War in Ancient India c8.62

c8.62

Various kinds of weapons were manufactured and kept in proper places. These weapons included armaments used in war in defending or destroying buildings, forts, and citadels. These consisted of movable engines, of which twenty-six varieties are mentioned. Five kinds of arrows and four kinds of bows with their various accessories were produced. Again, eleven varieties of halāmukha (ploughshare),³⁶ three kinds of swords with various types of handles,³⁷ seven kinds of razorlike weapons,³⁸ four or five kinds of stones³⁹ are given. To these was added the manufacture of a variety of armour of iron and leather, both for war animals and for the warrior. Ornaments for animals and chariots, goads and hooks and other appliances were also made and kept in stock. Kauṭalya prescribes various rules⁴⁰ with regard to the storage of weapons and armour. They were to be frequently examined, cleaned and exposed to the light of the sun. Weapons liable to be damaged by heat or cold or even by worms were to be kept with particular care. Registers were to be maintained in which were entered details as to the shape, size, value, number, and name of every weapon manufactured and distributed. And it was for the Superintendent, who may be equated with the modern Master of Supply, to see that an adequate number of weapons and other implements of war was always kept in stock.