Pre-modern Warfare:India And Elsewhere

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<b>Vedas: Experts see military tech </b>


Hyderabad, March 4: Guided missiles and precision targeting were first mentioned in the Vedas, vouch Sanskrit scholars. Two city-based Vedic research organisations, Sanskrita Bharati and I-Serve, claim that the hoary Atharvana Veda is the prime source of military science, containing references to almost 60 sophisticated weapons.

The arsenal is so big that even present-day military scientists would feel sheepish. “We think the Vedas are synonymous with religion,” says K. Lalith Manohar, chairman of the State chapter of Sanskrita Bharati. “This is because of our narrow-mindedness and ignorance.” Mr Manohar adds in his research paper that the military science in the Vedas was meant to destroy evil and preserve peace.

Indiscriminate killing of enemies is not part of the ethos of Vedic military science. Some of the weapons described in the Vedas can be controlled even after they are set in motion. They can even be recalled. Mantras form an essential part of war strategy in Vedic military science. One has to decode the mantras to find the secret of the sastras (weaponry) mentioned in the texts. “Unfortunately, we do not have the complete text of the Atharvana Veda,” says Mr Manohar. “We have to focus on the available fragments.”

Some of the weapons mentioned in these texts are Danda Chakram, Dharma Chakram, Kalachakram, Vishnu Chakram, Indram, Vajram, Saivam, Aagneyam and Brahmastram. Unlike modern weapons of mass destruction, most of the weapons mentioned in the Vedas are <span style='color:red'>‘precision weapons’ </span>used to take out specific targets. The powerful “Samhara Astrams” also have the recall facility embedded in them. “Even the all-powerful Brahmastram can be subdued by the person who used it,” says Kuppa Venkata Krishna Murthy of I-Serve.