War in Ancient India c5.s4.5

c5.s4.5

highly again of him who could capture alive the commander of the opponent’s army, or his son, or some high-placed general.¹²⁴ Victory or defeat practically rested with these commanders and generals, who were the leaders in war. This is why so much importance is attached to capturing alive or slaying a general of the army. The Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang, records a tradition: ‘ Whenever a general is despatched on a warlike expedition, although he is defeated and his army destroyed, he is not himself subjected to bodily punishment, only he has to exchange his soldier’s dress for that of a woman, much to his shame and chagrin. So mostly those men put themselves to death to avoid such disgrace.’¹²⁵