Page 428 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

'VEDIC MYTHS-THE CAPTIVE WATERS 209

to the rain-cloud. The words parvata, giri and the like are used to
denote the place where the waters were confined, and iipafz or
sindhus, to denote the waters themselves. OW apafz, Or waters
generally, are mentioned in a number of place in the ~ig-Veda,
and the word in many places denote the celestial or aerial waters.
Thus we are told that they follow the path of the gods, and are to
be found beside the sun, who is with them ( I, 23, 17 ). In VII,
49, 2, we have an express statement that there are waters, which
are celestial ( divyii{z apafz ), and also those that flow in earthly
channels ( khamitrimah ), thu clearly distinguishing between
terrestrial and celestial waters. In the same verse they are said to
have the sea or the ocean for the goal; and jn VITI, 69, 12, the
seven rivers are said to flow into the jaws of Varu~a as into a
surging abyss. Varu~a again is described a the god, who, like
Indra, makes the rivers flow (II, 28, 4 ); and we have seen that the
sage Dirghatamas is said to have been borne on the waters wending
to their goal (I, 158, 6 ). But it is needless to cite more authorities
on this point, for scholars are agreed that both celestial and
terrestrial waters are mentioned in the ~ig-Veda. The nature, the
character, or the movements of celestial waters appear, however,
to be very imperfectly understood; and this is the sole reason why
scholars have not yet been able to connect the release of the
waters with the recovery of the dawn in the V~tra legend. It seems
to have been supposed that when the ~ig-Veda speaks of the
celestial waters ( divyafz dpafz) only the rain-waters are intended.
But this is a mistake; for in passages which speak of the creation
of the world (X, 82, 6; 129, 3 ), the world is said to have once
consisted of nothing but undifferentiated waters. In short, the
"({ig-Veda, like the Hebrew Testament, expressly states that the
world was originally full of waters, and that there were the waters
in the firmament above and waters below. The Shatapatha Bni.hma11a
(XI, 1, 6, 1 ), the Aitareya Upani~had (I, 1) and Manu (I, 9 ), all say
that the world was created from watery vapours. There can, there-
fore, be no doubt that the idea of celestial waters was well-known
to the ancestors of the Vedic bards in early days; and as the celestial
:waters were conceived to be the material out of which the universe
was created, it .is probable that the Vedic ba,-ds understood by the
phrase what the modern scientist now understand by ' ether ' or
' the nebulous mass of matter ' that fills all the space in the universe.
We need not, however, go so far. [t is enough for our purpose tO'
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