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

50 . THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. whiteness burns into ruddy rose-light, fringed with purple and gold. Day after day, as we measure days, this splendid panorama circles on, and, according as atmospheric conditions and clouds present more or less favourable conditions of reflection, kindles and fades, kindles and fades,—fades only to kindle next time yet more brightly as the still hidden sun comes nearer and nearer his point of emergence. At length, when for two long months such prophetic displays have been filling the whole heavens with these increscent and revolving splendours, the sun begins to emerge from his long retirement, and to display himself once more to human vision. After one or two circuits, during which his dazzling upper limb grows to a full-orbed disk, he clears all hill-tops of the distant horizon, and for six full months circles around and around the world's great axis in full view, suffering no night to fall upon his favoured home-land at the Pole. Even when at last he sinks again from view he covers his retreat with a repetition of the deepening and fading splendours which filled his long dawnings, as if in these pulses of more and more distant light he were signalling back to the forsaken world the promises and prophecies of an early return."* A phenomenon like this cannot fail to be permanently im- pressed on the memory of a Polar observer, and it will be found later on that the oldest traditions of the Aryan race have pre- served the recollection of a period, when its ancestors witnessed such wonderful phenomenon,—a long and continuous dawn of several days, with its lights laterally revolving on the horizon, in their original home. Such are the distinguishing characteristics of the North Pole, that is, the point where the axis of the earth terminates in the north. But as a Polar home means

• See Paradise Found, 10th Ed., p. 69.

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 51 practically a home in the regions round about the North Pole, and not merely the Polar point, we must now see what modi- fications are necessary to be made in the above characteristics owing to the observer being stationed a little to the south of the North Pole. We have seen that at the Pole the northern hemisphere is seen spinning round the observer, and all the stars move with it in horizontal planes without rising or setting; while the other celestial hemisphere is always invisible. But when the observer is shifted downwards, his zenith will no longer corres- pond with the Pole Star, nor his horizon with the celestial equator. For instance let Z, in the annexed figure, be the zenith of the observer, and P the celestial North Pole. When the ob- server was stationed at the terrestrial North Pole, his zenith coincided with P, and his horizon with the celestial equator, with the result that all the stars in the dome Q'PQ revolved round him in horizontal planes. But when the zenith is shifted to Z, this state of things is at once altered, as the heavens will revolve, as be- fore, round the line POP', and not round the zenith- line ZOZ'. When the ob- server was stationed at the North Pole these two lines coincided, and hence the circles of revolution des- cribed by the stars round the celestial Pole were also described round the zenith-line. But when the zenith Z is different from P, as in the figure, the celestial horizon of the observer will be H'H,

52 • THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. and the stars will now appear to move in circles inclined to his horizon, as shown in the figure by the black lines AA', BH' and CC'. Some of the stars, viz., those that are situated in the part of the celestial dome represented by H'PB, will be visible throughout the night, as their circles of revolution will be above the horizon H'C'D'H. But all the stars, whose Polar distance is greater than PB or PH', will, in their daily revolution, be partly above and partly below the horizon. For instance, the stars at C and D will describe circles, some portions of which will be below the horizon H'H. In other words, the appearance of the visible celestial hemisphere to a person, whose zenith is at Z, will be different from the appearance presented by the heavens to an observer at the North Pole. The stars will not now revolve in horizontal planes, but obliquely. A great number of them would be circumpolar and visible during the whole night, but the remaining will rise and set as with us in the tropics, moving in oblique circles. When Z is very near P, only a few stars will rise and set in this way, and the difference will not be a marked one ; but as Z is removed further south, the change will become more and more apparent. Similar modifications will be introduced in the duration of day and night, when the observer's position is shifted to the south of the terrestrial North Pole. This will be clear by a reference to the figure on the next page. Let P be the celestial North Pole, and Q'Q the celestial equator. Then since the sun moves in the ecliptic E'E, which is inclined at an angle of about 23½° (23° 28' ) to the equator, the circles T'E and E'T will correspond with the terrestrial circles of latitude, called the Tropics, and the circle AC with the Arctic Circle on the terres- trial globe. Now as the sun moves in the ecliptic E'E, in his annual course he will always be twice over-head for an observer

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 53 stationed at a place within the terrestrial tropical zone, once in his course from E' to E, and again in his return, from E to E'. The sun will also appear for some time to the north of the ob- server's zenith, and for the rest of the year to the south. But as the altitude of the sun above the equator is never greater than 23½° or EQ, an observer whose zenith lies to the north of the circle T'E, will always see the sun to the south of his zenith, and the zenith distance of the sun will be greater and greater as the observer advances towards the North Pole. But still the sun will be above the horizon every day, for some hours at least, to an observer whose zenith lies between T'E and AC. To take a concrete in- stance, let the observer be so stationed that his zenith will be at C, that is, on the extreme northern latitude of the temperate zone. Then his celestial horizon will extend 90° on each side, and will be re- presented by T''CT, and the sun moving along the ecliptic E'E will be above his horizon, at least for some portion of day, during the whole year. But as the observer passes into the Frigid zone, the sun during his annual course will be alto- gether below the horizon for some days, and the maximum limit is reached at the North Pole, where the sun is below the horizon for six months. We may, therefore, state that the dura- tion of the night, which is six months at the Pole is gradually di- minished as we come down from the Pole, until, in the temperate

54 . THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. zone, the sun is above the horizon, at least, for some time out of twenty-four hours every day. In the foregoing figure let Z represent the zenith of an observer within the Arctic regions, then H'H will represent his horizon, and the sun in his annual course will, for some time, be altogether below this horizon. For instance, suppose the sun to be at n. Then his diurnal circle of rotation will be represented by nH, the whole of which is below the horizon H'H of the observer whose zenith is Z. Therefore, the sun, during his annual course along the ecliptic from E' to n, and back from n to E', will be invisible to an observer whose zenith is Z. Corresponding to this total disap- pearance of the sun for some time, the luminary will be perpe- tually above the horizon for the same period during his northern course. For instance, let the sun be at d, then his diurnal circle of rotation, dH', will be entirely above the horizon H'H, and so it will continue to be for all the time that the sun moves from d to E, and back again from E to d, in his annual course. During this time the sun will neither rise nor set, but will move, like the circumpolar stars, in oblique circles, round and round the observer like a wheel. For all positions between n and d, and the corresponding portion of the ecliptic on the other side, the sun, in his diurnal course of twenty-four hours, would be partially above and partially below the horizon, producing ordi- nary days and nights, as with us, the day being longer than the night when the sun is in the northern, and the night longer than the day when the sun is in the southern hemisphere. Instead of a single day and a single night of six months, the year, to a person living in the Arctic regions, but not exactly at the North Pole, will, therefore, be divided into three parts, one of which will be a long night, one a long day, and one made up of a succession of days and nights, a single day

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 55 and night of which will together never exceed twenty-four hours. The long night will always be shorter than six months and longer than 24 hours, and the same will be the case with the long day. The long night and the long day will mark the two opposite extremities of the year, the middle of the long day occurring when the sun is at the summer solstice, and the middle of the long night when he is at the winter solstice. This triple division of the year is very important for our purpose, and I shall, there- fore, illustrate it by a concrete example. Suppose, for instance, that the observer is so far below the North Pole that instead of a night of six months, he has a night of 2 months, or, in other words, the sun goes below his horizon only for two months. As the winter solstice will fall in the middle of this long continuous night, we may say that the night will extend a month before and a month after December 21, when the sun is at the winter solstice. Corresponding to this long night, there will be a continuous day of two months, a month before and a month after June 21, when the sun is at the summer solstice. If these four months are deducted from the year, there will remain eight months, and during all these months there will be days and nights, as in the temperate zone, a nycthemeron, or a day and a night together, never exceeding, as with us, the ordinary period of twenty-four hours. This alternation of ordinary days and nights will commence after the close of the long night in January, and in the beginning, the night will be longer than the day; but as the sun passes from the southern into the northern hemisphere, the day will gain over the night, and, eventually, after four months, terminate into a continuous day for two months. At the close of this long day in July, the alternation of ordinary days and nights will again commence, the day in the beginning being longer than the night, but

56 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. a nycthemeron never exceeding, as in the previous case, a period of twenty-four hours. As the sun passes from the northern into the southern hemisphere, the night will begin to gain over the day, until, after four months of such succession of ordinary days and nights, it terminates into the continuous night of two months mentioned above. The same description applies, mutatis mutandis, where the long night may last for 3, 4 or 5 months, until we reach the Polar condition of a day and a night of six months each, when the intermediate succession of ordinary days and nights will vanish. * We have seen that a long dawn of two months is a special and important characteristic of the North Pole. As we descend southward, the splendour and the duration of the dawn will be witnessed on a less and less magnificient scale. But the dawn, occurring at the end of the long night of two, three or more months, will still be unusually long,

• Cf. Bhaskarâcharya's Siddhânta Shiromaṇi, Golâdhyâya, Chapter VII., verses 6-7, which are as follows:— षट्षष्टिभागाभ्यधिकाः पलांशाः यत्राथ तत्रास्त्वपरो विशेषः॥ लंबाधिका क्रांतियदर्क च यावत्। तावद्दिनं संततमेव तत्र। यावच्च वाम्या सततं तमिस्रा। ततश्च मेरौ सततं समार्धम्॥ "There is a peculiarity at the place, where the latitude is great- er than 66° N. Whenever the northern declination of the sun exceeds the complement of the latitude, there will be perpetual day, for such time as that excess continues. Similarly, when the southern (de- clination exceeds), there will be perpetual night. On Meru, therefore, there is equal half-yearly perpetual day and night." Thus if the la- titude of a place be 70°, its complement will be 90—70=20°; and as the sun's height above the celestial equator (that is, his declination) is never greater than 23° 28′, there will be a continuous day at the place, so long as the declination is greater than 20° and less than 23° 28′, and there will be a similar continuous night when the sun is in the southern hemisphere. Paul Du Chaillu mentions that at Nordkyn or North Cape (N. lat. 71° 6′ 50″), the northernmost place on the conti- nent of Europe, the long night commences on 18th November, and ends on 24th January, lasting, in all, for 67 days of twenty-four hours each.

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. . 57 often of several days' duration. As stated above, at first only a pale flush of light will appear, and it will continue visible on the horizon, revolving round and round, if the observer is sufficiently near the Pole, for some days, when at last the orb of the sun will emerge, and start the alternation of day and night described above, to be eventually terminated into a long day. The splendours of the Aurora Borealis would also be less marked and conspicuous in the southern latitudes than at the North Pole. But if the characteristics of the Arctic regions are different from those of the North Pole, they are no less different from the features of the year with which we are familiar in the temperate or the tropical zone. With us the sun is above the horizon, at least for some time every day, during all the twelve months of the year ; but to persons within the Arctic circle, he is below the horizon, and, therefore, continuously invisible for a number of days. If this period of continuous night be excluded from our reckoning, we might say that within the Arctic regions the year, or the period marked by sunshine, only lasts from six to eleven months. Again the dawn in the temperate and the tropical zone is necessarily short-lived, for a day and a night together do not exceed twenty-four hours, and the dawn which comes between them can last only for a few hours; but the annual dawn at the Pole, and the dawn at the end of the long night in the Arctic regions will each be a dawn of several days' duration. As for the seasons, we have our winters and summers ; but the winter in the Arctic regions will be marked by the long continuous night, while the summer will make the night longer than the day, but within the limit of twenty- four hours, until the day is developed into a long, conti- nuous sunshine of several days. The climate of the Polar regions is now extremely cold and severe, but, as previously

58 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. stated, different climatic conditions prevailed in early times, and we cannot, therefore, include climate amongst the points of contrast under consideration. It will be seen from the foregoing discussion that we have two distinct sets of characteristics, or differentia; one for an observer stationed exactly at the terrestrial North Pole, and the other for an observer located in the Circum-Polar regions, or tracts of land between the North Pole and the Arctic circle. For brevity's sake, we shall designate these two sets of differentia as Polar and Circum-Polar, and sum them up as follows:— I. The Polar Characteristics. (1) The sun rises in the south. (2) The stars do not rise and set ; but revolve, or spin round and round, in horizontal planes, completing one round in 24 hours. The northern celestial hemisphere is alone over-head and visible during the whole year; and the southern or the lower celestial world is always invisible. (3) The year consists only of one long day and one long night of six months each. (4) There is only one morning and one evening, or the sun rises and sets only once a year. But the twilight, whether of the morning or of the evening, lasts continuously for about two months, or 60 periods of 24 hours each. The ruddy light of the morn, or the evening twilight, is not again confined to a particular part of the horizon (eastern or western) as with us ; but moves, like the stars at the place, round and round along the horizon, like a potter's wheel, completing one round in every 24 hours. These rounds of the morning light continue to take place, until the orb of the sun comes above the horizon; and then the sun follows the same course for six months, that is, moves, without setting, round and round the observer, completing one round every 24 hours.

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. • 59 II. The Circum-Polar Characteristics. (1) The sun will always be to the south of the zenith of the observer; but as this. happens even in the case of an observer stationed in the temperate zone, it cannot be regarded as a special characteristic. (2) A large number of stars are circum-polar, that is, they are above the horizon during the entire period of their revolution and hence always visible. The remaining stars rise and set, as in the temperate zone, but revolve in more oblique circles. (3) The year is made up of three parts:—(i) one long continuous night, occurring at the time of the winter solstice, and lasting for a period, greater than 24 hours and less than six months, according to the latitude of the place; (ii) one long continuous day to match, occurring at the time of the summer solstice; and (iii) a succession of ordinary days and nights during the rest of the year, a nycthemeron, or a day and a night together, never exceeding a period of 24 hours. The day, after the long continuous night, is at first shorter than the night, but it goes on increasing until it de- velopes into the long continuous day. At the end of the long day, the night is, at first, shorter than the day, but, in its turn, it begins to gain over the day, until the commencement of the long continuous night, with which the year ends. (4) The dawn, at the close of the long continuous night, lasts for several days, but its duration and magnificence is proportional- ly less than at the North Pole, according to the latitude of the place. For places, within a few degrees of the North Pole, the phenomenon of revolving morning light will still be observable during the greater part of the duration of the dawn. The other dawns, viz., those between ordinary days and nights, will, like the dawns in the temperate zone, only last for a few hours. The sun, when he is above the horizon during the continuous day,

60. THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. will be seen revolving, without setting, round the observer, as at the Pole, but in oblique and not horizontal circles, and during the long night he will be entirely below the horizon; while during the rest of the year he will rise and set, remaining above the horizon for a part of 24 hours, varying according to the position of the sun in the ecliptic. Here we have two distinct sets of differentiæ, or special characteristics, of the Polar and Circum-Polar regions,—charac- teristics which are not found anywhere else on the surface of the globe. Again as the Poles of the earth are the same to-day as they were millions of years ago, the above astronomical character- istics will hold good for all times, though the Polar climate may have undergone violent changes in the Pleistocene period. In short, we can take these differentiæ as our unerring guides in the examination of the Vedic evidence bearing on the point at issue. If a Vedic description or tradition discloses any of the character- istics mentioned above, we may safely infer that the tradition is Polar or Circum-Polar in origin, and the phenomenon, if not actually witnessed by the poet, was at least known to him by tradition faithfully handed down from generation to generation. Fortunately there are many such passages or references in the Vedic literature, and, for convenience, these may be divided into two parts: the first comprising those passages which directly describe or refer to the long night, or the long dawn; and the second consisting of myths and legends which corroborate and indirectly support the first. The evidence in the first part being direct, is, of course, more convincing; and we shall, therefore, begin with it in the next chapter, reserving the con- sideration of the Vedic myths and legends to the latter part of the book.

CHAPTER IV. THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. Vedic sacrifices, regulated by the luni-solar calendar—A year of six seasons and twelve months, with an intercalary month in the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ—The same in the Ṛig-Veda—Present results of the Vedic mythology—All presuppose a home in the temperate or the tropical zone—But further research still necessary—The special character of the Ṛig-Veda explained— Polar tests found in the Ṛig-Veda—Indra supporting the heavens with a pole, and moving them like a wheel—A day and a night of six months, in the form of the half-yearly day and night of the Gods—Found in the Sûrya Sidhânta and older astronomical Saṁhitâs—Bhâskarâchârya's error explained—Gods' day and night mentioned by Manu and referred to by Yâska— The description of Meru or the North Pole in the Mahâbhârata —In the Taittirîya Araṇyaka—The passage in the Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa about the year-long day of the Gods—Improbability of explaining it except as founded. on the observation of nature —Parallel passage in the Vendidad—Its Polar character clearly established by the context—The Vara of Yima in the Airyāna Vaejo—The sun rising and setting there only once a year—The Devayâna and the Pitriyâna in the Ṛig-Veda—Probably repre- sent the oldest division of the year, like the day and the night, of the Gods—The path of Mazda in the Parsi scriptures—Death during Pitriyâna regarded inauspicious—Bâdarâyaṇa's view— Probable explanation suggested—Death during winter or Pitriyâna in the Parsi scriptures—Probably indicates a period of total darkness—Similar Greek traditions—Norse Twilight of the Gods —The idea of half yearly day and night of the Gods thus proved to be not only Indo-Iranian, but Indo-Germanic—A sure indica- tion of an original Polar home. AT the threshold of the Vedic literature, we meet with an elaborately organised sacrificial system so well regulated by the luni-solar calendar as to show that the

62 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. Vedic bards had, by that time, attained considerable proficiency in practical astronomy. There were daily, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly sacrifices, which, as I have elsewhere shown, also served as chronometers in those days. * The Taittirîya Saṁhitâ and the Brâhmaṇas distinctly mention a lunar month of thirty days and a year of twelve such months, to which an intercalary month was now and then added, to make the lunar and the solar year correspond with each other. The ecliptic, or the belt of the zodiac, was divided into 27 or 28 divisions, called the Nakṣhatras, which were used as mile-stones to mark the annual passage of the sun, or the monthly revolution of the moon round the earth. The two solstitial and the two equinoctial points, as well as the passage of the sun into the northern and the southern hemisphere, were clearly distinguished, and the year was divided into six seasons, the festivals in each month or the year being accurately fixed and ascertained. The stars rising and setting with the sun were also systematically observed and the eastern and western points of the compass determined as accurately as the astronomical observations of the day could permit. In my Orion or the Antiquity of the Vedas, I have shown how the changes in the position of the equinoxes were also marked in these days, and how they enable us to classify the periods of Vedic antiquity. According to this classification the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ comes under the Kṛittikâ pe- riod (2500 B. C.), and some may, therefore, think that the details of the Vedic calendar given above are peculiar only to the later Vedic literature. A cursory study of the Ṛig-Veda will, however, show that such is not the case. A year of 360 days, with an inter- calary month occasionally added, or a year of twelve lunar months.

• See The Orion or the Antiquity of the Vedas, Chap. II.

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. 63 with twelve intercalary days inserted at the end of each year, was familiar to the poets of the Ṛig-Veda and is often mentioned in the hymns.* The northern and the southern passage of the sun from equinox to equinox, the Devayâna and the Pitṛiyâna, together with the yearly sattras, have also been referred to in several places, clearly showing that the Ṛig-Vedic calendar differed, if at all, very little from the one in use at the time of, the Taittirîya Saṁhitâ or the Brâhmaṇas. A calendar of twelve months and six seasons is peculiar only to the temperate or the tropical zone, and if we were to judge only from the facts stated above, it follows that the people who used such a calendar, must have lived in places where the sun was above the horizon during all the days of the year. The science of Vedic mythology, so far as it is developed at present, also supports the same view. Vṛitra is said to be a demon of drought or darkness, and several myths are explained on the theory that they represent a daily struggle between the powers of light and the powers of dark- ness, or of eventual triumph of summer over winter, or of day over night, or of Indra over watertight clouds. Mr. Nârâyaṇa Âiyangâr of Bangalore has attempted to explain some of these myths on the astral theory, showing that the myths point out to the position of the vernal equinox in Orion, in the oldest period of Vedic civilisation. But all these theories or methods of interpretation assume that the Vedic people have always been the inhabitants of the temperate or the tropical zone, and all these myths and traditions were formed or developed in such a home.

• See Ṛig. I, 25, 8,—वेद मासो धृतव्रतो द्वादश प्रजावतः। वेदा य उप- जायते । Also Ṛig. IV, 33, 7,—द्वादश द्यून्यदगोह्यस्यातिथ्ये रणन्नृभवः ससंतः See Orion, page 167 f. In Ṛig. I, 164, 11, 360 days and 360 nights of the year are expressly mentioned.

64 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. Such are the results of the latest researches in Vedic philology, mythology or calendar, regarding the ancient home of the Vedic people, and the origin and the antiquity of their mythology. But to a man who is working in the same field, the question whether we have reached the utmost limit of our researches naturally oc- curs. It is a mistake to suppose that all the traditions and myths, and even the deities, mentioned in the Ṛig-Veda were the creation of one period. To adopt a geological phrase, the Ṛig-Veda, or we might even say the whole Vedic literature, is not arranged into dif- ferent strata according to their chronological order, so that we can go on from one stratum to another and examine each separately. The Ṛig-Veda is a book in which old things of different periods are so mixed up that we have to work long and patiently before we are able to separate and classify its contents in chronological order. I have stated before how owing to our imperfect knowledge of the ancient man and his surroundings this task is rendered difficult, or even impossible in some cases. But, as observed by Prof. Max Muller, it is the duty of each generation of Vedic scholars to reduce as much as possible the unintelligible portion of the Ṛig-Veda, so that with the advance of scientific knowledge each succeeding generation may, in this matter, naturally be in a better position than its predecessors. The Vedic calendar, so far as we know, or the Vedic mythology may not have, as yet, disclosed any indication of an Arctic home, but underneath the materials that have been examined, or even by their side, we may still find facts, which, though hitherto neglected, may, in the new light of scientific discoveries, lead to important conclusions. The mention of the luni-solar calendar in the Ṛig-Veda ought not, therefore, to detain us from further pursuing our investigation by examining the

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. · 65 texts and legends which have not yet been satisfactorily explained, and ascertaining how far such texts and legends indicate the existence of a Polar or Circum-Polar home in early times. The distinguishing characteristics of these regions have been already discussed and stated in the previous chapter, and all that we have now to do is to apply these tests, and decide if they are satisfied or fulfilled by the texts and legends under con- sideration. The spinning round of the heavenly dome over the head is one of the special characteristics of the North Pole, and the phenomenon is so peculiar that one may expect to find traces of it in the early traditions of a people, if they, or their ances- tors ever lived near the North Pole. Applying this test to the Vedic literature, we do find passages which compare the motion of the heavens to that of a wheel, and state that the celestial vault is supported as if on an axis. Thus in Ṛig. X, 89, 4, Indra is said " to separately uphold by his power heaven and earth as the two wheels of a chariot are held by the axle."* Prof. Ludwig thinks that this refers to the axis of the earth, and the explanation is very probable. The same idea occurs in other places, and sometimes the sky is described as being supported even without a pole, testifying thereby to the great power or might of Indra (II, 15, 2; IV, 56, 3).† In X, 89, 2, Indra is identified with Sûrya and he is described as " turning the widest expanse like the wheels of a chariot."‡ The word for ' expanse ' is varâṁsi, which Sâyaṇa understands to mean ' lights,' or 'stars.' But whichever meaning we adopt, it is clear that the verse in question refers to the revolution of the sky,

• Ṛig. X, 89, 4,—यो अक्षेणेव चक्रिया शचीभिर्विश्वक्तस्तंभ पृथिवीमुत द्यां । † Ṛig. II, 15, 2,—अवंशे द्यामस्तंाभवत् । IV, 56, 3,—स इमे द्यावा- पृथिवी जजान उर्वी गंभीरे रजसी सुमेके अवंशे धीरः शच्या समैरत् । ‡ Ṛig. X, 89,2,—स सूर्यः पर्युरु वरांस्येन्द्रो ववृत्याद्रथ्येव चक्रा ।

66 . THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. and compares it to the motion of a chariot wheel. Now the heavens in the temperate and the tropical regions may be des- cribed as moving like a wheel from east to west and then back again to the east, though the latter half of this circuit is not visible to the observer. But we cannot certainly speak of the tropical sky as being supported on a pole, for the simple reason that the North Pole, which must be the point of support in such a case, will not be sufficiently near the zenith in the tropi- cal or the temperate zone. If we, therefore, combine the two statements, that the heavens are supported as on a pole, and that they move like a wheel, we may safely infer that the motion referred to is such a motion of the celestial hemisphere as can be witnessed only by an observer at the North Pole. In the Ṛig-Veda I, 24, 10, the constellation of Ursa Major (Ṛikshaḥ) is described as being placed 'high' (uchchāḥ), and, as this can refer only to the altitude of the constellation, it follows that it must then have been over the head of the observer, which is possible only in the Circum-Polar regions. Unfortunately there are few other passages in the Ṛig-Veda which describe the motion of the celestial hemisphere or of the stars therein, and we must, therefore, take up another characteristic of the Polar regions, namely, 'a day and a night of six months each,' and see if the Vedic literature contains any references to this singular feature of the Polar regions. The idea that the day and the night of the Gods are each of six months' duration is so widespread in

• Ṛig. I, 24, 10,—अमी यऋक्षा निहितास उच्चा नक्तं ददृश्रे कुहचिद्दिवेयुः । It may also be remarked, in this connection, that the passage speaks of the appearance (not rising) of the Seven Bears at night, and their disappearance (not setting) during the day, showing that the constella- tion was circum-polar at the place of the observer.

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. 67 the Indian literature, that we examine it here at some length, and, for that purpose, commence with the Post-Vedic litera- ture and trace it back to the most ancient books. It is found not only in the Purâṇas, but also in astronomical works, and as the latter state it in a more definite form we shall begin with the later Siddhântas. Mount Meru is the terrestrial North Pole of our astronomers, and the Sûrya-Siddhânta, XII, 67, says :-- "At Meru Gods behold the sun after but a single rising during the half of his revolution beginning with Aries." Now accord- ing to Purâṇas Meru is the home or seat of all the Gods, and the statement about their half-year-long night and day is thus easily and naturally explained; and all astronomers and divines have accepted the accuracy of the explanation. The day of the Gods corresponds with the passage of the sun from the vernal to the autumnal equinox, when the sun is visible at the North Pole, or the Meru; and the night with the southern passage of sun, from the autumnal back to the vernal equinox. But Bhâskarâchârya, not properly understanding the passage which states that the "Uttarâyaṇa is a day of Gods," has raised the question how Uttarâyaṇa, which in his day meant the passage of the sun from the winter to the summer solstice, could be the day of the Gods stationed at the North Pole; for an observer at the Pole can only see the sun in his passage from the vernal to the autumnal equinox. But, as shown by me elsewhere, Bhâskarâchârya has here fallen into an error by attributing to the word Uttarâyaṇa, a sense which it did not bear in old times, or at least in the passages embodying this tradition. The old meaning of Uttarâyaṇa, literally, the northern passage of the sun, was the period of time required by the sun to travel from the vernal to

• See Orion, p. 29.

68 THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS. the autumnal equinox, or the portion of the ecliptic in the northern hemisphere ; and if we understand the word in this sense, the statement that the Uttarâyaṇa is a day of the Devas is at once plain and intelligible. Bhâskarâchârya's reference to older astronomical Saṁhitâs clearly shows that the tradition was handed down from the oldest times. It is suggested that in these passages Gods may mean the apotheosized ancestors of the human race. But I do not think that we need any such explanation. If the ancestors of the human race ever lived at the North Pole, so must have their Gods ; and I shall shew in a subsequent chapter that the Vedic deities are, as a matter of fact, clothed with attributes, which are distinctly Polar in origin. It makes, therefore, no difference for our purpose, if a striking feature of the primitive home is traditionally preserved and remembered as a characteristic of the Gods, or of the apotheosized ancestors of the race. We are concerned with the tradition itself, and our object is gained if its existence is clearly established. The next authority for the statement is Manu I, 67. While describing the divisions of time it says, "A year (human) is a day and a night of the Gods ; thus are the two divided, the northern passage of the sun is the day and the southern the night."* The day and the night of the Gods are then taken as a unit for measuring longer periods of time as the Kalpas and so on, and Yâska's Nirukta, XIV, 4, probably contains the same reference. Muir, in the first Volume of his Original Sanskrit Texts, gives some of these passages so far as they bear on the yuga-system found in the Purâṇas. But we are not concerned with the later development of the idea that the day and the night of the Gods each lasted for

• Manu, I, 67,—दैवे रात्र्यहनी वर्ष प्रविभागस्तयोः पुनः । अहस्तत्रोदगयनं रात्रिः स्याद्दक्षिणायनम् ॥

THE NIGHT OF THE GODS. 69 six months. What is important, from our point of view, is the persistent prevalence of this tradition in the Vedic and the Post- Vedic literature, which can only be explained on the hypothesis that originally it must have been the result of actual observation. We shall, therefore, next quote the Mahâbhârata, which gives such a clear description of Mount Meru, the lord of the moun- tains, as to leave no doubt about its being the North Pole, or possessing the Polar characteristics. In chapters 163 and 164 of the Vanaparvan, Arjuna's visit to the Mount is described in detail, and we are therein told, "At Meru the sun and the moon go round from left to right (Pradakshinam) every day, and so do all the stars." Later on the writer informs us:—"The moun- tain, by its lustre, so overcomes the darkness of night, that the night can hardly be distinguished from the day." A few verses further, and we find, "The day and the night are together equal to a year to the residents of the place."* These quotations are quite sufficient to convince any one that at the time when the great epic was composed Indian writers had a tolerably accurate knowledge of the meteorological and astronomical characteristics of the North Pole, and this knowledge cannot be supposed to have been acquired by mere mathematical calcul- ations. The reference to the lustre of the mountain is specially interesting, inasmuch as, in all probability, it is a description of the

• The verses (Calcutta Ed.) are as follows,— एवं त्वहरहर्मेरुं सूर्याचंद्रमसौ ध्रुवं । प्रदक्षिणमुपावृत्य कुरुतः कुरुनंदन ॥ ज्योतींषि चाप्यशेषेण सर्वाण्यनघ सर्वतः। परियान्ति महाराज गिरिराजं प्रदक्षिणं॥ Vana-parvan, Chap. 163, vv. 37, 38. स्वतेजसा तस्य नगोत्तमस्य महौषधीनां च तथा प्रभावात् । विभक्तभावो न बभूव कश्चिदहोर्निशानां पुरुषप्रवीर ॥ बभूव रात्रिर्दिवसश्च तेषां संवत्सरेणैव समानरूपः ॥ Ibid, Chap. 164, vv. 11, 13.