Indra, is the conqueror of demons and the destroyer of cities. All things are in his hand, for Soma rules over gods and men, and, like the other deities known as Skambha, supports the heaven and earth in his hands. In short, there are no powers attributed to Varuna, Indra, or Vishnu, which are not, if it be possible, exceeded by those which are inherent in Soma The sun, again, is said to have the nature of Agni, the moon of Soma, for the simple reason that the moon is the queen of night, which is especially the time of moisture. Yet Soma is also the drink of the gods, the Olympian nectar, the beverage which gives immortality. Soma is Indu, the sap which
flows from Indra — the stream which is purity itself, and the cleanser of all defilement. In the symbolical interpretations of later times Soma is a mere name, which may denote physical, moral, or spiritual life, a name strictly of the one everlasting God.
"Soma purifies, [he who is] the generator of hymns, the generator of the sky, the generator of the earth, the generator of Agni, the generator of Sûrya, the generator of Indra, and the generator of Vishnu." [1]
Soma is the Beatific Vision to which the pilgrims of this earth aspire.
" Where there is eternal light, in the world where the sun is placed, in that immortal imperishable world place me, O Soma. . . . " Where life is free, in the third heaven of heavens, where the worlds are radiant, there make me immortal. . . . " Where there is happiness and delight, where joy and pleasure reside, where the desires of our desire are attained, there make me immortal." [2]
In some hymns of the Rig Veda, all creatures are said to spring from the divine seed of Soma. All things are under his control, and he is, like Varuna and other deities, the divine sustainer (Skambha) of the world. He is an omniscient ocean, and his are the stars and the sun. He too, like Indra, is the slayer of Vritra.
"This divine Soma, with Indra for its ally, crushed, as soon as
- ↑ The explanation of this verse given in the Nirukta-parisishta shows that the commentator was perfectly aware of the real nature of the myth. " Soma," he says, "is the generator of hymns (or thought), i.e. of those solar rays whose function it is to reveal; of the sky, i.e. of those solar rays whose function it is to shine; of the earth, i.e. of those solar rays whose function it is to move; of Sûrya, i.e. of those solar rays whose function it is to appropriate; of Indra, i.e. of those solar rays whose function is sovereignty; of Vishnu, i.e. of those solar rays whose function is diffusion." - Muir, Sanskrit Texts, part iv. p.81. In these comments all the deities disappear together, leaving Soma as the representative of the one great Cause of all things.
- ↑ R.V. ix. 113, 7; Max Müller, Chips, I. 47.
