| '''''Dasa''''' is a [[Sanskrit]] word found in ancient Bharat's texts such as the ''[[Rigveda]]'' and ''[[Arthasastra]]''.<ref name=kangle/> It usually means "enemy" or "servant"<ref name=bw/> but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "[[servant of God]]", "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.<ref name=schopen/> | | '''''Dasa''''' is a [[Sanskrit]] word found in ancient Bharat's texts such as the ''[[Rigveda]]'' and ''[[Arthasastra]]''.<ref name=kangle/> It usually means "enemy" or "servant"<ref name=bw/> but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "[[servant of God]]", "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.<ref name=schopen/> |
| [[Asko Parpola]] 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.<ref name=asko>Asko Parpola (2015), ''The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization'', Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0190226923, pages 100-106</ref> Parpola contrasts ''Daha'' with ''Arya'', stating that the latter also referred to "man" but specifically to the incoming [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-Iranians]] 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]] (BMAC) culture. The latter spoke a different language and opposed Indo-Iranian religious practices.<ref name=asko/> Parpola uses archaeological and linguistic arguments to support his theory, but his theory is controversial.<ref name="jstor.org"/> | | [[Asko Parpola]] 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.<ref name=asko>Asko Parpola (2015), ''The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization'', Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0190226923, pages 100-106</ref> Parpola contrasts ''Daha'' with ''Arya'', stating that the latter also referred to "man" but specifically to the incoming [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-Iranians]] 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]] (BMAC) culture. The latter spoke a different language and opposed Indo-Iranian religious practices.<ref name=asko/> Parpola uses archaeological and linguistic arguments to support his theory, but his theory is controversial.<ref name="jstor.org"/> |