Page 470 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

VEDIC MYTHS - THE MATUTINAL DEITIES 251'
Bhujyu wa' plunged, and which he crossed without distress by
means of the boats graciously provided by the Ashvins. In the
Atharva Veda X, 8, 9, a bowl with mouth inclined or downwards
( tiryag-bilal;t ), and bottom upwards ( urtfhva-budhnal] ) is ·said
to hold within it every form of glory; and there seven ~i.his,
who have been this Migthty One's protectors, are described as
sitting together.* The verse occurs also in the B#th. An~. Up.
II, 3, 3, with the variant arvdg-bila~ ( with its mouth downwards )
for tiryag-bilal], ( with its mouth inclined ) of the Atharva Veda.
Yaska ( Nir. XII, 38 ) quotes the verse and gives two interpre-
tations of the same, in one of which the seven Ri~his are taken
to represent the seven rays of the sun, and the bowl the vault
above; while in the second the bowl is said to represent the
human head with its concave cup-like palate in the mouth. But
it seems to me more probable that the description refers to the
nether world rather than to the vault above or to the concave
human palate. The glory referred to is the same as the Hvareno
of the Parsi scriptures. In the Zamyad Yasht, this H varen6 or
Glory is said to have thrice departed from Yima and was re•
stored to him once by Mithra, once by Thraetaona who smote
Azi Dahaka, and finally by Keresaspa and Atar, who defeated
Azi Dahaka. The fight took place in the sea Vouru-Kasha in
the bottom of the deep river, and we have seen that this must be
taken to mean the world-surrounding Okeanos. The Hvaren6
( Sans. swar ) or Glory is properly the light, and one who poss-
essed it reigned supreme and one who lost it fell down. Thus
!' when Yima lost his Glory he perished and Azi Dahaka reign-
ed; as when light disappears, the fiend rules supreme. "t It may
also be noticed that amongst the persons to whom the glory be-
longed in ancient days are mentioned the seven Amesha Spentas,
all of one thought, one speech and one deed. We have thus a
very close resemblance between the glory said to have been plac·
ed in bowl with bottom up and guarded by the seven ~i~his in
the Vedas and the Hvaren6 or the glory mentioned in the Avesta,
which once belonged to the seven Amesha Spentas and which
thrice went away from Yima and had to be restored to him by

• See Atharva Veda, X, 8, 9-~~ i3i"'~~1:.<reff~~ ~
fcf~ I ~ ~: trn ffi'!i lt awi ~ ;mft ~: II
t SeeS. B. E. Series, Vol IV, lntrod., p. lxiii.