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Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c8.s4: Weapons

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c8.s4

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English

Weapons

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Various kinds of weapons were used in ancient times for offensive and defensive purposes. The Paṇhavāgaraṇa mentions the following weapons : muggara (Indian club), musaṇḍhi (octagonal club),⁷² karakaya (saw), satti (spear), hala (plough), gadā (mace or heavy club), musala (pestle), cakka (discus), kunta (lance), tomara (javelin), sūla (trident spit), lauḍa (light club), bhiṇḍipāla (crooked club), savvala (an iron spear), paṭṭisa (battle-axe), cammettha (stone covered with leather), duhaṇa (hatchet), muṭṭhiya (dagger), asikheḍaga (sword with a shield), khagga (sword), cāpa (bow), nārāca (iron-tipped arrow), kanaka (arrow), kappinī (a kind of scissors), vāsi (adze), parasu (axe)⁷³ and sayagghī.⁷⁴ Defensive armours are mentioned. We are told that Kūṇika used an impregnable coat of mail while fighting with Ceḍaga.⁷⁵

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⁷² Musaṇḍi is also mentioned in the Mahābhārata (II, 70. 34).

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⁷³ pp. 17a, 44, Uttarā, 19, 51 55, 58, 61 f, see also Abhidhānacintāmaṇi (3 446-451); Arthaśāstra (p 110 f); Rāmāyaṇa, III, 22 20 ff, Pusalkar, Bhāsa—A Study, ch xvi, p. 414; Banerjea, op cit, p. 204 ff, Mehta, P B I, p 171, Date, G T, The Art of War in Ancient India; Oppert Gustav, Weapons and Armoury Organisation

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⁷⁴ Uttarā., 9 18, also Rāmāyaṇa, I, 6 11, according to the Arthaśāstra (p. 110), it was a big pillar with immense number of sharp points on its surface and situated on the top of a fort wall Sataghni is also mentioned in the Mahābhārata III, 291. 24; it was ornamented with bells and was bright and hollow, it was flung by hand and like a sword or a spear, was split to pieces, by arrows, Hopkins, J A O S, Vol 13, p 300

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⁷⁵ Bhag., 7. 9

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Besides, magical missiles are mentioned. nāgabāṇa, tāmasabāṇa, paumabāṇa, vahnibāṇa, etc., are described as great weapons. It is said that the serpent missiles when set on the bow went forth like an arrow, then they transmuted into snakes and acted like a lasso; the missiles of darkness filled the battle-field with darkness.⁷⁶

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⁷⁶ Jīva, 3, p 152a f, Jambu Sū Ti, 21, p 124 a Also see Rāmāyaṇa, I, 27, 56

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Flags, drums and trumpets roused the spirit of the warriors in ancient India. The warriors from either side tried to cut off the banners with arrows and they captured the flag and the battle was lost to the party which lost the flag⁷⁷ The Bṛhatkalpa Bhāṣya refers to four types of drums of Kanha Vāsudeva, viz., Komudikā,⁷⁸ Saṅgāmiyā, Dubbhuya, and Asivopasamini; it is said that they all were made of sandal wood. The drums were also imbued with medicinal properties. It is said that asivopasamini when beaten banished the diseases for the period of six months.⁷⁹ Kṛṣṇa possessed another drum named Sannāhiya⁸⁰ Hearing the beating of this drum the warriors gathered together and marched against the king Paumanābha.⁸¹

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⁷⁷ cf Bhag., 7 9, for the description of a flag see Kalpa, 3. 40. cf. also Rāmāyaṇa III, 27 15; Mahābhārata, VI, 83. 46 ff.

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⁷⁸ In the Mahābhārata, Kaumudikī is mentioned as a mace of Kṛṣṇa; it was capable of slaying every daitya, Mahābhārata, I, 251. 28

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⁷⁹ Pi., 356

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⁸⁰ Sannāhiki bheri is also mentioned in the Mahābhārata I, 244. 38)

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⁸¹ Nāyā., 16, p. 190.

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CHAPTER V

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

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In India the village or a *gāma* formed the unit of administration. The bulk of the people as in present days lived in the villages,¹ which are described as lying within easy reach of the village cocks (*kukkuṭa-saṇḍeya-gāmapaura*),² and where one had to pay the eighteen kinds of taxes referred to above. A *gāma* was the generic term for an inhabited settlement, not possessing the fortifications of a *nagara* or a *rājadhānī*. A large number of families were reckoned as constituting a village.³ We are told that ninety six villages were attached to the town of Mahurā⁴ An interesting discussion is given on what constitutes a village in the *Bṛhatkalpa Bhāṣya*. (i) It is said that the limit of a village is the distance to which the cows go to graze. But this assertion is contested on the ground that the cows procceded to other villages as well; (ii) then it is stated that the distance which a grass-cutter or a wood-cutter, getting up early morning covers and after doing his work returns at sunset to his own place is called a village; (iii) a village has its own boundary; (iv) its extent could also be determined by the situation of the village garden at the end; (v) or the village-well; (vi) or the extent to which the children go to play; (vii) the nucleus of the village is formed by the erection of *devakula*.

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¹ Bhag. Ṭī., 1. 1.

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² Rāya. Sū., I. p. 4.

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³ Das. cū., p. 373. According to the Nāya. Ṭī. (1, p. 43) a village constituted ten thousand families; cf. Arthaśāstra, p 45.

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⁴ Brh. Bhā., 1. 1776.

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The *sabhā* or assembly hall was situated in the centre of the village.⁵ Different types of villages are mentioned such as *uttānakamallakākāra*, *avāmukhamallakākāra*, *sampitamallakākāra*, *khaṇḍamallakākāra* and others.⁶

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⁵ Ibid., 1. 1096 ff.

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⁶ Ibid., 1. 1103-8

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The majority of villages probably contained a heterogeneous population, but there were others inhabited exclusively or mainly by members of a single caste or followers of a single occupation. For example, the city of Vaisālī had three important suburbs, namely, Bambhaṇagāma, Khattiya-Kuṇḍaggāma and Vāṇiyagāma, inhabited by Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas and the merchants in succession. Then there were villages inhabited by peacock-tamers (*mayūraposaga*),⁷ acrobats⁸ and robbers (*corapalli*).⁹ There were border villages (*paccantagāma*) which were in a very insecure condition.¹⁰

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⁷ Uttarā. Ṭī., 3, p. 57.

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⁸ Ava. cū., p. 544.

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⁹ Vivā., 3, p. 20 etc.

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¹⁰ See Ava. cū., II, p. 198; cf. Cullanārada Jātaka (No. 477), IV, p. 220.

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Unfortunately, we do not get much information regarding the internal administration of a village. We are told that the villages were under their headmen known as *bhojya*, *bhojika*¹¹ or *mayahara*,¹² and the meetings of the villages were held in a hall (*sabhā*).¹³ The leader of a *maḍamba* which consisted of eighteen thousand villages was known as *māḍambiya*.¹⁴ The guild or corporation (*seṇi*) was a powerful factor in the economic and social life of the people of the village, about which we shall see further.

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¹¹ *Vya. Bhā.*, 7, 459; cf. *gāmabhajaka* in the *Dhammapada A.*, I, p. 69; also see Rhys Davids, *Cambridge History of India*, p. 208.

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¹² *Uttarā. Ṭī.*, 3, p. 57; 9, p. 142a; 18, p. 250.

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¹³ *Rāyā. Sū.*, 21.

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¹⁴ *Vya. Bhā. Ṭī.*, 4. 52.

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The first of these, the *Gospel of the Hebrews*, was used by the Jewish Christians of Palestine, and was probably a version of the Gospel of Matthew, though it contained some traditions not found in our canonical books. The *Gospel of the Egyptians* was used by the ascetic sects of Egypt, and was marked by a strong tendency towards mysticism and asceticism. The *Gospel of Peter* was used by the Docetists, and taught that Christ did not really suffer, but only appeared to do so.

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These gospels, and others like them, were not accepted by the Church as a whole, and were gradually lost or suppressed. The Church, however, felt the need for a standard collection of writings that would serve as a guide for faith and practice. This led to the formation of the New Testament canon, a process that took several centuries to complete.

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The first step in this process was the collection of the letters of Paul, which were widely circulated among the churches. Then came the four Gospels, which were accepted as the authoritative accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles and the other epistles were gradually added, and finally the Book of Revelation.

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By the end of the second century, the core of the New Testament was generally accepted by the Church. The process of canonization was not a formal act of a council, but rather a gradual recognition by the churches of the writings that were most valuable for their life and worship. It was only in the fourth century that the canon was formally closed by the councils of the Church.

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The formation of the New Testament canon was a crucial event in the history of the Church. It provided a standard of faith and practice that helped to unify the Church and to protect it from the influence of heretical sects. It also ensured that the teachings of Jesus and the apostles would be preserved for future generations.

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