War in Ancient India c9.6

c9.6

Land fights, then, occupy our foremost attention. Before the beginning of the Christian era, land fights were the rule, and sea and aerial fights were the exception. Land fights generally included wars in the plain country, forests and hill regions, though it is to be noticed that the law-giver, Manu, makes a distinction between battles on the plains and those on the hills and forests. There is yet another recommendation of the law-giver, that as far as possible wars should be fought away from cities and villages, and on the edge of forest regions. This was due to two reasons. One was not to disturb normal civilian life. The other was the strategic advantage of scoring a victory without much fighting and shedding of blood. Hill wars were not frequent. Wherever the capital city was a citadel, it was besieged and taken by storm. Siege warfare was a land fight. The Dasarājya yuddha of the Ṛg Veda is an example of a war on the plains in very early times. In the later heroic age, the battle at Kurukṣetra between the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas was a land fight where strategy and tactics were used to the utmost degree on both sides and which well deserves to be called an example of a tactical war. Alexander’s battle with the Indian king, Porus, may be cited as an instance of a land battle where strategic skill was employed in a large measure.