War in Ancient India c7.s1.t4.49

c7.s1.t4.49

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