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

206 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
Maṇḍala of 114 hymns in the Ṛig-Veda is dedicated to the
praise of Soma. A careful analysis of the Soma sacrifice may,
therefore, be expected to disclose, at least partially, the nature
of the oldest sacrificial system of the Aryan race; and we,
therefore, proceed to examine the same.
The chief characteristic of the Soma sacrifice, as distin-
guished from other sacrifices, is, as the name indicates, the ex-
traction of the Soma juice and the offering thereof to gods be-
fore drinking it. There are three libations of Soma in a day,
one in the morning, one at mid-day, and the last in the evening,
and all these are accompanied by the chanting of hymns during
the sacrifice. These Soma sacrifices, if classed according to
their duration, fall under three heads; (1) those that are per-
formed in a single day, called Ekâhas, (2) those that are per-
formed in more than one and less than thirteen days, called
Ahînas, and (3) those that take thirteen or more than 13 days
and may last even for one thousand years, called Sattras. Under
the first head we have the Agniṣhṭoma, fully described in the
Aitareya Brâhmaṇa (III, 39-44), as the key or the type of all
the sacrifices that fall under this class. There are six modifica-
tions of Agniṣhṭoma, viz., Ati-agniṣhṭoma, Ukthya, Shoḍashî,
Vâjapeya, Atirâtra and Aptoryâma, which together with Ag-
niṣhṭoma, form the seven parts, kinds or modifications of the
Jyotiṣhṭoma sacrifice, (Ashv. S. S. VI, 11, 1). The modification
chiefly consists in the number of hymns to be recited at the
libations, or the manner of recitation, or the number of the
Grahas or Soma-cups used on the occasion. But with these we
are not at present concerned. Of the second class of Soma sacri-
fices, the Dvâdashâha or twelve days' sacrifice is celebrated both
as Ahîna and Sattra and is considered to be very important.
It is made up of three tryahas (or three days' performances,
called respectively Jyotis, Go, and Ayus), the tenth day and the
two Atirâtras (Ait. Br. IV, 23-4). The nine days' performance