The Social and Military Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India, as Represented by the Sanskrit Epic c2.s5.64.2

c2.s5.64.2

7: *māula, mitra, aṭavibalam, bhṛtam, çreṇibalam*): ‘the “four-fold force” means the native veterans (*māula*), the allied troops (*māitra*), the hired men (servants, slaves, etc., *bhṛtya*), and foresters (who help clear the roads, etc., *āṭavika*). The army, again, is distributed into eight parts, chariots, elephants, horses, fighters (*yodhāḥ*, i. e. all but the foot?), foot-soldiers, workmen, spies, and topographical leaders (those that can tell about places, *dāiçikāmukhyāḥ*).’ A comparison of the epithets given to the army in the Rāmāyaṇa shows that the ‘four-fold’ army is here also the more common, if not the only term employed (*caturaṅgabala*: R. i. 23. 14; *aṅga* or *aṅginī* also ib. i. 71. 3, 6; 76. 6; 78. 3; 79. 26; ii. 33. 7; 36. 2; 48. 7; 73. 11; 78. 22; 86. 13; 94. 9; (100. 54, *camū*); 106. 9; iii. 42. 18; v. 78. 12; 81. 23; in 83. 2 defined *ṣaḍaṅginī*: i. 52. 21, v. 1. Bomb. 51. 21: *varūthinī*). Comparing M. vii. 185 and Kām. Nit. 18. 2, 22, we see that this last division of ‘six’ is not unknown to late Epic and later literature; but it is very rare against the common use of ‘four.’ The comparison points again (as I have shown on another theme) to the synchronic completion of the Manavic code and the Çāntiparvan of the Epic. The commander’s proper title is *senāpati*; his office is *sāināpatya*. The title *vāhinīpati* is, however, common. The whole army is designated by *camū* (‘four-fold’) as well as by the proper name.