AMRTA. - The a., Rgveda (v.) is the drink of the gods, capable of conferring immortality, has its earthly counterpart in soma, “the pressed one,” the fermented juice of an alpine plant, not clearly identified, which is thought to have belonged to the family of the Asclepiadaceae. Soma, offered to the gods pure or mixed with milk or honey, is a beverage for exclusively ritual use, of divine origin like the a. The god Indra draws from
soma the strength to confront and destroy the demons, and the myth of the eagle that steals for him the fiery liquor from the heaven where it is kept belongs to the Rgveda, IX, 77, 2. In the Mahābhārata, I, 15-17 (Poona 1914), the acquisition of the a. takes place in an altogether different manner. The gods and the asuras churn the ocean together in order to obtain the a., using Mount Mandara as a churn and the serpent Vasuki as the rope to turn it round. Having obtained the ambrosia, gods and asuras contend for its possession. Then Viṣṇu, making use of his magic, transforms himself into a woman of marvellous beauty and obtains from the sickened and astonished asuras the delivery of the a. Having understood the deception, the asuras resume the struggle, but the gods inflict a decisive defeat upon them.
Ferdinando Belloni Filippi