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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The relation in which Soma stands to Indra is mainly that of the fiery beverage, the welcome draughts of which give the warrior god the requisite strength and nerve for battling with the demons of drought and darkness. Indra’s favourite weapon is the thousand-spiked, iron or golden thunderbolt, the lightning. But inasmuch as it is Soma that enables Indra effectually to wield his weapon, the poet might, by a bold, yet perfectly natural, metaphor, identify the potent drink with the terrible bolt. This identification is indeed met with in several passages of the Rk", notably in IX, 47, 3, ‘When his song of praise is brought forth, then Soma, the powerful (indriya) liquor, becomes the thousandfold-winning thunderbolt ;’ in IX, 72, 7, ‘Indra’s thunderbolt, the bountiful (vibhQvasu) bull, the exhilarating Soma clarifies itself in a manner pleasing to the heart ;’ and in IX, 77,1, ‘This sweet (Soma) has roared in the tub, Indra’s thunderbolt, more beautiful than the beautiful one®.’ Not less natural is the simile implied in epithets, properly applying to Indra,—such as ‘vritrahan’ (slayer of Vritra), and ‘ goda’ (cow-giver),—when applied to Soma, who helps him to make good those titles of his; just as one can understand their being occasionally applied to Agni, the sacrificial fire, as the medium through which the libations reach Indra. A similar kind of poetic figure is involved in passages representing Soma as exercising an influence, not on Indra himself, but on the weapons wielded by him ®; ' Cf. A. Bergaigne, Religion Védique, II, 253. In the Bréhmasas it is not Soma, but the pressing-stone, that is identified with the Vagra. 3 Prof. Ludwig proposes to read ‘vagrat’ instead of ‘ vagro,’ thus ‘more beautifal than Indra’s beautiful thunderbolt.’ Bat even if we retain the received reading, ‘vapushah’ might refer to the (real) thunderbolt; though, of course, it may also be taken as referring either to the sun, or to Agni, or to some other deity or heavenly object. 3 Cf. A. Bergaigne, II, 251. [26] XVili SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA, such as VIII, 76, 9, ‘O Indra, drink the pressed Soma,.. . sharpening the thunderbolt with its strength;’ or IX, 96, 12, where Soma is called upon to join Indra, and produce weapons for him (ganay4yudh4ni); or VIII, 15, 7, where the Soma-cup (dhishaz4) is said to whet Indra’s power, his daring and intelligence, as well as the desirable thunderbolt.
2. sharpening the thunderbolt with its strength;’ or IX, 96, 12, where Soma is called upon to join Indra, and produce weapons for him (ganay4yudh4ni); or VIII, 15, 7, where the Soma-cup (dhishaz4) is said to whet Indra’s power, his daring and intelligence, as well as the desirable thunderbolt. But, while most scholars will probably be content to apply this kind of interpretation to cases of an apparent identification of Soma and the Vagra such as those referred to, M. Bergaigne is evidently in favour of their identity pure and simple. Now, it cannot be denied that the authors of some of those passages may really have intended to represent Soma as virtually or actually the same as the thunderbolt; but even if that were so, we should hardly be justified in assuming this identity to have been anything like a settled and universally accepted conception in the times of the hymns. There surely is some danger in treating a miscellaneous collection like the Rig-veda, as if it were a uniform and homogeneous production, and in generalizing from one or two isolated passages. In this respect I cannot help thinking that M. Bergaigne has often gone farther than many scholars will be prepared to follow him. Thus another of his favourite theories seems to be the ultimate identity of Soma and Agni. But close as the relations of these two deities undoubtedly are, and even admitting that they may occasionally have been the object of those syncretist tendencies which we see so often at work in the mythological speculations of the Xzshis, nevertheless I cannot but think that to the generality of Vedic poets Agni and Soma were perfectly distinct deities, as distinct from each other as the two visible objects which represent them on earth. Indeed, M. Bergaigne himself has to admit (I, 167) that, ‘as the fire and beverage were in reality distinct on earth, this distinction was inevitably extended sometimes to their divine forms.’ But if such is the case, and if they are actually invoked together in one and the same hymn, should one not think that even in those divine forms of theirs they must at least have INTRODUCTION. xix been regarded as two different manifestations of the same divinity ?
3xix been regarded as two different manifestations of the same divinity ? Soma makes his descent to the earth in showers of rain, amid thunder and lightning. Here a new problem presents itself: in this strife of elements, what is the exact phenomenon in which we are to recognise the divine Soma as temporarily embodied? It used to be taken for granted that the rain of the thunderstorm must be so regarded, being as it were the atmospheric counterpart of the earthly Soma drops, expressed from the juicy stalk and flowing into the vat. M. Bergaigne, however, has put forward the theory that it is not the rain, but the lightning, that really represents Soma; and has tried to show, with no little ingenuity, that several passages of the Xzk can only, or at any rate most naturally, be explained by the light of his theory. Now, according to an old myth, frequently alluded to in the hymns, Soma was brought down to the earth by an eagle or falcon (syena). Thus we read in I, 93, 6, ‘ Matarisvan has brought down the one (Agni) from the sky, and the Syena . has churned the other (Soma) from the (celestial) rock.’ A. Kuhn saw in this bird only another form of Indra who, in two passages (I, 32, 14; X, 99, 8), is indeed. directly likened to a Syena. On the other hand, this. identification is rendered doubtful by two other passages (I, 80, 2; IV, 18, 13),in which the Syena is represented as bringing the Soma to Indra himself. Here, then, is a veritable crux. M. Bergaigne does not hesitate to cut the knot by identifying the Soma-bearing bird with the lightning; and the lightning again being to him no other than Soma, the myth thus resolves itself into the rather commonplace fact that Soma takes himself down to the earth. He only needed to go a step further by identifying Soma, not only with Agni and the lightning, but also with Indra himself, and the phantasmagory would have been complete. Indeed, one of M. Bergaigne’s disciples, M. Koulikovski, has already come very near supplying this deficiency, when he remarks (Revue de Linguistique, XVIII, p. 3), that in the hymn IV, 26 ‘we have to do with a twofold personage, composed of the attributes of Indra and Soma.’ b 2 XX 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 relation in which Soma stands to Indra is mainly that of the fiery beverage, the welcome draughts of which give the warrior god the requisite strength and nerve for battling with the demons of drought and darkness. Indra’s favourite weapon is the thousand-spiked, iron or golden thunderbolt, the lightning. But inasmuch as it is Soma that enables Indra effectually to wield his weapon, the poet might, by a bold, yet perfectly natural, metaphor, identify the potent drink with the terrible bolt. This identification is indeed met with in several passages of the Rk", notably in IX, 47, 3, ‘When his song of praise is brought forth, then Soma, the powerful (indriya) liquor, becomes the thousandfold-winning thunderbolt ;’ in IX, 72, 7, ‘Indra’s thunderbolt, the bountiful (vibhQvasu) bull, the exhilarating Soma clarifies itself in a manner pleasing to the heart ;’ and in IX, 77,1, ‘This sweet (Soma) has roared in the tub, Indra’s thunderbolt, more beautiful than the beautiful one®.’ Not less natural is the simile implied in epithets, properly applying to Indra,—such as ‘vritrahan’ (slayer of Vritra), and ‘ goda’ (cow-giver),—when applied to Soma, who helps him to make good those titles of his; just as one can understand their being occasionally applied to Agni, the sacrificial fire, as the medium through which the libations reach Indra. A similar kind of poetic figure is involved in passages representing Soma as exercising an influence, not on Indra himself, but on the weapons wielded by him ®; ' Cf. A. Bergaigne, Religion Védique, II, 253. In the Bréhmasas it is not Soma, but the pressing-stone, that is identified with the Vagra. 3 Prof. Ludwig proposes to read ‘vagrat’ instead of ‘ vagro,’ thus ‘more beautifal than Indra’s beautiful thunderbolt.’ Bat even if we retain the received reading, ‘vapushah’ might refer to the (real) thunderbolt; though, of course, it may also be taken as referring either to the sun, or to Agni, or to some other deity or heavenly object. 3 Cf. A. Bergaigne, II, 251. [26] XVili SATAPATHA-BRAHMANA, such as VIII, 76, 9, ‘O Indra, drink the pressed Soma,.. . sharpening the thunderbolt with its strength;’ or IX, 96, 12, where Soma is called upon to join Indra, and produce weapons for him (ganay4yudh4ni); or VIII, 15, 7, where the Soma-cup (dhishaz4) is said to whet Indra’s power, his daring and intelligence, as well as the desirable thunderbolt.
2. sharpening the thunderbolt with its strength;’ or IX, 96, 12, where Soma is called upon to join Indra, and produce weapons for him (ganay4yudh4ni); or VIII, 15, 7, where the Soma-cup (dhishaz4) is said to whet Indra’s power, his daring and intelligence, as well as the desirable thunderbolt. But, while most scholars will probably be content to apply this kind of interpretation to cases of an apparent identification of Soma and the Vagra such as those referred to, M. Bergaigne is evidently in favour of their identity pure and simple. Now, it cannot be denied that the authors of some of those passages may really have intended to represent Soma as virtually or actually the same as the thunderbolt; but even if that were so, we should hardly be justified in assuming this identity to have been anything like a settled and universally accepted conception in the times of the hymns. There surely is some danger in treating a miscellaneous collection like the Rig-veda, as if it were a uniform and homogeneous production, and in generalizing from one or two isolated passages. In this respect I cannot help thinking that M. Bergaigne has often gone farther than many scholars will be prepared to follow him. Thus another of his favourite theories seems to be the ultimate identity of Soma and Agni. But close as the relations of these two deities undoubtedly are, and even admitting that they may occasionally have been the object of those syncretist tendencies which we see so often at work in the mythological speculations of the Xzshis, nevertheless I cannot but think that to the generality of Vedic poets Agni and Soma were perfectly distinct deities, as distinct from each other as the two visible objects which represent them on earth. Indeed, M. Bergaigne himself has to admit (I, 167) that, ‘as the fire and beverage were in reality distinct on earth, this distinction was inevitably extended sometimes to their divine forms.’ But if such is the case, and if they are actually invoked together in one and the same hymn, should one not think that even in those divine forms of theirs they must at least have INTRODUCTION. xix been regarded as two different manifestations of the same divinity ?
3xix been regarded as two different manifestations of the same divinity ? Soma makes his descent to the earth in showers of rain, amid thunder and lightning. Here a new problem presents itself: in this strife of elements, what is the exact phenomenon in which we are to recognise the divine Soma as temporarily embodied? It used to be taken for granted that the rain of the thunderstorm must be so regarded, being as it were the atmospheric counterpart of the earthly Soma drops, expressed from the juicy stalk and flowing into the vat. M. Bergaigne, however, has put forward the theory that it is not the rain, but the lightning, that really represents Soma; and has tried to show, with no little ingenuity, that several passages of the Xzk can only, or at any rate most naturally, be explained by the light of his theory. Now, according to an old myth, frequently alluded to in the hymns, Soma was brought down to the earth by an eagle or falcon (syena). Thus we read in I, 93, 6, ‘ Matarisvan has brought down the one (Agni) from the sky, and the Syena . has churned the other (Soma) from the (celestial) rock.’ A. Kuhn saw in this bird only another form of Indra who, in two passages (I, 32, 14; X, 99, 8), is indeed. directly likened to a Syena. On the other hand, this. identification is rendered doubtful by two other passages (I, 80, 2; IV, 18, 13),in which the Syena is represented as bringing the Soma to Indra himself. Here, then, is a veritable crux. M. Bergaigne does not hesitate to cut the knot by identifying the Soma-bearing bird with the lightning; and the lightning again being to him no other than Soma, the myth thus resolves itself into the rather commonplace fact that Soma takes himself down to the earth. He only needed to go a step further by identifying Soma, not only with Agni and the lightning, but also with Indra himself, and the phantasmagory would have been complete. Indeed, one of M. Bergaigne’s disciples, M. Koulikovski, has already come very near supplying this deficiency, when he remarks (Revue de Linguistique, XVIII, p. 3), that in the hymn IV, 26 ‘we have to do with a twofold personage, composed of the attributes of Indra and Soma.’ b 2 XX 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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