Fire and Lighting - Soma Metaphors Part 2 | On Paradise Earth

The enlightening effects of the soma-plant are also described recurrently in terms of fire and lightning. In these instances, the plant-god is either allied with, or identified as, the Vedic God-of-Fire, Agni, with whom Soma shares pyrogenic and solar qualities, as well as close associations with enkindled aquatic plants that arise annually from rivers and lakes in the Punjab. A famous Vedic priest by the name of Atharvan is said to press Agni's spiritual fervor (tapas or tejas) out of lotus stalks during soma sacrifices, the pacifying warmth of which is then enjoyed by meditative soma-drinkers. Soma also possessed the enlightening powers of lightning bolts, which the Vedic storm-god, Indra, wields above the rivers of the Punjab to attack dark and surly serpents of the waters. In so doing, he procures his needed shares of soma’s immortalizing virtues. In the arts of South Asia, the bolt of Indra invariably takes the form of two opposing lotus flowers.