War in Ancient India c6.5

c6.5

It would not be out of place here to examine their characteristics and uses as recorded in the earliest literature known to the Hindus. Both in the Saṃhitās and in the Brāhmaṇas we read of bows and arrows besides the inevitable vajra of Indra, the Lord of Heaven. The very fact that our military science was named Dhanur Veda proves sufficiently clearly that the bow and arrow were the principal weapons of war in those times. It was known by different terms as śārnga, kodaṇḍa, and kārmuka. Whether these were synonyms of the same thing or were different, it is difficult to say. In the age of the Ṛg Veda Saṃhitā, it would appear from the terms iṣukṛt and iṣukāra that there existed a regular profession of arrowmaking.² The Rg Vedic smith was not only a steel-worker but also an arrow-maker. While the head of the arrow was prepared by him, the rest was finished by a guild of arrow-makers.³