The Arctic Home in the Vedas c10.42

c10.42

There are many other passages in the Ṛig-Veda which support the same view. But mânuṣhâ yugâ being everywhere interpreted by Western scholars to mean ‘human generations or tribes,’ the real meaning of these passages has become obscure and unintelligible. Thus in VIII, 46, 12, we have “All (sacrificers), with ladles lifted, invoke that mighty Indra for *mânushâ yugâ*”; and the meaning evidently is that Soma libations were offered to Indra during the period of human ages. But taking *mânushâ yugâ* to denote ‘human tribes,’ Griffith translates “All races of mankind invoke &c.,” a rendering, which, though intelligible, does not convey the spirit of the original. Similarly, Agni is said to shine during ‘human ages’ in VII, 9, 4. But there too the meaning ‘human tribes’ is unnecessarily foisted upon the phrase. The most striking illustration of the impropriety of interpreting *yuga* to mean ‘a generation’ is, however, furnished by Rig. II, 2, 2. Here Agni is said to shine for *mânushâ yugâ* and *kshapah*. Now *kshapah* means ‘nights’ and the most natural interpretation would be to take *mânushâ yugâ* and *kshapah* as allied expressions denoting a period of time. The verse will then mean:—“O Agni! thou shinest during human ages and nights.” It is necessary to mention ‘nights,’ because though *mânushâ yugâ* is a period of sunshine, including a long day and a succession of ordinary days and nights, yet the long or the continuous night which followed *mânushâ yugâ* could not have been included in the latter phrase. Therefore, when the whole period of the solar year was intended, a compound expression like “*mânushâ yugâ* and the continuous nights,” was necessary, and that is the meaning of the phrase in II, 2, 2. But Prof. Oldenberg,¹ following Max Muller, translates as follows, “O Agni! thou shinest on human tribes, on continuous nights.” Here, in the first place, it is difficult to understand what ‘shining on human tribes’ means; and secondly if *kshapah* means ‘continuous nights,' it could mean nothing except 'the long continuous night,' and if so, why not take mânuṣhâ yugâ to represent the period of the solar year, which remains after the long night is excluded from it? As observed by me before, Prof. Max Muller has correctly translated kṣhapaḥ by 'continuous nights,' but has missed the true meaning of the expression mânuṣhâ yugâ in this place. A similar mistake has been committed with respect to IV, 16, 19, where the expression is kṣhapaḥ madema śaradas cha pûrvîḥ. Here, in spite of the accent, Max Muller takes kṣhapaḥ as accusative and so does Sâyaṇa. But Sâyaṇa correctly interprets the expression as "May we rejoice for many autumns (seasons) and nights." 'Seasons and nights' is a compound phrase, and the particle cha becomes unmeaning if we split it up and take nights (kṣhapaḥ) with one verb, and seasons (śaradaḥ) with another. Of course so long as the Arctic theory was unknown the phrase 'seasons and nights' or 'mânuṣhâ yugâ and nights' was unintelligible, inasmuch as nights were included in the seasons or the yugas. But Prof. Max Muller has himself suggested the solution of the difficulty by interpreting kṣhapaḥ as 'continuous nights' in II, 2, 2; and adopting this rendering, we can, with greater propriety, take seasons and nights together, as indicated by the particle cha, and understand the expression to mean a complete solar year including the long night. The addition of kṣhapaḥ to mânuṣhâ yugâ, therefore, further supports the conclusion that the phrase indicated a period of sunshine as stated above. There are many other passages in translating which unnecessary confusion or obscurity has been caused by taking mânuṣhâ yugâ to mean human tribes; but a discussion of these is not relevant to the subject in hand.