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

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

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