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

VEDIC MYTHS—THE CAPTIVE WATERS. 259 the lower and the upper celestial sphere. But Wallis would have us believe that both these rajasī are above the earth, and that narrowing down together towards east and west they meet on the horizon like two arched curves over one's head ! The arti- ficial character of this explanation is self-evident, and I see no reason why we should adopt it in preference to the simple and natural explanation of Zimmer, unless we start with a precon- ceived notion that references to the regions below the earth ought not to be and cannot be found in the Ṛig-Veda. The third passage pointed out by Zimmer is V, 81, 4, which says “O Savitṛi ! Thou goest round (pariyase) the night, on both sides (ubhayataḥ).” Here Wallis proposes to translate pariyase by ‘en- compassest’; but pariyase ordinarily means ‘goest round,’ and there is no reason why the idea of motion usually implied by it should be here abandoned. It will thus be seen that the con- clusion of Wallis is based upon the distortion of passages which Zimmer interprets in a simpler and a more natural way ; and that Zimmer’s view is more in accordance with the natural meaning of these texts. But if an express passage be still need- ed to prove conclusively that the region below the earth was known to the Vedic bards, we refer to VII, 104, 11, where the bard prays for the destruction of his enemies and says, “Let him (enemy) go down below the three earths, (tisraḥ pṛithivīḥ adhaḥ).” Here the region below the three earths is expressly mentioned; and since the enemy is to be condemned to it, it must be a region of torment and pain like the Hades. In X, 152, 4, we read, “One, who injures us, let him be sent to the nether darkness (adharam tamaḥ),” and, comparing this with the last passage, it is evident that the region below the earth was concei- ved as dark. In III, 53, 21, we have, “Let him, who hates us, fall downwards (adharaḥ),” and in II, 12, 4, the brood of the Dasyu, whom Indra killed, is said to be “sent to the unknown nether world (adharam guhākaḥ).” These passages directly show that