Page 525 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

306 SAMAGRA TILAK 2 • THE ARCTIC HOME

shine, and the legend of the Dashagvas a sacrificial session, or
a period of sun-shine of ten months. It has also been pointed
out that between the North Pole and the Arctic circle the sun is
above the horizon for any period longer than seven and less than
twelve months according to the latitude of the place. There is,
therefore, nothing strange, extraordinary or inconsistent, if we
get two statements in the A vesta regarding the duration of
summer in the primeval home; and we need not assume that the
commentators have added the statement of seven months summer
simply because the description of two months summer and ten
months winter did not appear to them suitable to the first land
of blessing. It is not possible that they could have misunderstood
the original test in such a way as to suppose that the climatic
conditions introduced by Angra Mainyu were the conditions
which obtained originally in the Airyana Vaejo. We must, the-
refore, reject the explanation which tries to account for this later
insertion on the ground that it was made by persons who regarded
the description in the original as unsuited to the first created happy
land. If the original text is properly read and interpreted, it
gives us a summer of ten months in the Airyana Vaejo before
Angra Mainyu's invasion, and the statement regarding the
summer of seven months refers to the same place and time. We
have the same thing in the :{Ug-Veda where the sun is once
represented as having seven rays and once as having ten rays,
meaning seven months and ten months of sun-shine both of
which are possible only in the Arctic regions. The two Avestic
traditions stated above must, therefore, be taken to represent
the Arctic climatic conditions prevailing in the ancient home
in the far north; and the correctness of the explanation is
proved by the discussion in the foregoing chapters. With
regard to the custom of kindling a fire on the ninth day of Din
or the tenth month, noticed in the Bundahish, it seems to me
that instead of taking ' it to be an indication that winter " has
come, " it is better to trace its origin to the commencement of
winter at that time in some part of the original home; for if a
fire is to be kindled there is greater propriety in kindling it to
commemorate the commencement of winter rather than the
expiry of two out of five winter months. If the custom
is so interpreted, it will imply that a year of nine months and,
ten days was once prevalent in some part of the Aryan home,