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

160 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
was known to the poets of the Ṛig-Veda. The evidence, which
I am now going to cite, comes from another source, I mean, the
sacrificial litetature, which is quite independent of the legend of
the seven Âdityas. The Ṛig-Veda mentions a number of ancient
sacrificers styled 'our fathers' (II, 33, 13; VI, 22, 2), who instituted
the sacrifice in ancient times, and laid down, for the guidance of
man, the path which he should, in future, follow. Thus the
sacrifice offered by Manu, is taken as the type, and other sacri-
fices are compared with it in I, 76, 5. But Manu was not
alone to offer this ancient sacrifice to the gods. In X, 63, 7, he
is said to have made the first offerings to the gods along with
the seven Hotṛis; while Aṅgiras and Yayâti are mentioned with
him as ancient sacrificers in I, 31, 17, Bhṛigu and Aṅgiras in
VIII, 43, 13, Atharvan and Dadhyañch in I, 80, 16, and Dadhy-
añch, Aṅgiras, Atri and Kaṇva in I, 139, 9. Atharvan by
his sacrifices is elsewhere described, as having first extended
the paths, whereupon the sun was born (I, 83, 5 ), and the
Atharvans, in the plural, are styled 'our fathers' (naḥ pitaraḥ)
along with Aṅgirases, Navagvas and Bhṛigus in X, 14, 6.
In II, 34, 12, Dashagvas are said to have been the first to
offer a sacrifice; while in X, 92, 10 Atharvan is spoken
of, as having established order by sacrifices, when the Bhṛigus
showed themselves as gods by their skill. Philologically the
name of Atharvan appears as Athravan, meaning a fire-priest,
in the Avesta, and the word Aṅgiras is said to be etymolo-
gically connected with the Greek Aggilos, a 'messenger' and the
Persian Angara 'a mounted courier.' In the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa
(III, 34) Aṅgirases are said to be the same as Aṅgârâḥ,
'burning coals or fire,' (Cf. Ṛig. X. 62, 5). Whether we accept
these etymologies as absolutely correct or not, the resemblance
between the different words sufficiently warrants the assump-
tion that Atharvan and Aṅgiras must have been the ancient