Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children Book Cover.webp

In this book, we analyze the psycho-social consequences faced by Indian American children after exposure to the school textbook discourse on Hinduism and ancient India. We demonstrate that there is an intimate connection—an almost exact correspondence—between James Mill’s colonial-racist discourse (Mill was the head of the British East India Company) and the current school textbook discourse. This racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces the same psychological impacts on Indian American children that racism typically causes: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon akin to racelessness, where children dissociate from the traditions and culture of their ancestors.


This book is the result of four years of rigorous research and academic peer-review, reflecting our ongoing commitment at Hindupedia to challenge the representation of Hindu Dharma within academia.

Soma

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Usage of Word Soma[edit]

The word ‘soma’ has been used in several senses. One of the common meaning is Candra or the deity Moon. He is the presiding deity of Somavāra or Monday and one of the Navagrahas or Nine Planets. In the Vedas, it has been used to indicate the soma-creeper and also its juice, somarasa, which is extensively used to offer as oblations in Somayāgas.

Appearance of Soma Creeper[edit]

The twigs of the creeper were brown or tawny in color and would hang down. It used to grow on hills and mountains. Hence it was difficult for ordinary people to obtain it. Probably some of the hill-tribes were experts in collecting these creepers and supplying them.

Making of Somarasa[edit]

Crushing the stalks of this creeper to extract the juice was also a part of Vedic ritualism. This was called ‘abhiṣava’ or ‘savana’. The stalks were probably kept immersed in water and then crushed with the stones called grāva and adri, The juice was then filtered in daśāpavitra[1] into a vessel called droṇakalaśa.

Vessels Used for Somarasa[edit]

Camu was the name of the vessel containing the somarasa for gods. The vessels used by the priests for drinking it were called kalaśa and camasa.[2] In Somayāgas, the savana or the extraction of the soma juice from the creepers was done thrice a day:

  1. Morning - prātasavana
  2. Noon - mādhyandina-savana
  3. Evening - tṛtīyasavana

Presiding Deities of Soma[edit]

The presiding deities of these were Indra, Maruts and Viśvedevas for the first, Indra alone for the second and the Ṛbhus[3] for the third. The soma juice is sometimes mixed with milk or curds or barley. Then it is called gavāśira, daddhyāśira and yavāśira respectively. Soma is a highly exhilarating drink that induces tremendous energy. Indra is said to be very fond of it and also the gods to whom it is offered as libation.

Alternatives of Somarasa[edit]

It is not at all an intoxicating drink like liquor though, sometimes, prejudiced and ignorant Western scholars dub it so. Soma seems to have become a rare plant and gone out of vogue even by the time of the Vedic Brāhmaṇas. Hence several substitutes like extracts of phālguna plants, putikā stalks, dub plants and greenish kuśa grass have been prescribed.


References[edit]

  1. Daśāpavitra means made of wool.
  2. Camas is all made of wood.
  3. Ṛbhus are the human beings raised to the status of gods.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore