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

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.