Page 281 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

68 SAMAGRA TILAK - 2 • THE ARCTIC HOME

encement of the day. It is the longest recitation to be recited by the
Hotri and the time for reciting it is after midnight, when " the
darkness of the night is about to be relieved by the light of the dawn,"
( Nir. XII, 1; Asha. Shr. Sutra, VI, 5, 8 ). * The same period of time
is referred to also in the ~ig-Veda, VII, 67, 2 and 3. The shastra
is so long, that the Hotri, who has to recite it, is directed to refresh
himself by drinking beforehand melted butter after sacrificing thrice
a little of it, ( Ait. Br.IV, 7; Ashv. Shr. Sutra, VI, 5, 3 ). "He ought to
eat ghee ", observes the Aitareya Bnihma~a "before he commences
repeating. Just as in this world a cart or a carriage goes well if smeared
(with oil ),t thus his repeating proceeds well if he be smeared with
ghee (by eating it)." It is evident that if such a recitation has to be
finished before the rising of the sun, either the Hot!"i must commence
his task soon after midnight when it is dark, or the duration of
the dawn must then have been sufficiently long to enable the priest
to finish the recitation in time after commencing to recite it on the
first appearance of light on the horizon as directed. The first
supposition is out of the question, as it is expressly laid down that
the shastra, is not to be recited until the darkness of the night is
relieved by light. So between the first appearance of light and the
rise of the sun, there must have been, in those days, time enough to
recite the long iaudatory song of not less than a thousand verses.
Nay, in theTaitirtya Samhitli (II. I. 10. 3 )weare told that sometimes
the recitation of the shasrtra though commenced at the proper time,
ended long before sunrise, and in that case, the Samhita requires
that a certain animal sacrifice should be performed. Ahshvalliyana
directs that in such a case the recitation should be continued up to
sunrise by reciting other hymns ( Ashv. S. S. VI, 5, 8); while
Apastamba, ( S. S. XIV, 1 and 2) after mentioning the sacrifice
referred to in the Taittirtya Samhitli, adds that all the ten Mandalas
of the ~ig-veda may be recited, if necessary, in such a case. :t It is

• Nir. XII, 1 - ff~: "fiT'!' i3it<hr~(I'II~S!Cfil~ll~~~-r_ I
t See Haug's Translation of Ait. Br., P. 270.
t The Siltras referred to are as follows: Ashv. S. S. VI, 5, 8-
JffirG'Ilifi~ ~9 tl+llh'll"''€4 ttii'iiil<i+!~tl· : ~I Apa~tamba XIV, I
and 2-"!'ffif.lif.t ~~ 'f'1 ~<d« ~ il~q+fl<!'illff II ~ II ti<!T a#{
~7~"1'1Q, II ~ II The first ot these two Siitras is the reproduction
.of T. S. II, r, ro, 3·