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'''''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.

'''''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" 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.

''Dasa'', in some contexts, is also related to ''dasyu'' and ''[[asura]]'', 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.

''Dasa'', in some contexts, is also related to ''dasyu'' and ''[[asura]]'', 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.

==Etymology==

==Etymology==

[[Monier Monier-Williams]] 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".<ref name="monier">Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary” Etymologically and Philologically Arranged to cognate Indo-European Languages, Motilal Banarsidass, page 475</ref> In later Bharat's literature, according to Monier-Williams, usage of ''dasa'' is used to refer to "a knowing man, or a knower of the universal spirit".<ref>Monier Monier-Williams, ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary” Etymologically and Philologically Arranged to cognate Indo-European Languages'', Motilal Banarsidass, page 476</ref> In the altter sense, ''dāsa'' is masculine, while the feminine equivalent is ''dāsi''.<ref name="monier" /> Some early 20th Century translations, such as P. T. Srinivas Iyengar (1912), translate ''dasa'' as "slave".<ref>P. T. Srinivas Iyengar (1912), The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 60, No. 3113 pages 841-846</ref>

Some early 20th Century translations, such as P. T. Srinivas Iyengar (1912), translate ''dasa'' as "slave".<ref>P. T. Srinivas Iyengar (1912), The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 60, No. 3113 pages 841-846</ref>

Kangle in 1960,<ref name=kangle>R.P. Kangle (1960), The Kautiliya Arthasastra - a critical edition, Vol. 2 and 3, University of Bombay Studies, ISBN 978-8120800427</ref> and others<ref>B. Breloer (1934), Kautiliya Studien, Bd. III, Leipzig, pages 10-16, 30-71</ref> 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."<ref name=bw/> 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.<ref name=bw>Barbara West (2008), Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania, ISBN 978-0816071098, [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&pg=PA182 page 182]</ref>

Kangle in 1960,<ref name=kangle>R.P. Kangle (1960), The Kautiliya Arthasastra - a critical edition, Vol. 2 and 3, University of Bombay Studies, ISBN 978-8120800427</ref> suggests 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.

==Hindu Texts==

==Hindu Texts==

त्वं तस्यामित्रहन्वध'''र्दास'''स्य दम्भय <nowiki>॥८॥</nowiki><ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.२२ Rigveda] Sanskrit text, Wikisource</ref>

त्वं तस्यामित्रहन्वध'''र्दास'''स्य दम्भय <nowiki>॥८॥</nowiki><ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.२२ Rigveda] Sanskrit text, Wikisource</ref>

<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/rigvedasanhitc06wils#page/56/mode/2up Rigveda 10.22.8] [[H. H. Wilson]] (Translator), Trubner & Co, pages 57-58</ref>

– Translated by [[H. H. Wilson]]<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/rigvedasanhitc06wils#page/56/mode/2up Rigveda 10.22.8] [[H. H. Wilson]] (Translator), Trubner & Co, pages 57-58</ref>

</poem>

</poem>

|Rigveda 10.22.8}}

|Rigveda 10.22.8}}

अस्य त्रितो न्वोजसा वृधानो विपा वराहमयोअग्रया हन् ॥६॥</nowiki>

अस्य त्रितो न्वोजसा वृधानो विपा वराहमयोअग्रया हन् ॥६॥</nowiki>

====Dasa with the meaning of servant or slave====

====Dasa with the meaning of servant or slave====

<poem>

<poem>

उत '''दासा''' परिविषे स्मद्दिष्टी गोपरीणसा <nowiki>। यदुस्तुर्वश्च मामहे ॥१०॥</nowiki><ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.६२ Rigveda 10.62] Sanskrit text, Wikisource</ref>

उत '''दासा''' परिविषे स्मद्दिष्टी गोपरीणसा <nowiki>। यदुस्तुर्वश्च मामहे ॥१०॥</nowiki><ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.६२ Rigveda 10.62] Sanskrit text, Wikisource</ref>

R. S. Sharma translates ''dasi'' in a Vedic era Upanishad as "maid-servant".

R. S. Sharma translates ''dasi'' in a Vedic era Upanishad as "maid-servant".

===Later Vedic texts===

===Later Vedic texts===

The three words Dasa, Dasyu and [[Asura]] are used interchangeably in almost identical verses that are repeated in different Vedic texts, such as the Rig veda, the Saunaka recension of [[Atharvaveda|Atharva veda]], the Paippalada [[Samhita]] of the Atharva veda and the [[Brahmana]]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. {{request quotation|date=February 2016}}

The three words Dasa, Dasyu and [[Asura]] are used interchangeably in almost identical verses that are repeated in different Vedic texts, such as the Rig veda, the Saunaka recension of [[Atharvaveda|Atharva veda]], the Paippalada [[Samhita]] of the Atharva veda and the [[Brahmana]]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]], but not in the sense of a slave.

Sharma states that the word ''dasa'' occurs in Aitareya and Gopatha [[Brahmanas]], but not in the sense of a slave.

==Views of Sri Aurobindo==

==Views of Sri Aurobindo==

Authors like [[Sri Aurobindo]] 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.

Authors like [[Sri Aurobindo]] believe that words like Dasa are used in the Rig Veda symbolically and should be interpreted adhyatmikly, and that Dasa does not refer to human beings, but rather to demons who hinder the adhyatmik 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<ref>Sethna 1992:114 and 340, Aurobindo, The Secret of the Veda, p. 220-21</ref> 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."<ref>Sethna 1992:114 and 340</ref>

Aurobindo<ref>Sethna 1992:114 and 340, Aurobindo, The Secret of the Veda, p. 220-21</ref> 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."<ref>Sethna 1992:114 and 340</ref>

According to Aurobindo (The Secret of the Veda), RV 5.14.4 is a key for understanding the character of the Dasyus:

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)<ref name="Sethna 1992:114-115 and 348-349">Sethna 1992:114-115 and 348-349</ref><ref>Which is translated by Griffith thus: ''Agni shone bright when born, with light killing the Dasyus and the dark'' ''He found the Kine, the Floods, the Sun''. (trans. Griffith)</ref>

:''Agni born shone out slaying the Dasyus, the darkness by the light, he found the Cows, the Waters, Swar.'' (transl. Aurobindo)<ref name="Sethna 1992:114-115 and 348-349">Sethna 1992:114-115 and 348-349</ref>

Aurobindo explains that in this verse the struggle between light and darkness, truth and falsehood, divine and undivine is described.<ref name="Sethna 1992:114-115 and 348-349" /> 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]] 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]].

Aurobindo explains that in this verse the struggle between light and darkness, truth and falsehood, divine and undivine is described.<ref name="Sethna 1992:114-115 and 348-349" /> 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]] 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]].

[[K.D. Sethna]] (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."

[[K.D. Sethna]] (1992) writes: "According to Aurobindo,(...) there are passages in which the adhyatmik 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."

==References==

==References==

[[Category:Rigvedic tribes]]

[[Category:Rigveda]]

[[Category:Arthashastra]]