Soma in Vedas

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Thu, 5 Sep 2002, Malolan Cadambi wrote:

> Soma is sap.

That's right.  The Soma plant is described as a valli (creeper) and the
juice that was "pressed" from it is Soma.

> But your metaphysical interpretation is a good one. One the
> paratattvam basis, one should try to understand the significane of all
> rituals. Some people even scholars belonging to the western tradition
> interpret soma as being alcoholic in nature. This is not true and often
> their interpretation stems from political basis.
>

Indra etc. are described in the Vedas as being "drunk" on Soma but I don't
think any serious scholar would equate it with alcohol for which different
words are used.  It could be tha Soma was a hallucinogen of some sort.


--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/