________________
DROEMBER, 1912.1
THE ADITYAS
295
must mean an ordinary month or days. Accordingly, we may interpret the conflict between the Devas and the Asuras as denoting some inconsistency between the ordinary and the intercalary months. That the words, Déva, Asura, and Prajd, have such meanings as the above, is confirmed by the above passage : We are told in the passage that Prajapati or Father Time repelled the Asuras by means of the Châturmâsyas, a period of four intercalary months, as pointed out above-and that having done so, he created children. This evidently means that Prajapati got rid of the extra months by intercalating four months in ten years, and, adjusting thereby the lunar to the sidereal year, brought the seasons and days to their usnal position which was four months behind before intercalation. We also learn that Indra is a god of an intercalary month, and that the oft-repeated destraction of Vpitra by Indra is an act of getting rid of the sinful and demon-like intercalary months through the worship of Indra and other gods; for we are told in the passage that Indra killed Vțitra by tho Sakamedha, or the sacrifice performed during the third period of the four intercalary months, i. e., at the end of 30 or 60 years.
From a consideration of the passage explained above, we learn that Prajapati is Father Time, that his children are the ordinary days of the year, that the Aguras are the sinful intercalary months, and that Indra is a god of an intercalary month. We know from the story of Aditi that Indra is one of her sons. Accordingly, we may take Aditi to mean the cycle of five luni-solar years, bringing forth Indra periodically along with her other sons. The other sons also must necessarily be the gods of intercalary months. This idea is, as clearly as the sacrificial terminology of the poets could permit, conveyed in the following passage of the Maitriyankya Samita (L.6,12):
यस्या राज्याः प्रातरानमाधास्यमानः स्यात्तां रात्री चतुशरावमोदन पक्का ब्राह्मणेभ्यो जीवतण्डलमिवोपहरेन. भदिति प्रजाकांमौदनमपचन्. सोशिष्टमाश्नातू. तस्या धाता चार्यमा चाजायेता. सापरमपचन्. सोशिष्टमाइनात्. सस्या मित्रश्च वरुणश्चाजायेताम्. सापरपपचत्. सोशिष्टमाइनात्. तस्या अशश्च भगवाजायेताम्. सापरमपचत्. सैक्षसोशिष्टं मेऽइनत्या द्वौ द्वौ जायेते. इतो नूनं मे श्रेयः स्याह्यत्पुरस्तादश्नीयामिति सा पुरस्तादशित्वोपाहरत. ता अंतरेव गर्भः संता भवताम् इव भविष्यावो यदादित्या इति. तस्योः आदित्या निर्हतारमैधन. ता अंशश्च भगव निरहताम् . तस्मादेती यझेन यजते. अंशमासोंऽशस्य भागधेयं जनं भगोऽगधत्. तस्मादाहुर्जनो गंतव्यः तत्र भगेन संगधत्ता इति. स वा इंद्र ऊर्ध्व एव प्राणमनूतयत मृतमितरमाण्डमवापयत. स वाव मार्ताण्डो यस्येमे मनुष्याः प्रजा. सा वा भरिति
रादित्यानपाधावत. अस्त्वेव म इमाम इदं मोघे परापप्तरिति. ते ऽब्रुवन् अषोऽस्माकमेव प्रवाते न नोऽतिमन्यता इति ६ स वाव विवस्वानादित्यो यस्य मनुश्च वैवस्वती यमश्च. मनुरेवास्मिल्लोके यमोऽमुष्मिन् एते वै देवयानान्पयो गोपायंति
यदादित्याः त इयक्षमाण प्रतितुदंते. यो वा एतेभ्योऽमोच्याग्निमाधत्ते तमेते स्वर्गाल्लोकात्प्रतिनुदंता उशिष्टभागा पा
आदित्याः यदुशिष्टे विवर्तयित्वा समिध आवधाति तदादित्येभ्योऽग्न्याधेयं प्राह. नैनं स्वर्गाल्लोकात्प्रतिनुदंते. संवत्सरमुत्सृजेताग्निमाधास्यमानो नास्याग्निं गृहाद्धरेयुर्नान्यता आहरेयुः संवत्सरे वृद्धा गर्भाःप्रजायते प्रजातमने बजुमाधत्ते. बादश रातीरुत्सृजेत द्वादश वै रावयः संवत्सरस्य प्रतिमा, संवत्सर वृद्धा गर्भाः प्रजायंते प्रजातमेनं खुजुमाधत्ते तिस उत्सृजेत. त्रयो वा इमे लोकाः इमानेव लोकानाप्नोति. एकामृस्मृजेत एको वै प्रजापतिः.
I.S. I, 8, 12. * During that night on the morrow of which he is going to set up the sacred fire, he should cook four dishes of rice and present them to Brâhtians as fresh rice. Desirous of getting children, Aditi cooked the rice. She ate the remnant of what remained after the gods parlook of the dish). Two sons, Dba tâ and Aryama, were in consequence born of her. She cooked another dish), and ate the remnant. Two sons, Mitra and Varuņa, were in consequence born of her. She cooked another (dish), and ate the remnant. Two sons, Amsa and Bhaga, were in consequence born on her. She cooked another (dish). She thought that in consequence of her eating the remnant, two
