Page 66 - Lokmanya Tilak Samagra (khand 2)

" " 53
AGllAHAYANA

ing the Philgunt full-moon to be the new-year's night are incon-
sistent with SAyal].a's explanation. We must therefore look for
some other solution.
But if Sayai,.a's explanation cannot be accepted at least with
respect to the Phalgunt night, how are we to interpret the several
passages in the Satp.hita and the BrahmaQas given above ? We
cannot suppose that the Phalgunt full-moon commenced the year
at the vernal equinox; for then we shall have to place the vernal
equinox in Uttara Bbadrapada, which to render possible in the
pre-Kfittika period we must go back to something like 20,000 B. C.
The only other alternative is to make the full-moon commence the
year, at the winter solstice, and from the fact that the Maght, the
Phllgunt and the Chaitrt full-moons are mentioned together in
the same passage of the Taittinya Satp.hita, and for the same pur-
pose, I conclude that this is the real meaning of the passage in the
Taittirtya S&lp.hita and those in the Brahma:Qas. It is the most
natural and reasonable interpretation of the passage and I find that
Bhlskara Bhatta, who is older than SayaQa fully adopts this view
in his Bhashya o,n the Taittirtya Satp.hita. • I have however
devoted so much space to the discussion of Sayal].a's explanation
as the high authority of that scholar is likely to mislead us in the
interpretation of the passage. The Bhiishya of Bhaskara Bhatta
fully shows that Saya:Qa is not here following any -older tradition
add the reasons given by him for explaining the position assigned

• A MS. of Bhlskara Bha~~a's Bhlshya on the Taittiriya Sa~hitA
has been recently discovered at Mysore and through the kindness of Sir
Sheshldri Iyar, the Dewan of Mysore, I have been able to procure a
copy of the Bhishya on the passage here discussed. Bhdskara Bha~~a
after commenting on the first part of the passage which states that the
sacrifice should be .commenced on the Ekash taka 'iay, makes the follow-
ing observation as regards the alternatiYe n~xt propooed :- 'll;cf ~rR•H
qeyT6'{ qf{~O(Iftt 'W!f~ ~~~ I lffl~r~f ~:q;: ~+rr~: 'M~it1~l1l~: I ~
~ ~ I ar;r ~~~: ~~~: ~ ,ftr I 6'~ ~~ Q;Cf ijCJ~ qf{~ <ti!l:lT
fi6'l llCJRr I As regards the third alternative proposed in the text, viz.
the Chitra full-moon Bhaskara Bhatta obserYes further on :- 016''
- ~iffl ~~ ~~~;·~: 6~ ~fu ~ ~ 6'~
~~«I Finally Bhlskara llha!~a follows Jaimini and Shabara in the
interpretation of the passage and concludes by observing the best
time for the sacrifice is 4 days previous to the full-moon in MAgha.