Public Administration in Ancient India c18.52

c18.52

The question whether the use of fire-arms was known in India in ancient times has not yet been settled. There are a few terms to be found in the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, such as ‘vajra,’ ‘nālika,’ and ‘āgneyāstra,’ which may be interpreted as pointing to the use of fire-arms. Chānakya gives recipes for the preparation of inflammable powders (agni-dhāraṇa and agni-yoga) which were to be hurled against the enemy.⁵ The Sukranīti treats of the preparation of gun-powder, and also of the use of cannons and muskets, but these passages are evidently a later addition. The Nītiprakāsikā, which is doubtless a recent work, mentions burning and explosive oil, and injurious and irritating compounds which were thrown at the enemy. From these and other similar passages Mr. Gustav Oppert concludes that gunpowder was first invented in India, and that fire-arms were used by Indians long before they were known in any other country. We do not find, however, any mention of fire-arms in the writings of foreign travellers, and in the absence of fuller proof the question must be regarded as unsettled.