| However, the sons of Sudas
themselves fall and in Brahmanical and Puranic literature are
themselves called Rakshasas or demons for killing the sons of the
great rishi Vasishta.(*28) Meanwhile the
Kavashas, a seer family, listed among the defeated enemies of
Sudas (*29) appear again in the Brahmanas and Upanishads as the
chief priests of the famous dynasty of Kuru kings, particularly Tura
Kavasheya, the purohit for King Janamejaya.(*30) The
BhRigus, who were among those defeated by
Sudas, appear as prominent teachers in later Vedic and Puranic
lore as already noted. Such shifts would be impossible if Aryan and
Dasyu were simply racial terms. Aryans and the Dasyus are not a
racial or linguistic but a religious or spiritual divide, which changes
along with human behavior.
Vedic battles are mainly among the
Vedic people who are divided into various kingdoms, large and small,
much as we find in the Mahabharata itself.
28. Mahabharata Adi Parva 175-6
29. Rig Veda VII.18.12
30. Aitareya Brahmana viii.21
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