The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c23.s1.34

v1.c23.s1.34

In comparison with the Asuras the Paṇis are unimportant demons, who play no great part in the literature after the Rigveda. They are the demons who withhold the cows, or, as it is differently put, the ghee in the cow, from Indra or his allies, Agni, Bṛhaspati, the Aṅgirases or Soma, and are overthrown by him. The word is normally plural, but a single Paṇi four times represents the group. The most probable explanation⁴ is undoubtedly that which sees in the Paṇis the personification of the enemy, who will not sacrifice to the gods or bestow gifts on the priests, and who is therefore an enemy of the gods and men alike, and has been brought into the old myth of the winning of the light in cow shape. Hillebrandt⁵ seeks to show that the Paṇis are an historical tribe, comparing the name Parnians, but the suggestion is most improbable.