Page 106 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

THE ANTELOPE'S HEAD 93

form of Sbiva, and the author of Mahimna, who, in verse
22, refers to the story of Rudra piercing Prajapati with an
arrow, and says that the whole story is still illustrated in the sky, •
evidently meant to desecribe by it the Milky Way which passes
over the head of the star of Rudra. Now if the poetic imagina-
tion of the author of Mahimna can perceive foam in the Milky
way, I see no reason why the virgin imagination of the Vedic
poets should not rise to that pitch. Dr. Haug, speaking of the
Vanant Yastha, observes that . the constellation ( Vanant ), by
which the Parsi Dasturs understand the Milky Way is said to
stand directly over Hell and further, ' the Dasturs are of opi-
nion that this constellation is the weapon ( Vazra ) which is con-
stantly aimed by Mithra at the head of the Daevas, as stated
in the Khurshed Yashta. 't Referring to the Khurshed Yashta
we simply find that the club ( Vazra) of Mithra " was well stuck
down upon the skulls of the Daevas ':j: The information given
to Dr. Haug may therefore be traditional among the Parsi Priests;
but whether traditional or otherwise as it comes from an inde-
pendent source, it is strong corroborative evidence to support
the identification of India's foamy weapon, with the stream of the
Milky Way in the heavens. With the vernal equinox near the
Dog-star, the Milky Way, which then separated the region of
Gods from that of Yama, could well be said to be over Hell and
'well stuck upon the heads of the Daevas. ' Namuchi's legend
-can thus be simply and naturally accounted for if we assign to
the equinoxes the position which we have deduced from other
passages in the Vedic works. I may point out that we do not
hereby account for the original idea of Vritra. That is evidently
.a still older legend. But his existence at the gate of Hell and his
decapitation by the foamy weapon-the two chief elements in
the later Vedic traditions are satisfactorily exp!ained by placing,

• ~~~if!~ ifM Jffi~~i ~f ~~
~ UTI{ffi ~~~!J ~I
"<i~~hf ~m tN"'I'tiM'~
~ ~St.rlft ~ if 'IJOlll"fi\lltl: II
Also Cf. Shakuntala, i., ~lftal 6~ifilf fltilr~ I
t Dr. Haug's Essays on the Pars is p. 271, Note.
t Sacred Boo:.s of the East Ser-Ies, V-ol. XXIII. Zend Avt:sta, Part
11, p. 87.