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War in Ancient India c9.s1: Section II: Strategical Considerations

War in Ancient India c9.s1

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Section II: Strategical Considerations

The March

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The actual march of the enemy is regulated by short and long halts, well provided with commissariat, supplies and transport and communication facilities. There are two kinds of march. It may be a slow march when the invader feels that his offensive equipment is not strong enough to break up the enemy, or again when the enemy is making negotiations for peace. Otherwise he may make a quick or even a forced march.⁵ In the expeditions undertaken the element of time played a prominent part. The month of Mārgaśīrṣa (December) is generally recommended for long marches and Caitra (March-April) for short distances.⁶ But though this was the rule, there were exceptions. In case the conquering monarch found it advantageous to lead an expedition irrespective of the season, then he should do so.⁷ But it is the prescription of the Arthaśāstra, corroborated by the Kāmandakīya and the Agnipurāṇa, that during the hot season only asses, camels, and horses were to be used,⁸ in preference to elephants. The dewy season alone was fit for the use of elephants in marching. But a wise king is asked to avoid battle during the summer and rainy seasons.⁹

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⁵ Agni. Ch. 242.

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⁶ Mhb. v, 83, 7.

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⁷ Ibid., xii, 100, 9; Manu, vii, 182.

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⁸ Ar. Śās. p. 365; Kāma. p. 287; Agni. p. 377.

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⁹ Śukra. p. 238. For a description of the Mahratta army on the move see Broughton: Letters from a Maratha Camp, describing Scindhia's army on the march.

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The Nāyaka led the army while the Senāpati guarded the rear. If the road on the route of the march was sufficiently broad, it was recommended that the front ranks should march in a crocodile-like (makara) order, and the rear in a cart-like order, both flanks marching in a diamond-like array. But if the march lay through a narrow path, the army was to move in pin-like (sūci) order. These, in modern literature, are explained as perpendicular and parallel or flank marches. The march was undertaken only after the roads had been examined and cleared of thorns and shrubs.¹⁰ Conditions then were quite different from what they are to-day. Even on the march the army went arranged in battle order. This was undoubtedly in order to meet a sudden attack. It might be that the enemy would make a surprise attack on the route; and if the army marched with no order or in an irregular order, it would not be possible to face the enemy effectively.

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¹⁰ Ar. Śās. Bk. x, 2. 11 Ep. Ind. 19, 133-34.

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If, during the course of the march (daṇḍamārga, as it was known in later Vijayanagar),¹¹ rivers and canals were to be crossed, this was ordinarily done with the help of elephants which, being heavy animals, would withstand the current. Or they were forded over by boats and canoes. Or again wooden and other bridges were thrown over with the aid of skilled engineers. But if in fording the enemy placed obstruction by throwing missiles from the other side, the invader should withdraw from the place and seek another favourable fording point to cross without the enemy’s knowledge. Yet another regulation was that the army must not be made to feel fatigue or irksomeness during the journey. Above all, attention was drawn to the base of operations, for much of the success depended on maintaining communication with it. A river or mountain fortress was regarded as the best base.¹²

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How an army marched with its different units is described in detail in the *Agnipurāṇa*.¹³ First came the vanguard forces with their leader known as the Nāyaka. The purpose of an advance guard was to gather intelligence as regards the movements of the enemy. European History furnishes us with examples of generals who used and sometimes did not use this section of the army. Its use depended on the size of the army. Generals like Napoleon who took forces numerically strong made use of these, while those like Frederick the Great who commanded smaller numbers, did not find much use for it. In the middle of the line, besides the treasury and the women, were the king riding on a chariot or an elephant and also the front ranks of the army composed of picked men, well trained in all branches of warfare. The less brave and the less trained were placed behind in the rear. The flanks of the army in march were protected by horsemen, charioteers and elephant-men in successive order, so that they would not be attacked from the sides. And beyond the elephants marched the forest tribes recruited for the campaign. In the rear went the Commander-in-Chief. Whenever the troops retired for rest, sentinels and scouts were posted as picket guards in different directions to raise alarm at any surprise attack by the enemy.

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¹³ Ch. 242, 1-18.

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With favourable omens and in the Uttara Phalguni Naksatra auspicious for the march, Rāma set out with his forces towards the citadel of Laṅkā. Nila was the Nāyaka leading the vanguard and surveying the route, which lay through an undulating tract of land and which required the boldness and talents of a tried general to march through it. The march was through a region affording supplies of fruit, water and foodstuffs. Strong and well-disciplined monkey soldiers like Gaya, Gavaya, and Gavākṣa occupied the front ranks. Ṛṣabha took up the right wing, whilst Gandha and Gandhamādana held the left wing, and Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa marched in the middle. Powerful commanders like Jāmbavan and Suṣeṇa took up the command of the rear guard. Crossing rivers and marching up hill and down dale, the forces reached the shores of the ocean and encamped in three divisions. Bold and faithful monkey warriors like Mainda and Dvida served as pickets so as to give cover to the troops by patrolling, reminding us of Frederick the Great’s campaign of 1760,¹⁴ celebrated for its fine marches and manœuvres.

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¹⁴ Carlyle: *Frederick the Great*.

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THE CAMP

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The next strategical point to be considered by the commander was the encampment. It is called in the Purāṇas and epics *Skandāvāra*,¹⁵ and in the inscriptions of Vijayanagar *Kandācāra*.¹⁶ Generally thickly wooded spots were selected for the disposition of the troops. The best ground¹⁷ for entrenching horses is a level plain with no rocks and covered only with a few trees, and not muddy; for chariots, a well-laid road, devoid of sand or mud, trees, shrubs, etc.; for elephants, one without mud or having a layer of sharp gravel; and for infantry and others, one free from all defects, but with available supplies of drinking water. It should be broad and free from thorns. The camp¹⁸ was usually quadrangular in shape, furnished with four entrances, six roads and nine divisions and with walls, towers and ditches thrown round so as to afford a defence in times of danger. This is illustrated from Bharata’s camp on the banks of the Ganges on the eve of his meeting Rāma and from those of the Pāṇḍavas and the Kurus on the eve of the Great War. There were separate grounds for the drill and exercise of soldiers. Every division of the army was housed comfortably in inner apartments erected for the purpose. Honest and loyal men were posted to watch the movements of the enemy. It is said that eighteen divisions of sentinels should daily change their watches in turn. Outside the camp and at a distance from it, forest men should be posted in circular arrays. Even during the hours of the rest the king must be armed, always ready for action. Around the camp, again, secret pits were dug up and covered with thorns, nails, pikes and such other things as would cause hurt to those entering the camp from outside. The cavalry soldiers were generally selected as scouts and as pickets to protect the supply department, and to guard depots of stores of all kinds. It is recommended that other available camping grounds should be such as to place the enemy at a disadvantage. In the camps, drinking, gambling and other social enjoyments were prohibited, and for men coming in and going out of the camp a system of passports¹⁹ was maintained in order to distinguish them from the enemy’s spies who might enter in disguise and unobserved.

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¹⁵ *Br. Pur.* III. 49.9; *Rāma.* VI. 42.22.

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¹⁶ Rice: *Mysore Gaz.* I, p. 579; *Ep. Car.* XI, 24. But the *Hariharacaturanga*, a work of this period, mentions the term *Skandāvāra* for a camp (Bk. VI).

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¹⁷ *Mhb.* *Udyoga*: 152, 1, 2; *Ar. Śās.* Bk. X. 4; *S.T.R.* v. 14.25.9.

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¹⁸ Kāma. 16, 6-13; Mhb. Bhīṣma, I, 1-15.

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¹⁹ *Ar. Śās.* Bk. X, 1 and 2; *Kāma.* 19.45-50; *Śukra.* IV. 7.260-63.

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The camp was generally a self-sufficient unit. It was a miniature town. There were minstrels and women of lower and higher ranks. For instance, Draupadī and Subhadrā, in the Pāṇḍava camp of the Mahābhārata war, lamented the death of Abhimanyu. They were escorted back home by aged men.²⁰ All the four varṇas were found in it. The storing of arms as wells as of food-stuffs was ample. Physicians and surgeons were available for the treatment of the sick and the wounded.²¹ The army retired to rest after the day’s labour. On waking up their first business was to offer prayers.²² In this connexion Kauṭalya remarks: “Kings and allies, in order to secure their triumph should observe in their encampment, the strict rules of self-denial, liberality and religion.”²³

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²⁰ *Mhb.* IX, 29, 65 and 73.

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²¹ *Ibid.* *Udyogaparva*, 151, 58. 152, 13; 155, 5.

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²² *Ibid.* VI, 19. 36-39.

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²³ *Kauṭalya*, Bk. IV, p. 306.

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