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

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VṚITRA TRIUMPHANT.
( WATERS AND THE SUN CONFINED. )

1. Varuṇa's tree. 2. Waters.

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VṚITRA SLAIN.
(WATERS AND THE SUN SET FREE TO MOVE.)
3. Vṛitra, as a Serpent. 4. The Sun.

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CHAPTER X.
VEDIC MYTHS--THE MATUTINAL DEITIES.
Vernal theory and the legends of the Ashvins--The part played
by the Ashvins in the struggle for waters and light--Intelli-
gible only on the Arctic theory--Their exploits and legends--
Saving or rejuvenating, rescuing from the ocean, or restoring
the eye-sight or light, to Chyavâna, Rebha, Bhujyu, Atri
Vandana &c.--All explained at present as referring to the
rescue of the daily dawn or the vernal restoration of the
powers of the winter sun--But the theory fails to explain
references to blindness or darkness in several legends--Nor
does it account for the duration of the distress of the Ashvins'
proteges--Nor for the character of the place of distress
from which the proteges were saved--Bottomless and dark
ocean really means the nether world--A bowl with bottom
up and mouth downwards indicates the inverted hemisphere
of the Hades--Legend of Rijrâshva--The slaughter of a
hundred sheep represents the conversion of a hundred days
into so many nights--The story of Saptavadhri or the seven
eunuchs, praying for safe delivery after ten months of gestation
--Remains unexplained up to the present--The interior of
heaven and earth is conceived in the Veda as the womb in
which the sun moves when above the horizon--Ten months'
gestation thus represents the ten months when the Sun is
above the horizon--Prayer for safe delivery indicates the
perils of the long night--Riddle or paradox of a child becom-
ing invisible as soon as born--The story of the hidden
Agni refers to the same phenomenon--Probable origin of the
Purânic story of Kumâra or Kârttikeya--Superiority of the
Arctic over the vernal theory in explaining the legends of the
Ashvins--The legend of Indra's stealing Sûrya's wheel--
The meaning of dasha-prapitve discussed--Indicates darkness
on the completion of ten months--Vishnu's three strides
--Different opinions about their nature quoted--Vishnu's
strides represent the yearly course of the sun--And his
third invisible step represents the nether world--Vishnu's op-
probrious name, Shipivishta--Represents the dark or the diseased
sun during the long Arctic night--The three abodes of Savitri,
Agni and the Ashvins compared to Vishnu's third step--The

298 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
legend of Trita A'ptya--Trita, or the third, represents the third
part of the year--The Indo-Germanic origin of the legend--
The Âpas--Their character and nature described--Seven-fold
and ten-fold division of things in the Vedic literature--
Various instances of seven-fold and ten-fold division collected
--This two-fold division probably due to the seven and ten
months' period of sunshine in the Arctic region--The Dâsha-
râjna fight--Represents struggle with the ten-fold division
of darkness--Brihaspati and his lost wife in the Ṛig-Veda--
The ten non-sacrificing kings and Râvana compared--Mythi-
cal element in the Râmâyana probably derived from the Vedic
mythology--Hanumân and Vrishâkapi-- Was Râmâyana
copied from Homer--Both may have a common source--
Conclusion.
THE inadequacy of the Storm theory to explain the legend
of Indra and Vṛitra has been fully set forth in the last chapter; and
we have seen how a number of points therein, hitherto unintelli-
gible, can be explained by the Arctic theory, combined with
the true conception of the circulation of aerial waters in the
upper and the nether world. We shall now take up the legends
that are usually explained on the Vernal theory, and show how,
like the Storm theory, it fails to account satisfactorily for the
different features of these legends. Such legends are to be found
amongst the achievements of the Ashvins, the physicians of
the gods. These achievements are summed up, as it were, in
certain hymns of the Ṛig-Veda (I, 112; 116; 117; 118), each
of which briefly refers to the important exploits of these twin
gods. As in the case of Vṛitra, the character of the Ashvins
and their exploits are explained by different schools of interpre-
ters in different ways. Thus Yâska (Nir. XII, 1) informs us
that the two Ashvins are regarded by some as representing
Heaven and Earth, by others as Day and Night, or as
Sun and Moon; while the Aitihâsikas take them to
be two ancient kings, the performers of holy acts. But as
before, we propose to examine the legends connected
with the Ashvins only according to the naturalistic or the
Nairukta school of interpretation. Even in this school there

VEDIC MYTHS—THE MATUTINAL DEITIES. 299
are, however, a number of different views held regarding the
nature and the character of these two gods. Some believe that
the natural basis of the Ashvins must be the morning star,
that being the only morning-light visible before fire, dawn and
sun; while others think that the two stars in the constellation
of Gemini were the original representatives of the twin gods.
The achievements of these gods are, however, generally explained
as referring to the restoration of the powers of the sun decayed
in winter; and an elaborate discussion of the Ashvins' exploits
on this theory will be found in the Contributions to the Science of
Mythology, (Vol. II, pp. 583-605), by Prof. Max Muller, published
a few years ago. It is beyond the scope of this work to
examine each one of the different legends connected with the
Ashvins, as Prof. Max Muller has done. We are concerned
only with those points in the legends which the Vernal or the
Dawn theory fails to explain, and which can be well accounted
for only by the Arctic theory; and these we now proceed to
notice.
Now, in the first place, we must refer to the part played by
the Ashvins in the great struggle or fight for waters and light,
which has been discussed in the previous chapter. The Ashvins
are distinctly mentioned in the sacrificial literature as one of
the deities connected with the Dawn (Ait. Br. II, 15); and we
have seen that a long laudatory song recited by the Hotṛi
before sunrise is specially devoted to them. The daughter
of Sûrya is also described as having ascended their car (I, 116, 17;
119, 5), and the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, (IV, 7-9), describes a
race run by the gods for obtaining the Âshvina-shastra as a
prize; and the Ashvins, driving in a carriage drawn by
donkeys, are said to have won it in close competition with
Agni, Uṣhas and Indra, who are represented as making
way for the Ashvins, on the understanding that after win-
ning the race the Ashvins would assign to them a share in
the prize. The kindling of the sacrificial fire; the break

300 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
of the dawn, and rise of the sun are again spoken of as
occurring simultaneously with the appearance of the Ashvins
(I, 157, 1; VII, 72, 4); while in X, 61, 4, the time of their
appearance is said to be the early dawn when "darkness still
stands amongst the ruddy cows." Their connection with
the dawn and their appearance in the interval between dawn and
sunrise are thus taken to be clearly established; and whatever
theory we may adopt to explain the character of the Ashvins
on a physical basis, we cannot lose sight of the fact that
they are matutinal deities, bringing on the dawn or the light
of the morning along with them. The two epithets which
are peculiar to Indra, viz., Vṛitrahan, and Shata-kratu, are
applied to them (Vṛitrahantamâ, VIII, 8, 22; Shata-kratû, I, 112,
23); and in I, 182, 2, they are expressly said to possess strongly
the qualities of Indra (Indra-tamâ), and of the Maruts (Marut-
tamâ) the associates of Indra in his struggle with Vṛitra.
Nay, they are said to have protected Indra in his achievements
against Namuchi in X, 131, 4. This leaves no doubt about
their share in the Vṛitra-fight; and equally clear is their
connection with the waters of the ocean. In I, 46, 2, they are
called sindhu-mâtarâ, or having the ocean for their mother, and
their car is described as turning up from the ocean in IV, 43, 5;
while in I, 112, 13, the Ashvins in their car are said to go round
the sun in the distant region (parâvati). We also read that the
Ashvins moved the most sweet sindhu or ocean, evidently mean-
ing that they made the waters of the ocean flow forward
(I, 112, 9); and they are said to have made Rasâ, a celestial
river, swell full with water-floods, urging to victory the car
without the horse (I, 112, 12). They are also the protectors
of the great Atithigva and Divodâsa against Shambara; and
Kutsa, the favourite of Indra, is also said to have been
helped by them (I, 112, 14 and 23). In verse 18 of
the same hymn, the Ashvins are addressed as Aṅgirases,
and said to have triumphed in their hearts and went

VEDIC MYTHS—THE MATUTINAL DEITIES. 301
onwards to liberate the flood of milk; while in VIII, 26, 17,
we read that they abide in the sea of heaven (divo arṇave).
Taking all these facts together, we can easily see that the
Ashvins were the helpers of Indra in his struggle for waters
and light; and we now know what that struggle means. It is
the struggle between the powers of light and darkness, and
the Ashvins, in their character as divine physicians, were
naturally the first to help the gods in this distress or afflic-
tion. It is true that Indra was the principal actor or hero in
this fight; but the Ashvins appear to have stood by him,
rendering help whenever necessary, and leading the van in the
march of the matutinal deities after the conquest. This cha-
racter of the Ashvins is hardly explained by the Vernal theory;
nor can it be accounted for on the theory of a daily
struggle between light and darkness, for we have seen that the
dawn, during which the Âshvina-shastra is recited, is not the
evanescent dawn of the tropics. The Arctic theory alone can
satisfactorily interpret the facts stated above; and when they
are interpreted in this way, it is easy to perceive how the
Ashvins are described as having rejuvenated, cured, or rescued
a number of decrepit, blind, lame or distressed proteges of theirs
in the various legends ascribed to them.
The important achievements of the Ashvins have been
summed up by Macdonell in his Vedic Mythology (§ 21) as
follows:—
“The sage Chyavâna, grown old and deserted, they re-
leased from his decrepit body; they prolonged his life, restored
him to youth, rendered him desirable to his wife and made
him the husband of maidens (I, 116, 10 &c). They also re-
newed the youth of the aged Kali, and befriended him when
he had taken a wife (X, 39, 8; I, 112, 15). They brought, on a
car, to the youthful Vimada wives or a wife named Kamadyû
(X, 65, 12), who seems to have been the beautiful spouse of
Purumitra (I, 117, 20). They restored Vishṇâpû, like a lost

302 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
animal, to the sight of their worshipper Vishvaka, son of Kṛi-
shṇa (I, 116, 23; X, 65, 12). But the story most often refer-
red to is that of the rescue of Bhujyu, son of Tugra, who was
abandoned in the midst of ocean (samudre), or in the water-
clouds (udameghe), and who, tossed about in darkness, invoked
the aid of the youthful heroes. In the ocean which is
without support (anârambhaṇe), they took him home in a
hundred-oared (shatâritrâm) ship (I, 116, 5). They rescued
him with animated water-tight ships, which traversed the air
(antariksha), with four ships, with an animated winged boat,
with three flying cars having a hundred feet and six horses.
In one passage Bhujyu is described as clinging to a log in the
midst of water (arṇaso madhye, I, 182, 7). The sage Rebha
stabbed, bound, hidden by the malignant, overwhelmed in
waters for ten nights and nine days, abandoned as dead, was
by the Ashvins revived and drawn out, as Soma juice is raised
with a ladle (I, 116, 24; I, 112, 5). They delivered Vandana
from his calamity and restored him to the light of the sun. In
I, 117, 5, they are also said to have dug up for Vandana some
bright buried gold of new splendour 'like one asleep in the lap
of Nir-ṛiti,' or like 'the sun dwelling in darkness.' They suc-
coured the sage Atri Sapta-Vadhri, who was plunged in a
burning pit by the wiles of a demon, and delivered him from
darkness (I, 116, 8; VI, 50, 10). They rescued from the jaws
of a wolf a quail (vartikâ), who invoked their aid (I, 112, 8).
To Ṛijrâshva, who had been blinded by his cruel father for
killing one hundred and one sheep and giving them to a she-
wolf to devour, they restored his eyesight at the prayer of the
she-wolf (I, 116, 16; 117, 17); and cured Parâvṛij of blind-
ness and lameness (I, 112, 8). When Vishpalâ's leg had been
cut off in the battle like the wing of a bird, the Ashvins gave
her an iron one instead (I, 116, 15). They befriended Gho-
shâ when she was growing old in her father's house by giving
her a husband (I, 117, 7; X, 39, 3). To the wife of a eunuch

VEDIC MYTHS—THE MATUTINAL DEITIES. 303
(Vadhrimati) they gave a son called Hiraṇya-hasta (I, 116, 13;
VI, 62, 7). The cow of Shayu which had left off bearing they
caused to give milk (I, 116, 22); and to Pedu they gave a
strong swift dragon-slaying steed impelled by Indra which
won him unbounded spoils (I, 116, 6)."
Besides these there are many other exploits mentioned in I,
112, 116-119; and the Ashvins are described as having saved,
helped, or cured a number of other persons. But the above
summary is sufficient for our purpose. It will be seen from it
that the Ashvins bear the general character of helping the
lame, the blind, the distressed, or the afflicted; and in some
places a reference to the decayed powers of the sun is discern-
ible on the face of the legends. Taking their clue from this
indication, many scholars, and among them Prof. Max Muller,
have interpreted all the above legends as referring to the sun
in winter and the restoration of his power in spring or summer.
Thus Prof. Max Muller tells us that Chyavâna is nothing but
the falling sun (chyu, to fall), of which it might well be said
that he had sunk in the fiery or dark abyss from which the
Ashvins are themselves said to come up in III, 39, 3. The
Vedic Ṛishis are again said to have betrayed the secret of the
myth of Vandana by comparing the treasure dug for him by
the Ashvins to the sun 'dwelling in darkness.' Kali is simi-
larly taken to represent the waning moon, and Vishpalâ's iron
leg, we are told, is the first quarter or pâda of the new moon,
called 'iron' on account of his darkness as compared with the
golden colour of the full moon. The blindness of Ṛijrâshva is
explained on this theory as meaning the blindness of night or
winter; and the blind and the lame Parâvṛij is taken to be the
sun after sunset or near the winter solstice. The setting sun
thrown out of a boat into waters is similarly understood to
be the basis of the legend Bhujyu or Rebha. Vadhrimati,
the wife of the eunuch, to whom Hiraṇya-hasta or the gold-
hand is said to be restored, is, we are further told, nothing

304 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
but the dawn under a different name. She is called the wife
of the eunuch because she was separated from the sun during
the night. The cow of Shayu, (derived from shî, to lie down)
is again said to be the light of the morning sun, who may
well be described as sleeping in the darkness from which he
was brought forth by the Ashvins for the sake of Vandana.
In short, each and every legend is said to be a story of the
sun or the moon in distress. The Ashvins were the saviours
of the morning-light, or of the annual sun in his exile and dis-
tress at the time of the winter solstice; and when the sun
becomes bright and brisk in the morning every day, or vigor-
ous and triumphant in the spring, the miracle, we are told,
was naturally attributed to the physicians of the gods.
This explanation of the different legends connected with
the Ashvins is no doubt an advance on that of Yâska, who has
explained only one of these legends, viz., that of the quail, on
the Dawn theory. But still I do not think that all the facts
and incidents in these legends are explained by the Vernal
theory as it is at present understood. Thus we cannot ex-
plain why the proteges of the Ashvins are described as being
delivered from darkness on the theory that every affliction or
distress mentioned in the legend refers to mere decrease of
the power of the sun in winter. Darkness is distinctly referred
to when the treasure dug up for Vandana is compared to
the "sun dwelling in darkness" (I, 117, 5), or when Bhu-
jyu is said to have been plunged in waters and sunk in bottom-
less darkness (anârambhaṇe tamasi), or when Atri is said to
have been delivered from darkness (tamas) in VI, 50, 10.
The powers of the sun are no doubt decayed in winter, and
one can easily understand why the sun in winter should
be called lame, old, or distressed. But blindness naturally
means darkness or tamas (I, 117, 17); and when express
references to darkness (tamas) are found in several pass-
-ages, we cannot legitimately hold that the story of curing

VEDIC MYTHS—THE MATUTINAL DEITIES. 305
the blind refers to the restoration of the decayed powers of the
winter sun. The darkness referred to is obviously the real
darkness of the night ; and on the theory of the daily strug-
gle between light and darkness we shall have to suppose that
these wonders were achieved every day. But as a matter of
fact they are not said to be performed every day, and Vedic
scholars have, therefore, tried to explain the legends on the
theory of the yearly exile of the sun in winter. But we now
see that in the latter case references to blindness or darkness
remain unintelligible ; and as the darkness is often said to be
of several days' duration, we are obliged to infer that the legends
refer to the long yearly darkness, or, in other words, they have
for their physical basis the disappearance of the sun below the
horizon during the long night of the Arctic region.
The Vernal theory cannot again explain the different periods
of time during which the distress experienced by the Ashvins'
proteges is said to have lasted. Thus Rebha, who was overwhelm-
ed in waters, is said to have remained there for ten nights and
nine days (I, 116, 24); while Bhujyu, another worshipper of theirs,
is described as having been saved from being drowned in the
bottomless sea or darkness, where he lay for three days and
three nights (I, 116, 4). In VIII, 5, 8, the Ashvins are again
described as having been in the parāvat or distant region for three
days and three nights. Prof. Max Muller, agreeing with Benfey,
takes this period, whether of ten or three days, as representing
the time when the sun at the winter solstice seems bound and to
stand still (hence called solstice), till he jumps up and turns
back. But ten days is too long a period for the sun to stand still
at the winter solstice, and even Prof. Max Muller seems to have
felt the difficulty, for immediately after the above explanation
he remarks that "whether this time lasted for ten or twelve
nights would have been difficult to settle even for more experien-
ced astronomers than the Vedic Ṛiṣhis." But even supposing
20

306 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
that the period of ten days may be thus accounted for, the
explanation entirely fails in the case of the legend of Dîrghatamas
who is said to have grown old in the tenth yuga and rescued by
the Ashvins from the torment to which he was subjected by his
enemies. I have shown previously that yuga here means a
month; and if this is correct, we shall have to suppose that
Dîrghatamas, representing the annual course of the sun, stood
still at the winter solstice for two months ! The whole difficulty,
however, vanishes when we explain the legends on the Arctic
theory, for the sun may then be supposed to be below the horizon
for any period varying from one to a hundred nights, or even for
six months.
The third point, left unexplained by the Vernal theory, is
the place of distress or suffering from which the proteges are
said to have been rescued by the Ashvins. Bhujyu was saved
not on land, but in the watery region (apsu) without support
(anârambhaṇe) and unillumined (tamasi) by the rays of the sun
(I, 182, 6). If we compare this description with that of the
ocean said to have been encompassed by Vṛitra, or of the dark
ocean which Bṛihaspati is said to have hurled down in II, 23, 18,
we can at once recognize them as identical. Both represent the
nether world which we have seen is the home of aerial waters,
and which has to be crossed in boats by the drowned sun in the
Ṛig-Veda or by Hêlios in the Greek mythology. It cannot, there-
fore, be the place where the sun goes in winter ; and unless we
adopt the Arctic theory, we cannot explain how the proteges of
the Ashvins are said to have been saved from being drowned in a
dark and bottomless ocean. In VIII, 40, 5, Indra is said to have
uncovered the seven-bottomed ocean having a side-opening
(jimha-bâram), evidently referring to the fight for waters in the
nether world. The same expression (jimha-bâram) is used again in
I, 116, 9, where the Ashvins are described as having lifted up a
well "with bottom up and opening in the side or downwards;"

VEDIC MYTHS—THE MATUTINAL DEITIES. 307
and in I, 85, 11, a well lying obliquely (jimha) is said to
have been pushed up by the Ashvins for satisfying the thirst
of Gotama. These words and phrases are not properly
explained by the commentators, most of whom take them as
referring to the clouds. But it seems to me that these phrases
more appropriately describe the antepodal region, where every
thing is believed to be upside down in relation to the things
of this world. Dr. Warren tells us that the Greeks and the Egypt-
ians conceived their Hades, or things therein, as turned upside
down, and he has even tried to show that the Vedic conception
of the nether world corresponds exactly with that of the
Greeks and the Egyptians.* The same idea is also found
underlying the Hades conception of many other races, and
I think Dr. Warren has correctly represented the ancient
idea of the antepodal under-world. It was conceived by the
ancients as an inverted tub or hemisphere of darkness, full
of waters, and the Ashvins had to make an opening in its
side and push the waters up so that after ascending the sky
they may eventually come down in the form of rain to satisfy
the thirst of Gotama. The same feat is attributed to the Ma-
ruts in I, 85, 10 and 11, and there too we must interpret it in the
same way. The epithets uchchá-budhna (with the bottom up)
and jimha-bâra (with its mouth downwards or sidewards), as
applied to a well (avata), completely show that something
extraordinary, or the reverse of what we usually see, is here
intended; and we cannot take them as referring to the clouds,
for the well is said to be pushed up (ûrdhvam nunudre) in order
to make the waters flow from it hitherward. It may also be
observed that in I, 24, 7, the king Varuṇa of hallowed might is
said to sustain "erect the Tree's stem, in the bottomless
(abudhna) region," and "its rays which are hidden from us
have," we are told, "their bottom up and flow downwards
(nîchînaḥ)." This description of the region of Varuṇa exactly

• See Paradise Found, pp. 481-82.

308 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
corresponds with the conception of the Hades in which every
thing is turned upside down. Being regarded as an inverted
hemisphere, it is rightly described, from the point of view of
persons in this world, as a supportless region with bottom up and
mouth downwards; and it was this bottomless darkness.
(I, 182, 6), or the bottomless and supportless ocean, in which
Bhujyu was plunged, and which he crossed without distress by
means of the boats graciously provided by the Ashvins. In the
Atharva Veda X, 8, 9, a bowl with mouth inclined or downwards
(tiryag-bilaḥ), and bottom upwards (ūrdhva-budhnaḥ) is said to hold
within it every form of glory; and there seven Ṛiṣhis, who have
been this Mighty One's protectors, are described as sitting to-
gether.* The verse occurs also in the Bṛih. Arṇ. Up. II, 3, 3, with
the variant arvāg-bilaḥ (with its mouth downwards) for tiryag-
bilaḥ, with its mouth inclined) of the Atharva Veda. Yâska (Nir.
XII, 38) quotes the verse and gives two interpretations of the
same, in one of which the seven Ṛiṣhis are taken to represent the
seven rays of the sun, and the bowl the vault above; while in the
second the bowl is said to represent the human head with its
concave cup-like palate in the mouth. But it seems to me more
probable that the description refers to the nether world rather
than to the vault above or to the concave human palate. The
glory referred to is the same as the Hvarenô of the Parsi
scriptures. In the Zamyâd Yasht, this Hvarenô or Glory is said
to have thrice departed from Yima and was restored to him
once by Mithra, once by Thraêtaona who smote Azi Dahâka,
and finally by Keresâspa and Atar, who defeated Azi Dahâka.
The fight took place in the sea Vouru-Kasha in the bottom
of the deep river, and we have seen that this must be taken to
mean the world-surrounding Okeanos. The Hvarenô (Sans. svar)
or Glory is properly the light, and one who possessed it reigned

• See Atharva Veda, X, 8, 9, — तिर्यग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नस्तस्मिन्यशो
  निहितं विश्वरूपम् । तदासते ऋषयः सप्त साकं ये अस्य गोपा महतो बभूवुः ॥

VEDIC MYTHS—THE MATUTINAL DEITIES. 309
supreme and one who lost it fell down. Thus "when Yima
lost his Glory he perished and Azi Dahâka reigned; as when
light disappears, the fiend rules supreme."* It may also be
noticed that amongst the persons to whom the glory belonged
in ancient days are mentioned the seven Amesha Spentas, all
of one thought, one speech and one deed. We have thus a
very close resemblance between the glory said to have been
placed in a bowl with bottom up and guarded by the seven
Ṛiṣhis in the Vedas, and the Hvarenô or the glory mentioned
in the Avesta, which once belonged to the seven Amesha
Spentas, and which thrice went away from Yima and had
to be restored to him by fighting with Azi Dahâka, the
Avestic representative of the Ahi Vṛitra, in the sea Vouru-
Kasha; and this strengthens our view that the bowl with the
bottom up and the mouth downwards is the inverted hemi-
sphere of the nether world, the seat of darkness and the home
of aerial waters. It was this region wherein Bhujyu
was plunged and had to be saved by the intervention of the
Ashvins.
Now if Bhujyu was plunged in this bottomless darkness
and ocean for three nights and three days (I, 116, 4), or
Rebha was there for ten nights and nine days (I, 116, 24),
it is clear that the period represents a continuous darkness
of so many days and nights as stated above; and I think,
the story of Ṛijrâshva, or the Red-horse, also refers to
the same incident, viz., the continuous darkness of the
Arctic region. Ṛijrâshva, that is, the Red-horse, is said to have
slaughtered 100 or 101 sheep and gave them to the Vṛiki, or
the she-wolf, and his own father being angry on that account
is said to have deprived him of his sight. But the Ashvins
at the prayer of the she-wolf restored to Ṛijrâshva his eye-
sight and thus cured him of his blindness. Prof. Max Muller
thinks that the sheep may here mean the stars, which may be
said to have been slaughtered by the rising sun. But we have

• See S. B. E. Series, Vol. IV, Introd, p. lxiii.

310 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
seen that the 350 sheep of Hêlios are taken to represent 350
nights, while the corresponding 350 days are said to be re-
presented by his 350 oxen. In short, the Greek legend refers to
a year of 350 days and a continuous night of ten days ; and
the period of 10 nights mentioned in the legend of Rebha well
accords with this conception of the ancient Aryan year, infer-
red from the story of Hêlios. This resemblance between the
two stories naturally leads us to inquire if any clue cannot
be found to the interpretation of the legend of Ṛijrâshva in
the story of Hêlios ; and when we examine the subject from
this point of view, it is not difficult to discover the similarity be-
tween the slaughter of sheep by Ṛijrâshva and the consuming
of the oxen of Hêlios by the companion of Odysseus. The
wolf, as observed by Prof. Max Muller, is generally understood
in the Vedic literature to be a representative of darkness and
mischief rather than of light, and therefore the slaughter
of 100 sheep for him naturally means the conversion of
hundred days into nights, producing thereby a continuous
darkness for a hundred nights, of 24 hours each. Ṛijrâshva or
the Red-sun may well be spoken of as becoming blind during
these hundred continuous nights, and eventually cured of his
blindness by the Ashvins, the harbingers of light and dawn.
The only objection that may be urged against this interpreta-
tion is that hundred days should have been described as
oxen or cows and not as sheep. But I think, that such nice
distinctions cannot be looked for in every myth, and that if
hundred days were really converted into so many nights we can
well speak of them as "sheep." The slaughter of 100 or 101
sheep can thus be easily and naturally explained on the theory
of long continuous darkness, the maximum length of which,
as stated in the previous chapter, was one hundred days, or a
hundred periods of 24 hours. In short, the legends of the
Ashvins furnish us with evidence of three, ten, or a hundred
continuous nights in ancient times; and the incidents which