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

404 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. immediately there was light throughout the whole land."* This reminds one of the story of Trita in the Ṛig-Veda previously described. Trita's abode is said to be in the distant region, and we have interpreted it to mean the nether world of dark ness, an interpretation which amongst others is fully borne out by the story of Ivan and his two brothers. But the dark power takes a distinctive Russian appearance in the awful figure of Koshchei, the deathless,—a fleshless skeleton who squeezes heroes to death in his bony arms. He carries off a princess; after seven years the hero reaches his under-ground palace and is hidden; but is discovered by Koshchei who typi- fies winter in this case. All these legends clearly indicate a dark winter of some months' duration, or the long winter- night of the Arctic regions. There are other stories in which the Sun-hero is said to have been detained in a place of darkness; but it is not necessary to refer to them in this place. For comparison I shall only refer briefly to a legend in the Finnish mythology, which, though not Aryan in origin, may yet serve to throw some light on the subject under considera- tion. In the mythology of the Finns, the Dawn is called Koi and "Koi, the Dawn (masc.), and Ammarik, the Gloam- ing (fem.), are said to have been entrusted by Vanna-issa, the Old Father, with lighting and extinguishing every morning and evening the torch of the day. As a reward for their faithful services Vanna-issa would allow them to get married. But they preferred to remain bride and bridegroom, and Vanna-issa had nothing more to say. He allowed them, however, to meet at midnight during four weeks in summer. At that time. Ammarik hands the dying torch to Koi, who revives it with his breath."‡ If this legend has any meaning it signifies the cessation of extinguishing the torch of the day during four weeks in summer. Koi and Ammarik both leave

• Poor's Comparative Mythology, p. 390. ‡ Max Muller's Con- tributions to the Science of Mythology, pp. 267-8.