War in Ancient India c5.s2.4

c5.s2.4

The Hindu science of warfare values both *nīti* and *śaurya*, *i.e.* ethical principles and valour. The term *nītiśāstra*, which was the title given to books on ancient Indian polity, shows that though the subjects treated in them were secular, still they had their basis in religion. In fact religion governed the actual life of every person from birth to death. It was therefore realised that the waging of war without regard to moral standards degraded the institution into mere animal ferocity.⁶⁰ Hence there came into being the ethical code and the code of the lawgivers, the authors of the Dharmasūtras and the Dharmaśāstras. A monarch desirous of *dharma-vijaya* should conform to the code of ethics enjoined upon warriors.