth. They are waters which have an >> aerial as well as terrestrial course. They flow in the wake of the Soma >> juice which is collected in vats as waters of the sea[82]. The streams of >> Saraswati and Sindhu have also the same course and may be identified with >> the Soma juice. The stream of Saraswati is said to be pure, flowing from >> the mountains; she fills the terrestrial regions and wide atmospheric space >> and occupies three abodes[83]. She is invoked to descend from the sky to >> the ritual[84]. The occupation of the three abodes by Saraswati cannot be >> taken to mean that her course runs through heaven, air and earth. The three >> abodes are the three vats from which Saraswati, identified with the Soma >> juice, is said to flow after purification. The dwelling of Soma with >> Vivasvat who is in close association with Indra, suggests that the seat of >> Vivasvat must be nearer Indra. This is the highest atmospheric region where >> it joins the vault of heaven. Another stream, personified as Sindhu, has >> the same abode. Soma and Sindhu must therefore be identical. Soma, Sindhu >> and Saraswati have a common above the atmosphere and not in heaven. It >> seems that Vedic bards of different periods personified a single stream >> with three different names. The waters of the sea are reinforced by the >> waters of the rivers which are seven in number. The stream Saraswati is >> said to have seven tributaries, who are sisters[85]. The tributaries of >> Sindhu are said to flow forward triply seven and seven[86]. Soma, too, has >> seven rives as sisters who nursed Soma when an infant[87]. >> >> Soma is associated with Parjanya. Parjanya is described as a >> selfdependent sovereign who rules over the world in which all beings and >> the three heavens are established together with the triply flowing waters. >> He is the bull the impregnates everything, and in him is the soul that >> moves and stands in the Rigveda world. The three reservoirs that pour their >> treasures around Parjanya are the three vats through which the Soma juice >> flows when purified. One peculiarity of this Deity is his lack of >> initiative for he is goaded to activity by the Maruts, Vritra, Varuna and >> Soma to shed rain[88], his most prominent characteristic. >> >> He is, therefore, said to dispose of his body according to his own wish. >> Mitra and Varuna i.e. the cerebro-spinal fluid surrounding the whole of the >> nervous system, and Soma, as the cerebro-spinal fluid within it, behave >> like Maruts and force Parjanya to discharge rain in the form of efferent >> impulses. Their activity is orderly and incessnt. The magic of Varuna’s >> power is said to rest in heaven (the brain). He makes the inverted cask >> (the outer convex surface of the brain) pour waters in heaven, earth, air >> and moistens the ground. Soma, too, as it flows along the three reservoirs, >> behaves like stormy winds and drops of Soma, as they speed along from >> heaven and air towards the earth[89], excite Parjanya to discharge his >> contents, for he is said to produce waters and cause heaven and earth to >> rain[90]. The Vedic rishis have thus assigned a very important function to >> the cerebro-spinal fluid circulating within and around the central nervous >> system as an excitant of reflex activity. The variations of pressure >> between them perhaps have something to do with exiciting the reflex >> activity. Varuna, the cerebro-spinal fluid outside the central nervous >> system, by exerting pressure on the cortical layer of the brain can only >> excite voluntary activity, as rain which may spread along the whole length >> of the nervous system and cause movement to occur. Soma, the cerebro-spinal >> fluid within the nervous system, exerts a constant rhythmic pressure on the >> masses of grey matter that line the cavity of the nervous system and they, >> as Parjanya, are stimulated to nourish and poduce vegetation in the form of >> independent nerve-units of the autonomic nervous system which keeps up that >> incessant activity of the vital organs necessary for the activity and life >> of the body. >> >> Soma is also associated with Yama. Soma is pressed for Yama, ghee is >> offered to him[91] and he is besought to come to the ritual and place >> himself on the seat[92]. Yama is invoked to lead his worshippers to the >> Gods and to prolong life[93]. >> >> Along with Varuna, the Ashvina, Yama and Pushan, king Soma is also prayed >> to far deliverance from death and to save the worshipper from the south—the >> quater of Yama[94]. In the other world he who cooks the vistarin >> brahmaudana (rice for the Brahmin priest at a ritual) lives with Yama >> delighting himself in the company of the Apsaras (nymphs) who are connected >> with Soma[95]. The Mai.Sam calls Soma the God of the Fathers, thus >> indirectly identifying him with Yama; Candramas (i.e. Soma, the Moon) is >> called the eye of the Fathers[96]. The Tai. Br. says very clearly that Yama >> resides in the heart of the Moon, thus establishing his lunar >> bearings[105]. The Shat.Br. frequently calls the Fathers Soma vantah or >> states the reverse, i.e. calls Soma Pitrimat[97]. This confirms Yama’s >> relationship with Soma, for Yama is the God of Fathers, par excellence. >> Soma is used as an image of the chain of births and it seems possible that >> passages affirming faith in rebirth on the analogy of the Moon, which waxes >> and wanes periodically, give the underlying link through which the Moon >> became an image of transmigration of the soul, a path of the Fathers >> (Ritriyana) and an associate of Yama who supervises the soul’s course after >> death. The Tai.Br. equates the mythical hero in the Moon with Yama[98]. At >> the offering of Pindapitri yajna to the Fathers Soma is invoked as >> Kavyavahana, bearer of the libation, usually an epithet of Agni. Soma is >> always invoked in connection with the rituals for the ancestors. When we >> called Yama a lunar God, his connection with Soma becomes fundamental and >> where ever we have transmigration or metempsychosis in any form the Moon is >> behind the concept and thus becomes inseparably connected with the God of >> the next world and with the progress of the soul after death. In a Sraddha >> ceremony one should say, ‘to Soma with the Fathers’. The leunar eclipse is >> supposed to produce uncleanness and a person must cleanse himself properly; >> it is significant that prayers are addressed to Yama for this purification. >> >> Tvashtri is closely associated with Soma. Tvashtri is especially a >> guardian of Soma, which is called ‘the mead of Tvashtri’[99] . It is in his >> house that Indra drinks Soma and presumately steals it, even slaying his >> father in order to obtain it. The omniform Tvashtri has a son named >> Vishvarupa (the Omniform), who is a guardian of cows. The hostility of >> Indra is directed against the son in order to win these cows, just as >> against the father in order to gain possession of the Soma. Even Tvashtri >> himself is said to tremble with fear at the wrath of Indra[100] and is >> represented as inferior to Indra, in as much as not even he was able to >> perform a feat done by Indra. The Tai.Sam.[101] tells a story of how >> Tvashtri, whose son had been slain by Indra, refused to allow the latter to >> assist at his Soma ritual, by Indra came and drank off the Soma by force. >> >> references: >> >> [1]:A.V. 2.5.19 [20]:Atharva Veda 3. 3.3 [21]:Atharva Veda 4, 15.12 >> 25]:Atharva Veda 7. 73.3 [27]:Atharva Veda 4. 4.1[2]:R[51]:Atharva Veda >> [80]:Atharva Veda 7.42.1-2[81]:Atharva Veda 4.20.1-97. Atharva Veda >> 14.20.195]:Atharva Veda 4.34.3[96]: >> >> 9.1igveda 4.54.2 [4]:Rigveda 1.8.7 [5]:Rigveda 6.47.2 [6]:Rigveda 5. >> 29.8 [7]:Rigveda 2. 19.2 [8]:Rigveda 2.15.2 [9]:Rigveda 3.32.9-10 >> [10]:Rigveda 3. 48.2; [11]:Rigveda 1. 30.11 [12]:Rigveda 6. 19.5 >> [13]:Rigveda 8. 12.1 [14]:Rigveda 1. 76. 3; Rigveda 8. 21.3 [15]:Rigveda >> 3.32.1 [16]:Rigveda 1. 26.4 [17]:Rigveda 4. 41.3 [18]:Rigveda 9. 73.7 >> [19]:Rigveda 5. 85.2 [22]: Rigveda 9. 83.4 [23]: Rigveda 9. 85.12 >> [24]:Rigveda 9. 113.3 [31]:Rigveda 4. 27.3 [28]: Rigveda 8. 66.5 >> [33]:Rigveda 9. 86.36[34]:Rigveda 10. 85.40[35]:Rigveda 2. 34.5[36]:Rigveda >> 1. 23.7; Rigveda 1. 88.3; Rigveda 7.59.6; Rigveda 8.94.3[37]:Rigveda >> 1.166.7[38]:Rigveda 1.85.2 [42]:Rigveda 9.33.2; Rigveda 9.34.2; Rigveda >> 9.63.3; Rigveda 9.65.20; Rigveda 9.90.5; Rigveda 9.100.6 [44]:Rigveda >> 8.3.8; Rigveda 8.12.16[45]:Rigveda 10.113.2[46]:Rigveda 2.22.1; Rigveda >> 6.17 [.11?][ [53]:Rigveda 6.47.3[54]:Rigveda 9.95.2[55]:igveda 7.74.2 ; >> Rigveda 8.5.11; Rigveda 8.8.1; Rigveda 8.10.8; Rigveda 8.35.22[56]:Rigveda >> 8.10.8[57]:Rigveda 8.10.8[58]:Rigveda 1.47.3[59]:Rigveda 8.87.4[60]:Rigveda >> 4.44.4[61]:Rigveda 8.26.6[62]:Rigveda 1.180.2[63]:Rigveda 7.67.4 >> [66]:Rigveda 9.72.3[67]:Rigveda 9.72.6[68]:Rigveda 6.72.2[69]:Rigveda >> 6.44.23; Rigveda 9.97.41[70]:Rigveda 9.96.5[71]:Rigveda 9.63.7[72]:Rigveda >> 9.107.7 [74]:Rigveda 10.9.6[75]:Rigveda 4.26.6[76]:Rigveda 6.74. >> [78]:Rigveda 1.117.22 [82]:Rigveda 10.115.3[83]:Rigveda >> 6.61.11-12[84]:Rigveda 5.43.11[85]:Rigveda 6.61.10[86]:igveda >> 10.75.1[87]:Rigveda 9.86.36[88]:Rigveda 1.38.9; Rigveda 5.63.3; Rigveda >> 9.2.9[89]:Rigveda 9.63.27[90]:Rigveda 9.96.3[91]:Rigveda >> 10.14.13-14[92]:Rigveda 10.14.4[93]:Rigveda 10.14.14[94]: [99]:Rigveda >> 1.117.22100]:Rigveda 1.80.14 >> >> [3]:Shatapatha Brahmana. 9.5. 18 [43]:Shatapatha Brahmana. 4.3.5.8 >> [26]:Maitrayani Samhita. 3.8.10[29]:Taittiriya Samhita. 1, 2, 9.1 >> [30]:Aitareya Brahmana. 1, 27;Taittiriya Samhita. 6, 1, 6.5;Maitrayani >> Samhita. 3, 7.3 [32]: Taittiriya Aranyaka. 1. 9.3[39]:Apastamba Shrauta >> Sutra. 10.30.1;Taittiriya Samhita. 1.2.10[40]:Apastamba Shrauta Sutra. >> 11.3.12 [41]:Taittiriya Samhita. 5.6.1647]:Taittiriya Samhita. >> 1.7.7[48]:Apastamba Shrauta Sutra. 11.7.3;Taittiriya Samhita. >> 3.1.6.1[49]:Apastamba Shrauta Sutra. 11.8.1[50]:Apastamba Shrauta Sutra. >> 11.6.13[52]:Taittiriya Samhita. 2.2.9.1 [64]:Taittiriya Samhita. >> 2.1.10.1[65]:Taittiriya Samhita. 6.4.9.1[73]:Taittiriya Samhita. >> 2.2.10.1;Maitrayani Samhita 2.1.4 [77]:Taittiriya Samhita. 2.2.10.3 >> [79]:Shatapatha Brahmana. 2.4.4.15;Chandogya Upanishad. 5.104.Maitrayani >> Samhita. 1.10.17; 4.2.1[97]:Shatapatha Brahmana. 2.6.1.4[98]:Taittiriya >> Brahmana. 1.2.8[101]:Taittiriya Samhita. 2.4.12.1 >> >> K Rajaram IRS 12525 >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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