Page 360 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

MONTHS AND SEASONS 145

are and how their nature has been long misunderstood will be
further explained in a subsequent chapter, when we come to the
di cussion of Vedic myths. Suffice it to ay for the present that
the legend of Dirghtamas, interpreted as above, is in full accord
with the legend of the Dashagvas who are described as holding
their sacrificial se sion only for ten months.
I have discussed here the meaning of yuga and manu~hd yuga
at some length, because the phrases have been much misunderstood,
in spite of clear passages showing that ' a period of time ' was
intended to be denoted by them. These passages ( V, 52, 4; X,
140, 6 ) establish the fact that mdnusha yuga denoted ' human
ages ', and the association of these ages with the ' first dawn ' ( I,
124, 2; 1, 115, 2) further shews that the length of a yuga was regarded
to be shorter than a year. The mention of the tenth yuga finally
settles the meaning of yuga as ' one month '. That is how I have
arrived at the meaning of these phrases, and I am gtad to find that
I have been anticipated in my conclusions by Prof. Rapg;tcharya of
1\1adras, on different grounds. In his essay on the yugas, * he dis-
cusses the root meanig of yuga, and taking it to denote ' a conjunc-
tion 'observes as follows," The phases of the moon being so readily
observable, it is probable that, as suggested by Professor Weber,
the idea of a period of time known as a yuga and depending upon a
conjunction of certain heavenly bodies, was originally derived from
a knowledge of these phases. The Professor ( Weber ) further
strengthens his supposition by referring to a passage cited in
the Sha~viri:lsha Brahmapa (IV, 6 )t wherein the four yugas are
still designated by their more ancient names and are connected
with the four lunar phases to which they evidently owe their
origin. " Mr. Ra'9gacMrya then refers to darsha, the ancient name
for the conjunction of the sun and moon, and concludes, " There
is also old mythological or other evidence which leads us to
conclude that our forefathers observed many other kinds of
interesting celestial conjunctions; and in all probability the
earliest conception of a yuga meant the period from new moon
to new moon, " that is, one lunar month. The passage stating
that it was the first dawn that set the cycle of manushd yugd

• The, Yugas, or a Question of Hindu Chronology and History, p. rg.
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