Page 350 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

MONTHS AND SEASONS 135
The etymology of the words Navagva and Dashagva leads
us to the same conclusion. The words are formed by prefixing
nava and dasha to gva. So far there is no difference of opinion.
But YAska ( XI, 19 ) takes nava in navagva to mean either ' new '
or 'charming', interpreting the word to mean ' those who have
charming or new career ( gva, from gam to go ) '. This explana-
tion of Yaska is, however, unsatisfactory, inasmuch as the Nava-
gvas and the Dashagvas are usually mentioned together in the
~ig-Veda, and this close and frequent association of their names
makes it necessary for us to find out such an etymological explana-
tion of the words as would make Navagva bear the same relation
to nal•a as Dashagva may have to dasha. But dasha or rather dashan,
is a numeral signifying 'ten' and cannot be taken in any other sense
therefore, as observed by Prof. Lignana, * nava or rather navan
must be taken to mean ' nine '. The meaning of gva ( gu + a )
is, however, yet to be ascertained. Some derive it from go, a cow,
and others from gam, to go. In the first case the meaning would
be 'of nine cows ' or ' of ten cows'; while in the second case the
words would signify ' going in nine ' or ' going in ten, ' and the
fact that the Dashagvas are said to be ten in III, 39, 5, lends suppon
to the latter view. But the use of the words Navagvaand Dashagva,
sometimes even in the singular number as an adjective qualifying
a singular noun, shows that a group or a company of nine or ten
men, is not, at any rate, always intended. Thus in VI, 6, 3, the rays
of Agni are said to be navagvas, while Adhrigu is said to be dashagva
in VIII, 12, 2, and Dadhyafich navagva in IX, 108, 4. We must,
therefore, assign to these epithets some other meaning, and the
only other possible explanation of the numerals 'nine' and 'ten'
is that given by Sayal)a who says ( Comm. on ~ig. I, 62, 4 ),
" The AJigirases are of two kinds, the Navagvas or those who rose
after completing sattra in nine months, and the Dashagvas or those
who rose after finishing the sattra in ten months. "t We have seen

• See his Essay on "The Navagvas and the Dashagvas of the ~ig­
Veda" in the Proceedings of the 7th International Congress of
Orientalists, 1886, pp. 59-68. The essay is in Italian and I am inded ted
to the kindness of Mr. Shrinivas Iyengar B. A. B: L., High Court
PJead6r, Madras, for a translation of the sam e.
t Saya~a, in his gloss on ~ig. I, 62, 4, says :-aW!ffitftfcf"<il: 1 ~11T-
4f:1Rt8rfft ~ ~: ~ ~ ifCITcll: I ... 'ifCITcQ' ififiil~' W ll'l~