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

52 • THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
and the stars will now appear to move in circles inclined to
his horizon, as shown in the figure by the black lines AA', BH'
and CC'. Some of the stars, viz., those that are situated in the
part of the celestial dome represented by H'PB, will be visible
throughout the night, as their circles of revolution will be above
the horizon H'C'D'H. But all the stars, whose Polar distance
is greater than PB or PH', will, in their daily revolution, be partly
above and partly below the horizon. For instance, the stars at
C and D will describe circles, some portions of which will be
below the horizon H'H. In other words, the appearance of the
visible celestial hemisphere to a person, whose zenith is at
Z, will be different from the appearance presented by the
heavens to an observer at the North Pole. The stars will not
now revolve in horizontal planes, but obliquely. A great number
of them would be circumpolar and visible during the whole
night, but the remaining will rise and set as with us in the
tropics, moving in oblique circles. When Z is very near P, only
a few stars will rise and set in this way, and the difference will
not be a marked one ; but as Z is removed further south, the
change will become more and more apparent.
Similar modifications will be introduced in the duration of
day and night, when the observer's position is shifted to the
south of the terrestrial North Pole. This will be clear by a
reference to the figure on the next page. Let P be the celestial
North Pole, and Q'Q the celestial equator. Then since the
sun moves in the ecliptic E'E, which is inclined at an angle
of about 23½° (23° 28' ) to the equator, the circles T'E and E'T
will correspond with the terrestrial circles of latitude, called the
Tropics, and the circle AC with the Arctic Circle on the terres-
trial globe. Now as the sun moves in the ecliptic E'E, in his
annual course he will always be twice over-head for an observer

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 53
stationed at a place within the terrestrial tropical zone, once in
his course from E' to E, and again in his return, from E to E'.
The sun will also appear for some time to the north of the ob-
server's zenith, and for the rest of the year to the south. But
as the altitude of the sun above the equator is never greater
than 23½° or EQ, an observer whose zenith lies to the north of
the circle T'E, will always see the sun to the south of his
zenith, and the zenith distance of the sun will be greater and
greater as the observer advances towards the North Pole. But
still the sun will be above the horizon every day, for some hours
at least, to an observer whose zenith lies between T'E and AC.
To take a concrete in-
stance, let the observer
be so stationed that his
zenith will be at C, that is,
on the extreme northern
latitude of the temperate
zone. Then his celestial
horizon will extend 90° on
each side, and will be re-
presented by T''CT, and
the sun moving along the
ecliptic E'E will be above his horizon, at least for some portion
of day, during the whole year. But as the observer passes into
the Frigid zone, the sun during his annual course will be alto-
gether below the horizon for some days, and the maximum
limit is reached at the North Pole, where the sun is below the
horizon for six months. We may, therefore, state that the dura-
tion of the night, which is six months at the Pole is gradually di-
minished as we come down from the Pole, until, in the temperate

54 . THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
zone, the sun is above the horizon, at least, for some time out
of twenty-four hours every day. In the foregoing figure let Z
represent the zenith of an observer within the Arctic regions,
then H'H will represent his horizon, and the sun in his annual
course will, for some time, be altogether below this horizon.
For instance, suppose the sun to be at n. Then his diurnal
circle of rotation will be represented by nH, the whole of which
is below the horizon H'H of the observer whose zenith is Z.
Therefore, the sun, during his annual course along the ecliptic
from E' to n, and back from n to E', will be invisible to an
observer whose zenith is Z. Corresponding to this total disap-
pearance of the sun for some time, the luminary will be perpe-
tually above the horizon for the same period during his northern
course. For instance, let the sun be at d, then his diurnal circle
of rotation, dH', will be entirely above the horizon H'H, and so
it will continue to be for all the time that the sun moves from
d to E, and back again from E to d, in his annual course.
During this time the sun will neither rise nor set, but will move,
like the circumpolar stars, in oblique circles, round and round
the observer like a wheel. For all positions between n and d,
and the corresponding portion of the ecliptic on the other side,
the sun, in his diurnal course of twenty-four hours, would be
partially above and partially below the horizon, producing ordi-
nary days and nights, as with us, the day being longer than
the night when the sun is in the northern, and the night longer
than the day when the sun is in the southern hemisphere.
Instead of a single day and a single night of six months, the
year, to a person living in the Arctic regions, but not exactly
at the North Pole, will, therefore, be divided into three parts,
one of which will be a long night, one a long day, and
one made up of a succession of days and nights, a single day

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 55
and night of which will together never exceed twenty-four hours.
The long night will always be shorter than six months and longer
than 24 hours, and the same will be the case with the long day.
The long night and the long day will mark the two opposite
extremities of the year, the middle of the long day occurring
when the sun is at the summer solstice, and the middle of the
long night when he is at the winter solstice. This triple division
of the year is very important for our purpose, and I shall, there-
fore, illustrate it by a concrete example. Suppose, for instance,
that the observer is so far below the North Pole that instead of a
night of six months, he has a night of 2 months, or, in other words,
the sun goes below his horizon only for two months. As the
winter solstice will fall in the middle of this long continuous
night, we may say that the night will extend a month before
and a month after December 21, when the sun is at the winter
solstice. Corresponding to this long night, there will be a
continuous day of two months, a month before and a month
after June 21, when the sun is at the summer solstice. If these
four months are deducted from the year, there will remain
eight months, and during all these months there will be days and
nights, as in the temperate zone, a nycthemeron, or a day and
a night together, never exceeding, as with us, the ordinary
period of twenty-four hours. This alternation of ordinary days
and nights will commence after the close of the long night in
January, and in the beginning, the night will be longer than
the day; but as the sun passes from the southern into the
northern hemisphere, the day will gain over the night, and,
eventually, after four months, terminate into a continuous day
for two months. At the close of this long day in July, the
alternation of ordinary days and nights will again commence,
the day in the beginning being longer than the night, but

56 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
a nycthemeron never exceeding, as in the previous case, a period
of twenty-four hours. As the sun passes from the northern into
the southern hemisphere, the night will begin to gain over the
day, until, after four months of such succession of ordinary days
and nights, it terminates into the continuous night of two months
mentioned above. The same description applies, mutatis mutandis,
where the long night may last for 3, 4 or 5 months, until we
reach the Polar condition of a day and a night of six months
each, when the intermediate succession of ordinary days and
nights will vanish. *
We have seen that a long dawn of two months is a special
and important characteristic of the North Pole. As we
descend southward, the splendour and the duration of the
dawn will be witnessed on a less and less magnificient
scale. But the dawn, occurring at the end of the long night
of two, three or more months, will still be unusually long,

• Cf. Bhaskarâcharya's Siddhânta Shiromaṇi, Golâdhyâya, Chapter
  VII., verses 6-7, which are as follows:—
  षट्षष्टिभागाभ्यधिकाः पलांशाः यत्राथ तत्रास्त्वपरो विशेषः॥
  लंबाधिका क्रांतियदर्क च यावत्। तावद्दिनं संततमेव तत्र।
  यावच्च वाम्या सततं तमिस्रा। ततश्च मेरौ सततं समार्धम्॥
  "There is a peculiarity at the place, where the latitude is great-
  er than 66° N. Whenever the northern declination of the sun exceeds
  the complement of the latitude, there will be perpetual day, for such
  time as that excess continues. Similarly, when the southern (de-
  clination exceeds), there will be perpetual night. On Meru, therefore,
  there is equal half-yearly perpetual day and night." Thus if the la-
  titude of a place be 70°, its complement will be 90—70=20°; and as
  the sun's height above the celestial equator (that is, his declination)
  is never greater than 23° 28′, there will be a continuous day at the
  place, so long as the declination is greater than 20° and less than
  23° 28′, and there will be a similar continuous night when the sun is in
  the southern hemisphere. Paul Du Chaillu mentions that at Nordkyn or
  North Cape (N. lat. 71° 6′ 50″), the northernmost place on the conti-
  nent of Europe, the long night commences on 18th November, and ends
  on 24th January, lasting, in all, for 67 days of twenty-four hours each.

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. . 57
often of several days' duration. As stated above, at first only
a pale flush of light will appear, and it will continue visible on
the horizon, revolving round and round, if the observer is
sufficiently near the Pole, for some days, when at last the orb of
the sun will emerge, and start the alternation of day and night
described above, to be eventually terminated into a long day.
The splendours of the Aurora Borealis would also be less marked
and conspicuous in the southern latitudes than at the North Pole.
But if the characteristics of the Arctic regions are different
from those of the North Pole, they are no less different from the
features of the year with which we are familiar in the temperate
or the tropical zone. With us the sun is above the horizon, at
least for some time every day, during all the twelve months of
the year ; but to persons within the Arctic circle, he is below
the horizon, and, therefore, continuously invisible for a number
of days. If this period of continuous night be excluded from our
reckoning, we might say that within the Arctic regions the
year, or the period marked by sunshine, only lasts from six to
eleven months. Again the dawn in the temperate and the
tropical zone is necessarily short-lived, for a day and a night
together do not exceed twenty-four hours, and the dawn which
comes between them can last only for a few hours; but the
annual dawn at the Pole, and the dawn at the end of the long
night in the Arctic regions will each be a dawn of several days'
duration. As for the seasons, we have our winters and summers ;
but the winter in the Arctic regions will be marked by
the long continuous night, while the summer will make the
night longer than the day, but within the limit of twenty-
four hours, until the day is developed into a long, conti-
nuous sunshine of several days. The climate of the Polar
regions is now extremely cold and severe, but, as previously

58 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
stated, different climatic conditions prevailed in early times,
and we cannot, therefore, include climate amongst the points
of contrast under consideration.
It will be seen from the foregoing discussion that we have
two distinct sets of characteristics, or differentia; one for an
observer stationed exactly at the terrestrial North Pole, and the
other for an observer located in the Circum-Polar regions, or
tracts of land between the North Pole and the Arctic circle.
For brevity's sake, we shall designate these two sets of differentia
as Polar and Circum-Polar, and sum them up as follows:—
I. The Polar Characteristics.
(1) The sun rises in the south.
(2) The stars do not rise and set ; but revolve, or spin round
and round, in horizontal planes, completing one round in 24 hours.
The northern celestial hemisphere is alone over-head and visible
during the whole year; and the southern or the lower celestial
world is always invisible.
(3) The year consists only of one long day and one long
night of six months each.
(4) There is only one morning and one evening, or the sun
rises and sets only once a year. But the twilight, whether of
the morning or of the evening, lasts continuously for about two
months, or 60 periods of 24 hours each. The ruddy light of the
morn, or the evening twilight, is not again confined to a particular
part of the horizon (eastern or western) as with us ; but moves,
like the stars at the place, round and round along the horizon,
like a potter's wheel, completing one round in every 24 hours.
These rounds of the morning light continue to take place, until
the orb of the sun comes above the horizon; and then the sun
follows the same course for six months, that is, moves, without
setting, round and round the observer, completing one round every
24 hours.

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. • 59
II. The Circum-Polar Characteristics.
(1) The sun will always be to the south of the zenith of the
observer; but as this. happens even in the case of an observer
stationed in the temperate zone, it cannot be regarded as a
special characteristic.
(2) A large number of stars are circum-polar, that is, they are
above the horizon during the entire period of their revolution and
hence always visible. The remaining stars rise and set, as in
the temperate zone, but revolve in more oblique circles.
(3) The year is made up of three parts:—(i) one long
continuous night, occurring at the time of the winter solstice, and
lasting for a period, greater than 24 hours and less than six months,
according to the latitude of the place; (ii) one long continuous day
to match, occurring at the time of the summer solstice; and (iii)
a succession of ordinary days and nights during the rest of the year,
a nycthemeron, or a day and a night together, never exceeding a
period of 24 hours. The day, after the long continuous night, is
at first shorter than the night, but it goes on increasing until it de-
velopes into the long continuous day. At the end of the long day,
the night is, at first, shorter than the day, but, in its turn, it begins
to gain over the day, until the commencement of the long
continuous night, with which the year ends.
(4) The dawn, at the close of the long continuous night, lasts
for several days, but its duration and magnificence is proportional-
ly less than at the North Pole, according to the latitude of the
place. For places, within a few degrees of the North Pole, the
phenomenon of revolving morning light will still be observable
during the greater part of the duration of the dawn. The other
dawns, viz., those between ordinary days and nights, will, like the
dawns in the temperate zone, only last for a few hours. The
sun, when he is above the horizon during the continuous day,

60. THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
    will be seen revolving, without setting, round the observer, as
    at the Pole, but in oblique and not horizontal circles, and during
    the long night he will be entirely below the horizon; while during
    the rest of the year he will rise and set, remaining above the
    horizon for a part of 24 hours, varying according to the position
    of the sun in the ecliptic.
    Here we have two distinct sets of differentiæ, or special
    characteristics, of the Polar and Circum-Polar regions,—charac-
    teristics which are not found anywhere else on the surface of the
    globe. Again as the Poles of the earth are the same to-day as they
    were millions of years ago, the above astronomical character-
    istics will hold good for all times, though the Polar climate may
    have undergone violent changes in the Pleistocene period. In
    short, we can take these differentiæ as our unerring guides in the
    examination of the Vedic evidence bearing on the point at issue.
    If a Vedic description or tradition discloses any of the character-
    istics mentioned above, we may safely infer that the tradition is
    Polar or Circum-Polar in origin, and the phenomenon, if not
    actually witnessed by the poet, was at least known to him by
    tradition faithfully handed down from generation to generation.
    Fortunately there are many such passages or references in the
    Vedic literature, and, for convenience, these may be divided into
    two parts: the first comprising those passages which directly
    describe or refer to the long night, or the long dawn; and the
    second consisting of myths and legends which corroborate and
    indirectly support the first. The evidence in the first part
    being direct, is, of course, more convincing; and we shall,
    therefore, begin with it in the next chapter, reserving the con-
    sideration of the Vedic myths and legends to the latter part of
    the book.

CHAPTER IV.
THE NIGHT OF THE GODS.
Vedic sacrifices, regulated by the luni-solar calendar—A year of
six seasons and twelve months, with an intercalary month in
the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ—The same in the Ṛig-Veda—Present
results of the Vedic mythology—All presuppose a home in the
temperate or the tropical zone—But further research still
necessary—The special character of the Ṛig-Veda explained—
Polar tests found in the Ṛig-Veda—Indra supporting the
heavens with a pole, and moving them like a wheel—A day and
a night of six months, in the form of the half-yearly day and
night of the Gods—Found in the Sûrya Sidhânta and older
astronomical Saṁhitâs—Bhâskarâchârya's error explained—Gods'
day and night mentioned by Manu and referred to by Yâska—
The description of Meru or the North Pole in the Mahâbhârata
—In the Taittirîya Araṇyaka—The passage in the Taittirîya
Brâhmaṇa about the year-long day of the Gods—Improbability
of explaining it except as founded. on the observation of nature
—Parallel passage in the Vendidad—Its Polar character clearly
established by the context—The Vara of Yima in the Airyāna
Vaejo—The sun rising and setting there only once a year—The
Devayâna and the Pitriyâna in the Ṛig-Veda—Probably repre-
sent the oldest division of the year, like the day and the night,
of the Gods—The path of Mazda in the Parsi scriptures—Death
during Pitriyâna regarded inauspicious—Bâdarâyaṇa's view—
Probable explanation suggested—Death during winter or Pitriyâna
in the Parsi scriptures—Probably indicates a period of total
darkness—Similar Greek traditions—Norse Twilight of the Gods
—The idea of half yearly day and night of the Gods thus proved
to be not only Indo-Iranian, but Indo-Germanic—A sure indica-
tion of an original Polar home.
AT the threshold of the Vedic literature, we meet
with an elaborately organised sacrificial system so well
regulated by the luni-solar calendar as to show that the

62 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
Vedic bards had, by that time, attained considerable proficiency
in practical astronomy. There were daily, fortnightly, monthly,
quarterly, half-yearly and yearly sacrifices, which, as I have
elsewhere shown, also served as chronometers in those days. *
The Taittirîya Saṁhitâ and the Brâhmaṇas distinctly mention a
lunar month of thirty days and a year of twelve such months, to
which an intercalary month was now and then added, to make
the lunar and the solar year correspond with each other. The
ecliptic, or the belt of the zodiac, was divided into 27 or 28
divisions, called the Nakṣhatras, which were used as mile-stones
to mark the annual passage of the sun, or the monthly revolution
of the moon round the earth. The two solstitial and the two
equinoctial points, as well as the passage of the sun into the
northern and the southern hemisphere, were clearly distinguished,
and the year was divided into six seasons, the festivals in each
month or the year being accurately fixed and ascertained. The
stars rising and setting with the sun were also systematically
observed and the eastern and western points of the compass
determined as accurately as the astronomical observations of the
day could permit. In my Orion or the Antiquity of the Vedas, I
have shown how the changes in the position of the equinoxes
were also marked in these days, and how they enable us to
classify the periods of Vedic antiquity. According to this
classification the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ comes under the Kṛittikâ pe-
riod (2500 B. C.), and some may, therefore, think that the details
of the Vedic calendar given above are peculiar only to the later
Vedic literature. A cursory study of the Ṛig-Veda will, however,
show that such is not the case. A year of 360 days, with an inter-
calary month occasionally added, or a year of twelve lunar months.

• See The Orion or the Antiquity of the Vedas, Chap. II.

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. 63
with twelve intercalary days inserted at the end of each year,
was familiar to the poets of the Ṛig-Veda and is often mentioned
in the hymns.* The northern and the southern passage of the
sun from equinox to equinox, the Devayâna and the Pitṛiyâna,
together with the yearly sattras, have also been referred to in
several places, clearly showing that the Ṛig-Vedic calendar
differed, if at all, very little from the one in use at the time of,
the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ or the Brâhmaṇas. A calendar of twelve
months and six seasons is peculiar only to the temperate or the
tropical zone, and if we were to judge only from the facts stated
above, it follows that the people who used such a calendar, must
have lived in places where the sun was above the horizon during
all the days of the year. The science of Vedic mythology, so far
as it is developed at present, also supports the same view. Vṛitra
is said to be a demon of drought or darkness, and several
myths are explained on the theory that they represent a
daily struggle between the powers of light and the powers of dark-
ness, or of eventual triumph of summer over winter, or of day over
night, or of Indra over watertight clouds. Mr. Nârâyaṇa Âiyangâr
of Bangalore has attempted to explain some of these myths on
the astral theory, showing that the myths point out to the
position of the vernal equinox in Orion, in the oldest period of
Vedic civilisation. But all these theories or methods of
interpretation assume that the Vedic people have always been
the inhabitants of the temperate or the tropical zone, and all
these myths and traditions were formed or developed in such a
home.

• See Ṛig. I, 25, 8,—वेद मासो धृतव्रतो द्वादश प्रजावतः। वेदा य उप-
  जायते । Also Ṛig. IV, 33, 7,—द्वादश द्यून्यदगोह्यस्यातिथ्ये रणन्नृभवः ससंतः
  See Orion, page 167 f. In Ṛig. I, 164, 11, 360 days and 360
  nights of the year are expressly mentioned.

64 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
Such are the results of the latest researches in Vedic philology,
mythology or calendar, regarding the ancient home of the Vedic
people, and the origin and the antiquity of their mythology. But
to a man who is working in the same field, the question whether
we have reached the utmost limit of our researches naturally oc-
curs. It is a mistake to suppose that all the traditions and myths,
and even the deities, mentioned in the Ṛig-Veda were the creation
of one period. To adopt a geological phrase, the Ṛig-Veda, or we
might even say the whole Vedic literature, is not arranged into dif-
ferent strata according to their chronological order, so that we can
go on from one stratum to another and examine each separately.
The Ṛig-Veda is a book in which old things of different periods
are so mixed up that we have to work long and patiently before
we are able to separate and classify its contents in chronological
order. I have stated before how owing to our imperfect knowledge
of the ancient man and his surroundings this task is rendered
difficult, or even impossible in some cases. But, as observed by
Prof. Max Muller, it is the duty of each generation of Vedic
scholars to reduce as much as possible the unintelligible
portion of the Ṛig-Veda, so that with the advance of scientific
knowledge each succeeding generation may, in this matter,
naturally be in a better position than its predecessors. The
Vedic calendar, so far as we know, or the Vedic mythology
may not have, as yet, disclosed any indication of an Arctic
home, but underneath the materials that have been examined,
or even by their side, we may still find facts, which, though
hitherto neglected, may, in the new light of scientific discoveries,
lead to important conclusions. The mention of the luni-solar
calendar in the Ṛig-Veda ought not, therefore, to detain
us from further pursuing our investigation by examining the

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. · 65
texts and legends which have not yet been satisfactorily explained,
and ascertaining how far such texts and legends indicate
the existence of a Polar or Circum-Polar home in early times.
The distinguishing characteristics of these regions have been
already discussed and stated in the previous chapter, and all
that we have now to do is to apply these tests, and decide if
they are satisfied or fulfilled by the texts and legends under con-
sideration.
The spinning round of the heavenly dome over the head is
one of the special characteristics of the North Pole, and the
phenomenon is so peculiar that one may expect to find traces
of it in the early traditions of a people, if they, or their ances-
tors ever lived near the North Pole. Applying this test to the
Vedic literature, we do find passages which compare the motion
of the heavens to that of a wheel, and state that the celestial
vault is supported as if on an axis. Thus in Ṛig. X, 89, 4, Indra
is said " to separately uphold by his power heaven and earth
as the two wheels of a chariot are held by the axle."* Prof.
Ludwig thinks that this refers to the axis of the earth, and the
explanation is very probable. The same idea occurs in other
places, and sometimes the sky is described as being supported
even without a pole, testifying thereby to the great power or
might of Indra (II, 15, 2; IV, 56, 3).† In X, 89, 2, Indra is
identified with Sûrya and he is described as " turning the widest
expanse like the wheels of a chariot."‡ The word for ' expanse '
is varâṁsi, which Sâyaṇa understands to mean ' lights,' or
'stars.' But whichever meaning we adopt, it is clear that
the verse in question refers to the revolution of the sky,

• Ṛig. X, 89, 4,—यो अक्षेणेव चक्रिया शचीभिर्विश्वक्तस्तंभ पृथिवीमुत द्यां ।
  † Ṛig. II, 15, 2,—अवंशे द्यामस्तंाभवत् । IV, 56, 3,—स इमे द्यावा-
  पृथिवी जजान उर्वी गंभीरे रजसी सुमेके अवंशे धीरः शच्या समैरत् ।
  ‡ Ṛig. X, 89,2,—स सूर्यः पर्युरु वरांस्येन्द्रो ववृत्याद्रथ्येव चक्रा ।

66 . THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
and compares it to the motion of a chariot wheel. Now the
heavens in the temperate and the tropical regions may be des-
cribed as moving like a wheel from east to west and then back
again to the east, though the latter half of this circuit is not
visible to the observer. But we cannot certainly speak of the
tropical sky as being supported on a pole, for the simple reason
that the North Pole, which must be the point of support in
such a case, will not be sufficiently near the zenith in the tropi-
cal or the temperate zone. If we, therefore, combine the two
statements, that the heavens are supported as on a pole, and
that they move like a wheel, we may safely infer that the
motion referred to is such a motion of the celestial hemisphere
as can be witnessed only by an observer at the North Pole. In
the Ṛig-Veda I, 24, 10, the constellation of Ursa Major (Ṛikshaḥ)
is described as being placed 'high' (uchchāḥ), and, as this can
refer only to the altitude of the constellation, it follows that
it must then have been over the head of the observer, which
is possible only in the Circum-Polar regions. Unfortunately
there are few other passages in the Ṛig-Veda which describe
the motion of the celestial hemisphere or of the stars therein,
and we must, therefore, take up another characteristic of the
Polar regions, namely, 'a day and a night of six months each,'
and see if the Vedic literature contains any references to this
singular feature of the Polar regions.
The idea that the day and the night of the Gods
are each of six months' duration is so widespread in

• Ṛig. I, 24, 10,—अमी यऋक्षा निहितास उच्चा नक्तं ददृश्रे कुहचिद्दिवेयुः ।
  It may also be remarked, in this connection, that the passage speaks
  of the appearance (not rising) of the Seven Bears at night, and their
  disappearance (not setting) during the day, showing that the constella-
  tion was circum-polar at the place of the observer.

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. 67
the Indian literature, that we examine it here at some length,
and, for that purpose, commence with the Post-Vedic litera-
ture and trace it back to the most ancient books. It is found
not only in the Purâṇas, but also in astronomical works, and as
the latter state it in a more definite form we shall begin with
the later Siddhântas. Mount Meru is the terrestrial North Pole
of our astronomers, and the Sûrya-Siddhânta, XII, 67, says :--
"At Meru Gods behold the sun after but a single rising during
the half of his revolution beginning with Aries." Now accord-
ing to Purâṇas Meru is the home or seat of all the Gods, and
the statement about their half-year-long night and day is thus
easily and naturally explained; and all astronomers and divines
have accepted the accuracy of the explanation. The day of
the Gods corresponds with the passage of the sun from the
vernal to the autumnal equinox, when the sun is visible at the
North Pole, or the Meru; and the night with the southern
passage of sun, from the autumnal back to the vernal equinox.
But Bhâskarâchârya, not properly understanding the passage
which states that the "Uttarâyaṇa is a day of Gods," has raised
the question how Uttarâyaṇa, which in his day meant the
passage of the sun from the winter to the summer solstice,
could be the day of the Gods stationed at the North Pole; for
an observer at the Pole can only see the sun in his passage from
the vernal to the autumnal equinox. But, as shown by me
elsewhere, Bhâskarâchârya has here fallen into an error
by attributing to the word Uttarâyaṇa, a sense which it
did not bear in old times, or at least in the passages
embodying this tradition. The old meaning of Uttarâyaṇa,
literally, the northern passage of the sun, was the period
of time required by the sun to travel from the vernal to

• See Orion, p. 29.

68 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
the autumnal equinox, or the portion of the ecliptic in the
northern hemisphere ; and if we understand the word in this
sense, the statement that the Uttarâyaṇa is a day of the Devas is
at once plain and intelligible. Bhâskarâchârya's reference to older
astronomical Saṁhitâs clearly shows that the tradition was
handed down from the oldest times. It is suggested that in
these passages Gods may mean the apotheosized ancestors of
the human race. But I do not think that we need any such
explanation. If the ancestors of the human race ever lived at
the North Pole, so must have their Gods ; and I shall shew in a
subsequent chapter that the Vedic deities are, as a matter of
fact, clothed with attributes, which are distinctly Polar in
origin. It makes, therefore, no difference for our purpose, if a
striking feature of the primitive home is traditionally preserved
and remembered as a characteristic of the Gods, or of the
apotheosized ancestors of the race. We are concerned with the
tradition itself, and our object is gained if its existence is clearly
established.
The next authority for the statement is Manu I, 67.
While describing the divisions of time it says, "A year
(human) is a day and a night of the Gods ; thus are the
two divided, the northern passage of the sun is the day and
the southern the night."* The day and the night of the
Gods are then taken as a unit for measuring longer periods
of time as the Kalpas and so on, and Yâska's Nirukta,
XIV, 4, probably contains the same reference. Muir, in the
first Volume of his Original Sanskrit Texts, gives some of these
passages so far as they bear on the yuga-system found in the
Purâṇas. But we are not concerned with the later development
of the idea that the day and the night of the Gods each lasted for

• Manu, I, 67,—दैवे रात्र्यहनी वर्ष प्रविभागस्तयोः पुनः । अहस्तत्रोदगयनं
  रात्रिः स्याद्दक्षिणायनम् ॥

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. 69
six months. What is important, from our point of view, is the
persistent prevalence of this tradition in the Vedic and the Post-
Vedic literature, which can only be explained on the hypothesis
that originally it must have been the result of actual observation.
We shall, therefore, next quote the Mahâbhârata, which gives
such a clear description of Mount Meru, the lord of the moun-
tains, as to leave no doubt about its being the North Pole, or
possessing the Polar characteristics. In chapters 163 and 164
of the Vanaparvan, Arjuna's visit to the Mount is described in
detail, and we are therein told, "At Meru the sun and the moon
go round from left to right (Pradakshinam) every day, and so
do all the stars." Later on the writer informs us:—"The moun-
tain, by its lustre, so overcomes the darkness of night, that the
night can hardly be distinguished from the day." A few verses
further, and we find, "The day and the night are together equal
to a year to the residents of the place."* These quotations
are quite sufficient to convince any one that at the time when
the great epic was composed Indian writers had a tolerably
accurate knowledge of the meteorological and astronomical
characteristics of the North Pole, and this knowledge cannot
be supposed to have been acquired by mere mathematical calcul-
ations. The reference to the lustre of the mountain is specially
interesting, inasmuch as, in all probability, it is a description of the

• The verses (Calcutta Ed.) are as follows,—
  एवं त्वहरहर्मेरुं सूर्याचंद्रमसौ ध्रुवं । प्रदक्षिणमुपावृत्य कुरुतः कुरुनंदन ॥
  ज्योतींषि चाप्यशेषेण सर्वाण्यनघ सर्वतः। परियान्ति महाराज गिरिराजं प्रदक्षिणं॥
  Vana-parvan, Chap. 163, vv. 37, 38.
  स्वतेजसा तस्य नगोत्तमस्य महौषधीनां च तथा प्रभावात् ।
  विभक्तभावो न बभूव कश्चिदहोर्निशानां पुरुषप्रवीर ॥
  बभूव रात्रिर्दिवसश्च तेषां संवत्सरेणैव समानरूपः ॥
  Ibid, Chap. 164, vv. 11, 13.

70 . THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
splendours of the Aurora Borealis visible at the North Pole. So
far as the Post-Vedic literature is concerned, we have, therefore,
not only the tradition of the half-year-long night and day of the
Gods persistently mentioned, but the Mount Meru, or the North
Pole, is described with such accuracy as to lead us to believe
that it is an ancient tradition, whose origin must be traced to a
time when these phenomena were daily observed by the people ;
and this is confirmed by the fact that the tradition is not confin-
ed only to the Post-Vedic literature.
Passing on, therefore, to the Vedic literature, we find
Mount Meru described as the seat of seven Âdityas in the Tait-
tirîya Âraṇyaka I, 7, 1, while the eighth Âditya, called Kashyapa,
is said never to leave the great Meru or Mahâmeru. Kashyapa
is further described as communicating light to the seven Âdityas,
and himself perpetually illumining the great mountain. It is,
however, in the Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa, (III, 9, 22, 1), that we meet
with a passage which clearly says, "That which is a year is but a
single day of the Gods." The statement is so clear that there
can be no doubt whatever about its meaning. A year of the
mortals is said to be but a day of the Gods ; but, at one time, I
considered it extremely hazardous* to base any theory even
upon such a clear statement, inasmuch as it then appeared to me
to be but solitary in the Vedic literature. I could not then find
anything to match it in the Saṁhitâs, and especially in
the Ṛig Veda , and I was inclined to hold that Uttarâyaṇa
and Dakṣiṇâyana were, in all probability, described in this
way as 'day' and 'night' with a qualifying word to mark
their special nature. Later researches have however forced
on me the conclusion that the tradition, represented by

• Taitt. Br. III, 9, 22, 1,—एकं वा एतद्देवानामहः यत्संवत्सरः ।
  See Orion, p. 29, note

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. 71
this passage, indicates the existence of a Polar home in old days,
and I have set forth in the sequel the evidence on which I have
come to the above conclusion. There are several theories on
which the above statement in the Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa can be
explained. We may regard it as the outcome of pure imagina-
tion, or of a metaphor expressing in figurative language a fact
quite different from the one denoted by the words used, or it may
be the result of actual observation by the writer himself or by
persons from whom he traditionally derived his information. It
may also be considered as based on astronomical calculations
made in later days, what was originally an astronomical inference
being subsequently converted into a real observed fact. The last
of these suppositions would have appeared probable, if the tradi-
tion had been confined only to the Post-Vedic literature, or mere-
ly to the astronomical works. But we cannot suppose that dur-
ing the times of the Brâhmaṇas the astronomical knowledge was
so far advanced as to make it possible to fabricate a fact by
mathematical calculation, even supposing that the Vedic poets
were capable of making such a fabrication. Even in the days of
Herodotus the statement that 'there existed a people who slept
for six months' was regarded 'incredible' (IV, 24); and we must,
therefore, give up the idea, that several centuries before He-
rodotus, a statement regarding the day or the night of the Gods
could have been fabricated in the way stated above. But all
doubts on the point are set at rest by the occurrence of an almost
identical statement in the sacred books of the Parsis. In the
Vendidad, Fargard II, para 40, (or, according to Spiegel, para
133), we find the sentence, Tae cha ayara mainyaente yat yare,
meaning "They regard, as a day, what is a year." This is but
a paraphrase of the statement, in the Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa,