Education in Ancient India c10.s2.10

c10.s2.10

Conclusion :—The general impression left by the literary and epigraphical evidence of the 1st millennium A.D. is that a good deal of preliminary military training was given almost universally in all villages under the aegis of the village Panchayats. Organised institutions for military training probably did not exist in moffusil villages. Retired members of the state hereditary forces and local experts used to organise and manage military classes in their own villages, which were attended by most of the able-bodied adults in the locality. Further training was imparted by adventurous captains and final touches were given after the enlistment of the soldier in the state army in daily drills. It would appear that the weakness of the Hindu military machine lay in too much reliance being placed upon the training received by soldiers as militia men. This training, while quite sufficient to meet the needs of local disturbances, was inadequate to withstand regularly trained armies.