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

APP. TO CHAP. V—THE THIRTY DAWNS. 115
ऋ॒तूनां पत्नी॑ प्रथ॒मेयमागा॒दह्नां॑ ने॒त्री ज॑नि॒त्री प्र॒जाना॑म् ।
एका॑ स॒ती ब॒हुधोषो॒ व्यु॑च्छ॒स्यजी॑र्णा त्वं ज॑रयसि॒ सर्व॑म॒न्यत् ॥ १५ ॥
TAITTÎRIYA SAMHITÂ KÂNDA V, PRAPÂTHAKA 3,
ANUVÂKA 4, SECTION 7.
न वा इदं दिवा॑ न नक्त॑मासीदव्यावृ॑त्तं ते दे॒वा ए॒ता व्यु॑ष्टीरपश्य॒न् ता
उपा॑दधत॒ ततो॒ वा इदं व्यौ॑च्छ॒द्यस्यै॒ता उप॑धीय॒न्ते व्ये॑वास्मा॑ उच्छ॒त्यथो॒
तम॑ ए॒वाप॑ हते ।
TRANSLATION AND NOTES.
Taitt. Samhitâ IV. 3, 11

1. This, verily, is She that dawned first; (she) moves
   entered into her (i. e. above the horizon). The bride, the
   new-come mother, is born. The three great ones follow her.
2. She that dawned first: evidently meaning the first of a series
   of thirty dawns, mentioned in the following verses. In verse 13 we
   are told that it is the dawn which commences the year. The thirty
   dawns are, therefore, the dawns at the begininng of the year, and the
   first of them is mentioned in the first verse. Sâyaṇa, however, says—
   आदिसृष्टिकाले प्रथमो यः प्रभातकालस्तद्रूपेयम्, meaning that the dawn at the
   beginning of the creation is her intended. But the explanation does not
   suit the context, and Sâyaṇa has himself given different explanations
   afterwards.
   Entered into her; according to Sâyaṇa asyâm ( into her )
   means "into the earth;" compare Ṛig. III, 61, 7, where the sun, the
   speeder of the dawns, is said to have 'entered into the mighty earth
   and heaven.' According to A. V. reading the meaning would be 'en-
   tered into the other (dawns)," shewing that the first dawn is a member
   of a larger group.
   The three great ones: Sûrya, Vâyu and Agni according to Sâyaṇa.
   The three typical deities or Devatâs mentioned by Yâska (VII, 5) are
   Agni, Vâyu or Indra, and Sûrya. In Ṛig VII, 33, 7, the three Ghar-
   mas (fires) are said to attend the dawn, (trayo Gharmâsa ushasam
   sachante); and in VII, 78, 3, the dawns are said to have created Sûrya,
   Yajña (Sacrifice) and Agni. Also compare A. V. IX, 1, 8, and Bloom-
   field's note thereon in S. B. E. Series, Vol. XLII, p. 590. Though the
   three may be variously named, the reference is evidently to the rise
   of the sun and the commencement of sacrifices or the kindling of
   sacrificial fires after the first dawn, (Cf. Ṛig. I, 113, 9).

116 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
2. Possessed of songs, decorating ( themselves ), and mov-
ing together in a common abode, the Two Dawns, the ( two )
wives of the sun, unwasting, rich in seed, move about displaying
their banner and knowing well (their way).
3. The Three Maidens have come along the path of Ṛita ;
the three fires ( Gharmas ) with light, have followed. One (of
these Maidens) protects the progeny, one the vigour, and one
the ordinance of the pious.
4. That, which (was) the Fourth, acting as Ṛiṣhis, the
2. Posseessed of songs : Sâyaṇa thus interprets chchandas-vati ;
but the Pet. Lex. translates the word by ' lovely.' I have followed
Sâyaṇa because the A. V. reading chchandas-pakshe, 'having chchandas
for the two wings,' supports Sâyaṇa's meaning. That the morning
atmosphere resounded with the recitation of hymns and songs may be
seen, amongst others, from Ṛig. III, 61, 1 and 6. The phrase madye-
chchandasaḥ, in verse 6 below, denotes the same idea. But the word
chchandas may perhaps be understood to mean ' shine ' in all these
places ; Cf. Ṛig. VIII, 7, 36, where the phrase, chchando na
sûro archishâ is translated by Max Muller to mean " like the shine
by the splendour of the sun," (See S. B. E. Series, Vol. XXXII,
pp. 393, 399.)
Decorating, moving together in the same place, wives of the sun,
un-wasting &c : These and others are the usual epithets of the Dawn
found in the Ṛig-Veda, Cf. Ṛig I, 92, 4 ; VII, 76, 5 ; IV, 5, 13 ; I,
113, 13.
The Two Dawns : Ushasâ does not here mean Ushâsâ-naktâ or
' Day and Night,' as supposed by Mr. Griffith, but denotes two dawns
as such, the third, the fourth &c. being mentioned in the following
verses. Sâyaṇa says द्वे उषसौ, एका सृष्टिकालीना ' प्रथमा' इतिपूर्वमंत्रोक्ता, अपरा
प्रतिदिनसंचारिणी, meaning that the first dawn is the dawn which appeared
at the beginning of the creation and the second the diurnal one, as
we see it. But Sâyaṇa had to abandon this explanation later on. The
couple of Dawns obviously includes the first Dawn mentioned in the
first verse, which, with its successor, now forms a couple. Since groups
of two, three, five or thirty dawns are mentioned as moving together,
they cannot be the dawns of consecutive days, that is, separated by
sunlight, as with us in the tropical or the temperate zone.
3. The Three Maidens : the number of Dawns is now increased to
three ; but Sâyaṇa gives no explanation of the number.
4. The Fourth : Sâyaṇa now says यद्यप्येकैव उषा तथापि जगद्रक्षणाय
यौगैश्वर्यादनेकशरीरस्वीकारे सति बहव उषसो भवन्ति, meaning that the single
Deity of Dawn appears as many different dawns through yogic powers !

APP. TO CHAP. V—THE THIRTY DAWNS. 117
two wings of the sacrifice, has become the four-fold Stoma
(Chatu-shṭoma). Using Gâyatrî, Trishṭup, Jagatî, Anushṭup
the great song, they brought this light.
5. The creator did it with the Five, that he created
five-and-five sisters to them (each). Their five courses (kratavaḥ),
assuming various forms, move on in combination (prayaveṇa).
6. The Thirty Sisters, bearing the same banner, move on
to the appointed place (nish-kṛitam). They, the wise, create
the seasons. Refulgent, knowing (their way), they go round
(pari yanti) amidst songs (madye-chchandasaḥ).
Acting as Ṛishis...four-fold Stoma: The group of four Dawns
appears to be here compared to the Chatu-shṭoma or the four-fold
song. (For a description of the four-fold Stoma see Ait. Br. III, 42,
Haug’s Trans. p. 237). Gâyatrî &c. are the metres used. The light
brought on by the Dawns is the reward of this Stoma. Sâyaṇa inter-
prets suvas to mean ‘heaven,’ but compare Ṛig. III, 61, 4, where the
adjective, svar janantî, ‘creating light,’ is applied to the Dawn.
5. Did it with the Five: after the number of Dawns was in-
creased to five, the creation proceeded by fives; compare verse 11
below.
Their five courses: I construe tâsâṁ pañcha kratavaḥ prayaveṇa
yanti. Sâyaṇa understands kratavaḥ to mean sacrificial rites perform-
ed on the appearance of the dawn; but compare Ṛig. I, 123, 8, which
says “The blameless Dawns (plu.) go round thirty yojanas, each her
own kratu (destined course),” (supra p. 103). Kratavaḥ in the pre-
sent verse must be similarly interpreted.
In combination: We have thirty Dawns divided into five groups
of six each; compare Taitt. Br. II, 5, 6, 5, quoted above (p. 100),
which says tâ devyaḥ kurvate pañcha rûpâ, “the Goddesses (Dawns)
make five forms.” Five groups of thirty Dawns, each group having
its own destined course, are here described; but as each group is made
of six Dawns, the five courses are again said to assume different forms,
meaning that the members of each group have again their own courses
within the larger course chalked out for the group.
6. Thirty Sisters: Sâyaṇa, in his commentary on the preceding
verse says पञ्चसंख्याका ज्येष्ठा उषसः तासां स्वसारः पञ्चविंशतिसंख्याका इत्ये-
कस्मिन् मासि प्रतिपदादिरूपास्त्रिंशदुषसः संपद्यन्ते, meaning that the thirty Dawns
mentioned are the thirty dawns of a month. But Sâyaṇa does not ex-
plain why one month out of twelve, or only 30 out of 360 dawns should
be thus selected. The explanation is again unsuited to the context,.

118 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
7. Through the sky, the illumined Goddess of Night
accepts the ordinances of the sun. The cattle, of various forms,
(begin to) look up as they rise on the lap of the mother.
8. The Ekâshṭakâ, glowing with holy fervour (tapas),
gave birth to a child, the great Indra. Through him the
(See supra p. 101, and T. S. V, 3, 4, 7, quoted below.) The Dawns are
called sisters also in the Ṛig-veda, (Cf. I, 124, 8 and 9).
Appointed place: nish-kṛitam, (Nir. XII, 7), used in reference to
the course of the Dawns also in Ṛig. I, 123, 9. It is appropriate only
if the Dawns returned to the same point in their daily rounds, (See
supra p. 106).
Go round amidst-songs: pari yanti, 'go round' is also the phrase
used in Ṛig. I, 123, 8. Madye-chchandasaḥ is interpreted by Sâyaṇa
to mean "about the sun, which is always surrounded by songs." But
we need not go so far, for madye-chchandasaḥ may be more simply
taken to mean 'amidst-songs,' that are usually sung at the dawn, (Ṛig.
VII, 80, 1).
7. Through the sky: I take nabhas as an accusative of space.
Sâyaṇa appears to take it as an adjective equivalent to nabhasthasya
and qualifying sûryasya. In either case the meaning is the same, viz.,
that the night was gradually changing into day-light.
The cattle: morning rays or splendours usually spoken of as cows.
In Ṛig. I, 92, 12, the Dawn is described as spreading cattle (pashûn)
before her; and in I, 124, 5, we are told that she fills the lap of both
parents, heaven and earth. I construe, with Sâyaṇa, nânâ-rûpa
pashavaḥ vi pashyanti, taking vi pashyanti intransitively, and nânâ-
rûpa as an adjective. The same phrase is found used in reference to a
woman's children in the Atharva-Veda, XIV, 2, 25. For the intran-
sitive use of vi pashyanti, See Ṛig. X, 125, 4.
8. The Ekâshṭakâ: The birth of Indra is evidently the birth of
the sun after the expiry of thirty dawns. Sâyaṇa, quoting Âpastamba
Gṛihya Sûtra (VIII, 21, 10), interprets Ekâshṭakâ to mean the 8th
day of the dark half of the month of Mâgha (January-February); and in
the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ, VII, 4, 8, quoted and explained by me in Chap-
ter III of Orion, it seems to have same meaning, (See Orion p. 44 ff;
Ekâshṭakâ was the first day, or the consort, of the Year, when the sun
turned towards the north from the winter solstice; and the commencement
of all annual sattras is, therefore, directed to be made on the Ekâshṭakâ
day. This meaning was, however, settled when the vernal equinox had
receded from the asterism of Mṛiga (Orion) to that of the Kṛittikâs
(Pleiades). But in earlier days Ekâshṭakâ seems to have meant the last of
the dawns which preceded the rise of the sun after the long darkness, and

APP. TO CHAP. V—THE THIRTY DAWNS. 119
Gods have subdued their enemies; by his powers (he) has
become the slayer of the Asuras.
9. You have made a companion (lit. the after-born) for
me, who was (before) without a companion. Truth-teller (as
thou art), I desire this, that I may have his good will, just as
you do not transgress each the other.
10. The All-knowing has my good will, has got-a hold
(on it), has secured a place (therein). May I have his good will
just as you do not transgress each the other.
11. Five milkings answer to the five dawns; the five
seasons to the five-named cow. The five sky-regions, made by
thus commenced the year, which began with the period of sunshine. he
word eka in Ekâshṭakâ perhaps denotes the first month, the lastdawn
probably falling on the 8th day of the first lunar month of the year.
A companion for me : that is, Indra or the sun, whose birth is
mentioned in the previous verse ; and the poet now prays that his new
friend, the after-born follower or companion, should be favourable to
him. It should be noted that the birth of the sun is described after
the lapse of thirty dawns, during which the poet had no companion.
Truth-teller: Sâyaṇa seems to take satyam vadanti as a vocative plural;
but it is not in strict accordance with grammar. In the pada text, it
is evidently a feminine form of nom. sing., and I have translated accord-
ingly, though not without some difficulty. In Ṛig. III, 61, 2, the
dawn is called sûnṛitâ îrayantî which expresses the same idea.
Just as you do not trangress each the other: compare the Ṛig-Veda
VII, 76, 5, where we are told that the Dawns, though collected in the
same place, do not strive against or quarrel with each other.
10. The All-knowing : Sâyaṇa takes vishva-vedâh to mean the
Dawn; but it obviously refers to the companion (anujâm) mentioned in
the preceding verse. The worshipper asks for a reciprocity of good will.
The All-knowing (Indra) has his good will; let him, he prays, have now
the All-knowing's good will. The adjective vishva-vedâh is applied in
the Ṛig-Veda to Indra or Agni several times, Cf. Ṛig. VI, 47, 12; I, 147, 3.
11. Five milkings: Sâyaṇa refers to Taitt. Brâh. II, 2, 9, 6-9,
where darkness, light, the two twilights, and day are said to be the five
milkings (dohâh) of Prajâpati. The idea seems to be that all the five-
fold groups in the creation proceeded from the five-fold dawn-groups.
Five-named Cow: the earth, according to Sâyaṇa, who says that the
earth has, five different names in the five seasons, e. g. pushpa-vatî

120 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
the fifteen, have a common head, directed to one world.
12. The first dawn (is) the child of Ṛita, one upholds the
greatness of Waters, one moves in the regions of Sûrya, one
(in those) of Gharma (fire), and Savitṛi rules one.
13. That, which dawned first, has become a cow in Yama's
realm. Rich in milk, may she milk for us each succeeding year.
14. The chief of the bright, the omniform, the brindled,
the fire-bannered has come, with light, in the sky. Working
well towards a common goal, bearing (signs of) old age, (yet) O
unwasting! O Dawn! thou hast come.
15. The wife of the seasons, this first has come, the leader
of days, the mother of children. Though one, O Dawn! thou
shinest manifoldly; though unwasting, thou causest all the rest
to grow old (decay).
(blossomy) in Vasanta ( spring ), tâpa-vatî (heated) in Grîṣhma (Summer),
vṛiṣhṭi-vatî (showery) in Varṣhâ (Rains), jala-prasâda-vatî ( clear-
watered) in Sharad (Autumn), and shaitya-vatî (cold) in Hemanta-Shishira
(Winter). The seasons are taken as five by combining Hemanta and
Shishira into one.
The fifteen: The fifteen-fold Stoma, called pañcha-dasha, ( See
Haug's Trans. Ait. Br. p. 238).
13. Each succeeding year: This shows that the dawn here de-
scribed is the first dawn of the year. In Ṛig. I, 33, 10, light (cows)
is said to be milked from darkness.
14. Working well towards a common goal: compare Ṛig. III, 61,
3, where, the Dawn "wending to one and the same goal" is asked to
"turn on like a wheel."
Bearing (signs of) old age: I construe jarâm bibhratî and yet
ajare. Sâyaṇa takes svapasya-mânâ (working well) as an independent
adjective; and connects bibhratî with artham, and jarâm with agâḥ.
The meaning would then be "Working well, having a common end, O
unwasting Dawn! thou hast reached old age." But it does not make
any appreciable change in the general sense of the verse.
15. Though one...shinest manyfoldly shows that only one con-
tinuous dawn, though made up of many parts, is described in this hymn.
Leader of days, mother of children—the epithets ahnâm netrî
and gavâm mâtâ are also found used in the Ṛig-Veda, VII, 77, 2.

APP. TO CHAP. V—THE THIRTY DAWNS. 121
Taitt. Saṁhitâ V, 3, 4, 7.
It was un-distinguished,* neither day nor night. The Gods
perceived these dawn-bricks (for the laying of which the 15
verses given above are to be used). They laid them. Then it
. shone forth†. Therefore for whom these are laid, it shines forth
to him, destroys (his) darkness.
REMARKS.
It has been previously mentioned that the fifteen verses,
quoted above, are used or recited as Mantras at the time of
laying down, certain emblematical bricks, called Vyushṭi-ishṭakâs,
or dawn-bricks, on the sacrificial altar. But as the Mantras, or
verses, used for sacrificial purposes are often taken from different
Vedic hymns, these verses are likely to be regarded as unconnec-
ted with each other. The account of the thirty dawns, contained
therein, however, shews that these verses must have originally
formed an entire or one homogeneous hymn. Again if the Mantras
had been selected from different hymns, one for each dawn-
brick, there would naturally be 16 verses in all, as 16 dawn-
bricks are to be laid on the altar. The very fact, that the Anuvâka
contains only 15 verses (leaving the sacrificer to select the 16th
from elsewhere), therefore, further supports the same view. It is
true that some of these verses are found in the Atharva-Veda, either
detached or in connection with other subjects. But that does
not prevent us from treating the passage in the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ,
* It was undistinguished : This paragraph, which is found later
on in the Saṁhitâ, explains how the dawn-bricks came to be laid with
the fifteen verses given above. The portions of the Taittirîya
Saṁhitâ, which contain such explanations are called Brâhmaṇa.
† Then it shone forth : This shews that all the thirty Dawns were
understood to have preceded the rise of the sun. I have already quoted
(supra p. 100) a passage from Taitt. Brâh. (II, 5, 6, 5), which says
. that these dawns were continuous and unseparated.

122 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
as containing a connected account of thirty dawns divided into
five groups of six each. The question is not, however, very
material, inasmuch as verses 5 and 6, whether they formed part
of an entire hymn or not, are by themselves sufficient to prove
the point at issue, viz., that the Vedic Goddess of Dawn
constituted a group of thirty sisters. The Ṛig-Veda speaks of
"thirty steps" traversed by the Dawn, (VI, 59, 6), or of Dawns
going round "thirty yojanas" (I, 123, 8); but both these state-
ments have, as yet, remained totally unexplained, or have been
but imperfectly explained by Indian and Western scholars alike.
But now that we know that the Vedic Dawns were thirty in
number, both the aforesaid statements become at once easily
comprehensible. The only other point necessary to be decided,
so far as the subject in hand is concerned, is whether these thirty
dawns were the dawns of thirty consecutive days, or whether
they formed a 'closely-gathered band' of thirty continuous dawns;
and on reading the two aforesaid passages from the Taittirîya
Saṁhitâ, the one from the Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa, II. 5, 6, 5, and
other authorities cited in the foregoing chapter, I do not think,
there can be any doubt that the Goddess of Dawn, worshipped
by the Vedic bards, was originally a group of thirty continuous
dawns. It is not contended that the ancestors of the Vedic bards
were unacquainted with ordinary dawns, for, even in the
circumpolar regions there are, during certain parts of the year,
successions of ordinary days and nights and with them of ordinary
dawns. But so far as the Vedic Goddess of morning is concerned,
there is enough evidence to shew that it was no other than the
continuous and revolving Dawn at the end of the long night in
those regions, the Dawn that lasted for thirty periods of 24 hours
each, which is possible only within a few degrees round-about the
North Pole.

CHAPTER VI.
LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT.
Independent evidence about the long night—Vritra living in long
darkness—Expressions denoting long darkness or long night—
Anxiety to reach the end of darkness—Prayers to reach safely
the other end of night—A night, the other boundary of which
was not known according to the Atharva Veda—The
Taittirîya Samhitâ explains that these prayers were due to
fears entertained by the ancient priests that the night would
not dawn—Not caused by long winter nights as supposed by
Sâyana— Description of days and nights in the Ṛig-Veda—
Divided into two typical pairs—One described as bright, dark
and virûpe—Virûpe means ‘of varying lengths’ and not ‘of various
colours’ —Second pair, ‘Ahanî, different from the first—Dura-
tions of days and nights on the globe examined—Ahanî can
only be a couple of the long Arctic day and night—Described
as forming the right and left, or opposite, sides of the Year in
the Taittirîya A'raṇyaka—The sun is described in the Rig-
Veda as unyoking his car in the midst of the sky—And there-
by retaliating Dâsa’s mischief—Represents the long day and
the long night—Summary of evidence regarding long day and
long night—Ushas and Sûrya as Dakshiṇâ and Dakshiṇâ’s son
—Probably imply the southerly course of both.
WHEN a long continuous dawn of thirty days, or a
closely-gathered band of thirty dawns, is shown to have been
expressly referred to in the Vedic literature, the long night
preceding such a dawn follows as a matter of course; and where
a long night prevails, it must have a long day to match it during
the year. The remaining portion of the year, after deducting the
period of the long night, the long day and the long morning and
evening twilights, would also be characterised by a succession of
ordinary days and nights, a day and night together never
exceeding twenty-four hours, though, within that limit, the

124 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
day may gradually gain over the night at one time and the night
over the day at another, producing a variety of ordinary days and
nights of different lengths. All these phenomena are so connected
astronomically that if one of them is established, the others
follow as a matter of scientific inference. Therefore, if the long
duration of the Vedic dawn is once demonstrated, it is, astrono-
mically speaking, unnecessary to search for further evidence
regarding the existence of long days and nights in the Ṛig-Veda.
But as we are dealing with a state of things which existed several
thousand years ago, and with evidence, which, though tra-
ditionally handed down, has not yet been interpreted in the way
we have done, it is safer to treat, in practice, the aforesaid
astronomical phenomena as disconnected facts, and separately
collect evidence bearing on each, keeping the astronomical
connection in reserve till we come to consider the cumulative
effect of the whole evidence in support of the several facts
mentioned above. I do not mean to imply that there is any
uncertainty in the relation of sequence between the above
astronomical facts. On the contrary, nothing can be more certain
than such a sequence. But in collecting and examining the
evidence bearing on facts like those under consideration, it is
always advisable in practice to collect as much evidence and
from as many different points of view as possible. In this and
the following two chapters, we, therefore, propose to ex-
amine separately the evidence that can be found in the Vedic
literature about the long day, the long night, the number of
months of sunshine and of darkness, and the character of the
year, and see if it discloses characteristics found only at, or
around, the North Pole.
And first regarding the long night,—a night of several
days' duration, such as makes the northern latitudes
too cold or uncomfortable for human habitation at present,

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 125
but which, in inter-glacial times, appeared to have caused no
further inconvenience than what might result from darkness, long
and continuous darkness for a number of days, though, by itself, it
was not a desirable state of things, and the end of which must
have been eagerly looked for by men who had to undergo such ex-
perience. There are many passages in the Ṛig-Veda that speak of
long and ghastly darkness, in one form or another, which sheltered
the enemies of Indra, and to destory which Indra had to fight
with the demons or the Dâsas, whose strongholds are all said to
be concealed in this darkness. Thus in I, 32, 10, Vṛitra, the
traditional enemy of Indra, is said to be engulfed in long darkness
(dîrgham tamaḥ âshayad Indra-shatruḥ), and in V, 32, 5, Indra is
described as having placed Shuṣhṇa, who was anxious to fight,
in ‘the darkness of the pit’ (tamasi harmye), while the next verse
speaks of asûrye tamasi (lit. sunless darkness), which Max Muller
renders by ‘ghastly darkness.’* In spite of these passages the
fight between Vṛitra and Indra is considered to be a daily and
not a yearly struggle, a theory the validity of which will be
examined when we come to the discussion of Vedic myths. For
the present it is sufficient to note that the above expressions
lose all their propriety, if the darkness, in which the various
enemies of Indra are said to have flourished, be taken to be the
ordinary darkness of twelve, or, at best, of twenty-four hours’
duration. It was, in reality, a long and a ghastly or sunless dark-
ness, which taxed all the powers of Indra and his associate
Gods to overcome.
But apart from this legendary struggle, there are other
verses in the Ṛig-Veda which plainly indicate the existence
of a night longer than the longest cis-Arctic night.
In the first place the Vedic bards are seen frequently invoking

• See S. B. E. series, Vol. XXXII, p. 218.

126 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
their deities to release them from darkness. Thus in II, 27, 14,
the poet says "Aditi, Mitra and also Varuṇa, forgive if we have
committed any sin against you! May I obtain the wide fearless-
light, O Indra! May not the long darkness come over us." The ex-
pression in the original for 'long darkness' is dīrghāḥ tamisrāḥ,
and means rather an 'uninterrupted succession of dark nights
(tamisrāḥ)' than simply 'long darkness.' But even adopting Max
Müller's rendering given above,* the anxiety here manifested
for the disappearance of the long darkness is unmeaning, if the
darkness never lasted for more than twenty-four hours. In I,
46, 6, the Ashvins are asked "to vouchsafe such strength to the
worshipper as may carry him through darkness"; and in VII,
67, 2 the poet exclaims:—"The fire has commenced to burn,
the ends of darkness have been seen, and the banner of the Dawn
has appeared in the east!"† The expression 'ends of darkness'
(tamasaḥ antāḥ) is very peculiar, and it would be a violation of
idiom to take this and other expressions indicating 'long darkness'
to mean nothing more than long winter nights, as we have them
in the temperate or the tropical zone. As stated previously the
longest winter night in these zones must be, at best, a little
short of twenty-four hours, and even then these long nights
prevail only for a fortnight or so. It is, therefore, very un-
likely that Vedic bards perpetuated the memory of these
long nights by making it a grievance of such importance
as to require the aid of their deities to relieve them from

• Hibbert Lectures, p. 231. The verse is:— अदिते मित्र वरुणोत
  मृळ यह्वो वयं चकृमा कच्चिदागः । उर्वश्यामभयं ज्योतिरिंद्र मा नो दीर्घा
  अभि नशन्तमिस्त्राः ॥
  † Ṛig. I, 46, 6,—या नः पीपरदश्विना ज्योतिष्मती तमस्तिरः । तामस्मे
  रासाथामिषम् ॥ Ṛig. VII, 67, 2,—अशोच्यग्निः समिधानो अस्मे उपो अद-
  श्रन्तमसश्चिदन्ताः ।

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 127
it. There are other passages where the . same longing for the.
end of darkness or for the appearance of light is expressed, and
these cannot be accounted for on the theory that to the old
Vedic bards night was as death, since they had no means, which
a civilised person in the twentieth century possesses, of dispel-
ling the darkness of night by artificial illumination. Even the
modern savages are not reported to be in the habit of exhibiting.
such impatience for the morning light as we find in the utter-
ances of the Vedic bards ; and yet the latter were so much ad-
vanced in civilisation as to know the use of metals and carriages.
Again not only men, but Gods, are said to have lived in long
darkness. Thus, in X, 124, 1, Agni is told that he has stayed
“too long in the long darkness,” the phrase used being jyog eva
dîrgham tama âshayishṭâḥ. This double phrase jyog (long) and
dîrgham is still more inappropriate, if the duration of darkness
never exceeded that of the longest winter-night. In II, 2, 2,
the same deity, Agni, is said to shinè during “continuous nights,”
which, according to Max Muller, is the meaning of the word
kshapạḥ in the original.* The translation is no doubt correct,
but Prof. Max Muller does not explain to us what he means by
the phrase “continuous nights.” Does it signify a succession of
nights uninterrupted by sunlight? or, is it only an elegant render-
ing, meaning nothing more than a number of nights ? The learn-
ed translator seems to have narrowly missed the true import of
the phrase employed by him.
But we need not depend on stray passages like the above
to prove that the long night was known in early days. In
the tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛig-Veda we have a hymn
(127) addressed to the Goddess of night, and in the
6th verse of this hymn Night is invoked to “ become

• See S. B, E. Series, Vol. XLVI, p. 195.

128 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
easily fordable " to the worshipper (nah sutarâ bhava). In the
Parishishṭa, which follows this hymn in the Ṛig-Veda, and which
is known as Rātri-sûkta or Durgā-stava, the worshipper asks the
Night to be favourable to him, exclaiming “May we reach the
other side in safety ! May we reach the other side in safety !"* In
the Atharva-Veda, XIX, 47, which is a reproduction, with
some variations, of the above Parishishṭa, the second verse runs
thus : “Each moving thing finds rest in her (Night), whose yonder
boundary is not seen, nor that which keeps her separate. O spacious,
darksome Night ! May we,uninjured, reach the end of thee, reach,
O thou blessed one, thine end !" And in the third verse of the 50th
hymn of the same book the worshippers ask that they may pass
uninjured in their body, “through each succeeding night, (rātrim
rātrim)." Now a question is naturally raised why should every
one be so anxious about safely reaching the other end of the
night ? And why should the poet exclaim that “its yonder
boundary is not seen, nor what keeps it separate ?” Was it
because it was an ordinary winter night, or, was it because it
was the long Arctic night ? Fortunately, the Taittirīya Saṁhitâ
preserves for us the oldest traditional reply to these questions,
and we need not, therefore, depend upon the speculations of
modern commentators. In the Taittirīya Saṁhitâ I, 5, 5, 4,† we

• The 4th verse in the Râtri-Sûkta is:—प्रपद्येऽहं शिवां रात्रीं भद्रे
  पारमशीमहि भद्रे पारमशीमहि। The Atharva-Veda, XIX, 47, 2, — न
  यस्याः पारं ददृशे न योयुवद्विश्वमत्वां नि विशते यदेजति। अरिष्टांसस्त उर्वि तम-
  स्वति रात्रि पारमशीमहि भद्रे पारमशीमहि॥ Ibid, XIX, 50,3,— रात्रिं रात्रिम-
  रिष्यन्तस्तरेम तन्वा वयम् ।
  † Taitt Sam. 1, 5, 5, 4,— चित्रावसो स्वस्त ते पारमशीव ॥ Taitt,
  Sam. 1,5,7,5,— चित्रावसो स्वस्ति ते पारमशीयेत्त्वाह । रात्रिर्वै चित्रावसुर्-
  व्युष्ट्यै वा एतस्यै पुरा ब्राह्मणा अभैषुः ॥ Sâyaṇa thus explains the passage
  हेमन्तर्तौ रात्रेर्दीर्घत्वेन प्रभातं न भविष्यत्येवेति कदाचिद् ब्राह्मणा भीता अतः
  पारमशीवेति प्रार्थनया प्रभातं लभते ।

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 129
have a similar Mantra or prayer addressed to Night in these
words:—"O Chitrâvasu! let me safely reach thy end." A little
further, (I, 5, 7, 5,) the Saṁhitâ itself explains this Mantra, or
prayer thus:—"Chitrâvasu is (means) the night; in old times
(purâ), the Brâhmans (priests) were afraid that it (night) would
not dawn." Here we have an express Vedic statement, that,
in old times, the priests or the people, felt apprehensions regard-
ing the time when the night would end. What does it signify?
If the night was not unusually long, where was the necessity for
entertaining any misgivings about the coming dawn? Sâyaṇa,
in commenting on the above passage, has again put forward
his usual explanation, that nights in the winter were long
and they made the priest apprehensive in regard to the coming
dawn. But here we can quote Sâyaṇa against himself, and show
that he has dealt with this important passage in an off-hand
manner. It is well known that the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ often
explains the Mantras, and this portion of the Saṁhitâ is called
Brâhmaṇa, the whole of the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ being made up
in this way of Mantras and the Brâhmaṇa, or prayers and their
explanations or commentary mixed up together. The statement
regarding the apprehensions of the priests about the coming dawn,
therefore, falls under the Brâhmaṇa portion of the Saṁhitâ. Now
the contents of the Brâhmaṇas are usually classified by Indian
divines under the ten following heads*:—(1) Hetu or reason; (2)
Nirvachana, or etymological explanation; (3) Nindâ, or censure;
(4) Prashamsâ, or praise; (5) Saṁshaya, or doubt; (6) Vidhi, or
the rule; (7) Parakriyâ, or others' doings; (8) Purâ-kalpa, or ancient
rite or tradition; (9) Vyavadhâraṇa-kalpanâ or determining the

• These are enumerated in the following verses:—
  हेतुर्निर्वचनं निंदा प्रशंसा संशयोविधिः । परक्रिया पुराकल्पो व्यवधारणकल्पना ॥
  उपमानं दशैवैते विधयो ब्राह्मणस्य तु । एतद्वै सर्ववेदेषु नियतं विधिलक्षणम् ॥

130 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.

limitations; (10) Upamâna, an apt comparison or simile. Sâyaṇa
in his introduction to the commentary on the Ṛig-Veda men-
tions the first nine of these, and as an illustration of the eighth,
Purâ-kalpa, quotes the explanatory passage from the Taittirîya
Saṁhitâ, I, 5, 7, 5, referred to above. According to Sâyaṇa the
statement, "In former times the priests were afraid that it
would not dawn," therefore, comes under Purâ-kalpa, or ancient
traditional history found in the Brâhmaṇas. It is no Arthavâda,
that is, speculation or explanation put forth by the Brâhmaṇa
itself. This is evident from the word purâ which occurs in
the Saṁhitâ text, and which shows that some piece of ancient
traditional information is here recorded. Now if this view
is correct, a question naturally arises why should ordinary long
winter nights have caused such apprehensions in the minds of the
priests only 'in former times,' and why should the long darkness
cease to inspire the same fears in the minds of the present
generation. The long winter nights in the tropical and the
temperate zone are as long to-day as they were thousands of
years ago, and yet none of us, not even the most ignorant, feels
any misgiving about the dawn which puts an end to the darkness
of these long nights. It may, perhaps, be urged that in ancient
times the bards had not acquired the knowledge necessary to
predict the certain appearance of the dawn after a lapse of
some hours in such cases. But the lameness of this excuse
becomes at once evident when we see that the Vedic calendar
was, at this time, so much advanced that even the question
of the equation of the solar and the lunar year was
solved with sufficient accuracy. Sâyaṇa's explanation of winter
nights causing misgivings about the coming dawn must, there-
fore, be rejected as unsatisfactory. It was not the long winter-
night that the Vedic bards were afraid of in former ages. It

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 131
was something else, something very long, so long that, though
you knew it would not last permanently, yet, by its very length,
it tired your patience and made you long for, eagerly long for,
the coming dawn. In short, it was the long night of the Arctic
region, and the word purâ shows that it was a story of former
ages, which the Vedic bards knew by tradition. I have shown
elsewhere that the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ must be assigned to the
Kṛittikâ period. We may, therefore, safely conclude that at
about 2500 B. C., there was a tradition current amongst the Ve-
dic people to the effect that in former times, or rather in the
former age, the priests grew so impatient of the length of the
night, the yonder boundary of which was not known, that they
fervently prayed to their deities to guide them safely to the
other end of that tiresome darkness. This description of the
night is inappropriate unless we take it to refer to the long and
continuous Arctic night.
Let us now see if the Ṛig-Veda contains any direct reference
to the long day, the long night, or to the Circum-polar calendar,
besides the expressions about long darkness or the difficulty of
reaching the other boundary of the endless night noticed above.
We have seen before that the Ṛig-Vedic calendar is a calendar
of 360 days, with an intercalary month, which can neither be
Polar nor Circum-polar. But side by side with it the Ṛig-Veda
preserves the descriptions of days and nights, which are not
applicable to the cis-Arctic days, unless we put an artificial con-
struction upon the passages containing these descriptions. Day
and Night is spoken of as a couple in the Vedic literature, and is
denoted by a compound word in the dual number. Thus we have
Ushâsâ-naktâ (I, 122, 2), Dawn and Night; Naktoshâsâ (I, 142, 7),
Night and Dawn; or simply Ushâsau (I, 188, 6), the two Dawns;
all meaning a couple of Day and Night. The word Aho-râtre also

132 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
means Day and Night ; but it does not occur in the Ṛig-Veda,
though Aitareya Brâhmaṇa ( II, 4 ) treats it as synonymous
with Uṣhâsâ-naktâ. Sometimes this pair of Day and Night is
spoken of as two sisters or twins ; but whatever the form in
which they are addressed, the reference is usually unambiguous.
Now one of the verses which describes this couple of Day and
Night is III, 55, 11.* The deity of the verse is Aho-râtre, and
it is admitted on all hands that it contains a description of Day
and Night. It runs thus :—
Nânâ chakrâte yamyâ vapûṁṣhi
tayor anyad rochate kṛiṣhṇam anyat ।
Shyâvî cha yad aruṣhî cha svasârau
mahad devânâm asuratvam ekam ॥
The first three quarters or feet of this verse contain the
principal statements, while the fourth is the refrain of the song
or the hymn. Literally translated it means:—"The twin pair
(females) make many forms ; of the two one shines, the other (is)
dark : two sisters (are) they, the dark (shyâvî), and the bright
(aruṣhî). The great divinity of the Gods is one (unique)." The verse
looks simple enough at the first sight, and simple it is, so far as the
words are concerned. But it has been misunderstood in two
important points. We shall take the first half of the verse first.
It says " the twin pair make many forms ; of the two one shines
and the other is dark." The twin pair are Day and Night,
and one of them is bright and the other dark. So far, there-
fore, there is no difficulty. But the phrase 'make many forms'
does not seem to have been properly examined or interpreted.
The words used in the original verse are nânâ chakrâte vapûṁṣhi,

• Ṛig. III, 55, 11,—नाना चक्राते यम्या वपूंषि तयोरन्यद्रोचते कृष्ण-
  मन्यत् । श्यावी च यादरुषी च स्वसारौ महद्देवानामसुरत्वमेकम् ॥

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 133
and they literally mean ‘make many bodies or forms.’ We
have thus a two-fold description of the couple ; it is called the
shining and the dark, and also described as possessed of many
forms. In I, 123, 7, the couple of Day and Night is said to be
vishurûpe; while in other places the adjective virûpe is used
in the same sense. It is evident, therefore, that the ‘bodies’
or ‘forms’ intended to be denoted by these words must be
different from the two-fold character of the couple as shining
and dark; and if so, the phrases vishurûpe, virûpe or nânâ vapûmṣhi
used in connection with the couple of Day and Night must
be taken to mean something different from ‘bright and dark’,
if these expressions are not to be considered as superfluous
or tautological. Sâyaṇa. interprets these phrases as referring
to different colours (rûpa), like black, white, &c., and some
of the Western scholars seem to have adopted this interpreta-
tion. But I cannot see the propriety of assigning different
colours to Day and Night. Are we to suppose that we may
have sometimes green, violet, yellow or blue days and nights ?
Again though the word rûpa lends itself to this construction,
yet vapûmṣhi cannot ordinarily be so understood. The question
does not, however, seem to have attracted the serious atten-
tion of the commentators; so that even Griffith translates vishurûpe
by ‘unlike in hue’ in I, 123, 7. The Naktoshâsâ are described as
virûpe also in I, 113, 3, but there too Sâyaṇa gives the same
explanation. It does not appear to have occurred to any one
that the point requires any further thought. Happily, in the
case of Ṛig. I, 113, 3, we have, however, the advantage of
consulting a commentator older than Sâyaṇa. The verse occurs
in the Uttarârchika of Sâma-Veda (19, 4, 2, 3), and Mâdhava
in his Vivaraṇa, a commentary on the Sâma-Veda, explains virûpe
thus:— “In the Dakshiṇâyana during the year there is the increase of

134 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
night, and in the Uttarâyaṇa of day.'"* Mâdhava's Vivaraṇa
is a scarce book, and I take the above quotation from an
extract from his commentary given in a footnote to the
Calcutta edition of the Sâma-Veda Saṁhitâ, with Sâyaṇa's
commentary, published by Satya-vrata Sâmashramî, a learned
Vedic scholar of Calcutta. It is not known who this Mâdhava
is, but Pandit Satyavrata states that he is referred to by
Durga, the commentator of Yâska. We may, therefore,
take Mâdhava to be an old commentator, and it is satis-
factory to find that he indicates to us the way out of the
difficulty of interpreting the phrases vishurûpe and virûpe,
occuring so many times in the Ṛig-Veda, in connection with
the couple of Day and Night. The word 'form' (rûpa) or
body (vapus) can be used to denote the extent, duration,
or length of days and nights, and virûpe would naturally denote
the varying lengths of days and nights, in addition to their
colour, which can be only two-fold, dark or bright. Taking
our cue from Mâdhava, we may, therefore, interpret the first
half of the verse as meaning "The twin pair assume various
(nânâ) lengths (vapûṁshi); of the two one shines and the
other is dark."
But though the first half may be thus interpreted, another diffi-
culty arises, as soon as we take up the third quarter of the verse.
It says, "Two sisters are they, the dark (shyâvi) and the bright
(arûshî)." Now the question is whether the two sisters (svasârau)
here mentioned are the same as, or different from, the twin pair
(yamyâ) mentioned in the first half of the verse. If we take them as

• See Sâma-Veda, Cal. Ed., Utta. 19, 4, 2, 3. The verse in the
  Veda is,—समानो अध्वा स्वस्रोरनंतस्तमन्यान्या चरतो देवशिष्टे । न मेथेते न
  तस्थतुः सुमेके नक्तोषासा समनसा विरूपे ॥ Mâdhava's Vivaraṇa says,
  सुमेके—संवत्सरे, दक्षिणायने रात्रेर्वृद्धिः, उत्तरायणे त्वह्नः, नक्तं रात्रिः—
  उषाकालप्रभृत्यहः।”