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ORIGIN OR BRAHMIN GOTRAS
4.7
civil war among Aryans (as in partit must have bccn), that the hostility which can so amply bc proved down to later times is professional, between thc warrior and pricstly castcs, and at most derives from thc ancient hostility among diffcrcnt Aryan tribcs. After all, Kurunga is called a Turvaga king in his dānastuti hy Kaņva, viii.4.19, and could be an Aryan; morc ambiguously, Kanva bogs Indra to let him scc Yadu-Turvaša again in sk 7. Not only in vii.83.1, but also in other hymns (vi.33.3, vi.22.10, vi.60.6) arc both Aryan and non-Aryan (called Vrtras hcrc) cncmics mcntioned whicn praying to vcd tcction. In iv.30.7, Indra takes Yadu and Turvasa across dry (or unbathed ; thic mcaning is obscurc) but kills two (presumably non-vcdic) Aryans Arņa and Citraratla on thc other side. There is, then, cvidcncc for the progressive rccombination of Aryans and non-Aryans into vcdic and cxtra-vcdic group. In vii.83.1, Indra-Varuņa arc to stand by Sudās and strikc cncmics, both Aryans and Vștras. But our point is casily proved.
Tura Kāvaşcya is famous teacher in the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa, a lcading pricst in thc Aitarcya Brāhmana, and prominent in other Brahimin tradition, though thc direct gotra docs not. sccm to lavc survived. But his father, Kavaşa Ailūşa (sccr of x.30-34 and pricst of Kurusravaņa, x.30) is forcibly cjccted as dāsyah pulral* by Brahmins, to dic of thirst from which hc is saved by his river hymn (x.30, because of which the sacrcd river Sarasvati followed him into the dcscrt ; cf. Ait.Brāli.ii.19). Thc ancestral representativc Kavaşa is overthrown in vii.18.12 along with thc Druhyus, which should complctc thc story. But it might still bc objccted that dāsī mcans only a slave girl, and there is nothing to show diffcrcncc of race, cvcn though a slave girl's son would certainly be disqualificd.
Däsa in the grcatcr number of rgvcclic citations mcans a human foe .conquered by thc Aryans in battic, Indra yathāvašam nayati dāsam äryaḥ (v.34.6 and others). They havc thcir own citics, strong.cnough to be called brazen or iron; (ii.20.8) hat dasyūn pura āyasīr ni tārīt. Dasyu is taken as synonymous at times with dcmons, and again with dāsa, which shows that the strisc is very old : (iii.12.6) Indrāgni navatim puro dāsapatnir adhūnutam. Some of these citics arc scasonal, particularly autumnal (sāradīḥ) : sapta yat puraḥ sarma säradar dard han dāsih Purukutsāya sikşan (vi.20.10) which incidentally show that Purukutsa was befriended by Indra at that time, whatever thc components of his name may have been carlicr. Thcy have a special colour yo dāsam varnam (ii.12.4) which is not that of thc 'Aryans: hatūí dasyūn prāryam varnam ävat (iii.34.9). They! arc always different in religion (cf. Manusmfti x.44,45), which is of far grcater importance than the colour. They havc not the firc-sacrificc : ayajvānaḥ (i.33.4), nor thc proper cult and arc possessed of black magic : mājāvān atrahma
* A similar rcproach by Medhatithi against Vatsa Kāņva - was disproved by the accused (Pañc. Drah. xiv, 0.6).
