War in Ancient India c4.s6.t3.13

c4.s6.t3.13

In times of peace, besides the time spent in hunting, the Kṣatriyas took to a life of adventure to exercise their martial ardour. ‘At a time such as that represented by the first story of the Epic, the warrior was always a robber and a pillager. This life was Knight's support, and cattle-lifting provided needed gain.²⁰ All early raids were chiefly for cattle. There are a large number of hymns in the *Atharva Veda* praying for the protection of cows and cattle. In the thirteenth hymn of Book xix there are references to cow stalls and kine-winning chariots.²¹ From this reference and that in Book vi, 67.3 we may conclude that cattle-lifting was practised on an extensive scale in the Vedic Age. In fact this was the primitive habit of savage tribes. We see from the *Silappadikāram* that the Eiynar's profession was lifting cattle, looting and highway robbery. To these primitive men cattle constituted wealth, and a cattle raid meant the loss of one's property. In the *Purapporul Veṇbāmālai* are given details which mark out the different stages of a military enterprise of the nature of cattle-lifting. The soldiers who undertook this enterprise decked themselves with *vetchi* garland. The owners of the herds who came out to rescue their cattle wore the *karandai*, a kind of basil, as their badge.²² That this primitive form of cattle-lifting survived even when people became civilised is seen in the *Mahābhārata*²³ where under instructions from Duryodhana the king of the Trigarthas entered the city of Virāṭa and drove away the kine. Uttara and Bṛhannalā (Arjuna in disguise) recovered the cattle after a straight fight. In some cases, cattle-lifting was a prelude to military campaigns. Another fact that may be remembered in this connexion is the large number of gifts in the shape of cattle given to the king by foreign allies.