Page 348 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

MONTHS AND SEASONS 133,

that their sacrifice was connected with the break of the Dawn
and lasted only for ten months. What the Navagvas or the Dashagvas .
accomplished by means of their sacrifices is further described
in V, 29, 12, which says, " The Navagas and the Dashagvas, who,
had offered libations of Soma, praised Indra with songs; labouring ,
( at it ) the men laid open the stall of kine though firmly closed. "
while in III, 39, 5, we read, " where the friend ( lndra ), with the
friendly energetic Navagvas, followed up the cow on his knees,
there verily with ten Dashagvas rud Indra find the sun dwelling in
darkness ( tamasi k~hiyantam) "* In X, 62, 2 and 3, the Atigirases,
of whom the Dashagvas and Navagvas were the principle species
( Atigiras-tama, X, 62, 6 ), are however, aid to have themselves
performed the feat of vanquishing Vala, rescuing the cows, and
bringing out the sun, at the end of the year (pari vatsare Valam
abhindan ) ; but it obviously means that they helped Indra in
achieving it at the end of the year. Combining all these state-
ments we can easily deduce ( 1) that the Navagvas and the Dasha-
vagas completed their sacrifices in ten months, ( 2 ) that the e
sacrifices were connected with the early flush of the Dawn; ( 3)
that the sacrifices helped Indra in the rescue of the cows from
Vala at the end of the year; and ( 4) that at the place where Indra,
went in search for the cows, he discovered the sun " dwelling in
darkness. "
Now we must examine a little more closely the meaning of
these four important statements regarding the Navagvas and the
Dashagvas. The first question that arises in this connection is-
What is meant by their sacrifices being completed in ten months,
and why did they not continue sacrificing for the whole year of
twelve months ? The expression for ' ten months' in the original is
dasha mdsa(z and the words are so plain that there can be no doubt
about their import. We have seen that the avagvas used to help
Indra in releasing the cows from the grasp of Vala, and in X, 62,
2 and 3, the Ailgirases are said to have defeated Vala at the end of
the year, and raised the sun to heaven. This exploit of Indra, the
Atigirases, the Navagvas and the Dashagvas, therefore, clearly
refers to the yearly rescue of the sun, or the cows of the morning,
from the dark prison into which they are thrown by Vala; and the
• \tig. III, 39, s-.~ { ~ ij~if~'if<J~~ ~: ~~~ I ij~
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