War in Ancient India c7.3

c7.3

REGULAR and proper organisation are the life and soul of an army. It was this great lesson that Prussia taught to an astonished Europe. I advisedly use the words ‘regular and proper’. A regular army means a class of fighting men devoted to the service of the State, like the ancient Spartans who realised long ago what Bacon wrote centuries later: ‘Walled towns, stored arsenals, and armouries, goodly races of horses, all this is but a sheep in a lion’s skin except the breed and disposition of the people be stout and warlike.’ A proper army means that it must be efficient. There should be no waste, no inefficiency. With these preliminary remarks let us proceed to examine the ancient Indian army organisation.