Jan.14] PROCEEDINGS. [1890.
eitherList,and the exclusion of Capella, Arcturus,and Sirius from
the " Divinities of the Council,"supplies some ideaof the limits
withinwhichwe may lookfor the Thirty Stars.
Mr. J. F. Hewitt, whohas recently publishedsomeveryinterest
ing remarks on the questions of the archaic LunarYearand early
Euphrateaninfluencein Non-Aryan India,*has called my attention,
in connexion with this Tablet, to the Hymn Rig-Veda,X, 189,
where" the thirty stationsof the day and night" are said to " shine
with the rays " of some power,the Sun, accordingto the native
commentators,but, moreprobably,!the Moon. Anotherreading
is, " He shines for thirty stations,"explainedby some as "the thirty
daysof the month."
Thestars named in the List in Part II of the Tabletare not
placedin uranographic order,but there is very considerable reason
to suppose thatthe ThirtyStarsare so placed, if not in all cases
exactly,yet, at all events, approximately.
Prof.Sayce,withhis usual kindness,and Mr. GeorgeBertinhave
renderedme much assistancein the study of the Tablet, but I am
aloneresponsiblefor the views expressed.
II.
The" Divinities of the Council " thus representingthirtymore
or less prominent starsin or comparatively nearto the ecliptic, the
very interesting questionnextarises:—Assuming themto be placed
in uranographic order, wheredoes the circle begin? Now, very
fortunately,what the thirtieth and last star represents, is, as will be
seen,absolutelycertain; and, hence,thereis a considerable amount
of material for the identification of the first star. Of course it is
quitepossible thatthe stars maynot be named in their heavenly
order,but the balance of probability is decidedly the other way.
Line1, Star No. 1.
tH? ^TT I -Hf- "4
Kakkab Apin | Tlu Sar
The-Star of-thc-Foundation. \ The-god Sar* Notes on the Early Historyof Northern India(in the Journal of the Royal
AsiaticSociety,Vol.XXI,NewSeries).
t The place of the Hymn in the Canon, the divinity of the Hymn,
Sarparajni,otherwise " Kadru, the mother of the serpent race,"andseveral
otherpoints,stronglyindicatenon-Aryaninfluence.
139