History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.480
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.480
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A treatise will be required to deal with the weapons of war from ancient times. Even in the Ṛgveda several weapons are mentioned e. g. ṛṣṭi (Ṛg. V. 52. 6, V. 57. 2 and 6 on the shoulders of the Maruts), arrows (V. 57. 2, VI. 75. 17), quivers (V. 57. 2), the aṅkuśa (of Indra in VIII. 17. 10, X. 44. 9), paraśu (X. 28. 8), kṛpāṇa (probably a dagger, in X. 22. 10), vajra made of *ayas* (X. 48.3, X. 113.5). Atharvaveda IV. 6. 6. refers to poisoned arrows. In the Atharvaveda²⁷⁹ I. 16. 2 and 4 reference is made to lead as destroying sorcerers and it is said 'if you kill our cow or horse or man we shall pierce you with lead so that you will cease to kill our strong men'. In Tai. S. I. 5. 7. 6 it is said²⁸⁰ that when a *samidh* is offered into fire with the mantra 'indhānās-tvā śataṁ himāḥ' the sacrificer discharges against his enemy the śataghnī (weapon killing a hundred) which acts like vajra itself'. Dr. Oppert in his Introduction to the Nītiprakāśikā pp. 10-13 relies on these and other passages for holding that the ancient Indians knew fire-arms and that Atharvaveda I. 16.4. refers to leaden balls discharged from cylinders. Vide Dr. Oppert's work on the 'weapons, army organisation and political maxims of the ancient Hindus' (1880), where he describes several weapons and holds that gunpowder was known in India long before the 13th century A. D. Mr. G. T. Date's 'Art of war in Ancient India' (London 1929), Dr. P. C. Chakravarti's work (1941, Dacca) and Prof.
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Dikshitar's book on the same subject may be consulted for details. The numerous weapons mentioned in the Mahābhārata (e. g. Udyoga 155. 3-9) also are passed over here. Vide Hopkins' paper in J. A. O. S. Vol. XIII pp. 269-303 for detailed descriptions. The Allahabad Stone Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta (middle of 4th century A. D.) contains a long list of weapons (C I. I. III pp. 6-7).280a One important question is whether gunpowder and fire-arms were known to our ancient and medieval works. Śukra refers to gunpowder called *agnicūrṇa* in II. 93,196, IV. 7. 203, guns (IV. 7. 209-211) and gives the formula of gunpowder in IV. 7. 201 (viz. the mixing of five *palas* of saltpetre, one *pala* of sulphur and one *pala* of coal powder). The Śukranītisāra is comparatively a late work and was probably written in the 13th or 14th century when cannon came to be used in Europe for the first time. Both in the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata the word *śataghnī* (killing a hundred people) occurs frequently. In the Yuddhakhāṇḍa²⁸¹ 3. 13 it is stated that at the gates of Laṅkā hundreds of iron śataghnīs, looking burnished, sharp and terrible, had been arranged by the demons. In a poetic description of Laṅkā in the Sundarakāṇḍa chap. 2, it is said that śataghnīs and śūlas were like the hair on the head of Laṅkā (verse 21).
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In the Vanaparva 15 there is a fine description of Dvāravatī (Dvārkā) besieged by Śālva, in which it is said that the capital had numerous towers and turrets, machines, tomaras, aṅkuśas, śataghnīs &c. In Ādi. 207. 34, Vanaparva 169. 16, 284. 5, 290. 24, Droṇa 156. 70, Karṇa 11. 8, Śalya 45. 110 the śataghnī is mentioned, but it is impossible to find from these what exactly it was like. From Vanaparva 284. 31 it appears that the śataghnīs were discharged with force by the hands and had wheels and round balls or stones in it. In Droṇa 179. 46 it is said that the śataghnī employed by Ghaṭotkaca had wheels and killed four horses at once. In Droṇa 199. 19 śataghnīs are said to have two or four wheels. In Vanaparva²⁸² 284. 4 it is said that the powder of *sarjarasa* (resin from Sal tree) had been collected. In the Harivaṁśa (Bhaviṣyaparva 44. 20), among the weapons hurled at Narasiṁha by Hiraṇyakaśipu were blazing śataghnīs (śataghnībhiśca dīptābhir-daṇḍairapi sudāruṇaiḥ). In Rāmāyaṇa VII. 32. 44 we are told that at the tip of the weapon called musala (club) blazed forth fire like a bunch of Aśoka flowers. The Sundarakāṇḍa couples together *śataghnī* and *musala* (4. 18). It looks probable that resinous powder was used in some cylindrical contrivance (or rockets) mounted on wheels and capable of throwing stones. But gunpowder appears not to have been used. There is no description of smoke due to śataghnīs. Hopkins (J. A. O. S.
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XIII pp 299-303) holds that gunpowder and fire-arms were unknown to the great Epic and in the present state of our knowledge this view seems to be correct.