History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c13.3

v1.c13.3

The infantry came the last as it was not counted of much value. The soldiers were armed with bucklers and swords. The foot archer does not seem to be a prominent feature of the Indian army in Harsha's days, though the riders on elephants usually used the bow and the arrow. Every prince and Rajput appears to have practised archery. Bāṇa's description of Harsha, Rājya, Kumāra, Mādhava and others mentions their wrists and arms as blackened by the constant drawing of the bow.