Education in Ancient India c14.s6: Section F. Dhanurvedic or Military Upanayana

Education in Ancient India c14.s6

Language: English

Section F. Dhanurvedic or Military Upanayana

c14.s6.2

² Described only in Dhanurveda-Samhitā of Vasisththa, which is a very late work.

Ritual described: The ritual was to be performed on an auspicious day at the beginning of the military education. The student, who was required to observe a fast on that day, used to offer oblations to gods at the outset. Brahmanas were then fed and presents were offered to the teacher. The most important part of the ritual was the offering of a weapon to the youth along with the recitation of a Vedic Mantra.¹ Military training was no monopoly of the Kshatriyas in early times, and Vasistha therefore lays down that a Brahmana was to be invested with a bow, the Kshatriya with a sword, the Vaishya with a lance and the Shudra with a mace. The Guru, who could initiate the youths, was himself expected to be an expert in the use of these and other weapons.

c14.s6.4

Not common in early Times: How far this Dhanurvedic Upanayana was common among the Kshatriyas or those classes of the community, who received the military training, we do not know. The ritual is not mentioned by any early authority, and the epic heroes are not stated to have performed it. The Mantra recited at the time of offering the weapon to the student has no connection with the occasion, as shown in the foot-note below¹. It is therefore very doubtful whether the ritual was in general vogue. Probably it was a later invention and confined to a small section of the Kshatriya community.

c14.s6.5

¹ The Mantra laid down by Vasistha is as follows :—

Linked texts (1)

Dhanurvedasaṃhitā — Vasiṣṭha, Sanskrit