A History of Sanskrit Literature c7.142

c7.142

A group of aërial demons, primarily foes of Indra, are the Paṇis. The proper meaning of the word is "niggard," especially in regard to sacrificial gifts. From this signification it developed the mythological sense of demons resembling those originally conceived as withholding the treasures of heaven. The term *dāsa* or *dasyu*, properly the designation of the dark aborigines of India contrasted with their fair Aryan conquerors, is frequently used in the sense of demons or fiends.