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

VEDIC MYTHS—THE CAPTIVE WATERS. 237
in their true light or colours, giving in each case, my reasons-
for doing the same. This has sometimes rendered it necessary
to introduce certain topics not directly relevant to the question
in hand; but on the whole, I think, it will be found that I have,
as far as possible, tried to confine myself to the discussion of the
direct evidence bearing on the points in issue, and have exami-
ned it according to the strict method of historic or scientific
investigation. I did not start with any preconceived notion in
favour of the Arctic theory, nay, I regarded it as highly impro-
bable at first; but the accumulating evidence in its support
eventually forced me to accept it, and, in all probability, the
evidence cited in the previous chapters, will, I think, produce
the same impression on the reader's mind.
But the evidence, which I am now going to cite in support
of the Arctic theory, is of a different character. If the ances-
tors of the Vedic bards ever lived near the North Pole, the
cosmical or the meteorological conditions of the place could
not have failed to influence the mythology of these people;
and if our theory is true, a careful examination of the Vedic
myths ought to disclose facts, which cannot be accounted for
by any other theory. The probative value of such evidence
will manifestly be inferior to that of the direct evidence pre-
viously cited, for myths and legends are variously explained
by different scholars. Thus Yâska mentions three or four dif-
ferent schools of interpretation, each of which tries to ex-
plain the nature and character of the Vedic deities in a
different way. One of these schools would have us believe that
many of the deities were real historical personages, who were
subsequently apotheosized for their supernatural virtues or ex-
ploits. Other theologians divide the deities into Karma-deva-
tâs or those that have been raised to the divine rank by their
own deeds, and Âjânadevatâs or those that were divine by birth;
while the Nairuktas (or the etymologists) maintain that the