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

212 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. in the series of Soma sacrifices after one hundred nights' Sattra until we come to the annual Sattra of 360 days? Admitting that 'night' means 'day,' we have Soma sacrifices lasting from 1 to 100 days; and if so, where was the harm to complete the series until the yearly Sattra of 360 days was reached? So far as I know, no writer on sacrificial ceremonies has attempted to answer this question satisfactorily. Of course, adopting the speculative manner of the Brâhmaṇas, we might say that there are no Soma sacrifices of longer than one hundred nights' duration, because the life of a man cannot extend beyond a hundred years, (Tait. Br. III, 8, 16, 2). But such an explanation can never be regarded as satisfactory, and the Mîmâṁsakas, who got over one difficulty by interpreting 'night' into 'day,' have practically left this latter question untouched, and, therefore, unsolved. In short, the case stands thus :—the sacrificial literature mentions a series of 99, or practically one hundred Soma sacrifices, called the 'night-sacrifices'; but these do not form a part of any annual Sattra, like the Gavâm-ayanam, nor is any reason assigned for their separate existence, nor is their duration, which never exceeds a hundred nights, accounted for. Neither the authors of the Brâhmaṇas nor those of the Shrauta Sûtras, much less Sâyaṇa and Yâska give us any clue to the solution of this question; and the Mîmâṁsakas, after explaining the word 'night' occurring in the names of these sacrifices as equal to 'day' have allowed these night-sacrifices to remain as an isolated group in the organ- ised system of Soma sacrifices. Under these circumstances it would, no doubt, appear presumptuous for any one to suggest an explanation, so many centuries after what may be called the age of the Sattras. But I feel that the Arctic theory, which, we have seen, is supported by strong independent evi- dence, not only explains, but appropriately accounts for the original existence of this isolated series of a hundred Soma sa- crifices; and I, therefore, proceed to give my view on the point.