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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The exposition of the Soma-ritual also includes an account of the animal offering which, though it may be performed as an independent sacrifice, more usually constitutes an integral part of the Saumya-adhvara. Since F. Windischmann, in his treatise ‘ Ueber den Somacultus der Arier’ (1846), pointed out the remarkable similarity of conceptions prevalent among the ancient Indians and Iranians in regard to the Soma, both from a sacrificial and a mythological point of view, this subject has repeatedly engaged the attention of scholars. In A. Kuhn’s masterly essay, ‘Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Géttertranks’ (1859), the Soma-myth was thoroughly investigated, and its roots were traced far back into the Indo- European antiquity. Within the last few years the entire Rig-vedic conceptions regarding Soma have, for the first time, been subjected to a searching examination in M.A. Bergaigne’s ‘La Religion Védique.’ This book forms an important contribution to the interpretation of the Vedic hymns; and though the combinations and theories put forth by the author may not always commend themselves to scholars generally, there can be no doubt that his enquiries exhibit a rare analytic faculty, and have yielded a mass of new and valuable suggestions. Among the numerous features which the Vedic Aryans had in common with thein Iranian kinsmen, and from which it is supposed that an intimate connection must have sub- xii SATAPATHA-BRAHMAWNA,
2Among the numerous features which the Vedic Aryans had in common with thein Iranian kinsmen, and from which it is supposed that an intimate connection must have sub- xii SATAPATHA-BRAHMAWNA, sisted between these two easternmost branches of the Indo- European stock for some time after they had become separated from their western brethren, the Soma cult and myth are not the least striking. Both the Vedic soma and the Zend haoma—derived from the root su (Zend hu), ‘to press, produce ’—denote in the first place a spirituous liquor extracted from a certain plant, described as growing on the mountains; the words being then naturally applied to the plant itself. But the Rig-veda, not less than the Avesta, distinguishes between an earthly and a celestial Soma; and it is precisely the relation between these two, or the descent of the heavenly Soma to the world of men, which forms the central element of the Soma-myth. To the childlike intellect of the primitive Aryan which knew not how to account for the manifold strange and awe-inspiring phenomena of nature otherwise than by peopling the universe with a thousand divine agents, the potent juice of the Soma-plant which endowed the feeble mortal with godlike powers, and for a time freed him from earthly cares and troubles, seemed a veritable god, not less worthy of adoration than the wielder of the thunderbolt, the roaring wind, or the vivifying orb of day. The same magic powers are, upon the whole, ascribed to Soma by the Indian and Persian bards: to both of them he is the wise friend and mighty protector of his votary, the inspirer of heroic deeds of arms as well as of the flights of fancy and song, the bestower of health, long life, and even immortality. The divine personality of Soma, it is true, is, even for Vedic imagery, of an extremely vague and shadowy character; but it is difficult to see what plastic conception there could be of a deity whose chief activity apparently consists in mingling his fiery male nature with the teeming waters of the sky, and the swelling sap of plants. The principal cause, however, of the vagueness of Soma’s personality, and the source of considerable difficulties in explaining many of the Vedic conceptions of this deity, is his twofold nature as a fiery liquor, or liquid fire,—that is to say, his fluid and his fiery or luminous nature. INTRODUCTION. xiii
3INTRODUCTION. xiii The Soma, with whom the worshipper is chiefly concerned, is the Soma-plant, and the juice extracted from it for the holy service. This is the earthly Soma, or, so to speak, the Avatar of the divine Soma. The latter, on the other hand, is a luminous deity, a source of light and life. In the Brahmazas, Soma, in this respect, has become completely identified with the Moon, whose varying phases, and temporary obscuration at the time of new-moon, favoured the mystic notions of his serving as food! to the Gods and Fathers (Manes); and of his periodical descents to the earth, with the view of sexual union with the waters and plants, and his own regeneration®. Though this identification appears already clearly in several passages of the Rik, Vedic scholars seem mostly inclined to refer this conception to a secondary stage of development®. According to Professor Roth, indeed, this identification would have no other mythological foundation than the coincidence of notions which finds its expression in the term indu‘* (commonly used for Soma, and in the later language for the moon), viz. as ‘a drop’ and ‘a spark (drop of light).’ This is not unlikely, but it does not of course help us to settle the point as to how that term came ultimately to be applied exclusively to the moon among heavenly luminaries. To the Vedic poet it is rather the sun that appears, if not identical, at any rate closely connected, with the divine Soma. The fact was first pointed out by Grassmann 5, who proposed to identify Pavam4na, the ‘ pure-streamed, sparkling’ Soma, with the, apparently solar, deity Puemuno of the 1 Or, as the vessel containing the divine Soma, the drink conferring immortality. ® See, for instance, Sat. Br. I, 6, 4,5 seq. Possibly also the shape of the ‘homed moon’ may have facilitated the attribution to that luminary of a bulllike nature such as is ascribed to Soma; though a similar attribution, it is true, is made in the case of other heavenly objects whose outward appearance offers no such points of comparison. 3M. A. Barth, The Vedic Religions, p. 27, on the other hand, is of opinion that this identification goes back to Indo-European times. * St. Petersburg Dict.s.v. According to A. Kuhn, the two myths of the descent of Fire and of the divine Liquor spring from one and the same conception, whence the spark of fire is conceived as a drop. ‘ Herabkunft,’ p. 161. > Kuhn’s Zeitsch. f. Vergl. Spr. XVI, p. 183 seq. xiv SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA,
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The exposition of the Soma-ritual also includes an account of the animal offering which, though it may be performed as an independent sacrifice, more usually constitutes an integral part of the Saumya-adhvara. Since F. Windischmann, in his treatise ‘ Ueber den Somacultus der Arier’ (1846), pointed out the remarkable similarity of conceptions prevalent among the ancient Indians and Iranians in regard to the Soma, both from a sacrificial and a mythological point of view, this subject has repeatedly engaged the attention of scholars. In A. Kuhn’s masterly essay, ‘Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des Géttertranks’ (1859), the Soma-myth was thoroughly investigated, and its roots were traced far back into the Indo- European antiquity. Within the last few years the entire Rig-vedic conceptions regarding Soma have, for the first time, been subjected to a searching examination in M.A. Bergaigne’s ‘La Religion Védique.’ This book forms an important contribution to the interpretation of the Vedic hymns; and though the combinations and theories put forth by the author may not always commend themselves to scholars generally, there can be no doubt that his enquiries exhibit a rare analytic faculty, and have yielded a mass of new and valuable suggestions. Among the numerous features which the Vedic Aryans had in common with thein Iranian kinsmen, and from which it is supposed that an intimate connection must have sub- xii SATAPATHA-BRAHMAWNA,
2Among the numerous features which the Vedic Aryans had in common with thein Iranian kinsmen, and from which it is supposed that an intimate connection must have sub- xii SATAPATHA-BRAHMAWNA, sisted between these two easternmost branches of the Indo- European stock for some time after they had become separated from their western brethren, the Soma cult and myth are not the least striking. Both the Vedic soma and the Zend haoma—derived from the root su (Zend hu), ‘to press, produce ’—denote in the first place a spirituous liquor extracted from a certain plant, described as growing on the mountains; the words being then naturally applied to the plant itself. But the Rig-veda, not less than the Avesta, distinguishes between an earthly and a celestial Soma; and it is precisely the relation between these two, or the descent of the heavenly Soma to the world of men, which forms the central element of the Soma-myth. To the childlike intellect of the primitive Aryan which knew not how to account for the manifold strange and awe-inspiring phenomena of nature otherwise than by peopling the universe with a thousand divine agents, the potent juice of the Soma-plant which endowed the feeble mortal with godlike powers, and for a time freed him from earthly cares and troubles, seemed a veritable god, not less worthy of adoration than the wielder of the thunderbolt, the roaring wind, or the vivifying orb of day. The same magic powers are, upon the whole, ascribed to Soma by the Indian and Persian bards: to both of them he is the wise friend and mighty protector of his votary, the inspirer of heroic deeds of arms as well as of the flights of fancy and song, the bestower of health, long life, and even immortality. The divine personality of Soma, it is true, is, even for Vedic imagery, of an extremely vague and shadowy character; but it is difficult to see what plastic conception there could be of a deity whose chief activity apparently consists in mingling his fiery male nature with the teeming waters of the sky, and the swelling sap of plants. The principal cause, however, of the vagueness of Soma’s personality, and the source of considerable difficulties in explaining many of the Vedic conceptions of this deity, is his twofold nature as a fiery liquor, or liquid fire,—that is to say, his fluid and his fiery or luminous nature. INTRODUCTION. xiii
3INTRODUCTION. xiii The Soma, with whom the worshipper is chiefly concerned, is the Soma-plant, and the juice extracted from it for the holy service. This is the earthly Soma, or, so to speak, the Avatar of the divine Soma. The latter, on the other hand, is a luminous deity, a source of light and life. In the Brahmazas, Soma, in this respect, has become completely identified with the Moon, whose varying phases, and temporary obscuration at the time of new-moon, favoured the mystic notions of his serving as food! to the Gods and Fathers (Manes); and of his periodical descents to the earth, with the view of sexual union with the waters and plants, and his own regeneration®. Though this identification appears already clearly in several passages of the Rik, Vedic scholars seem mostly inclined to refer this conception to a secondary stage of development®. According to Professor Roth, indeed, this identification would have no other mythological foundation than the coincidence of notions which finds its expression in the term indu‘* (commonly used for Soma, and in the later language for the moon), viz. as ‘a drop’ and ‘a spark (drop of light).’ This is not unlikely, but it does not of course help us to settle the point as to how that term came ultimately to be applied exclusively to the moon among heavenly luminaries. To the Vedic poet it is rather the sun that appears, if not identical, at any rate closely connected, with the divine Soma. The fact was first pointed out by Grassmann 5, who proposed to identify Pavam4na, the ‘ pure-streamed, sparkling’ Soma, with the, apparently solar, deity Puemuno of the 1 Or, as the vessel containing the divine Soma, the drink conferring immortality. ® See, for instance, Sat. Br. I, 6, 4,5 seq. Possibly also the shape of the ‘homed moon’ may have facilitated the attribution to that luminary of a bulllike nature such as is ascribed to Soma; though a similar attribution, it is true, is made in the case of other heavenly objects whose outward appearance offers no such points of comparison. 3M. A. Barth, The Vedic Religions, p. 27, on the other hand, is of opinion that this identification goes back to Indo-European times. * St. Petersburg Dict.s.v. According to A. Kuhn, the two myths of the descent of Fire and of the divine Liquor spring from one and the same conception, whence the spark of fire is conceived as a drop. ‘ Herabkunft,’ p. 161. > Kuhn’s Zeitsch. f. Vergl. Spr. XVI, p. 183 seq. xiv SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA,
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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