War in Ancient India c6.s5.6

c6.s5.6

Other varieties of armour used merely for protecting the body were *Śirastrāṇa* or protection for the head, *Kaṇṭhatrāṇa* or protection for the neck, *Kimpasa* or a covering for the trunk, *Kañcuka* or a jacket up to the knee joints, *Vāravāṇa* or a jacket extending to the heels, *Paṭṭa* or an upper garment, and *Nāgodārka* or gloves to protect the fingers. Some of the instruments used to shield one's hands in engagements were Pethi (a kind of shield made of creepers of Kāṣṭa), Carma, otherwise known as Resumendaka (made of leather, perhaps to protect the palm of the hand), Tālamūla (another variety of shield made of wood perhaps palmyra), Bhamanika (a shield made of reed), Kavāṭa (a shield resembling the panel of a door), Kiṭikā (a protection made of hide or bamboo), Apratihata (perhaps a shield used in elephant fights) and Valāhakānta (one of leather or bamboo like the Apratihata but surrounded by iron fringes). The war elephants as well as the war horses were also provided with trappings and ornaments to shield them from the attacks of the enemy's forces. The Śukranīti speaks of a coat of mail for the body and the trunk as well as for fingers. For the former, big leaves resembling wheat leaves, made of iron, were considered best, whilst for the latter iron nails with sharp edges were considered the best.¹¹⁷ The skins, horns, and iron were used abundantly for the making of shields and the coats of mail are obvious from the sculptures which we shall presently examine. But the author of Śukranīti mentions the use of leather armour for war animals.¹¹⁸