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

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.

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 179
taking it to denote 'a conjunction,' observes as follows, "The
phases of the moon being so readily observable, it is pro-
bable that, as suggested by Professor Weber, the idea of a
period of time known as a yuga and depending upon a conjunc-
tion of certain heavenly bodies, was originally derived from
a knowledge of these phases. The Professor (Weber) further
strengthens his supposition by referring to a passage cited in
the Shaḍviṁsha Brâhmaṇa (IV, 6)* wherein the four yugas
are still designated by their more ancient names, and are con-
nected with the four lunar phases to which they evidently owe
their origin." Mr. Rangâchârya then refers to darsha, the
ancient name for the conjunction of the sun and moon, and con-
cludes, "There is also old mythological or other evidence
which leads us to conclude that our forefathers observed many
other kinds of interesting celestial conjunctions; and in all pro-
bability the earliest conception of a yuga meant the period
from new moon to new moon," that is, one lunar month. The
passage stating that it was the first dawn that set the cycle of
mânushâ yuga in motion is already quoted above; and if we
compare this statement with Ṛig. X, 138, 6, where Indra after
killing Vṛitra and producing the dawn and the sun, is said
"to have set the ordering of the months in the sky," it will
be further evident that the cycle of time which began with
the first dawn was a cycle of months. We may, therefore,
safely conclude that mânushâ yugâ represented, in early days,
a cycle of months during which the sun was above the horizon,
or rather that period of sunshine and action when the ances-
tors of the Aryan race held their sacrificial sessions or
performed other religious and social ceremonies.
There are many other passages in the Ṛig-Veda which
support the same view. But mânushâ yugâ being everywhere

• पुष्ये (कलौ) चानुमतिर्ज्ञेया सिनीवालीति द्वापरे। शार्वायां (त्रेतायां)
  तु भवेद्राका कृतपर्वे कुहुर्भवेत् ॥

180 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
interpreted by Western scholars to mean 'human generations
or tribes,' the real meaning of these passages has become
obscure and unintelligible. Thus in VIII, 46, 12, we have
"All (sacrificers), with ladles lifted, invoke that mighty
Indra for mānuṣhā yugā"; and the meaning evidently is that
Soma libations were offered to Indra during the period of human
ages. But taking mānuṣhā yugā to denote 'human tribes,'
Griffith translates "All races of mankind invoke &c.," a ren-
dering, which, though intelligible, does not convey the spirit
of the original. Similarly, Agni is said to shine during
'human ages' in VII, 9, 4. But there too the meaning
'human tribes' is unnecessarily foisted upon the phrase.
The most striking illustration of the impropriety of interpreting
yuga to mean 'a generation' is, however, furnished by Ṛig. II,
2, 2. Here Agni is said to shine for mānuṣhā yugā and kṣhapāḥ.
Now kṣhapāḥ means 'nights' and the most natural interpre-
tation would be to take mānuṣhā yugā and kṣhapāḥ as allied ex-
pressions denoting a period of time. The verse will then mean:—
"O Agni! thou shinest during human ages and nights." It is
necessary to mention 'nights,' because though mānuṣhā yugā
is a period of sunshine, including a long day and a succession
of ordinary days and nights, yet the long or the continuous
night which followed mānuṣhā yugā could not have been in-
cluded in the latter phrase. Therefore, when the whole period
of the solar year was intended, a compound expression like
"mānuṣhā yugā and the continuous nights" was necessary,
and that is the meaning of the phrase in II, 2, 2. But Prof.
Oldenberg, * following Max Muller, translates as follows, "O
Agni! thou shinest on human tribes, on continuous nights." Here,
in the first place, it is difficult to understand what 'shining on
human tribes' means; and secondly if kṣhapāḥ means continuous

• See S. B. E. Series Vol. XLVI, pp. 193, 195.

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 181
nights', it could mean nothing except 'the long continuous
night,' and if so, why not take mânushâ yugâ to represent the
period of the solar year, which remains after the long night is
excluded from it ? As observed by me before, Prof. Max Muller
has correctly translated kṣhapaḥ by 'continuous nights,' but has
missed the true meaning of the expression mânushâ yugâ in this
place. A similar mistake has been committed with respect to IV,
16, 19, where the expression is kṣhapaḥ madema śaradas cha
pûrvîḥ. Here, in spite of the accent, Max Muller takes kṣhapaḥ
as accusative and so does Sâyaṇa. But Sâyaṇa correctly inter-
prets the expression as 'May we rejoice for many autumns
(seasons) and nights.' 'Seasons and nights' is a compound
phrase, and the particle cha becomes unmeaning if we split it up
and take nights (kṣhapaḥ) with one verb, and seasons (śaradaḥ)
with another. Of course so long as the Arctic theory was
unknown the phrase 'seasons and nights' or 'mânushâ yugâ and
nights' was unintelligible, inasmuch as nights were included in
the seasons or the yugas. But Prof. Max Muller has himself
suggested the solution of the difficulty by interpreting kṣhapaḥ
as 'continuous nights' in II. 2, 2; and adopting this rendering,
we can, with greater propriety, take seasons and nights together,
as indicated by the particle cha, and understand the expression
to mean a complete solar year including the long night. The
addition of kṣhapaḥ to mânushâ yugâ, therefore, further supports
the conclusion that the phrase indicated a period of sunshine as
stated above. There are many other passages in translating which
unnecessary confusion or obscurity has been caused by taking
mânushâ yugâ to mean human tribes; but a discussion of these
is not relevant to the subject in hand.
An independent corroboration of the conclusion we have
drawn from the legends of the Dashagvas and Dirghatamas

182 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
is furnished by the number of seasons mentioned in certain
Vedic texts. A period of sunshine of ten months followed by
a long night of two months can well be described as five seasons
of two months each, followed by the sinking of the sun into
the waters below the horizon; and as a matter of fact we find
the year so described in I, 164, 12, a verse, which occurs also in
the Atharva Veda (IX, 9, 12,) with a slight variation and in the
Prashnopaniṣhad I, 11. It may be literally translated as
follows:—"The five-footed (pañcha-pâdam) Father of twelve
forms, they say, is full of watery vapours (purîshiṇam) in the
farther half (pare ardhe) of the heaven. These others again
say (that) He the far-seeing (vichakshaṇam) is placed on the six-
spoked (shaḍ are) and seven-wheeled (car), in the nearer (upare,
scil. ardhe) half of the heaven."* The adjective 'far-seeing' is
made to qualify 'seven-wheeled' instead of 'He' in the
Atharva Veda, vichakshaṇe being in the locative case; while
Shaṅkarâchârya in his commentary on the Prashnopaniṣhpad
splits upare into two words u and pare, taking u as an expletive.
But these readings do not materially alter the meaning of the
verse. The context everywhere clearly indicates that the
year-god of twelve months (âkṛiti, X, 85, 5) is here described.
The previous verse in the hymn (Ṛig. I, 164) mentions
"The twelve-spoked wheel, in which 720 sons of Agni
are established," a clear reference to a year of twelve
months with 720 days and nights. There is, therefore,

• Ṛig. I., 164, 12, — पंचपादं पितरं द्वादशाकृतिं दिव आहुः परे अर्धे
  पुरीषिणम्। अथेमे अन्य उपरे विचक्षणं सप्तचक्रे षळर आहुरर्पितम्॥ For
  विचक्षणम् A. V. (IX, 9 12,) reads विचक्षणे; while Shaṅkarâchârya in his
  gloss on Prashnopaniṣhad takes उ and परे as two different words.
  Shaṅkarâchârya's explanation of परे अर्धे is also noteworthy. He trans-
  lates it by तृतीयास्यां दिवि, 'in the third heaven,' the seat of the third
  step of Vishṇu, meaning that the five-footed year-god is then hidden in
  the remotest part of the heaven.

MONTHS AND SEASONS. 183
no doubt that the passage contains the description of the year,
and the two halves of the verse, which are introduced by the
phrases 'they say' and 'others say,' give us two opinions about
the nature of the year-god of twelve forms. Let us now see
what these opinions are. Some say that the year-god is five-
footed (pañcha-pâdam), that is, divided into five seasons; and
the others say that he has a six-spoked car, or six seasons. It
is clear from this that the number of seasons was held to be
five by some and six by others in early days. Why should
there be this difference of opinion? The Aitareya Brâhmaṇa
I, 1, (and the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ I, 6, 2, 3) explains that the two
seasons of Hemanta and Shishira together made a joint season,
thereby reducing the number of seasons from six to five. But
this explanation seems to be an afterthought, for in the Shata-
patha Brâhmaṇa, XIII, 6, 1, 10, Varshâ and Sharad are com-
pounded for this purpose instead of Hemanta and Shishira. This
shews that in the days of the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ and the Brâh-
maṇas it was not definitely known or settled which two seasons
out of six should be compounded to reduce the number to five;
but as five seasons were sometimes mentioned in the Vedas,
some explanation was felt to be necessary to account for the
smaller number, and such explanation was devised by taking
together any two consecutive seasons out of six and regard-
ing them as one joint season of four months. But the ex-
planation is too vague to be true; and we cannot believe that
the system of compounding any two seasons according to one's
choice was ever followed in practice. We must, therefore,
give up the explanation as unsatisfactory, and see if the verse
from the Ṛig-Veda, quoted above, enables us to find out a
better explanation of the fact that the seasons were once held
to be five. Now the first half of this verse describes the
five-footed father as full of watery vapours in the farther
part of heaven, while the year of six-spoked car is said to