Artic Home of the Aryans by Lokamanya Bal ... - Mandhata Global

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(prathamâ) and the “last” (avamâ) dawn must, therefore, be taken to
signify the beginning and the end of the year in those days; and in the
light of what has been said about the nature of the Vedic dawns in the
fifth chapter, we may safely conclude that the “first” of the dawns was
no other than the first of a set or group of dawns that appeared at the
close of the long night and commenced the year. Now this “first
dawn” is described as “wearing out human ages” (praminatî
manushyâ yugâni) in I, 124, 2, and I, 92, 11; while in I, 115, 2, we are
told that “the pious or godly men extend the yugas,” on the
appearance of the dawn (yatrâ naro devayanto yugâni vitanvate).
European scholars interpret yuga in the above passages to mean
“generations of men.” But apart from the fact that the phrase
mânusha yugâ must be understood to mean “human ages” in at least
two passages discussed above, the context in I, 124, 2 and I, 92, 11
is obviously in favor of interpreting the word yuga, occurring therein,
as equivalent to a period of time. The dawn is here described as
commencing a new course of heavenly ordinances, or holy sacrifices
(daivyani vratâni), and setting in motion the manushyâ yugâni,
obviously implying that with the first dawn came the sacrifices, as well
as the cycle of time known as “human ages” or that “the human ages”
were reckoned from the first dawn. This association, of mânusha
yugâ, or “human ages,” with the “first dawn” at once enables us to
definitely determine the length or duration of “human ages”; for if
these ages (yugas) commenced with the first dawn of the year, they
must have ended on the last (avamâ) dawn of the year. In other
words mânusha yugâ collectively denoted the whole period of time
between the first and the last dawn of the year, while a single yuga
denoted a shorter division of this period.
Apart from the legend of Dîrghatamas, we have, therefore,
sufficient evidence in the يig-Veda to hold that the world, yuga was
used to denote a period of time, shorter than one year, and that the
phrase mânusha yugâ meant “human ages” or “the period of time
between the first and the last dawn of