This essay will cover the army composition, its organizational structure, troops distribution, war strategy, and weaponry.

Warfare in Ancient Bharat: Part 2 of 2

Army Composition

The army was considered one of the seven key elements of a state. According to Sukra Niti, what a mind is to man, an army is to a state. So, without an army, a state comes to a standstill. It also states, “There is neither kingdom, nor wealth, nor prowess. The treasury is the root of the army, and the army is the root of the treasury. It is by maintaining the army that the treasury and the kingdom prosper, and the enemy is destroyed.”

The ancient Hindu armies had a four-fold division called ‘caturanga-bala’ consisting of chariots, elephants, cavalry, and infantry in this order of prominence.

Chariots:

They were considered the most important in warfare. Sukra had mentioned of the iron chariot which consisted of swift-moving wheels, with good seats for the warriors and a seat in the middle for the charioteer and it was equipped with different offensive and defensive weapons. The Mahabharata had an elaborate mention of chariots.

Elephants:

Elephants are considered the next important force in the army. Greek ambassador Megasthenes explains how the elephants were hunted and tamed in Bharat. Some of the prominent works that deal with elephants are the Hastyayurveda of Palapakya and the Matangalila of Narayana. Roman historian Curtius Rufus mentions that the elephants created great terror and their trumpets frightened the Greek horses and their riders. They caused much disorder in the ranks, and veterans of many victories looked for shelter.

He also says that the most dismal sight was elephants gripping the Greek soldiers with their trunks, hoisting them above their heads, and delivering them to their soldiers to be beheaded. Similarly, Diodorus and Plutarch mentioned elephant warfare and their strength in the war between Alexander and Purushottam (Porus). According to Dhanurveda, the military training of elephants consists of mountaineering, moving through the water, running, jumping, rising, sitting, etc. The elephants should be made devoid of fear by putting them inside fire circles.

Cavalry:

The cavalrymen rode the horses with a whip that was fixed to the wrist unlike for the horses of a chariot. The cavalrymen were armed with bows and arrows or a spear or a sword. The cavalry had a wide range of tactical advantages. It was indispensable in situations requiring quickness of movement. Eminent works that deal with Horses and cavalry are Asva Sastra of Hemasuri and Asvacikitsa of Nakula.

Infantry:

According to the Agni Purana, victory attends to those armies where foot soldiers i.e., the infantry are numerically strong. The Sukraniti mentions foot soldiers possess firearms during combat. Dhanurveda mentions that the soldiers in an infantry should be of equal height and everyone in the infantry should be an expert in jumping and running. Moreover, they should be trained to move backward, stand still, run, and run apace rushing headlong into the hostile army, and move in different directions according to signals. According to Arrian, “They carry a bow made of equal length with the man who bears it.

This they rest upon the ground and pressing against it with their left foot, thus discharge the arrow having drawn the string backward: the shaft they use is little short of being three yards long, and there is nothing which can resist an Indian archer’s shot – neither shield nor breastplate nor any stronger defense if such there be”. Arrian also says, “All Indians are free. The Indian army was in constant pay, during war and peace. Arms and horses supplied by the state and army never ravaged the country. The bravery of the army is superior to any other army they had to contend with.”

Besides the four-fold classification of the army, Artha Sastra mentions a six-fold division. According to this division, the army consisted of six ‘limbs’ which are:

• Maula (hereditary troops)
• Bhrita (territorial army)
• Sreni (organized militias)
• Mitra (friendly troops)
• Amrita (alien forces)
• Atavi (jungle tribal forces)

Army Organizational Structure

According to Artha Sastra, Army’s organizational structure is as follows:

• Patika – Commander of ten units of the army.
• Senapati – Commander of 10 Patikas.
• Nayaka – Commander of 10 Senapatis.

Troop Distribution

Scriptures, such as The Mahabharata, mention the distribution of troops into nine different units namely: Patti, Senamukha, Gulma, Gana, Vahini, Pruthana, Chamu, Anikini, Akshauhini. Each unit consists of chariots, elephants, horses, and foot soldiers in the ratio of 1:1:3:5. The following table explains the composition of each unit taken from The Mahabharata, Aadi Parva (Adhyayam 2, verses 19-26).

War strategy

There are several different types of military formations mentioned in Hindu scriptures. Some of these formations are: Padma Vyuha, Chakra Vyuha, Ratha Vyuha, Sarpa Vyuha, Garuda Vyuha, Simha Vyuha, Agni Vyuha, Danda Vyuha, Matsya Vyuha, Makara Vyuha, Sucimukha Vyuha, Sakata Vyuha, Vajra Vyuha etc. The type of vyuha (array) used shall depend on the type of anticipated attack.

Weaponry

According to Dhanurveda, weapons fall into four categories based on their nature:

• Mukta – which are thrown
• Amukta – which are not thrown
• Muktamukta – which are thrown or not thrown
• Yantramukta – which are thrown by spells

Twelve weapons fall under the Mukta category: Dhanu (Bow), Arrow, Bindivala (Crooked club), Sakti (Spear), Drughana (Hatchet), Tomara (Tomahawk), Nalika (Musket), Laguda (Club), Pasa (Lasso), Cakra (Discus), Danta kantaka (Tooth-thorn), Musundi (Octagon-headed club)

The Amukta class consists of the following twenty weapons: Vajra (Thunderbolt), Hand sword, Parasu (Axe), Gosirsa (Cow-horn spear), Asidheny (Stiletto), Lavitra (Scythe), Astara (Bumarang), Kunta (Lance), Sthuna (Anvil), Prasa (Spear), Pinaka or Trisula (Trident), Gada (Club), Mudgara (Hammer), Sira (Ploughshare), Musala (Pestle), Pattisa (Battle-axe), Maustika (Fist-sword, Dagger), Parigha (Battering-ram), Mayukhi (Pole), Satagni (Hundred-killer)

The Muktamukta class weapons were further classified into two classes, namely Sopasamhara (connected with the withdrawing or restraining Upasamhara) and the Upasamhara themselves which are the restrainers of the previous class. There are forty-four varieties in the Sopasamhara class and fifty-four varieties in Upasamhara class.

There are only six weapons in the Yantramukta class, and nothing can defeat these six weapons.

1. Visnuchakra (Discus of Vishnu)
2. Vajrastra (Thunderbolt)
3. Brahmastra (Brahma’s Missile)
4. Kalapasaka (Noose of death)
5. Narayanastra (Missile of Narayana)
6. Pasupatastra (Missile of Pasupati)

Unlike Dhanurveda, the Agnipurana classified weapons into five categories. 1. Yantramukta, those thrown by a machine, 2. Panimukta, those thrown by the hand, 3. Mukta-sandharita, those thrown and drawn back, 4. Amukta, those which ate not thrown, and 5. Bahuyuddha, weapons that the body provides for personal struggle. Gustav Oppert in his monologue, ‘On the weapons, army organization and political maxims of the ancient Hindus’, mentions that there are other classifications besides the previously mentioned.

Likewise, various treatises consist of different opinions regarding the superiority of one weapon over the other. For example, Vaisampayana in his Niti Prakasika had high regard for the sword whereas according to Agnipurana, it was considered a subaltern weapon where battles fought with bows are considered noble followed by fighting with spears, swords, and wrestling is considered the worst form of fighting. He also says that the efficiency of the weapons varies and is subject to great changes. Because of the construction mode, the materials used to make a weapon are different, and the quality of a weapon is not the same in different ages and places.

Besides, increasing, decreasing, and preserving the efficiency of a weapon depends a lot on the strength and ability of a person who uses such arms. One notable mention is that according to Gustav, gunpowder can be attributed to Niti Prakasika and Sukraniti. He also mentions that the gunpowder equivalent in Sanskrit is ‘agnicurna’ also called ‘curna’.

Conclusion

Hindu civilization had a rich knowledge of warfare, weapons, military strategies, and martial arts. This made the Hindu kings resist armed Islamic and Portuguese invasions in its history for the longest time which was nowhere to be seen across other civilizations in the world. Despite the mention of gunpowder in Hindu scriptures, and the training of elephants with fire circles to make them devoid of fear, we don’t witness any usage of fire weapons in Bharat’s armed struggle concerning Islamic invasions.

Moreover, Muslim historians recorded instances where naphtha balls were thrown against the rushing elephants and frighten them in wars between Rajputs and Turkish invaders from the North-West (Elliot and Dowson, vol. I). In any case, this rich knowledge combined with our ancestors rooted in Dharmic values led to the failure of total Islamization and the Christianization of Bharat.

References and Works Consulted

Chakravarti, P.C., The Art of War in Ancient India (General Printers & Publishers, 1941), University of Dacca. Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.282006

Hema Hari, D.K. and Hari, D.K., Autobiography of India: Breaking the Myths – About Identity (Sri Sri Publications Trust, 2018), accessed at https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-India-Identity-Breaking-Myths-Vol1-About-ebook/dp/B07C15GJMG

John C. Rolfe, Litt. D., Curtius Rufus, Quintus [History of Alexander], (Harvard University Press, 1946), University of Pennsylvania. Accessed at https://archive.org/details/quintuscurtius0002unse/page/n7/mode/2up

McCrindle J.W., Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian, (Thacker, Spink & Co., 1877). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/ancientindiaasd01mccrgoog/page/n6/mode/2up

Mookerji, Radha Kumud, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times, University of Madras, 1943. Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.281321.

Oppert Gustav, NitiPrakasika, (Higginbotham And Co, 1882). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217444

Oppert Gustav, On the weapons, army organization, and political maxims of the Ancient Hindus, (New Order Book Co, 1967). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.46936

Rangarajan, L.N., Kautilya, The Arthashastra (Penguin Books, 1992). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/kautaliya-arthshashtra-ancient-India/mode/2up

Ramachandra Dikshitar, V.R., War in Ancient India (Macmillan & Co., 1944), University of Madras. Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.503472

Ray, Purnima, Vasişţa’s Dhanurveda Samhitā (J.P. Publishing House, 2003). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.382701

Thippabhatla RamaKrishnaMurthy, Suram Srinivasulu., Shrimahabharatam aadiparvamu-sabhaparvamu-part-1 (Gita Press, Gorakhpur, 2018) Accessed at https://www.gitapress.org/bookdetail/shrimahabharatamu-aadiparvamu-sabhaparvamu-part-1-telugu-2141

Vittal, Vinay, “Kautilya’s Arthasastra: A timeless Grand strategy” (Graduate Thesis, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL. 2011). Accessed at https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1019423.pdf

Ancient Indian Warfare, accessed at https://www.worldhistory.org/Indian_Warfare/

Dhanurveda – Works on ancient Indian artilleries. Accessed at http://mahabharata-research.com/onewebmedia/chapter%203.pdf

Hindu Online, accessed at http://hinduonline.co/scriptures/dhanurveda/dhanurveda.html

Mahabharatam, in Telugu (Gita Press, Gorakhpur, 2016). First edition.

Surya’s Tapestry, accessed at https://www.hinduwisdom.info/War_in_Ancient_India.htm

We acknowledge the editorial assistance provided by Dr. Kalyani Samantray, Sri Sri University, Odisha, India.

The post Warfare in Ancient Bharat: Part 2 of 2 appeared first on Hindu University of America.

Warfare in Ancient Bharat: Part 1

Ancient Bharat had witnessed many wars in every yuga be it Satya (Krita) Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga. Some of the famous wars were the war of ten kings, the war between Rama and Ravana in the Treta Yuga, and the Kurukshetra war in the Dwapara Yuga. Besides, many other wars were mentioned in various Puranas and many other wars were recorded in history. If Bharat had witnessed many such wars besides modern ones, it implies that Bharat had a rich history of warfare, weapons, and martial arts which might have evolved to higher functionality from rudimentary levels. This paper is an attempt to summarize ancient Bharat’s warfare and weaponry.

Works on Warfare 

Dhanurveda, one of the four upavedas and part of Yajurveda, deals with archery and military science. The other three upavedas are Ayurveda, Gandharvaveda, and Natyaveda, which are part of the Rig, Sama, and Atharvana Vedas respectively. The term ‘Dhanurveda’ usually denotes the artillery science. Dhanurveda mainly covers weapons and training, war ethics, war strategy, and army composition besides training horses, elephants, etc.

Moreover, Vasishta’s treatise on Dhanurveda, called Dhanurveda Samhita, and Nitiprakashika by Vaisampayana deal with the same. Agni Purana also deals with weapons. The Vishnu Purana mentions Dhanurveda as one of the eighteen traditional branches of knowledge. In addition to the mention of training horses and elephants in Dhanurveda, there are works like Asva Sastra, Asvacikitsa, Hastyayurveda, and Matangalila that explicitly deal with elephants and horses. Arthashastra by Kautilya was based on several earlier treatises, and teachers like Vishalaksha and Bharadwaja deal with politics, state administration, warfare, military strategies, other essential aspects of war, etc.

According to L. N. Rangarajan, the author of the book ‘Kautilya-The Arthashastra’, there were a minimum of four distinct schools of thought and thirteen individual teachers of Arthashastra before Kautilya. Other notable works that fall into the category of Arthashastra are Sukra Niti by Sukracharya, Kamandakiya Nitishastra, Harihara Caturanga, Sangrama-Vijayodaya, etc. 

War and Types of War

In Sanatana Dharma, wars are fully justified as an integral part of dharma. War is completely acceptable if it is fought to uphold Dharma or to protect the weak and the innocent. According to Manu and Kautilya, wars were fought not only for self-defense against external aggression but also for the territory’s enlargement by conquest. Moreover, they explain that a king aims to destroy a natural enemy because if he does not eliminate the enemy, he will be eliminated by the enemy.

It can be widely seen that war was always used as a last resort after exhausting all the measures to maintain peace, which is evident from Ramayana, Mahabharata, and other such scriptures. The ancient Hindu society realized the importance of peace and hence followed a four-stage process to avoid war and settle disputes. These stages are:

• Sama – peaceful negotiation
• Dana – offering gifts appeasing the enemy
• Bheda – veiled threat
• Danda – use of force

According to ancient Hindu society, war was not just confined to physical war. War was classified into four kinds by Kautilya, who is also called Chanakya in Artha Sastra.

• Mantrayuddha – war by counsel employed by a weaker king when waging an open war is not a good idea
• Prakasayuddha – open war
• Kutayuddha – a concealed war that meant irregular warfare and psychological warfare, including the instigation of treachery in the enemy camp
• Gudayuddha – using covert methods to achieve the objective without waging a battle

In one of the strategies employed by the ancient Bharatiya kings that fall under Gudayuddha, gifts were sent to the invading kings, which also included the Poison Maiden (Visha Kanya) to kill the enemy king. In a letter (Latin – Elgood, Arabic translation by Al-Batriq) written by Aristotle to Alexander cautioning him about a Poison Maiden, he says “Remember what happened when the king of India sent three rich gifts and among them that beautiful maiden whom they had fed on poison until she was the nature of a snake.

Had I not perceived it because of my fear, for I feared the clever men of those countries and their craft, and had I not found by proof that she would be killing thee by her embrace and by her perspiration, she would surely have killed thee.”   

Ethics and Rules of War in Ancient Bharat

During a war, Hindu kings abided by certain ethics which were mentioned in several ancient scriptures mentioned previously. Even accounts of Greek scholars mentioned that wars in Bharat were fought between kings and armies and no civilians were harmed in this process. Greek ambassador Megasthenes mentions, “Whereas among other nations it is usual in the contests of war to ravage the soil and thus reduce it to an uncultivated waste, among the Indians, on the contrary by whom husbandmen are regarded as a class that is sacred and inviolable, the tillers of the soil, even when in battle is raging in the neighborhood, are undisturbed by any sense of danger, for the combatants on either side in waging the conflict make carnage of each other, but allow these engaged in husbandry to remain unmolested.

Besides they neither ravage an enemy’s land with fire nor cut down its trees. Nor would an enemy coming upon a husbandman’s at work on land do him harm, for men of this class, being regarded as public benefactors, are protected from all injury”. This kind of war code was employed in the western world through the Geneva convention in 1949.

War Ethics and rules of engagement in the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Dhanurveda, and Vedas:

• The place and time of war must be specified beforehand to be in accordance with dharma.
• War is to begin at sunrise and end at sunset.
• A single warrior cannot be attacked by multiple warriors.
• When two warriors engage in a duel, they shouldn’t be intervened.
• A surrendered warrior should be unharmed.
• A surrendered warrior becomes a prisoner of war and is subject to the protections allocated to such a warrior.
• An unarmed warrior cannot be harmed.
• Anyone (human or animal) not involved in the war should be left unharmed.
• Unless considered a direct threat, animals in battle cannot be killed.
• A warrior involved in a battle with a weapon should abide by certain rules. For example, striking the enemy with a mace below the waist was forbidden.
• Warriors should not be engaged in an unjust war; it had to be a just war.
• Land should not be harmed in any form.
• Women, children, the sick, and farmers should not be affected in a battle and war prisoners were considered sacred.
• A warrior should not be struck from the back.
• Poisoned weapons and arrowheads were forbidden.
• Mass destruction weapons that wiped off the entire population were prohibited.
• An enemy who is lying unconscious, who is crippled, who does not have a weapon or is stricken with fear, and who came for asylum should not be killed.
• A strong and brave warrior should not chase and kill any fleeing enemy stricken with fear.

When a territory is acquired by conquest, the conqueror king shall:

• Be twice as good as the previous king.
• Follow policies that are pleasing and beneficial to the constituents by acting according to his dharma.
• Adopt the way of life, dress, language, and customs of the people of the acquired territory, show the same devotion to the gods of the territory as to his own gods and participate in the people’s festivals and amusements.
• Ensure the practice of all customs which are in accordance with dharma.
• Ensure that worship is held regularly in all the temples and ashrams.
• Grant land, money, and tax exemptions to the men distinguished for their learning, speech, dharma, or bravery.
• The ill, the helpless, and the distressed shall be helped.

When the enemy camp is raided, these people should not be attacked:

• Anyone falling in the fight.
• Those turning their backs.
• Anyone surrendering.
• Anyone who unties his hair as a symbol of surrender or throws his weapons down.
• Anyone contorted by fear.
• Anyone who does not fight.

Furthermore, Manu Smriti also has some battle rules:

• The conqueror has the obligation of treating the defeated ones with humanity.
• A warrior should not strike with weapons concealed nor with barbed, poisoned, or the points of which are blazing with fire.
• People walking on the road, travelers, or those who are engaged in eating and drinking or pursuing their activities and Brahmans should not be harmed unless engaged in a war.
• Combat between the mounted and the unmounted was prohibited.
• Combat between warriors of officer rank and foot soldiers was not allowed.
• Collective attacks against a single soldier and the slaying of a warrior who had a temporary disadvantage during the battle were strictly prohibited

Despite multiple treatises pointing out the act of using poisoned weapons as cowardly, Dhanurveda had techniques of Phalapayana, a technique to make arrows poisonous. One of the recorded instances where poisonous swords and arrows were used was in the battle between King Sambus and Alexander where Ptolemy, the Greek general of Alexander was wounded by a poisoned arrow. Moreover, many soldiers who were wounded by poisoned swords, and arrows died soon after.

References & Works Consulted

Chakravarti, P.C., The Art of War in Ancient India (General Printers & Publishers, 1941), University of Dacca. Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.28200

Crindle, J.W.M., The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great, (Westminster Archibald Constable and Company, 1896). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/invasionindiaby00arrigoog/mode/2up

Hema Hari, D.K. and Hari, D.K., Autobiography of India: Breaking the Myths – About Identity (Sri Sri Publications Trust, 2018), accessed at https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-India-Identity-Breaking-Myths-Vol1-About-ebook/dp/B07C15GJMG

Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji, Asiatic Papers, Part IV, (Times of India Press, 1929). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.30255.

Mookerji, Radha Kumud, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times, University of Madras, 1943. Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.281321.

Ramachandra Dikshitar, V.R., War in Ancient India (Macmillan & Co., 1944), University of Madras. Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.503472

Rangarajan, L.N., Kautilya, The Arthashastra (Penguin Books, 1992). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/kautaliya-arthshashtra-ancient-India/mode/2up

Ray, Purnima, Vasişţa’s Dhanurveda Samhitā (J.P. Publishing House, 2003). Accessed at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.382701

Vittal, Vinay, “Kautilya’s Arthasastra: A timeless Grand strategy” (Graduate Thesis, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL. 2011). Accessed at https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1019423.pdf

Dhanurveda – Works on ancient Indian artilleries. Accessed at http://mahabharata-research.com/onewebmedia/chapter%203.pdf

Hinduwebsite, accessed at https://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_war.asp

Hinduwebsite, accessed at https://www.hinduwebsite.com/ask/is-war-justified.asp

Sanskriti Magazine, accessed at https://www.sanskritimagazine.com/indian-religions/hinduism/hinduism-code-ethics-war/

Hindu Online, accessed at http://hinduonline.co/scriptures/dhanurveda/dhanurveda.html

Surya’s Tapestry, accessed at https://www.hinduwisdom.info/War_in_Ancient_India.html

We acknowledge the editorial assistance provided by Dr. Kalyani Samantray, Sri Sri University, Odisha, India.

The post Warfare in Ancient Bharat: Part 1 of 2 appeared first on Hindu University of America.