DISCOVERY 



77 



siderable sums upon the building of forts in strong 

 strategic positions. These were to be places of refuge 

 for his people in time of war and bases for military 

 operations. Fortified places were to have their quota 

 of all castes, but especially of the commercial and 

 servile classes, in order that these might enhance the 

 value of the surrounding country. " An archer within 

 a fort," wrote Sukracharya, " is worth a hundred out- 

 side the walls. " A fort which was not strongly equipped 

 and well supplied became a source of danger rather 

 than protection. 



Two kinds of fortification were specified, natural 

 and artificial ; the former, those afforded by the con- 

 figuration of the country, the latter, erections of 

 obstacles. In the early writings of Manu, Bharta, etc., 

 natural fortifications only were considered ; the later 

 books, such as Sukraniti and Agnipuran, treat of both. 

 Six kinds of natiural fortifications were alluded to in 

 the later books : plains or deserts surrounding the 

 royal city or fort, in which invaders would be unable 

 to find sufficient sustenance for their men ; plains full 

 of pits and holes, impassable by cavalry or cars ; 

 marshes ; watery tracts ; bushes ; forests. A district 

 surrounded by strong allies was also regarded as a useful 

 fortification, and if mountains had to take the place of 

 friends, so much the better, as they could not prove 

 treacherous. The country in which a king proposed 

 to reside and surround himself with defences should 

 have plenty of food-stuff, and its water-supply should 

 not depend upon the rainfall alone. " Forts," says a 

 hymn in Agnipuran, " must be built on hills or in forests 

 or in deserts or vast plains." Detailed instructions as 

 to the manner of their erection are to be found in 

 Sukraniti. "Forts," says this book, "are to be sur- 

 rounded by a moat filled with water, in which croco- 

 diles and sharks shall swim, and their towers must be 

 well equipped with weapons." 



Sukracharya laid down the qualities and the strength 

 of an army. It consisted, according to his book, first 

 of the Mula, or fully trained and veteran troops, and the 

 Sadyaska, or recruits. The latter were divided into 

 " heroic " and " unheroic," the first category being 

 further subdivided into trained and untrained, and 

 the second category into " those that deserted from the 

 enemy " and " those weaned over from the enemy." 

 Kamandikiya enumerated the order of troops for battle 

 as follows : the Mula, the mercenaries, the volunteers, 

 the allies, those who had deserted from the enemy, and 

 the " forest tribes." The responsible positions and 

 most arduous fighting were allotted to the Mula, who 

 played much the same role as that of the German 

 sturmtritppen and the Italian arditi in the late war. 



The four branches, or units, of the military service 

 were clearly defined. These were cavalry, infantry, 

 car-warriors, and elephant-men. There were also 



reserves and munition-carriers, whose duty it was to 

 carry weapons and stores to the fighting-line, as also 

 to remove the wounded from the front to the base 

 hospitals. The proportion in which the several units 

 stood towards one another was curious, as it was cal- 

 culated on what is known as Patthi system. Ten being 

 recognised as a convenient number, the proportions of 

 the numbers of each fighting arm were based thereon. 

 Patthi signifies the formula of 1:1:3:5, and, to 

 explain it further, it stands for one elephant, one car, 

 three horsemen, and five foot-soldiers. The unit of 

 calculation was 21,870. Thus in a satisfactory army 

 there were as many as 21,870 elephants, 21,870 cars, 

 65,610 horsemen, and 109,350 infantry. Elephants 

 and guns were regarded as of equal value. " One 

 elephant, duly trained in the way of warfare and 

 ridden by a skilful hero," was considered capable of 

 slaying six thousand horses (in Kamandikiya, xv). 



But all these four units were, as a rule, not employed 

 in one and the same campaign, the nature of the 

 country, as well as the season of the year, dicta- 

 ting those which should be used. In rough country 

 infantry was considered much more useful than any 

 other unit, and elephants could not be taken through 

 country where there was little water, or the trees of the 

 type which would serve for their food were scarce. 

 Chariots and cavalry could only be employed in hot 

 or cold weather, while in the rainy season only the 

 elephants could be used. 



The duties of the various units were in elaborate 

 detail. Infantry were employed to clear paths and 

 roads, guard the lines of communication, procure water 

 for the army, and remove wounded to a place of safety. 

 Chief amongst the infantry were the swordsmen, whose 

 duty it was to defend the main body of the army 

 against any attacks directed against it. Archers were 

 included among foot-soldiers, and engaged the enemy 

 at long ranges. Charioteers harassed the rear of the 

 enemy's forces and carried the wounded off the field. 

 Cavalry was used to guard and supervise transport 

 and commissariat, cover the rear of a retreating army, 

 carry despatches and pursue a beaten enemy. The 

 elephant corps carried out the duties allotted to the 

 modern tanks, being chiefly used for breaking down the 

 first line of the enemy's forces, for shattering the 

 formation of battalions or phalanxes, and even for 

 demolishing walls and towers. It headed the army 

 on the march, acting as a pioneer body, and recon- 

 noitred forests, while under its sheltering screen broken 

 columns or regiments re-formed. 



Weapons were divided into two classes : Astra, or 

 missiles ; and Sastra, hand weapons with a cutting 

 edge. To the former variety of arms a supernatural 

 origin was accorded, so that the bows and firearms 

 were called " magical bolts." Firearms were divided 



