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

VEDIC MYTHS—THE CAPTIVE WATERS. 277
We read of a golden boat also in the Lettish mythology; and
Prof. Max Muller, referring to it, says, "What the golden boat
is that sinks into the sea and is mourned for by the daughter of
the sky, however, doubtful it may be elsewhere, is not to be mis-
taken in the mythology of the Lets. It is the setting sun, which
in the Veda has to be saved by the Ashvins; it is the golden boat
in which Hêlios and Hêracles sail from west to east. Some-
times it is the Sun-daughter herself that is drowned like
Chyavâna in the Veda, and as Chyavâna and similar heroes
had to be saved in the Veda by the Ashvins, the Lets also call
upon the God-sons to row in a boat and save the Sun-daughter."*
In connection with this, it may be here observed that the Ashvins
are described in the Ṛig-Veda as saving their proteges in boats
(I, 116, 3; I, 182, 6), and that though Ashvins' boats are not
described as golden, their chariot is said to be hiraṇyayî or golden
in VIII, 5, 29; while the boats of Pûṣhan, in which he crosses the
aerial ocean (samudra), are actually said to be golden in VI, 58, 3.
In I, 46, 7, the Ashvins are again spoken of as having both a
chariot and a boat, as a sort of double equipment; and their
chariot is said to be samâna yojana, or traversing, without dis-
tinction, both the heaven and the watery regions in I, 30, 18.
The word samâna is meaningless unless there is some difficulty in
traversing over one part of the celestial sphere as distinguished
from the other. The Vedic gods used these boats especially
in crossing the lower world, the home and seat of aerial waters;
and when they appeared above the horizon, they are described
as traversing the upper sphere by means of their chariots.
But sometimes the waters are said to carry them even across
the sky above, just as the chariot is described as going over
the lower world. For instance in the legend of Dîrghatamas,
discussed previously, he is said to be borne on waters for ten

• See Max Muller's Contributions to the Science of Mythology,
  Vol. II, p. 433.