Page 30 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

SACRIFICE ALIAS THE YEAR 17
uttaray~a is again susceptible of two interpretiti~~- It may mean
" turning towards the north from the southernmost point, " or
it may indicate " the passage of the sun into the northern hemi-
sphere, i. e. to the north of the equator." If we adopt the first
meaning, the Uttan\yapa and the year must be held to commence
from the winter solstice, while if the second interpretation be
correct, the Uttan\ya11a and the year must have once commenced
with the vernal equinox. The facts, that the central day of the
annual satra was called vi!hU van, that Vasanta or spring was
considered to be the first of the seasons,* and that the agrayQ~Je­
.o¥h(is or the half-yearly sacrifices were required to be performed
every Vasanta (spring) and Sharad (autumn )t clearly shew
that the second of the two interpretations given above is more
likely to be the older one. Let us, however, examine the po~t
more fully.
The only passages where uttardyCliJa is mentioned in the
Vedic works are those wherein the white and the black paths for
the souls of the deceased, the Devayana and the Pit~iyAna, are
described. The words devayana and pitriyana occur several times
in the {tigveda. Agni is said to. know both these;§ while in the
VAjasaneyi Sa!Jlhita 19.47, these are said to be the two paths open
to mortals. In the {tigveda x. 18.1, the path of the god of Death
is said to be the reverse of devayana, and in the Rigveda x. 98.11,
Agni is said to know devayana by seasons.t There is, however
no passage in the ~igveda where ~vayana is fully defined and we
have consequently to refer to the passages in the BrihadAra11yaka
and the ChhAndogya Upanishadf for a fuller explanation of these
terms. Before the idea was recorded in these works it must un-

• Taitt:~Br. i. z. 6. ~en~~~~: Upon this the author of
Klla M!dhava observes tt'lffl<l4'h+l+'4~i1 ~~~~I Cal. Ed.
p. 59·
t AshvaiAyana Shr. Silt. '· 2. g. 3-4 .
. §See ~ig. i. 72. 7· and x. 2, 7.
t ~ ~~~I SAyal)a, however, takes ~: with the
very ~- But query ?
1[ See also Ylskls Nirukta 14. 9; MahAnArAyaJ.lopanilbad 25. I, and
Shankarllchlrya's Bhl,hya on Brahma Slltras iv. 2. 18-zr, where all
such passages arc collected and discussed.
0. 2