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

THE COWS' WALK. 199 Plutarch has, therefore, rightly observed that "we have a proof in the name of the last (month) that the Roman year contained, at first, ten months only, and not twelve."* But if there was any doubt on the point, it is now removed by the analogy of the Gavâm-ayanam and the legends of the Dashagvas and Dîrghata- mas. Macrobius (Saturnal. Lib. I. Chap. 12) confirms the story of Numa's adding, and not simply transposing, two months to the ancient year of ten months. What the Avesta has to say on this subject we shall see later on where traditions about the ancient year amongst the other Aryan races will also be consi- dered. Suffice it to say for the present that, according to tra- dition, the ancient Roman year consisted only of ten months, and like the duration of the Gavâm-ayanam, it was subsequently changed into a year of twelve months ; and yet, so far as I know, no reason has yet been discovered, why the Roman year in ancient times was considered to be shorter by two months. On the contrary, the tendency is either to explain away the tradi- tion some how as inconvenient, or to ignore it altogether as incredible. But so long as the word December is before us, and we know how it is derived, the tradition cannot be so lightly set side. The Encyclopædia Britanica (s. v. calendar) records the ancient tradition that the oldest Roman year of Romu- lus was of ten months of 304 days, and observes "it is not known how the remaining days were disposed of." If, with all the resour- ces of modern science at our command, we have not yet been able to ascertain why the oldest Roman year was of ten months only, and how the remaining days were disposed of, we need not be surprised if the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ refrained from spe- culating on the point and contented itself with stating that such was the 'path' or the old custom or practice handed down from generation to generation from times immemorial.

• See Plutarch's Lives, translated into English by the Rev. John and William Langhorne (Ward, Lock & Co.), p. 54, f.