03-09-2005, 11:12 PM
Link<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->In Hindu polity war, or vigraha, was one of the six conditions of international relations, and the army* or bala one of the seven constituents of the state. Much of the art of warfare was overburdened with pedantic theory. After attempts at appeasement, bribery, internal dissension, and threat had been resorted to and failed, the whole force of the state was to be pitted against the enemy. This was war.
Two kinds of war were distinguished. The dharma-yuddha, 'righteous war', was fought according to the chivalric code of kings and warriors. it was a struggle of good against evil; a crusade or jihad for the establishment of right. Blatant acts of aggression were frequently put into this category. Their justification was expressed in the Mahaabhaarata by Kanika of the line of Bharadvaaja, who advocated the usurpation of degenerate dynasties as a righteous act. The tactics of dharma-yuddha were open (prakaasha), and it was without secrecy or stratagem, although recourse to magical means and mantras (spells) was permissible. Hence it was also called mantra-yuddha, war by spells. The koota-yuddha, 'false war', was actuated by greed (lobha) for territory or spoils, or lust for conquest and massacre. This type of warfare employed the methods of the asura (godless), hence was also called asurayuddha, and included subversion, secret agents, treachery, poisoning of drinking wells, killing of cattle, and sorcerous means. Among the latter was illusion (maayaa), of which only two examples need be given: 'The king is dressed up like a god or disguised as a pillar, and when the enemy comes to worship him, slays him'; 'The king visits the enemy dressed as a woman, or as a devil or evil spirit, and kills him at close quarters' (III, P. 333).
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Two kinds of war were distinguished. The dharma-yuddha, 'righteous war', was fought according to the chivalric code of kings and warriors. it was a struggle of good against evil; a crusade or jihad for the establishment of right. Blatant acts of aggression were frequently put into this category. Their justification was expressed in the Mahaabhaarata by Kanika of the line of Bharadvaaja, who advocated the usurpation of degenerate dynasties as a righteous act. The tactics of dharma-yuddha were open (prakaasha), and it was without secrecy or stratagem, although recourse to magical means and mantras (spells) was permissible. Hence it was also called mantra-yuddha, war by spells. The koota-yuddha, 'false war', was actuated by greed (lobha) for territory or spoils, or lust for conquest and massacre. This type of warfare employed the methods of the asura (godless), hence was also called asurayuddha, and included subversion, secret agents, treachery, poisoning of drinking wells, killing of cattle, and sorcerous means. Among the latter was illusion (maayaa), of which only two examples need be given: 'The king is dressed up like a god or disguised as a pillar, and when the enemy comes to worship him, slays him'; 'The king visits the enemy dressed as a woman, or as a devil or evil spirit, and kills him at close quarters' (III, P. 333).
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