The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c10.s4.6

c10.s4.6

*Sānk*. This form of the word is Blochmann’s transliteration, *Āīn*, i, 110, N°. 22. According to present day pronunciation it would be *Sāng*. The second mark over the letter *kaf* is very often omitted by scribes, and thus ک might easily stand for گ. *Sāng*, (Shakes. 1239) is from the Sanskrit शङ्कु or शक्ति, *shanku*, *shakti*. It was entirely of iron, but according to the figure in the *Āīn*, i, plate xii, fig. 18, it was much shorter than the *Barchhah*. On the other hand, those in the Indian Museum are 7 feet 11 inches in total length, of which the head occupies 2 feet 6 inches. They have long, slender, four-sided or three-sided heads, steel shafts, and the grip covered with velvet, (Egerton, N°. 72, p. 81, and figure on p. 79), N°. 461, two, (p. 115).