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 1. The Vedas.

Of all religious books of the Hindus the Vedas are the most respected and the most ancient. There are four Vedas, of which Rig-Veda is the chief.

In the Rig-Veda we find mention of wine. Grog shops were in existence then. Wine or beer was stored up in leather vats for the use of the public (1. 191. 10). In the sacrifice called Sautramoni-yajna wine was drunk.

But the chief intoxicating drink of those days was the Soma-juice. According to the Rig Veda the Golden-winged Hawk, brought Soma from the Heavens. (IX. 43-62) Soma-juice was the fermented milky juice of a creeper called Soma (Asclepias-acida or Sarcostemna viminale) a plant of the family of milkweeds. It is described as having hanging boughs, bare of leaves along the stalks, of light, ruddy (or golden) colour with knotty joints, containing in a fibrous, cane-like outer rind, an abundance of milky acid and slightly astringent sap or juice. It is this