The old Vedic deities Indra, the rain-god, Varuna, the heaven-god, the Maruts or winds, and Soma, the divine liquor, have fallen into neglect.

These were the principal forces which controlled the existence of a nomad pastoral people, dependent on rain to make the grass grow for their herds, and guiding their course by the sun and stars.

The Soma or liquor apparently had a warming, exhilarating effect in the cold climate of the Central Asian steppes, and was therefore venerated.

Since in the hot plains of India abstinence from alcoholic liquor has become a principal religious tenet of high-caste Hindus, Soma is naturally no more heard of.

Agni, the fire-god, was also one of the greatest deities to the nomads of the cold uplands, as the preserver of life against cold.