Page 368 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)
P. 368
CHAPTER VIII
THE COWS' WALK
The Pravargya ceremony-Symbolises the reyival of the yearly
sacrifice-Milk representing seed heated in Gh!Zmw or .iJf.d,tiZJba-Man-
tras used on the occasion of pouring milk into it-The two creating the
five, and the ten of Vivasvat-Indicate the death of the year after five
seasons or ten months-The tradition about the sun falling beyond the
sky-Annual Satllas-Their type, the Gav~'in-ayanmn or the Cows' walk-
Lasced for 10 or 12 months according to the Aitareya Bra.hmaQ.a-Two
passages from the Taittir1ya Samhita describing the Gava Am-aj•anam-
Mention ro months' duration of the Sail?'a, but give no reason except
that it was ancient practice-Plainly indicates an ancient sacrificial
year of ten months-Comparison with the old Roman year of ten
months or 30+ days-How the rest of 360 days were desposed of by the
Romans not yet known-They represent a long period of darkness
according to the legend of the Dashagvas-Thus leading to the Arctic
theory-Prof. Max Muller on the threefold nature of cows in the Vedas
-Cows as animals, rain and dawns or days in the Rig-Veda-Ten
months' Cows' walk thus means the ten months' duration of ordinary
days and nigh ts-3 so oxen of Helios-Implies a mght of ten days-The
stealing of Apollon's oxen by Hermes-Cows stolen by Vritra in the
Vedas-Represent the stealing of day-cows thereby causing the long
night-Further sacrificial evidence irom the Vedas-Classification of
the Soma-sacrifices-Difference between Ek,':iul and Ahi11a-A hundred
nightly sacrifices-Annual Sattras like the Gavam-ayauam-Model outline
or scheme of ceremonies therein-Other modifications of the same-All
at present based upon a civil year-But lasted for ten months in ancient
times-~ight-sacrifices now included amongst day-sacrifices-The
reasons why the former extend only over 100 nights is yet une;~:plained
Appropriately accounted for on the Arctic theory-Soma juice extracted
at night in the AtiJ'dfm, or the trans-noctural sacrifice even now-The
analogy applied to other night-sacrifices-Rat1·i satt1·as were the sacrifices
of the long night in ancient times-Their object-Soma libations
exclush-ely of!'ered to Indra to help him in his fight against Vala-
Shat,•-raf?,, represented the maximum duration of long night-Corro-
borated by Aditi's legend of seven months' sunshine-Explains why
Indra was called Shata-kmtu in the Pura~as-The epithet misunderstood
by \'Vestern scholars-Similarity between Soma and Ashyamedha
sacrifices-The epithet Shrua-k1atu unlike other epithets, never paraphras-
ed in the Vedas-Implies that it was peculiar or proper to Indra-Dr.
Haug's view that kratu means a sacrifice in the Vedas-Hundred forts or
