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

64 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
Such are the results of the latest researches in Vedic philology,
mythology or calendar, regarding the ancient home of the Vedic
people, and the origin and the antiquity of their mythology. But
to a man who is working in the same field, the question whether
we have reached the utmost limit of our researches naturally oc-
curs. It is a mistake to suppose that all the traditions and myths,
and even the deities, mentioned in the Ṛig-Veda were the creation
of one period. To adopt a geological phrase, the Ṛig-Veda, or we
might even say the whole Vedic literature, is not arranged into dif-
ferent strata according to their chronological order, so that we can
go on from one stratum to another and examine each separately.
The Ṛig-Veda is a book in which old things of different periods
are so mixed up that we have to work long and patiently before
we are able to separate and classify its contents in chronological
order. I have stated before how owing to our imperfect knowledge
of the ancient man and his surroundings this task is rendered
difficult, or even impossible in some cases. But, as observed by
Prof. Max Muller, it is the duty of each generation of Vedic
scholars to reduce as much as possible the unintelligible
portion of the Ṛig-Veda, so that with the advance of scientific
knowledge each succeeding generation may, in this matter,
naturally be in a better position than its predecessors. The
Vedic calendar, so far as we know, or the Vedic mythology
may not have, as yet, disclosed any indication of an Arctic
home, but underneath the materials that have been examined,
or even by their side, we may still find facts, which, though
hitherto neglected, may, in the new light of scientific discoveries,
lead to important conclusions. The mention of the luni-solar
calendar in the Ṛig-Veda ought not, therefore, to detain
us from further pursuing our investigation by examining the