© Richard Randall

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Candidates for the Soma plant

Even in the Rigveda, Soma is described as growing far away, in the mountains, and has to be purchased from travelling traders. This is connected with the Indo-Aryan migration model, i.e. the plant supposedly grew in the homeland of the Indo-Iranians, probably the Hindukush, but the migration of the Aryans into the Punjab removed them from the area of its occurrence, and it had to be imported. Later, knowledge of the plant was lost altogether, and Indian ritual reflects this, in expiatory prayers apologizing to the gods for the use of a substitute plant (e.g. rhubarb) because Soma had become unavailable.

There has been much speculation as to the original Soma/Haoma plant. It was generally assumed to be hallucinogenic, based on the verse of RV 8.48 cited above. But note that this is the only evidence of hallucinogenic properties, in a book full of hymns to Soma. The typical description of Soma is associated with excitation and tapas. Soma is associated with the warrior-god Indra, and Haoma appears to have been drunk before battle. For these reasons, there are energizing plants as well as hallucinogenic plants among the candidates that have been suggested. In fact, several texts like the Atharva Veda extol the medicinal properties of Soma and he is regarded as the king of medicinal herbs (and also of the Brahmana class).

Hallucinogenic

There is no direct indication in the Rigveda that Soma is a mushroom. Some commentators have proposed several mushrooms as candidates, most frequently (originally by R. Gordon Wasson in the 1960s) Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric or Toadstool). The mushroom theory is supported by later Tibetan Buddhist legends connected with urine-drinking, and it is indeed possible that in Tibet, the shamanistic practice of eating psychedelic mushrooms, and subsequently drinking the urine of the one who has taken the mushroom, still containing much of the agent substance, has been connected with Vedic teminology surrounding Soma, but this would of course not imply that the plants used in Tibet were identical to the original Indo-Iranian Soma plant.

Terrence McKenna in his book "The Food Of Gods" debunks the Amanita Muscaria theory and suggests the psilocybin-containing Stropharia cubensis mushroom as a soma candidate. McKenna argues that effects of the Amanita Muscaria mushrooms contradict the description of Soma properties given in the Rigveda. Amanita Muscaria mushrooms hardly have any hallucinogenic properties, but rather produce inebriant effects. Psilocybin, the active psychoactive component in Stropharia Cubensis, on the other hand, has a strong hallucinogenic nature.

Cannabis was also suggested, also based on Tibetan evidence. The Tibetan word for Cannabis is So.Ma.Ra.Dza., apparently a borrowing from the Sanskrit soma-raja "king Soma" or possibly "soma rasa" / "soma juice" which could be the same as "bhang". The choice of Cannabis as a candidate is further supported by the traditional Zulu use of this drug for energizing warriors. Other candidates include Peganum harmala (Syrian Rue, suggested by David Flattery and Martin Schwartz in the 1980s), and species of Stropharia.

Ephedra

The most likely candidate of the non-hallucinogenic, stimulant hypothesis is a species of the genus Ephedra. Ephedrine, the agent substance in this plant, has a chemical structure similar to amphetamines, and it results in high blood-pressure, and according to anecdotal reports, it has a stimulating effect more potent than that of caffeine. Ephedra plants are shrubs, measuring between 0.2 and 4 meters, with numerous green or yellowish stems. There are about 30 species, mainly Eurasian. The species growing in mountainous regions have the highest ephedrine content (up to 3% in the case of Ephedra equisetina). The marrow in the stems is brown-coloured in some species, reminiscent of Sanskrit babhru ("greyish-brown"), used exclusively in the Vedas to describe the Soma extract. The different species of Ephedra are not well known, and their taxonomy is in a state of confusion. Assuming a Pontic-Caspian home of Indo-Iranian religion (see Kurgan), the only likely candidate is Ephedra distachya, still used in Iranian folk medicine, and most notably still used as haoma by the Parsis. The native name for Ephedra in most Indo-Iranian languages of Central Asia is derived from *sauma- (e.g. Nepali somalata, Pashto oman/unan, Baluchi hum/huma/uma).

Archaeological evidence

Excavations of an early 2nd millennium BC BMAC site in the Kara Kum desert, Turkmenistan (Gonur South) revealed ceramic bowls in the context of a temple or shrine. The vessels were analysed by Professor Mayer-Melikyan and yielded traces of both Ephedra and Cannabis. In an adjacent room, ceramic pot-stands were found which appear to have been used in conjunction with strainers designed to separate the juices from the twigs, stems and leaves of the plants. A shrine at a later site (Togoluk 1, mid-second millennium) revealed a similar pottery strainer, but without traces of hallucinogenics. The late second millennium site Togoluk 21 yielded vessels containing traces of Ephedra again,in conjunction with pollen of poppies. These finds support the theory that the Indo-Iranian Sauma drink was a composite psychoactive substance comprising of Ephedra and variously Cannabis or Opium, and probably other ingredients, and that the Sauma plant was Ephedra. Other analyses of the residues from the Gonur and Togolok-21 vessels by Professor C.C. Bakels and other botanists, however, found traces only of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum).

Firsthand account by Swami Ram

In his autobiographical book Living with the Himalayan Masters, which chronicles his life as an ascetic nomad in India in the early 1900s, Swami Rama recalls contacting a well-known Indian herbologist and Vedic scholar named Vaidya Bhairavdutt, who is described as "the only living authority on soma" for information about the mysterious herb mentioned in the Rig Veda. Upon an invitation, Bhairavdutt comes to visit the swami, bringing about a pound of the herb with him. He informs the swami that the soma plant is a "creeper which grows above 11,000 feet" and that "there are only two or three places where it grows at that altitude." Bhairavdutt goes on to explain that though the plant's effects can be likened to that of psychedelic mushrooms, it is definitely not of the mushroom family, but rather of the succulent family. It is unclear from the passage whether Bhairavdutt stops short of explicitly telling the swami what the herb is or whether the swami coyly avoids spelling out the name of the herb in the book. Regardless, Swami Rama admits to being ignorant of whether or not Bhairavdutt's soma is the same plant described in Vedic scripture. Bhairavdutt convinces the swami to join him in partaking the soma, which Bhairavdutt brews by mixing the soma-rasa (soma juice) with ashtha varga (a mixture of eight herbs). The taste, says Swami Rama, is "a little bit bitter and sour." Soon after drinking the concoction, Bhairavdutt becomes inebriated, strips himself naked, and dances wildly, claiming he is Shiva. His behavior becomes so unsettling that several students who had come to visit the swami earlier that morning attempt to restrain the apparently slightly-built Bhairavdutt, but are unable to do so as he becomes "so strong that five people [cannot] hold him down." Meanwhile, Swami Rama develops a crippling headache in reaction to the soma, and collapses in a corner clenching his head. The whole incident proves so disturbing to the swami that he concludes that the benefits one gains from using psychedelics are significantly outweighed by the damage it causes.

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