The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c23.s1.56

v1.c23.s1.56

Of the Dāsa enemies of Indra the chief is Çambara, the son of Kulitara,¹ who had 90, 99, or 100 forts and was the great foe of Divodāsa Atithigva. His historical reality seems reasonably assumed.² Pipru is styled a wild beast, an Asura, and a Dāsa, and is defeated for the sake of Rjiçvan: it seems unnecessary to see in him a spirit of the air.³ Dhuni, the roarer, and Cumuri, whose name is not connected with any known root, are apparently chiefs defeated for Dabhīti. Varcin is both Asura and Dāsa, but his 1,100 or 100,000⁴ warriors do not seem wholly mythical, and the names Anarçani, Ilibiça, Dṛbhīka, Rudhikrā, and Sṛbinda, which are those of other foes, seem human enough. On the other hand, Namuci, as we have seen, seems to be a demon, and Çuṣṇa has been explained not as a human enemy of Kutsa, but as a demon of drought from his name interpreted as scorcher.⁵ But this seems unlikely: he is child of the mist and moves in the water and a Dānava; if, therefore, he is a demon, he is rather the hisser, for Vṛtra’s hissing drove Indra away in fear, and this applies to other enemies than drought demons.