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

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 137

zone would vary at the same place, the length of the long night
and the long day would not vary at one and the same place, but
only at different latitudes. Taking a couple of Day and Night,
as representing the days and nights of the year, we shall have,
therefore, to divide the different kinds of diurnal changes over
the globe into three classes:—
(i) At the Equator,—A single couple; dark and bright, but
always of the same form, or length (sarûpe).
(ii) Between the Equator and the Arctic Circle,—A single
couple; dark and bright, but of various forms, or lengths,
(virûpe).
(iii) Between the Arctic Circle and the Pole,—Two couples;
each dark and bright, but of various forms, or lengths, (virûpe).
At the Pole, there is only one day and one night of six
months each. Now if we have an express passage in the Ṛig-
Veda (IV, 55, 3) indicating two different couples of Day and
Night, Ushásâ-naktâ and Ahanî, it is evident that the aho-râtre
represented by them are the days and nights of the Circum-Polar
regions, and of those alone. In the light of IV, 55, 3, we must,
therefore, interpret III, 55, 11, quoted above, as describing two
couples, one of the twin pair and the other of two sisters. The
verse must, therefore, be translated:—“The twin pair (the first
couple) make many forms (lengths); of the two one shines and
the other is dark. Two sisters are they, the shyâvî or the dark
and arushî or the bright, (the second couple).” No part of the
verse is thus rendered superfluous, and the whole becomes far
more comprehensible than otherwise.
We have seen that days and nights are represented
by two distinct typical couples in the Ṛig-Veda Ushásâ-
naktâ and Ahanî; and that if the distinction is not unmeaning
we must take this to be the description of the days and

138 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
nights within the Arctic Circle. Whether Ahanî means a
couple of Day and Night distinct from Uṣhásá-naktá in every
place where the word occurs, it is difficult to say. But that in
some places, at least, it denotes a peculiar couple of the Day and
Night, not included in, and different from, Uṣhásá-naktá is evident
from IV, 55, 3. Now if Ahanî really means the couple of the
long day and the long night, as distinguished from the ordinary
days and nights, there is another way in which these two couples
can be differentiated from each other. The ordinary days and
nights follow each other closely, the day is succeeded by the night
and the night by the day; and the two members of the couple,
representing these days and nights, cannot be described as
separated from each other. But the long night and the long
day, though of equal duration, do not follow each other in close
succession. The long night occurs about the time when the sun
is at the winter solstice, and the long day when he is at the sum-
mer solstice; and these two solstitial points are separated by
180°, being opposite to each other in the ecliptic. This
character of Ahanî seems to have been traditionally known in
the time of the Âraṇyakas. Thus the Taittirîya Âraṇyaka,
I, 2, 3, in discussing the personified Year,* first says that
the Year has one head, and two different mouths, and then
remarks that all this is 'season-characteristic,' which the
commentator explains by stating that the Year-God is said to
have two mouths 'because it has two Ayanas, the northern and
the southern, which include the seasons. But the statement
important for our purpose is the one which follows next. The
Âraṇyaka continues "To the right and the left side of the Year-
God (are) the bright and the dark (days); and the following verse refers
to it:—'Thy one (form) is bright, thy another sacrificial (dark), two

• Taitt. Âran. 1, 2, 3,--एक हि शिरो । नाना मुखे । कृत्स्नं तदृतुलक्षणम् ॥

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 139
Ahans of different forms, thou art like Dyau. Thou, O Self-
dependent ! protectest all magic powers, O Pûṣhan ! let thy
bounty be here auspicious.'* The verse, or the Mantra, here
referred to is Ṛig. VI, 58, 1. Pûṣhan is there compared to
Dyau and is said to have two forms, dark and bright, like the
Ahanî. These dark and bright forms of Ahanî are said to
constitute the right and the left side of the Year-God, that is,
the two opposite parts of the body of the personified year. In
other words the passage clearly states that the dark and the
bright part of Ahanî, do not follow each other closely, but are
situated on the diametrically opposite sides of the year. This
can only be the case if the couple of Day and Night, represent-
ed by Ahanî, be taken to denote the long night and
the long day in the Arctic regions. There the long night is
matched by the long day, and while the one occurs when the
sun is at the winter-solstice, the other occurs when he is at the
summer-solstice. The two parts of Ahanî are, therefore, very
correctly represented as forming the right and the left side of
the Year-God in the Âraṇyaka, and the passage thus materially
supports the view about the nature of Ahanî mentioned above.
Lastly, we have express passages in the Ṛig-veda where
a long day is described. In V, 54, 5, an extended daily course
(dîrgham yojanam) of the sun is mentioned and the
Maruts are said to have extended their strength and
greatness in a similar way.† But the most explicit state-
ment about the long day is found in X, 138, 3. This

• Taitt. Âraṇyaka, 1, 2, 4,—शुक्लकृष्णे संवत्सरस्य । दक्षिणवामयोः
  पार्श्वयोः । तस्यैषा भवति । शुक्लं ते अन्यद्यजतं ते अन्यद्विषुरूपे अहनी द्यौरि-
  वासि । विश्वा हि माया अवसि स्वधावो भद्रा ते पूषन्निह रातिरस्तु । नात्र भुवनं।
  न पूषा न पशवः । नादित्यः । संवत्सर एव प्रत्यक्षेण प्रियतमं विद्यात् ।
  † Ṛig. V, 54, 5—तद्वीर्यं वो मरुतो महित्वनं दीर्घं ततान सूर्यो न
  योजनम् ।

140 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
hymn celebrates the exploits of Indra, all of which are per-
formed in aerial or heavenly regions. In the first verse the
killing of Vṛitra, and the releasing of the dawns and the waters
are mentioned; and in the second the sun is said to have been
made to shine by the same process. The third verse* is as
follows:—
Vi sūryo madhye amuchad rathan divo
vidad dāsāya pratimānam āryaḥ ।
Dṛiḍhāni Pipror asurasya māyinaḥ
Indro vyāsyach chakṛivāṁ Ṛijishvanā ॥
The fourth, fifth and the sixth verses all refer to the destru-
ction of Vṛitra's forts, the chastisement of Uṣhas and the placing
of the moons in the heaven. But the third verse quoted above
is alone important for our purpose. The words are simple
and easy, and the verse may be thus translated, "The sun
unyoked his car in the midst of heaven; the Ârya found a
counter-measure (pratimānam) for the Dāsa. Indra, acting
with Ṛijishvan, overthrew the solid forts of Pipru, the conjur-
ing Asura." It is the first half of the verse that is relevant to our
purpose. The sun is said to have unyoked his car, not at sunset,
or on the horizon, but in the midst of heaven, there to rest for
some time. There is no uncertainty about it, for the words are
so clear; and the commentators have found it difficult to
explain this extraordinary conduct of the sun in the midway
of the heavens. Mr. Griffith says that it is, perhaps, an
allusion to an eclipse, or to the detention of the sun to
enable the Aryans to complete the overthrow of their ene-
mies. Both of these suggestions are, however, not satisfactory.
During a solar eclipse the sun being temporarily hidden by the
moon is invisible wholly or partially and is not besides stationary.
The description that the sun unyoked his car in the mid-heaven

• Ṛig. X, 138, 3—वि सूर्यो मध्ये अमुचद्रथं दिवो. विंदद्दासाय प्रति-
  मानमार्यः । दृळ्हानि पिप्रोरसुरस्य मायिनः इंद्रो व्यासच्चकृवाँ ऋजिश्वना ॥

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 141
cannot, therefore, apply to the eclipsed sun. As regards the-
other suggestion, viz., that the sun remained stationary for a
while to allow his favourite race, the Aryans, to overthrow
their enemies, it seems to have had its origin in the Biblical
passage (Joshua, X, 12, 13), where the sun is said to have stood
still, at the word of Joshua, until the people had avenged them-
selves upon their enemies. But there is no authority for
importing this Biblical idea into the Ṛig-Veda. Indra's exploits
are described in a number of hymns in the Ṛig-Veda, but in no
other hymn he is said to have made the sun stand still for the
Aryans. We must, therefore, reject both the explanations
suggested by Griffith. Sâyaṇa gets over the difficulty by interpreting
the phrase, ratham vi amuchat madhye divaḥ, as meaning that
“ the sun loosened (vi-amuchat) his carriage, that is, set it free
to travel, towards the middle (madhye) of heaven, (ratham
prasthânâya vi-muktavân).” Sâyaṇa's meaning, therefore, is that
when Indra obtained compensation from Vṛitra, he let loose-
the chariot of the sun to travel towards the midst of the
sky. But the construction is evidently a strained one. The
verb vi much is used in about a dozen places in the Ṛig-Veda
in relation to horses, and everywhere it means to ‘unharness,’
‘unyoke,’ or ‘separate the horses from the carriage for rest;’
and even Sâyaṇa has interpreted it in the same way. Thus
vi-muchya is explained by him as rathat vishliṣhya in I, 104,
1, and rathât vi-muchya in III, 32, 1, and rathât visṛijya in
X, 160, 1, (also compare I, 171, 1 ; I, 177, 4 ; VI, 40, 1). The
most natural meaning of the present verse would, therefore,
be that the ‘sun unyoked his carriage.’ But even supposing
that vi much can be interpreted to mean ‘to loosen for
travel,’ the expression would be appropriate only when there
is an antecedent stoppage or slow motion of the sun. The
question why the sun stopped or slackened his motion in

142 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
the midst of the sky would, therefore, still remain unsolved.
The phrase divaḥ madhye naturally means ‘in the midst of the
sky,’ and cannot be interpreted to mean ‘towards the mid-heaven.’
Of course if the sun was below the horizon, we may describe him
as having loosened his horses for travel as in V, 62, 1; but even
there the meaning seems to be that the horses rested at the
place. In the present case the sun is already in the midst of
heaven, and we cannot take him below the horizon without a pal-
pable distortion of meaning. Nor can we properly explain the
action of retaliation (pratimānam), if we accept Sâyaṇa's inter-
pretation. We must, therefore, interpret the first half of the
verse to mean that “the sun unyoked his carriage in the midst of
heaven.” There is another passage in the Ṛig-Veda which speaks
of the sun halting in the midst of heaven. In VII, 87, 5, the king
Varuṇa is said to have made “the golden (sun) rock like a swing
in the heaven” (chakre divi preṅkhaṁ hiraṇmayam), clearly
meaning that the sun swayed backwards and forwards in the
heaven being visible all the time, (cf. also VII, 88, 3). The idea
expressed in the present verse is exactly the same, for even
within the Arctic regions the sun will appear as swinging only
during the long continuous day, when he does not go below the
horizon once every twenty-four hours. There is, therefore, nothing
strange or uncommon in the present verse which says that “ the
sun unyoked his carriage for some time in the midst of the sky ; '
and we need not be impatient to escape from the natural meaning
of the verse. A long halt of the sun in the midst of the heaven
is here clearly described, and we must take it to refer to
the long day in the Arctic region. The statement in the
second line further supports the same view. European scholars
appear to have been misled, in this instance, by the words
Ārya and Dâsa, which they are accustomed to interpret as

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT 143
meaning the Aryan and the non-Aryan race. But though the
words may be interpreted in this way in some passages, such is
not the case everywhere. The word Dâsa is applied to Indra's
enemies in a number of places. Thus Shambara is called a Dâsa
(IV, 30, 14,) and the same adjective is applied to Pipru in VIII,
32, 2, and to Namuchi in V, 30, 7. Indra is said to inspire fear
into the Dâsa in X, 120, 2, and in II, 11, 2, he is described as
having rent the Dâsa, who considered himself immortal. In the
verse under consideration Indra's victory over Pipru is celebrated,
and we know that Pipru is elsewhere called a Dâsa. It is,
therefore, quite natural to suppose that the words Arya and Dâsa
in the above verse, refer to Indra and Pipru, and not to the Aryan
and the non-Aryan race. The exploits described are all heavenly,
and it jars with the context to take a single sentence in the
whole hymn as referring to the victory of the Aryan over the
non-Aryan race. There is again the word pratimâna (lit. counter-
measure), which denotes that what has been done is by way of
retaliation, a sort of counter-poise or counter-blast, with a view
to avenge the mischief done by Dâsa. A battle between the
Aryans and the non-Aryans cannot be so described unless a
previous defeat of the Aryans is first alluded to. The plain mean-
ing of the verse, therefore, is that the sun was made to halt in
the midst of the sky, producing a long day, and Indra thus found
a counter-poise for Dâsa, his enemy. For we know that dark-
ness is brought on by the Dâsa, and it is he who brings on the
long night; but if the Dâsa made the night long, Indra retalia-
ted or counter-acted by making the day as long as the night
of the Dâsa. The long night of the Arctic regions is, we
have seen, matched by the long day in those regions, and
the present verse expresses the same idea of matching the
one by the other. There is no reference to the victory of

144 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
the Aryan race over the non-Aryans, or anything of that kind
as supposed by Western scholars. Sâyaṇa, who had no historic
theories to mislead him, has rightly interpreted Ârya and Dâsa
in this verse as referring to Indra and his enemy; but he, in his
turn, has misinterpreted, as shewn above, the first half of the verse
in regard to the sun's long halt in the midst of the sky. The
misinterpretation of the second hemistich comes from Western
scholars, like Muir, who interprets Ârya, as meaning the Aryans
and Dâsa, the non-Aryans. This shows how in the absence of
the true key to the meaning of a passage, we may be led away by
current theories, even where the words are plain and simple
in themselves.
We thus see that the Ṛig-Veda speaks of two different
couples of Day and Night, one alone of which represents the
ordinary days and nights in the year, and the second, the Ahanî,
is a distinct couple by itself, forming, according to the Taittirîya
Âraṇyaka, the right and the left hand side of the Year, indicat-
ing the long Arctic day and night. The Taittirîya Saṁhitâ
again gives us in clear terms a tradition that in the former age
the night was so long that men were afraid it would not dawn.
We have also a number of expressions in the Ṛig-Veda denoting
‘long nights’ or ‘long and ghastly darkness,’ and also the ‘long
journey’ of the sun. Prayers are also offered to Vedic deities to
enable the worshipper to reach safely the end of the night, the
‘other boundary of which is not known.’ Finally we have an
express text declaring that the sun halted in the midst of
the sky and thereby retaliated the mischief brought on by
Dâsa's causing the long night. Thus we have not only the
long day and the long night mentioned in the Ṛig-Veda,
but the idea that the two match each other is also found
therein, while the Taittirîya Âraṇyaka tells us, that they
form the opposite sides of the Year-God. Besides the passages

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 145
proving the long duration of the dawn, we have, therefore,
sufficient independent evidence to hold that the long night in the
Arctic regions and its counterpart the long day were both known to
the poets of the Ṛig-Veda, and the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ distinctly
informs us that it was a phenomenon of the former (purâ) age.
I shall close this chapter with a short discussion of another
Circum-Polar characteristic, I mean the southern course of the
sun. It is previously stated, that the sun can never appear over-
head at any station in the temperate or the frigid zone, and that
an observer stationed within these zones in the northern hemi-
sphere will see the sun to his right hand or towards the south,
while at the North Pole the sun will seem to rise from the south.
Now the word dakshiṇa in Vedic Sanskrit denotes both the
'right hand' and the 'south,' as it does in other Aryan languages ;
for, as observed by Prof. Sayce, these people had to face the
rising sun with their right hands to the south, in addressing their
gods, and hence "Sanskrit dakshiṇa, Welsh dehau and Old Irish
des all mean at once 'right hand' and 'south'."* With this
explanation before us, we can now understand how in a number
of passages in the Ṛig-Veda Western scholars translate dakshiṇa
by 'right side,' where Indian scholars take the word to
mean 'the southern direction.' There is a third meaning of
dakshiṇâ, viz., 'largess' or 'guerdon,' and in some places
the claims of rich largesses seem to have been pushed too far.
Thus when the suns are said to be only for dakshiṇâvats in
I, 125, 6, it looks very probable that originally the expression
had some reference to the southern direction rather than to
the gifts given at sacrifices. In III, 58, 1, Sûrya is called
the son of Dakshiṇâ, and even if Dakshiṇâ be here taken to
mean the Dawn, yet the question why the Dawn was called

• See Sayce's Introduction to the Science of Language, Vol.
  II, p. 130.

146 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
Dakshiṇá remains, and the only explanation at present suggested
is that Dakshiṇá means ‘skilful’ or ‘expert.’ A better way to
explain these phrases is to make them refer to the southerly
direction ; and after what has been said above such an explana-
tion will seem to be highly probable. It is, of course, necessary to
be critical in the interpretation of the Vedic hymns, but I think
that we shall be carrying our critical spirit too far, if we say that
in no passage in the Ṛig-Veda dakshiṇá or its derivatives are used
to denote the southerly direction (I, 95, 6 ; II, 42, 3). Herodotus
informs us (IV, 42) that certain Phœnician mariners were com-
manded by Pharoah Neco, king of Egypt, to sail round Lybia
(Africa) and return by the Pillars of Hercules (Straits of
Gibralter). The mariners accomplished the voyage and returned
in the third year. But Horodotus disbelieves them, because,
on their return they told such (to him incredible) stories, that
in rounding Lybia they saw the sun to their right. Herodotus
could not believe that the sun would ever appear in the
north ; but he little thought that what was incredible to
him would itself be regarded as indisputable evidence of the
authenticity of the account in later days. Let us take a
lesson from this story, and not interpret dakshiṇá, either by
‘right-hand side’ or by ‘largess,’ in every passage in the Ṛig-Veda.
There may not be distinct passages to show that the sun, or the
dawn, came from the south. But the very fact that Uṣhas is
called Dakshiṇá (I, 123, 1 ; X, 107, 1), and the sun, the son of
Dakshiṇá (III, 58, 1), is itself very suggestive, and possibly we
have here phrases which the Vedic bards employed because in
their days these were old and recognised expressions in the
language. Words, like fossils, very often preserve the oldest ideas or
facts in a language; and though Vedic poets may have forgotten the
original meaning of these phrases, that is no reason why we should
refuse to draw from the history of these words such conclusions

LONG DAY AND LONG NIGHT. 147
as may legitimately follow from it. The fact that the north is
designated by the word ut-tara, meaning 'upper,' and the south
by adha-ra, meaning 'lower,' also points to the same conclusion;
for the north cannot be over-head or 'upper' except to an obser-
ver at or near the North Pole. In later literature, we find a
tradition that the path of the sun lies through regions which are
lower (adhaḥ) than the abode of the Seven Ṛishis, or the con-
stellation of Ursa Major.* That ecliptic lies to the south of the con-
stellation is plain enough, but it cannot be said to be below the
constellation, unless the zenith of the observer is in the con-
stellation, or between it and the North Pole, a position, possible
only in the case of an observer in the Arctic region. I have
already quoted a passage from the Ṛig-Veda, which speaks of
the Seven Bears (Ṛikshâḥ), as being placed on high in the heavens
(uchchâḥ). But I have not been able to find out any Vedic
authority for the tradition that the sun's path lies below the
constellation of the Seven Bears. It has also been stated
previously that mere southerly direction of the sun, even if com-
pletely established, is not a sure indication of the observer being
within the circum-polar region, as the sun will appear to move
always to the south of the observer even in the temperate zone.
It is, therefore, not necessary to pursue this point further. It has
been shown that the Ṛig-Veda mentions the long night and the
long day, and we shall see in the next chapter that the months
and the seasons mentioned in this Old Book fully accord with
the theory we have formed from the evidence hitherto discussed.
* See Kâlidâsa's Kumârasambhava, VI, 7,—अधःप्रस्थापिताश्वेन समा-
वर्जितकेतुना । सहस्ररश्मिना साक्षात्सप्रणाममुदीक्षिताः । Also I, 16,—सप्त-
र्षिहस्तावचितावशेषानधो विवस्वान् परिवर्तमानः । See also Mallinâtha's
commentary on these verses.

CHAPTER VII.
MONTHS AND SEASONS.
Evidence of rejected calendar generally preserved in sacrificial
rites by conservative priests—Varying number of the months
of sunshine in the Arctic region—Its effect on sacrificial ses-
sions considered—Seven-fold character of the sun in the Ve-
das—The legend of Aditi—She presents her seven sons to
the gods and casts away the eighth—Various explanations of
the legend in the Brâhmaṇas and the Taittirîya Âraṇyaka
—Twelve suns understood to be the twelve month-gods in later
literature—By analogy seven suns must have once indicated
seven months of sunshine—Different suns were believed to be
necessary to produce different seasons—Aditi’s legend belongs
to the former age, or pûrvyam yugam—Evidence from sacrificial
literature—The families of sacrificers in primeval times—Called
‘our ancient fathers’ in the Ṛig-Veda—Atharvan and Angiras
traced to Indo-European period—Navagvas and Dashagvas,
the principal species of the Angirases—Helped Indra in his
fight with Vala—They finished their sacrificial session in ten
months—The sun dwelling in darkness—Ten months’ sacrifices
indicate only ten months of sunshine, followed by the long night
—Etymology of Navagva and Dashagva—According to Sâ-
yaṇa the words denote persons sacrificing for nine or ten
months—Prof. Lignana’s explanation improbable—The ad-
jective Virûpas applied to the Angirases—Indicates other
varieties of these sacrificers—Saptagu, or seven Hotris or
Vipras—Legend of Dîrghatamas—As narrated in the Mahâ-
bhârata—A protege of Ashvins in the Ṛig-Veda—Growing
old in the tenth yuga—Meaning of yuga discussed—Mânu-
shâ yugâ means ‘human ages,’ and not always ‘human tribes’
in the Ṛig-Veda—Two passages in proof thereof—Interpre-
tations of Western scholars examined and rejected—Mânushâ
yugâ denoted months after the long dawn and before the long
night—Dîrghatamas represents the sun setting in the tenth
month—Mânushâ yugâ and continuous nights—The five seasons
in ancient times—A Ṛig-Veda passage bearing on it discus-
sed—The year of five seasons described as residing in waters’

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 149
—Indicates darkness of the long night—Not made up by
combining any two consecutive seasons out of six—The ex-
planation in the Brâhmaṇas improbable—Summary.
Starting with the tradition about the half-yearly night
of the gods found everywhere in Sanskrit literature, and also in
the Avesta, we have found direct references in the Ṛig-Veda to
a long continuous dawn of thirty days, the long day and the long
night, when the sun remained above the horizon or went below
it for a number of 24 hours ; and we have also seen that the
Ṛig-Vedic texts describe these things as events of a bye-gone
age. The next question, therefore, is—Do we meet in the
Vedas with similar traces of the Arctic condition of seasons,
months or years? It is stated previously that the calendar
current at the time of the Vedic Saṁhitâs was different from
the Arctic calendar. But if the ancestors of the Vedic people
ever lived near the North Pole, “we may,” as observed by Sir
Norman Lockyer with reference to the older Egyptian calendar,
“always reckon upon the conservatism of the priests of the
temples retaining the tradition of the old rejected year in every
case.” Sir Norman Lockyer first points out how the ancient
Egyptian year of 360 days was afterwards replaced by a year
of 365 days; and then gives two instances of the traditional
practice by which the memory of the old year was preserved.
“Thus even at Philæ in later times,” says he, “in the temple of
Osiris, there were 360 bowls for sacrifice, which were filled
daily with milk by a specified rotation of priests. At Acanthus
there was a perforated cask into which one of the 360 priests
poured water from the Nile daily.”* And what took place in
Egypt, we may expect to have taken place in Vedic times. The
characteristics of an Arctic year are so unlike those of a year
in the temperate zone, that if the ancestors of the Vedic

• See Lockyer’s Dawn of Astronomy, p. 248.

150 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
people ever lived within the Arctic regions, and immigrated
southwards owing to glaciation, an adaptation of the calendar to
the altered geographical and astronomical conditions of the new
home was a necessity, and must have been effected at the time.
But in making this change, we may, as remarked by Sir
Norman Lockyer, certainly expect the conservative priests to
retain as much of the old calendar as possible, or at least
preserve the traditions of the older year in one form or another
especially in their sacrificial rites. Indo-European etymological
equations have established the fact that sacrifices, or rather the
system of making offerings to the gods for various purposes,
existed from the primeval period ;* and if so, the system must
have undergone great modifications as the Aryan races moved
from the Arctic to the temperate zone. I have shown elsewhere
that calendar and sacrifice, especially the annual sattras, are
closely connected, and that in the case of the annual sattras, or
the sacrificial sessions which lasted for one year, the priests had
in view, as observed by Dr. Haug,† the yearly course of the sun.
It was the duty of these priests to keep up the sacrificial fire, as
the Parsi priests now do, and to see that the yearly rounds of
sacrifices were performed at proper times (ṛitus). The sacrificial
calendar in the Arctic home must, however, have been different
from what it came to be afterwards ; and happily many traces of
this calendar are still discoverable in the sacrificial literature of
Vedic times, proving that the ancient worshippers or sacri-
ficers of our race must have lived in circum-polar regions.
But before discussing this evidence, it is necessary to briefly
describe the points wherein we might expect the ancient

• See Schrader's Prehistoric Antiquities of the Aryan Peoples,
  Part IV, Chap. XIII, translated by Jevons, p. 421. Cf. Sans. yaj ;
  Zend yaz ; Greek azomai, agios. See Orion, Chap. II.
  † See Dr. Haug's Aitareya Brâh. Vol. I, Introduction, p. 46.

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 151
or the oldest sacrificial system to differ from the one current in
Vedic times.
In the Saṁhitâs and Brâhmaṇas, the annual sattras, or
yearly sacrificial sessions, are said to extend over twelve months.
But this was impossible within the Arctic region, where the sun
goes below the horizon for a number of days or months during
the year, thereby producing the long night. The oldest duration
of the annual sattras, if such sattras were ever performed within
the Polar regions, would, therefore, be shorter than twelve months.
In other words, an annual sattra of less than twelve months would
be the chief distinguishing mark of the older sacrificial system,
as contrasted with the later annual sattra of twelve months. It
must also be borne in mind that the number of the months of
sunshine and darkness cannot be the same everywhere in the
Circum-Polar regions. At the Pole the sun is alternately above
and below the horizon for six months each. But as all people
cannot be expected to be stationed precisely at the Pole,
practically the months of sunshine will vary from seven to eleven
for the inhabitants of the Arctic region, those nearest to the North
Pole having seven month's sunshine, while those living farther
south from the Pole having the sun above their horizon for eight,
nine or ten months according to latitude. These periods of sun-
shine would be made up of the long Arctic day at the place and
a succession of ordinary days and nights closely following each
other ; and sacrificial sessions would be held, or principal business
transacted, and important religious and social ceremonies
performed only during this period. It would, so to say, be
a period of action, as contrasted with the long night, by
which it was followed. The long dawn following the long
night, would mark the beginning of this period of activity ;
and the Arctic sacrificial year would, practically, be made up,
only of these months of sunshine. Therefore, the varying

152 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
number of the months of sunshine would be the chief peculiarity
of the Arctic sacrificial calendar, and we must bear it in mind
in examining the traces of the oldest calendar in the Ṛig-Veda,
or other Saṁhitâs.
A dawn of thirty days, as we measure days, implies a
position so near the North Pole, that the period of sunshine at
the place could not have been longer than about seven months,
comprising, of course, a long day of four or five months, and a
succession of regular days and nights during the remaining period;
and we find that the Ṛig-Veda does preserve for us the memory
of such months of sunshine. We refer first to the legend of Aditi,
or the seven Âdityas (suns), which is obviously based on some
natural phenomenon. This legend expressly tells us that the
oldest number of Âdityas or suns was seven, and the same idea
is independently found in many other places in the Ṛig-Veda.
Thus in IX, 114, 3, seven Âdityas and seven priests are men-
tioned together, though the names of the different suns are not
given therein. In II, 27, 1, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Varuṇa,
Dakṣha and Aṁsha are mentioned by name as so many dif-
ferent Âdityas, but the seventh 'is not named. This omission
does not, however, mean much, as the septenary character of
the sun is quite patent from the fact that he is called saptâ-
shva (seven-horsed) in V, 45, 9, and his 'seven-wheeled' chariot
is said to be drawn by 'seven bay steeds' (I, 50, 8), or by a
single horse 'with seven names' in I, 164, 2. The Atharva
Veda also speaks of "the seven bright rays of the sun"
(VII, 107, 1); and the epithet Âditya, as applied to the sun
in the Ṛig-Veda, is rendered more clearly by Aditeḥ putraḥ
(Aditi's son) in A. V. XIII, 2, 9. Sâyaṇa, following Yâska,
derives this seven-fold character of the sun from his seven
rays; but why solar rays were taken to be seven still re-
mains unexplained, unless we hold that the Vedic bards had
anticipated the discovery of seven prismatic rays or colours,

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 153
which were unknown even to Yâska or Sâyaṇa. Again though the
existence of seven suns may be explained. on this hypothesis, yet
it fails to account for the death of the eighth sun ; for the legend
of Aditi (Ṛig. X, 72, 8-9) tells us, "Of the eight sons of Aditi,
who were born from her body, she approached the gods with
seven, and cast out Mârtâṇḍa. With seven sons Aditi approached
(the gods) in the former age (pûrvyam yugam); she brought thi-
ther Mârtâṇḍa again for birth and death."* The story is discus-
sed in various places in the Vedic literature, and many other
attempts, unfortunately all unsatisfactory, have been made to
explain it in a rational and intelligent way. Thus in the Taittirî-
ya Saṁhitâ, VI, 5, 6, 1 f., the story of Aditi cooking a Brahmau-
dana oblation for the gods, the Sâdhyas, is narrated. The
remnant of the oblation was given to her by the gods, and four
Âdityas were born to her from it. She then cooked a second
oblation, and ate it herself first; but the Âditya born from it was
an imperfect egg. She cooked a third time and the Âditya
Vivasvat, the progenitor of man, was born. But the Saṁhitâ
does not give the number and names of the eight Âdityas, and
this omission is supplied by the Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa (I, 1, 9,
1 f.). The Brâhmaṇa tells us that Aditi cooked the oblation
four times, and each time the gods gave her the remnant
of the oblation. Four pairs of sons were thus born to her;
the first pair was Dhâtṛi and Aryaman, the second Mitra
and Varuṇa, the third Aṁsha and Bhaga and the fourth
Indra and Vivasvat. But the Brâhmaṇa does not explain why
the eighth son was called Mârtâṇḍa, and cast away. The
Taittirîya Âraṇyaka, I, 13, 2-3, (cited by Sâyaṇa in his gloss
on Ṛig. II, 27, 1, and X, 72, 8.), first quotes the two verses

• Ṛig. X, 72, 8 & 9:— अष्टौ पुत्रासो अदितेर्ये जातास्तन्वस्परि । देवाँ
  उप प्रैत्सप्तभिः परा मार्ताण्डमास्यत् ॥ सप्तभिः पुत्रैरदितिरुप प्रैत्पूर्व्यं युगं ।
  प्रजायै मृत्यवे त्वत्पुनर्मात्तांण्डमाभरत् ॥ For त्वत्पुनः in the second verse the
  Taittirîya Âraṇyaka, 1, 13, 3, reads तत्परा, see infra.

154 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
from the Ṛig-Veda (X, 72, 8 and 9), which give the legend of
Aditi but with a slightly different reading for the second line of
the second verse. Thus, instead of tvat punaḥ Mârtâṇḍam â
abharat (she brought again Mârtâṇḍa thither for birth and death),
the Âraṇyaka reads tat parâ Mârtâṇḍam â abharat (she set aside
Mârtâṇḍa for birth and death). The Âraṇyaka then proceeds
to give the names of the eight sons, as Mitra, Varuṇa, Dhâtṛi,
Aryaman, Aṁsha, Bhaga, Indra and Vivasvat. But no further
explanation is added, nor are we told which of these eight sons
represented Mârtâṇḍa. There is, however; another passage in the
Âraṇyaka (I, 7, 1–6) which throws some light on the nature of
these Âdityas.* The names of the suns here given are different.
They are:—Âroga, Bhrâja, Patara, Pataṅga, Svarṇara, Jyotiṣhî-
mat, Vibhâsa and Kashyapa ; the last of which is said to remain
constantly at the great mount Meru, permanently illumining
that region. The other seven suns are said to derive their
light from Kashyapa and to be alone visible to man. We are
then told that these seven suns are considered by some
Âchâryas to be the seven manifestations of the Prâṇas, or
the vital powers in man ; while others are said to hold
the opinion that they are the types of seven officiating priests
*. See Taittirîya Âraṇyaka, 1, 7,—आरोगोभ्राजः पटरः पतंगः । स्वर्णरो
ज्योतिषीमान् विभासः ।...। कश्यपोष्टमः । स महामेरुं न जहाति ।...। ते
अस्मै सर्वे कश्यपाज्ज्योतिर्लभन्ते । ...। सप्त शीर्षण्याः प्राणाः सूर्या इत्याचार्याः
...। सप्तर्त्विजः सूर्या इत्याचार्याः । तेषामेषाभवति । “सप्त दिशो नानासूर्याः
सप्त होतार ऋत्विजः । देवा आदित्या ये सप्त तेभिः सोमाभि रक्ष न” इति
( Ṛig. IX, 114, 3 ) । तदप्याह्नायः । दिग्भ्राज ऋतून् करोति । एतच्चैवावृता
सहस्रसूर्यताया इति वैशंपायनः ।......। नानालिंगत्वादृतूनां नानासूर्यत्वं । अष्टौ
तु व्यवसिता इति ।
Upon this Sâyaṇa says:—‘ दिग्भ्राजः ’ तान् तान् दिशं प्राप्यावस्थिताः सूर्याः
‘ ऋतून्’ वसंतादिसूचितानृतुधर्मान् , ‘ करोति ’ तस्यां तस्यां दिशि कुर्वंति । न हि ऋतु-
निष्पादकसूर्यव्यतिरेकेण तत्तहतुधर्माः संभवंति । तस्मात्संत्येव दिक्षु विभिन्नाः सूर्याः ।
And again नानालिंगत्वादिति । यद्येक एव सूर्यः स्यात् तदानीं वसंताद्यृतूनां नाना-
लिंगत्वं न स्यात् । न हि कारणभेदमन्तरेण कार्यभेदः संभवति । तस्माहतुधर्मवैलक्षण्यसिद्धये
बहुसूर्यत्वमभ्युपेयम् ।...। 'अष्टौ तु व्यवसिता' इति । बाढम्, संत्येक तत्तल्लिंगकल्पा
अनन्ताः सूर्याः । किन्तु तत्रारित कश्चिद्विशेषः । 'व्यवसिताः' निश्चिताः ।

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 155
(ṛitvijaḥ). A third explanation is then put forward, viz., that
the distinction of seven suns is probably based on the different
effects of sun's rays in different months or seasons, and in support
of it a Mantra, or Vedic verse, Dig-bhrâja ṛitûn karoti, (resorting
to, or shining in, different regions (they) make the seasons), is
quoted. I have not been able to find the Mantra in the existing
Saṁhitâs, nor does Sâyaṇa give us any clue to it, but simply
observes "the different features of different seasons cannot be
accounted for, except by supposing them to have been caused by
different suns; therefore, different suns must exist in different
regions".* But this explanation is open to the objection (actually
raised by Vaishampâyana), that we shall have, on this theory, to
assume the existence of thousands of suns as the characteristics
of the seasons are so numerous. The Âraṇyaka admits, to a
certain extent, the force of this objection, but says—aṣhṭau tu
vyavasitâḥ, meaning that the number eight is settled by the text
of the scripture, and there is no further arguing about
it. The Shatapatha Brâhmaṇa, III, 1, 3, 3, explains the le-
gend of Aditi somewhat on the same lines. It says that
seven alone of Aditi's sons are styled Devâḥ Âdityâḥ (the
gods Âdityas) by men, and that the eighth Mârtâṇḍa was
born undeveloped, whereupon the Âditya gods created man
and other animals out of him. In two other passages of the
Shatapatha Brâhmaṇa, VI, 1, 2, 8, and XI, 6, 3, 8, the num-
ber of Âdityas is, however, given as twelve. In the first
(VI, 1, 2, 8) they are said to have sprung from twelve
drops generated by Prajâpati and then placed in different
regions (dikshu); while in the second (XI, 6, 3, 8)† these

• See Sâyaṇa's explanation quoted on the last page.
  † Shatapatha Brâhmaṇa, VI, 1, 2, 8,—स मनसैव वाचं मिथुनं समभवत्
  स द्वादश द्रप्सान् गर्ब्भवत् । ते द्वादशादित्या असृज्यंत तान्दिक्षूपदधात् ।
  Again XI, 6, 3, 8—कतम आदित्या इति । द्वादश मासाः संवत्सरस्यैत
  आदित्याः ।

156 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
twelve Âdityas are identified with the twelve months of the
year. The number of Âdityas is also given as twelve in the
Upaniṣhads : while in the post-Vedic literature they are every-
where said to be twelve, answering to the twelve months f the
year. Muir, in his Original Sanskrit Texts, Volumes IV and V,
gives most of these passages, but offers no explanation as to the
legend of Aditi, except such as is to be found in the passages
quoted. There are many different speculations or theories of
Western Scholars regarding the nature and character of Aditi,
but as far as the number of Âdityas is concerned, I know of no
satisfactory explanation as yet suggested by them. On the con-
trary the tendency is, as observed by Prof. Max Muller, to regard
the number, seven or eight, as unconnected with any solar move-
ments. A suggestion is made that the eight Âdityas may be
taken to represent the eight cardinal points of the compass, but
the death or casting away of the eighth Âditya seals the fate
of this explanation, which thus seems to have been put forward
only to be rejected like Mârtâṇḍa, the eighth Âditya.
We have here referred to, or quoted, the texts and passages
bearing on Aditi's legend, or the number of Âdityas, at some
length, in order to show how we are apt to run into wild spe-
culations about the meaning of a simple legend when the key to
it is lost. That the twelve Âdityas are understood to represent
the twelve month-gods in later Vedic literature is evident from
the passage in the Shatapatha Brâhmaṇa (XI, 6, 3, 8=Bṛih.
Ârṇ. Up. III, 9, 5), which says "There are twelve months of the
year ; these are the Âdityas." With this explanation before us,
and the belief that different seasonal changes could be explained
only by assuming the existence of different suns, it required no
. very great stretch of imagination to infer that if twelve Âdityas
now represent the twelve months of the year, the seven Âdityas
must have once (pûrvyam yugam) represented the seven