Panis

The Panis (Sanskrit: पणि : ) are a class of demons in the Rigveda, from paṇi-, a term for "bargainer, miser," especially applied to one who is sparing of sacrificial oblations. The Panis appear in RV 10.108 as watchers over stolen cows. They are located behind the stream Rasā, and sought out by Sarama. They boast to Sarama that they are well-armed and will not yield the cows without battle, and that the cows are furthermore well hidden in a rocky chamber. Sarama threatens them with the might of Indra and the Angirasas (apparently fire priests) who will recover the cows.

As Griffith points out in his footnote to this hymn: “The hymn is a colloquy between SaramA, the messenger of the Gods or of Indra (see I.62.3, note; 72.8; III.31.6, V.45.8), and the PaNis or envious demons who have carried off the rays of light which Indra wishes to recover.” Elsewhere, in his footnote to 1.62.3, Griffith adds: “SaramA, the hound of Indra… is said to have pursued and recovered the cows stolen by the PaNis; which has been supposed to mean that SaramA is the Dawn who recovers the rays of the Sun that have been carried away by night.”

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.

• SaramA is progressively: the Dawn who recovers the sun rays, “the hound of Indra and mother of the two dogs called after their mother SArameyas who are the watchdogs of Yama the God of the Dead.”, the messenger of Indra
• The PaNis are progressively: merchants (hoarding goods, money), “a class of envious demons watching over treasures.”“the fiends who steal cows and hide them in mountain caverns.”
• The cows are progressively:“the rays of light carried off and concealed by the demons of darkness,”9 the PaNis. “the rain-clouds carried off and kept concealed by the PaNis.” “the PaNi’s hoarded wealth, the cattle and the wealth in horses and in kine.”11

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”.12

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. (Talageri 2000)

2. The myth is also found in the JaiminIya BrAhmaNa, 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 Rigveda) 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 Yama. 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 Rigveda, being more prominent in MaNDala VI than in later MaNDalas (five of the eight hymns to PUsan in the Rigveda 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.”15 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”.16

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.”17

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.”18 Moreover, “PUSan is the only god who receives the epithet paSupA ‘protector of cattle’ (6.58.2) directly (and not in comparison).”19

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.”20 This feature is emphasised throughout the Rigveda: 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).”21

PaNi in the Rigveda is the precursor of the Teutonic Vanir and Greek Pan, 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

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.”33

The word Pan is clearly cognate to PaNi.

Hermes is also primarily “the messenger of Zeus”,35 thereby corresponding to SaramA in both name and function.

(Talageri 2000)

The "rocky treasure-chest" of the Panis is identical to Vala, the stone split by Indra to liberate Dawn. The myth is a variant of that of Indra slaying Vrtra, imagined as a stone serpent, liberating the blocked rivers.

The word pani is also applied in the Rig Veda to human beings, even respected members of the community, who are unwilling to share their wealth. In one hymn Indra himself is addressed as "pani" and in Buddhism eventually becomes Vajrapani.

Graeco-Roman authors equated the Parthians with a Scythian tribe called the Parni (i.e. Greek Parnoi), which has been equated by some with the Panis. Strabo (11.9.2) mentions that the Parnoi belonged to the Dahas ("Dahae") and lived in Margiana and that they founded the Arsacid empire of Parthia.

They could be related to Panis who were an important tribe of present Pakistan-Afghanistan region lasting to the time of Sikandar Lodi. Ahmed Abdulla writes that "the most important Pakhtun tribes of the Division are Kakar, Panni, Tarin, Shirani and Achakzai all of whom are split up between Western Pakistan and Eastern Afghanistan." It is further recorded in Sindh that "according to native accounts, the Parni came to Sibi (Siwi) in 1470 AD." The same text states that Parnis are also known as "Panni".

According to Srimati Akshaya Kumari Devi the Panis were descendants of the Punis (Punics) or Phoenicians, who traditionally established sea trading connections with Iran and India and mingled with the Persians and Scythians. The Panis may have become the Vani (Vanika) caste of traders and merchants (Rigveda 1.56.2, 5.44.7, 8.66.10, 10.108.7, 10.151.8; Atharvaveda 3.15.1).

52According to Hermann Kinder and Werner Hilgemann: The Penguin Atlas of World History, 1979, p.69, the Parthians were equated in Greco-Roman accounts with a Scythian tribe called the Parni, i.e. Greek Parnoi equated by Asko Parpola with the hostile Panis mentioned in the Rg-Veda, in G. Erdosy, ed.: The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, p.367. Elst 1999

References

• Sethna, K.D. 1992. The Problem of Aryan Origins. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.