Editing Chandra (section)

===Soma===
Soma is one of the most common other names used for the deity; but the earliest use of the word to refer to the Moon is a subject of scholarly debate. Some scholars state that the word Soma is occasionally used for the Moon in the Vedas, while other scholars suggest that such usage emerged only in the post-Vedic literature.{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=393}} 

In the [[Vedas]], the word Soma is primarily used for an [[Soma (drink)|intoxicating and energizing/healing plant drink]] and the deity representing it.<ref name="Dalal2">{{Cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC&q=Soma|title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths|date=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341517-6|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":102">{{Cite book |last=Stevenson |first=Jay |title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eastern Philosophy |publisher=[[Alpha Books]] |year=2000 |isbn=9780028638201 |location=Indianapolis |pages=46 |language=en-US}}</ref> In post-Vedic [[Hindu mythology]], Soma is used for Chandra, who is associated with the moon and the plant.{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=393}}<ref>Nirukta, Chapter 11, Part 3. The oldest available book for Vedic Etymology</ref><ref>RgVeda 9.1.1, Samaveda 1</ref> The Hindu texts state that the Moon is lit and nourished by the Sun, and that it is Moon where the divine nectar of immortality resides.{{sfn|Dalal|2010a|p=394}} In Puranas, Soma is sometimes also used to refer to [[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]] (as ''Somanatha''), [[Yama]] and [[Kubera]].<ref name=mmw1137>{{cite book|author=Monier Monier-Williams|title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary|year=1872|publisher=Oxford University Press (Reprint: 2001)|page=1137}}</ref> In some Indian texts, Soma is the name of an [[apsara]]; alternatively it is the name of any medicinal concoction, or rice-water gruel, or heaven and sky, as well as the name of certain places of pilgrimage.<ref name=mmw1137/>

Inspired by his interest in Indian mysticism, [[Aldous Huxley]] took the name for the drug used by the state in his novel ''[[Brave New World]]'' to control the population after the Vedic ritual drink Soma.