The Social and Military Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India, as Represented by the Sanskrit Epic c2.s5.284

c2.s5.284

³ In vi. 22. 6, the chariot-umbrella has ivory ribs. One of the first things Açvatthāman asks, when he finds his king dying and deserted, is ‘Where, oh where is thy pure umbrella? and where is thy fan, O ruler of earth?’ (ix. 65. 18). The *chattra* is white (vi. 103. 25), and furnished with a gold-stick (*hemadaṇḍa*, vi. 55. 31; R. vi. 36. 113). Another name, *ātapatra*, ‘parasol,’ means the same; in a march described in xv. 23. 8, the king goes out with a line of war-cars (*rathānīkena*), and has a white *ātapatra* held over him. The bells on the war-car are also noticed in R. vi. 49. 8.