The Antiquities of Orissa v1.c10.471

v1.c10.471

the former held to its place by girths, *croupiere* and kicking-straps, and the latter by ropes tied round the neck. By way of ornaments, strings of bells round the neck and the rumps, and pendant from the head, were freely employed. In some cases metallic chains were used instead of ropes ; but this was not common (Illustrations Nos. 29 and 30). No *howdāh* has anywhere been met with ; but in the *Agni Purāṇa* allusion is made to one “which should be made of wood cut out of trees that emit a milky sap when wounded ; it should be fifty fingers broad, and three cubits long, painted and decorated with gold ;” and Professor Wilson says, “the more usual riders on elephants were soldiers of a lower grade, several of whom were placed on the animal’s back in a kind of chair or *howdāh*, and were armed with bows and arrows and other missiles. According to Megasthenes, as quoted by Strabo, each Indian elephant carried three archers besides the driver, and his account agrees well enough with what may be inferred from incidental notices of Saṅskrit writers.”²³⁸