Page 111 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

CHAPTER VI

ORION AND H _IS BELT
Agm!J(fylf'f!-•' = Ag1<JY<r!Jn in the older works-Probable dl:'ri\·ation of
lt:IJ'alla- T he .-tgra)'~a sacrifices-Their number and nature-Performed
every half-year in Vasanta and Sharad-Greek legends of Orion-
Thei r similarity to Vedic legends-German traditions and festi\'ities-
Stag and hind-Twelve nights-Dogdays-All of which indicate the.:
year m Orion- Dr. Kuh n's explanation is insufficient-The usual ad-
juncts of Orion-His belt, staff and lion's hair-The niv)'/1011/f!Jmz,, of
Haoma in tbe .\vesta-The yaj•wpavita of the Brahmai)S- Their sacred
character pro~ a111y borrowed from the oelt of Orion or Yajaa~Use of
melr/J,zl,~ dji11<~ and diz~:da in the Upanayana ceremony-Probably in-- imita-
tion of the cos:ume of Orion or Praj!pati, the first of the Brahama~s­
Derivation of Orioh from Agr,zj'.n_l<z-Its probabiltty-Phonctic
di ffi cui ties-Conclusion .
In the last chapter I have quoted an observation of Plutarch
that the Greeks gave their own . name to the censtellation of
Orion, and have there discussed some Vedic legends which corro-
borate Plutarch's remarks and indicate that the vernal equinox
was in Orion at that time. In the present chapter I mean to exa-
mine other legends which go to shew that the constellation of
Orion was known and figured before the Greeks, the Parsis, and
the Indians separated from tneir common home, and that the
legends or the traditions so preserved, and perhaps the name of
the constellation, can be naturally and easily explained only on
the supposition that the vernal equinox was then near the asterism
of Mrigashiras.
I have already shown that Agrahti.ymJi if not Agrahti.yaiJD,
can he traced back to Pal).ini's time, as the name of a Nak11hatra
and that it is a mistake to derive it from the name of the full-
moon day. We have now to see if we can trace back the word
still further. The word hdyana does not occur in the :r,tigveda,
and it may be doubted if the name Agrahti.yOP)£ was in use in the
old Vedic days. Hayana is, however, used in the Atharva Veda
(viii. 2. 21; xi, 6. 17) and in the Brahmal).as and may be com-
pared with Zend Zayano meaning winter. Pattini (iii. 11. 148)
derives hayana from hti. = to go or abandon, after the analogy of
gayana and gives two meanings, viz. the grain' vr£h£' and' time'.
Whether we accept this derivation or not, it is at any rate clear