FReeper Canteen ~ Part III: War in Ancient India ~ July 27, 2004

A Tribute to Hinduism ^ | July 27, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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Part III: War in Ancient India

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: 'The Visvasaghati-agni-yoga was virtually a bomb which burst and the fragments of metals were scattered in all directions. The agni-bana was the fore-runner of a gun-shot.....

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).

Next Tuesday, Part IV of War in Ancient India

[Radix]

The radio station does not update their site until the next day apparantly.

From perusing the site....


http://www.wrko.com/


.....I know a whole lot more about what I did not hear yesterday than what I did hear today!

[StarCMC]

WOMEN'S REVENGE

"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to
purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a
television set in her purse. "So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I
asked. "No," she replied, "but my husband refused to come shopping with
me, so I figured this was the most legal evil thing I could do to him."

---

A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a
word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them
wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules,
goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

---

A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a
day... 30,000 to a man's 15,000. The wife replied, "The reason has to be
because we have to repeat everything to men.... The husband then turned
to his wife and asked, "What?"

---

A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid
And so beautiful all at the same time." The wife responded, "Allow me to
explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made
me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

[StarCMC]

I don't think I can watch tonight. Turns my stomach....

[Kathy in Alaska]

A young sailor from the USS Vella Gulf and his wife embrace after USS Vella Gulf's six-month deployment in the Arabian Gulf, July 26, 2004. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Bobby R. McRill

[Kathy in Alaska]

22 hours late, but...Hi, here.

[Kathy in Alaska]

5 O'clock Somewhere

[Kathy in Alaska]

Staff Sgt. George Grullon, a tank commander for 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, inspects a brand new turbine motor that will replace the one his tank. Grullon’s four-man crew worked with a crew of M1A2 Abrams tank maintainers and repairers to replace the motor during a busy night at Camp Cuervo in eastern Baghdad. The next morning the tank was ready to go back out on mission. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andy Miller

Sgt. Thursha Maragh, an Abrams tank mechanic with Aces Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, works to prepare a turbine motor for installation. When an Abrams tank goes down, Maragh’s crew works through the night with the Abrams crew to ensure the tank will be mission-ready the next day. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andy Miller

When a Tank Goes Down, Repair Crews Ready

By U.S. Army Spc. Andy Miller / 122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP CUERVO, BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 27, 2004 — Widely regarded as the world’s premier battle tank, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment’s M1A2 Systems Enhancement Package (SEP) Abrams tanks are a vital part of the 1st Cavalry Division’s mission in eastern Baghdad.

Their tanks fought on the front lines during the Muqtada Militia uprising last April, and today they are used to conduct improvised explosive device sweeps on some of the most dangerous routes in Iraq.

When an Abrams tank goes down for repairs or maintenance, the tank crew works together with tank maintenance to get it back on mission as soon as possible.

“Our main focus is to make sure all our tanks are up,” 1st Sgt. Luis Freyre, of Company A, 2-8 Cav., said. “[When one goes down, the] priority is to get the tank up as quick as possible.”

Frequent missions and the extreme temperatures of Baghdad take their toll on the Abrams, said Staff Sgt. Kendall Titus, the maintenance supervisor for the ‘Aces’ combat repair team. The soldiers on Titus’s team are specially trained to work on Abrams tanks. Part of the team works all night long to make sure a tank that needs repairs is ready for the next day’s mission.

The rest of the story

[Kathy in Alaska]

Surrounded by flames, firefighter J. Webb battles an apartment fire caused by lightning in Decatur, Ala. No one was injured.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Fabulous picture with today's Pledge, Hope. Thanks. Did ya do any dirt today?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome to the Canteen, Frumious Bandersnatch. Thanks for the additional info.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks for stopping in and bumping by, PGalt.

[Kathy in Alaska]

E!.....#50!!

[HopeandGlory]

Thanks for the kudos on the Pledge . . . weeding, weeding, weeding . . . .gotta keep those beds a weeded . . . I've been digging up a bunch of trash tree seedlings, (hackberries) to be precise . . . before they get so big that I have to grub the buggers out, they come up everywhere . . .LOL!!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hurrah for our "kids" coming home!!! You are right, it is exciting.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I couldn't bring myself to watch any of that stuff last night! I knew it would send my blood pressure through the roof! I had a hard time listening to Sean Hannity yesterday on the way home cause he is doing his show from Boston.

I had the same problem. I finally turned the radio off. I couldn't take it anymore.

[PGalt]

My pleasure Kathy. Thank you so much for all of your work!

[Soaring Feather]

Hey, MS.B., et al, Canteen Pilots!!
When you get done with draining blood around Maine, we are going to have to have FLIGHT NIGHT!
Sheeeesh, I ain't been high in a long time!
LOL

[Kathy in Alaska]

armyboy!! Are you still having fun in New Orleans?

I'm so far behind today.

I'm feeling a little like I've fallen and can't get up.

[Soaring Feather]

Evening Tonkin, lovely sunset tonight. Thanks guys.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Wigged out: Blacktop chalk artist Mason Felmlee stops to lick his medium during the "Clowning for a Cure" fund-raiser in Chippewa Falls, Wis.