The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c11.s1.31

c11.s1.31

*Modes of Shooting*. We are told in the *Risālah-i-tīr o kamān* that in archery there were twelve maxims to be obeyed. Of these three required firmness, (1) Hold the grip of the bow tight, (2) Keep the forefinger firm, (3) When the arrow is let fly, keep the advanced foot firm. Three things required easiness (1) the left side should be kept easy (2) the left foot the same, and (3) the other fingers. Three things required straightness (1) the body should be erect (2) the forehead held up (3) the elbow straight. Other three things were single: (1) use one side, (2) use one eye, (3) keep both hands in one direction. An arrow could have seven faults: (1) too wide a notch, (2) the shaft to be *karm*?, (3) the head imperfect, (4) the head too heavy, (5) the top end and butt of the shaft hollow, (6) the shaft not straight, (7) the bow too stiff. In shooting at a horseman 200 yards off, you should aim at his cap, if 100 paces off, at his mouth, if 50 paces, at his saddle. By so doing you will hit him in the chest. A good archer needs to practise constantly with the *Lezam*, a bow with an iron chain instead of a string. There are three ways of gripping the bow, *Changal-i-bāz* (literally, “Hawk’s claw”), *muḥarraf* (diagonally, on the slant), *ma-rabbaʿ* (square), according to the length of the shooter’s fingers. The arrow should be held without moving, and the advanced foot kept flat on the ground. As you let fly at the mark, you ejaculate, “In the name of God”. Shekh Allahyār Sānī, *Ḥadīqat-ul-aqālīm* (ms. additions in my copy), under Bilgrām, speaks of one ʿAbd-uṣ-Ṣamad, a perfect bowman, who taught the author to shoot in three ways, 1) in the style of the master Ṭāhirī, 2) *qabẓahgar*, 3) *musht*. Until that time Allahyār had shot only in the mode of Bahrām.