The Orion, or Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas c9.11

c9.11

I have in what has gone above presumed that the asterism of Mrigashiras must be looked for in the constellation of Orion, and that the legends of Rudra and Prajâpati refer to this constellation. Some scholars, however, doubt the correctness of this assumption; and so far as absolute certainty is concerned their doubts may be justifiable. For, Vedic hymns were not committed to paper till a long time after they were sung, and there is of course no possibility of finding therein a photograph of the portion of the heavens referred to in the various hymns. All that we can, therefore, do is to weigh the probabilities of the proposed identifications; and if this course be adopted I do not think any reasonable doubts could be entertained about the identification of Mrigashiras with the constellation of Orion. To quote the words of Prof.