Soma - The Energy Drink of Ancient India

No separate introduction is needed for Soma. A drink, a booster of energy, a giver of energy,wealth and health, a God. There are many dimensions to a single name. Owing to it's ample references in the Rigveda and all other post-Vedic scriptures, we can conclude that Soma surely was an important constituent of Yagyas and for pleasing Gods.

An entire 9th Mandala of the Rigveda is dedicated to Soma. Soma is the third-most mentioned noun in the Rigveda with nearly 1500 mentions.  Almost in every Yagya, an oblation is offered to Soma. Apart from that, there are separate Soma-Yagyas. The Soma was either consumed by the people, believed to be consumed by Gods like Indra,Varuna,Mitra or offered to the fire, Agni. It depended on the usage of the plant.

Soma Characteristics 

It becomes important to discuss characteristics of Soma.

• Soma is a plant found on mountains. That is why Soma has adjectives like Parvatavrudha and Giristha. Rigveda (RV) 9.18.1 clearly mentions that Soma was found on mountains. So does Atharvaveda (3.21.10). 
• A proper description is given by well-known Ayurvedic scholar Sushruta in his Sushruta Samhita saying that Soma is found growing on mountains like Himalayas, Sahyadri, Mahendra, Malya, Arbuda, Devgiri, Vindhyas,etc. It also mentions that Soma grows in aquatic habitats like Sindhu (Indus) river, Manas Sarovar, etc. This just proves that there were many varieties of Soma whihc were used.
• Since the varieties existed, the color also varied. Colors like brown,green, ornage and bright red existed.
• The confirmation also comes from Avesta, in both Yasna and Vendidad, where Haoma ( i.e Soma) is said to be growing on mountains. The Avestan and Vedic rituals were quite common in those days like fire worship, sun worship and Soma consumption. 
• There is a lot of debate among modern day scholars regarding the actual Soma herb. Various species like Euphedra, Sarcostemma, etc
• The description of Soma plant comes in the commentary of Dhurtaswamin. It says Soma is dark,sour, without leaves, milky and fleshy, produces phlegm and vomiting and is a food for goats.  

Preparation of Soma

The preparation of Soma also finds mention in the Rigveda. It is mentioned throughout that the Soma plant is pressed and the juice is obtained. The stalk of the Soma is pressed as mentioned in RV (9.67.28) and RV  (9.74.2). The Sanskrit name for stalk is Amsu. The stalk is said to be pressed with stones RV (10.94.1). The stones are 4 in number and the Rigveda mentions that the Soma flows like a 'flood' after being pressed. 

Now the juice is not consumed just like that. Proper purification is required for making it consumable. RV (9.3.9) mentions that the Soma is passed through woolen straining cloth for purifying it. At other places, a fleece or a sieve is also used. The Soma that is thus purified is called Pavamana or pure Soma. This pure Soma is given to Indra. The Soma is mixed with water or milk and consumed by others. Oblations to other Gods are offered by mixed Soma. 

The Soma is collected in Darbhas or pots and it's oblation is offered in Grahas or vessels. The Soma is either directly fed to fire RV (1.94.14) and RV (8.42.11) or is drank like that by the priests and the Yajamana. An instance mentioned in the Bhagvata Purana where king Marutta of Vaishali dynasty had conducted a never-like-before Yagya. The priests and Indra himself were given infinite Soma and they got intoxicated by it.  Ashwini Kumaras had no right to drink Soma but rishi Chyavana gave them Soma to drink in return of them granting him youth. Other kings like Dasharath, Nimi, Sharyati,etc have also performed Somyagyas.

Vaivasvata and Trita Aptya, both composers of Rigveda, are said to have excelled in the preparation of Soma. 

Eulogies and Allegories of Soma

Pertaining to it's important position in the rituals, certain eulogies were created in the name of Soma. 

• Soma bestows supreme energy. Indra is said to drink Soma and under it's intoxication, goes on a war with Vritrasura and defeat him.
• The person who drinks Soma becomes pure at heart as it washes away the sins.
• Soma drives away all the enemies and prevents it's drinkers from coming in contact with any unwanted tribe. Besides, it bestows the best of health.
• Treasures like cows, wealth,etc are received. 
• Soma is said to be brought on the Earth from the heavens and thus it pleases the Gods the most. Soma is said to be like a smell that spreads everywhere and attracts the Gods towards it, thus inviting the Gods to bless the Yagya being performed. 
• Being the best of all the herbs, Soma is also said to be the king of all herbs (Vanaspati). He is also called the king of people. 
• Soma is also considered to be the moon or Chandra with the 27 Nakshatras as his wives. 
• Soma also is equated to trees, birds, cows, mind,etc at different places in the Rigveda. 

Lord Soma or Chandra with his chariot driven by an antelope

Soma-Yagyas or Somyaga

Since Soma has such an important position in Yagyas, let's talk something about Somyagas. Every Yagya is not a Somyaga. Soma is offered only in specific Yagyas to Gods like Indra,Mitra,Varuna,etc. We find that Somyagas have continued from the Vedic period right till the Brahmana-Sutra period. 

There are 3 types of Ygyas mainly - Pakayagya, Haviryagya and Somyagya. Each has 7 types. The 7 types of Somyaga is mentioned by different rishis like Gautama, Satyavrata Samashrami and Dhurtaswamin. They are -

• Agnishtoma
• Atyagnishtoma
• Ukthyah
• Shodashi
• Vajapeya
• Atiratra
• Aptoryamah

Different scriptures like Yajurveda, Ashvalayana and other Grihya Sutras deal with Somyagas and the rituals and verses to be recited there. Let's not go deep in the rituals of Somyaga. But one thing to note is that in almost every ritual you have one Soma hymn from Rigveda being recited to please Soma. 

For example - In the Sankhyayana Grihya Sutra (1.26.3), depending upon the star in which the child is born, oblations are given. Oblation to Soma in a Yagya is given if the child is born in the Mrugashirsha star.

Apart from this, we also find in the Grihya Sutras an option to using Soma like Kusha needles,etc. It could be because of the decline in the use of Soma as also it becoming less available. 

The rituals might show slight variance, but the concept of using Soma in Yagyas has lasted for centuries and continues even today. The Yagyas are done for the betterment of general public or for specific purposes. 

For more reading - Yagya - A ritual or culture

Yagya - A ritual or culture?

The sole picture of ancient India that arises when one tries to imagine the Vedic era is that of few white bearded rishis sitting in front of a pit and offering oblations to the fire. Frankly, our mythological serials in the 1990s are also responsible for creating such a picture that Yagyas was a sort of ritual. And how can we forget? Our very great Communist historians are the main players in the character assassination of our ancestors and branding them as ritualistic, blind faith affected people.

Busy in a Yagya

Yagya, for that matter,is a system developed for pleasing the Devas but also has many variants including a Yagya for cooking and a Yagya for all 16 sanskars of Hindus.In a Yagya, we have to offer an oblation, let it be ghee,milk, cakes of cereals, Soma,etc. And this oblation is not done just by sitting there. An important condition for this is chanting of the Vedic mantras, Samantrakam समन्त्रकं,with the Mantas, as they call it. These Mantras are well documented in the Rigveda.
              
The Englishmen translated the word Yagya as 'sacrifice' which in itself is a blatant mistake. Yagya was never meant for any sacrifice of animals.It was a simple system of pleasing the Gods into which animal sacrifice found place, which is no doubt not a right thing. But branding the whole system as an outrageous way of pleasing the Gods, is itself outrageous.If one really tries to see the intricacies of a Yagya, then one will come to know the amount of perfection and the amount of brains that have gone in framing the smallest of things. Take for example, the fire in the Yagya. Now one would imagine that the rishis would be bringing some random logs of wood and burning them. But instead, the fire is of a particular wood and that too of 3 types- Garhapatya, Ahavaniya and Dakshinagni. (गार्हपत्य, आहवानीय, दक्षिणाग्नि ). Even the fire altar's dimensions, it's height from the ground,etc are fixed and find place in the Apastamba and Baudhayana Sulva Sutras.
                   
And even the Yagya does not take place without some specially qualified people who conduct it- The Hota, Udgata and the Adhvaryu. The Hota is skilled in Rigved and recites the mantras line by line. The Udgata is a Samved expert who recites the same mantras but with a musical tune called Chhanda whereas the Adhvaryu is an expert in Yajurved who knows about the small technicalities of a Yagya and also controls the Yagya till it ends.
                   
Samveda in particular has a relation with this whole Yagya system. Because due to this system, the whole stream of Indian classical music was developed. Mantras in a Yagya cannot be recited as they are since they are too many and it sounds boring. Hence was felt the need to give a rhyme to these mantras which gave rise to Samved. Samved has almost all it's verses common to Rigved but are given a particular rhyme called Chhanda. Different Chhandas include Gayatri, Trishtup, Anushtup, Brihadrati,etc. 
For example there are 3 verses A,B,C and I want to multiply them to 15 verses. So I sing them as- 
A A A B C    A B B B C   A B C C C. This forms one chhanda or style of reciting. 

This also proves the brilliant practice of the then Brahmins in reciting thousands of these mantras, sometimes overnight. And even in this overnight chanting, certain adjustments were made.Now obviously I would fall asleep while chanting these mantras overnight. So what to do? Simple- Sit on a swing and keep swinging overnight while chanting the mantras !!!! Simple adjustments assimilated into a complex culture.Returning to Samved, we find that for chanting these verses, our 7 Swaras were developed- Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa- although we find them in different names. The reader would be surprised to know that a separate UpaVeda of the Samved called the Gandharva Ved exists which specifically deals with music and it's different Ragas and Talas. So much of advancement, and that too originating for the sake of singing the mantras properly in a Yagya !!!!! And with singing comes dancing. There is a ritual that if the person for whom the Yagya is conducted is rich, he can bring his 50 Dasis who with pots on their heads can dance beautifully around the Yagya altar.

TYPES OF YAGYAS

There are different types of Yagyas conducted for different purposes

• Agnishtoma- It's a kind of Somyaga
• Vajpeya- It is done for maintaining harmony with neighboring states.
• Ashvamedha- It is done to usurp power of other kingdoms. Done by Lord Ram.
• Rajsuya- Done for becoming the Samrat of India. Done by Yudhishthira
• Naramedh- Done by sacrificing  humans to please Varun. Half completed by king Harishchandra
• Putrakameshthi- Done for getting an offspring. Done by Dashrath to get Ram and 3 other sons

Agnihotra is a yagya done twice in a day

A special kind of Yagya called as Atiratra is done for bringing rains. It is a 12 day ritual. This was successfully performed in Panjal, Kerala in 1975 as well as in 2011.

Rains at the end of Atiratra in 2011, Panjal, Kerala

Unfortunately, over the years, this whole Yagya system has gone in a shell with only selected communities in Kerala performing some limited Yagyas with proper Vedic rituals and guidelines. 

CONCLUSION

Now even if this Yagya was a small ritual done to please Gods, no person in this world would have generated so much delicate rules and conditions. No variety of stuffs used, no variety in the types of Yagyas would be seen.

Since we have specialized people earning their penny from a Yagya, with art forms like music and dance getting a push and most importantly, 3 whole Vedas being composed to specilize in that subject, it can be seen that this Yagya system was indeed the CULTURE of Indians rather than being just a ritual. People got themselves involved in this. All major kings of Puranic tradition have in some or the other way performed a Yagya. Such huge popularity of a certain system can only mean it had seeped in the lives of people. It may have been started as a small ritual, but it's importance increased to such an extent that it became an important cultural facet of Vedic people.

This happened to such an extent that even the Zoroastrians who were Vedic Anus migrated to Iran also continued to worship fire as a God.. Now that's called influence..!!