The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c17.s1.30

v1.c17.s1.30

With this myth may be compared the legend¹ of Saramā and the Paṇis. The Paṇis stole and hid away cows in a cave among the rocks, and Indra's dog, Saramā, pursues them and finds the place where are the cows: them she demands back from the Paṇis in a dialogue which is preserved to us in an interesting, if not very old, hymn of the Rigveda. The Paṇis refuse to give them back and the later tradition makes Saramā unfaithful to her mission. This, however, is not recorded in the Rigveda, and from other accounts it seems that Indra advances against the Paṇis and recovers the cows. Moreover, we find Bṛhaspati engaged in the same feat: the priestly god with his prayers cleaves the barriers behind which the cows are hidden, and brings them forth. Agni too takes a share in the struggle: the priestly god of fire is naturally active in this important undertaking. The Aṅgirases also take a great part, or, in their place, the seven seers, the eponymous fathers of the priestly clans. They pray and they offer sacrifice, and thus attain the same end. A further element in the picture of Vala: Indra cleaves his ridge in attaining the cows. The meaning of the myth can hardly be doubtful when it is noted how often Indra is brought into prominence as the maker of the dawn and the finder of the sun. The cows must be, not rain-clouds, as sometimes in the myth of Vṛtra, but the morning beams of light, or perhaps the red clouds of dawn; there is little difference between the two conceptions. The nature of Vala, 'the Keeper', is clearer still: he is merely the personification of the place in which the cows are kept. But the Paṇis are not quite so easy to explain: Hillebrandt² has found in them an historical people, and has argued that the mention of the Paṇis is a piece of history turned into myth. It is perfectly possible that this could be the case, but in the case of the Paṇis, who are assimilated to Parnians, the references are not satisfactorily taken as historical in ultimate essence: the theory too involves speculations regarding the places in which the Rigveda was composed which will not stand very close investigation.³ The natural and satisfactory view is that the Paṇis were the misers, who refuse to give the priests gifts, and who are overthrown, a conception which is interwoven with the mythical winning of the clouds.