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

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

174 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
or reasonable than this; but still Prof. Max Muller translates
the verse to mean "All those who protect the generations of
men, who protect the mortal from injury,"* in spite of the fact
that this is tautological and that there is no conjunctive par-
ticle in the text (like cha) to join what according to him are the
two objects of the verb 'protect.' Mr. Griffith seems to have
perceived this difficulty, and has translated, "Who all, through
ages of mankind, guard mortal man from injury." Another
passage which is equally decisive on this point, is X, 140, 6.
The verse† is addressed to Agni, and people are said to have
put him in front to secure his blessings. It is as follows :—
Ritâvânam mahisham vishva-darshatam
agnim sumnâya, dadhire puro janâḥ
Shrut-karṇam saprathas-tamam
tvâ girâ daivyam mânushâ yugâ ॥
Here ṛitâvânam (righteous), mahisham (strong), vishva-dar-
shatam (visible to all), agnim (Agni, fire), shrut-karṇam (attentive
eared), saprathas-tamam (most widely-reaching), tvâ (thee) and
daivyam (divine) are all in the accusative case governed by
dadhire (placed), and describe the qualities of Agni. Janâḥ
(people) is the nominative and dadhire (placed) is the only verb in
the text. Sumnâya (for the welfare) denotes the purpose for which
the people placed Agni in front (puro) ; and girâ (by praises) is
the means by which the favour of Agni is to be secured. If we,
therefore, leave out the various adjectives of Agni, the verse
means, "The people have placed Agni (as described) in front for
their welfare, with praises." The only expression that remains is
mânushâ yugâ, and it can go in with other words in a natural
way only as an accusative of time. The verse would then mean

• See S. B. E. Series, Vol. XXXII, p. 312.
  † Rig. X, 140, 6,—ऋतावानं महिषं विश्वदर्शतमग्निं सुम्नाय दधिरे पुरो
  जनाः। श्रुत्कर्णं सप्रथस्तमं त्वा गिरा दैव्यं मानुषा युगा ॥

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 175
"The people have placed Agni (as described) in front for their
welfare, with praises, during human ages." But Griffith takes
yugâ to mean 'generations,' and supplying a verb of his own,
translates the last part of the verse thus: "Men's generations
magnify (Agni) with praise-songs (girâ)." This shows what straits
we are reduced to if we once make up our mind not to interpret
mânushâ yugâ to mean 'a period of time'; for the word 'magnify'
does not exist in the original. This verse also occurs in the
Vâjasaneyî Saṁhitâ (XII, 111) and Mahîdhara there explains
mânushâ yugâ to mean 'human ages' or 'periods of time' such as
fortnights. We have, therefore, at least two passages, where
mânushâ yugâ, must, according to the recognised rules of inter-
pretation, be taken to mean 'periods of time,' and not 'genera-
tions of men,' unless we are prepared to give up the natural con-
struction of the sentence. There are no more passages in the
Ṛig-Veda where mânushâ yugâ occurs in juxtapposition with
words like janâḥ or martyân, so as to leave no option as regards
the meaning to be assigned to yuga. But if the meaning of a
phrase is once definitely determined even from a single passage,
we can safely understand the phrase in the same sense in other
passages, provided the meaning does not conflict there with the
context. That is how the meaning of many a Vedic word has
been determined by scholars like Yâska, and we are not ventur-
ing on a new path in adopting the same process of reasoning in
the present case.
But if mânushâ yugâ means 'human ages' and not
'human generations,' we have still to determine the exact
duration of these ages. In the Atharva-Veda VIII, 2, 21,
which says, "We allot to thee, a hundred, ten thousand years,
two, three or four yugas," the word yuga obviously stands for
a period of time, not shorter than ten thousand years. But
there are grounds to hold that in the early days of the Ṛig-
Veda yuga must have denoted a shorter period of time,

176 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.

or, at least, that was one of its meanings in early days. The
Ṛig-Veda often speaks of 'the first' (prathamâ) dawn, or 'the first
of the coming' (âyatînâm prathamâ) dawns, (Ṛig. I, 113, 8; 123, 2;
VII, 76, 6; X, 35, 4); while 'the last' (avamâ) dawn is mentioned
in VII, 71, 3, and the dawn is said to have 'the knowledge of the
first day' in I, 123, 9. Now, independently of what I have said
before about the Vedic dawns, the ordinal numeral 'first' as-
applied to the dawn is intelligible only if we suppose it to refer
to the first dawn of the year, or the dawn on the first day
of the year, somewhat like the phrase 'first night' (prathamâ
râtriḥ) used in the Brâhmaṇas (see Orion, p. 67). The 'first'
(prathamâ) and the 'last' (avamâ) dawn must, therefore, be-
taken to signify the beginning and the end of the year in
those days; and in the light of what has been said about
the nature of the Vedic dawns in the fifth chapter, we may
safely conclude that the 'first' of the dawns was no other
than the first of a set or group of dawns that appeared at the-
close of the long night and commenced the year. Now this
'first dawn' is described as "wearing out human ages"
(praminatî manushyâ yugâni) in I, 124, 2, and I, 92, 11;
while in I, 115, 2, we are told that "the pious or godly men
extend the yugas" on the appearance of the dawn (yatra
naro devayanto yugâni vitanvate). European scholars inter-
pret yuga in the above passages to mean 'generations of
men.' But apart from the fact that the phrase mânusha
yugâ must be understood to mean 'human ages' in at least
two passages discussed above, the context in I, 124, 2 and I,
92, 11 is obviously in favour of interpreting the word yuga, oc-
curring therein, as equivalent to a period of time. The dawn
is here described as commencing a new course of heaven-
ly ordinances, or holy sacrifices (daivyani vratâni), and set-
ting in motion the manushyâ yugâni, obviously implying
that with the first dawn came the sacrifices, as well as the

cycle of time known as 'human ages,' or that 'the human ages'
were reckoned from the first dawn. This association of mânushâ
yugâ, or 'human ages,' with the 'first dawn' at once enables us to
definitely determine the length or duration of 'human ages'; for
if these ages (yugas) commenced with ths first dawn of the year,
they must have ended on the last (avamâ) dawn of the year.
In other words mânushâ yugâ collectively denoted the whole
period of time between the first and the last dawn of the year,
while a single yuga denoted a shorter division of this period.
Apart from the legend of Dîrghatamas, we have, therefore,
sufficient evidence in the Ṛig-Veda to hold that the word yuga
was used to denote a period of time, shorter than one year, and
that the phrase mânushâ yugâ meant 'human ages,' or 'the period
of time between the first and the last dawn of year,' and not 'hu-
man generations.' The statement that "Dîrghatamas grew old
in the tenth yuga" is now not only easy to understand, but it
enables us to determine, still more definitely, the meaning of
yuga in the days of the Ṛig-Veda. For, if yuga was a part of
mânushâ yugâ, that is, of the period between the first and the
last dawn of the year, and the legend of Dîrghatamas a solar
legend, the statement that "Dîrghatamas grew old in the tenth
yuga" can only mean that 'the sun grew old in the tenth month.'
In other words, ten yugas were supposed to intervene between
the first and the last dawn, or the two termini, of the year; and
as ten days or ten fortnights would be too short, and ten seasons
too long a period of time to lie between these limits, the
word yuga in the phrase dashame yuge, must be interpreted
to mean 'a month' and nothing else. In short, Dîrghatamas
was the sun that grew old in the tenth month, and
riding on the aerial waters was borne by them to their goal,
that is, to the ocean (VII, 49, 2) below the horizon. The
waters here referred to are, in fact, the same over which

178 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
the king Varuṇa is said to rule, or which flow by his commands,
or for which he is said to have dug out a channel (VII, 49, 1-4 ;
II, 28, 4 ; VII, 87, 1) and so cut out a path for Sûrya, and which
being released by Indra from the grasp of Vṛitra, bring on the sun
(I, 51, 4). Prof. Max Muller, in his Contributions to the Science of
Mythology (Vol. II, pp. 583-598), has shown that most of the
achievements of the Ashvins can be rationally explained by taking
them as referring to the decaying sun. The legend of Dîrgha-
tamas is thus only a mythical representation of the Arctic sun, who
ascends above the 'bright ocean' (VII, 60, 4), becomes visible for
mânushâ yugâ, or ten months, and then drops again into the ne-
ther waters. What these waters are and how their nature has
been long misunderstood will be fufther explained in a subsequent
chapter, when we come to the discussion of Vedic myths.
Suffice it to say for the present that the legend of Dîrghatamas,
interpreted as above, is in full accord with the legend of the
Dashagvas, who are described as holding their sacrificial session
only for ten months.
I have discussed here the meaning of yuga and mânushâ
yugâ at some length, because the phrases have been
much misunderstood, in spite of clear passages shewing that
'a period of time' was intended to be denoted by them. These
passages (V, 52, 4 ; X, 140, 6) establish the fact that mânushâ yugâ
denoted 'human ages,' and the association of these ages with the
'first dawn' (I, 124, 2 ; I, 115, 2) further shews that the length of
a yuga was regarded to be shorter than a year. The mention of
the tenth yuga finally settles the meaning of yuga as 'one month.'
That is how I have arrived at the meaning of these phrases, and
I am glad to find that I have been anticipated in my conclusions
by Prof. Rangâchârya, of Madras, on different grounds. In his es-
say on the yugas,* he discusses the root meaning of yuga, and,

• The Yugas, or a Question of Hindu Chronology and History, p. 19.