Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s8.160

v2.c4.s8.160

It is impossible to say with certainty whether Śambara was a real person or not. Hillebrandt⁹ is strongly in favour of the theory that he was a real chief as enemy of Divodāsa: he relies on the statistics¹⁰ of the mention of the name to show that, whereas he was conceived as a real foe in the hymns of the time of Divodāsa, later texts, like those of the seventh Maṇḍala, make him into a demon, as a result of the change of scene from Arachosia to India. As a matter of fact, apart from this theory, Śambara was quite possibly an aboriginal enemy in India, living in the mountains.¹¹