दासdāsa

दास (dāsa) is a Sanskrit word meaning fiend, demon, certain evil beings conquered by Indra, savage, barbarian, infidel, slave, servant, a Shudra, one to whom gifts may be made. Its 33 recorded definitions are grouped into 10 contexts, among them Enemy, Demon, Barbarian, or Infidel, Fisherman or Boatman, Proper Noun (River, Plant, Altar, Name Component).

Roots: दास् (dās), दस् (das)
Definitions: 33

View Declension Tables , 48 forms

Meanings by context

Enemy, Demon, Barbarian, or Infidel

8 definitions

fiend, demon

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

certain evil beings conquered by Indra

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

savage, barbarian, infidel

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

1. A foe, demon, or infidel. 2. A slave or servant.

— Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A foe, especially an evil demon or infidel. 2. A servant or slave.

— Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A foe or evil demon. 2. An infidel or enemy of the gods. 3. A servant or slave.

— Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary

1. An evil being or demon hostile to humanity and to Indra. 2. A savage or barbarian. 3. A slave or servant. 4. A fisherman or boatman.

दास (dāsa) [Printed book page 0411-b]
1. dāsa, as, m. a general N. applied in the Veda

to certain evil beings or demons, hostile to the

human race and to Indra, (those defeated by Indra

have also special names, e. g. Namuci, Pipru, Śambara,

Varcin, &c.); a savage, a barbarian, (opposed in the

Veda to ārya, &c. cf. dasyu); a slave, servant, (in

this sense occurring at the end of the names of

Sūdras and Kāya-sthas; cf. also kāli-dāsa); one to

whom gifts may be made; = dāśa, a fisherman,

boatman; (ī), f. a female servant or slave, servant-

maid; whore, harlot, (in this sense having the

accent on the first syllable); N. of a plant, =

nīlājhiṇṭī, = kāka-jaṅghā, = nīlāmlāna; an altar;

N. of a river; (as, ī, am), belonging to the

Dāsas, i. e. to demons, barbarians, &c. consisting

of the Dāsas, &c. [cf. Gr. δοῦλος derived in a

similar manner from δοῦν, ‘to give or serve.’] —Dā-

sa-jana, as, m. a slave; = dāsī, a female servant.

—Dāsa-jīvana, am, n. ‘slave-life,’ the work or

business of a slave. —Dāsa-tā, f. or dāsa-tva, am,

n. the condition of a slave, slavery, servitude. —Dā-

sa-dāsī, f. the female slave of a slave. —Dāsa-

nandinī = dāśa-nandinī, q. v. —Dāsa-patnī, f.,

Ved. having the demons as masters, being in the

power of the demons; (Sāy.) having Dāsa, i. e. the

destroyer, or Vṛtra as husband; [cf. Gr. δέσποινα.]

—Dāsa-pravarga, as, ā, am, Ved. (according to

Sāy.) having a multitude of servants, having a large

number of slaves; [cf. pra-varga.] —Dāsa-bhārya,

am, n. servants and wives. —Dāsa-bhāva, as, m.

the condition of a slave, slavery, servitude. —Dāsa-

mitra, as, m. ‘friend of a slave,’ N. of a man.

—Dāsamitrāyaṇa, as, or dāsamitri, is, m. a

patronymic from Dāsa-mitra. —Dāsamitrāyaṇa-

bhakta or dāsamitri-bhakta, am, n., N. of the

district inhabited by the Dāsamitrāyaṇas or Dāsa-

mitris. —Dāsamitrika, as, ā or ī, am, relating to

or coming from Dāsa-mitra. —Dāsa-mithuna, am,

n., Ved. a couple of slaves or servants. —Dāsa-varga,

as, m. the whole collection of slaves, all the servants.

—Dāsa-veśa, as, m., Ved. (according to Sāy.) the

destruction of the demons. —Dāsa-śarman, ā, m.,

N. of a scholiast on the Śrauta-sūtras of Śāṅkhāyana.
Page0411-c+ 75

—Dāsasya-kula, am, n. (see Pāṇ. VI. 3, 21), the

common people, low people, the mob. —Dāsānu-

dāsa (°sa-an°), as, m. a slave of a slave, a servant

of servants; (sometimes applied by a humble speaker

to himself.) —Dāsī-kṛ, cl. 8. P. A. —karoti, -kurute,

-kartum, to make any one a slave or a female slave;

to enslave. —Dāsī-kṛta, as, ā, am, made a slave.

—Dāsī-tva, am, n. the state of a female slave.

—Dāsī-dāna-vidhi, is, m. ‘the rules for giving

female slaves,’ N. of the 146th chapter of the

Bhaviṣyottara-Purāṇa or second part of the Bha-

viṣya-Purāṇa. —Dāsī-dāsa, am, n. female slaves

and slaves, female servants and servants. —Dāsī-

putra, as, m. ‘the son of a female slave’ (used as

an abusive expression), = a low wretch, a miscreant.

—Dāsī-māṇavaka, am, n. female slaves and boys.

—Dāsī-śrotriya, as, m. a Brāhman (conversant

with the Vedas) who goes after a female slave. —Dā-

sī-sabha, am, n. an assembly of female slaves or

servants. —Dāsī-suta, as, m. the son of a female

slave. —Dāsyāḥ-putra, as, m. the son of a female

slave; (ī), f. the daughter of a female slave; [cf.

dāsī-putra.] —Dāsyāḥ-sadṛśī, f. behaving like a

female slave. —Dāsyāḥ-suta, as, m. = dāsī-suta, q. v. [ID=22290]

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

1. Enemies of a demoniac character in the Rigveda. 2. Human foes of the Aryans, often reduced to slavery.

दास (dāsa) [Printed book page 1-356]
Dāsa, like Dasyu, sometimes denotes enemies of a demoniac

character in the Rigveda,¹ but in many passages² the word

refers to human foes of the Āryans. The Dāsas are described

as having forts (puraḥ),³ and their clans (viśaḥ) are mentioned.⁴

It is possible that the forts, which are called ‘autumnal’

(śaradīḥ),⁵ may be mythical, but it is not essential, for the

epithet may allude to their being resorted to in the autumn

season. The Dāsa colour (Varṇa)⁶ is probably an allusion to

the black skin of the aborigines, which is also directly men-

tioned.⁷ The aborigines (as Dasyus) are called anās, ‘nose-

less’(?),⁸ and mṛdhra-vāc, ‘of hostile speech,’⁹ and are probably

meant by the phallus-worshippers (śiśna-devāḥ, ‘whose deity

is a phallus’) of the Rigveda.¹⁰ It is significant that constant
Page1-357+ 67

reference is made to the differences in religion between Ārva

and Dāsa or Dasyu.¹¹

Since the Dāsas were in many cases reduced to slavery, the

word Dāsa has the sense of ‘slave’ in several passages of the

Rigveda.¹² Dāsī, the feminine, always has this sense from

the Atharvaveda¹³ onwards. Aboriginal women were, no doubt,

the usual slaves, for on their husbands being slain in battle

they would naturally have been taken as servants. They would

sometimes also become concubines; thus Kavaṣa was taunted

with being the son of a female slave (dāsyāḥ putraḥ) in the

Aitareya Brāhmaṇa.¹⁴

Ludwig¹⁵ considers that in some passages¹⁶ Dāsa is applied,

in the sense of ‘enemy,’ to Āryan foes, but this is uncertain.

Zimmer¹⁷ and Meyer¹⁸ think that Dāsa¹⁹ originally meant

‘enemy’ in general, later developing in Iran into the name of

the Dahae²⁰ of the Caspian steppes, and in India into a desig-

nation of the aborigines. On the other hand, Hillebrandt²¹

argues that, as the Dāsas and the Paṇis are mentioned together,²²

they must be deemed to be closely related tribes, identifying
Page1-358+ 51

the Paṇis with the Parnians and the Dāsas of the Rigveda

with the Dahae. This view, of course, necessitates a transfer

of the scenes of the Rigveda, where Dāsas are prominent, and

especially those in which Divodāsa — ‘the heavenly Dāsa’ — plays

an important part,²³ to the far west. Hillebrandt justifies this

by regarding the scene of the sixth book of the Rigveda as

quite different from that of the seventh and third, in which

Sudās, the Bharatas, Vasiṣṭha, and Viśvāmitra appear. The

Sarasvatī of the sixth book he locates in Arachosia, that of the

seventh in the ‘Middle Country.’ It is, however, extremely

doubtful whether this theory can be upheld. That Divodāsa

should have been a Dāsa, and yet have fought against other

Dāsas, is not in itself likely, especially when his son Sudās

appears as a protagonist of Āryan civilization. It also seems

unreasonable to seek in Arachosia for the river Sarasvati,

which it is natural to locate in the ‘Middle Country.’

The wealth of the Dāsas was no doubt considerable,²⁴ but in

civilization there is no reason to suppose that they were ever

equal to the invaders.²⁵ Leading Dāsas were Ilībiśa, Cumuri

and Dhuni, Pipru, Varcin, Śambara. For names of aboriginal

tribes, see Kirāta, Kīkaṭa, Caṇḍāla, Parṇaka, Śiṃyu.
[Footnote: 1) Cf. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,

p. 157.]

[Footnote: 2) Cf. Rv. v. 34, 6; vi. 22, 10; 33, 3;

50, 6; vii. 83, 1; x. 38, 3; 69, 6;

3, 1; Av. v. 11, 3.]

[Footnote: 3) ii. 20, 8 (called āyasīḥ, ‘made of

iron’); i. 103, 3; iii. 12, 6; iv. 32, 10.

They are called śāradīḥ, ‘autumnal,’

in 1. 131, 4; 174, 2; vi. 20, 10. Cf. also

dehyaḥ, ‘ramparts,’ in vi. 47, 2.]

[Footnote: 4) ii. 11, 4; iv. 28, 4; vi. 25, 2.]

[Footnote: 5) Cf. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology,

p. 60.]

[Footnote: 6) ii. 12, 4; Śāṅkhāyana Śrauta Sūtra,

viii. 25, 6. Cf. Rv. i. 101, 1; 130, 8;

ii. 20, 7; iv. 16, 13; vi. 47, 21; vii. 5, 3.

The Ārya colour is mentioned in iii. 34,

9, and the Dāsa is contrasted with the

Varṇa (of the singers) in i. 104, 2. The

‘white-hued (śvitnya) friends’ who, in

i. 100, 18, aid in the conquest of the

Dasyu and Siṃyu are doubtless Āryans.

In the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xxiv. 30,

the day and night (ahorātre) are

paralleled with the Śūdrāryau — that is,

probably with the Āryan and Śūdra

(the compound is not to be taken as

giving the words in the correct order;

cf. Macdonell, Vedic Grammar, 268).

See also Muir, Sanskrit Texts, 1^2, 140;

Weber, Indische Studien, 10, 10, 11.]

[Footnote: 7) kṛṣṇā tvac, ‘black skin,’ i. 130, 8;

ix. 41, 1.]

[Footnote: 8) Cf. Dasyu, notes 6, 7.]

[Footnote: 9) v. 29, 10. See Dasyu; Geldner,

Rigveda, Glossar, 138.]

[Footnote: 10) vii. 21, 5; x. 99, 3. Cf. Mac-

donell, op. cit., p. 155.]

[Footnote: 11) Rv. i. 33, 4. 5; iv. 16, 9; v. 7, 10;

42, 9; vi. 14, 3; viii. 70, 10; x. 22,

7. 8, etc.]

[Footnote: 12) vii. 86, 7; viii. 56, 3; x. 62, 10.

Roth, St. Petersburg Dictionary, s.v., 2,

suggests that in viii. 46, 32, the word

dāsān, ‘slaves,’ should be read in place

of dāse, qualifying Balbūtha. Zimmer,

Altindisches Leben, 117, quotes the passage

to indicate the admixture of Āryan and

Dāsa blood. See also Av. iv. 9, 8;

Chāndogya Upaniṣad, vii. 24, 2. It is

uncertain whether dāsa-pravarga, as an

epithet of rayi, ‘wealth,’ in Rv. i. 92, 8,

means ‘consisting of troops of slaves.’

Geldner, Rigveda, Glossar, 82, so takes

the expression in i. 158, 5.]

[Footnote: 13) Av. v. 22, 6; xii. 3, 13; 4, 9;

Chāndogya Upaniṣad, v. 13, 2; Bṛhad-

āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, vi. 1, 10 (Mādhyaṃ-

dina = 2, 7 Kāṇva). Zimmer, 107, sees

this sense in vadhū in Rv. viii. 19, 36.

See also Vadhūmant.]

[Footnote: 14) ii. 19; Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa, xii. 3.]

[Footnote: 15) Translation of the Rigveda, 3, 209.]

[Footnote: 16) See i. 158, 5; ii. 13, 8; iv. 30,

14. 15; vi. 20, 10; vii. 99, 5; x. 49,

6, 7. None of these passages need

certainly be so taken.]

[Footnote: 17) Altindisches Leben, 110 et seq.]

[Footnote: 18) Geschichte des Altertums, 1, 515.]

[Footnote: 19) If derived from das in the sense

of ‘lay waste’ (Whitney, Roots), the

original meaning would have been

‘devastator,’ ‘ravager.’]

[Footnote: 20) The Dahae may have been closely

allied in race and language with the

Iranians, but this is not very clearly

proved. Cf. E. Kuhn in Kuhn's Zeit-

schrift, 28, 214; Hillebrandt, Vedische

Mythologie, 1, 95. The possibility or

probability of mixture with Mongolian

blood is always present. So Zimmer,

op. cit., 112, calls the Daoi or Daai of

Herodotus, i. 126, a Turanian tribe.]

[Footnote: 21) Op. cit., 1, 94.]

[Footnote: 22) Rv. v. 34, 6. 7; vii. 6, 3 (Dasyu

and Paṇi together); Av. v. 11, 6.]

[Footnote: 23) Op. cit., 1, 96 et seq., He argues

that Dāsa occurs only four times in

Maṇḍala vii., but eight times in vi.,

and that similarly Śambara, the Dāsa,

is mentioned six times in vi., but only

twice in vii. But Divodāsa much more

probably means, as Oldenberg in-

terprets the name, ‘the servant of

heaven.’ See his Religion des Veda, 155,

n. 1; Bergaigne, Religion Védique, 2,

209; below, p. 363, n. 11.]

[Footnote: 24) Cf. Rv. i. 176, 4; iv. 30, 13;

viii. 40, 6; x. 69. 5; Av. vii. 90, 2.]

[Footnote: 25) Cf. Rv. ii. 12, 11; iv. 30. 14;

vi. 26, 5, whence it appears that the

Dāsas were often dwellers in moun-

tains, a natural refuge for beaten

tribes.

Cf. Hillebrandt, Vedische Mythologie,

3, 269-275, 368; Ludwig, Translation

of the Rigveda, 3, 207-213; Zimmer,

Altindisches Leben, 101-118; Weber,

Indische Studien, 18, 35 (who derives

dāsa from dā, ‘bind’), 254; Muir,

Sanskrit Texts, 2, 359 et seq.; Geldner,

Vedische Studien, 3, 96.]
[ID=1305]

— The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects

Fisherman or Boatman

5 definitions

a fisherman

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

1. A fisherman. 2. A servant or slave. 3. A member of the Shudra caste. 4. A Shudra name suffix. 5. A person worthy of receiving gifts. 6. A sage who knows the true nature of the soul. 7. A female servant or slave. 8. The wife of a slave, fisherman, or Shudra. 9. A harlot. 10. A plant of the Barleria species.

— Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A fisherman, servant, slave, or member of the Shudra caste. 2. A female slave, harlot, or Barleria plant.

— Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A fisherman. 2. A servant or slave. 3. A member of the Sudra caste. 4. A Sudra suffix or name. 5. A person worthy of receiving gifts. 6. A sage who understands the true nature of the soul. Female: 1. A female servant or slave. 2. The wife of a slave, fisherman, or Sudra. 3. A harlot. 4. A plant of the Barleria species.

— Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

a fisherman

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

Proper Noun (River, Plant, Altar, Name Component)

4 definitions

a plant

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

an altar

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Name of a river

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Satyavati, the mother of Vyasa

— Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Servant or Slave

4 definitions

slave, servant

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

1. A slave or servant. 2. A fisherman or boatman. 3. A Sudra, a man of the fourth caste. 4. An addition to the name of a Sudra.

— Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. A slave or servant. 2. A female slave or servant-maid.

— Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Servants entertained in a shraddha. 2. An appellation of the Shudras.

— The Purana Index

Adjective: Hostile, Demoniacal, or Impious

3 definitions

fiendish, demoniacal, barbarous, impious

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

1. Hostile, demoniac, or impious. 2. A foe, demon, or infidel.

— Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. Hostile or demoniacal. 2. A foe, infidel, or demon.

— Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Female Servant, Slave, or Harlot

2 definitions

a female servant or slave

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

harlot

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Sage or Knower of Universal Spirit

2 definitions

a knowing man, especially a knower of the universal spirit

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

A knowing man or knower of the universal spirit.

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)

Verbal Root Meanings (Give, Hurt)

2 definitions

1. To give. 2. To injure or kill.

— Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1. To give. 2. To hurt, injure, wound, or kill.

— Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Śūdra or Śūdra Name Suffix

2 definitions

a Shudra

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

used at the end of names, especially of Shudras and Kayasthas

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

Recipient of Gifts

1 definition

one to whom gifts may be made

— Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)

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Definitions on this page come from 12 works: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary, Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872), Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899), Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary, The Purana Index, The Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon.