Page 32 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

SACRIFICE ALIAS THE YEAR. 19
manta and Shishira those of the Pitris; the increasing fortnight is
ofDevas; the decreasing one of the Pitris :the day is of the Devas;
the night of the Piqis : again the first part of the day is of the
Devas; the latter of the Pitris ... Wben be (the sun) turns to the
north, be is amongst the Devas and protects them; when he turns
to .the south be is amongst the Pitris and protects them. "• This
removes all doubts as to what we are to understand by devayana,
devapatha, or devalok and uttardyCIIJa as connected with it. The
BribadArapyaka Upani~bad is a part of the Sbatapatha BrAbmapa,
and we shall not be violating any rule of interpretation if we
interpret the passage in the one in the light of a similar passage
in the other. Now if Vasanta ( sprin&.), Gri!bma (summer)
and Var~hA ( rains ) were the seasons of the Devas and the sun
moved amongst the Devas when he turned to the north, it is
impossible to maintain that the DevayAna or the Uttarlyatta
ever commenced with the winter solstice, for in neither hemi-
sphere the winter solstice marks the beginning of spring, the first
of the Deva seasons. The seasons in Central Asia and India differ.
·Thus the rains in India coDlllltnce . about or after the summer
solstice, while in the plains of Asia the season occurs about the
autumnal equinox. But in neither case V ~nta (spring) commences
with the winter solstice or VU?hi (rains) CDds at the summer
solstice. We must, therefore, bold that Devayana in those days
was understood to extend over the six months of the year, which
comprised the three seasons of spring, summer, and rains, i. e.
from the vernal to the autumnal equinox, when the sun was in
the northern hemisphere or to the north of the equator. This shows
further that the oldest order of seasons did not place Var!hi
( rains ) at the summer solstice, wb,m the chi~f Indian monsoon
commences, but at the autumnal equinox. The winter solstice
according to this order, falls in the middle of Hemanta. In the
modem astronomical works, the winter solstice is, however,
placed at the end and not in the middle of Hemanta, while the
vernal equinox is said to fall in the middle of Vasanta. WhC!.n the
* As the passage is important I give it here m full :-
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~ lits~ 6 firms~" ~ \~: ~m::: !if\rt: ~ ffi ~Auvt: ~: 1
··· ... I 6 ~ ~~ ~~ trft llllftl' 'a:'4i«telfli•fiqjq(llq ~ l(~uu .. ~~ ~
~it ~'lftr fir<i~~<ilqr~% 1 ·