The Arctic Home in the Vedas c11.49.3

c11.49.3

our sacrificial performance (kratum) through, just as a father does to his sons, (by assisting them). Teach us, O thou, who art invoked by many, that we may, in this turn (of the night), reach alive the (sphere of) light (jyotis),”¹ the prayer in all probability refers to the sacrificial performance (kratu) held for the purpose of enabling the sacrificers to safely reach the other end of the night. In fact, it refers to the Ati-râtra sacrifice and the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa (IV, 10) quotes and interprets it in the same way. Sâyaṇa, in his commentary on the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, though not in the Ṛig-Veda Bhâṣya, also takes the same view; and as the Ati-râtra sacrifice is referred to expressly by its name in the Ṛig-Veda (VII, 103, 7) it is not at all unlikely that a verse referring to this Soma sacrifice should occur in other hymns. Hence if there are passages where kratu can be taken to mean ‘a sacrifice,’ there is no reason why the epithet shata-kratu be not understood to mean “the master of a hundred sacrifices” as suggested by the Purâṇic tradition. Another fact which favours this interpretation, is that in the Ṛig-Veda Indra is described as destroying 90, 99 or 100 fortresses or cities (puraḥ) of his enemies (I, 130 7; II, 19, 6; VI, 31, 4; II, 14, 6). Now deva-puraḥ, which means ‘the fortresses of the gods,’ has been² interpreted to mean ‘days’ in the description of the dasha-râtra sacrifice in the Taittirîya Saṃhitâ VII, 2, 5, 3-4;