SARAMA
AND THE PANIS : A MYTHOLOGICAL THEME IN R.V.
Chapter
10 (Appendix 3)
Sarama
and the Panis: A Mythological Theme in the Rigved
The
myth of Sarama and the Panis is found in the Rigved X.108.
The
hymn, as Griffith notes, is a colloquy between Sarama, the messenger
of the Gods or of Indra and the Panis or envious demons who have
carried off the cows or rays of light which Indra wishes to recover.
But,
according to Macdonell, the hymn is about the capture by Indra of
the cows of the Panis (who) possess herds of cows which they keep
hidden in a cave far beyond the Rasa, a mythical river. Sarama,
Indra's messenger, tracks the cows and asks for them in Indra's
name, but is mocked by the Panis.
Clearly,
there is a basic difference in the above descriptions of the myth:
Griffith's description suggests that the cows were stolen by the
Panis, and are sought to be recovered by Indra; Macdonell's description
suggests that the cows belong to the Panis and are coveted by Indra.
The
myth is a complex one, which has developed many shades and facets
in the Rigved itself. We will examine this myth as follows :
I.
Development of the Vedic myth.
II. The Panis in Teutonic Mythology.
III. Sarama and the Panis in Greek Mythology.
IV. Mythology and History.
I
DEVELOPMENT OF THE VEDIC MYTH
Primitive
myths came into being out of efforts to arrive at explanations for
the phenomena of nature.
One
very common phenomenon in nature is the daily transition from day
to night and night to day. This was conceived of in mythical terms
as an eternal struggle between the forces of light and the forces
of darkness: the forces of darkness, with unfailing regularity,
stole away the Sun or its rays, leading to the onset of night. The
forces of light, with equal regularity, rescued the Sun, or recovered
its rays, leading to the onset of daytime.
The
forces of light had a specific name: Dev's (from div-, light). The
forces of darkness, however, did not have such a clear-cut name,
as darkness (being merely the absence of light) is a negative phenomenon.
The action of stealing and hiding away the Sun or its rays was likened
to that of the miserly traders and merchants who hoarded goods and
money, hence the name PaNi, originally meaning trader or merchant,
was applied to them.
In
the course of time, a regular phenomenon of nature was converted
into a single mythical incident: the incident involving Sarama and
the Panis.
The
progressive development of the three main mythical entities in the
Sarama-Pani myth (ie. Sarama, the Panis, and the cows) may be noted:
1.
Sarama is progressively :
a.
The Dawn who recovers the rays of the Sun that have been carried
away by night.
b.
The hound of Indra and mother of the two dogs called after their
mother Sarameyas who are the watchdogs of Yam the God of the Dead.
c.
The messenger of the Gods or of Indra.
2.
The Panis are progressively :
a. In accordance with the original meaning of the word, merchants
or traders.
b.
A class of envious demons watching over treasures.
c.
The fiends who steal cows and hide them in mountain caverns.
3.
The cows are progressively :
a. The rays of light carried off and concealed by the demons of
darkness, the Panis.
b.
The rain-clouds carried off and kept concealed by the Panis.
c.
The Pani's hoarded wealth, the cattle and the wealth in horses and
in kine.
The
myth starts off with the idea of the Panis, the demons of darkness,
stealing the rays of light and hiding them away at night, and Sarama,
the Dawn, recovering them in the morning, as a matter of daily routine.
The
original concept of the rays of light is still present in early
hymns (VI.20.4; VII.9.2), but these rays of light are more regularly
depicted as cows.
Sarama,
who searches out and recovers the rays of the Sun is soon conceived
of as a kind of hound, the hound of Indra, who tracked the stolen
cows.
A
regular phenomenon gradually becomes a single incident: Sarama's
searching out and tracking of the cows stolen by the Panis becomes
a major incident in itself, and develops new angles. In some versions,
the Panis, merchants and boarders of wealth, now become the owners
of the cows, and Indra becomes the covetous God who covets these
cows. SaramA now becomes a messenger of Indra and the Gods in their
quest for the cows of the Panis. This is the myth represented in
hymn X. 108.
The
further development of this myth may be noted :
1.
In X. 108, as D.D. Kosambi points out, the hymn says nothing about
stolen cattle, but is a direct, blunt demand for tribute in cattle,
which the Panis scornfully reject. They are then warned of dire
consequences.
As
we have seen, Macdonell notes that the Panis possess herds of cows
which they keep hidden in a cave far beyond the Rasa, a mythical
river. Sarama, Indra's messenger, tracks the cows and asks for them
in Indra's name, but is mocked by the Panis.
The
gist of the hymn is as follows :
a.
Sarama makes her way over long paths and over the waters of the
Rasa and conveys to the Panis Indra's demand for their ample stores
of wealth.
b.
The Panis refuse, and tauntingly offer to make Indra the herdsman
of their cattle.
c.
Sarama warns them of dire consequences if they refuse Indra's demand.
d.
The Panis express their willingness to do battle with Indra. But
they offer to accept SaramA as their sister if she will stay on
with them and share their cattle and wealth.
e.
Sarama, however, rejects the offer, and issues a final warning.
Here,
the hymn ends; and the battle which follows, in which Indra defeats
the Panis, is to be assumed.
2.
The myth is also found in the Jaiminiya Brahman, II.440-442. Here,
the cows are again clearly referred to as. the cows of the Gods
stolen by the Panis. This time, the Gods first send Suparna, the
eagle or the Sun-bird. However, the Panis bribe him into silence,
and he accepts their gifts and returns without any information.
The enraged Gods strangle him, and he vomits out the curds, etc.
received from the Panis.
Then
the Gods send Sarama. She crosses the Rasa and approaches the Panis.
She is also offered bribes, but (as in the Rigved) she refuses their
blandishments and returns to Indra with the information that the
cows are hidden inside the Rasa. She and her descendants are then
blessed by a grateful Indra.
3.
The myth is found, finally, in the Brhaddevata, viii 24-36.
Here,
the myth develops a curious twist. The same. sequence of events
takes place, but this time Sarama accepts the bribe of the Panis,
and apparently transfers her loyalties to them. When she returns
to Indra and refuses to disclose the hideout of the cows, Indra
kicks her in a rage. She vomits out the milk received as a bribe,
and then goes back trembling to the Panis.
Thus,
as the myth develops, we find a radical transformation in the relationship
between Sarama and the Panis. From being initially hostile to each
other, the two are increasingly identified with each other, and
the nature of the original myth is completely lost.
A
side development in this whole myth is the development of the concept
of the Sarameyas, the sons of Sarama, as the hounds of Yam. They
are a pair of four-eyed hounds who guard the pathway leading to
the Realm of the Dead, and conduct the souls of the dead to their
destination.
It
will also be necessary to examine the characteristics of another
Vedic God, Pusan, who represents one of the forms of the Sun. PUSan
is one of the older deities in the Rigved, being more prominent
in Mandala VI than in later Mandalas (five of the eight hymns to
Pusan in the Rigved are in Mandala VI), and many of his characteristics
later devolve onto Sarama and the Panis in Vedic as well as in other
mythologies.
The
main characteristics of Pusan are :
1.
Pusan is basically an Aditya or Sun-God, and it is clear that he
represents the Morning Sun: according to Sayana, Pusan's sister
is Usas or Dawn. Moreover, in I.184.3, the Asvins are called Pusans;
and the Asvins, as Griffith notes in his very first reference to
them are the earliest bringers of light in the morning sky who in
their chariots hasten onward before the dawn, and prepare the way
for her.
2.
Pusan's main function, however, is as the God of roadways, journeys
and travellers: As knower of paths, Pusan is conceived as a guardian
of roads. He is besought to remove dangers, the wolf, the waylayer
from the path (1.42.1-3). He is invoked to protect from harm on
his path (6.54.9) and to grant an auspicious path (10.59.7). He
is the guardian of every path (6.49.8) and lord of the road (6.53.1).
He is a guide on roads (VS.22.20). So, in the Sutras, whoever is
starting on a journey makes an offering to Pusan, the road-maker,
while reciting RV 6.53; and whoever loses his way turns to PUSan
(AGS 3.7.8-9, SSS 3.4.9). Moreover in the morning and evening offerings
to all gods and beings PUSan the road-maker receives his on the
threshold of the house.
3.
Another important function of PUSan is as the God who helps find
lost objects, particularly lost animals, and especially lost cattle:
As knower of the ways, he can make hidden goods manifest and easy
to find (6.48.15). He is in one passage (1.23.14-15; cp. TS 3.3.9.1)
said to have found the king who was lost and hidden in secret and
asked to bring him like a lost beast. So, in the Sutras, Pusan is
sacrificed to when anything lost is sought (AGS 3.7.9). Similarly,
it is characteristic of Pusan that he follows and protects cattle
(6.54. 5,6,10; 58.2; cp. 10.26.3) and drives back the lost. Moreover,
Pusan is the only god who receives the epithet pasupa protector
of cattle (6.58.2) directly (and not in comparison).
Hymn
VIII.29, which refers (in riddle form) to the particular characteristics
of various Gods, refers to Pusan, in its sixth verse, as follows:
Another, thief like, watches well the ways, and knows the places
where the treasures lie.
4.
A very distinctive characteristic of PUSan is his close association
with the goat: His car is drawn by goats (ajasva) instead of horses.
This feature is emphasised throughout the
Rigved: I.138.4; 162.2-4; VI. 55.3,4,6; 57.3; 58.2; IX.67.10; X.
26.8; etc.
5.
Another very important function of PUSan is that he conducts the
dead on the far path to the Fathers and leads his worshippers thither
in safety, showing them the way (10.17.3-5). The AV also speaks
of Pusan as conducting to the world of the righteous, the beautiful
world of the gods (AV 16.9.2; 18.2.53). So Pusan's goat conducts
the sacrificial horse (1.162.2-3).
In
post-Vedic Indian mythology, all these entities more or less faded
away: neither Sarama nor the Panis nor Pusan have any important
role to play in Puranic mythology.
However,
the word Pani and its variant form Vani (found only twice in the
Rigved: I.112.11; V.45.6) persisted into later times and provided
the etymological roots for a very wide range of words pertaining
to trade, commerce and economics, and business activities: pan,
to barter, purchase, buy, risk; Apana, market, shop; Apanika, mercantile;
pana, a coin vani/bania, trader; vanijya, commerce, etc.
II
THE PANIS IN TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY
The
Panis are found in Teutonic mythology as the Vanir :
1.
The word Vanir is clearly cognate to the word Vani which is a variant
form of Pani, found twice in the Rigved (I.112.11; V.45.6) but increasingly
more frequently later. As Yaska points out in his Nirukta (II.17),
the word Vani is derived from the word Pani: panih vanij bhavati.
2.
The Gods (Devs) and the Panis are two equal and opposite forces
(being the forces of light and the forces of darkness in the eternal
struggle between day and night). However, the Devs, since they represent
the more positive and more desired phenomenon of light, are considered
to be desirable and worthy of worship; while the Panis, who represent
the more negative (ie. being merely the absence of light) and less
desired phenomenon of darkness, are considered to be demonic and
unworthy of worship. In I.151.9, the Panis are depicted as hankering
after the divinity (devatvam) of Varun and Mitra (who are called
Asurs or Great Gods in the fourth verse of the hymn).
In
Teutonic mythology, besides the Aesir there was a second race of
Gods, the Vanir. This race was considered less divine than the Aesir
(Asur), and less worthy of worship. Hence, the overriding concern
of the Vanir was that their rank should be recognised as equal to
that of the Aesir so that they would receive an equal right to the
sacrifices made by the faithful.
The
rivalry between the Aesir and the Vanir is reflected throughout
Teutonic mythology, and the Aesir come out triumphant in every skirmish.
This includes the struggle for the sacred mead (reflected in Indian
mythology as the struggle between the Gods and demons for Som, or
for Amrit, the divine nectar): Odin used trickery to obtain the
sacred mead, source of wisdom and poetry, which he then shared with
the Äsir the message is clear: the Äsir gained wisdom,
while the Vanir proved themselves incompetent.
The
Rigved, it must be noted, represents an analogous situation, where
the Gods are the Devs or Asurs (Aesir) and the demons are the Panis
(Vanir). In later Indian mythology, the Panis fade away, and the
demons acquire the name Asura.
3.
There is a shift in nuance between the status of the Panis in the
Rigved and the Vanir in Teutonic mythology: while the Panis are
outright demons (the forces of darkness), the Vanir are a second,
if inferior, race of Gods.
However,
the field of association and operations of the Vanir is exactly
the same as that of the Panis, but in a positive sense :
The
Panis are associated with the rays of light and with the rain-clouds,
but they are associated as demons who steal these rays of light
and these rain-clouds, and try to prevent mankind from receiving
the benefits of these gifts of nature. At the same time, they are
associated with trade and commerce, and with hoarded wealth, as
demons watching over treasures and, again, denying mankind the benefit
of this wealth and these treasures.
However,
in the case of the Vanir, these negative features have become positive:
They provided the fields and pastures and forests with sunlight
and life-giving rain From them came the harvests, game, and all
kinds of riches in general. They are also identified with traders
and merchants, and with maritime activities: the Vanir were also
the protectors of commerce and navigation.
4.
The main incident of hostilities between the Gods (Devs) and the
Panis described in the Rigved is the Sarama incident in which a
female messenger passes between the two (and which is followed by
a war in which Indra and the Gods defeat the Panis). The provocation
for this incident, as depicted in X.108, is nothing but the wealth
of the Panis which is coveted by Indra and the Gods.
In
Teutonic mythology also: One Nordic tradition represents that war
broke out between the belligerent Aesir and the peace-loving Vanir.
This war is preceded by an incident involving a female messenger:
One day, the Vanir sent to the Aesir - on a mission which is not
explained - a Goddess by the name of Gullveig. This Goddess was
highly skilled in all the practices of sorcery, and by her art had
acquired much gold. When, alone, she reached the Aesir, they were,
it is supposed, tempted by her riches. They seized her and submitted
her to torture. Later she returned to the Vanir in a battered state.
In
the Brhaddevata, Sarama has shifted loyalties and is now close to
the Panis. In the Teutonic myth, Gullveig is already one of the
Vanir. She is now a messenger from the Vanir to the Gods (rather
than from the Gods to the Panis). But she is still the key to the
coveted wealth of the Vanir, and she is tortured by the Gods until
she yields this wealth (as Sarama is kicked by Indra until she vomits
out the milk received from the Panis).
III
SARAMA AND THE Panis IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Sarama
and the Panis are found in Greek mythology as Hermes and (his son)
Pan, who also represent, at the same time, Pusan and his goat.
It
will be noted that all the concerned Vedic entities, Sarama, the
Sarameyas, the Panis, and Pusan, are merged into the character of
Hermes :
1.
The word Hermes is an exact cognate to the word Sarama: the correspondence
between the names (though not that between the identities or functions)
has been noted by many scholars, including Max Müller; and
the Larousse Encyclopaedia of Mythology tells us that many etymologies
have been proposed for the name Hermes. Some suggest a connection
with the Vedic Sarameyas derived from Sarama.
The
word Pan is clearly cognate to Pani.
2.
Sarama in the Rigvedic hymn is the messenger of the Gods or of Indra,
and specially of Indra.
Hermes
is also primarily the messenger of Zeus, thereby corresponding to
Sarama in both name and function.
3.
The Sarameyas, the offspring of Sarama, are the guides to the Realm
of the Dead: their main function is to guard the path of the departed
spirit and lead it to the place of Yam. This is originally one of
the functions of Pusan who conducts the dead on the far path to
the fathers.
Hermes
is concerned with the underworld, and consequently he is also charged
with conducting the souls of the dead to the underworld.
(Incidentally,
the Atharvved 18.4.55 refers to the harmya of Yam, which is taken
to mean a tomb.)
4.
The Panis are basically concerned with trade and commerce: they
are in accordance with the original meaning of the word, merchants
or traders. This original meaning of the word has survived to this
day in different words pertaining to trade and commerce, as we have
seen. Another meaning of pan (is) to risk, to wager, to bet.
An
important and special function of Hermes is as the God of Commerce,
the God of Profit - lawful and unlawful - and the God of games of
chance.
This
characteristic of Hermes is even more pronounced in the related
South European mythology of the Romans (the Greeks and Romans shared
a common pantheon, with different names for basically the same Gods),
in the name. of his Roman counterpart Mercury: The name Mercury
is connected with the root merx (merchandise) and mercari (to deal,
trade), and he is exclusively the God of merchants preside(s) over
messages and over commerce.
5.
Pusan is first and foremost a God of travellers: as we saw, Pusan
is conceived as a guardian of roads. He is besought to remove dangers,
the wolf, the waylayer from the path. He is invoked to protect from
harm on his path and to grant an auspicious path. He is the guardian
of every path and lord of the road So, in the Sutras, whoever is
starting on a journey makes an offering to Pusan, the road-maker
and whoever loses his way turns to Pusan. Moreover in the morning
and evening offerings to all gods and beings Pusan the road-maker
receives his on the threshold of the house.
Likewise,
Hermes was above all thought of as the god of travellers, whom he
guided on their perilous ways. His image was placed where country
roads branched and at crossroads in towns.
6.
Sarama is originally the Dawn who recovers the rays of the Sun that
have been carried away by night.
Hermes
is not directly identified with the dawn - he has developed further
from his roots - but traces of this origin can be seen in his attributes:
He
is a God of the twilight. This can mean either dawn or dusk; here
it means dawn: Hermes has the epithet Argephontes, a probable deformation
of Argeiphantes, the who makes the sky clear.
Mercury,
the Roman counterpart of Hermes, also retains traces of his origin:
among animals, the cock was especially sacred to him.
7.
The canine motif is very prominent in the Rigvedic myth: Sarama
and the Sarameyas are conceived as hounds, and even the Panis, in
one place at least (VI.51.14) are conceived as wolves.
Hermes,
however, is conceived as a handsome young man wearing winged sandals
and a helmet, and carrying a staff with two entwined serpents facing
each other. The reason for this is simply that in Classical Greek
art and iconography, all the Gods and Goddesses, unless ugliness
is a specified attribute in their description, are depicted as men
and women of perfect form and classic beauty.
However,
the functions and characteristics of Hermes show that he must originally
have been conceived as a kind of dog before the compulsions of Greek
art and iconography took over :
a.
Hermes was particularly honoured by the shepherds his mission was
to watch over their flocks and protect their huts. From this doubtless
arose the Greek habit of placing at the doors of houses a more or
less crude image of this God.
Writing
in a different context, Malati Shendge makes a point which is relevant
here: Although in Avesta no dog is associated with Yam, an indirect
link may be seen in his being described as a good shepherd. To a
shepherd, a dog is an important mate who helps him to look after
and protect his flock.
b.
Hermes, as we saw, is charged with conducting the souls of the dead
to the underworld.
This
function is performed by dogs in most mythologies of the world:
not only in the Rigved and the Avesta, but even in Egyptian mythology
where we have Anubis, ancient jackal-headed Egyptian deity His name
means watcher, and guardian of the dogs. With Upuant, he presides
over the abode of the dead and leads them to the judgement hall.
c.
Sarama, the hound of Indra, helps track down and recover Indra's
cows stolen by the Panis. A dog, as we shall see presently, figures
in a different way in a jumbled version of this myth found in Greek
mythology.
8.
The main myth pertaining to Sarama and the Panis, as we have seen,
is the one represented in one whole hymn (X.108) in the Rigved,
and in other developed versions in the Jaiminiya Brahman (II.440-442)
and the BRhaddevatA (viii, 24-36).
Incredibly,
this myth is found in Greek mythology in three different forms,
all of which are individually traceable to the original Vedic myth
:
a.
The Panis, as per the myth, possess herds of cows which they keep
hidden in a cave beyond the Rasa, to protect them from Indra, the
thunder-God or God of rain.
The
Encyclopaedia of Classical Mythology tells us that in the mountains
(of Greece) there were numerous caves of Pan into which the cattle
were herded in bad weather. (ie. to protect them from the rain).
b.
Greek mythology relates a myth in which a golden dog belonging to
Zeus (the Greek thunder-God and counterpart of Indra) is stolen
by a man significantly named Pan-dareus: It was Hermes who, with
the help of Iris, found in the abode of Tantalus the golden dog
Pandareus had stolen from Zeus.
The
first point to be noted is that Zeus (like Indra) possesses a dog.
This dog itself is stolen. It is found jointly by Hermes and Iris
(who is a female messenger of the Gods).
As
per the original myth, Hermes should have been both the dog of Zeus
as well as the female messenger of the Gods who finds the stolen
cows of Zeus. However, Hermes has been transformed so that he is
neither a dog nor a female. Hence, the original SaramA-PaNi myth
is found in a jumbled form: cows are absent in this version, and
Hermes finds the dog of Zeus with the help of the female messenger
of the Gods!
c.
Greek mythology relates another incident which contains motifs of
the original myth which are missing in the above version, but now
the original identity of the thief is missing: in the first version,
as we saw, cows are herded into caves called the caves of Pan, and
in the second version, the thief is Pan-dareus.
Here,
however, Hermes, who combines in himself the characteristics of
both Sarama and the Panis, is himself the thief: On the very day
of his birth, Hermes displayed his mischievous nature by stealing
the cattle which had been confided to the care of Apollo. He separated
fifty heifers which he drove before him under cover of the night
to the banks of the Alpheus shutting up the heifers in a cavern...
(later) Zeus instructed Hermes to return the heifers.
Here,
we find all the distinctive motifs of the SaramA-PaNi myth: the
stolen cattle of the Gods, the cave hiding place on the banks of
a river, the connection of the theft with night time, etc. Hermes
(in the role of the Panis) steals the cattle; and Hermes himself
(in the role of Sarama) recovers them at the instructions of Zeus.
Even
without noticing the Sarama-Pani connection, the Larousse Encyclopaedia
of Mythology notes that Apollo's heifers are analogous to the cows
of the Vedic Indra.
IV
MYTHOLOGY AND HISTORY
The
study of the mythology of the Rigved is definitely of great importance
in the study of Indo-European history. But it is necessary to understand
the exact sense in which it is important: it is important in the
sense that a proto-Indo-European mythology can be reconstructed
from a comparative study of different Indo-European mythologies,
but not in the sense that the mythology is itself an actual representation
of history.
Unfortunately,
an entire academic industry has been built up on the basis of the
interpretation of mythology as an actual representation of history,
with mythological entities and events being interpreted as actual
historical entities and events.
Thus,
the Panis of the Rigved, who are identical with the Vanir of Teutonic
mythology (as the Gods or Asurs of the Rigved are with the Aesir)
are clearly purely mythical entities, and have nothing whatsoever
to do with historical entities or events either in India or in northern
Europe.
Nevertheless,
at the eastern end of the Indo-European belt, the Panis of Vedic
mythology are identified as the non-Aryan inhabitants of India,
conquered by invading Aryans entering India from the northwest;
and at the same time, at the western end of the Indo-European belt,
the Vanir of Teutonic mythology are identified as the non-Aryan
inhabitants of Scandinavia, conquered by invading Aryans entering
Scandinavia from the southeast!
The
Everymans Encyclopaedia of Non-Classical Mythology tells us: In
Nordic myth, the Vanir were the culture heroes of a race which seems
to have preceded the Aesir in Scandinavia.
Likewise, Shan M.M. Winn tells us about Scandinavia: we must consider
the possibility that the region was once inhabited by a people who
were neither Indo-European nor patrilineal. The mythical subordination
of the Vanir may echo a historical conquest, in which a matrilineal,
agrarian society was disrupted and finally replaced by a new Indo-European
ideology originating from elsewhere.
After
all that we have discussed, is any comment required on this kind
of historical interpretation of mythology.
The
importance of mythology in the study of Indo-European history, it
must be repeatedly emphasised, lies in the comparative study of
different Indo-European mythologies.
As
we have seen, modified or transformer versions of fragments of the
Sarama-Pani myth are found in Teutonic mythology as well as in Greek
mythology.
What
is crucial to our analysis is the fact that the versions of Teutonic
and Greek mythology bear absolutely no discernible similarity to
each other. If not for the common point of comparison with Vedic
mythology, it would be virtually impossible to guess that the Vanir
of Teutonic mythology are even remotely connected to Hermes and
Pan of Greek mythology; or that the Teutonic mythical incident is
in any way connected to any of the three versions in Greek mythology.
We
have already made clear in our earlier book that any comparative
study of the different Indo-European mythologies (Vedic, Iranian,
West Asian, South European, West European, North European, East
European) shows a situation where :
1.
Practically all the elements in any reconstructed proto-Indo-European
mythology are found in Vedic mythology, whereas only a few of them
are found in any other Indo-European mythology.
2.
The common elements are found in Vedic mythology in their most primitive
forms, closest to the original nature-myths; while fragments of
the original myths, in later developed versions, are found in the
other Indo-European mythologies.
3.
Each of the other Indo-European mythologies has several elements
in common with Vedic mythology, but hardly any with any of the others
(not counting historical borrowings, such as Greek Apollo in Roman
mythology).
4.
In respect of common elements, the Vedic version provides the connecting
link, often the only one, between the versions in the other mythologies.
Furthermore,
considering the theory that the Indo-Iranians had a common history
after their separation from the other Indo-Europeans, till they
separated into India and Iran respectively, Iranian mythology has
no connection with any other mythology except Vedic.
This
situation does not fit in with any model of Indo-European origins
and dispersals which places the Indo-European homeland outside India.
In
fact, the particular myth we are examining, that of the Pani/Vanir/Pan,
goes far in corroborating our case for an Indian homeland :
The
Teutonic Vanir and Greek Pan are definitely derived from the Vedic
Pani, both linguistically (since Vani is a later form of Pani),
as well as from the point of view of mythical development.
But,
in the Rigved itself, the word Pani refers to two distinct entities:
firstly, it refers to actual merchants and traders, and, secondly,
it refers to the mythical Panis or demons of darkness. So the question
arises: which came first, the merchants or the demons.
The
fact is that almost all the Western scholars are unanimous in placing
the merchants first: Griffith tells us that the original meaning
of the word is merchants or traders;and that from first being used
in reference to a miser, a niggard, an impious man who gives little
or nothing to the Gods, the word Pani came to be used also as the
name of a class of envious demons watching over treasures, and as
an epithet of the fiends who steal cows and hide them in mountain
caverns.
Macdonell
also tells us that the word Pani occurs in the sense of a niggard
from this signification it developed the mythical meaning of demons
who primarily withhold the treasures of heaven.
If
the word Pani in the Rigved, which is the precursor of the Teutonic
Vanir and Greek Pan, originally meant a merchant or a trader in
the earlier part of the Rigved, then it certainly means that the
Vedic people were already a settled and commercially prosperous
people in the geographical region indicated by the Rigved before
the development of the mythical concept of the Panis (and consequently
of the Vanir and of Pan).
Footnotes
:
1
HOR, fn.X.108.
2 VM, p.63
3
HOR, fn.I.62.3
4
ibid.
5
HOR, fn.X.108.
6
HOR, fn.VI.45.31.
7
HOR, fn.I.32.11.
8
ibid.
9
HOR, fn.IX.111.2.
10
HOR, fn.I.121.4.
11
HOR, fn.I.83.4.
12
HOR, fn.IV.16.8.
13
CCAIHO, p.80.
14
VM, p.63.
15
HOR, fn.VI.55.4.
16
HOR, fn.I.3.1
17
VM, pp.35-36.
18
ibid., p.36.
19
ibid., 37.
20
ibid., p. 35.
21
ibid.
22
LEM, p.257.
23
ibid., p.275.
24
HHH, p.64.
25
HOR, fn.IX.111.2, etc.
26
HOR, fn.I.121.4, etc.
27
HOR, fn.I.83.4.
28
HOR, fn.I.32.11.
29
LEM, p.275.
30
ibid.
31
ibid.
32
ibid.
33
ibid.,p.133.
34
HOR, fn.X.108.
35
LEM, p.133.
36
CDHR, p.39.
37
VM, p.35.
38
LEM, P.136.
39
ibid., p.133.
40
VM, pp. 173-174.
41
HOR, fn.VI.45.31.
42
CDHR, p.46.
43
LEM, p.133.
44
ibid., p.220
45
VM, pp.35-36.
46
LEM, p.133.
47
HOR, fn.I.62.3.
48
LEM, p.133.
49
ibid.
50
ibid., p.220.
51
LEM, p.133.
52
CDHR, p.39.
53
LEM, p.133.
54
EDNCM, p.13.
55
VM, p.63.
56
ECM, p.110.
57
LEM, p.136
58
ibid., p.157.
59
ibid., p.135.
60
ibid., p.133,
61
EDNCM, p.224.
62
HHH, p.64.
63
HOR, fn.VI.45.31.
64
HOR, fn.I.32.11.
65
VM, p.157.