Agnipurana 241

English (machine translation) 241

Language: English

241.3 — 1 part
241.13 — 2 parts
241.25 — 1 part
241.35 — 3 parts
241.47 — 1 part
241.58 — 1 part
241.69 — 2 parts
241.73 — 9 parts

241.1

Rāma said: / Having arrayed the six-fold army and having worshipped the gods, he should march against the enemy: / the hereditary army, the hired army, the guild-army, the allied army, the enemy troops, and the forest army.

241.2

Each preceding one is more important, and likewise is the calamity of the armies. / [The army is] six-limbed through counsel and the treasury, and with infantry, horses, chariots, and elephants.

241.3

At rivers, mountains, and forest fortresses, wherever there may be danger,

241.3.p1

[p. 376]

241.3_2

the commander-in-chief should advance there with troops arrayed in battle formations.

241.4

The leader should go in front surrounded by champion men; / in the center should be the wife, the master, the treasury, and whatever troop is weak.

241.5

On both sides should be horses; on the sides of the horses, chariots; / on the sides of the chariots, elephants; and on the sides of the elephants, the forest force.

241.6

The commander-in-chief, capable himself, placing everyone in front, / should advance behind with a prepared mass of troops, gently encouraging the weary.

241.7

When danger is in front, he should advance in a great makara array, / or with a hawk array with raised wings, or with a needle array having heroes at its point.

241.8

When danger is behind, [he should arrange] a cart array; on both flanks, the one named thunderbolt; / when danger is on all sides, he should form the sarvatobhadra array.

241.9

In a cave, a mountain fastness, a river or forest defile, / fatigued from a long march, distressed by hunger and thirst,

241.10

afflicted by disease, famine, and pestilence, routed by bandits, / sunk in mud, dust, or floods of water, scattered or huddled together on the road,

241.11

fast asleep, busy with eating, situated on disadvantageous ground, ill-stationed, / terrified by danger of thieves and fire, battered by rain and wind—

241.12

in these and other conditions he should protect his own army and destroy the hostile army. / Strong and superior in place and time, when the other's disposition is broken,

241.13

he should indeed wage open warfare; in the reverse case, deceptive warfare. / At those times of surprise attack, he should strike down the enemy when he is threw into confusion.

241.13.p1

[...]

241.13.p2

1. "vajrasaṅkaṭam" in manuscripts kha. and cha. / [p. 377]

241.14

When he is on disadvantageous ground while oneself is on advantageous ground, or by subverting him on his own ground, / drawn out through subverting his subjects or with nooses by forest dwellers and the like,

241.15

he should strike down with champion men, by feigning flight and drawing him away. / Having shown an appearance in front, since his resolve is fixed on that target,

241.16

he should strike from behind, approaching swiftly with an elite force; / or having thrown them into confusion from behind, he should strike from the front with a hero.

241.17

Flank attacks in deceptive warfare are explained by these two [methods]. / When the ground in front is uneven, the swift one should strike from behind;

241.18

when it is uneven in front and behind, [he should strike] just so on the flanks. / Having first engaged in battle with seducible, enemy, and forest troops,

241.19

he should strike down the enemy when he is tired, slow, and without aid, using unwearied mounts; / or indeed, having feigned flight with seducible and enemy troops, exerting himself,

241.20

relying on secret plans, he should strike the enemy who is confident that he has won. / In military camps, towns, villages, crops, rulers, and subjects,

241.21

he should remain alert and destroy the hostile army as it rests in confidence; / or drawn out by a raid on cattle, targeting that by blocking the paths.

241.22

Exhausted by staying awake at night for fear of an assault, / he should strike down the soldiers asleep by day and bewildered by slumber,

241.23

or sound asleep in confidence at night, by means of elephants or sword-bearing men. / In marching, going ahead, entering forest strongholds,

241.24

breaking unbroken battle ranks, rallying broken ones, / intimidating, smashing gates, and protecting the treasury are the work of elephants.

241.25

Breaking the unbroken, bringing together allies are the work of chariots,

241.25.p1

[p. 378]

241.25_2

and, in surveying the paths and quarters of the forest, observing transport routes and reinforcement.

241.26

Pursuit and retreat, the swift execution of actions, / chasing the distressed, and striking the flanks and the rear;

241.27

these are the duties of the cavalry. And for the infantry, it is constantly bearing weapons, / clearing the camp and the roads, and guard duty.

241.28

Ground that has solid, thick tree stumps, anthills, trees, and shrubs, but is free of thorns, / possessing an escape route, and not overly uneven, is considered suitable for infantry.

241.29

Having few trees and stones, with hills quickly passable, firm, / devoid of gravel, free of mud, and providing an escape route—such is ground suitable for cavalry.

241.30

Free of tree stumps, trees, and marshy fields, free of mire, / lacking crushable trees, clippable creepers, and mud, is the ground for chariots.

241.31

Ground with waterfalls, accessible rocks, and uneven terrain is suitable for elephants. / Collecting the forces such as the center when broken,

241.32

is known as the reserve (*pratigraha*), which is capable of managing other royal enterprises. / An array devoid of it appears as if already broken.

241.33

One desiring victory and wise should not fight without a reserve. / Where the king is, there is the treasury, and kingship depends on the treasury.

241.34

Therefore, he should give [rewards] to the warriors; it is not proper to give nothing: / a hundred thousand in wealth for killing the [enemy] king, half of that for slaying his son,

241.35

similarly for slaying the commander-in-chief, and [a reward] for crushing elephants and the like. / Alternatively, opponents on horses, chariots, and elephants should fight their counterparts,

241.35.p1

[...]

241.35.p2

1. "Free of gravel, with accessible rocks" in ms. ja.

241.35.p3

2. "What indeed is to be given" in mss. gha. and ña.
[Page 379]

241.36

so that there may be no congestion in engagement and withdrawal. / They should fight without intermingling, for confusion brings chaotic turmoil.

241.37

In massive melee combats, they should take shelter behind an elephant. / There should be three men as combatants against a horse;

241.38

thus three horses are to be assigned, arranged for an elephant. / And there should be fifteen men as foot-guards [for an elephant].

241.39

Such is the rule prescribed for an elephant and also for a chariot. / This is to be known as a unit (*anīka*), and nine elephants are to be arranged in this way.

241.40

Likewise, they declare the division (*randhra*) of an *anīka* to be fivefold. / According to this division of the *anīka*, one should establish the assets of the array (*vyūha*).

241.41

They declare these to be arranged: the center (*urasya*), flanks (*kakṣa*), and wings (*pakṣa*). / The center, the two flanks, the two wings, the middle, the rear, and the reserve,

241.42

and the two tips (*koṭī*): by the knowers of the science of battle-arrays, an array is said to have seven limbs. / The array consisting of center, flanks, and wings is provided with a reserve.

241.43

According to Guru [Bṛhaspati] and Śukra, this [array] is devoid of the two flanks. / The army commanders, surrounded by champion warriors, should stand [there],

241.44

and fight with undivided unity, protecting one another. / In the middle array should be the weak troops; the combat equipment should be placed at the rear.

241.45

For battle has the leader as its breath of life; without a leader, it is destroyed. / One should place ferocious elephants in the center, and chariots on the two flanks,

241.46

and horses on the two wings: this array is proclaimed as "center-piercing" (*madhyabhedin*). / The horse division in the center, the chariot division on the two flanks,

241.47

and the elephant division on the two wings: this array is known as "interior-piercing" (*antarbhedya*).

241.47.p1

[Page 380]

241.47_2

In place of chariots, one may assign horses; and infantry in support of the horses.

241.48

In the absence of chariots, however, one should station elephants everywhere in the array. / If there is an abundance of the staff (*daṇḍa*) formation, it is declared an obstruction.

241.49

The circle (*maṇḍala*), the detached (*asaṃhata*), the serpent (*bhoga*), and the staff (*daṇḍa*) formations: hear about them in detail. / The staff moves transversely, while the serpent formation advances in another movement.

241.50

The circle moves in all directions, and the detached moves separately. / The *pradara* (cleaver), *dṛḍhaka* (firm), *asahya* (irresistible), the bow (*cāpa*), the flank (*kukṣi*),

241.51

*pratiṣṭha* (firmly based), *supratiṣṭha* (well-founded), the hawk (*śyena*), the *vijaya* (victory) and *sañjaya* (complete victory), / *viśāla* (wide), *vijaya*, the needle (*sūcī*), the pillar-eared (*sthūṇākarṇa*), and the army-front (*camūmukha*),

241.52

the snake-mouthed (*sarpāsya*), the ring (*valaya*), and the staff (*daṇḍa*)—these varieties of the staff array are difficult to conquer. / The advanced (*atikrānta*) and the counter-advanced (*pratikrānta*), by means of the two flanks or by one flank and wing;

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Agnipurāṇa (Nag Publishers edition, Delhi) — Sanskrit

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Agnipurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Agnipurana 241

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