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

VEDIC MYTHS—THE CAPTIVE WATERS. 245
Besides these three theories, the Dawn, the Storm and the
Vernal, Mr. Nârâyaṇa Aiyangâr of Bangalore has recently at-
tempted to explain a number of Vedic myths on the hypothesis
that they refer to Orion and Aldebaran. This may be called
the Astral theory as distinguished from others. But all these theo-
ries cannot be discussed in this place; nor is it necessary to do
so, so far as our purpose is concerned. I wish only to show that
in spite of the various theories started to explain the Vedic
myths, a number of incidents in several important legends have
yet remained unexplained; and mythologists have either ignored
them altogether, or pushed them out of the way as insignificant
or immaterial. If everything could be explained by the Dawn
or the Storm theory, we may indeed hesitate to accept a new
theory for which there would then be very little scope; but when
a number of facts, which have yet remained unexplained, are
satisfactorily and appropriately accounted for only by the Arctic
theory, we shall be perfectly justified in citing these legends as
corroborative evidence in support of our new theory. It is from
this point of view that I mean to examine some of the important
Vedic myths in this and the following chapter, and shall now
begin with the legend of Indra and Vṛitra, or of captive waters,
which is generally believed to have been satisfactorily explained
by the Storm theory.
The struggle between Indra and Vṛitra is represented in the
Vedas as being four-fold in character. First, it is a struggle bet-
ween Indra and Vṛitra, the latter of whom appears also under
the names of Namuchi, Shuṣhṇa, Shambara, Vala, Pipru, Kuyava
and others. This is Vṛitra-tûrya, or the fight or struggle with
Vṛitra. Secondly, it is a fight for the waters, which, either in the
form of sindhus (rivers) or as âpaḥ (simple floods), are often des-
cribed as released or liberated by the slaughter of Vṛitra. This is
ap-tûrya or the struggle for waters; and Indra is called apsu-jit or