The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c10.411

v1.c10.411

**Defensive arms, shields**; Of defensive arms the first object which demands notice is the shield. In ancient India it was made of hide; hence its name *carma*, or leather, *par excellence*. But hard wood was subsequently used for the purpose; and accordingly the *Yuktikalpataru* defines the *carma* as "an arm which covers or protects the body. It is of two kinds, according as it is made of wood or hide. It should protect the body, and be firm, light and tough. That which is insufficient to cover the body, or is heavy, soft, easily penetrable, or made of an offensive material is defective".¹⁹⁹ With the Egyptians and the Grecians the material was commonly bull's hide with the hairy side outwards,²⁰⁰ and Homer gives seven folds of it to the shield of Ajax, and nine to that of Achilles; but the Hindus preferred the hide of the buffaloe and of the rhinoceros, and their superior toughness rendered folding unnecessary. At a subsequent period metal seems to have been likewise used in the fabrication of shields, and specimens have been met with both of iron and copper. Two of the latter metal are preserved in the Museum of the Asiatic Society, but their ages are unknown.