Vedic Mythology c8.s2: § 69. Individual Dāsas. — A. Śuṣṇa

Vedic Mythology c8.s2

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§ 69. Individual Dāsas. — A. Śuṣṇa

c8.s2.1

This fiend, who is mentioned about forty times in the RV., is the chief enemy of Kutsa, for or with whom Indra vanquishes him (4, 16¹²; 5, 29⁹, &c.). He is horned (1, 33¹²). He has eggs (8, 40¹⁰. ¹¹), i. e. a brood (cp. 10, 22¹¹), from which it may be inferred that he is a serpent. He is described as hissing (*śvasana*: 1, 54⁵)². He is six times spoken of as *aśuṣa*, a term which is otherwise only once applied to Agni and perhaps means 'devouring'³. He has strong forts (1, 51¹¹) or a fort (4, 30¹³), which is moving (8, 1²⁸). Indra releases the waters in shattering Śuṣṇa's forts (1, 51¹¹), obtains the receptacle of waters (*krivi*) in smiting Śuṣṇa (Vāl. 3⁸), or wins heavenly (*svarvatīḥ*) waters when he destroys the brood of Śuṣṇa (8, 40¹⁰). The name of Śuṣṇa is four times accompanied by the epithet *kuyava*, ‘causing bad corn or harvest’. In the two passages in which this word is used independently as the name of a demon (1, 103⁸. 104³), it may refer to Śuṣṇa. The result of the conflict between Indra and Śuṣṇa is not always the release of the waters, but is also the finding of the cows (8, 85¹⁷), or the winning of the sun (cp. § 58). Śuṣṇa in his conflict with Indra moves in darkness, is a ‘son of mist’, *miho napāt*, and a Dānava (5, 32⁴). In the Kāṭhaka (IS. 3, 466) Śuṣṇa is called a Dānava who is in possession of the *amṛta*.

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The above evidence seems to point to Śuṣṇa having been a demon of drought from the beginning rather than a reminiscence of some historical human foe. This view is supported by the etymological meaning which must be either ‘hisser’ (from the root *śvas*, *śuṣ*) or ‘scorcher’ (from *śuṣ*, ‘to dry’).

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B. Śambara. The name of this fiend occurs about twenty times in the RV. He is mentioned along with others, chiefly Śuṣṇa, Pipru (1, 101². 103⁸; 2, 19⁶; 6, 18⁸), and Varcin. Indra was re-inforced by the Maruts in the fight against the dragon and Śambara (3, 47⁴). Indra shook the summit of heaven when he cut down Śambara (1, 54⁴). He found Śambara dwelling in the mountains (2, 12¹¹) and struck him down from the mountain (1, 130⁷; 6, 26⁵). He struck down from the great mountain the Dāsa Śambara, the son of Kulitara (4, 30¹⁴). He struck down from the height Śambara, who thought himself a little god (7, 18²⁰). Śambara is often said to have forts, ninety (1, 130⁷), generally ninety-nine (2, 19⁶, &c.), or a hundred (2, 14⁶, &c.). The word *śāmbara* once occurs in the neuter plural, meaning ‘the forts of Śambara’⁴. These Bṛhaspati is said to have cleft and then to have entered the mountain rich in treasure (2, 24²). Indra vanquishes Śambara in the interest of Atithigva (1, 51⁶), but generally of Divodāsa (2, 19⁶, &c.), and sometimes of both (1, 130⁷; 4, 26³). The two names are usually thought⁵ to refer to the same person, but this is doubted by Bergaigne⁶.

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C. Pipru. This fiend, mentioned eleven times in the RV., is the enemy of Indra’s protégé (Vāl. 1¹⁰) Ṛjiśvan, who offers Soma to Indra and is aided by him in the conflict (5, 29¹¹; 10, 99¹¹). Indra with Ṛjiśvan (1, 101¹. ²; 10, 138³) or for him (4, 16¹³; 6, 20⁷) conquered Pipru. The fiend, who has the wiles of Ahi, possesses forts which are shattered by Indra (1, 51⁵; 6, 20⁷). When Indra slew the Dāsa Pipru as well as some other rarely mentioned beings, he shed the waters (8, 32²). When the sun unyoked his chariot in the midst of the sky, the Aryan found a match for the Dāsa: Indra acting with Rijiśvan, shattered the strong forts of the wily Asura Pipru (10, 138³). He delivered the wild beast (*mṛgaya*) Pipru to Ṛjiśvan, overthrew 50 000 blacks, and rent the forts (4, 16¹³). With Ṛjiśvan he drove out those who have a black brood⁷ (1, 101¹). Since Pipru is called an Asura as well as a Dāsa, it is doubtful whether he represents a human foe with a historical foundation, as some scholars think⁸. The name has the appearance of a Sanskrit word as a reduplicated derivative of the root *par* or *pṝ* (like *si-ṣṇ-u* from √san)⁹, possibly meaning ‘resister’, ‘antagonist’.

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D. Namuci¹⁰ is mentioned nine times in the RV. besides several times in the VS., TB., and ŚB. He once receives the epithet *āsura*, ‘demoniac’, in the RV. (10, 131⁴; ŚB. 12, 7, 1¹⁰) and is called an Asura in later Vedic texts. He is also spoken of as a Dāsa in three or four passages of the RV. (5, 30⁷. ⁸, &c.) and once as ‘wily’ (1, 53⁷). In vanquishing Namuci Indra is twice associated with Namī Sāpya as his protégé (1, 53⁷; 6, 20⁶). Namuci is slain like several other demons (2, 14⁵; 7, 19⁵) or struck down (1, 53⁷) by Indra. Indra destroyed a hundred castles, slaying Vṛtra and Namuci (7, 19⁵). The characteristic feature about the conflict is that Indra twirls (*√math*) off the head of Namuci (5, 30⁸; 6, 20⁶), while he is said to pierce *√bhid*) that of Vṛtra. Otherwise Indra is described as having twisted (*vartaya*) the head of Namuci (5, 30⁷) or to have twisted it off with the foam ofwater (8, 14¹³). The Brāhmaṇas also refer to Indra's cutting off Namuci's head with the foam of the waters¹¹. In one passage of the RV. (10. 131⁴·⁵) Indra is described as having drunk wine beside the demoniac Namuci, when the Aśvins aided and Sarasvatī cured him (cp. p. 87).

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⁷ Acc. pl. fem.: = waters, GW. s. v. *kṛṣṇagarbha*. —

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¹⁰ LRV. 5, 145; BRV. 2, 345—7; LANMAN, JAS. Bengal 58, 28—30; Sanskrit Reader 375b; BLOOMFIELD, JAOS. 15, 143—63; OLDENBERG, Göttinger Nachrichten 1893, 342—9; ORV. 161. —

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¹¹ BLOOMFIELD, JAOS. 15, 155—6. —

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The etymology of the name is according to Pāṇini (6, 3, 75) *na-muci*, 'not letting go'. In that case it would mean 'the demon withholding the waters'¹².

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E. Dhuni and Cumuri¹³. The Dāsa Cumuri is mentioned six times, with one exception always along with Dhuni. The closeness of the association of these two is shown by their names once appearing as a dual compound (6, 20¹³). Indra sent them to sleep (2, 15⁹; 6, 20¹³; 7, 19⁴), the same being said of Cumuri alone (6, 26⁶). Along with Śambara, Pipru, Śuṣṇa, they were crushed by Indra, so that their castles were destroyed (6, 18⁸). They were sent to sleep or overcome by Indra (10, 113⁹) in favour of Dabhīti, who pressed Soma for him (6, 20¹³) and who was rewarded by the god for his faith (6, 26⁶). Without any mention of the two fiends, Indra is also said to have sent to sleep for Dabhīti 30 000 Dāsas (4, 30²¹) and to have bound the Dasyus for him without cords (2, 13⁹).

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⁴ Perhaps through the influence of the neut. pl. *vṛtrāṇi*. —

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⁸ LRV. 3, 149; BDA. 95; ORV. 155. —

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⁹ BRV. 2, 349, but with the sense of 'filler' or 'rescuer'. —

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¹³ BRV. 2, 350; ORV. 157. —

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Dhuni means 'Roarer' (*√dhvan*), the word being frequently also used in the RV. as an adjective in the sense of 'roaring, raging'. Cumuri on the other hand looks like a borrowed aboriginal name¹⁴.

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¹⁴ WACKERNAGEL, Altind. Gr. 1, XXII. —

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F. Varcin and others. Varcin is mentioned four times, always with Śambara. He is called an Asura (7, 99⁵), but he and Śambara together are termed Dāsas (6, 47²¹). Indra is said to have shattered the hundred forts of Śambara and to have dispersed or slain the 100 000 warriors of the Dāsa Varcin (2, 14⁶; 4, 30¹⁵). The name appears to mean 'shining', from *varcas*, 'brilliance'.

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⁶ BRV. 2, 342—3. —

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Several others, whose names occur only once, are mentioned, along with Vala, Śuṣṇa, Namuci and other fiends, as vanquished by Indra. Such are Dṛbhīka, Rudhikrā (2, 14³·⁵), Anarśani¹⁵, Sṛbinda (8, 32²), and Ilibiśa (1, 33¹²). They probably preserve a historical reminiscence of prominent terrestrial foes. For the last two of these names have an un-Aryan appearance; nor does it seem likely that original individual demons should have received names which do not designate a demoniac attribute like the appellations Vṛtra, Vala, and Śuṣṇa.

Linked texts (3)

Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit
Aṣṭādhyāyī — Pāṇini, Sanskrit
Śatapathabrāhmaṇa — Yājñavalkya & Śāṇḍilya (Vedic teacher), Sanskrit