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APPENDIX.
(3) Ashva-medha has died out altogether; and the same is the case with aja-medha, notwithstanding the
bécause of the association of the idea of weeping with death, the friends and relation of a dead man having been observed to mourn his loss. They refer to different kinds of vital functions of the soul.
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The eight rasus probably smybolise the specific functions of the eight principal parts of the body, called angas. According to some writers the vasus are emblematic of eight kinds of abodes, namely, (i) heated cosmic bodies, (ii) planets, (iii) atmospheres, (iv) superterrestrial places, (v) suns, (vi) rays of ethereal space, (vii) satellites, and (viii) stars (the Terminology of Vedas, p. 55). They are, however, more likely to be the functions residing in the bodily organs, because they are different manifestations of the energy of the soul. In a passage in the Atharva Veda (see the Terminology of the vedas, p. 54) they are described as different kinds of organic functions; while according to the Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad, the path leading to the discovery of the thirty three gods starts from the akasa in the heart' (the Permanent History of Bharata Varsha, Vol. I. p. 482).
We now come to the Adityas whose number is said to be twelve. It is, however, evident that they have not always been considered so many. According to W. J. Wilkins (see The Hindu Mythology, p. 18):
"This name [Adityas] simply signifies the descendants of Aditi. In one passage in the Rig Veda the names of six are given: Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Varuna, Daksha and Amsa. In another passage they are said to be seven in number, though their names are not given. In a third, eight is the number mentioned; but of the eight sons of Aditi, who were born from her body, she approached the gods with seven, and cast out Marttanda (the eighth)'. As the names of these sons given in different parts of the Vedas do not agree with each other, it is difficult to know who were regarded as Adityas. In the Satapatha Brahmana' and the Puranas the number of the Adityas is increased to twelve."
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"Adityas", says the Bhavishya Purana (see the Permanent History of Bharat Varsha, Vol. I. pp. 481 & 489), " is so named because of his being the adi or first among the Devas." According to certain other writers, Adityas are only the twelve months of a solar year
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