SOMA PLANT

SOMA Plant

(Soma poodu, Soma poondu)

Botanical Name:– Asclepias acida.

English Name:- Moon creeper, creeping milk hedge

Description:

            It is a plant classified into twenty four species. The milky juice is the general characteristic of all the some plants. It is a divine plant and is the lord of all medicinal herbs and whatever may be the species, the plant is furnished with fifteen leaves which grow and fall with the waxing and waning of the moon. The maximum leaves will be found only on the night of the full moon then the leaves begin to decrease in number by one every day.

            Among the ancient Aryans fermented liquor was prepared by mixing its juice with barley and ghee, this wine was drunk at all the religious ceremonies especially during the performances of “Yakam” (Scarified Fire) and so was used as an intoxicant by the Rishis (Vashista and others), who in the very early age of Hinduism, combined it at their meals with leaf. A more detailed account of this wine will be found in Sama Vedas.

            Devas and man considered this as a kind of amirtham (ambrosia) conferring eternal life and vigour both on gods and men. The raw juice is so mild that travelers suck the tender shoots to allay their thirst.

Note: in some book this some plant or at least one of the varieties is said to be creeper cacti (kalli) Sarcostemma brevistigma, which is doubted very much for the reason that this Cacti (kalli) is a hedge plant very commonly found in South India and the structure and the properties assigned to the some plant are found in this species. It appears to belong to a quite different botanical group.

(T.V.Sambasivampillai, “Dictionary of Medicine, Chemistry, Botany and Allied Sciences” (Based on Indian Medical Science), Published by dept of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy, Chennai – 600 106, 2^nd Edition, 1998, Page No: 692,693)

Soma Plant

Sarcostemma brevistigma W.&a

Muvakiriya (Sinhala)

Soma Plant, Soma (Sanacrikt)

Family: Asclepiadaceae

sarcostemma acidum.

Native to east india, yields a milky, acidulous, narcotic juice. In ancient India an intoxicating concoction was prepared from its juice by mixing it with buffalo milk, butter, barley and water. This drink was used in Vedic sacrificial rites, in honor of Indra and other Hindu gods. The plant and its juice were considered to have divine power, and were worshiped as the incarnation of Soma, the revered Vedic god of the Soma juice, diety of the moon, and lord of the stars and vegetation. Soma, according to ancient Vedic mythology, was born by the churning of the ocean, and occupied the 3rd place among the Vedic gods.

 Dr.S.R.P.Rajeev