soma

soma , psychotropic plant, the juice of which was sometimes drunk as part of the Vedic sacrifice (see Veda ). Many hymns in the Rig-Veda are in praise of soma. In the late Vedic period substitutes for soma came to be used, and the original plant was lost. It has recently been identified with the fly agaric mushroom, Amanita muscaria, used in Siberian shamanism.

Bibliography: See R. G. Wasson, Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality (1971).

Soma (Skt., su, ‘to press’).
1. Intoxicating or hallucinogenic juice or substance, offered in Hinduism to the gods, and ingested by the brahmans and other participants in sacrificial rituals. The identification of the plant is uncertain and contested. All 114 hymns of Ṛg Veda 9 are addressed to Soma. The ways of preparing and drinking soma are carefully described, and it is said to make one acquire the eight powers of the god.

2. Hindu moon god who protects herbs and rides in a chariot drawn by white horses or antelopes. The moon is the cup of soma (above).

soma an intoxicating drink prepared from a plant and used in Vedic ritual, believed to be the drink of the gods.