The Arctic Home in the Vedas c14.27

c14.27

It may be observed at the outset that the river Vanguhi is not mentioned in the Fargard along with the Airyana Vaêjo. The original verse speaks only of the "good dâitya of Airyana Vaêjo," but it is doubtful if "dâitya" denotes a river in this place. The Zend phrase *Airyanem Vaêjô vanghuyâô dâityayô*, which Darmesteter translates as "the Airyana Vaêjo, by the good (*vanghuhi*) river Dâitya," is understood by Spiegel to mean "the Airyana Vaêjo of the good creation," while Haug takes it as equivalent to "the Airyana Vaêjo of good capability." It is therefore, doubtful if the Dâitya river is mentioned along with the Airyana Vaêjo in this passage.¹ But even supposing that Darmesteter’s rendering is correct, he gives us no authority for identifying Dâitya with Vanguhi. The Bundahish (XX, 7 and 13) mentions Vêh (Vanguhi) and Dâtîk (Dâitya) as *two* distinct rivers, though both seem to be located in the Aîrân-vêj (Airyana Vaêjo). We cannot again lose sight of the fact that it is not the Vanguhi (Vêh) alone that flows through the Airyana Vaêjo, but that the Rangha (Arag) has the same source and flows through the same land, *viz.*, the Airyana Vaêjo. Thus in the very beginning of Chapter XX of the Bundahish, we read that the Arag and the Vêh are the chief of the eighteen rivers, and that they "flow forth from the north, part from Albûrz and part from the Albûrz of Auhar-mazd; one towards the west, that is the Arag; and one towards the east, that is the Vêh river." The Bundahish (VII, 15) further informs us that the Vêh river flows out from the same source as the Arag river, and Dr. West in a footnote observes that both these rivers flow out from "the north side of the Arêdvîvsûr (Ardvi Sûra Anâhita) fountain of the sea, which is said to be on the lofty Hûgar (Hukairya), a portion of Albûrz." Even according to Bundahish, the Vanguhi is, therefore, the eastern and the Rangha the western river, in the northern part of Albûrz; or, in other words, they represent two rivers in a country, situated in the north, one flowing towards the east, and one to the west, in that region. It would, therefore, be, to say the least, unsafe to infer from this that the Airyana Vaêjo represents the easternmost country, because the name Vêh or Vanguhi was in later times attached to the easternmost river in Irân. For by parity of reasoning, we can as well place the Airyana Vaêjo in the far west, in as much as the name Arag or Rangha was given, as stated by Darmesteter himself, in later times to the western-most river.