The Arctic Home in the Vedas c10.17

c10.17

Now so far as my researches go, I have not been able to find any Vedic evidence regarding the duration of the sacrifices performed by Manu, Atharvan, Bhr̥igu or any other ancient sacrificers, except the Aṅgirases. There is an annual *sattra* described in the Shrauta Sūtras, which is called the *Aṅgirasâm-ayanam*, and is said to be a modification of the *Gavâm-ayanam*, the type of all yearly sattras. But we do not find therein any mention of the duration of the *sattra* of the Aṅgirases. The duration of the *Gavâm-ayanam* is, however, given in the Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, and will be discussed in the next chapter. For the present, we confine ourselves to the sattra of the Aṅgirases, and have to see if we can find out other means for determining its duration. Such a means is, fortunately, furnished by the Ṛig-Veda itself. There are two chief species of the Aṅgirases (Aṅgiras-tama), called the Navagvas and the Dashagvas, mentioned in the Ṛig-Veda (X, 62, 5 and 6). These two classes of ancient sacrificers are generally mentioned together, and the facts attributed to the Aṅgirases are also attributed to them. Thus the Navagvas are spoken of as ‘our ancient fathers,’ in VI, 22, 2, and as ‘our fathers’ along with Aṅgirases and Bhṛigu in X, 14, 6. Like the Aṅgirases, the Navagvas are also connected with the myth of Indra overthrowing Vala, and of Saramâ and Paṇis (I, 62, 3 and 4; V, 29, 12; V, 45, 7; X, 108, 8). In one of these Indra is described as having taken their assistance when he rent the rock and Vala (I, 62, 4); and in V, 29, 12, the Navagvas are said to have praised Indra with songs and broken open the firmly closed stall of the cows. But there are only two verses in which the duration of their sacrificial session is mentioned. Thus V, 45, 7 says, “Here, urged by hands, hath loudly rung the press-stone, with which the Navagvas sang (sacrificed) for ten months”; and in the eleventh verse of the same hymn the poet says, “I place upon (offer to) the waters your light-winning prayers wherewith the Navagvas completed their ten months.”¹ In II, 34, 12, we again read, “They, the Dashagvas, brought out (offered) sacrifice first of all. May they favour us at the flashing forth of the dawn”: while in IV, 51, 4,² the Dawns are said “to have dawned richly on the Navagva Aṅgira, and on the seven-mouthed Dashagva,” evidently showing that their sacrifice was connected with the break of the dawn and lasted only for ten months. What the Navagvas or the Dashagvas accomplished by means of their sacrifices is further described in V, 29, 12, which says, “The Navagvas and the Dashagvas, who had offered libations of Soma, praised Indra with songs; labouring (at it) the men laid open the stall of kine though firmly closed;” while in III, 39, 5, we read, “Where the friend (Indra), with the friendly energetic Navagvas, followed up the cows on his knees, there verily with ten Dashagvas did Indra find the sun dwelling in darkness (tamasi kṣiyantam).”¹ In X, 62, 2 and 3, the Aṅgirases, of whom the Dashagvas and the Navagvas were the principal species (Aṅgiras-tama, X, 62, 6), are, however, said to have themselves performed the feat of vanquising Vala, rescuing the cows and bringing out the sun, at the end of the year (pari vatsare Valam abhindan); but it obviously means that they helped Indra in achieving it at the end of the year. Combining all these statements we can easily deduce (1) that the Navagvas and the Dashagvas completed their sacrifices in ten months: (2) that these sacrifices were connected with the early flush of the Dawn; (3) that the sacrificers helped Indra in the rescue of the cows from Vala at the end of the year; and (4) that at the place where Indra went in search for the cows, he discovered the sun “dwelling in darkness.”