Preface
The Rgveda is dedicated to Indra, the God of War, and one-fourth of the hymns eulogize his heroic deeds. A hymn in the Atharvaveda reads "Oh braves! Rise with your standard and be prepared, for your enemies are like killer serpents. They are devils. Subjugate them.... Oh braves! Destroy your enemies and kill their Commander with your army." This work discusses the wars fought in ancient India and the war strategies that came to be developed. Advanced modes of combat were devised and new methods related to the use of various weapons were perfected. The army was composed of four arms (chaturanga)-infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants. They were all deployed in the field of battle in formation (vyuha), as decided by the commanders, based on factors such as the nature of the terrain and the composition of one's and one's enemy's forces. Great concern was shown to the training of men and animals. The kings and princes were well-trained in the arts of war and leadership, personally led armies and participated in the defence of forts. The History of India begins with the Indus Valley Civilization and the coming of the Aryans. These two phases are generally described as the pre-Vedic and Vedic periods. The earliest literary source that sheds light on India's past is the Rig Veda. It is difficult to date this work with any accuracy on the basis of tradition and ambiguous astronomical information contained in the hymns. It is most likely that Rig Veda was composed between 1,500 B.C. and 1,000 B.C. In the fifth century, large parts of India were united under Ashoka. Strategies were both defensive and offensive. The ancient Indian thinkers insisted on war as a means for increasing royal glory and outright conquest. Offensive strategies were thus devised which could allow the conqueror's army to traverse large distances and either overawe the adversary into submission, or to defeat him on the battlefield if he chose it that way. Different armies would be stationed in different directions to deal with enemies in the concerned area From India, military thinking on the use of war elephants spread westwards between Europeans and the Persian war elephants occurred at the Alexander's came to influence the campaigns of Alexander the Great. The first confrontation Battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE), where the Persians deployed fifteen elephants These elephants were placed at the centre of the Persian line and made such an impression on the Macedonian troops that Alexander felt the need to sacrifice to the God of Fear the night before the battle-but according to some sources the elephants ultimately failed to deploy in the final battle owing to their long march the day before. Alexander won resoundingly at Gaugamela, but was deeply impressed by the enemy elephants and took these first fifteen into his own army, adding to their number during his capture of the rest of Persia. The exponents of Vedas were happy and enthusiastic persons. They are called Aryas. They laid down norms to lead our personal life, social life, national life and the world as a whole. These norms are contained in 20, 516 verses in four Vedas ie. Rig-Veda, Atharveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda. The four Vedas have mostly common subjects and special subjects like Rig-Veda deals with prayers, science and nature; Yajurveda Karma (work) and society, Samaveda system of prayer and music and Atharveda the system of treatment and knowledge of money. The four Vedas are like Sun giving light to live and to lead a happy and prosperous life. This book traces the evolution of India's military tactics and strategy uring the ancient period and till the eleventh century ad by examining available ources from a dispassionate, professional military perspective.
About The Book
This work discusses the wars fought in ancient India and the war strategies that came to be developed. Advanced modes of combat were devised and new methods related to the use of various weapons were perfected. The Vedas since the time immemorial have been regarded as of divine origin. The Vedas were first chanted and were handed down from generation to generation. The Vedas remain recited daily by an unbroken chain of generation, like a great wave through the living substance of mind. Vedas could resist the ravages of times and could guide and enrich the religious and philosophical thoughts of innumerable races from the time immemorial. The Vedas became the fountain head of the subsequent knowledge and it continued to inspire human literature and mankind for millenniums of years. This Vedic concept of war is also reflected in the epics which are basically heroic tales. In the Mahabharata, Krsna exhorted Arjuna to join the war as 'there is no better duty for a Ksatriya than to fight a righteous war and that only fortunate ones find an opportunity to fight such a war'. This book traces the evolution of India's military tactics and strategy during the ancient period and till the eleventh century ad by examining available sources from a dispassionate, professional military perspective
About The Author
Dr. S.K. Singh did his M.A. and Ph.D from Delhi University and Vikram University Ujjain respectively is presently teaching Political Science at Shivnagar Chakeri since 2001.At Present he is Associate Professor and also the Senior member of the College Admission Committee. He possesses a prolong teaching experience at UG and PG level students. He has completed a minor research project under UGC. He has attended several seminars and conferences and presented research papers.
Vedas (1182)
Upanishads (493)
Puranas (624)
Ramayana (741)
Mahabharata (354)
Dharmasastras (165)
Goddess (496)
Bhakti (242)
Saints (1503)
Gods (1290)
Shiva (370)
Journal (187)
Fiction (60)
Vedanta (362)
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