Somras: An Elixir of Immortality

Throughout history and mythology, Man has always been obsessed with immortality. Immortality is considered to be a boon, so much so that people prayed for many years to their respective deities in order to acquire it. While some of us a.k.a me, might disagree that immortality is ever a boon. I believe it's a curse to have it rather than a reward acquired through hard work.

Strangely enough, this immortality is sometimes associated with food & drink. Mere mortals believed that it was what gods ate and drank that made them victorious over death itself. This magical elixir or food exists in all mythologies, but in India, it goes by the name "Somras". Now there is a lot of info available on this drink, but like always I am here to give you only the essential parts.

Soma Plant

Soma is a plant that is available in the Himalayan region, and "Ras" means juice in Sanskrit. So, basically, this word translates to a juice that is extracted from the Soma plant. It was drunk mixed with yoghurt or milk. In the Vedas, the word Soma was used to reference the plant, the drink, and a deity (Moon God). This drink was considered to have hallucinogenic properties and was talked about so much in the Vedas that they had to dedicate an entire book to it in the Rigveda.

Image via Flickr by Lyn

My first encounter with this word was in one of my favourite book trilogies. (I say 'trilogies' but it is the only one I have ever read) The novel, "The Immortals of Meluha" from the Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi. A really cool depiction of the god Shiva as a human, and a trilogy that I absolutely recommend you to read if you haven't. In this book, the author references Somras as something that was drunk by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization to be immortal and lead long lives. There is a lot that revolves around this drink in the book. I don't want to give you any spoilers in the hope that you will read this book. So, don't you dare disappoint me! (It's good, trust me)

When I started to read up on this, I noticed that many people refer to Somras as a hallucinogenic, but some disagree. In the TRS podcast, the famous YouTuber BeerBiceps, interviews Dr Vineet Aggarwal, who talks about how Lord Indra used to sometimes drink lakes of Somras before going to war to feel "invigorated". If it was hallucinogenic, it wouldn't make sense to take it before battle. He says that it was something that triggered adrenaline in the body and that this plant boosts the adrenaline in the body which gives a "fight or flight" response to our nervous system.

According to Plants Information, Nagarjuna, a famous Buddhist monk, and his disciple Samashruva said, "The stars in the sky can be counted, but the effect and importance of this herb cannot be counted. If I had got some more time, I can say with certainty that by its effect a person can become immortal because death is controlled by it."

Somras was drunk by shamans for spiritual purposes as well. There is some evidence which claims that the drink gives its consumers "an out of the body" experience making them see and experience things which are not for mortal comprehension. Although there is an entire book dedicated to it in Rigveda, we still don't understand the usage and importance of it and there seems to be more to it than it actually is.

One thing is for sure, man has always been obsessed with the concept of immortality, achieving divine power, and having a sense of "untouchability" to his existence. Whether this drink exists or not is a different question, but our pursuit of knowledge of this drink's existence says a lot about us as humans. The concept of achieving ever-lasting life through the consumption of a magical elixir sounds......pretty funny to me.

Though there is evidence of this plant and drink existing in ancient civilizations, and its medicinal benefits in treating ailments, I believe it didn't make people immortal but only gave them a sense of it. If only we had enough literary records and scriptures to refer to, just think of the things we would have discovered by now!

That's it for this time. See you next time!