वेदों की प्राचीनता एवं काल-निर्णय / ओरायन (लोकमान्य बाल गंगाधर तिलक - खगोलीय वैदिक शोध)

140 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
hymn celebrates the exploits of Indra, all of which are per-
formed in aerial or heavenly regions. In the first verse the
killing of Vṛitra, and the releasing of the dawns and the waters
are mentioned; and in the second the sun is said to have been
made to shine by the same process. The third verse* is as
follows:—
Vi sūryo madhye amuchad rathan divo
vidad dāsāya pratimānam āryaḥ ।
Dṛiḍhāni Pipror asurasya māyinaḥ
Indro vyāsyach chakṛivāṁ Ṛijishvanā ॥
The fourth, fifth and the sixth verses all refer to the destru-
ction of Vṛitra's forts, the chastisement of Uṣhas and the placing
of the moons in the heaven. But the third verse quoted above
is alone important for our purpose. The words are simple
and easy, and the verse may be thus translated, "The sun
unyoked his car in the midst of heaven; the Ârya found a
counter-measure (pratimānam) for the Dāsa. Indra, acting
with Ṛijishvan, overthrew the solid forts of Pipru, the conjur-
ing Asura." It is the first half of the verse that is relevant to our
purpose. The sun is said to have unyoked his car, not at sunset,
or on the horizon, but in the midst of heaven, there to rest for
some time. There is no uncertainty about it, for the words are
so clear; and the commentators have found it difficult to
explain this extraordinary conduct of the sun in the midway
of the heavens. Mr. Griffith says that it is, perhaps, an
allusion to an eclipse, or to the detention of the sun to
enable the Aryans to complete the overthrow of their ene-
mies. Both of these suggestions are, however, not satisfactory.
During a solar eclipse the sun being temporarily hidden by the
moon is invisible wholly or partially and is not besides stationary.
The description that the sun unyoked his car in the mid-heaven

• Ṛig. X, 138, 3—वि सूर्यो मध्ये अमुचद्रथं दिवो. विंदद्दासाय प्रति-
  मानमार्यः । दृळ्हानि पिप्रोरसुरस्य मायिनः इंद्रो व्यासच्चकृवाँ ऋजिश्वना ॥