Soma: An attempt to classify the plant and the drug [1

Abstract

Soma was an exhilarating drink made from a plant of the same name. It was the essence of the sacrifice which was the focus of early Vedic religion, yet nowhere in the Vedic literature is a clear description of the plant to be found. Various attempts have been made to identify Soma, the most recent by Wasson (1968), who argued that it was Amanita muscaria. Some of his arguments are disputed. The hymns of the Rig-Veda demonstrate that Soma was an hallucinatory stimulant, but all that we learn of the appearance of the plant is that it had stalks. On the other hand, details of the process of preparing the Soma drink are given in the Rig-Veda, and from the method of manufacture an attempt is made to narrow the limits of classification of the drug. This shows that Soma was probably a golden coloured, volatile oil expressed and washed out of the plant stalks with water. The oil was then separated from the water by filtration through a sheepskin, mixed with milk, then drunk by the priests and offered to the gods.