The importance of the Soma-plant in Vedic religion has never been underestimated. Among the rituals of the Yajurvedic texts, the soma -sacrifices are among the most elaborate and important, and are described in minute detail in the Brāhmaṇas and Śrauta-sūtras . These later texts nevertheless continue a direct tradition from the Ṛgveda , which can be seen to reflect an earlier stage in the...