One of Indra's great feats was the return of cows stolen from the gods by the demonic Paniya tribe, which lived in unknown lands, beyond the world of gods and asuras. The Panii drove the cows to a distant country beyond the Rasa River, which flows at the edge of the world, and hid them in a mountain cave. Then the heavens darkened, for those divine cows were the rays of dawn. Brihaspati, who saw the Paniyas, told the mighty Indra about the abduction. Indra sent the divine dog Sarama to search for the cows. Sarama tracked down the cows, ran to the river, on the other bank of which stood an impregnable Paniya fortress, jumped over the stream and heard the lowing of the kidnapped cows inside the rock.
The Panii came out to meet her. “Why did you come here, Sarama? The path to us is long and difficult. “What do you want from us?” “I came as Indra’s messenger,” she answered. “I want you to give back the cows, O Paniya, so that you return the great treasures that you have plundered.” - What does he look like, this Indra, by whom you were sent here from afar, O Sarama? If he himself comes here, let him be our friend, let him be the shepherd of our flocks.” “He, who sent me from afar, is not one of those who can be outwitted, O Paniya,” Sarama answered the demons. “He is the one who himself deceives others. Slain by Indra, you will lie here, O Paniya!” Then they said: “These are the cows you desire, O Sarama. But who will give them up without a fight? Our weapons are sharp, our treasures are safely hidden in the mountains, and the Panii will be able to guard them. You have come a long way in vain.” “Your words about the army are not yet an army,” Sarama objected to them. “And when Indra and the angry sages of Angiras come here, they will divide your herds among themselves, and you will swallow your boastful speeches!”
Then the paniyas said: “If you have already come here, O Sarama, obeying the will of the gods, stay with us, be our sister. Don't go back to the gods; We will give you a share in our herds, O beauty! “I’m not looking for kinship with you,” she answered. -I belong to Indra and the terrible
Angirasam. Beware of them, panii! I don't need your herds. But I would like to taste the milk from those cows that you hide in the cave.”
And the ladies brought her milk. Unable to resist the temptation, she drank the sweet liquid. Then she again jumped over the wide river and set off on her way back. When she returned to Indra, he asked her: “Have you found the cows, O Sarama?” And Sarama, intoxicated with demon milk, lied to him. “No,” she answered. But Indra realized that she was lying; and in anger he kicked the divine dog. Then she vomited up the enchanted milk. And, trembling with fear, she went to the land of the Paniyas, and Indra followed her in a chariot drawn by bay horses. With him went the sages of the family of Angiras, led by Brihaspati, the Lord of Prayer.
When they came to the country that lies at the edge of the world, beyond the Rasa River, the wise Angiras, using magic spells and chants, opened the rock and brought the cows out of captivity. And when they did this, the evil darkness disappeared, the light of Ushas, the goddess of the dawn, shone in the sky, and the sun appeared to the eyes of the living. Sad over the loss of the cows, Vala, the demon of the cave, raised a terrifying howl from the depths of the mountain; he was struck to death by the valiant Indra. And the mighty son of Aditi scattered the Paniyas, while the Angiras took for themselves all the property of this evil tribe.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru