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118
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[MAY, 1912.
and that the Såvans year was less than the solar year by 54 days. When these 114 days made a twelfth day, as they would in every fourth year and when the 5 days amounted to 21 days in the course of every four years, the Vedic poets performed their sessional sacrifice on the 12th or the 21st day and counted these days apart under the name of Gavêm-Ayana. Accordingly a Gavam-Ayana of 360 days is equal to 360 X 4 = 1440 years. If, instead of counting the 12th day apart, all the 12 days were counted apart, as the Tapaschits seem to have done, even then the session of 12 years would still be equal to 12 X 360 X 4+ 12 = 1440 years. It is clear that no man can possibly live for 1440 years and perform the sacrifice of so long a session. Similarly, for each day counted by the followers of the Gavam-Ayana, the SAktyas seem to have counted 36 days in every, cycle of four years, and to bave thereby counted 86 years in the course of 1440 years. Clearly, then the performance of all these sessional sacrifices, and the counting of such great periods of years, was the work, not of one man, but of generations consisting of sons, grandsons, and sons of grandsons and others, as stated by the author of the Nidâna-Sutra. It follows, therefore, that Jaimini's interpretation of the 250 twenty-one days' session, or of the one thousand years' session of the Visvasriks, in the sense of a session of 1,000 days, in order to make the performance of all the Bessional sacrifices possible for a single man, is entirely wrong, and quite against ancient tradition as set forth in the Nidana-Satra. Scholars who have been entertaining doubts about the Vedic chronology should pay particular attention to the statement of the author of the Nidana-Sûtra, that these sessional days are all Atirâtra days with no central day, and that, if the Atiratra day or the central day is counted apart seriatim, the desired ascent (lubdho rôhah) in time is secured. This is clear proof that the Vedic poets kept an era of their own in terms of Atiratra days or of central days.
In explaining the above passage, I stated that, corresponding to the celebration of a single day by the followers of the Gavâm-Ayana, others, like the Tapaschits, celebrated twelve intercalary days at the close of every fourth year. This statement requires proof; and that proof is contained in the following passage of the Nidâna-Sutra, IV, 12 :
अथातो गवामयनम्. तदेक एकेनाहाभिविवधते क्योतिष्टोमेन. भयके अतिरात्रचतुर्विधनवाहव्रतातिरात्र इति कृत्वा ज्योतिष्टोमेनैव संस्तृणतिः अयेक गोभायुषी दशरात्रमित्युपाहरति. एतं संवत्सरप्रबह इत्याचक्षते शंखाहतमिति च.
Then as regards the Gavâm-Ayana :
Some celebrate it in one day in the Jyotishtöma way; others spread it also in the Jyotishtôma way over twelve days, of which the first day is an Atiratra day with the recitation of 24 verses, followed by nine days, the day of Maha-Vrata, and a final Atiratra day; some others hold it for twelve days made up of a period of two days termed gô and dyus, and another period of ten days. This period of twelve days they call the growth of the year, and celebrate it by blowing a concbshell."
From the Nidana-Sätra, X, 1, we have learnt that the periods of 12 and 21 days are two intercalary units. From the above passage we have learnt that the session of the Gavam-Ayana may be celebrated in one day, viz., the 12th day or the 21st day, or during all the twelve days. It appears that like the twenty-first day, which is, as we have already seen, the product of four quarter-days at the end of four solar years, the twelfth day is also the product of the same four quarter-days. That it is the product of four quarter-days, seems to be implied in the following passage of the Nidana-Sutra, IX, 6:
भयात एकादशरात्रः एकादशरात्रांताभहीना द्वादशाहप्रभृतीन सत्राणि. किमेकं स्थानमंतरवामिति वैकादशIr a.
