''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...
'' and ''
Arthasastra
The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is t ...
''.
[ It usually means "enemy" or "servant"][ but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "]servant of God
"Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
", "devotee," " votary" or "one who has surrendered to God". Dasa may be a suffix of a given name to indicate a "servant" of a revered person or a particular deity.[
''Dasa'', in some contexts, is also related to ''dasyu'' and '']asura
Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...
'', which have been translated by some scholars as "demon", "harmful supernatural forces", "slave", "servant" or "barbarian", depending on the context in which the word is used.[Wash Edward Hale (1999), Ásura- in Early Vedic Religion, Motilal Barnarsidass, , pages 159-169]
Etymology
''Dāsa'' first appears in Vedic texts
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
from the second millennium BCE.[ There is no consensus on its origins.
Karl Heinrich Tzschucke in 1806, in his translations of the Roman geographer ]Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45.
His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...
, noted etymological and phonological parallels between ''dasa'' and the ethnonyms of the Dahae
The Dahae, also known as the Daae, Dahas or Dahaeans (Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: , , , ; Latin: ; Chinese: ; Persian: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian nomadic tribal confederation, who inhabited the steppes of Central Asia.
Ident ...
– Persian داها; Sanskrit ''Dasa''; Latin ''Dahae''; Greek Δάοι ''Daoi'', Δάαι, Δᾶαι ''Daai'' and Δάσαι ''Dasai'' – a people who lived on the south-eastern shores of the Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
in ancient times (and from whom modern Dehestan/Dehistan takes its name).
Monier Monier-Williams
Sir Monier Monier-Williams (; né Williams; 12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) was a British scholar who was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Asian languages, especially ...
in 1899, stated that the meaning of ''dasa'' varies contextually and means "mysterious forces", "savages", "barbarians" or "demons" in the earliest layer of Vedic literature – in other contexts, is a self-effacing way to refer oneself as "worshipper" or "devotee aiming to honor a deity", or a "servant of god".[Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary” Etymologically and Philologically Arranged to cognate Indo-European Languages, Motilal Banarsidass, page 475] In later Indian literature, according to Monier-Williams, usage of ''dasa'' is used to refer to "a knowing man, or a knower of the universal spirit". In the latter sense, ''dāsa'' is masculine, while the feminine equivalent is ''dāsi''. Some early 20th Century translations, such as P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar
Pillaipundagudi Thiruvengadattaiyangar Srinivasa Iyengar (1863–1931) was an Indian historian, linguist and educationist who wrote books on the history of South India.
Academic career
Srinivasa Iyengar served as the Principal of A. V. N. ...
(1912), translate ''dasa'' as "slave".
Kangle in 1960,[R.P. Kangle (1960), The Kautiliya Arthasastra – a critical edition, Vol. 2 and 3, University of Bombay Studies, ] and others suggest that, depending on the context, ''dasa'' may be translated as "enemy", "servant" or "religious devotee". More recent scholarly interpretations of the Sanskrit words ''dasa'' or ''dasyu'' suggest that these words used throughout the Vedas represents "disorder, chaos and dark side of human nature", and the verses that use the word ''dasa'' mostly contrast it with the concepts of "order, purity, goodness and light." In some contexts, the word ''dasa'' may refer to enemies, in other contexts it may refer to those who had not adopted the Vedic beliefs, and yet other contexts it may refer to mythical enemies in the battle between good and evil.[Barbara West (2008), Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania, ]
page 182
/ref>
''Dasa'' in Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
texts can mean "servant".[Gregory Schopen (2004), Buddhist Monks and Business Matters, University of Hawaii Press, , page 201] In Pali language, it is used as suffix in Buddhist texts, where ''Amaya-dasa'' was translated by Davids and Stede in 1925, as a "slave by birth", ''Kila-dasa'' translated as a "bought slave", and ''Amata-dasa'' as "one who sees Amata
According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...
(Sanskrit: ''Amrita'', nectar of immortality) or Nibbana".
According to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, Regarding the Dasas, the question is whether there is any connection between the Azhi-Dahaka of the Zend Avesta
The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.
The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the litu ...
. The name Azhi-Dahaka is a compound name which consists of two parts. Azhi means serpent, dragon and Dahaka comes from the root "Dah" meaning "to sting, to do harm"
Michael Witzel
Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–80).
Witze ...
compares the etymological root of ''dasa'' to words from other Indo-European languages that imply "enemy, foreigner", including the Avestan ''dahåka'' and ''dŋha'', Latin ''dahi'' and Greek ''daai''.
Asko Parpola
Asko Parpola (born 12 July 1941, in Forssa) is a Finnish Indologist, current professor emeritus of South Asian studies at the University of Helsinki. He specializes in Sindhology, specifically the study of the Indus script.
Biography
Parpola is ...
in 2015, has proposed that ''dasa'' is related to the ancient Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
and proto-Saka word ''daha'', which means "man". This is contrasted with ''arya'', the word for "man" used by, and of, Indo-Iranian people from Central Asia.
Identification of Dasa
As people
Based on the Arya-Dasa conflict described in Rigvedic text, scholars have tried to identify the Dasa as a population in South and Central Asia.
Max Müller
Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...
proposed that ''dasa'' referred to indigenous peoples living in South Asia before the arrival
Arrival(s) or The Arrival(s) may refer to:
Film
* ''The Arrival'' (1991 film), an American science fiction horror film
* ''The Arrival'' (1996 film), an American-Mexican science fiction horror film
* ''Arrival'' (film), a 2016 American science ...
of the Aryans
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
.
Michael Witzel
Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–80).
Witze ...
in his review of Indo-Iranian texts in 1995, states that ''dasa'' in the Vedic literature represented a North Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
tribe, who were enemies of the Vedic Aryans, and ''das-yu'' meant "enemy, foreigner." He notes that these enemies could have apparently become slaves if captured.
Asko Parpola
Asko Parpola (born 12 July 1941, in Forssa) is a Finnish Indologist, current professor emeritus of South Asian studies at the University of Helsinki. He specializes in Sindhology, specifically the study of the Indus script.
Biography
Parpola is ...
states that ''dasa'' referred only to Central Asian peoples. Vedic texts that include prayers for the defeat of the ''dasa'' as an "enemy people", according to Parpola, possibly refers to people from the so-called Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex
The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (short BMAC) or Oxus Civilization, recently dated to c. 2250–1700 BC,Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b)"Questioning the Oxus Civilization or Bactria- Margiana Archaeological Cultu ...
(BMAC), who spoke a different language and opposed Aryan religious practices. Parpola uses archaeological and linguistic arguments to support his theory. Among the evidences cited were recent BMAC excavation results where forts in circular shapes were found, the shape described in the early parts of the Rigveda as the enemy forts of Indra. He also found that Rigvedic words starting with triple consonant clusters such as ''Bṛhaspati
Brihaspati ( sa, बृहस्पति, ), also known as Guru, is a Hindu deity. In the ancient Vedic scriptures of Hinduism, Brihaspati is a deity associated with fire, and the word also refers to a rishi (sage) who counsels the devas ( ...
'', must be loanwords from the unknown BMAC language.
As spiritual entity
Authors like Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...
believe that words like Dasa are used in the Rig Veda symbolically and should be interpreted spiritually, and that Dasa does not refer to human beings, but rather to demons who hinder the spiritual attainment of the mystic. Many Dasas are purely mythical and can only refer to demons. There is for example a Dasa called Urana with 99 arms (RV II.14.4), and a Dasa with six eyes and three heads in the Rig Veda.
Aurobindo commented that in the RV III.34 hymn, where the word Arya varna occurs, Indra is described as the increaser of the thoughts of his followers: "the shining hue of these thoughts, sukram varnam asam, is evidently the same as that sukra or sveta Aryan hue which is mentioned in verse 9. Indra carries forward or increases the "colour" of these thoughts beyond the opposition of the Panis, pra varnam atiracchukram; in doing so he slays the Dasyus and protects or fosters and increases the Aryan "colour", hatvi dasyun pra aryam varnam avat."
According to Aurobindo (The Secret of the Veda), RV 5.14.4 is a key for understanding the character of the Dasyus:
:''Agni born shone out slaying the Dasyus, the darkness by the light, he found the Cows, the Waters, Swar.'' (transl. Aurobindo)[Sethna 1992:114–115 and 348–349]
Aurobindo explains that in this verse the struggle between light and darkness, truth and falsehood, divine and undivine is described. It is through the shining light created by Agni, god of fire, that the Dasyus, who are identified with the darkness, are slain. The Dasyus are also described in the Rig Veda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
as intercepting and withholding the Cows, the Waters and Swar ("heavenly world"; RV 5.34.9; 8.68.9). It is not difficult, of course, to find very similar metaphors, equating political or military opponents with evil and darkness, even in contemporary propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
.
K.D. Sethna
Kaikhosru Dhunjibhoy Sethna (26 November 1904 – 29 June 2011) was an Indian poet, scholar, writer, philosopher, and cultural critic. He published more than 50 books. He was known by the diminutive Kekoo, but wrote his poetry under nom de ...
(1992) writes: "According to Aurobindo,(...) there are passages in which the spiritual interpretation of the Dasas, Dasyus and Panis is the sole one possible and all others are completely excluded. There are no passages in which we lack a choice either between this interpretation and a nature-poetry or between this interpretation and the reading of human enemies."
Hindu Texts
Rig Veda
''Dasa'' and related words such as ''Dasyu'' are found in the Rig Veda. They have been variously translated, depending on the context. These words represent in some context represent "disorder, chaos and dark side of human nature", and the verses that use the word ''dasa'' mostly contrast it with the concepts of "order, purity, goodness and light." In other contexts, the word ''dasa'' refers to enemies and in other contexts, those who had not adopted the Vedic beliefs.
A. A. Macdonell
Arthur Anthony Macdonell, FBA (11 May 1854 – 28 December 1930) was a noted Sanskrit scholar.
Biography
Macdonell was born at Muzaffarpur in the Tirhut region of the state of Bihar in British India, the son of Charles Alexander Macdonell ...
and A. B. Keith
Arthur Berriedale Keith (5 April 1879 – 6 October 1944) was a Scottish constitutional lawyer, scholar of Sanskrit and Indologist. He became Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology and Lecturer on the Constitution of the Briti ...
in 1912 remarked that, "The great difference between the Dasyus and the Aryans was their religion... It is significant that constant reference is made to difference in religion between Aryans and Dasa and Dasyu."
Dasa with the meaning of Barbarians
Rig Veda 10.22.8 describes Dasyus as "savages" who have no laws, different observances, a-karman (who do not perform rites) and who act against a person without knowing the person.
Dasa with the meaning of Demons
Within the Vedic texts, ''Dasa'' is the word used to describe supernatural demonic creatures with many eyes and many heads. This has led scholars to interpret that the word ''Dasa'' in Vedic times meant evil, supernatural, destructive forces. For example, Rigveda in hymn 10.99.6 states,
Dasa with the meaning of Servant
Dasa is also used in Vedic literature, in some contexts, to refer to "servants", a few translate this as "slaves", but the verses do not describe how the Vedic society treats or mistreats the servants. R. S. Sharma, in his 1958 book, states that the only word which could possibly mean slave in Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...
is ''dāsa'', and this sense of use is traceable to four verses out of 10,600 verses in Rigveda, namely 1.92.8, 1.158.5, 10.62.10 and 8.56.3. The translation of word ''dasa'' to servant or slave varies by scholars. HH Wilson, for example, translates ''Dasa'' in Rigvedic instances identified by Sharma, as servant rather than slave,[Rigveda 10.62.10](_blank)
HH Wilson (Translator), Trubner & Co, page 167 as in verse 10.62.10:[Wash Edward Hale (1999), Ásura- in Early Vedic Religion, Motilal Barnarsidass, , page 162]
R. S. Sharma translates ''dasi'' in a Vedic era Upanishad as "maid-servant".
Aryan-Dasa conflict
Hermann Oldenberg
Hermann Oldenberg (31 October 1854 – 18 March 1920) was a German scholar of Indology, and Professor at Kiel (1898) and Göttingen (1908).
Work
Oldenberg was born in Hamburg. His 1881 study on Buddhism, entitled ''Buddha: Sein Leben, seine Lehr ...
states that no distinction between historical events and mythology existed for the Vedic poets. For them, the conflict between the Aryans and Dasas extended into the realms of gods and demons with the hostile demon being on the same level as the hated and despised savages.
Bridget Allchin and Raymond Allchin suggest Indo-Aryans were not the only inhabitants of the region when they arrived to ''Sapta-Sindhava'' or land of seven Indus rivers and their encounter with Dasyu was not entirely peaceful.
Ram Sharan Sharma
Ram Sharan Sharma (26 November 1919 – 20 August 2011) was an Indian historian and Indologist who specialised in the history of Ancient and early Medieval India. He taught at Patna University and Delhi University (1973–85) and was visiting f ...
states that the Rig-Vedic society was primarily organized on basis of tribe, kin and lineage. The "Aryan
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
" tribes mentioned by the ''Rig Veda'' therefore may not have been of the same ethnicity, but may have been united by a common language and way of life. He states that while it has been argued that Dasyu
''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and ''Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a " servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or ...
and Dasa were not non-Aryans, it is more true in the case of the latter. Further the Dasas are said to be organized into tribes called ''viś'', a term used for Vedic people or tribes. The god Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
is said to be the conqueror of Dasas, who appear mostly human. There are more references to the destruction of Dasyus by Indra instead of Dasas. He is said to have protected the Aryan varna by killing them. The Aryans also fought between themselves. The god Manyu (deity)
Manyu () is a war god in Vedic Hinduism. He is a deity referenced in the Rigveda, with hymns dedicated to him in the eponymous Manyu Sukta.
Literature
Vedas
The hymns of the Rigveda extol Manyu as the "slayer of foes", "self-existent", " ...
is invoked to overcome both Aryans and Dasyus. Indra is asked to fight against the godless Dasyus and Aryans, who are the enemies of his followers. (X, 88, 3 & XX, 36, 10).
The fight between Aryans and their enemies consisted mostly of fortresses and walled settlements of the latter. Both Dasas and Dasyus were in the possession of them. Sharma states that this reminds us of the later discovery of fortifications of Harappan settlements, though there is no clear archaeological evidence of mass-scale confrontation between Aryans and Harappans. He adds that the Aryans seemed to be attracted to their wealth over which a regular warfare took place. The worshiper in the Rig Veda expects that those who offered no oblation
Oblation, meaning "the act of offering; an instance of offering" and by extension "the thing offered" (Late Latin ''oblatio'', from ''offerre'', ''oblatum'', to offer), is a term used, particularly in ecclesiastical use, for a solemn offering, s ...
should be killed and their wealth be divided (I, 176, 4). However, it was the cattle which held the most importance to Aryans who were cattle-herders. For example, it is argued that Kikatas
Kīkaṭa was an ancient Indian kingdom in what is now India, mentioned in the Vedas.
A section in the Rigveda (RV 3.53.14) refers to the Kīkaṭas, with its ruler Pramangada. Some scholars have placed them in Bihar (Magadha) because Kikata is ...
didn't need cows because they made no use of milk products in sacrifice.
Sacrifice played an important part in Aryan way of life, however the Dasyus or Dasas did not offer sacrifices. An entire passage in the seventh book of Rig Veda uses adjectives such as ''akratün'', ''aśraddhān'' and ''ayajñān'' applied to Dasyus emphasizes their non-sacrificing character. Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
is asked to discriminate between them and the sacrificing Aryas. Sharma states that the word ''anindra'' (without Indra) may refer to Dasyus, Dasa and Aryan dissenters. Per the Aryan view, the Dasyus practiced black magic and ''Atharva Veda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
'' refers to them as evil spirits to be scared away from the sacrifice. The Atharva Veda states that the god-blaspheming Dasyus are to be offered as victims. The Dasyus are believed to be treacherous, not practicing Aryan observances, and are hardly human.
Tony Ballantyne states that ''Rig Veda'' depicts the cultural differences between the Aryan invaders and non-Aryans of Indus valley. He states that although the inter-Aryan conflict is prominent in its hymns, a cultural opposition is drawn between Aryans and the indigenous people of North India. According to him, it depicts the indigenous tribes such as the '' Pani'' and ''Dasas'' as godless, savage and untrustworthy. Panis are cattle thieves who seek to deprive Aryans of them. He states Dasas were savages, whose godless society, darker complexion and different language were culturally different from Aryans. They are called barbarians ('' rakshas''), those without fire (''anagnitra'') and flesh-eaters (''kravyad''). The Aryas were on the other hand presented as noble people protected by their gods Agni
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...
and Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
. He adds that their names were extended beyond them to denote savage and barbarian people in general. He concurs that this continued into later Sanskritic tradition where ''dasa'' came to mean a slave while ''Arya'' meant noble.
Later Vedic texts
The three words Dasa, Dasyu and Asura (danav) are used interchangeably in almost identical verses that are repeated in different Vedic texts, such as the Rig Veda, the Saunaka recension of Atharva veda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
, the Paippalada Samhita
Saṃhitā literally means "put together, joined, union", a "collection", and "a methodically, rule-based combination of text or verses".[Brahmana
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...]
s text in various Vedas. Such comparative study has led scholars to interpret ''Dasa'' and ''Dasyu'' may have been a synonym of ''Asura'' (demons or evil forces, sometimes simply lords with special knowledge and magical powers) of later Vedic texts.
Sharma states that the word ''dasa'' occurs in Aitareya and Gopatha Brahmanas
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...
, but not in the sense of a slave.
Arthashastra
Kautilya
Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...
's Arthashastra
The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...
dedicates the thirteenth chapter on ''dasas'', in his third book on law. This Sanskrit document from the Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
period (4th century BCE), has been translated by several authors. Shamasastry's translation in 1915, Kangle's translation in the 1960s and Rangarajan's translation in 1987 all map ''dasa'' as slave. However, Kangle suggests that the context and rights granted to ''dasa'' by Kautilya
Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...
, such as the right to the same wage as a free labourer and the right to freedom on payment of an amount, distinguish this form of slavery from that of contemporary Greece. Edmund Leach
Sir Edmund Ronald Leach FRAI FBA (7 November 1910 – 6 January 1989) was a British social anthropologist and academic. He served as provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1966 to 1979. He was also president of the Royal Anthropologi ...
points out that the Dasa was the antithesis of the concept of ''Arya''. As the latter term evolved through successive meanings, so did Dasa: from "indigenous inhabitant" to "serf," "tied servant," and finally "chattel slave." He suggests the term "unfreedom" to cover all these meanings.
According to Arthashastra, anyone who had been found guilty of ''nishpatitah'' (Sanskrit: निष्पातित, ruined, bankrupt, a minor crime) may mortgage oneself to become ''dasa'' for someone willing to pay his or her bail and employ the ''dasa'' for money and privileges.
According to Arthashastra, it was illegal to force a ''dasa'' (servant) to do certain types of work, to hurt or abuse him, or to force sex on a female ''dasa''.
Buddhist texts
Words related to ''dasa'' are found in early Buddhist texts, such as ''dāso na pabbājetabbo'', which Davids and Stede translate as "the slave cannot become a Bhikkhu".[Thomas William Rhys Davids and William Stede (2015), Pali-English Dictionary, 2nd Edition, Motilal Banarsidass, , page 320] This restriction on who could become a Buddhist monk is found in Vinaya Pitakam i.93, Digha Nikaya
Digha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in West Bengal.
Hi ...
, Majjhima Nikāya
The Majjhima Nikāya (-nikāya; "Collection of Middle-length Discourses") is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka (lit ...
, Tibetan ''Bhiksukarmavakya'' and ''Upasampadajnapti''.
Other uses
Use of religious "devotees"
In Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
''dasa'' is commonly used to refer to devotees of Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
or Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
.
In Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meanin ...
, devotees often use ''dasa'' (meaning servant of Krishna) as part of their names, as in ''Hari Dasa''.
As a surname or byname
Dasa or Das is also a surname or middle name found among Hindus and Sikhs, typically in northern half of India, where it literally means "votary, devotee, servant of God." For example, Mohandas Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
's first name, Mohandas, means servant of Mohan or Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
. Also, the name Surdas means servant of Sur or Deva. In the past, many saints of the Bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6th centur ...
added it to their names, signifying their total devotion or surrender to God.
Comparative linguistics
Dasa and related terms have been examined by several scholars.[e.g., ]Asko Parpola
Asko Parpola (born 12 July 1941, in Forssa) is a Finnish Indologist, current professor emeritus of South Asian studies at the University of Helsinki. He specializes in Sindhology, specifically the study of the Indus script.
Biography
Parpola is ...
(1988), Mayrhofer (1986–1996), Benveniste (1973), Lecoq (1990), Windfuhr (1999) While the terms ''Dasa'' and ''Dasyu'' have a negative meaning in Sanskrit, their Iranian counterparts ''Daha'' and ''Dahyu'' have preserved their positive (or neutral) meaning. This is similar to the Sanskrit terms ''Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
'' (a "positive" term) and ''Asura
Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...
'' (a "negative" term). The Iranian counterparts of these terms (''Daeva
A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are "gods that are (to be) rejected". Thi ...
'' and ''Ahura
Ahura (Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬀) is an Avestan language designation for a particular class of Zoroastrian divinities. The term is assumed to be linguistically related to the Asuras of Indian Vedic era.
Etymology
Avestan ''ahura'' "lord" der ...
'') have opposite meanings.
Asko Parpola
Asko Parpola (born 12 July 1941, in Forssa) is a Finnish Indologist, current professor emeritus of South Asian studies at the University of Helsinki. He specializes in Sindhology, specifically the study of the Indus script.
Biography
Parpola is ...
states the original ''Dasa'' is related to the Old Persian word ''Daha'' which also means "man", but refers specifically to a regional ethnic minority of Persia.[Asko Parpola (2015), ''The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization'', Oxford University Press, , pages 100–106] Parpola contrasts ''Daha'' with ''Arya'', stating that the latter also referred to "man" but specifically to the incoming Indo-Iranians
Indo-Iranian peoples, also known as Indo-Iranic peoples by scholars, and sometimes as Arya or Aryans from their self-designation, were a group of Indo-European peoples who brought the Indo-Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European ...
from Central Asia. The Vedic text that include prayers to help defeat the "Dasa as enemy people", states Parpola, may refer to the wars of the Indo-Iranians against the bearers of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex
The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (short BMAC) or Oxus Civilization, recently dated to c. 2250–1700 BC,Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b)"Questioning the Oxus Civilization or Bactria- Margiana Archaeological Cultu ...
(BMAC) culture. The latter spoke a different language and opposed Indo-Iranian religious practices. Parpola uses archaeological and linguistic arguments to support his theory, but his theory is controversial.[Colin Renfrew (1991)]
The Coming of the Aryans to Iran and India and the Cultural and Ethnic Identity of the Dāsas by Asko Parpola
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, Vol. 1, No. 1, pages 106–109
See also
*Dahae
The Dahae, also known as the Daae, Dahas or Dahaeans (Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: , , , ; Latin: ; Chinese: ; Persian: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian nomadic tribal confederation, who inhabited the steppes of Central Asia.
Ident ...
*Déisi
The ''Déisi'' were a socially powerful class of peoples from Ireland that settled in Wales and western England between the ancient and early medieval period. The various peoples listed under the heading ''déis'' shared the same status in Gaeli ...
*Mleccha
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups.
The ...
*Adivasi
The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...
References
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Further reading
* Bryant, Edwin: The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture
Edwin Francis Bryant is an American Indologist. Currently, he is professor of religions of India at Rutgers University. He published seven books and authored a number of articles on Vedic history, ''yoga'', and the Krishna tradition. In his resear ...
. 2001. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN, 0-19-513777-9
*J. Bronkhorst and M.M. Deshpande. 1999. Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
*Hock, Hans. 1999b, Through a Glass Darkly: Modern "Racial" Interpretations vs. Textual and General Prehistoric Evidence on Arya and Dasa/Dasyu in Vedic Indo-Aryan Society." in Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia.
*Iyengar, Srinivas. 1914. "Did the Dravidians of India Obtain Their Culture from Aran Immigrant ic" Anthropos 1–15.
*Macdonell, A.A. and Keith, A.B. 1912. The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects.
* Parpola, Asko: 1988, The Coming of the Aryans to Iran and India and the Cultural and Ethnic Identity of the Dasas; The problem of the Aryans and the Soma.
*Rg Veda 1854–57. Rig-Veda Samhita. tr. H.H. Wilson. London: H.Allen and Co.
*Schetelich, Maria. 1990, "The problem of the "Dark Skin" (Krsna Tvac) in the Rgveda." Visva Bharati Annals 3:244–249.
* Sethna, K.D. 1992. The Problem of Aryan Origins
''The Problem of Aryan Origins'' is a book by K.D. Sethna. The first edition was published in 1980. A second enlarged version (with five supplements) was published in 1992. (Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1992.)
The book questions the validity of the A ...
. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.
*Trautmann, Thomas R. 1997, Aryans and British India. Berkeley: University of California Press.
*Witzel, Michael. 1995b, 325, fn, "Rgvedic History" in The Indo-Aryans of South Asia.
Sanskrit words and phrases
Slavery and religion