The Social and Military Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India, as Represented by the Sanskrit Epic c2.s5.635

c2.s5.635

Specific ornamentation is found in the rich descriptions of the fourth book. The armor is here adorned with suns and moons, etc.* In this passage, and *passim*, the cuirass is lauded as impregnable; the *nivātakavaca*, ‘invulnerable plate,’ is always assumed. But the knights are in reality perpetually unharnessed (*akavaca*), from the armor being either hewn off or becoming loose.†