The Ninth Mandala of the Rigveda is known as the Soma Mandala - soma online It consists entirely of hymns addressed to Soma Pavamana ("purified Soma") - soma online The drink Soma was kept and distributed by the Gandharvas. The Rig Veda associates the Sushoma, Arjika and other regions with Soma (e.g. 8.7.29; 8.64.10-11). Probably the most important Soma region described in the Rig Veda is Sharyanavat (e.g. RV 10.35.2; 9.113.1-2). In the Rig Veda, Soma is also associated with Samudra (see Frawley 2001 for references to Rig-vedic verses). In art, the god Soma was depicted as a bull or bird, and sometimes as an embryo, but rarely as an adult human. In Hinduism, the god Soma evolved into a lunar deity, and became associated with the underworld. The moon is the cup from which the gods drink Soma, and so Soma became identified with the moon god Chandra. A waxing moon meant Soma was recreating himself, ready to be drunk again. Alternatively, Soma's borrowing from the Sanskrit soma-raja "king Soma" or possibly "soma rasa" / "soma juice" which could be the same as "bhang" 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). Soma (Sanskrit), or Haoma (Avestan) (from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Sauma) was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo- With worldwide, proven Broadband Wireless Access deployments, SOMA Networks ... SOMA�s end-to