Page:Vedic Mythology.djvu/22
apart'. A similar notion is found in the AB., where it is remarked (2, 17^|8}})
that '1000 days' journey for a horse the heavenly world is distant from here'.
Another Brāhmaṇa states that the heavenly world is as far from this world as 1000 cows standing on each other (PB. 16, 86}; 21, 19).
The air or intermediate space (antariksa) is hardly susceptible of personification. As the region of mists and cloud, it is also called rajas which is described as watery (1, 1245 cp. 5, 852) and is sometimes thought of as dark, when it is spoken of as 'black' (1, 352. 4. 9; 8, 436). The triple subdivision is referred to as the three spaces or rajāmsi (4, 535; 5, 691). The highest is then spoken of as uttama (9, 225), parama (3, 30²), or tṛtiya, the third (9, 746; 10, 45³. 1238), where the waters and Soma are, and the celestial Agni is produced. The two lower spaces are within the range of our perception, but the third belongs to Visņu (7, 99¹ cp. 1, 1555). The latter seems to be the 'mysterious' space once referred to elsewhere (10, 1057). The twofold subdivision of the atmosphere is commoner. Then the lower (upara) or terrestrial (parthiva) is contrasted with the heavenly (divyam or divaḥ) space (1, 625; 4, 53³). The uppermost stratum, as being contiguous with heaven (div) in the twofold as well as the triple division, seems often to be loosely employed as synonymous with heaven in the strict sense. Absolute definiteness or consistency in the statements of different poets or even of the same poet could not reasonably be expected in regard to such matters.
The air being above the earth in the threefold division of the universe, its subdivisions, whether two or three, would naturally have been regarded as above it also; and one verse at least (1, 815 cp. 907) clearly shows that the 'terrestrial space' is in this position. Three passages, however, of the RV. (6, 9; 7, 80¹; 5, 814) have been thought to lend themselves to the. view that the lower atmosphere was conceived as under the earth, to account for the course of the sun during the night. The least indefinite of these three passages (5, 814) is to the effect that Savitṛ, the sun, goes round night on both sides (ubhayatah). This may, however, mean nothing more than that night is enclosed between the limits of sunset and sunrise. At any rate, the view advanced in the AB. (3, 444) as to the sun's course during the night is, that the luminary shines upwards at night, while it turns round so as to shine downwards in the daytime. A similar notion may account for the statement of the RV. that the light which the sun's steeds draw is sometimes bright and sometimes dark (1, 1155), or that the rajas which accompanies the sun to the east is different from the light with which he rises (10, 373).
There being no direct reference to the sun passing below the earth, the balance of probabilities seems to favour the view that the luminary was supposed to return towards the east the way he came, becoming entirely darkened during the return journey. As to what becomes of the stars during the daytime, a doubt is expressed (1, 2410), but no conjecture is made.
The atmosphere is often called a sea (samudra) as the abode of the celestial waters. It is also assimilated to the earth, inasmuch as it has mountains (1, 322 &c.) and seven streams which flow there (1, 32 12 &c.), when the conflict with the demon of drought takes place. Owing to the obvious resemblance the term 'mountain' (parvata) thus very often in the RV. refers to clouds8, the figurative sense being generally clear enough. The word 'rock' (adri) is further regularly used in a mythological sense for 'cloud' as enclosing the cows released by Indra and other gods9.
The rainclouds as containing the waters, as dripping, moving and roaring, are peculiarly liable to theriomorphism as cows10, whose milk is rain.