--- In HinduThought, "S. Kalyanaraman"
<kalyan97@y...> wrote:
The finds of 'floating stones' near Rames'waram point to the
possible architectural uses of sea-foam in ancient times.

Tamil: pe_n.am 'froth,foam'. I doubt if there is an IE/PIE cognate.
Lexemes such as: phena, samudra_phena, samudra_phen.a are a
reference to 'sea-foam' or 'foam, froth' of the seas. A clear
indication of the knowledge of the seas in Vedic times.
phena_s'ani 'having foam for a thunderbolt (Indra)' (Skt.)

There is a temple near Kumbakonam (Tiruvalancur..i), where a large
mu_rti of Vina_yaka is made of such phena stone.

"...in the RV, we are told that the sura_ was extracted from Namuci
by the As'vins to cure Indra, disintegrated by his indulgence in
Soma. In another version of the Namuci myth Indra slays or twists
off the head of Namuci who had insinuated himself into Indra's
intimacy and forced Indra to enter into a covenant with him, with a
weapon made of foam (apa_m phena); now foam is considered identical
with lead...so much seems sure that Namuci in the sura_ cycle, as
the restrainer who must be slain to release the invigorating fluids,
plays the same part as Vr.tra in the Soma cycle...(J.C. Heesterman,
1957, The ancient Indian royal consecration: the ra_jasu_ya described
according to the Yajus texts and annotated, Sgravenhage, Mouton &
Co., pp. 106-110)...

RV 8.14.13 mentions apa_m phena; this is described as a weapon which
Indra hurls at Namuci. The Bra_hman.a tradition has a legend: Indra
drinks sura_ at Namuci's residence and falls ill. Indra is then
cured by Sarasvati_. The Sautra_man.i_ is performed for a person
from whose nose, ears etc. Soma flows out. 'Soma flows out, the so-
called somapu_ta, further for a brahmin who desires success, for an
exiled king, for a ks.atriya and so on, and is performed in a
typical fashion...Further we find Namuci's name in a formula; during
the consecration ceremony of the king, uttering this formula, kicks
with
his foot a piece of lead that has been kept on the tiger skin.
(nirastam namuceh s'irah: TS 1.8.14; TBr 1.7.8.2; S'Br 5.4.1.9; MS
4.4.4 (54.5)...The comm. on TS says: lohita_yasam ta_mram pu_rvam
phenena pa_titam yan namuceh s'iras tad idam ta_mraru_pam san
nirastam parityaktam)...In the Va_japeya and here in the
Sautra_man.i_ the Parisrut is bought against lead from a long-haired
man...Indra makes a compact with Namuci...It is the well known
compact (MS 4.3.4 (43.7)(cf. MBh 9.43.34) not to injure Namuci
either with a dry object or with a wet one, either in daylight or at
night...Indra breaks the oath and kills this opponent apa_m
phenena...I would think that the apa_m phena should be understood in
the sense of some solid material and that it denotes some substance
like, e.g. lead, because this very metal serves, as we saw, as the
purchasing price in the sura_ ceremonies. In the context of removing
the old fire, Kaus'ika Su_tra LXXI.15 states that one should place
si_sa_ni in the hands of the eldest son, and the commentary explains
this word as si_sam nadi_phenam lohamr.ttika_. Kaus'ika Su_tra
VIII.18 lists si_sa, nadi_si_sa (comm. nadi_phenapin.d.a), ayorajas,
kr.kala_sas'irah among the things called 'lead', but not among the
immediately following rasas (like dadhi and ghr.ta)." [Alfred
Hillebrandt, 1927, Vedische Mythologie, tr. Sreeramula Rajeswara
Sarma, 1980, Vedic Mythology, 2 vols. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass,
vol. II, pp. 148-149]...

Arsenic was alloyed with copper to create hardened metal tools and
weapons; an alloy which represents an early 'bronze'.

da_rumuca = white arsenic (Skt.lex.) Therefore, na-muci may be a
negative formed to pinpoint a mineral substance, i.e. 'non-arsenic';
the reference of Namuci may be to 'white lead' in this semantic
derivation, consistent with the association of Namuci with 'lead,
plumbum' in the R.gvedic and later mythology. [cf.namak = salt
(Pahlavi.Hindi); sindhu-lavan.a = rock salt (Skt.)]

I suggest that sura_ which has a synonym 'madhu' is a reference to
pyrites. madhudha_tu 'pyrites' (Skt.) See also, ma_ks.ika_ a honey-
like mineral substance or pyrites (MBh. Skt.lex.) Compounds: hema-
,svarn.a-, suvarn.a-, pi_ta-ma_ks.ika, kam.sa-, ka_msya-, ru_pya-
ma_ks.ika; ma_ks.i_ka-dha+tu (Skt.lex.)

uta sya_ va_m madhuman ma_ks.ika_rapan madey somasyausijo huvanyati

RV 1.119.9 To you, O As'vins, that 'fly' betrayed the Soma. [Note
the pun on the word, ma_ks.ika_ meaning both 'bee' and 'pyrites or
quartz'.

RV 1.80.16: Atharvan, Manus.pitr. and Dadhyan~c spread the dhi_. In
RV 1.84.14 the head of Dadhyan~c is referred to: icchann as'vasya
yac chirah parvates.v a_pas'ritamtad vidac charyan.a_vati, 'he
looked for the head of the horse which was hidden in the mountains
and found it in s'aryan.a_vat (lake).' TMBr. 12.8.6 calls Dadhyan~c
an A_n:gi_rasa. The thunderbolt is fashioned from the bones of
Dadhi_ci. (cf. MBh. 3.100: the hermitage of the R.s.i Dadhi_ca is
located on the banks of the Sarasvati_.

ma_ks.ika_ are pyrites; hema ma_ks.ika_ and ta_ra ma_ks.ika_ denote
gold and silver pyrites. Rasaratna Samuccaya 77,81, 89-90:
ma_ks.ikam is born of mountains yielding gold...and is produced in
the bed of the river Tapi and in the lands of the Kira_tas, the
Chinese and the Yavanas... Ma_ks.ika_ repeatedly steeped in honey,
oil of the seeds of ricinus communis, urine of the cow, clarified
butter and the extract of the bulbous root of musa sapientum and
gently roasted in a crucible, yields an essence of copper. (cf.
Rasa_rn.ava 7.12-13 and Na_ga_rjuna's Rasaratna_kara 25-30
containing the same formula). The
reference to cow's urine may explain ma_nus.i_r a_pah (piss on it)
in RV 9.63.7, 'putting into movement the human waters'.

RV 10.31.4 and 5 (Hillebrandt, opcit. p. 321): When you, O lords of
light, had drunk (the draught) prepared with Sura_ and Asura Namuci,
you helped Indra with your deeds. As parents help the son, so did
you, O As'vins, both help Indra with your wisdom and marvellous
powers. When you drank skilfully (the draught) prepared with Sura_,
O bountiful one, Sarasvati_ healed you.

sura_ 'pyrites'; asura 'arsenic'. So, the purification -- using
agni, the pavitram filter -- to reduce the pyrites and retrieve the
amr.ta, the 'immortal' gold/silver electrum. Soma!

http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/Somaelectrum.htm


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