The Arctic Home in the Vedas c12.48.2

c12.48.2

while if the two words are taken separately the meaning would be “on the fortieth, in autumn.” Sâyaṇa and Western scholars have adopted the first construction, and understand the passage to mean, “Indra found Shambara dwelling on the mountains *in the fortieth autumn*, that is, in the fortieth year”; for the words indicating seasons, like *Vasanta* (spring), *Sharad* (autumn), or *Hemanta* (winter), are understood to denote a year, especially when used with a numeral adjective meaning more than one. This construction is grammatically correct, for *chatvârimshyâm* and *sharadi* being both in the feminine gender and in the locative case, the two words can be taken together, and understood to mean “in the fortieth autumn or year.” But what are we to understand by the statement, that Shambara was found in the fortieth year by Indra? Are we to suppose that Indra was engaged in searching out the demon for 40 years, and it was only at the end of this long period that the enemy was, at last, found dwelling on the mountains?