War in Ancient India c6.s6.t1: The Ajanta Caves
War in Ancient India c6.s6.t1
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The Ajanta Caves
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No study of Indian art would be complete without some reference at least to the Ajanta Cave paintings.¹⁴³ The weapons in these are without any exception very primitive ones. In Plates vii and xxvi are seen representations of a curved dagger held point upwards and perhaps in the left hand so as to leave the right hand free. Plate viii probably refers to the return of a party from a hunt. The scimitar is placed on the right shoulder. But there is no scabbard. Then we see a peculiar kind of shield which looks as if it were a segment of a wheel with the spokes left out. It may be the round kind of shield with grotesque forms of tufts or tassels round the fringes thrown over behind the shoulder with straps and buckles. There is also a quiver for holding arrows which is slung on the back of a foot-soldier, marching with a horse-rider. But curiously no bows are seen.
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In Plate xix are noticed long lances with diamond-shaped blades and streamers flying from them in the air. In Plates xxi and xxxviii are found spears. In the former, apparently an elephant-catching scene, is a curious kind of spear sharpened at the edge, about eight feet long and furnished with three rings at the top. The blade is almost one foot long. The latter seems to illustrate the scenes from the Viśvatantra Jātaka. Here the soldier wears a sharp thrusting spear with heavy knobs cleanly represented beside the horses. In Plate xxiii is a highly ornamented sword with a strong hilt and also a cross-bar. There are ornamental knobs along the scabbard. In Plate xxvii is a short dagger worn at the waist used by hill tribes in West India even to-day. A short but stout club is carried on the right shoulder, used as a weapon of war in early days. Besides there is the ordinary simple type of bow with one piece. Plates xxiv and xxxvii are vivid representations of chariots. In the former are seen ladies also seated. It appears to be the one on which the king accompanied the army on its onward march to battle. The decorated paintings leave nothing to be desired. The battle-axes with long handles and about four feet in length each, are seen worn on the right shoulder in Plate xxxvi. The Bodhisattva himself is given a kukri, a survival of the ancient sword with a sharp concave edge used by the Gurkhas of to-day.
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Plates xvii and lvii afford deep interest. The motif in both seem to be the same and indicate the battle scene of Vijaya’s conquest of Ceylon with war-elephants, horses, and archers all carried in curricles. Two of these curricles carry eight or nine mounted horses and two or three war elephants. The Plates are indicative of the picturesque appearance of an army on the march. Almost every variety of weapons can be found here. The curricles are embellished with dragon-heads and the like. The soldiers carry standards flying from the sharp ends of their lances. Umbrellas and cāmaras or fly-whisks and instruments of martial music, which are a unique feature of ancient warfare, are also vividly represented. Here two cakras or discs with sharp edges on the outside and a ‘voided cross’ in the centre are shown as evidently discharged and warded off by the enemy’s lances. Scimitars like the chopper or the bill, both straight and of the primitive kind, are common. Shields both crescent and oblong are seen, handsomely curved in the longer dimension apparently made of leather. There are two bows of the classic double-curved variety. Both square and round quivers are also noticed.¹⁴⁴
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¹⁴⁴ The Ajanta Frescoes—India Society.
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The dress of the soldiers, it appears, was made in two pieces, viz. from the breast to the waist and again from the thigh to the soles. The chief musical instruments were the drum and the kettle-drum. In the pictures the troops are crossing a broad river and from the bank the enemies attack them. Possibly the soldiers attack from the water. Both horses and elephants are provided with excellent ornamental trappings. A bell is seen hanging from the elephant’s back. The war-horses have the prominent Roman nose, piercing eyes, and a gallant appearance. The trappings resemble those of the present day. The one peculiarity is that no stirrups are seen in any of the pictures. The usual war accoutrements of the elephant and the elephant goad, like the modern one, are easily traced. Plate lv shows two kinds of helmets: pot-shaped ones, and skull caps, made of leather or iron richly ornamented. Again in Cave x¹⁴⁵ there is a peculiar kind of buckler ornamented with various designs and motifs and triangular in shape. The writer in the *Journal of Indian Art* remarks: ‘the langure de hoeuf or cross-hilted katar, which is supposed by some to be a peculiarly ancient weapon, nowhere appears’. But a careful examination of Plate xxiii¹⁴⁶ seems clearly to indicate the existence of such a cross-hilted sword in the Ajanta paintings. In Fig. 25 (B) of the *Journal* the Vajra or thunderbolt is also shown.¹⁴⁷ The Ajanta paintings, now somewhat mutilated, are valuable for their reference to the political relations that existed between India and Persia in 625-26 A.D. Here the Persian envoys present Pulakeśin with valuable presents sent by their king. This is an unmistakable reference to the friendly relations that existed between the two States.¹⁴⁸
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¹⁴⁵ Journal of Indian Art, Vol. VIII.
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¹⁴⁶ Ajanta Frescoes.
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¹⁴⁷ *Journal of Indian Art*, Vol. VIII.
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¹⁴⁸ Smith: *Oxford History of India*, p. 165.
Linked texts (1)
- Jātaka — Pāli