War in Ancient India c5.s5.14

c5.s5.14

The *Kūṭayuddha*: The unrighteous war in which principles were sacrificed at the altar of expediency went by the name of kūṭayuddha. We meet with the term kūṭa in the *Atharva-Veda*,¹³⁸ translated differently as horn, trap, hammer, etc. The hymn says: ‘ Here are spread the fetters of death, which stepping into thou are not released, let this kūṭa slay of yonder army by thousands’. According to the *Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa*, kūṭayuddha was also known as Citrayuddha in which māyā was put into practice. It is said that a certain commander of Bhaṇḍa resorted to this and created a Sarpaṇī from whose limbs thousands of poisonous snakes came out in torrents and bewildered the śaktis on the other side. (IV.2). Whatever the word *kūṭa* may mean, its occurrence may be tolerable proof of its use in killing the hostile army by thousands. Neither horn nor trap will kill an army in thousands. So we venture to interpret the word in the Kauṭalīyan sense. In this, resort was had to crafty methods, intrigue, charms, and spells against the enemy, besides deadly weapons. The *Atharva Veda* is full of these. Mention is made of amulets (*maṇi*) leading to the overthrow of the rival and to his own success.¹³⁹ One or two hymns may be cited as typical.