Sodaśin

By Swami Harshananda

Among the Vedic sacrifices, those that use the soma juice for offering as oblations are called Somayāgas. Out of the seven Somayāgas, the Soḍaśin is the fourth. It is performed to attain vigor. While extracting the soma juice from the cuttings of the plant, sixteen śastras^[1] and sixteen stotras^[2] are used. Hence it is named as Soḍaśin.^[3]

This is done during the third extraction^[4] in the evening. A quadrangular cup made of khadira wood^[5] is used to keep the soma juice. Indra is the chief deity appeased through this sacrifice.

References[edit]

↑ Śastras means mantras which are to be chanted and not sung.
↑ Strotras means verses taken from the Ṛgveda and set to the musical tunes of Sāmaveda.
↑ Soḍaśin means comprising sixteen chants.
↑ Extraction means tṛtīyasavana.
↑ Khadira wood's scientific name is Acacia catechu.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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[1] Śastras means mantras which are to be chanted and not sung.

[2] Strotras means verses taken from the Ṛgveda and set to the musical tunes of Sāmaveda.

[3] Soḍaśin means comprising sixteen chants.

[4] Extraction means tṛtīyasavana.

[5] Khadira wood's scientific name is Acacia catechu.

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