Role
The Atharva Veda consisting mostly of magic incantations also contain calendaric references, but we shall make only occasional use of them, as the text of this Veda has not probably come to us in unadulterated form, for the Atharva Veda was not regarded as holy as the Rg-Veda.
Of the two other Vedas, the Sama-Vedas contain no new matter than what is contained in the Rg-Veda. But there are copious calendaric reference in the Yajurveda for obvious reasons, which are clearly brought out in the following extracts from Winternitz’s introductry remarks to Yajurvedic studies (p. 158-159) :
“The two Samhitās (Rk and Atharva) which have so far been discussed have in common the fact that they were not compiled for special liturgical purposes. Although most of the hymns of the Rg-Veda could be, and actually were used for sacrificial purposes, and although the songs and spells of the Atharvaveda were almost throughout employed for ritualistic and magic purposes, yet the collection and arrangement of the hymns in these Samhitās have nothing to do with the various liturgical and ritualistic purposes. The hymns were collected for their own sake and arranged and placed in both these collections, with regard to their supposed authors or the singer-schools to which they belonged, partly also according to their contents and still more their external form - number of verses and such like. They are as we may say, collections of songs which pursue a literary object.
It is quite different with the Samhitās of the two other Vedas, the Sāmaveda and the Yajurveda. In these collections we find the songs, verses, and benedictions arranged according to their practical purposes, in exactly the order in which they were used at the sacrifice. These are, in fact, nothing more than prayer-books and song-books for the practical use of certain sacrificial priests - not indeed written books, but texts, which existed only in the heads of teachers and priests and were preserved by means of oral teaching and learning in the priests’ schools.
The Yajurvedas were compiled for the use of the Adhvaryu priest “Executor of the Sacrifice” who performs all the sacrificial acts, and at the same time uttering prose prayers and sacrificial formulae (Yajus). They are the liturgical Satṁhitas, and prayer books of the priests.
Branches
There are two schools of the Yajurveda Sathith each with a number of recensions as shown below:
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- The Black Yajurveda School, with the following recensions :
- (A) The Kaṭhaka
- (B) The Kapiṣṭhala-Kaṭha-Saṁhita, which is preserved only in a few fragments of manuscript.
- (c) The Maitriyaṇī-Saṁhitā - shortly called M. S.
- (d) The ‘Taittiriys-Bahiti, also called “Apatamba Saṁhitā” after the Apostamba-School, one of the chief schools in which this text was taught - shortly called T. S.
- These four recensions are closely inter-related, and are designated As belonging to the “Black Yajurveda”. Differing from them is the White Yajurveda which is known as śukla Yajurveda.
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- The Vajnaneyi-Saṁhita shortly called V. S. which takes its name from yājṇavalkya Vājasaneya, the chief teacher of this Veda. Of this Vājasaneyī-Saṁhitā there are two recensions, that of the kāṇva and that of the Madhyandina-school, which however differ very little from each other.
Winternitz gives reasons to believe that the Saṁhitas of the Black Yajurveda school are older than those of the White school.
Even such a conservative thinker as Berriedale Keith gives 600 B.C. as the terminus ad quem for the verses of the Yajurveda Saṁhita. As we shall see, there are references which point to a much earlier origin.
Months and lunar mansions
The Yajur Veda gives the names of twelve months and the names of the lunar mansions with their presiding deities, and talks of the sun’s northernly and southernly motion. We do not give the texts here, but only Dr. Berriedale Keith’s translation.
Taittiriya Saṁhita, 4.4.11
- (a) (Ye are) Madhu and Madhava, the months of Spring.
- (b) (Ye are) Sukra and Suci, the months of Summer.
- (c) (Ye are) Nabha and Nabhasya, the months of Rain.
- (d) (Ye are) Isa and Orja, the months of Autumn.
- (e) (Ye are) Sahas and Sahasya, the months of (Early) Winter (Hemanta).
- (f) (Ye are) Tapas and Tapasya, the months of cool season.
The month-names which are given here and repeated in many other verses of the Yajur Veda have been interpreted by all authorities to be tropical. Further this is probably the earliest mention of month names in Indian literature ; these names are no longer in use, and have been replaced by lunar month-names (Castra, Vaiśākha, etc.) which are, however, found at a later stage.
Madhu and Madhava have been taken in later literature to correspond to the time-period when the sun moves from -30° to 30° along the ecliptic, and so on for the other months. But we have no reason to believe that the Yajurvedic priests had developed such a fine mathematical sense of seasonal definition. But it is almost certain that they must have developed some method of observing the cardinal points of the sun’s yearly course, viz., the two solstices and the equinoxes. From these observations, they must have counted that the number of days in a year was 366 in round numbers.
ayana-s
The Yajur-Veda speaks in many places of the Uttarāyaṇa, the northernly course of the sun from winter solstice to summer solstice and the Dakṣiṇāyana or the southernly course from summer solstice to winter solstice and the Viṣuvān, or the equinoctial point. The ayanas or courses must have received their designation from daily notings of sunrise on the eastern horizon. The year-long observation of shadows cast by a gnomon, of which we have evidences, may have formed an alternative method for fixing up the solstitial days, and the cardinal points on the horizon, (vide Appendix 5-C), where some passages from the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa attached to the Rg-Veda are stated in favour of the view that the cardinal points were observed by means of the gnomon.
Once they learnt to anticipate the cardinal days, determination of the month-beginnings marking seasons would not be difficult. The Madhu-month (the first month of spring) would begin 30 or 31 days before the vernal equinox day or 61 days after the winter solstice day, and the Madhava month on the day after the equinoctial day and so on. Average length of 30.5 days (366/12) would be given to each month, or 30 and 31 days to the two months forming a season.
The Nakshatras
One of the peculiar features of the Indian calendars is the use of the Nakṣatras as explained in § 4.1. Evidences have been given that the custom started from Rg-Vedic times. But we come across a full list of Nakṣatras only in the Yajurveda with names of presiding deities as given in Table No. 10 (p. 220 ), taken from Dikṣit’s Bharatīya Jyotiśāstra.
There are several points to be noticed in this list, which may be compared with the list given on p. 210.
First, the nakṣatras start with Krttikās which all authorities identify with the conspicuous group Pleiades. What is the significance of this?
At the present times, the nakṣatras start with Aśvinī, of which the junction star is α or β Arietis. This custom, Aśvinyādi, was introduced in Siddhānta Jyotiṣa time ( 500 A.D.), when the astronomical first point of Aries was near the end of the Revati nakṣatra ( ζ Piscium ), or the beginning of Aśvinī. We do not enter into the controversy about the exact location of this point by the Siddhānta astronomers, which is fully discussed in Appendix 5-B. At present, the astronomical first point had shifted by as much as 19° from ζ Piscium, but the orthodox Indian calendar makers do not admit in the continued precession of the equinoxes, and still count the nakṣatras from Aśvinī.
In all older literatures, on the other hand, including the great epic Mahābhārata, whose composition or compilation may be dated about 400 B.C., the first nakṣatra is Krttikā. It therefore stands to reason to assume that at one time, when the nakṣatra enumeration started, the Pleiades were close to the astronomical first point of Aries, or rose near the true east. This is implied in the following verse which S. B. Dikṣit picked out of the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa :
śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, 2.1.2. Ekam dve triṇi catvārīti vā anyāni nakṣatrāṇy athaitā eva bhūyiṣṭhā yat kr̥ttikā…. Etā ha vai prācyai diśo na cyavante. Sarvāṇi ha vã anyāni nakṣatraṇi prācyai diśaś cyavante.
Translation :–Other nakṣatras have one, two, three or four ( stars ) only ; these Krttikās have many ( stars )… They do not deviate from the east; all other nakṣatras deviate from the east.
The names as given in this list are somewhat different from those now adopted, which have come into vogue since 500 A.D.; for example, we have :
- No. 6 Tiṣya for Puṣya
- No. 16 Rohiṇī for Jyeṣṭhā ( There are thus two Rohinis, No. 2, and No. 16).
- No. 17 Vicr̥tau for Mula
- No. 20 Sroṇā for śravaṇa
- No. 21 Śravistha for Dhaniṣtha
- No. 23 Proṣthapada for Bhādrapada
- No. 26 Aśvajuya for Aśvinī
- No. 27 Apabharaṇī for bharaṇī .
The more important question is whether the lunar mansions denote definite clusters of stars, or the nakṣatra-divisions of later times amounting to 13° 20’ Or 800 minutes ? This point has been discussed in § 4.1.
The Lunar Month-Names
The solar month-names given earlier have not gone into general currency. The month-names generally used are of lunar origin as given in § 5.7. These names are first found in the Taittiriya Saṁhita 7.4.8, and in many other places of the Yajur-Veda literature, but in a somewhat different form. We quote parts of the passage.
सत्रँ॒व्व॒थ्स॒रस्य॒ यत् फ॑ल्गुनीपूर्णमा॒सः ।
मु॒ख॒त ए॒व सँ॑व्वथ्स॒रम् आ॒रभ्य॑ दीख्षन्ते ।
तस्यैकै॒व नि॒र्या यथ् साम्मे᳚घ्ये विषू॒वान्थ् स॒म्पद्य॑ते । चि॒त्रा॒पू॒र्ण॒मा॒से दी᳚ख्षेरन् ।
मुखँ॒व् वा ए॒तथ्सँ॑व्वथ्स॒रस्य॒ यच् चि॑त्रापूर्णमा॒सः । मु॒ख॒त ए॒व सँ॑व्वथ्स॒रम् आ॒रभ्य॑ दीख्षन्ते ।
Translation :–One should get consecrated on the Phalguni full-moon day because Phalguna full moon is the “mouth” of the year. Hence, ( such people ) are taken as consecrated from the very beginning of the year. But such people have to accept one ’niryā’ ( draw back ), viz., that the Viṣuvān occurs in the cloudly season ( sammeghya ). Hence, one should consecrate on the Citrā full-moon day +++(ie a month later)+++. The Citrā full moon month is the mouth of the year.
From these passages, we learn that the lunar month came gradually. The ancient Indians reckoned by the pakṣa or the fortnight, and distinguished the closing full moon day of the pakṣa by the nakṣatra where the moon was full. Thus Phālguni Paurṇamāsi is that full moon when the moon gets full near the Uttara Phalguni star (β Leonis ), one of the lunar mansions. Caitrī Paurṇamāsī is that full moon, when the moon gets full near the Citrā star (α Virginis ), which is the 14th lunar mansion. Later, as the months were always full-moon ending, the word paurṇamāsi was dropped, and, e.g., the first part of Caitra-Paurnamāsi, i.e., Caitra became the lunar month-name. The above passage says that the Phālguna Paurnamāsi was regarded as the last day of the year and less frequently the Caitra Paurṇamāsi. This system still continues, and the first lunar month Caitra of the lunar year begins on the day after Phalguni Paurṇamāsi.
There are twenty-seven nakṣatras and so only 12 can be selected for lunar month-names.
The twelve names which we have got are :
- Caitra from Citra (No. 14)
- Vaiśākha Visakhā ( 16)
- Jyaiṣtha Jyeṣtha ( 18)
- Aṣadha Āṣadha ( 20 & 21 )
- śravaṇa Śravaṇa ( 22 )
- Bhadra Bhādrapada (25 & 26 )
- Asvina Asvinī (1)
- Kartika Kr̥ttikā (3)
- Margaśirṣa Msgaśiras (5)
- Pauṣa Puṣya ( 8)
- Māgha Magha ( 10 )
- Phālguna Phalgunī (11 & 12)
Of course, full moon takes place by turn in all the nakṣatras. But only 12 at approximately equal intervals could be selected. But we have too Rauhiṇya paurṇamāsī etc. the pakṣa when the moon becomes full near Rohini, or Aldebaran ( lunar mansion No. 4). But Rauhinya’ was not selected for the name of a lunar month, because it was too near Kr̥ttikā-Paurṇa-māsī.
Tithi
‘Tithi’ or ‘Lunar Day’ is a very important conception in Hindu astronomy, for holidays are always dated by the tithi. According to Siddhāntic definition, a tithi is completed when the moon is ahead of the sun by 12°, or integral multiples of 12° ( vide § 5.7).
Thus the first tithi ( Pratipada, lit, when the moon is regenerated ) in the waxing half starts when the moon is in conjunction with the sun, and ends when she has gone ahead of the sun by 12°, when the second tithi of the waxing moon begins. The tithis are numbered ordinally from 1 to 15, the end of the fifteenth tithi being full-moon. Then begins the tithis of the waning moon, numbered from 1 to 15, the end of the 15th tithi being the new-moon. There are thirty tithis in a lunar month, and though the average duration is less than a solar day, being 23.62 hours, the length of individual tithis may vary from 26.8 to 20.0 hours, on account of irregularity in the moon’s motion +++(due to ecliptic orbit)+++.
This is the definition of the tithi given in Siddhāntas or scientific astronomy which started about 400 A.D. But this presupposes knowledge of measurement of angles, and precise scientific observation, of which we find no trace in the Vedic literature. What was then the origin of this system ?
We have no reference to tithi in the Rg-Veda. The first reference is found in Yajurvedic literature, and the Brāhmaṇas. The Taittiriya Saṁhita talks of the pancadasi tithi, which shows that the lunar pakṣa was divided into 15 tithis, counted by ordinal numbers from 1 to 15 for each pakṣa. But what was the time period meant by a tithi ? The Aitareya Brāhmaṇa attached to the Rg-Veda gives the following definition of the tithi.
Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, 32.10 - Yām paryastam iyad abhyudiyād iti sā tithih.
The tithi is that time-period about which the moon sets or rises.
This has been interpreted by Prof. P. C. Sengupta as follows:
During the waxing moon ( śukla pakṣa ), the tithi was reckoned from moon-set to moon-set; and during the waning moon ( kr̥ṣna pakṣa ), the tithi was reckoned from moon-rise to moon-rise. The tithis were thus of unequal length, as shown by Prof. P. C. Sengupta in Table No. 11 on page 222.
Note :– The Vedic tithi ends at moonset in the light half and at moonrise in the dark half. Near amavasya when the moon remains invisible, the ending is at sunset. There are 29 or 30 such tithis in a lunar month, and all tithis are of more than 24 hours duration except amāvasyā and purnimā which are of about 12 hours duration.