War in Ancient India c6.s6.t2.17

c6.s6.t2.17

Dr. Oppert refers to half a dozen temples in South India to prove the use of fire-arms in ancient India.¹⁵⁹ The Palni temple in the Madura District contains on the outer portion in an ancient stone maṇṭapa scenes of carved figures of soldiers carrying in their hands small fire-arms, apparently the small-sized guns mentioned in the Śukranītisāra. Bells are seen hanging from the belts worn round the waists of the soldiers. They wear slippers for their feet and a peculiar kind of cap on their heads. Again in the Śārṅgapāṇi temple at Kumbakonam in the front gate¹⁶⁰ of the fifth story from the top is the figure of a king sitting in a chariot drawn by horses and surrounded by a number of soldiers. Before this chariot march two sepoys with pistols in their hands. In the Nūrrūkkāl maṇṭapam of the Conjeevaram temple is a huge pillar on the north side of the maṇṭapa. Here there is a relief vividly representing a fight between two bodies of soldiers. Mounted horsemen are also seen. The foot-soldier is shown aiming his fire-arm against the enemy. Such things are also noticed in the Tanjore temple and the temple at Perur, in the Coimbatore District. In the latter there is an actual representation of a soldier loading a musket. To this last Fergusson assigns the eighteenth century A.D. But Dr. Oppert puts it very much earlier.