Panis

The Panis are a class of demons in the Rigveda, from "Unicode|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 Rasa, and sought out by Sarama, the female dog belonging to Indra. They boast towards 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 who will recover the cows.

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.

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. [(Parpola 1988), Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, 1912] 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 (Parpola 1988).

The Pannis were and important tribe of Afghanistan lasting to the time of Sikandar Lodi. [ P. 54 "An Inquiry Into the Ethnography of Afghanistan" By Henry Walter Bellew ] Ahmed Abdulla in his books writes, "The most important Pakhtun tribes of the Division are Kakar, Panni, Tarin, Shirani and Achakzai all of whom are split up between Baluchistan and Afghanistan." [ Ahmed Abdulla, P. 54 "The Historical Background of Pakistan and Its People", 1973 ] It is further recorded in Sindh that, "According to native accounts, the Parni Afghans came to Sibi (Siwi) in 1470 AD." [ P. 20 "History of the Arghuns and Tarkhans of Sind, 1507-1593 : an annotated translation of the relevant parts of IAST|Mir Maʻsum's IAST|Taʼrikh-i-Sind, with an introduction & appendices" by Mahmudul Hasan Siddiqi; IAST|Mīr Muḥammad Maʻṣūm ] This same text writes that Parni Afghans are also known as "Panni". [ P. 20 "History of the Arghuns and Tarkhans of Sind, 1507-1593 : an annotated translation of the relevant parts of IAST|Mir Maʻsum's IAST|Taʼrikh-i-Sind, with an introduction & appendices" by Mahmudul Hasan Siddiqi; IAST|Mīr Muḥammad Maʻṣūm ]

References

*Parpola, Asko: 1988, The Coming of the Aryans to Iran and India and the Cultural and Ethnic Identity of the Dasas; The problem of the Aryans and the Soma.
*Sethna, K.D. 1992. The Problem of Aryan Origins. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.