The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c8.87

v1.c8.87

The limitations of the Rigveda have been ascribed by Hillebrandt¹⁴ to the existence in the period of that text of a ritual distinction of fundamental importance, that between the Devayāna, the period when the gods are worshipped, and the Pitṛyāṇa, the period when the Fathers are revered. The former is the time when the sun is in the constellations in the north, and the moon in those to the south, while the reverse is the time of the Pitṛyāṇa, the distinction being marked in the mythology by the flight of the god Agni, possibly a reflection of the disappearance of the sun in the darkness of winter. The Rigveda, on this view, would represent the worship of the Devayāna; its exclusive character would be merely apparent. Unfortunately the suggestion is open to two fatal objections. It is not in accord with tradition which does not thus connect the Rigveda with the ceremonies of the Devayāna or the Uttarāyaṇa,¹ with which Hillebrandt, without warrant, identifies that term, and, as a matter of fact, the Rigveda does contain, along with other matter not appropriate to its supposed purpose, a most important section of hymns dealing with the worship of the Fathers. We find, indeed, once more that only as a historical rather than a liturgical collection is the condition of the Rigveda logically explicable.