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

VEDIC MYTHS—THE MATUTINAL DEITIES. 319
morning, attained in later mythology. We took up the legends
of the Ashvins with a view to see if there were any incidents in
them which became intelligible only on the Arctic theory, and
the foregoing examination of the legends shows that we have
not searched in vain. The expression dasha-mâsya in the leg-
end of Sapta-vadhri and dashame yuge in that of Dîrgha-
tamas directly indicate a period of ten months' sunshine, and
we have seen that three, ten, or a hundred continuous nights
are also referred to directly or metaphorically in some of these
legends. We have again such expressions as "the sun sleep-
ing in darkness or in the lap of Nir-ṛiti," which show that
actual and not metaphorical darkness was intended. In short,
the sun, sunk in the nether world of waters and darkness, and
not merely a winter sun, is the burden of all these legends,
and the achievements of the Ashvins refer to the rescue of the
sun from the dark pit of the nether world or from the bottom-
less ocean or darkness. The Vernal and Arctic theories are
both solar in character, and in either case the legends are
interpreted on the supposition that they represent some solar
phenomenon. But the Arctic theory does not stop with the
decay of the sun's power in winter, but goes a step further in
making the long darkness of the circum-polar region, the
natural basis of many important Vedic legends; and the fore-
going discussion of the myths of the Ashvins clearly shows
that a wider basis, like the one supplied by the Arctic theory,
was not only desirable but necessary for a proper explanation
of these legends—a fact, which, in its turn, further corro-
borates and establishes the new theory.

The Sûrya's Wheel.

We have already discussed the legends of the seven Âdi-
tyas with their still-born brother, and shewn that it represents
seven months of sunshine in the ancient Aryan home. But
this is not the only period of sunshine in the Arctic region,