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

VEDIC MYTHS—THE CAPTIVE WATERS. 245 Besides these three theories, the Dawn, the Storm and the Vernal, Mr. Nârâyaṇa Aiyangâr of Bangalore has recently at- tempted to explain a number of Vedic myths on the hypothesis that they refer to Orion and Aldebaran. This may be called the Astral theory as distinguished from others. But all these theo- ries cannot be discussed in this place; nor is it necessary to do so, so far as our purpose is concerned. I wish only to show that in spite of the various theories started to explain the Vedic myths, a number of incidents in several important legends have yet remained unexplained; and mythologists have either ignored them altogether, or pushed them out of the way as insignificant or immaterial. If everything could be explained by the Dawn or the Storm theory, we may indeed hesitate to accept a new theory for which there would then be very little scope; but when a number of facts, which have yet remained unexplained, are satisfactorily and appropriately accounted for only by the Arctic theory, we shall be perfectly justified in citing these legends as corroborative evidence in support of our new theory. It is from this point of view that I mean to examine some of the important Vedic myths in this and the following chapter, and shall now begin with the legend of Indra and Vṛitra, or of captive waters, which is generally believed to have been satisfactorily explained by the Storm theory. The struggle between Indra and Vṛitra is represented in the Vedas as being four-fold in character. First, it is a struggle bet- ween Indra and Vṛitra, the latter of whom appears also under the names of Namuchi, Shuṣhṇa, Shambara, Vala, Pipru, Kuyava and others. This is Vṛitra-tûrya, or the fight or struggle with Vṛitra. Secondly, it is a fight for the waters, which, either in the form of sindhus (rivers) or as âpaḥ (simple floods), are often des- cribed as released or liberated by the slaughter of Vṛitra. This is ap-tûrya or the struggle for waters; and Indra is called apsu-jit or