War in Ancient India c8.18

c8.18

That such war councils were also held in the battle-field either on the eve of the battle or during the course of operations is seen from the Harivaṃśa.¹³ When Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa were wandering on the mountains of Gomanta, Jarāsandha who arrived at its foot held a council to devise steps how best to encounter them. In Jarāsandha’s opinion, the Generals were to ascend the mountain fortress and confront the enemy on all sides. But the king of Cedi, a prominent member of his staff, spoke on the futility of such endeavours. He advised them to set fire to the fortress and thus bring the enemy to his knees. This was accepted as a wise policy by all including the king. A huge conflagration was the result, though it did not ultimately lead to the subjugation of the enemy. In the war between Lalitā and the Asura Bhaṇḍa, war councils were summoned on both sides.¹⁴ In the epoch of the Mauryas the Kingin-council acted as a war cabinet and appointed secret informants to study the movements of the enemy kings and report the same to the Head-quarters.¹⁵ It has to be assumed that the war council was a feature of the Gupta polity considering the nature and value of wars into which the Gupta emperors plunged themselves. The term mantrin in the Gupta inscriptions as distinct from the Amātyas may suggest that the mantrin was a member of the war council.