War in Ancient India c4.s6.t2.1

c4.s6.t2.1

It has already been explained that in a society where a separate caste was set up with the sole object of defending the kingdom from internal and external troubles, the tendencies to war were normal. Being born warriors and barred by rules from taking to other professions, the Kṣatriyas were impatient of peace. In fact it is the psychological barrenness of peace that led to many wars in India’s ancient history. Our warriors in that period resembled the gallant knights of mediaeval Europe who took part in the Crusades to win back Jerusalem for Christ, both a cause and an effect of chivalry. Peace to the Kṣatriyas was a kind of inactivity, of slow movement and of retrogression instead of progress. It was not in their nature to be inactive. To them peace begot war. They believed honestly that peace was a negation of all noble service and noble energy. It depressed their hearts and minds. It depressed their spirit of enthusiasm and initiative. On the other hand, their sincere belief was that to make war was a service that was noble and moral and promoted the welfare of their community and country. Moved by such ideas and ideals, in accordance with the spirit of the age in which they lived, they took heroically to fighting. But by this period war had become the duty of the State, and without the sanction of the State authority these warriors could not engage in wars of great magnitude. However nothing prevented them individually from showing their prowess by engaging in a number of adventurous campaigns. These campaigns had different motives behind them. Chief among them were the capture of women, the lifting of cattle, the seizure of wealth or other loot. These remind us of the wonderful race of heroes, the Normans, and the heroes of chivalry, the Black Prince, Sir John Chandos and Sir Walter of Manny as they still live in the pages of Froissart.¹¹