Indians have been drinking some form of wine for the past 4,000 years and the 9th book of the Rigveda is devoted to its preparation and use. In spite of this, a pretence pervades Indian society against the drinking of wine. This book examines this history.
Indians have been drinking some form of wine for the past four thousand years. In spite of it, a kind of pretence pervades society against the drinking of wine. In Vedic times, Somarasa and Sura were much in common use. Indra, the Vedic deity of war, greatly relished it, and not unoften got inebriated.
Interestingly, the ninth book of the Rigveda is fully devoted to Soma, its preparation and use. Similarly, later works like Astadhyayi, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Arthasastra, Raghuvamsa, Harsacarita, etc. also refer to the popularity of wine among all sections of the society. Dharmasastras, however, occasionally speak against the use of wine by the Brahmanas.
