The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c23.s1.24

v1.c23.s1.24

The view of these personages taken by the Brāhmaṇas is that they are equally sons of Prajāpati, though born of a less worthy part of the god, from the descending breath, not the mouth, and that they are in constant conflict with the gods, and have to be defeated by some ritual performances. They are associated with the darkness, untruth, and error, as opposed to the gods. The term ‘pertaining to the Asuras’ is freely given to any ritual performance which the priests do not approve. Thus the Asuras are said to have only a morning and afternoon pressing,³ not three as the Vedic Indians, a point which has some affinity to the Avesta, and the mode of making the grave differs.⁴ We have one fairly clear proof that Aryan enemies are included, for the Çatapatha Brāhmaṇa⁵ has preserved to us two barbarous (*mleccha*) words used by the Asuras, *he ’lavo*, which, despite various efforts to interpret them as Assyrian or something equally implausible, seem merely a Prāktitic version of the Vedic *he ’rayaḥ*, ‘O enemies’, pointing to an eastern dialect as in Māgadhī.