FReeper Canteen ~ Part I: War in Ancient India ~ July 13, 2004

A Tribute to Hinduism.com ^ | July 13, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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Part I: War in Ancient India

The history of ancient India is largely a history of Hindu culture and progress. Hindu culture  has a distinct claim to a higher antiquity than Assyrian schools would claim for Sargon I and as much or even higher antiquity than Egyptian scholars would claim for the commencement of the first dynasty of Kings. One aspect of this culture consists in India's political institutions which were almost modern. Modern warfare has developed on mechanical lines, giving less scope for the qualities of courage and individual leadership. The value and importance of the army were realized very early in the history of India, and this led to the maintenance of a permanent militia to put down dissent within and arrest aggression from without. This gave rise to the Ksatriya warrior caste, and the ksatram dharmam came to mean the primary duty of war. To serve the country by participating in war became the svadharma of this  warrior community. 

Hindu military science recognizes two kinds of warfare - the dharmayuddha and the kutayuddha. Dharmayuddha is war carried on the principles of dharma, meaning here the Ksatradharma or the law of Kings and Warriors. In other words, it was a just and righteous war which had the approval of society. On the other hand, kuttayuddha was unrighteous war. It was a crafty fight carried on in secret. The Hindu science of warfare values both niti and saurya i.e. ethical principles and valor. It was therefore realized that the waging of war without regard to moral standards degraded the institution into mere animal ferocity. A monarch desirous of dharma vijaya should conform to the code of ethics enjoined upon warriors. The principles regulating the two kinds of warfare are elaborately described in the Dharmasutras and Dharmasastras, the epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata), the Arthasastra treatises of Kautalya, Kamandaka, and Sukra. 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. 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 Caturanga. 

According to Sir A. M. Eliot and Heinrich Brunnhofer (a German Indologist) and Gustav Oppert, all of whom have stated that ancient Hindus knew the use of gunpowder. 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. In the light of the above remarks we can trace the evolution of fire-arms in the ancient India. (source: German Indologists: Biograhpies of Scholars n Indian Studies writing in German - By Valentine Stache-Rosen. p.92). 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.

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: "May we revel, living a hundred winters, rich in heroes." 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 (1) a warrior (Khsatriya) in armor must not fight with one not so clad (2) one should fight only one enemy and cease fighting if the opponent is disabled, (3) aged men, women and children, the retreating, or one who held a straw in his lips as a sign of unconditional surrender should not be killed. 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.  

Next Tuesday, Part II of War in Ancient India

[kjfine]

LOL!!!! Great joke!

[StarCMC]

ROFLOL Cal!! That's great!!

[blackie]

War In Ancient India ~ Bump!

[blackie]

Breakfast with Brother Tonkin ~ Bump!

[darkwing104]

Good Morning Canteen FReepers! Thanks for the history lesson. PT'd and just got back from the Dentist, no cavities...

[Lady Jag]

Hi LaDivaLoca! Thank you for the fascinating thread.

[Soaring Feather]

Morning darkwing!!

[darkwing104]

Good morning ms feather. How are you this morning?

[blackie]

Bump for the good guys!

We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

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[Soaring Feather]

Morning Giggles:



LoL!!

[StarCMC]

GALLANT, HENRY JOSEPH

Name: Henry Joseph Gallant
Rank/Branch: E8/US Army 5th Special Forces
Unit: Detachment B-52 Delta
Date of Birth: 30 September 1929
Home City of Record: Tampa FL
Date of Loss: 13 July 1965
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 140342N 1083335E (BR365558)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 0109
Other Personnel In Incident: Fred Taylor (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated
by the P.O.W. NETWORK 1998.

REMARKS: WOUND GUT - AIRGND SERCH NEG - J

SYNOPSIS: On July 13, 1965, SFC Fred Taylor and MSGT Henry J. Gallant were
U.S. Army Special Forces (B-52 Delta) advisors to a South Vietnamese unit
(ARVN) on a reconnaissance mission in Dien Bien Province, South Vietnam when
they were engaged by a hostile force.

During the battle, Gallant was wounded, although the seriousness of his
wound was not known. The two were cut off from the bulk of their ARVN unit
and were last seen as they were moving southwest into the surrounding jungle
in an attempt to evade the enemy. All searches conducted were negative.

While the A Detachments of the Special Forces concentrated on manning static
defenses and training natives in local defense, the B Detachments were
committed to deep strikes into uncontrolled territory to seek out Viet Cong
formations and supply sources. The genesis of this program (May, 1964) was
called Leaping Lena, and provided the groundwork for the formation of a
combined American/South Vietnamese special reconnaissance unit capable of
conducting these hazardous missions. Organized as Project DELTA in October
1964, Detachment B-52 was created to provide a control headquarters in June
1965.

Sgts. Gallant and Taylor were not ordinary foot soldiers. They were highly
trained in survival and evasion techniques. The chances of their survival,
barring outright assassination, are high. The fact that Gallant was wounded
and that all searches proved negative do not suggest survival, but do not
contraindict it.

As the years have passed, over 10,000 reports have been received relating to
Americans missing, prisoner, or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. These
reports have convinced many that hundreds are still alive in the hands of a
long-ago enemy. Gallant and Taylor could be among them. What are we doing to
bring these men home?

 

Not enough, IMHO.
 

[USVet6792Retired]

strings would be pulled.

_____________________________________________________

True, but that opens up an entire new can of worms as the string-pulling would most likely involve violations of the national security act....an impeachable offense.

[Calpernia]

Morning All!

[StarCMC]

[USVet6792Retired]

Yes, shaving cream will work...but who brings shaving cream to the beach? I was looking for another answer, something we all have plenty of at the beach. Something you should NEVER doo in an OOL.

[Soaring Feather]

Doing very well thanks.

Weather Report, overcast again today possible rain. Rained most of yesterday. Decent temps.

[StarCMC]

Gonna give the girl a turn...see ya later!!

[Lady Jag]

Hey Tom!

Backwards Country Song

What happens when you play a country song backwards?

You reconcile with your wife, your runaway dog returns home, and your overturned pick-up rolls back on its wheels.

[USVet6792Retired]

ROFLMAOPIMP

iI KNOW folks that, errr ummm, disadvantaged.