War in Ancient India c6.s4.2

c6.s4.2

Any detailed examination of the other species of weapons would unduly swell this volume; we therefore confine ourselves to a categorical enumeration of the list as given in the Nitiprakāśikā. There are two classes of the Muktāmukta division—Sopasamhāra (throwing out) and Upasamhāra (withdrawing). There are forty-three varieties of Sopasamhāra: Daṇḍacakra (a disc),⁹⁸ Dharmacakra (a disc for maintenance of righteousness), Kālacakra (a disc of death), Aindracakra (a disc attributed to Indra), Śūlavata (a trident attributed to Śiva), Brahmaśirṣa (a missile assigned to Brahmā), Modakī (a bewitching missile), Śikharī (a pointed missile to cut off the head), Dharmapāśa (a noose for maintenance of righteousness), Varuṇapāśa (a noose attributed to Varuṇa), Pinākāstra (a bow attributed to Śiva), Vāyavya (a missile of Vāyu), Śuṣka (a missile to dry up), Ārdra (a missile for drenching), Śikharāstra (a missile emitting flame), Krauñcāstra (a heron-like missile), Hayaśiraṣa (a missile in the form of a horse), Vidyāstra (a missile of incantation), Avidyāstra (a missile of illusory powers), Gāndharvāstra (a missile attributed to Viṣṇu), Nandanāstra, Varṣaṇam (a shower producing missile), Śoṣaṇam (a missile attributed to God of Love), Prasvāpana (a missile causing deep sleep), Praśamana (a soothing missile), Santāpana (a death-giving missile), Vilāpana (a noisy missile), Madana (a trust-giving missile), Mānavāstra (a missile peculiar to Manu), Nāmana (a missile of air-force), Tāmasa (a missile engendering darkness), Samvarta (a missile throwing a screen or a veil), Mausala (a club-shaped missile), Satya (a celestial missile), Saura (a missile attributed to the Sun God), Māyāstra (an illusory missile), Tvāṣṭra (a missile peculiar to Viśvakarma), Somāstra (a missile peculiar to the Moon), Samhāra (a missile causing impediments), Mānasa (a missile attributed to Viṣṇu), Nāgāstra (a serpent-shaped missile), Gāruḍāstra (an eagle-shaped missile), and Śaiveṣika (a missile of stone).