Introduction The value and importance of the army were realized very early in the history of India, and this led in course of time to the maintenance of a permanent militia to put down dissensions. War or no war, the army was to be maintained, to meet any unexpected contingency. This gave rise to the Ksatriya or warrior caste, and the ksatram dharman came to mean the primary duty of war. To serve the country by participating in war became the svadharma or this warrior community. The necessary education, drill, and discipline to cultivate militarism were confined to the members of one community, the Ksatriyas. This prevented the militant attitude from spreading to other communities and kept the whole social structure unaffected by actual wars and war institutions.
Says the
Arthva Veda:
The whole country
looked upon the members of the ksatriya community as defenders of their country
and consequently did not grudge the high influence and power wielded
by the Ksatriyas, who were assigned a social rank next in importance to the
intellectual and spiritual needs of the society.
The ancient Hindus
were a sensitive people, and their heroes were instructed that they were
defending the noble cause of God, Crown and Country. Viewed
in this light, war departments were 'defense' departments and military
expenditure were included in the cost of defense. In this, as in many cases,
ancient India was ahead of modern ideas.
Chivalry, individual heroism, qualities of mercy and nobility of outlook even in the grimmest of struggles were not unknown to the soldiers of ancient India. Thus among the laws of war, we find that,
It is of topical
interest to note that one of the laws enjoins the army to leave the fruit and
flower gardens, temples and other places of public worship unmolested.
Terence Duke, author of The Boddhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner
Philosophy, History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and
China, martial arts went from India to China. Fighting without
weapons was a specialty of the ancient Ksatreya warriors of India.
Territorial ideal of a one-State India Imperial sway in ancient India meant the active rule of an individual monarch who by his ability and prowess brought to subjection the neighboring chieftains and other rulers, and proclaimed himself the sole ruler of the earth. This goes by the name of digvi-jaya. It is not necessary that he should conquer all States by the sword. A small state might feel the weight of a conquering king and render obeisance of its own accord. According to the Sangam classics, each of the respective rulers of the chief Tamil kingdoms, the Cera, Cola and Pandya, carried his sword as far north as the Himalayas, and implanted on its lofty heights his respective crest the bow, the tiger and the fish. In these adventures which the Tamil Kings underwent for their glorification, they did not lag behind their northern brethren. The very epithet Imayavaramban shows that the limits of the empire under that Emperor extended to the Himalayas in the north.
This title was also
earned by Ceran Senguttuvan by his meritorious exploits in the north.
Names like the Cola Pass in the Himalayan slopes, which in very early times
connected Nepal and Bhutan with ancient Tibet, give a certain clue to the fact
that once Tamil kings went so far north as the Himalayas and left their
indelible marks in those regions.
Kshatriya Warrior (Now in Indian Museum, Calcutta).
If in the epic age a
Rama and an Arjuna could come to the extremity of our peninsula,
and in the historical period of a Chandragupta or a Samudragupta could undertake
an expedition to this part of our country, nothing could prevent a king of
prowess and vast resources like the Cera king Senguttuvan from carrying his armies to the north. The route lay through the Dakhan
plateau, the Kalinga, Malva, and the Ganga. Perhaps it was the ancient
Daksinapatha route known to history from the epoch of the Rg Veda Samhita.
The king who became conqueror of all India was entitled to the distinction of being called a Samrat. In the Puranic period the great Kartavirya Arjuna of the Haihaya clan spread his arms throughout the ancient Indian continent and earned the title of Samrat.
The same principle of
glory and distinction underlay the performance of the sacrifice, Asvamedha and
Rajasuya, which were intended only for the members of the Ksatriya community.
This bears testimony to ' the existence of the territorial ideal of a one-State India' (Cakravartiksetram of Kautalya). These kings were called Sarvabhaumas and Ekarats. Vedic kings aimed at it, and epic rulers realized it. The idea of ekarat, continued down to Buddhist times and even later. The Jatakas which are said to belong to the fifth and sixth century B.C., make pointed reference to an all-Indian empire.
This concept of an
all-India empire stretching from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas, according to
Kautalya receives further support from another important political term:
ekacchatra, or one-umbrella sovereignty.
Hindus have given shelter to the persecuted people from many lands and in all ages. But what is most important, they have always regarded their own homeland as the only playfield for their chakravartins, and never waged wars of conquest beyond the borders of Bharata-varsha. The Laws of War When society became organized and a warrior caste (Kshatriya) came into being, it was felt that the members of this caste should be governed by certain humane laws, the observance of which, it was believed, would take them to heaven, while their non-observance would lead them into hell. In the post Vedic epoch, and especially before the epics were reduced to writing, lawless war had been supplanted, and a code had begun to govern the waging of wars. The ancient law-givers, the reputed authors of the Dharmasutras and the Dharmasastras, codified the then existing customs and usages for the betterment of mankind. Thus the law books and the epics contain special sections on royal duties and the duties of common warriors. It is a general rule that kings were chosen from among the Kshatriya caste. In other words, a non-Ksatriya was not qualified to be a king. And this is probably due to the fact that the kshatriya caste was considered superior to others in virtue of its material prowess. Though the warrior's code enjoins that all the Ksatriyas should die on the field of battle, still in practice many died a peaceful death. There is a definite ordinance of the ancient law books prohibiting the warrior caste from taking to asceticism.
Action and
renunciation is the watch-word of the Ksatriya. The warrior was not generally
allowed to don the robes of an ascetic. But Mahavira and Gautama
protested against these injunctions and inaugurated an order of monks or
sannyasins. When these dissenting sects gathered in strength and numbers, the
decline of Ksatriya valor set in. Once they were initiated into a life of peace
and prayer, they preferred it to the horrors of war. this was a disservice that
dissenting sects did to the cause of ancient India.
When a conqueror felt that he was in a position to invade the foreigner's country, he sent an ambassador with the message: 'Fight or submit.'
More than 5000 years
ago India recognized that the person of the ambassador was inviolable. This was
a great service that ancient Hinduism rendered to the cause of international
law. It was the religious force that invested the person of the herald or
ambassador with an inviolable sanctity in the ancient world.
The
Mahabharata rules that the king who killed an envoy would sink into hell
with all his ministers.
The
Mahabharata War
Dharmayuddha is war carried on the principles of Dharma, meaning here the Ksatradharma or the law of Kings and Warriors. The Hindu laws of war are very chivalrous and humane, and prohibit the slaying of the unarmed, of women, of the old, and of the conquered. Megasthenes noticed a peculiar trait of Indian warfare they never ravage an enemy's land with fire, nor cut down its trees. The Bhagavad Gita has influenced great Americans from Thoreau to Oppenheimer.
Its message of letting go of the fruits of one’s actions is just as
relevant today as it was when it was first written more than two millennia ago.
As early as as the
4th century B.C. Megasthenes noticed a peculiar trait of Indian warfare.
Professor H. H.
Wilson says:
At the very time when
a battle was going on, be says, the neighboring cultivators might be seen
quietly pursuing their work, - " perhaps ploughing, gathering for crops, pruning
the trees, or reaping the harvest." Chinese pilgrim to Nalanda University,
Hiuen Tsiang affirms that although the there were enough of rivalries and
wars in the 7th century A.D. the country at large was little injured by them.
Weapons of War as Gathered from Literature Dhanur Veda classifies the weapons of offence and defense into four - the mukta, the amukta, the mukta-mukta and the yantramukta. The Nitiprakasika, on the other hand, divides them into three broad classes, the mukta (thrown), the amukta (not thrown), and the mantramukta (discharged by mantras).
The bows and arrows
are the chief weapons of the mukta group.
The very fact that
our military science named Dhanur Veda provides sufficiently clearly that the
bow and arrow were the principle weapons of war in those times. It was known by
different terms as sarnga, kodanda, and karmuka. Whether these are synonyms of
the same thing or were different is difficult to say. The Rg vedaic smith was
not only a steel worker but also an arrow maker.
Fire-Arms: It would be interesting to examine the true nature of the agneya-astras. Kautalya describes agni-bana, and mentions three recipes - agni-dharana, ksepyo-agni-yoga, and visvasaghati. Visvasaghati was composed of 'the powder of all the metals as red as fire or the mixture of the powder of kumbhi, lead, zinc, mixed with the charcoal and with oil wax and turpentine.' From the nature of the ingredients of the different compositions it would appear that they were highly inflammable and could not be easily extinguished. A recent writer remarks:
Sir A. M.
Eliot tells us that the Arabs learnt the manufacture of gunpowder from
India, and that before their Indian connection they had used arrows of naptha.
It is also argued that though Persia possessed saltpetre in abundance, the
original home of gunpowder was India. It is said that the Turkish word top and
the Persian tupang or tufang are derived from the Sanskrit word dhupa. The dhupa
of the Agni Purana means a rocket, perhaps a corruption of the Kautaliyan term
natadipika. (source: Fire-Arms in Ancient
India - By Jogesh Chandra Ray I.H.Q. viii. p. 586-88).
Heinrich Brunnhofer (1841-1917), German Indologist, also believed that the ancient Aryans of India knew about gunpowder. (source: German Indologists: Biographies of Scholars in Indian Studies writing in German - By Valentine Stache-Rosen. p.92). Gustav Oppert (1836-1908) born in Hamburg, Germany, he taught Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at the Presidency College, Madras for 21 years. He was the Telugu translator to the Government and Curator, Government Oriental Manuscript Library. Translated Sukraniti, statecraft by an unknown author. He attempted to prove that ancient Indians knew firearms. (source: German Indologists: Biographies of Scholars in Indian Studies writing in German - By Valentine Stache-Rosen. p.81. For more refer to article by G R Josyer - India: The Home of Gunpowder and Firearms). In his work, Political Maxims of the Ancient Hindus, he says, that ancient India was the original home of gunpowder and fire-arms. It is probable that the word Sataghni referred to in the Sundara Kanda of the Ramayana refers to cannon. (source: Hindu Culture and The Modern Age - By Dewan Bahadur K.S. Ramaswami Shastri - Annamalai University 1956 p. 127). The word astra in the Sukraniti is interpreted by Dr. Gustav Oppert as a bow. The term astra means a missile, anything which is discharged. Agneya astra means a fiery arm as distinguished from a firearm. Dr. Oppert refers to half a dozen temples in South India to prove the use of fire-arms in ancient India. The Palni temple in the Madura District contains on the outer portion in an ancient stone mantapa scenes of carved figures of soldiers carrying in their hands small fire-arms, apparently the small-sized guns mentioned in the Sukranitisara.
Again in the
Sarnagapani temple at Kumbakonam in the front gate of the fifth story from the
top is the figure of a king sitting in a chariot drawn by horses and surrounded
by a number of soldiers. Before this chariot march two sepoys with
pistols in their hands. In the Nurrukkal mantapam of the Conjeevaram temple is a
pillar on the north side of the mandapa. Here is a relief vividly
representing a flight between two bodies of soldiers. Mounted horsemen are also
seen.
The foot-soldier is
shown aiming his fire-arm against the enemy. Such things are also noted in the
Tanjore temple and the temple at Perur, in the Coimbatore District. In the
latter there is an actual representation of a soldier loading a musket.
The Borobudar in Java where Indian tradition is copied wholesale. They are ascribed roughly to the period 750-850 A.D. There is a striking relief series PL. I, fig. 5, (1605) representing a battle in which two others are seen on each side, one wearing a curved sword in the right hand and a long shield, and the other a mace and a round shield resembling a wheel, all apparently made of iron. The story of the Ramayana is also given as in the Tadpatri temple from Rama's going to the forest down to the killing of Ravana. There is also a wonderful sculpture of an ancient Hindu ship. (source: Suvarnadvipa - By R.C. Majumdar. pp 194-5). Medhatithi remarks thus "while fighting his enemies in battle, he shall not strike with concealed weapons nor with arrows that are poisoned or barbed on with flaming shafts." Sukraniti while referring to fire-arms, (agneyastras) says that before any war, the duty of the minister of war is to check up the total stock of gunpowder in the arsenal. Small guns is referred as tupak by Canda Baradayi. The installation of yantras (engines of war) inside the walls of the forts referred to by Manasollasa and the reference of Sataghni (killer of hundreds of men) pressed into service for the protection of the forts by Samaranganasutradhara clearly reveals the frequent use of fire arms in the battle-field. (source: India Through The Ages: History, Art Culture and Religion - By G. Kuppuram p. 512-513).
Lord Rama with his bow defeats Ravana in the gold city of
Lanka.
In the light of the
above remarks we can trace the evolution of fire-arms in the ancient India.
There is evidence to show that agni (fire) was praised for vanquishing an
enemy. The Arthava Veda shows the employment of fire-arms with lead shots. The
Aitareya Brahmana describes an arrow with fire at its tip. In the
Mahabharata and Ramayana, the employment of agnyastras is frequently mentioned,
and this deserves careful examination in the light of other important terms like
ayah, kanapa and tula-guda.
The agnicurna or gunpowder was composed of 4 to 6 parts of saltpetre, one part of sulphur, and one part of charcoal of arka, sruhi and other trees burnt in a pit and reduced to powder. Here is certain evidence of the ancient rockets giving place to actual guns in warfare. From the description of the composition of gunpowder, the composition of the Sukraniti can be dated at the pre-Gupta age. (source: War in Ancient India - By V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar 1944. p. 103 -105). Bow and Arrow: In the words of H. H. Wilson:
One feature of this
weapon was that it could be handled by all the four classes of warriors.
Frescos on the Angkor Wat depict scenes from the Hindu epics
Mahabharata and Ramayana, showing Kshatriyas engaged in war.
For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor
Other Weapons:
The Bindipala and the nine following are minor weapons of this class. Probably this was a heavy club which had a broad and bent tail end, measuring one cubit in length. It was to be used with the left foot of the warrior placed in front. The various uses of this weapon were cutting, hitting, striking and breaking. It was like a kunta but with a big blade. It was used by the Asuras in their fight with Kartavirya Arjuna. The Nalika is a hand gun or musket rightly piercing the mark. It was straight in form and hollow inside. It discharged darts if ignited. As has been already said, Sukracarya speaks of two kinds of nalika, one big and the other small. The small one, with a little hole at the end, measured sixty angulas (ie. distance between the thumb and the little finger) dotted with several spots at the muzzle end.
Through the touch
hole or at its breach which contained wood, fire was conveyed to the charge. It
was generally used by foot-soldiers. But the big gun had no wood at the breach
and was so heavy that it had to be conveyed in carts. The balls were made of
iron, lead or other material. Kamandaka uses the word nalika in the sense
of firing gun as a signal for the unwary king. Again in the Naisadha, a work of
the medieval period, Damayanti is compared to the two bows of the god of love
and goddess of love, and her two nostrils to the two guns capable of throwing
balls.
Thus there is clear evidence of the existence and use of firing guns in India in very early times. The Cakra, the next weapon in the category, is a circular disc with a small opening in the middle. It was of three kinds of eight, six and four spokes. It was used in five or six ways. It resembled the quoid of the Sikhs today. Lord Vishnu is popularly addressed as Sankha-cakra-gada-pani, that is having Sankha or conch, Cakra or disc, and Gada or mace in three of his four hands.The various uses of a disc were felling, whirling, rending, breaking, severing, and cutting. It is one of the instruments peculiar to Lord Vishnu. Kautalya speaks of it as a movable machine. The Cakra belongs to the category of a missile. According to the Vamanapurana, the Cakra has lustrous and sharp edges. The Tomara is another weapon of war frequently mentioned in all kinds of warfare. It was of two kinds, an iron club (sarvayasam) and a javelin. . According to the Agni Purana it was to be with the help of an arrow of straight feathers, and was powerful in dealing blows to the eyes and hands of an enemy.
The
Dantakanta, is another weapon of war, perhaps the shape of a tooth, made
of metal, of strong handle and a straight blade. It had two movements.
The Pasa, which is a noose killing the enemy at one stroke, of two or tree ropes used as a weapon attributed to the god Varuna. It was triangular in shape and embellished with balls of lead. It was associated with three kinds of movements. In the Agni Purana are described eleven ways of turning it to one's own advantage by dexterity of hand. The Masundi, was probably an eight sided cudgel. It was furnished with a broad and strong handle. It apparently comes from the root-meaning to cleave or break into pieces, and perhaps akin to the Musala. All these and more found used in one battle or another both in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Amukta Weapons The first of the Amukta weapons was the Vajra or the thunderbolt. The origin of this weapon is given in the Rirthayatra portion of the Mahabharata. It was made out of the backbone of the Rishi Dadhici which was freely given by him to Indra. Originally perhaps it had six sides and made a terrible noise when hurled.
B.K. Sarkar
says that the secret of manufacturing the so-called Damascus blade was learnt by
the Saracens from the Persians, who, in their turn, had learnt it from the
Hindus. Early Arabic literature provides us with a curious illustration of the
esteem with which Indian swords were looked upon in Western Asia.
An early Arabic poet,
Hellal, describing the flight of the Hemyarites, says:
Note: Hindus
made the best swords in the ancient world, they discovered the process of making
Ukku steel, called Damascus steel by the rest of the world
(Damas meaning water to the Arabs, because of the watery designs
on the blade). These were the best swords in the ancient world, the strongest
and the sharpest, sharper even than Japanese katanas. Romans, Greeks,
Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Chinese imported it.
The original Damascus
steel - the world's first high-carbon steel - was a product of India known as
wootz. Wootz is the English for ukku in Kannada and Telugu,
meaning steel. Indian steel was used for making swords and armor in Persia and
Arabia in ancient times. Ktesias at the court of Persia (5th c BC) mentions two
swords made of Indian steel which the Persian king presented him. The
pre-Islamic Arab word for sword is 'muhannad' meaning from Hind. So famous were
they that the Arabic word for sword was Hindvi - from Hind.
Wootz was produced by carburizing chips of wrought iron in a closed crucible process.
To the sixth century
Arab poet Aus b. Hajr the pattern appeared described 'as if it were the
trail of small black ants that had trekked over the steel while it was still
soft'. In the early 1800s, Europeans tried their hand at reproducing wootz on an
industrial scale. Michael Faraday, the great experimenter and son of a
blacksmith, tried to duplicate the steel by alloying iron with a variety of
metals but failed.
Some scientists were
successful in forging wootz but they still were not able to reproduce its
characteristics, like the watery mark.
The crucible process
could have originated in south India and the finest steel was from the land of
Cheras, said K. Rajan, associate professor of archaeology at Tamil University,
Thanjavur, who explored a 1st century AD trade centre at Kodumanal near
Coimbatore. Rajan's excavations revealed an industrial economy at Kodumanal.
Pillar of strength The rustless wonder called the Iron Pillar near the Qutb
Minar at Mehrauli in Delhi did not attract the attention of scientists till the
second quarter of the 19th century.
The inscription
refers to a ruler named Chandra, who had conquered the Vangas and Vahlikas, and
the breeze of whose valour still perfumed the southern ocean. "The king who
answers the description is none but Samudragupta, the real founder of the Gupta
empire," said Prof. T.R. Anantharaman, who has authored The Rustless
Wonder. Zinc metallurgy travelled from India to China and from there to
Europe. As late as 1735, professional chemists in Europe believed that zinc
could not be reduced to metal except in the presence of copper.
The alchemical texts
of the mediaeval period show that the tradition was live in India. In 1738,
William Champion established the Bristol process to produce metallic zinc
in commercial quantities and got a patent for it. Interestingly, the mediaeval
alchemical text Rasaratnasamucchaya describes the same process, down to
adding 1.5 per cent common salt to the ore. (source: Saladin's sword - By The Week -
June 24, 2001 - http://netinfo.hypermart.net/telingsteel.htm).
Artillery - India Taught Europe Artillery was introduced into Europe by the Roma (Gypsies), who were none else than the Jats and Rajputs of India. This has been revealed in a study by a reputed linguist, Weer Rajendra Rishi, after an extensive tour of Roma camps in Europe.
He explains that the
Romas, who are the Gypsies of Europe, also taught the use of artillery to
Europeans. These Roma belonged to the Jat and Rajput clans who left India during
the invasions by Mohamud Ghaznavi and Mohammad Ghori between the 10th and 12th
centuries of the Christian era.
He says the use of artillery was known in Asia, notably in India, from time immemorial, while it was introduced to the Europeans much later. Mr. Rishi reveals that the Roma had helped different countries of Europe in making artillery.
There were also
records that the Roma were employed as soldiers by some countries of Europe. Dr.
W. R. Rishi, is the author of the book, Roma - The Panjabi Emigrants
in Europe, Central and Middle Asia, the USSR, and the Americas - published
1976. Mr. Rishi is a well-known linguist of India and was awarded the honour of
'Padmashri' by the President of India in 1970 for his contributions in the field
of linguistics. He is also the Founder Director of the Indian Institute of
Romani Studies. (source: Diamonds, Mechanism,
Weapons of War, Yoga Sutras - By G. R. Josyer. p. 179-182).
Indian Armour
To conclude with the
words of Sir George Birdwood:
Martial Arts - Fighting without weapons
Fighting without weapons was a specialty of the Ksatreya (caste of
Ancient India) and foot soldier alike.
Danger and Divinity: Originating at least 1,300 years ago, India's Kalaripayit is the oldest martial art taught today.
It is also one of the most potentially violent.
Weaponless but nimble, a karaipayit master displays for his students
how to meet the attack of an armed opponent.
Watch Kalari Martial Arts and Silambam Martial Arts videos
Kalaripayattu,
literally “the way of the battlefield,” still survives in Kerala, where it is
often dedicated to Mahakali. The Kalari grounds are usually situated near a
temple, and the pupils, after having touched the feet of the master, salute the
ancestors and bow down to the Goddess, begin the lesson. Kalari trainings have
been codified for over 3000 years and nothing much has changed.
The warming up is essential and demands great suppleness. Each movement is repeated several times, facing north, east, south and west, till perfect loosening is achieved. The young pupils pass on to the handling of weapons, starting with the “Silambam”, a short stick made of extremely hard wood, which in the olden times could effectively deal with swords. The blows are hard and the parade must be fast and precise, to avoid being hit on the fingers!
They continue with
the swords, heavy, and dangerous, even though they are not sharpened any more,
as they are used. Without guard or any kind of body protection; they whirl, jump
and parry, in an impressive ballet. Young, fearless girls fight with enormous
knives, bigger than their arms and the clash of irons is echoed in the ground.
The session ends with the big canes, favorite weapons of the Buddhist traveler
monks, which they used during their long journey towards China to scare away
attackers.
The “Urimi” is the most extraordinary weapon of Kalari, unique in the world. This double-edged flexible sword which the old-time masters used to wrap around the waist to keep coiled in one hand, to suddenly whip at the opponent and inflict mortal blows, is hardly used today in trainings, for it is much too dangerous. This indigenous martial arts, under the name of Kalari or Kalaripayit exists only in South India today. Kalarippayat is said to be the world's original martial art. Originating at least 1,300 years ago, India's Kalaripayit is the oldest martial art taught today. It is also the most potentially violent, because students advance from unarmed combat to the use of swords, sharpened flexible metal lashes, and peculiar three-bladed daggers.
More than 2,000 years
old, it was developed by warriors of the Cheras kingdom in Kerala. Training
followed strict rituals and guidelines. The entrance to the 14 m-by-7 m arena,
or kalari, faced east and had a bare earth floor. Fighters took Shiva and
Shakti, the god and goddess of power, as their deities. From unarmed kicks and
punches, kalarippayat warriors would graduate to sticks, swords, spears and
daggers and study the marmas—the 107 vital spots on the human body where a blow
can kill. Training was conducted in secret, the lethal warriors unleashed as a
surprise weapon against the enemies of Cheras.
Father and founder of Zen Buddhism (called C’han in China), Boddidharma, a Brahmin born in Kacheepuram in Tamil Nadu, in 522 A.D. arrived at the courts of the Chinese Emperor Liang Nuti, of the 6th dynasty. He taught the Chinese monks Kalaripayattu, a very ancient Indian martial art, so that they could defend themselves against the frequent attacks of bandits. In time, the monks became famous all over China as experts in bare-handed fighting, later known as the Shaolin boxing art.
The Shaolin temple which has been
handed back a few years ago by the communist Government to the C’han Buddhist
monks, inheritors of Boddhidharma’s spiritual and martial teachings, by the
present Chinese Government, is now open to visitors. On one of the walls, a
fresco can be seen, showing Indian dark-skinned monks, teaching their
lighter-skinned Chinese brothers the art of bare-handed fighting.
On this painting are
inscribed:
Kalari payatt
was banned by the British in 1793. (source: The Boddhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner
Philosophy, History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and
China - By Terence Dukes/ Shifu Nagaboshi Tomio p. 3 - 158-174 and
242. A Western Journalist on India: a ferengi's
columns - By Francois Gautier Har-Anand Publications January 2001
ISBN 8124107955 p. 155-158).
Silambam – Indian Stick Fighting
The art Nillaikalakki Silambam was brought to the royal court
during the reign of the Cheran, Cholan and Pandian emperors, once
powerful rulers of India.
Watch Kalari Martial Arts and Silambam Martial Arts videos
The art
Nillaikalakki Silambam, which exists for more than five thousand years,
is an authentic art which starts with the stick called Silambamboo (1.68
meters long). It originates from the Krunji mountains of south India, and is as
old as the Indian sub-continent itself.
The natives called Narikuravar were using a staff called Silambamboo as a weapon to defend themselves against wild animals, and also to display their skill during their religious festivals. The Hindu scholars and yogis who went to the Krunji mountains to meditate got attracted by the display of this highly skilled spinning Silambamboo. The art Nillaikalakki Silambam therefore became a part of the Hindu scholars and yogis training, as they were taught by the Narikuravar. They brought the art to the royal court during the reign of the Cheran, Cholan and Pandian emperors, once powerful rulers of India. (source: Silamban – Indian Stick Fighting).
Army and Army Divisions
The Game of Chess and the Four-Fold Force Owing to peculiar geographical features, with her vast plains interspersed with forests, the ancient Indian States had to make extensive use of mounted forces which comprised cavalry, chariots, and elephants. This does not mean that infantry was neglected. Hindu India possessed the classical fourfold force of chariots, elephants, horsemen, and infantry, collectively known as the Caturangabala.
Students also know
that the old game of chess also goes by the name of Caturanga. Chess is a
game of war, and in each game there are a king, a councilor, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, and eight foot-soldiers.
From the references to this game in the Rg Veda and the Atharva Veda and in the
Buddhists and Jaina books, it must have been very popular in ancient India. The
Persian term Chatrang and the Arabic Shatrang are forms of the Sanskrit
Chaturanga.
The famous epic Mahabharata narrates an incidence where a game called Chaturang was played between two groups of warring cousins. In some form or the other, the game continued till it evolved into chess.
H.J.R. Murray,
in his work titled “A History of Chess”, has concluded that,
On the whole the
board is 8 X 8 squares. According to Taylor, the game of chess was the invention
of some Hindu who devised a game of war with the astapada board as his field of
battle. From the reference to the game in the Rig Veda and the Arthava Veda and
in the Buddhist and Jaina books, it must have been very popular in ancient
India. It is to be noted that the relative values of the chess pieces were
analogous to or identical with the relative values of different arms as laid
down by Kautalya, Sukra, and Vaisampayana.
The organization of
the Indian army which came to be known as Caturanga, both in epic
Sanskrit and Pali literature, was based on the ancient game.
The Chariots
Chariots were used in
warfare from very remote times. There are many references to chariots in the
Samhitas and in the Brahmanas. The chariot was an indispensable instrument of
war in the days of the Vedas, and on its possession depended victory. In the Rg
Veda there is a hymn addressed to the war chariot: ' Lord of the wood, be firm
and strong in body: be bearing as a brave victorious hero.
Show forth thy
strength, compact with straps of leather and let thy rider win all spoils of
battle.' Chariots were of different types and materials. In the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata their use is largely in evidence. Each chariot was marked off by its
ensign and banner. Besides flags, umbrellas (chattra, atapatra), and fans were a
part of the paraphernalia of the war chariot.
Sukra mentions
an awe-inspiring chariot of iron with swift-moving wheels, provided with good
seats for the warriors and a seat in the middle for the charioteer; the chariot
was also equipped with all kinds of offensive and defensive weapons.
Warrior Arjuna with Krishna - driving the chariot in the epic The
Mahabharata.
The Bhagavad Gita has influenced great Americans from Thoreau to Oppenheimer.
Its message of letting go of the fruits of one’s actions is just as
relevant today as it was when it was first written more than two millennia ago.
The conception of the
sun-god in Indian tales is of value to the student of ancient Indian military
history. The idea is that the sun-god wants to destroy darkness. Therefore he
dons a lustrous armor and marching in his swift flying chariot drawn by seven
powerful steads, Aruna (dawn) being his charioteer. The whole image
presents a life-like portrait of the military dress as well as the march against
an enemy.
Elephants
The next important
force of war consisted of elephants. The numerous representations of the animal
on coins and in architectural sculptural works from Gandhara to
Ramesvaram as well as bronze figures in Indonesia are an indication of
the esteem in which it was held by the ancient Indians, clearly on account of
its usefulness.
An Elephant Armour: An important force of war consisted of
elephants.
There is a reference
in the Rg Veda to two elephants bending their heads and rushing together against
the enemy, which is a fairly early reference to the animal being used in war. By
the time of the Yajur Veda Samhita the art of training elephants had become
common. The Arthasastra mentions a special officer of the State for the care of
elephants and lays down his duties.
Megasthenes explains
how the elephants were hunted, and how their distempers were cured by simple
remedies such as cow's milk for eye-disease and pig's fat for sores. A Jataka
story throws some light on how fire-weapons were used in ancient India.
The use of burning
naphtha balls thrown against on rushing elephants to frighten them and make them
turn back on their own side, is mentioned by early Mohammadan historians as a
feature of the warfare between the Rajputs and the Turkish invaders from the
North-West. (Elliot and Dowson, vol. I).
Cavalry
We hear from the Kautaliya and Megasthenes that
there was a well-organized and efficient cavalry force in the army
of Chandragupta.
In the ArthaVeda we hear of dust-raising
horsemen.
We hear from the
Kautaliya and Megasthenes that there was a well-organized and efficient cavalry
force in the army of Chandragupta. In the ArthaVeda we hear of dust-raising
horsemen. In this connection it is interesting to consider the oft-repeated
statement that horses are non-Indian. It is not the whole truth. They were known
to the Asuras of Vedic literature. There is a legend narrated in the third book
of the Hariharacaturanga (though this is work of the late 12th century A.D., the
tradition recorded is very ancient). In the epoch of the epics and the
Arthasastra, we find that the cavalry occupied as important a place in the army
as any other division.
Megasthenes corroborates the evidence of the Arthasastra. There was a special department in the State for the cavalry. The horses of the State were provided with stables and placed under the care of good grooms and syces. There were several trained horsemen who could jump forward and arrest the speed of galloping horses. But the majority of them rode their horses with bit and bridle. When horses became ungovernable they were placed in the hands of professional trainers who made the animals gallop round in small circles. In selecting horses of war, their age, strength, and size were taken into account.
We may remark in
passing that Abhimanyu's horses were only three years old.
How important the
science of horses was to the ancient Indians is best seen from the
Laksanaprakasa which quotes from several important old authorities some of which
are probably lost to us. Among them are the Asvayurveda and Asvasastra, the
former attributed to Jayadeva and the latter to Nakula. Both the Puranas and the
epics agree that the horses of the Sindhu and Kamboja regions were the finest
breed and that the services of the Kambojas as cavalry troopers were
requisitioned in ancient wars.
In the
Mahabharata war the Kambojans (Cambodians) were enlisted. The steeds of
Bahalika were also highly esteemed. Horses had names and so did elephants.
Unlike the chariot horse, the cavalryman drove his animal with a whip which was
generally fixed to the wrist. This allowed his hand free play. The cavalryman
was armed with arrow or spear or sword. He wore breastplate and turban
(unsnisa). Worth noting is the fact that horses were made to drink wine before
actually marching to battle.
The tactical use of the cavalry was to break through the obstacles on the way, to pursue the retreating enemy, to cover the flanks of the army, to effect speedy communication with the various parts of the army unobserved (bahutsara) and to pierce the enemy ranks from the front to the rear. The cavalry was responsible, in a large measure, for the safety and security of the army in entrenched positions, forests or camps. It obstructed movements of supplies and reinforcements to the enemy. In short, the cavalry was indispensable in situations requiring quickness of movement. Infantry The next important division of the army was the infantry, or foot-soldier. The Arthasastra speaks of the infantry as a separate army department under the charge of a special officer of the State. This receives confirmation from Megasthenes statement. Besides the maula or hereditary troops which formed a considerable portion of the army, there were,
According to the
Sukraniti and the Kamandakanitsara, the army was to be made as imposing as
possible to frighten the enemy by its size. The Agni-purana says that victory
ever attends the army where foot-soldiers are numerically strong.
The Sukraniti also mentions that foot-soldiers possessed fire-arms when they fought.
When these
foot-soldiers equipped themselves for war Arrian says that,
In their left hand
they carry bucklers made of undressed ox-hide which are not so broad as those
who carry them but are about as long. If we turn to the ancient nations and
especially the ancient Egyptians we meet with almost a similar description.
The Commissariat The Caturanaga was a classical division of the army accepted by tradition. But in the epoch of the epic we hear of a Sadanga or the six-fold army, including commissariat and admiralty. The use of commissariat can be traced to the epic age. This belonged to the category of administrative division of troops as against the combatant. We are told that this division of the army into two categories was first seen in the battle of Mansikert (1071 A.D.) But, centuries before, the Indian army leaders had realized the value of such a division. It is said that when the Pandava army marched to Kurukshetra it was followed by 'carts and transport cars, and all descriptions of vehicles, the treasury, weapons and machines and physicians and surgeons, along with the few invalids that were in the army and all those that were weak and powerless. This was purely a civil department attached to the army. Care was also given to wounded animals. The numerous references in our authorities to the Commissariat demonstrate beyond doubt that wars were planned methodically and conducted systematically. The Admiralty The Admiralty as a department of the State may have been a creation of Chandragupta but there is evidence to show that the use of ships and boats was known to the people of the Rig Veda. In the following passage we have reference to a vessel with a hundred oars.
Cartography
There is no special word in Sanskrit for a 'a map.' There is, however, reason to believe that in ancient India a map or chart was regarded as a citra or alekhya, i.e., 'a painting, a picture, a delineation'. That maps were made in ancient India seems to be quite clear from the evidence of the New History of the T'ang Dynasty which gives an account of the Chinese general Wang Hiuen-tse's exploits in India in the year 648 A.D. With reference to the knowledge of map-making among the people of India, especially the Dravidians of the South:
Hindu Valor The Hindus were declared the by the Greeks to be the bravest nation they ever came in contact with. (source: History of India - by Mountstuart Elphinstone p. 197). It was the Hindu King of Magadha that struck terror in the ever-victorious armies of Alexander.
Abul Fazal,
the minister of Akbar, after admiring their noble virtues, speaks of the
valor of the Hindus in these terms:
Francois
Bernier, a 17th century traveler says that:
The Spartans, as is
well known, dressed their hair on such occasions. It is well known that when a
Rajput becomes desperate, he puts on garments of saffron color, which act, in
technical language, is called kesrian kasumal karna (donning saffron
robes). (source: Hindu Superiority - By Har
Bilas Sarda p. 79 - 91).
Aerial Warfare
Turning to Vedic
literature, in one of the Brahmanas occurs the concept of a ship that sails
heavenwards. The ship is the Agnihotra of which the Ahavaniya and
Garhapatya fires represent the two sides bound heavenward, and the
steersman is the Agnihotrin who offers milk to the three Agnis. Again in the
still earlier Rg Veda Samhita we read that the Asvins conveyed the rescued
Bhujya safely by means of winged ships. The latter may refer to the aerial
navigation in the earliest times.
In the recently published Samarangana Sutradhara of Bhoja, a whole chapter of about 230 stanzas is devoted to the principles of construction underlying the various flying machines and other engines used for military and other purposes.
The ancient Hindus could navigate the air, and not only navigate it,
but fight battles in it like so many war-eagles combating for the
domination of the clouds
The various
advantages of using machines, especially flying ones, are given elaborately.
Special mention is made of their use at one’s will and pleasure, of their
uninterrupted movements, of their strength and durability, in short of their
capability to do in the air all that is done on earth. Three movements are
usually ascribed to these machines, - ascending, cruising thousands of miles in
different directions in the atmosphere and lastly descending.
It is said that in an
aerial car one can mount up to Suryamandala, ‘solar region’ and the Naksatra
mandala (stellar region) and also travel throughout the regions of air above the
sea and the earth. These cars are said to move so fast as to make a noise that
could be heard faintly from the ground. The evidence in its favor is
overwhelming.
An aerial car is made of light, wood looking like a great bird with a durable and well-formed body having mercury inside and fire at the bottom. It had two resplendent wings, and is propelled by air. It flies in the atmospheric regions for a great distance and carries several persons along with it. The inside construction resembles heaven created by Brahma himself.
Iron, copper, lead
and other metals are also used for these machines. All these show how far art
and science was developed in ancient India in this direction. Such elaborate
description ought to meet the criticism that the vimanas and similar aerial
vehicles mentioned in ancient Indian literature should be relegated to the
region of myth.
The ancient writers could certainly make a distinction between the mythical which they designated as daiva and the actual aerial wars designated as manusa. After the great victory of Rama over Lanka, Vibhisana presented him with the Puspaka vimana which was furnished with windows, apartments, and excellent seats. It was capable of accommodating all the vanaras besides Rama, Sita and Lakshman. Again in the Vikramaurvaisya, we are told that king Puraravas rode in an aerial car to rescue Urvasi in pursuit of the Danava who was carrying her away.
Similarly in the
Uttararamacarita in the flight between Lava and Candraketu (Act VI) a number of
aerial cars are mentioned as bearing celestial spectators. There is a statement
in the Harsacarita of Yavanas being acquainted with aerial machines. The Tamil
work Jivakacintamani refers to Jivaka flying through the air.
Kathasaritsagara refers to highly talented woodworkers called Rajyadhara and Pranadhara. The former was so skilled in mechanical contrivances that he could make ocean crossing chariots. And the latter manufactured a flying chariot to carry a thousand passengers in the air. These chariots were stated to be as fast as thought itself. (source: India Through The Ages: History, Art Culture and Religion - By G. Kuppuram p. 532-533). For more information refer to Vymanika Shashtra.
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Tuesday, March 3, 2015
ANCIENT INDIAN WAR TECHNIQUE DECODED
ANCIENT INDIAN NAVAL POWER
Naval Warfare
The old notion that the Hindus were essentially a landlocked people, lacking in a spirit of adventure and the heart to brave the seas, is now dispelled. The researches of a generation of scholars have proved that from very early times the people of India were distinguished by nautical skill and enterprise, that they went on trading voyages to distant shores across the seas, and even established settlements and colonies in numerous lands and islands. In ancient India, owing to the geographical influence, nautical shill and enterprise seems to have been best developed in three widely separated region of the country. These were Bengal, the valley and delta of the Indus, and the extreme south of the Deccan peninsula, called Tamilagam.
Boat-making and
ship-building industries were found in India since ancient times. In the Vedic
period, sea was frequently used for trade purposes. The Rig Veda mentions
"merchants who crowd the great waters with ships". The Ramayana speaks of
merchants who crossed the sea and bought gifts for the king of Ayodhya. Manu
legislates for safe carriage and freights by river and sea. In some of the
earliest Buddhist literature we read of voyages ‘out of sight’ of land, some
lasting six months or so.
In Kautalya Arthasastra the admiralty figures as a separate department of the War Office; and this is a striking testimony to the importance attached to it from very early times. In the Rg Veda Samhita boats and ships are frequently mentioned. The classical example often quoted by every writer on the subject is the naval expedition of Bhujya who was sent by his father with the ship which had a hundred oars (aritra). Being ship-wrecked he was rescued by the twin Asvins in their boat.
In the Shanti
Parvan (59, 41) of the Mahabharata it is said that the navy is one of the
angas (part) of the complete army. Examples of ships being used for
military purposes are not lacking. When Vidura scented danger to Kunti’s five
sons, he made them escape to the forest with their mother, crossing the Ganges
in a boat equipped with weapons having the power of withstanding wind and wave.
In the Dig Vijaya
portion of the Sabha parva, it is said that Sahadeva crossed the sea and brought
many islands under his sway after defeating the Mlecchas and other mixed tribes
inhabiting them. If this be an historical fact the inference is irresistible
that he could not have effected his conquest without the use of boats and
vessels. We read in the Ramayana that Durmukha, a Raksasa, who had been fired by
the impulse of anger at the deeds of Hanuman, offered his services to Ravana
even to fight on the sea.
This is testimony
enough of the use of a fleet for war purposes. There are other references here
and there to ships in the Ramayana. When Hanuman was crossing the ocean to
Lanka, he is compared to a ship tossed by winds on the high seas. Sugriva speaks
of Sumatra, Java and even the Red Sea, when sending forth his monkey
hosts in quest of Sita.
The Amarakosa, mentions a number of nautical terms which stand for ship, anchorage (naubandhana), the helm of the ship (naukarana), the helmsman (naukaranadhara). That there were ships-building yards in different parts could be inferred from a significant term navatakseni occurring in a copper plate grant of Dharmaditya dated 531. A.D. About 517 B.C. according to Herodotus, Darius launched a maritime expedition under Skylax of Caryanda to the Indus Delta, and during Alexander’s time, again, we read of the people of the Punjab fitting out a fleet. We have the testimony of Arrian to show that the Xathroi (Kshatri), one of the Punjab tribes, supplied Alexander during his return voyage with thirty oared galleys and transport vessels which were built by them. (source: India and Its Invasion by Alexander p. 156) In the Manusamhita (Vii. 192), it is laid down that boats should be employed for military purposes when the theatre of hostilities abounded in water. Kamandaka (XVI, 50) alludes to naval warfare when he says:
Manavadharmasastra
refers to sea fights and attests to the use of boats for naval warfare. The
sailor is called naukakarmajiva. Thus in Vedic, Epic and the Dharmasastra
literature we find that naval warfare is mentioned as a distinct entity,
attesting a continuous naval tradition from the earliest times. Yukti-kalpataru
specifies one class of ships called agramandira (because they had their cabins
towards the prows), as eminently adapted for naval warfare (rane kale
ghanatyaye).
Passing on to other literary evidence, we find in the Raghuvamsa frequent reference to boats and ships. Raghu in the course of his digvijaya conquered Bengal which was protected by a fleet (nausadhanotyatan). In anther place it is mentioned that Raghu marched on Persia through the land route, and not by the sea route, thereby showing that the latter was the more common route. Historian Dr. Vincent A. Smith says that ‘the creation of the Admiralty department was an innovation due to the genius of Chandragupta.
In the following
passage we have reference to a vessel with a hundred oats.
Further on in the
Veda, this same vessel is described as a plava which was storm-proof and
which presented a pleasing appearance and had wings on its sides. Another
reference informs us that Tugra dispatched a fleet of four vessels (Catasro
navah) among which was the one referred to above. We may infer from these
passages that the Asvins were a great commercial people having their home in a
far-off island, and that their ruler Tugra maintained a fleet in the interests
of his State. There are also other references in the Rg Veda to show that the
ancient Indians were acquainted with the art of navigation. For instance, Varuna
is credited with a knowledge of the ocean routes along which vessels sailed.
The Baudhayana Dharmasastra speaks of Samudrasamyanam and interprets it as nava dvipantaragamanam, i.e. sailing to other lands by ships. This very term occurs in the navadhyaksa section of the Kautaliya Arthasastra. The Puranas have several references to the use of ships and boats. The Markandeya Purana speaks of vessels tossing about on the sea. The Varahapurana refers to the people who sailed far into the ocean in search of pearls and oysters. The ships floated daily on the shoreless, deep and fearful waters of the ocean. We are on firmer ground when we see in the Andhra period their coins marked with ships. The ship building activities were great on the east coast, and the Coromandel coast in particular. From this period to about 15th century A.D. there was a regular intercourse with the islands of the Archipelago most of which were colonized and also with ancient America right across the Pacific as testified to us by the archaeological finds and inscriptions in those parts. The Pali books of Sri Lanka like the Mahavamsa refers to ocean going vessels carrying 700 passengers. Such frequent intercourse and colonization through the ages could not have been effected without a powerful fleet.
Ships Landing of Prince Vijaya in Sri Lanka - 543 BC from Ajanta
Frescos.
Ajanta painting of a later date depict horses and elephants aboard
the ship which carried Prince Vijaya to Sri Lanka.
(source: India Through the ages - By K. M. Panikkar).
But it is in a later
work, the Yuktikalpataru of Bhoja, that we have three classes of ships - the
Sarvamandira, the Madhyamandira, and Agramandira. The first was called
Sarvamandira because it had apartments all around. In the Sarvamandira were
carried treasures, animals, and ladies of the court. This was the vessel
ordinarily used by kings in times of peace. The Madhyamandira was so called
because the living quarters were situated in the middle. It was a sporting
vessel and generally used in the rainy season. The vessel of the third kind, the
Agramandira, took its name from the circumstance that the living room was
located in front or at the top of the vessel. The Agramandira was used for
distant and perilous voyages and also sea-fights.
There are also in the Yuktikalpataru other references to vessels. There are 27 types of ships mentioned here, the largest having the measurement 276 ft X 36 ft X 27 ft weighing roughly 2,300 tons. The following passage points to the use of ships in warfare. The line: naukadyam vipadam jneyam makes it clear that naval expeditions were common. Under the heading of yanam or march mention is made of expeditions by land, water and air. Kautilya remarks:
It is obvious that
the task set forth above could only be performed by armed vessels belonging to
the state.
From this we may conclude that in ancient India ships were employed in warfare at least as early as the Rig Vedic times. It is an incontrovertible fact that there was a naval department in Mauryan times. We have the testimony of Megasthenes that the navy was under a special officer called the Superintendent of Navigation. This official was in turn controlled by the Admiralty department. The officer whom Megasthenes refers to as Superintendent of Navigation is called Navadhyaksa as already seen, in the Arthasastra.
The Greek accounts
bear testimony to the fact that navigation had attained a very high development
at the times of Alexander's invasion, for we are told that the invader was able
to secure a fleet from the Punjab at short notice. The Arthasastra lays down
some healthy regulations relating to navigation. Vessels which gave trouble or
were bound for the enemy's country, or transgressed the regulations of port
towns were to be destroyed.
A considerable ship building activity is evident on the west coast of India also as noted in the Sangam works of the Tamils. South India carried on political and commercial activities as far as the Mediterranean in the early centuries of the Christian era and before. The great Ceran Senguttavan had a fleet under him.
Turning to the
history of South India, we have evidence to show that the country had trade and
culture contacts with foreign countries like Rome in the west and Malay
Archipelago and South east Asia in the east. Yavana ships laden with articles of
merchandise visited the west coast frequently. There was active foreign trade
between Tamil Indian and the outer world at least from the time of Soloman, i.e.
about 1000 B.C. Roman historians refer to the commercial intercourse that
existed between Rome and South India. In the first century before Christ we hear
of a Pandyan embassy to Augustus Caesar. (refer to Periplus translated by Schoff
p. 46).
The Sangam classics point to the profession of pearl-diving and sea-fisheries on a large scale. We hear of shipwrecks of the early Tamils saved now and then by Manimekhalai, the goddess of the sea. (Note: ancient Tamil tradition traces its origins to a submerged island or continent, Kumari Kandam, situated to the south of India. The Tamil epics Shilappadikaram and Manimekhalai provide glorious descriptions of the legendary city and port of Puhar, which the second text says was swallowed by the sea.
As in the case of
Dwaraka, (please refer to chapter on Dwaraka and Aryan Invasion Theory), initial
findings at and off Poompuhar, at the mouth of the Cauvery, show that there may
well be a historical basis to this legend: apart from several structures
excavated near the shore, such as brick walls, water reservoirs, even a wharf
(all dated 200-300 B.C.), a few years ago a structure tantalizingly described as
a "U-shaped stone structure" was found five kilometers offshore, at a depth of
twenty-three meters; it is about forty meters long and twenty wide, and
fishermen traditionally believed that a submerged temple existed at that exact
spot. If the structure is confirmed to be man-made (and not a natural
formation), its great depth would certainly push back the antiquity of Puhar.
Only more systematic
explorations along Tamil Nadu's coast, especially at Poompuhar, Mahabalipuram,
and around Kanyakumari (where fishermen have long reported submerged structures
too) can throw more light on the lost cities, and on the traditions of Kumari
Kandam, which some have sought to identify with the mythical
Lemuria).
ancient city in India.
We have the account
of a Cera King conquering the Kadamba in the midst of sea waters. The Cera King
Senguttuvan had a fleet with which he defeated the Yavanas who were punished
with their hands being tied behind their backs and the pouring of oil on their
heads. The Cholas also maintained a strong fleet with which they not only
invaded and subjugated Lanka but also undertook overseas expeditions. Among the
conquests of Rajaraja, Lanka was one, and his invasion of that island finds
expression in the Tiruvalangadu plates, where it is described as
follows:
Rajaraja also sent an
expedition against the Twelve Thousand Islands, obviously a reference to the
Laccadives and Maldives. Friendly embassies were also sent by the Chola king to
China.
From the evidence of the Mahvamsa as well as from a few inscriptions we are able to gather some information regarding the diplomatic relations that existed between India and Sri Lanka. We have the story of Vijaya and his followers occupying the island about 543 B.C. Vijaya was a prince of North India who was banished from the kingdom by his father. Passing through the southern Magadha country he sailed to Sri Lanka, according to the Rajavali, in a fleet carrying more than 700 soliders, defeated the Yaksas inhabiting it, and settled there permanently.
This story is
illustrated in the Ajanta frescoes.
Numerous ships
carried the troops of Rajendra to Sri Vijaya and its dependencies which he
conquered. Among the places conquered were Pannai (Pani or Panei on the east
coast of Sumatra), Malaiyur (at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula),
Mappappalam ( a place in the Talaing country of Lower Burma), Mudammalingam (a
place facing the gulf of Siam), Nakkavaram (the Nicobar islands. Besides, active
trade was carried on between South India and China during this period.
At the end of the 10th century the Chinese emperor sent a mission to the Chola king with credentials under the imperial seal and provisions of gold and piece-goods to induce the foreign traders of the South Sea and those who went to foreign lands beyond the sea for trade to come to China. The facts clearly show that the Cholas maintained supremacy over the sea and kept a strong and powerful navy which was useful not only for carrying on extensive commerce with foreign countries but also for conducting military expeditions. During the days of the Kakatiyas of Warangal, Motupalle (Guntur District) was the chief port, on the east coast. Ganapatideva, the Kakatiya ruler, extirpated piracy on the sea and made the sea safe for commerce with foreign countries like China and Zanzibar. This policy was pursued by Rudramba, his daughter. Vijayanagar kingdom also claimed supremacy over the sea. Since the days of Harihara I the rulers of Vijayanagar took the title of the Lord of the Eastern, Western and Southern oceans; and there were 300 ports in the empire. The activities of the Vijayanagar fleet on the west coast are also referred to by the Portuguese in 1506. The Vijayanagar kings sent friendly embassies to foreign courts. 'Bukka I sent an embassy through his chief explainer to the court of Taitsu, the King Emperor of China, with tributes and large presents, among which was a stone which was valuable in neutralizing poison. Accounts of Foreign Travelers to India Coming to later times we have the account of Hiuen Tsang who notices a fleet of 3,000 sail belonging to the King os Assam. There is inscriptional evidence of the possession of a fleet under the Kakatiyas and the Cholas in South india. Marco Polo testifies to the huge size and efficient construction of Indian vessels while Yule in his Cathey refers to Rajput ships en route to China.
Marco Polo, a famous
Venetian traveler who visited India in 13th Century also visited Thane Port. The
first chapter of his book which deals with India is almost devoted to
shipbuilding industry in India. Friar Odoric of Pordenone, an Italian
Monk who visited India in 14th Century, in his account of his voyage across the
Indian Ocean, a mention is made of ships which can carry 700 people.
Ludovico di
Varthema (1503 A. D) saw vessels of 1,000 tons burden built at Masulipatnam.
According to Dr. Vincent, India built great sized vessels from the time of
Agathareids (171 B.C.) to the 16th century. And no wonder the Portuguese, when
they first landed at the west coast, were carried away by the excellent Indian
vessels. Later still, the Vijayanagar Empire, which had as many as 300 ports,
had a powerful fleet. The naval commander was styled
Naviyadaprabhu.
India has a coastline of about 6300 km. Extensive new archaeological, epigraphical, sculptural and literary material has been added to our knowledge since the early decades of this century. Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji's Book Indian Shipping - A History of the Sea-Borne Trade and Marine Activity of The Indians From The Earliest Times published in 1912 Orient, is the most comprehensive study of Indian Navigation up to that period.
We now know that many
ports on both Eastern and Western Coast had navigational and trade links with
almost all Continents of the world. There are many natural and technological
reasons for this. Apart from Mathematics and Astronomy, India had excellent
manufacturing skills in textile, metal works and paints. India had abundant
supply of Timber. Indian - built ships were superior as they were built of Teak
which resists the effect of salt water and weather for a very long time.
Lieut. Col.
A.Walker's paper: "Considerations of the affairs of India" written in
1811 had excellent remarks on Bombay-built ships.
He notes,
He has also further
noted that Bombay-built ships are at least one-fourth cheaper than those built
in the docks of England. Francois Balazar Solvyns, a Belgian/Flemish
maritime painter, wrote a book titled Les Hindous in 1811.
His remarks are,
Surprisingly, many
earlier western traders and travelers have expressed the same views. Madapollum
was a flourishing shipping centre. Thomas Bowrey, an English traveler who
visited India during 1669-79, observes,
A Venetian traveler
of 16th Century Cesare de Federici, while commenting on the East Coast of
India has noted that there is an abundance of material for ship building in this
area and many Sultans of Constantinople found it cheaper to have their vessels
built in India than at Alexandria.
Nicolo Conti who visited India in 15th century was impressed by the quality Indians had achieved in ship building. He observes:
J. Ovington,
Chaplain to the British King, the seventeenth-century English traveler, who
visited Surat, wrote a book A Voyage to Surat in the Year 1689. He was
impressed by the skill of the Indians in ship-building and found that they even
outshone Europeans. The timber used by the Indians was so strong that it would
not ‘crack’ even by the force of a bullet so he urged the English to use that
timber ‘to help them in war’. Indian Teak stood firmer than the English Oak,
remarked Ovington.
Thomas Herbert, a traveler who visited Surat in 1627, has given an interesting account of the arrival, loading and unloading of ships through small boats at Swally marine (Sohaly), a few kilometres away from Surat. He remarked that between September and March every year, the port of Sohaly presented a very busy and noisy scene for there came many ships from foreign lands. The merchants (baniyas) erected their straw huts in large numbers all along the sea coast, making the whole place thus look like a country fair. The merchants sold various commodities like calicoes, ivory, agates, etc.
Many small boys
engaged by the merchants were seen running about doing odd jobs. The English
found that the small boats used and constructed by the natives could be of
immense use. This was a definite gain for both nations. Boats and rafts were
used as a means of conveyance for loading and unloading ships. There were about
4200 big and 4400 small boats. There were large-sized boats that could carry
even elephants. The boats used by kings and nobles were designed to look
artistic.
Abul Fazl
writes about the "wonderfully fashioned boats with delightful quarters and decks
and gardens"
Among the primitive
Indian boats, the cattarmaran comes first. It consisted of three logs and
three spreaders and cross lashings. The centre log was the largest, and pointed
towards one end. Mainly fishermen used the cattarmaran for fishing. A little
more skillfully made is the musoola boat, which has no iron fastening. It was
mostly used in the Coromandel coast.
Dr John Fryer
says,
Another boat made in
an indigenous manner was known as dingy. It was hollowed out from a single
trunk. Lower down the Ganga, the name was applied to boats half-decked, half
wagon-roofed and built of planks.
Purqoo was another type of boat described by Thomas Bowery. It plied between the Hooghly and Balasore. These boats were made very strong to carry ‘sufficient load’. They were also used for loading ships. they could remain in water for a long time without getting damaged. As compared to the purqoo, boora was a ‘lighter boat’ which rowed with 29 or 30 oars. These boats were also used for carrying saltpeter and other commodities. (source: Coastal trade flourished with Europeans - By Pramod Sangar). Sir John Malcolm (1769 - 1833) was a Scottish soldier, statesman, and historian entered the service of the East India Company wrote about Indian vessels that they:
In the middle of the
18th century, John Grose noted that at Surat the Indian ship-building
industry was very well established, indeed, “They built incomparably the best
ships in the world for duration”, and of all sizes with a capacity of over a
thousand tons. Their design appeared to him to be a “a bit clumsy” but their
durability soundly impressed him. They lasted “for a century”.
Lord Grenville mentions, in this connection, a ship built in Surat which continued to navigate up the Red Sea from 1702 when it was first mentioned in Dutch letters as “the old ships” up to the year 1700.” Grenville also noted that ships of war and merchandise “not exceeding 500 tons” were being built” with facility, convenience and cheapness” at the ports of Coringa and Narsapore. Dr. H. Scott sent samples of dammer to London, as this vegetable substance was used by the Indians to line the bottom of their ships; he thought it would be a good substitute,
Alain Danielou
(1907- 1994) son of French aristocracy, author of numerous books on philosophy,
religion, history and arts of India has written:
India became the
first power to defeat a European power in a naval battle - The Battle of
Colachel in 1742 CE.
A dramatic and virtually unknown past, in an area of bucolic calm surrounded by spectacular hills: that is Colachel, a name that should be better known to us. For this is where, in 1741, an extraordinary event took place -- the Battle of Colachel. For the first, and perhaps the only time in Indian history, an Indian kingdom defeated a European naval force.
The ruler of
Travancore, Marthanda Varma, routed an invading Dutch fleet; the Dutch
commander, Delannoy, joined the Travancore army and served for decades;
the Dutch never recovered from this debacle and were never again a colonial
threat to India.
The ruler of Travancore, Marthanda Varma, routed an invading Dutch
fleet;
the Dutch commander, Delannoy, joined the Travancore army and served
for decades;
the Dutch never recovered from this debacle and were never again a
colonial threat to India.
The Battle of
Colachel in 1742 CE, where Marthanda Varma of Travancore crushed a
Dutch expeditionary fleet near Kanyakumari. The defeat was so total that the
Dutch captain, Delannoy, joined the Travancore forces and served loyally
for 35 years--and his tomb is still in a coastal fort there. So it wasn't the
Japanese in the Yellow Sea in 1905 under Admiral Tojo who were the first Asian
power to defeat a European power in a naval battle--it was little Travancore.
The Portuguese and
the Dutch were trying to gain political power in India at that time.
Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch in 1741. He was an able ruler. He
established peace in his country - Travancore. It was a remarkable achievement
for a small princely state. (source: The Battle of Colachel: In remembrance of things past -
By Rajeev Srinivasan - rediff.com and http://www.kerala.com/kera/culture1.htm).
Diplomacy and War Not withstanding the elaborate rule of war laid down in the epics and the law-books, insisting in the main that to wage war was the duty and privilege of every true Ksatriya, in several cases the horrors of war made the belligerent think of the consequences and avoid outbreak of hostilities by a well calculated policy which we now term diplomacy.
King seeking counsel.
Negotiation,
persuasion and conciliation were cardinal points of the ancient Indian
diplomatic system, and were effective instruments in averting many a war, which
would otherwise have realized in much bloodshed and economic distress.
The political term for diplomacy is naya, and the opinion of Kautalya, the eminent politician of the 4th century B.C., a king who understands the true implications of diplomacy conquers the whole earth. The history of diplomacy in ancient India commences with the Rig Veda Samhita, and the date of its composition may be taken as far back as the Chalcolithic period. In the battles the help of Agni is invoked to overcome enemies. He is to be the deceiver of foes. In pursuing his mission to a successful end, the use of spies is mentioned. This bears eloquent testimony to the system of espionage prevalent so early as the time of the Rig Veda Samhita. In the battle of the Ten Kings described in the seventh mandala, we find diplomacy of rulers getting supplemented by its association with priestly diplomacy, which exercised a healthy influence on the constitutional evolution. International Relations - The picture presented in the epics and the Arthasastra literature seems to be confined to the four corners of Bharatkhanda. The intercourse as envisaged in the literature, shows relations to be more commerical than political in character. Strabo quotes Megasthenes and says that Indians were not engaged in wars with foreigners outside India nor was their country invaded by foreign power except by Hercules and Dionsysius and lately by the Macedonians. There were friendly relations of Chandragupta with Seleukos Nikator, of Bindusara with Antiochus, of Asoka and Samadragupta with Lanka, of Pulaskesi with Persians, of Harsha with Nepal and China, of the Cholas with Sri Vijaya.
This ambition was
legitimate and had no narrow outlook about it. It was a fruit to be sought after
by every one of the monarchs comprising the mandala. If the king is not actuated
by this idea, he falls short of an ideal king according to the Hindu Rajadharma.
Diplomatic agents - ambassadors Bhisma mentions seven qualifications as essential in an ambassador: he should come from a noble line, belong to a high family, be skilful, eloquent of speech, true in delivering the mission, and of excellent memory.
Espionage in
War
Spies filled an
important role in both the civil and military affairs of ancient India. The
institution of spies had a greater utility, as the king could take action on the
report of the spies. Spies were engaged to look after the home officials,
including those of the royal household as well as to report on the doings in the
enemy kingdoms. The Rig Veda Samhita, often speaks of spies (spasah) of Varuna.
Only men of wisdom
and purity were sent on this errand, thus suggesting that they should be persons
above corruption and temptation of any sort. In the epics and post-epic
literature in general, spies have been described as the 'eyes of the king'. In
the Udyoga-parva (33, 34) of Mahabharata, it is stated that "cows see by smell,
priests by knowledge, kings by spies, and others through eyes."
Spies roamed about in
foreign states under various disguises to collect reliable information. In the
Ramayana, a king mentions the wise adage that "the enemy, whose secrets have
been known through espionage, can be conquered without much effort." The
Arthashastra, which predates Christ by centuries, dwells at length on the
importance of espionage and the creation of an effective spy
network.
Such details may indicate the high development of the science of diplomacy in ancient India. It was the famous Indian strategist of the fourth-century B.C, Kautilya in the Arthasastra, who gave the world the dictum:
Attitude to war
The Sangam age of the
Tamils was the heroic age of the Tamil Indians. If the men of the Tamil land
were heroes, then their women were heroines. A certain mother was asked where
her son was, and she replied, that she was sure that the tiger that had lain in
her womb would be found in the field of battle. War was the pabulum on which our
ancient warriors were great in name and fame.
A certain lady who
gave birth to only one son and who sent him to the field of battle when there
was the country's call for it. Okkurmasattiyar, a poetess, praises a certain
lady dresses the hair of her only son and gives him the armor to get ready for
action in the field of battle. This may be contrasted with another where a
heroic mother heard the disquieting news that her son lost his courage in action
and had fled in fear.
If it were true, she
expressed that she would cut off her breasts that had fed him with milk. With
this determination she entered the battle-field with sword in her hand and went
on searching for her fallen son. When she saw her son's body cut in twain, she
felt much more happy than when she gave birth to him. (source: Puram 277 and 279
- in Tamil ).
Flags - The origin and use of flags can be traced to the earliest Indian literature, the Rig Veda Samhita. The term deaja occurs twice in the Veda. Besides, dhvaja, we meet with a good number of expressions for a banner in Vedic literature. These are Akra, Krtadhvaja, Ketu, Brhatketu, Sahasraketu. It appears that the Vedic host aimed their arrows at the banners of the enemy.
The idea was that
once the banner was captured, or struck, a claim was made for success in the
battle over the enemy. Ketu was a small flag as contrasted with Brhatketu or the
big flag. Sahasraketu may be a thousand flag, or as the knight who brought under
control a thousand flags of enemies. We are told that banners and drums were
counted among the insignia of ancient Vedic kings. In the Mahabharata war, every
leader had his own insignia to distinguish one division from the other.
Arjuna had the
Kapidhvaja or the flag with the figure of Hanuman, Bhisma, Taladhvaja,
cognizance of a palmyra tree etc..
Source- |
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