Page 139 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

SAMAGRA TILAK - 2 a THE ORION
meaning I haye here proposed, is entirely lost in the Sanskrit
literature, but considereing the fact that the Latins named the
planet as Venus, while the word cannot be satisfactorily derived
from any Latin root, • there can be no objection to indentify Venus
with the Vena (nom. sin. Venas) in the Vedic works. In the
Latin mythology Venus is the goddess of love, and this we can
now easily account for, as the name of the Vedic deity is derived
from a root which means "to desire", "to love". I may again
point out that the hymn of Vena in the ~igveda, is used in sacri-
fices at the time, when the priest takes up the vessel Shukra in the
sacrificial ceremonies.t Katyayana, indeed, mentions the option-
al use of the hymn for takiag up the vessel of Manthin.:t
But that does not much alter the position, for, when the meaning
of the word was utterly forgotten the hymn might come to be
used for a different purpose in addition to the previous one. The
fact, that the Vena hymn was used in taking up the Shukra vessel
is, therefore, an important indication of its old meaning, and
when we find the name actually preserved till now indicating the
planet Venu:., and that this name cannot be satisfactorily derived
in any other way, we might fairly infer that Vena of the ~igveda
is Venus of the Latin mythology. As regards the change of gender
we need not consider it to be a serious objection inasmuch as not
only Venus, but also the moon has changed in gender in its
passage to 'Europe. As a further proof of the statement that the
planets, or at any rate Shukra, was discovered and named in the
primitive period, I refer to the Greek word Kupris ( Latin Cypris )
which means Venus. The word can be easily indentified with San-
skrit Shukra which, according to the well-established phonetic
rules, becomes Kupros in Greek, the initial sh being changed to k
• In Dr. White's Latin English Dictionary the word is derived
from Sanskrit mn to love; but if it is to be derived from Sanskrit
root why not derive it form vttt or vm to desire or lo,·e, and so connect
it with Vma of the 1?-lgveda.
t See Durglchlrya on Nirukta ro. 39. ~ ~S~ ~-
t The Sutras of KAtylyana bearing on this pomt are as follows :-
(See Klt. Shr. Su. ix. 6.: II·I3) ~ ~~ Cff (f ~ J iJ4 ir.J ~~:to J
;ffil~ ~ ~ J Thus h~ fipt lays down that the Shukra vessel be taken
by reciting the hymn ~ Sffffl!U etc. ( VAj. Sal!'. 7. r 2 ) or according lC>
some the hymn~ 'ir.J: etc. ( Vlj. s~. 7· I6. ~ig. X. 123 ). He then
observes trat this latter hymn is used in Laking up the Man thin vessel-