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| The
Hindu Phenomenon |
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Appendix
1 - Resolving the Ancient Language Problem
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conquering Aryans are alleged to have treated the conquered
original inhabitants of India with contempt. The two words which
have been used most to make this charge stick are Dasa and Dasyu.
The Rigveda throughout refers to Dasa/Dasyus as asraddha
(faithless), ayajna (offering-less) and avrata (without rituals). It
is obvious that these terms refer to religious practices, and not to
race or language. As such they could apply only to would-be
Iranians, who were hostile to the cult of Indra and to the sacrifice
of animals in the sacred fire. This is not a matter of conjecture.
Telageri shows that the Iranians called themselves by these names.
The world Dasyu is found in the Avest as Dahya, s becoming h
as in all Persian dialects. The word Dasa is found in the eastern
Iranian dialect of Khotanese as Daha meaning man. But some
how the charges has stood.
The Rigveda makes it clear that Dasa
and Dasyu are one and the same and so are Dasyus and Asuras in the
later hymns when Asura has ceased to be the equal of Devas and come
to acquire an unsavoury connotation.
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