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

VEDIC MYTHS—THE MATUTINAL DEITIES. 337 'the Third,' and why triath in Old Irish was used to denote the sea. But the whole legend can be now very easily and naturally explained by the Arctic theory. The personified third part of the year, called Trita or the Third, is naturally described as going into darkness, or a well or pit, or into the waters of the nether world, for the sun went below the horizon during that period in the home of the ancestors of the Vedic people. The connection of Trita with darkness and waters, or his part in the Vritra fight, or the use of the word triath to de- note the sea in Old Irish now becomes perfectly plain and intel- ligible. The nether world is the home of aerial waters and Bṛihaspati, who is said to have released the cows from their place of confinement in a cave in the nether world, is natural- ly spoken of as rescuing Trita, when he was sunk in the well of waters. Speaking of the abode of Trita, Prof. Max Muller observes that "the hiding place of Trita, the vavra, is really the same anārambhaṇam tamas, the endless darkness, from which light and some of its legendary representatives, such as Atri, Vandana and others, emerged every day." I subscribe to every word of this sentence except the last two. It shows how the learned Professor saw, but narrowly missed grasping the truth having nothing else to guide him except the Dawn and the Vernal theory. He had perceived that Trita's hiding place was in the endless darkness and that the sun rose out of the same dark region; and from this to the Arctic theory was but a small step. But whatever the reason may be, the Professor did not venture to go further, and the result is that an otherwise correct conception of the mythological incidents in Trita's legend is marred by two ominous words viz., "every day," at the end of the sentence quoted above. Strike off the last two words, put a full point after 'emerged,' and in the light of the Arctic theory we have a correct explana- tion of the legend of Trita as well as of the origin of the name, Trita or the Third. ' 22