The History and Culture of the Indian People v1.c19.s2.21

v1.c19.s2.21

Derived from the same root (*das*, "lay waste" or "waste away") which originated the word Dasyu, the Dāsas have been described as the enemies of the Vedic people, sometimes of a demoniac character; but many passages speak of them as the human foes of the Aryans. They lived in fortified towns (*āyasīḥ puraḥ*) and were divided into clans (*viśaḥ*). Dāsavarṇa has been alluded to a number of times, and the Dāsas are said to be black-skinned (*krishṇatvach*), noseless or flat-nosed (*anās*) and evil-tongued (*mṛidhra-vāch*), some of these epithets being shared in common with Dasyus. In the *Ṛigveda*, Dāsa is not so reproachful a term as Dasyu. As Dāsa in later literature became a synonym for slave, it can plausibly be said that originally the term was applied to captives in war who were enslaved. Hillebrandt and others identify the Dāsas with the Dahae of Irān, as they place the scene of activity of the *Ṛigveda* in Arachosia, where they locate the Sarasvatī.