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

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

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 157
months of the year. But this explanation, reasonable though
it was, did not commend itself, or we might even say, occur
to Vedic scholars, who believed that the home of the Aryans
lay somewhere in Central Asia. It is, therefore, satisfactory
to find that the idea of different suns producing different
months is recognised so expressly in the Taittirīya Âraṇyaka,
which quotes a Vedic text, not now available, in support
thereof, and finally pronounces in favour of the theory, which
regards the seven suns as presiding over seven different heavenly
regions and thereby producing different seasons, in spite of the
objection that it would lead to the assumption of thousands of
suns—an objection, which the Âraṇyaka disposes of summarily
by observing that eight is a settled number, and that we have
no right to change it. That this explanation is the most probable
of all is further evident from Ṛig. IX, 114, 3, which says "There
are seven sky-regions (sapta dishaḥ), with their different suns
(nānā sūryāḥ), there are seven Hotṛis as priests, those who are
the seven gods, the Âdityas,—with them, O Soma! protect us."
Here nānā-sūryāḥ is an adjective which qualifies dishaḥ (sapta),
and the co-relation between seven regions and seven suns is
thus expressly recognised. Therefore, the simplest explanation
of Aditi's legend is that she presented to the gods, that is, brought
forth into heavens, her seven sons, the Âdityas, to form the seven
months of sunshine in the place. She had an eighth son, but he
was born in an undeveloped state, or, was, what we may call, still-
born; evidently meaning that the eighth month was not a month
of sunshine, or that the period of darkness at the place commen-
ced with the eighth month. All this occured not in this age, but
in the previous age, and the words pūrvyam yugam in X, 72, 9, are
very important from this point of view. The word yuga is evi-
dently used to denote a period of time in the first and second
verses of the hymn, which refer to the former age of the gods;

158 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
(devānāṁ pūrve yuge) and also of the later age (uttare yuge).
Western scholars are accustomed to interpret yuga to mean 'a
generation of men' almost in every place where the phrase is
met with; and we shall have to consider the correctness of this
interpretation later on. For the purpose of this legend it is
enough to state that the phrase pūrvyam yugam occurs twice in
the hymn, and that where it first occurs (in verse 2), it clearly
denotes 'an early age' or 'some division of time.' Naturally
enough we must, therefore, interpret it in the same way where
it occurs again in the same hymn, viz., in the verse describing
the legend of Aditi's seven sons. The sun having seven rays, or
seven horses, also implies the same idea differently expressed.
The seven months of sunshine, with their different temperatures,
are represented by seven suns producing these different results
by being differently located, or as having different kinds of rays,
or as having different chariots, or horses, or different wheels to the
same chariot. It is one and the same idea in different forms, or
as the Ṛig-Veda puts it, "one horse with seven names," (I, 164,
2). A long dawn of thirty days indicates a period of sunshine
for seven months; and we now see that the legend of Aditi is
intelligible only if we interpret it as a relic of a time when there
were seven flourishing month-gods, and the eighth was either still-
born, or cast away. Mārtāṇḍa is etymologically derived from
mārta meaning 'dead or undeveloped', (being connected with
mṛita, the past participle of mṛi, to die) and aṇḍa, an egg or a
bird; and it denotes a dead sun, or a sun that has sunk below the
horizon, for in Ṛig. X, 55, 5, we find the word mamāra (died)
used to denote the setting of the daily sun. The sun is also repre-
sented as a bird in many places in the Ṛig-Veda (V, 47,3; X, 55, 6;
X, 177, 1; X, 189, 3). A cast away bird (Mārtāṇḍa) is, there-
fore, the sun that has set or sunk below the horizon, and
the whole legend is obviously a reminiscence of the place

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 159
where the sun shone above the horizon. for seven months, and
went below it in the beginning of the eighth. If this nature of
the sun-god is once impressed on the memory, it cannot be
easily forgotten by any people simply by their being obliged to
change their residence ; and thus the sevenfold character of the
sun-god must have been handed down as an old tradition, though
the Vedic people lived later on in places presided over by the
twelve Âdityas. That is how ancient traditions are preserved
everywhere, as, for instance, those relating to the older year in
the Egyptian literature, previously referred to.
We have seen above that the peculiar characteristic of
the Arctic region is the varying number of the months of sun-
shine in that place. It is not, therefore, enough to say that
traces of a period of seven months' sunshine are alone found in
the Ṛig-Veda. If our theory is correct, we ought to find re-
ferences to periods of eight, nine or ten months' sunshine along
with that of seven months either in the shape of traditions, or
in some other form ; and fortunately there are such references
in the Ṛig-Veda, only if we know where to look for them.
We have seen that the sun's chariot is said to be drawn by seven
horses, and that this seven-fold character of the sun has refer-
ence to the seven suns, conceived as seven different month-gods.
There are many other legends based on this seven-fold division,
but as they do not refer to the subject under discussion, we
must reserve their consideration for another occasion. The
only fact necessary to be mentioned in this place is that the
number of the sun's horses is said to be not only seven (I, 50,
8), but also ten in IX, 63, 9; and if the first be taken
to represent seven months, the other must be understood
to stand for ten months as well. We need not, however, de-
pend upon such extension of the legend of seven Âdityas
to prove that the existence of nine or ten months of sunshine

160 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
was known to the poets of the Ṛig-Veda. The evidence, which
I am now going to cite, comes from another source, I mean, the
sacrificial litetature, which is quite independent of the legend of
the seven Âdityas. The Ṛig-Veda mentions a number of ancient
sacrificers styled 'our fathers' (II, 33, 13; VI, 22, 2), who instituted
the sacrifice in ancient times, and laid down, for the guidance of
man, the path which he should, in future, follow. Thus the
sacrifice offered by Manu, is taken as the type, and other sacri-
fices are compared with it in I, 76, 5. But Manu was not
alone to offer this ancient sacrifice to the gods. In X, 63, 7, he
is said to have made the first offerings to the gods along with
the seven Hotṛis; while Aṅgiras and Yayâti are mentioned with
him as ancient sacrificers in I, 31, 17, Bhṛigu and Aṅgiras in
VIII, 43, 13, Atharvan and Dadhyañch in I, 80, 16, and Dadhy-
añch, Aṅgiras, Atri and Kaṇva in I, 139, 9. Atharvan by
his sacrifices is elsewhere described, as having first extended
the paths, whereupon the sun was born (I, 83, 5 ), and the
Atharvans, in the plural, are styled 'our fathers' (naḥ pitaraḥ)
along with Aṅgirases, Navagvas and Bhṛigus in X, 14, 6.
In II, 34, 12, Dashagvas are said to have been the first to
offer a sacrifice; while in X, 92, 10 Atharvan is spoken
of, as having established order by sacrifices, when the Bhṛigus
showed themselves as gods by their skill. Philologically the
name of Atharvan appears as Athravan, meaning a fire-priest,
in the Avesta, and the word Aṅgiras is said to be etymolo-
gically connected with the Greek Aggilos, a 'messenger' and the
Persian Angara 'a mounted courier.' In the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa
(III, 34) Aṅgirases are said to be the same as Aṅgârâḥ,
'burning coals or fire,' (Cf. Ṛig. X. 62, 5). Whether we accept
these etymologies as absolutely correct or not, the resemblance
between the different words sufficiently warrants the assump-
tion that Atharvan and Aṅgiras must have been the ancient

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 161
sacrificers of the whole Aryan race and not merely of the
Vedic people. Therefore, even though Manu, Atharvan, Aṅgiras
be not the names of particular individuals, still there can be
little doubt that they represented families of priests who conduct-
ed, if not originated, the sacrifices in primeval times, that is,
before the Aryan separation, and who, for this reason, seem to
have attained almost divine character in the eyes of the poets of
the Ṛig-Veda. They have all been described as more or less
connected with Yama in X, 14, 3-6 ; but it does not follow there-
from that they were all Yama's agents or beings without any
human origin. For, as stated above, there are a number of
passages in which they are described as being the first and the
most ancient sacrificers of the race ; and if after their death they
are said to have gone to Yama and become his friends and com-
panions, that does not, in any way, detract from their human
character. It is, therefore, very important in the history of the
sacrificial literature to determine if any traditions are preserved
in the Ṛig-Veda regarding the duration of the sacrifices perfomed
by these ancient ancestors of the Vedic people (naḥ pûrve pitaraḥ,
VI, 22, 2), in times before the separation of the Aryan people,
and see if they lend any support to the theory of an early Circum-
Polar home.
Now so far as my researches go, I have not been able to
find any Vedic evidence regarding the duration of the sacri-
fices performed by Manu, Atharvan, Bhṛigu or any other
ancient sacrificers, except the Aṅgirases. There is an annual
sattra described in the Shrauta Sûtras, which is called the
Aṅgirasâm-ayanam, and is said to be a modification of the
Gavâm-ayanam, the type of all yearly sattras. But we do not
find therein any mention of the duration of the satra of the
Aṅgirases. The duration of the Gavâm-ayanam is, however,
given in the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ, and will be discussed in

162 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
the next chapter. For the present, we confine ourselves to the
sattra of the Aṅgirases, and have to see if we can find out other
means for determining its duration. Such a means is, fortunately,
furnished by the Ṛig-Veda itself. There are two chief species of
the Aṅgirases (Aṅgiras-tama), called the Navagvas and the
Daśhagvas, mentioned in the Ṛig-Veda (X, 62, 5 and 6): These
two classes of ancient sacrificers are generally mentioned together,
and the facts attributed to the Aṅgirases are also attributed to
them. Thus the Navagvas are spoken of as 'our ancient fathers,'
in VI, 22, 2, and as 'our fathers' along with Aṅgirases and Bhṛigu
in X, 14, 6. Like the Aṅgirases, the Navagvas are also connected
with the myth of Indra overthrowing Vala, and of Saramâ and
Paṇis (I, 62, 3 and 4; V, 29, 12; V, 45, 7; X, 108, 8). In one
of these Indra is described as having taken their assistance when
he rent the rock and Vala (I, 62, 4); and in V, 29, 12, the Nava-
gvas are said to have praised Indra with songs and broken open
the firmly closed stall of the cows. But there are only two
verses in which the duration of their sacrificial session is mention-
ed. Thus V, 45, 7 says, "Here, urged by hands, hath loudly rung
the press-stone, with which the Navagvas sang (sacrificed) for ten
months"; and in the eleventh verse of the same hymn the poet says,
"I place upon (offer to) the waters your light-winning prayers
wherewith the Navagvas completed their ten months."* In II,
34, 12, we again read, "They, the Dashagvas, brought out (of-
fered) sacrifice first of all. May they favour us at the
flashing forth of the dawn": while in IV, 51, 4, † the Dawns
are said "to have dawned richly on the Navagva Aṅgira,

• Ṛig. V, 45, 7,—अनूनोदत्र हस्तयतो अद्रिरार्चन् येन दश मासो नव-
  ग्वाः। V. 45, 11,—धियं वो अप्सु दधिषे स्वर्षां यया तरन् दश मासो न-
  वग्वाः।
  † Ṛig. IV, 51, 4,—कुवित्स देवीः सनयो नवो वा यामो बभूयादुषसो
  वो अद्य। येना नवग्वे अंगिरे दशग्वे सप्तास्ये रेवती रेवदूष ॥

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 163
and on the seven-mouthed Dashagva," evidently showing that
their sacrifice was connected with the break of the dawn and
lasted only for ten months. What the Navagvas or the Dashagvas
accomplished by means of their sacrifices is further described in
V, 29, 12, which says, "The Navagvas and the Dashagvas, who
had offered libations of Soma, praised Indra with songs; labouring
(at it) the men laid open the stall of kine though firmly closed;"
while in III, 39, 5, we read, "Where the friend (Indra), with the
friendly energetic Navagvas, followed up the cows on his knees,
there verily with ten Dashagvas did Indra find the sun dwelling in
darkness (tamasi kshiyantam)."* In X, 62, 2 and 3, the Aṅgirases,
of whom the Dashagvas and the Navagvas were the principal
species (Aṅgiras-tama, X, 62, 6), are, however, said to have
themselves performed the feat of vanquishing Vala, rescuing the
cows and bringing out the sun, at the end of the year (pari vatsare
Valam abhindan); but it obviously means that they helped Indra
in achieving it at the end of the year. Combining all these state-
ments we can easily deduce (1) that the Navagvas and the
Dashagvas completed their sacrifices in ten months: (2) that these
sacrifices were connected with the early flush of the Dawn; (3)
that the sacrificers helped Indra in the rescue of the cows from
Vala at the end of the year; and (4) that at the place where Indra
went in search for the cows, he discovered the sun "dwelling in
darkness."
Now we must examine a little more closely the mean-
ing of these four important statements regarding the Na-
vagvas and the Dashagvas. The first question that arises
in this connection is--What is meant by their sacrifices be-
ing completed in ten months, and why did they not con-
tinue sacrificing for the whole year of twelve months? The

• Rig. III, 39, 5,--सखा ह यत्र सखिभिर्नवग्वैरभिग्वा सत्वभिर्गा अनु-
  ग्मन् । सत्यं तदिंद्रो दशभिर्दशग्वैः सूर्यं विवेद तमसि क्षियंतम् ॥

164 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
expression for 'ten months' in the original is dasha māsāḥ, and
the words are so plain that there can be no doubt about their
import. We have seen that the Navagvas used to help Indra
in releasing the cows from the grasp of Vala, and in X, 62, 2
and 3, the Aṅgirases are said to have defeated Vala at the end of
the year, and raised the sun to heaven. This exploit of Indra,
the Aṅgirases, the Navagvas and the Dashagvas, therefore,
clearly refers to the yearly rescue of the sun, or the cows of the
morning, from the dark prison into which they are thrown by
Vala; and the expression "Indra found the sun dwelling in dark-
ness", mentioned above further supports this view. In I, 117, 5,
the Ashvins are said to have rescued Vandana, like some
bright buried gold, "like one asleep in the lap of Nir-ṛiti (death),
like the sun dwelling in darkness (tamasi kṣhiyantam)". This
shows that the expression 'dwelling in darkness,' as applied to
the sun, means that the sun was hidden or concealed below the
horizon so as not to be seen by man. We must, therefore, hold
that Indra killed or defeated Vala at the end of the year, in a
place of darkness, and that the Dashagvas helped Indra by
their songs at the time. This might lead any one to suppose
that the Soma libations, offered by the Navagvas and the
Dashagvas for ten months, were offered during the time when
war with Vala was waging. But the Vedic idea is entirely
different. For instance the morning prayers are recited be-
fore the rise of the sun, and so the sacrifices to help Indra
against Vala had to be performed before the war. Darkness
or a dark period, of ten months is again astronomically im-
possible anywhere on the globe, and as there cannot be ten
months of darkness the only other alternative admissible is
that the Dashagvas and the Navagvas carried on their ten
months' sacrifice during the period of sunshine. Now if this
period of sunshine had extended to twelve months, there was

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 165
no reason for the Dashagvas to curtail their sacrifices and com-
plete them in ten months. Consequently the only inference
we can draw from the story of the Navagvas and the Dashagvas
is that they carried on their sacrifices during ten months of sun-
shine and after that period, the sun went to dwell in darkness or
sank below the horizon, and Indra, invigorated by the Soma
libations of the Dashagvas, then entered into the cave of Vala,
rent it open, released the cows of the morning and brought out
the sun at the end of the old and the beginning of the new year,
when the Dashagvas again commenced their sacrifices after the
long dawn or dawns. In short, the Dashagvas and the Navagvas,
and with them all the ancient sacrificers of the race, lived in a
region where the sun was above the horizon for ten months, and
then went down, producing a long yearly night of two months'
duration. These ten months, therefore, formed the annual
sacrificial session, or the calendar year, of the oldest sacrificers
of the Aryan race, and we shall see in the next chapter that
independently of the legend of the Dashagvas this view is fully
supported by direct references to such a session in the Vedic
sacrificial literature.
The etymology of the words Navagva and Dashagva
leads us to the same conclusion. The words are formed by
prefixing nava and dasha to gva. So far there is no dif-
ference of opinion. But Yâska (XI, 19) takes nava in na-
vagva to mean either 'new' or 'charming,' interpreting the
word to mean 'those, who have charming or new career (gva,
from gam to go)'. This explanation of Yâska is, however, un-
satisfactory, inasmuch as the Navagvas and the Dashagvas are
usually mentioned together in the Ṛig-Veda, and this close
and frequent association of their names makes it necessary for
us to find out such an etymological explanation of the words as
would make Navagva bear the same relation to nava as

166 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
Dashagva may have to dasha. But dasha or rather dashan, is a
numeral signifying 'ten' and cannot be taken in any other sense;
therefore, as observed by Prof. Lignana,* nava or rather navan
must be taken to mean 'nine'. The meaning of gva (gu+a) is,
however, yet to be ascertained. Some derive it from go, a
cow, and others from gam, to go. In the first case the meaning
would be 'of nine cows' or 'of ten cows'; while in the second
case the words would signify 'going in nine' or 'going in ten,' and
the fact that the Dashagvas are said to be ten in III, 39, 5, lends
support to the latter view. But the use of the words Navagva
and Dashagva, sometimes even in the singular number as an ad-
jective qualifying a singular noun, shows that a group or a com-
pany of nine or ten men, is not, at any rate, always intended.
Thus in VI, 6, 3, the rays of Agni are said to be navagvas, while
Adhrigu is said to be dashagva in VIII, 12, 2, and Dadhyañch
navagva in IX, 108, 4. We must, therefore, assign to these
epithets some other meaning, and the only other possible expla-
nation of the numerals 'nine' and 'ten' is that given by Sâyaṇa,
who says “(Comm. on Ṛig. I, 62, 4), “The Aṅgirases are of two
kinds, the Navagvas or those who rose after completing the
sattra in nine months, and the Dashagvas, or those who rose
after finishing the sattra in ten months.Ӡ We have seen
that in the Ṛig-Veda V, 45, 7 and 11, the Dashagvas and

• See his Essay on “The Navagvas and the Dashagvas of the
  Ṛig-Veda” in the Proceedings of the 7th International Congress of Ori-
  entalists, 1886, pp. 59-68. The essay is in Italian, and I am indebted
  to the kindness of Mr. Shrinivâs Iyengar, B. A., B. L., High Court
  Pleader, Madras, for a translation of the same.
  † Sâyaṇa, in his gloss. on Ṛig. I, 62, 4, says:— अंगिरसो द्विवि-
  धाः । सत्रमभिगमनुतिष्ठन्तो ये नवभिर्मासैः समाप्य गतास्ते नवग्वाः ।...
  ‘नवग्वा नवनीतगतय’ इति यास्को व्याचख्यौ। ये तु दशभिर्मासैः समाप्य-
  जग्मुस्ते दशग्वाः । Again in his gloss. on X, 62, 6, he states:—सत्रमा-
  सीनानामंगिरसां मध्ये केचन नवसु मास्सु कर्म कृत्वोदतिष्ठन् केचन दशसु
  मास्स्विति । एवमंगिरसामयनमुक्तम् । तेषामग्निर्नवग्वश्च दशग्वश्चोक्तः ।

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 167
the Navagvas are said to have completed their sacrifices in
ten months. Sâyaṇa's explanation is, therefore, fully war-
ranted by these texts, and very probably it is based on
some traditional information about the Dashagvas. Prof. Lig-
nana of Rome,* suggests that the numerals navan and dashan
in these names should be taken as referring to the period of
gestation, as the words nava-mâhya and dasha-mâhya occur in
the Vendidad, V, 45, (136), in the same sense. Thus interpreted
Navagva would mean 'born of nine months,' and Dashagva
'born of ten months.' But this explanation is highly improb-
able, inasmuch as we cannot first suppose that a number of
persons were born prematurely in early times, and secondly
that it was specially such persons that attained almost divine
honours. The usual period of gestation is 280 days or ten
lunar months (V, 78, 9), and those that were born a month
earlier cannot be ordinarily expected to live long or to perform
feats which would secure them divine honours. The reference
to the Vendidad proves nothing, for there the case of a still-
born child after a gestation of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10
months is under consideration, and Ahura Mazda enjoins that
the house where such a still-born child is brought forth
should be cleaned and sanctified in a special way. Prof.
Lignana's explanation again conflicts with the Vedic texts
which say that the Dashagvas were ten in number (III, 39,
5), or that the Navagvas sacrificed only for ten months
(V, 47, 5). Sâyaṇa's explanation is, therefore, the only one
entitled to our acceptance. I may here mention that the Ṛig-
Veda (V, 47, 7 and 11) speaks of ten months' sacrifice only in
connection with the Navagvas, and does not mention any sac-
rifice of nine months. But the etymology of the names now helps
us in assigning the ten months' sacrifice to the Dashagvas and

• See his Essay in the Proceedings of the 7th International Con-
  gress of the Orientalists, pp. 59-68.

168 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
the nine months' to the Navagvas. For navan in Navagva
is only a numerical variation for dashan in Dashagva, and
it follows, therefore, that what the Dashagvas did by tens, the
Navagvas did by nines.
There is another circumstance connected with the Aṅgi-
rases which further strengthens our conclusion, and which
must, therefore, be stated in this place. The Aṅgirases are
sometimes styled the Virūpas. Thus in ·III, 53, 7, the Aṅgi-
rases are described as "Virūpas, and sons of heaven"; and the
name Virūpa once occurs by itself as that of a single being,
who sings the praises of Agni, in a stanza (VIII, 75, 6) imme-
diately following one in which Aṅgiras is invoked, showing that
Virūpa is here used as a synonym for Aṅgiras. But the most
explicit of these references is X, 62, 5 and 6. The first of these
verses states that the Aṅgirases are Virūpas, and they are the
sons of Agni; while the second describes them along with the
Navagva and the Dashagva in the following terms, "And which
Virūpas were born from Agni and from the sky; the Navagva
or the Dashagva, as the best of the Aṅgirases (Aṅgiras-tama),
prospers in the assemblage of the gods."* Now Virūpas literal-
ly means 'of various forms,' and in the above verses it seems
to have been used as an adjective qualifying Aṅgirases to de-
note that there are many species of them. We are further
told that the Navagvas and the Dashagvas were the most
important (Aṅgiras-tamaḥ) of these species. In the last
chapter I have discussed the meaning of the adjective Vi-
rūpa as applied to a couple of Day and Night and
have shown, on the authority of Mādhava, that the word,
as applied to days and nights, denotes their duration, or the
period of time over which they extend. Virūpas in the
present instance appears to be used precisely in the same

• Rig. X, 62, 6,—ये अग्नेः परि जज्ञिरे विरूपासो दिवस्परि । नवग्वो
  नु दशग्वो अंगिरस्तमः सचा देवेषु मंहते ॥

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 169
sense. The Navagvas and the Dashagvas were no doubt the
most important of the early sacrificers, but these too were
not their only species. In other words they were not merely
‘nine-going,’ and ‘ten-going,’ but ‘various-going’ (virûpas),
meaning that the duration of their sacrifices was sometimes
shorter than nine and sometimes longer than ten months. In fact
a Sapta-gu (seven-going) is mentioned in X, 47, 6, along with
Bṛihaspati, the son of Aṅgiras, and it seems to be used there
as an adjective qualifying Bṛihaspati; for Bṛihaspati is described
in another place (IV, 50, 4) as saptâsya (seven-mouthed), while
the Atharva-Veda IV, 6, 1, describes the first Brâhmaṇa, Bṛihas-
pati, as dashâsya or ten-mouthed. We have also seen that in
IV, 51, 4, the Dashagva is also called ‘seven-mouthed.’ All these
expressions can be satisfactorily explained only by supposing
that the Aṅgirases were not merely ‘nine-going’ or ‘ten-go-
ing,’ but virûpas or ‘various-going,’ and that they completed
their sacrifices within the number of months for which the
sun was above the horizon at the place where these sacrifices
were performed. It follows, therefore, that in ancient times
the sacrificial session lasted from seven to ten months; and the
number of sacrificers (Hotṛis) corresponded with the number of
the months, each doing his duty by rotation somewhat after
the manner of the Egyptian priests previously referred
to. These sacrifices were over when the long night com-
menced, during which Indra fought with Vala and van-
quished him by the end of the year (parivatsare, X, 62, 2).
The word parivatsare (at the end of the year) is very sug-
gestive and shows that the year closed with the long night.
Another reference to a period of ten months’ sun-shine
is found in the legend of Dîrghatamas whom the Ashvins
are said to have saved or rescued from a pit, into which
he was thrown, after being made blind and infirm. I
have devoted a separate chapter later on to the discussion of

170 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
Vedic legends. But I take up here the legend of Dîrgha-
tamas because we have therein an express statement as to the
life of Dîrghatamas, which remarkably corroborates the con-
clusion we have arrived at from the consideration of the story
of the Dashagvas. The story of Dîrghatamas is narrated in
the Mahâbhârata, Âdiparvan, Chap. 104. He is said to be the
son of Mamatâ by Utathya, and born blind through the curse of
Bṛihaspati his uncle. He was, however, married and had several
sons by Pradveṣhî. The wife and the sons eventually became
tired of feeding the blind Dîrghatamas ( so called because he
was born blind ), and the sons abandoned him afloat on a worn-
out raft in the Ganges. He drifted on the waters for a long time
and distance, when at last the king Bali picked him up. Dîrgha-
tamas then had several sons born to him from a dâsî or a female
slave, and also from the wife of Bali, the sons of Bali's wife be-
coming kings of different provinces. In the Ṛig-Veda Dîrgha-
tamas is one of the proteges of the Ashvins, and about 25 hymns
in the first Maṇḍala are ascribed to him. He is called Mâmat-
eya, or the son of Mamatâ in I, 152, 6, and Uchathya's offspring
in I, 158, 4. In the latter hymn he invokes the Ashvins for the
purpose of rescuing him from the ordeals of fire and water to-
which he was subjected by the Dâsa Traitana. In I, 147, 3 and
IV, 4, 13, Agni is, however, said to have restored to Dîrgha-
tamas his eyesight. But the statement need not surprise us as
the achievements of one deity are very often ascribed to
another in the Ṛig-Veda. Dîrghatamas does not stand
alone in being thus rescued by the Ashvins. Chyavâna is
spoken of as another protege of the Ashvins, and they are
said to have restored him to youth. Vandana and a host of others
are similarly mentioned as being saved, rescued, cured, protected
or rejuvenated by the Ashvins. All these achievements are now
understood as referring to the exploit of restoring to the sun

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 171
his decayed power in the winter. But with the expression
"like the sun dwelling in darkness" before us, in the legend of
Vandana (I, 117, 5), we must make these legends refer not
merely to the decayed power of the sun in winter, but to his
actual sinking below the horizon for some time. Bearing this
in mind, let us try to see what inference we can deduce, so far
as the subject in hand is concerned, from the legend of
Dîrghatamas.
The statement in the myth or legend, which is most im-
portant for our purpose, is contained in I, 158, 6. The verse
may be literally translated as follows:—"Dîrghatamas, the son
of Mamatâ, having grown decrepit in the tenth yuga, becomes
a Brahman charioteer of the waters wending to their goal."*
The only expressions which require elucidation in this verse
are "in the tenth yuga" and "waters wending to their goal."
Otherwise the story is plain enough. Dîrghatamas grows old
in the tenth yuga, and riding on waters, as the Mahâbhârata story
has it, goes along with them to the place which is the goal of
these waters. But scholars are not agreed as to what yuga
means. Some take it to mean a cycle of years, presumably
five as in the Vedânga-Jyotiṣha, and invest Dîrghatamas with
infirmity at the age of fifty. The Petersburg Lexicon would
interpret yuga, wherever it occurs in the Ṛig-Veda, to mean
not 'a period of time,' but 'a generation,' or 'the relation
of descent from a common stock'; and it is followed by
Grassmann in this respect. According to these scholars the
phrase "in the tenth yuga" in the above verse would,
therefore, signify "in the tenth generation" whatever that
may mean. Indeed, there seems to be a kind of prejudice
against interpreting yuga as meaning 'a period of time' in
the Ṛig-Veda, and it is, therefore, necessary to examine the

• Ṛig. I, 158, 6— दीर्घतमा मामतेयो जुजुर्वान् दशमे युगे । अपामर्थं
  यतीनां ब्रह्मा भवति सारथिः ॥

172 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
point at some length in this place. That the word yuga by
itself means 'a period of time,' or that, at any rate, it is one of
its meanings goes without saying. Even the Petersburg
Lexicon assigns this meaning to yuga in the Atharva Veda
VIII, 2, 21 ; but so far as the Ṛig-Veda is concerned yuga,
according to it, must mean 'descent,' or 'generation,' or some-
thing like it, but never 'a period of time.' This is especially
the case with the phrase Mânuṣhâ yugâ, or Manuṣhyâ yugâni,
which occurs several times in the Ṛig-Veda. Western scho-
lars would everywhere translate it to mean 'generations of
men,' while native scholars, like Sâyaṇa and Mahîdhara, take
it to refer to 'mortal ages' in a majority of places. In some
cases (I, 124, 2 ; I, 144, 4) Sayâṇa, however, suggests, as an
alternative, that the phrase may be understood to mean 'con-
junction' or 'couples (yuga) of men' : and this has probably given
rise to the interpretation put upon the phrase by Western
scholars. Etymologically the word yuga may mean 'conjunc-
tion' or 'a couple,' denoting either (1) 'a couple of day and night,'
or (2) 'a couple of months,' i.e. 'a season,' or (3) 'a couple of
fortnights,' or 'the time of the conjunction of the moon and
the sun,' i. e. 'a month.' Thus at the beginning of the Kali-
Yuga the planets and the sun were, it is supposed, in conjunc-
tion and hence it is said to be called a yuga. It is also possible
that the word may mean 'a conjunction, or a couple, or even
a generation of men,' Etymology, therefore, does not help
us in determining which of these meanings should be assigned to
the word yuga, or the phrase Mânuṣhâ yugâ in the Ṛig-
Veda, and we must find out some other means for
determining it. The prejudice we have referred to above,
appears to be mainly due to the disinclination of the Western
scholars to import the later Yuga theory into the Ṛig-Veda. But
it seems to me that the caution has been carried too far, so far
as almost to amount to a sort of prejudice.

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 173
Turning to the hymns of the Ṛig-Veda, we find as remark-
ed by Muir, the phrase yuge yuge used at least in half a dozen
places (III, 26, 3; VI, 15, 8; X, 94, 12, &c.), and it is interpreted
by Sâyaṇa to mean a period of time. In III, 33, 8, and X, 10, 10,
we have uttara yugáni 'later ages,' and in X, 72, 1, we read
uttare yuge 'in a later age'; whilst in the next two verses we
have the phrases Devânâm pûrvye yuge and Devânâm prathame
yuge clearly referring to the later and earlier ages of the gods.
The word Devânâm is in the plural and yuga is in the singular,
and it is not therefore possible to take the phrase to mean
'generations of gods.' The context again clearly shows that
a reference to time is intended, for the hymn speaks of the
creation and the birth of the gods in early primeval times. Now
if we interpret Devânâm yugam to mean 'an age of gods,' why
should manushyâ yugâni or mânushâ yugâ be not interpreted
to mean 'human ages,' is more than I can understand. There
are again express passages in the Ṛig-Veda where mânushâ
yugâ cannot be taken to mean 'generations of men.' Thus
in V, 52, 4, which is a hymn to Maruts, we read Vishve ye
mânushâ yugâ pânti martyam rishaḥ. Here the verb is pânti
(protect), the nominative vishve ye (all those), and the object
is martyam (the mortal man), while rishaḥ (from injury), in
the ablative, denotes the object against which the protection
is sought. So far the sentence, therefore, means "All those
who protect man from injury"; and now the question is, what
does mânushâ yugâ mean? If we take it to mean "genera-
tions of men" in the objective case it becomes superfluous, for
martyam (man) is already the object of pânti (protect). It
is, therefore, necessary to assign to mânushâ yugâ the only
other meaning we know of, viz., 'human ages' and take the
phrase as an accusative of time. Thus interpreted the whole
sentence means "All those, who protect man from injury
during human ages." No other construction is more natural