War in Ancient India c6.s2.11

c6.s2.11

The Tomara is another weapon of war frequently mentioned in all kinds of warfare.⁵² It was of two kinds, an iron club (*sarvāyasam*) and a javelin (*daṇḍa*).⁵³ According to Vaiśampāyana it was a club three cubits long and capable of three different movements. According to the *Agni Purāṇa* it was to be with the help of an arrow of straight feathers, and was powerful in dealing blows on the eyes and hands of an enemy. But Kauṭalya's commentator says that it is a rod with an arrow-like edge. It was of three kinds, the inferior, the middling, and the best, according to their respective measurements, 4, 4½ or 5 hastas in length.