FReeper Canteen ~ Part II of War in Ancient India ~ July 20, 2004

Part II: War in Ancient India

T erritorial 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.

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.

As early as as the 4th century B.C. Megasthenes noticed a peculiar trait of Indian warfare.

"Whereas among other nations it is usual, in the contests of war, to ravage the soil and thus to reduce it to an uncultivated waste, among the Indians, on the contrary, by whom husbandmen are regarded as a class that is sacred and inviolable, the tillers of the soil, even when battle is raging in their neighborhood, are undisturbed by any sense of danger, for the combatants on either side in waging the conflict make carnage of each other, but allow those engaged in husbandry to remain quite unmolested. Besides, they never ravage an enemy's land with fire, nor cut down its trees."

(source: A Brief History of India - By Alain Danielou p. 106). The modern "scorched earth" policy was then unknown. "

Professor H. H. Wilson says: "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."

At the very time when a battle was going on, he 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.

Next Tuesday, Part III of War in Ancient India

First Sgt. Joseph Ellis of Cleveland, with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, jumps rope at Camp Hurricane Point in Ramadi, Iraq, on Monday as part of his physical training program and to help pass the time. Lloyd Francis Jr. / Military Times staff

The electrical shortages in Iraq have resulted in unique and innovative ways for the Troops to utilize local generators!

Lance Cpl. Ricardo Gomez of Wills Point, Texas, a radio operator with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, takes cover from a cloud of dust kicked up by a helicopter at the landing zone at Camp Hurricane Point in Ramadi, Iraq, on Monday. Lloyd Francis Jr. / Military Times staff

Reporters from Reuters, the so called journalism company have expressed in certain reports that dust from helicopter blades is dangerous to children and other living things, but no such concerns have been expressed when it comes to Iraqi terrorists!

Lance Cpl. Blake Richardson of Okarche, Okla., an ammunition technician, keeps a watchful eye on downtown Ramadi, Iraq, from an observation post at the Government Center on Friday. The Government Center is the seat of government for Anbar province, the largest province in Iraq, which stretches from Jordan to Syria and Saudi Arabia.

The government has promised action, but the replacement windows for the observation posts have not been installed despite the promise from the contractors that it will be "any day now."

Sgt. Salvatore LoPiccolo of Nesquehoning, Pa., watches as Cpl. Ben Ellis of Fairfax Va., a mechanic with Truck Company, attached to the 1st Marine Division, jumps off a truck at Camp Hurricane Point in Ramadi, Iraq, on Saturday. A new ladder has been incorporated into the design of the rear tailgate of the 7-ton trucks used in Iraq. Lloyd Francis Jr. / Military Times staff

Notice that the Sarge watches the lowly Corporal descend into the Iraq muck and mire that is commonly given the nomenclature of Road, Asphalt, Grade A-1.

Marines at Camp Hurricane Point, Iraq, on Saturday look at a 7-ton truck that has been modified with new armor to protect troops.

Marine, is that pair of shorts and those sneakers supposed to be an example of a part of your uniform?

Staff Sgt. Brian Callaway, a platoon sergeant with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, gets set to take a picture of Sgt. Glenn Ford, of San Diego, an assaultman with the unit, and Oliver North, a reporter with Fox News Channel and a former Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, at Camp Hurricane Point, Iraq, on Monday. Lloyd Francis Jr. / Military Times staff

Oliver North will be played in a future movie by a previously unknown actor named Glenn Ford!

Cpl. Wesley Smith, left, of Ashland, Pa., a machine gunner, sits on his bed as he and his buddies, Cpl. Nathan A. Sprunger, right, of Scottsdale, Pa., also a machine gunner, and Cpl. Ricardo V. Verdin of Mountain View, Calif., an infantryman, await a flight home to the United States at Camp Hurricane Point, Iraq, on Saturday. The Marines, all members of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, will receive discharges from the Marine Corps after having served two tours of duty in Iraq since last year.

You would think that prospective travelers would at least have their shoes tied, never mind on. Perhaps they have been traveling lately in civilian airports, and know some of the problems.

Hull Maintenance Technician 1st Class (DV/SW) Rick Pelton, a Navy diver assigned to Mobile Diving Salvage Unit One, signals the winch operator to raise the stage preparing to put two divers in the water during salvage operations off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, on Friday in support of exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2004. RIMPAC is the largest international maritime exercise in the world.

Navy elevators are considered to be among the most primitive in the world according to certain experts, commonly known as Otis..

Marines assigned to Combat Service Support Group Three, role-playing as opposition forces, observe Amphibious Assault Vehicles deploying from the dock landing ship Rushmore during the operational phase of exercise Rim of the Pacific 2004 on Sunday. Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Michelle R. Hammond / U.S. Navy

When one is in the Marines, the cruise ships are not quite as relaxing as they are for most civilians.

Pfc. Sean Farley looks on as Spec. Chris Ulen applies a bandage to a child’s foot in the village of Albu Hassan, Iraq, on Friday. Farley and Ulen are combat engineers with Alpha Company, 579th Engineering Battalion.

Hey Jules, would you give a foot massage to a guy?

Soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Brigade Combat Team take cover during a training exercise at Fort Hood, Texas, on July 13. Roadside bombs, sniper gunfire and angry crowds are part of the training regimen at the military’s largest post, where nearly 3,000 Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers learn what to expect when they deploy to Iraq.

Waiting for the local Wal-Mart just off Base to open is always a boring time.

Small boats watch as the Eagle, a U.S. Coast Guard Academy training vessel, sails in the Tall Ships Rhode Island 2004 parade at Newport Harbor, R.I., on Monday. More than a dozen tall ships from all over the world participated in the event. Victoria Arocho / AP photo

In the old days, when the Yatch Man was young, the fog was always around during training excercises.

The engines of the B-29 bomber “Fifi” are fired up to prepare for a test flight at the Kalamazoo Airport, in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Monday. Owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, the aircraft is the last remaining B-29 that still is flight-operational. It will be on display at the airport for the next week. Shawano Cleary / AP photo

FiFi was always a favorite until the Volunteers came to learn that she was of French extraction!

Just another day at the office for our Troops.

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