Page 282 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

THE VEDIC DAWNS 69
evident from this that the actual rising of the sun above the horizon
was a phenomenon often delayed beyond expectation, in those days
and in several places in the Taittirtya Samhita, ( II, 1, 2, 4 ), * we
are told that the Devas had to peform a prayaschitta because the
sun did not shine as expected.
Another indication of the long duration of the dawn is fur-
nished by the Taittirtya Samhita, VII, 2, 20. t Seven oblations
are here mentioned, one to U~has, one to Vyu~h(i, one to Ude~hyat,
one to Udyat, one to Uditd, one to Suvarga and one to Loka. Five
of these are evidently intended for the dawn in its five forms. The
Taittirtya Brahmav.a (III, 8, 16, 4) explains the first two, viz., to
U~has and Vyu~h~i, as referring to dawn and sunrise, or rather to
night and day, for according to the Brahma:v. " U~has is night
and Vyu\vh~i is day,":j: But even though we may accept this as correct
and we take U~has and Vyu~h{ito be the representatives of night and
day because the former signalises the end of the night and the latter
the beginning of the day, still we have to account for three oblations,
viz. one to the dawn about to rise ( Ude~hyat ), one to the rising
dawn (Udyat), and one to the dawn that has risen ( Uditd ), the first
two of which are according to the Taittirtya Brahmav.a to be
offered before the rising of the sun. Now the dawn in the tropical
zone is so short that the three-fold distinction between the dawn that
is about to rise, the dawn that is rising, and one that has risen or
that is full-blown (vi-u~h{i) is a distinction without a difference. We
must, therefore, hold that the dawn, which admitted such manifold
division for the practical purpose of sacrifice, was a long dawn.
The three-fold division of the dawn does not seem to be
unknown to the poets of the ~ig-Veda. For, in VIII, 41, 3, Varuna's
'' dear ones are said to have prospered the three dawns for him,§

• T. S. II. I, 2, 4- ~9~T if ~~ ~ ~9T: ~f~~ I
Cf. also T. S. II, 4, I.
t T. S. VII, 2, zo-'3'llfl ~I{T ~ ~~ ~"'r:ffl ~fc@;q ~
~WTf<q ~ <!5f<r.r1 ~'fro I
t Thit. Br. III, 8, I6, 4, explains the above passage as follows :
~ W{T o~l"-a ~~!{I ~T~ ~: I ~~ I <31!l:RI~ V:9T~;:~ I a:r~r
~T{cr ~ I ffi' ~~T 9T ~ 9T ~m_ awRt~ ~~I ~
~m ~-a~~~ ~91~<.'14~ ~ 1 ~ ~ ~[;q ~
~w{~~-1
§ ~ig. VIII, 41, 3,-tl aJT{: qft 'll'~~ ... ~~'R~ ii'~«!W arcfl:l<q'l:,l