Page 367 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

152 SAMAGRA TILAK - 2 • THE ARCTIC HOME

which followed and at the end of the year, again brought back the
sun " dwelling in darkness " during the period. The whole year of
twelve months was thus made up of' mdnu~hd yugd and continuous
nights,' and, in spite of the fact that the Vedic bards lived later
on in place-s where the sun was above me horizon for twelve months,
the expression "mun~ha yugd and k~hapa~ (nights) " is still
found in the Rig-Veda. It is true that the evidence discussed in
this chapter is mostly legendary; but that does not lessen its impor-
tance in any -way, for it will be seen later on that some of these
traditions are Indo-European in character. The tradition that the
year was regarded by some to have been made up only of five
seasons, or that only. ten horses were yoked to the chariot of the
sun, is again in full accord with the meaning of these legends; and
it will be shown in the next chapter that in the Vedic literature there
are express statements about a sacrificial session of ten months,
which are quite independent of these traditions, and which, there-
fore, independently prove and strengthen the conclusions deduced
from the legends discussed in this chapter.