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War in Ancient India c7.s1.t4: Its Decline

War in Ancient India c7.s1.t4

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Its Decline

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Gradually the uses of chariots in war declined, and we have no mention of it in Bāṇa’s *Harṣacarita* (7th century A.D.) in his description of *Harṣa’s* army.⁴² Nor was it seen in the army of Pulakeśin II (641 A.D.), if we may rely on the authority of Yuan Chwang.⁴³ Again, in the Kūram Pallava grant⁴⁴ about 650 A.D., which describes the battle of Peruvaḷa Nallūr, only elephants, horses, and footmen are mentioned and not chariots. Further in the history of the Choḷa kings of South India, during the succeeding centuries mention is only made of the other three divisions of the army. The chariots, as instruments of war, are not mentioned—a clear indication that they must have become obsolete by that time. Still the evidence is strong that in India from the earliest times down to the end of the epoch of the epics and even several centuries after, chariots played a very prominent part in warfare.

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⁴² Cowell and Thomas—Trn. pp. 224-25.

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⁴³ Watters II, p. 239. See also *Dept. of Letters*, 1927, pp. 38-39.

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⁴⁴ *S.I.I.*, Vol. I, p. 153.

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ELEPHANTS

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The next important force of war consisted of elephants. From very early times the elephant was used in peace as a vehicle and in war as a combatant.⁴⁵ It was an excellent means of transport over rugged tracts. The numerous representations of the animal on coins and in architectural and sculptural works from Gāndhara to Rāmeśvaram as well as in Indonesia are an indication of the esteem in which it was held by the ancient Indians, clearly on account of its usefulness. There is a reference in the *Ṛg Veda* to two elephants bending their heads and rushing together against the enemy,⁴⁶ which is a fairly early reference to the animal being used in war. In the earlier texts of this Samhita the elephant is spoken of as a wild animal with one hand, while in the later ones it is designated as ‘hastin’.⁴⁷ By the time of the *Yajur Veda Samhita* the art of training elephants had become common.

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⁴⁵ For the origin and value of elephants in war see Pālakāpya quoted in the *Lakṣaṇaprakāśa*, pp. 321-28. The Parāśarasamhitā refers to four kinds of elephants, also mentioned in the *Viṣṇudharmottara* and *Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa*. These are Bhadra, Manda, Mṛga and Miśra with their respective characteristics. Cp. also Bṛhaspati Samhita quoted in *Lakṣaṇaprakāśa*, pp. 329 ff. The Bṛhaspatisamhita classifies them according to the nature of territory—those of forests, of mountains and of rivers (*Ibid.*, p. 357).

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⁴⁶ X. 106. 6.

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⁴⁷ *C.H.I.*, I. p. 81.

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The *Arthaśāstra*⁴⁸ mentions a special officer of the State for the care of elephants, and lays down his duties and other particulars connected with that office. Later works like that of Pālakāpya refer to a Gajāmātya, while the *Viṣṇudharmottara* speaks of him as Gajādhyakṣa, both denoting the same official. He should be versed in the different sounds of the animal. He must also be pure and skilled in accounts. A good trainer of elephants, he must be able to distinguish different classes of the animal and capable of enduring trouble, self-controlled, experienced, an interpreter of signs and omens and one who can attend to the ills of an elephant—such a man may be appointed as its rider.⁴⁹ According to Kauṭalya the officer was to protect elephants and the elephant-forests. He was to regulate the quantity of rations and grass to be supplied to elephants, supervise their stables and accoutrements, and watch the work of the grooms and mahouts. He was to see that the sick and wounded elephants were treated by the veterinary surgeon specially appointed for the purpose. He was also to disburse the wages and salaries of those who were employed in the elephant stables. He was to see that the animals were washed both morning and evening and fed immediately after their wash. They were to be watered in the afternoon after their daily exercise which was in the forenoon. The remaining portion of the day was the time for rest. The animals caught were arranged in three classes.⁵⁰ The Arthaśāstra gives directions for the construction of stables and also particulars for feeding the elephants. The intelligence of the animals was to be gauged by their appearance and external marks.

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⁴⁸ हस्त्यध्यक्षो हस्तिवनरक्षां दम्यकर्मक्षान्तानां हस्तिहस्तिनीकलभानां शाला-स्थानशध्याकर्मविधायवसप्रमाणं कर्मस्वायोगं बन्धनोपकरणं साङ्ग्रामिकमलङ्कारं चिकित्सकानीकस्थायुकवर्गं चानुतिष्ठेत् ॥ Bk. II. 31.

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⁴⁹ See *Lakṣaṇaprakāśa*, pp. 400-2.

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⁵⁰ Uttama, (Bhadra), Madhyama (Manda) and Avara or the lower animals, see Gaṇapati Sastri’s Gloss. Ar. Śās. Bk. II. 31.

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Seven ways of training elephants for war are mentioned:⁵¹

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⁵¹ Ar. Śās. Bk. II. 32 See also Someśvara’s Mānasollāsa Sts. 307 ff.

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Upasthāna—rising and jumping over fences and other eminences. Samvartana—sitting and leaping over pits. Samyāna—marching straight or zigzag. Vadhāvadha—trampling under foot horses and foot-soldiers. Hastiyuddha—pitting elephants against one another.

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Nāgarāyaṇa—rushing against forts and buildings. Sāmgrāmika—used in open warfare. The Mahout was to have a staff and the *ankus* or goad. The animals were to be caparisoned with various plates, ornaments, and bells.⁵² There were flags seen upon the elephants, and these were called *Vaijayantīs*, smaller in size to those attached to war-chariots. There seem to have been special flags intended to be borne by war elephants.⁵³

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⁵² Bk. II. 32.

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⁵³ *Mhb. Bhīṣma*, 112.27;

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Megasthenes explains⁵⁴ how the elephants were hunted, and how their distempers were cured by simple remedies such as cow’s milk for eye-disease and pig’s fat for sores. He further speaks of a committee to supervise elephants and refers to royal stalls and to a war-elephant carrying four men, three archers, and a driver. It is interesting in this connexion to note what Plutarch writes of the clephant of Porus in his battle with Alexander.⁵⁵

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⁵⁴ See Arrian XIII; McCrindle pp. 218-19 (Cal. 1926). Cp. *Vāyupurāṇa* 16.20 where allusion is made to the training of wild elephants by a hook.

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⁵⁵ McCrindle: *Invasion of Alexander*, pp. 212 ff.

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‘His elephant, waxing furious though not yet wounded, kept changing the ranks of the enemy until the driver, perceiving the king’s condition, turned the beast round and fled... The Indian driver thinking the king wished to alight, made the elephant kneel down in the usual manner... Alexander, supposing that he was dead, ordered his body to be stripped—when the elephant turned upon them in defence

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of his master and lifting him up placed him once more on its back.’

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How much importance and value was attached to these animals in war can be gathered from the words of Alexander himself before he crossed the Hydaspes. In the course of the instructions he gave his followers, he said: ‘It is the elephant only which makes it impossible for the horses to land on the other bank. The rest of the army can cross over without difficulty.’⁵⁶ We are told how these huge beasts at first crushed the Macedonian phalanx though in close formation and created terror among the soldiers of Alexander until they became quite exhausted. Thus a detailed study of the battle of the Hydaspes shows the superiority of the elephant crops over the other divisions of the army.⁵⁷

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⁵⁶ *Ibid.*, p. 98. Hellenic military art was just then becoming familiar with the use of elephants in warfare. Pyrrhus, the Epirot, made use of elephantry, in the next century, in his wars against the Romans who later learnt of its effective use from the Carthaginians.

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⁵⁷ Cp. *Ar. Śās.*, *Hastipradhāno Vijayarājyam*.

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The *Agni Purāṇa*⁵⁸ considered to be as late as *C.* 900 A.D. has some interesting details. Six warriors could ride at a time on an elephant, two with maces on its neck, two archers on its back, and two with swords behind them. While the elephant marched, it was defended by three horsemen. If this reckoning is compared with the different orders recommended on various occasions in the *Mahābhārata* and the *Rāmāyaṇa*, it only shows that the arrangements were dictated by the circumstances, and there was nothing like a uniform law which was to be observed, though in theory it was there.⁵⁹ For instance, while in one place we are told that a chariot had ten elephants, and each elephant had in its turn ten horsemen; in another place it is said that each chariot had 100 elephants, and each elephant had 1,000 horsemen protecting it.⁶⁰ In actual practice, however, the Matsya army consisted of 8,000 chariots, 1,000 elephants, and 60,000 horse.⁶¹

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⁵⁸ Ch. 242, 24 ff.

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⁵⁹ Hopkins, *op. cit.* p. 267, *n.*

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⁶⁰ Mhb., Droṇa, 60. 5-6; Udyoga 155.16.

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⁶¹ Virāṭ, 33. 48.

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The services of elephants in ancient wars were great. They marched in front of the army clearing the way of trees and shrubs. They protected the flanks of the army, helped the army to ford rivers, presented a firm front in fight, broke down the enemy phalanx, routed the enemy's army, rallied the soldiers of their side, and safeguarded the treasure.⁶² Generally the elephants formed the best decorations of a royal camp, and a monarch could achieve any amount of military success by means of his elephants alone.⁶³ On account of their importance in battle, only animals possessing distinct characteristics are recommended to kings for their stud. Some of these are said to be of the colour resembling a rainy cloud; some had a fund of physical strength, good height, attainment of speed with little or no use of the goad, a commanding appearance, combative propensity, and a power of enduring any amount of fatigue. It was only such noble animals that were kept in the royal stable chiefly for purposes of war. The elephant science, which went by the name of gajaśikṣa or hasti śāstra, was a special branch of study and formed ‘ an important part of military discipline.’⁶⁴

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⁶² Agni Purāṇa, 242. 23-4; Kāma. 20, 1-3; Niti 22.6.

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⁶³ Niti, 23.3.

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⁶⁴ *Matsya Purāṇa*. ch. 215. 36. In this connexion we may refer to the two published works on this subject. One is *Hastyāyurveda* (Anandasrama, Poona) attributed to Pālakāpya and *Mātangalila* (Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, No. 10) translated by Edgerton of Yale University—‘ The Elephant Lore of the Hindus ’.

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According to *Śiva-Vyāsa Dhanurveda*,⁶⁵ whose date of composition is difficult to fix with the data available at present, the king who possessed good and trained elephants was sure to succeed in every engagement, as they effectively destroyed the entrenchments of the enemy’s camp, vigorously protected the flanks of their own army, pulled down towers in a fury, struck terror into the enemy’s heart, destroyed his phalanx, and cleared a passage even through the densest forest. Lastly, they were ready to sacrifice their own lives for their master’s benefit and hence there was nothing equal to an elephant corps. Here we cannot forbear giving a beautiful Jātaka story⁶⁶ which pays a tribute to the noble qualities of the animal. The Bodhisatta was the son of an elephant-trainer in the neighbourhood of Benares. He was appointed to train the State elephant of his own king. Once the king mounting on it led an attack on the city of Benares. The soldiers who offered defence from within the city gates discharged a shower of missles against the enemy at which the elephant was frightened a little. The trainer addressed the elephant thus: ‘ Son, a hero like you is quite at home in the battle-field! In such a place it is disgraceful to turn tail.’

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⁶⁵ *Śārngadhara*, 1572 and 1573.

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⁶⁶ Cowell ed. II, 182.

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‘Break through the iron bar, beat the pillars down,
Crash through the gates, made fast for war and enter the town.’

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Recovering courage the elephant rushed towards the pillars of the gates with all his force and fury and broke them to pieces. Then he pulled down the gates and entered the city in victory and glee.

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This Jātaka throws some light on the view sometimes held that there were no fire-weapons in ancient India. Certain Greek writers state that Indian elephants did not face the discharge of flaming missiles, and it has been argued from this that the animals shied thus, because they had not been used to fire-weapons of any kind, there having been none in India.⁶⁷ But the circumstances noticed by the Greek writers seem to be capable of a more reasonable explanation, viz., that these writers speak from their experience of merely exceptional occurrences in which the severity of attack on the animals was greater than could have been borne by elephants of any place whatsoever. Thus the elephant in the Jātaka wavered because the shower of missiles discharged at the animal was exceptionally heavy—not because any fiery arm was thrown at it.⁶⁸

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⁶⁷ McCrindle: *Alexander's Invasion.*

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⁶⁸ The use of burning naphtha balls thrown against onrushing elephants to frighten them and make them turn back on their own side, is mentioned by early Muhammadan historians as a feature of the warfare between the Rajputs and the Turkish invaders from the North-west (Elliot and Dowson, Vol. I.)

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As in the north, elephants formed an important army division of south Indian monarchs. It is said that the Cera king Senguṭṭuvan had a valuable force of elephants on whom he relied in great measure for his victories. It was on an elephant that he rode to the Ganges on whose banks he fought the northern Aryan monarchs.⁶⁹ That south India was particularly strong in the elephant corps of her army organisation can be seen from the great anxiety displayed by Malik Kafur to take all the animals he could get to his master at Delhi who set a high value on their possession. This was in the 14th century.⁷⁰

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⁶⁹ Śila. XXVI. 1. 57.

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⁷⁰ Vide The Khazainu-'l-Futuh of Amir Khusrau (tr. & ed.) by Prof. M. Habib (1930).

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CAVALRY

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The third division of the army common to both east and west was cavalry. We learn from the Kauṭalīya and Megasthenes that there was a well-organised and efficient cavalry force in the army of Candragupta. The cavalry as an organised force may be traced to the post-Vedic period but not earlier; for, though we have references to horses⁷¹ and war chariots drawn by horses,⁷² we have no indication that the cavalry as a disciplined force existed in the days of the Ṛg Veda. This also explains to some extent why we have not a good number of horses among the Indus Valley finds recently unearthed. In the Atharva Veda, however, we hear of dust-raising horsemen.⁷³

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⁷¹ RV. i. 22.6, 7-8; vi. 46, 13-14; etc.

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⁷² Ibid., 1.3.1.

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⁷³ IV. 21.4.

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In this connexion it is interesting to consider the oft-repeated statement that horses are non-Indian. It is not the whole truth. They were known to the Asuras of Vedic literature. There is a legend narrated in the third book of the *Hariharacaturanga* (though this is a work of the late 12th century A.D., the tradition recorded is very ancient). Once Brahmā performed a sacrifice out of which came a white horse with wings. It again came out as Uccaiśravas during the mythical churning of the milk ocean. Bali, the asura chief, took it for his use and with it as his riding animal he was able to achieve many impossible things. The Devas noticed the value of such a riding animal and appealed to the Creator for its possession. Out of the tears of the latter in the Dakṣayajña came forth horses which were divided into four castes and many other sub-castes. Dakṣa felt them to be a nuisance and cursed them to find their abode on the earth deprived of their wings. Thenceforward the horses became the riding animals of gods and men. These horses went to the Himalayan slopes where the hermitage of the sage Śālihotra was. The latter protected them as his own sons and presented them to gods like Indra, Agni, Varuṇa, as well as to kings on the earth. If there is any historical truth underlying this legend, it is that the Asuras were the first to know the use of horses and that the Devas learnt it afterwards.⁷⁴

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⁷⁴ Cp. Nakula Aśvaśāstra, quoted in Lakṣaṇaprakāśa, pp. 407 ff.

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But in the epoch of the epics and the *Arthaśāstra* we find that the cavalry occupied as important a place in the army as any other division. Kauṭalya mentions a State superintendent of horses,⁷⁵ who had many duties to discharge besides maintaining a register of horses. The prescriptions of Kauṭalya relating to the duties of this officer are analogous to those of the superintendent of elephants, and only the more important of them from our point of view need be noticed here. Only experts in horse training and versed in healing the sick ones were chosen as aśvādhyakṣa.⁷⁶

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⁷⁶ Ibid.

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Megasthenes⁷⁷ corroborates the evidence of the Arthaśāstra. There was a special department in the State for the cavalry. The horses of the State were provided with stables and placed under the care of good grooms and syces. There were several trained horsemen who could jump forward and arrest the speed of galloping horses. But the majority of them rode their horses with bit and bridle. When horses became ungovernable they were placed in the hands of professional trainers who made the animals gallop round in small circles. These professionals were experts in the management and control of horses. In selecting horses of war, their age, strength, and size were taken into account.⁷⁸ We may remark in passing that Abhimanyu's horses were only three years old.⁷⁹

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⁷⁷ Frag. 34 and 35.

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⁷⁸ The Yuktikalpataru distinguishes four kinds of horses. The classification is regional (p. 181). The inferior beasts are designated nīca and kanīyāmsa.

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⁷⁹ ततः सनोदयाभास हयानाशुत्रिहायनान् । अतिहृष्टमनाः सूतो हेमभाण्डपरि- च्छदान् ॥ Mhb. Droṇa, 36.12.

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75 अश्वाध्यक्षः पण्यागारिकं क्रमोपागतमाहवलब्धजातं साहाय्यागतकंपन-
स्थितं यावत्कालिकं वाश्वपर्यग्रं कुलवयोवर्णचिह्नकर्मवर्गमैर्लेखयेत् ।
Bk. II. 30.

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Arrian says: ‘The horsemen are equipped with two lances like the lances called Saunia and with a shorter buckler than that carried by the foot-soldiers. But they do not put saddle on their horses, nor do they curb them with bits like the bits in use among the Greeks or the Kelts but they fit on round the extremity of the horse’s mouth a circular piece of stitched raw ox-hide studded with pricks of iron or brass pointing inwards, but very sharp.’ There are also ivory pricks. The reins are connected with iron prongs in their mouths. It is practically this prong that keeps the animal in check. To this prong are connected the pricks, which have their own share in controlling these animals.⁸⁰

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⁸⁰ See Arrian, XVI. 81 See Lakṣaṇaprakāśa, pp. 408 ff. 82 IV. 7. 42-72 and 75-110; Yukti. pp. 181-97. 83 It is said in the Mahābhārata that Nala was a master of horse-science which was imparted to Ṛtuparṇa (Ādi. 75. 17-18).

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How important the science of horses was to the ancient Indians is best seen from the Lakṣaṇaprakāśa which quotes from several important old authorities some of which are probably lost to us. Among them are the Aśvāyurveda and Aśvaśāstra, the former attributed to Jayadeva and the latter to Nakula. As the traditional origin of the elephants is bound up with the name of the sage Sāmagāyana, so also the legendary account of the origin of horses is connected with another sage, Śālihotra. There is a treatise on horses entitled Śālihotram. It refers to the four castes of horses and numerous mixed horses.81 Another treatise on horses is Aśvacikitsita by Nakula. In the Śukranītisāra82 we get an elaborate list of the characteristics of a noble horse and of the various auspicious and inauspicious marks83 on horses. The colour of the horse⁸⁴ and its gait are also commented upon. Rules are given for the proper care of horses.

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⁸⁴ *Droṇa*, 23. 73-74; *Bhīṣma*, 79. 51. 85 *Rāma. Bāla*, I. 6.

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From the great attention paid to horses in the *Arthaśāstra* treatises there is every reason to think that these animals played a very important part in warfare. Both the Purāṇas and the epics agree that the horses of the Sindhu and Kamboja regions were of the finest breed, and that the services of the Kambojas as cavalry troopers were requisitioned in ancient wars. In the *Mahābhārata* war the Kambojans were enlisted. The steeds of Bāhlika were also highly esteemed.⁸⁵ Horses had names and so also had elephants.⁸⁶ Some of the finest horsemen who were experts in their art were Śalya, Karṇa and Kṛṣṇa.⁸⁷ Unlike the chariot horse, the cavalryman drove his animal with a whip which was generally fixed to the wrist. This allowed his hand free play. The cavalryman was armed with arrow or spear or sword. He wore breastplate and turban (uṣṇīṣa).⁸⁸ Worth noting is the fact that horses were made to drink wine before actually marching to battle.⁸⁹ The tactical use of the cavalry was to break through the obstacles on the way, to pursue the retreating enemy, to cover the flanks of the army, to effect speedy communication with the various parts of the army unobserved (bahutsara) and to pierce the enemy ranks from the front to the rear.⁹⁰ The cavalry was responsible, in a large measure, for the safety and security of the army in entrenched positions, forests or camps. It obstructed movements of supplies and reinforcements to the enemy. In short, the cavalry was indispensable in situations requiring quickness of movement.⁹¹

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²² *Mhb. Sauptika*, 13.2. 86 See *Rāma. Bāla*, I. 6. 23-24. 87 *Mhb. Droṇa*, 31. 59-60. 88 *Mhb., Karṇa*, 44. 64-7. 89 *Ibid., Droṇa*, 112. 56. 90 *Kāma*, 20, 5-6; *Nīti*, VI. 64-65; *Nitivākya* 22.8.

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⁹¹ See Śankarārya’s comment on the *Kāmandaka* 20.5. *Śighra-kāryopapādanam*, meaning *vārtājñānādikārya sampādanam*. This is especially useful in getting correct information, and delivering the same in the course of the operations of war (*Mhb. Bhīṣma*, 120.28).

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We shall conclude this section with the following hymn of the *Atharva Veda*.

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‘Be thou, O steed, of wind swiftness, being harnessed; go in Indra’s impulse, with mind-quickness: let the all possessing Maruts harness thee: let Tvaṣṭar put quickness in thy feet.
‘The quickness, O courser, that is put in thee in secret, also that went about committed to the hawk, to the wind with that strength do thou, O steed, being strong, win the race, resuming in the conflict.’

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