Part 1 - Bows and Arrows in the Mahabharata

[Full title: Piercing Weapons in the Mahabharata (1) Bows, Arrows, Quivers]

The Mahabharata being primarily the story of a fraticidal war, describes a large number of weapons. These are classified below in homogeneous groups, i.e. according to their use in warfare. I Piercing Weapons 1 Bow 2 Arrow 3 Quiver

Bow: the weapon par excellence was of two types i of wood, and ii of horn The bows which were in common use were dhanu (1.216. 18; II.49.9%; III.41.25%; IV.35.21; V.29.27; VI.14.9; VII.8.2; VIII.10.5; IX.16.1; X.8.57; XII.4.17; XIV.72. 14) and karmuka (1.218.35; III.17.6; IV.38.46; V.19.4; VI.49.17; VII.34.23; VIII.5.68; IX.7.20; X.5.35), both wooden bows. According to Sayana karmuka was made of the wood of the Krimuka tree (Agrawala 1963:423). Capa, another common bow, was probably made of the flexible bamboo cane (Calamus rotang) (III.170.4; IV. 32.19; VI.61.5; VII.13.7, 39.16; X.11.28). r The bow is also, at times, refered to as GORD sarasana, isvasana and banasana, "the seat or support of an arrow (VI.92.62; VIII.62-32; VIII.62.60). Sarnga, the bow made of sriga or horn was unique in so far that it was associated with Krsna and Krsna alone ! He was Sarngadhanva, 'the weilder of the horn bow' (III.120.6; X.113.9; XIV.52.6; XVI.1.10, 9.14). The Sarnga is also often enumerated along with other characteristic weapons of his, such as the discus (cakra) and the mace (gada) (II.41.33, 42.34; V.129.9; VI.55.105. XIV.58.22; XVI.4.44). It has an interesting history. It belonged originally to the demon Mura. 459

= 460 Krsna acquired it after killing Mura at the city of Pragjyotisa (V.155.6, 8-9). Krsna's fight with Mura is described at least 3 times in the Mahabharata itself, as a very important landmark in his career, and is compared to two other memorable feuds, that of Indra versus Vrtra and of Rama versus Ravana (V.155.8-9; VIII.4.52). The epithet 'Sarngadhanva' is also once ascribed to Visnu (XIII.135.120), and the Sariga is also once refered to as 'Vaisnava dhanu' (V.155.6), but then Visnu and Krsna are not really different. The Mahabharata also describes a few individual bows which laid claims to divine origins. The 'Gandiva' belonged originally to Varuna and was presented to Arjuna by Agni, the god of Fire, when Arjuna promised to aid him in the destruction of the Khandava forest (V.155.7). The 'Vijaya' belonged to Indra and was given to Karna by his teacher Parasurama (VIII.22.36). But according to the Udyogaparva it belonged to Rukmi who had obtained it from Druma (V.155.7). Similarly Drona's divine bow belonged originally to sage Angirasa (I.155.24). Arjuna, Karna and Drona were the three best bowmen of the Epic. It is therefore quite natural that their bows personifications of their skill at archery -- - were ascribed divine origins. But it could also be that much of the skill of these bowmen was the result

of their superior bows stronger, bigger, more flexible than the others and obtained from sources, foreign or indigenous, which were not easily accesible to others. The wooden bow-staves were generally backed with gold (III.146.15; IV.53.25; VI.67.4, 96.12; VII. 98.42; VIII.7.7). Gold strips, gold wires and gold rings were also wound round the staff (VIII.62.19). The purpose was decorative and gold was chosen for its high cost, since these bows invariably belonged to important royal dignitaries. Miniature replicas of animals and insects, such as the elephant, the Lady-bird and the moth, as well as of the sun and the moon (lunates), were cut out from gold sheets and affixed to the bow-staves. So also tiny golden dots (IV.38.20-24; VII.96.3). Some of the bows were also adorned with precious stones (VII.143.11). Hardly anything is said about the measurement of a bow. The measure of length was either an 'aratni' or a 'kisku', the former being broadly equivalent to a modern cubit. Drona's bow was six aratni long (1.155. 24), that of Ghoatotkaca exactly double, 12 aratni long (VII.150.16), while that of Lord Siva only 5 kisku long (X.18.6). These measurements do not convay much. Very many of the bows in the Mahabharata are described as 'talamatra', a characteristic epithet of Arjuna's bow (V.26.23; V.158.25; VIII.48.13). These bows were either 461

made of the wood of the Tala or the Palmyra palm (Borassus flebilliformis) or else the compound 'talamatra' simply denotes the great height of the bow, to say in rather exaggerated terms, that the bow is as tall as the Tala palm. It must however be pointed out Tala wood which is not very strong, but flexible and lasting, was used in making flagstaffs according to the Mahabharata (V.148.5%; VI.16.41) and for bows according to Panini and Kautilya. = 462 Arrows An arrow was known as bana (VI.50.68), sara (VI.43.41), isu (1.17.27), sayaka (1.63.15-16), margana (X.11.27), patrin (1.219.26) and patatrin (1.2.77). Visikha was a general term for arrows of the unfeathered variety (VI.49.29). The best types were broad, thick and long (VII.74.7-8 ; III.24.3) A more exact statement is made as regards a rare type e.g. Arjuna's 'anjalika' arrow, which was 3 cubits long (VIII.67.16). An arrow comprised of three parts i the shaft, ii the arrowhead, with or without the tang, and iii the feathers.

= 463 The shaft was of wood or bamboo (VII.74.8), smoothened down to an even finish (IV.56.18; VI.101.18). The arrowheads were of iron (III.170.27; IV. 38.28; VII.166.54%; VII.19.12), bones (VII.164.11) and horns (VIII.154.14). Their tips and edges were rendered very sharp (III.170.31; IV.56.18). They were worked upon by metalsmiths (VII.114.40), finely polished (VII. 108.25; VIII.10.18), sharpened on stone (VII.106.41) and greased with oil (VI.81.6). The tail-end of the shaft was fitted with gay coloured feathers of the heron (IV.53.39), the peacock (VIII.10.18) and the vulture (III.34.83). The feathers are described as varigated (I.1.127), golden (I.109.6), silvery (VI.58.44), yellow (IV.38.26) and green (IV.38. 29). They imparted speed to the arrow (VII.99.15), helped in steadying its flight (III.170.28) and provided the much needed decorative touch. Some of the arrows were also adorned with gold (VI.60.11; VII.108.18; VIII. 5.81) A warrior's name, was at times, engraved upon his arrows (1.124.24; VII.101.46; IX.13.9; 23.58, 63). According to the dramatist Bhasa (Pancaratram, Act III, Vs. 18) the name was written on one of the feathers. It is, however, more likely that it was engraved upon the shaft or the arrowhead. These types were not very common in the Mahabharata

H 464 It was customary to worship certain very effective arrows which were rare and valuable and therefore held in awe and respect. Karna had specially put aside an arrow for the explicit purpose of killing Arjuna, which he worshipped for many years (V.61.10; VIII.5.66). The Pandavas likewise worshipped with garlands and sandal-paste, Larrow of Arjuna, which finally killed Jayadratha (VIII.67.16-17). an The Mahabharata describes a large number of different types of arrows. They are enumerated below : 1 Prohibhited arrows were to be excluded from a 'dharma-yuddha' or a just warfare. Nine of them are listed together in two verses of the Dronaparva (VII.11-12). (i) Poisoned arrows were condemned as the weapon of the evil. Yet their use was not uncommon though on a very restricted scale. Firstly very few of the warriors possessed a poisoned dart, and those who did, preserved it carefully for a crucial moment of their fighting career. Two prominent instances Sala can be cited. When King was unable to pacify sage Vamadeva, whose fine horses he had borrowed, but was not prepared to return, he tried, as a last resort, to threaten him with a specially preserved poisoned dart (III.190.72). However, it was only a threat; actually he dared not use it. Similarly Karna

= 465 refused to use the most powerful arrow in his armoury, tipped with a deadly poison, the like of which no other warrior possessed, against any one but Arjuna, his cheif opponent. He had preserved and worshipped it for years (V.61.10%; VIII.5.66). Thus the fact, Sala that at or a Karna possessed only one such arrow, while none others had even a single one, treasured it for years and even worshipped it, suggests that poisoned darts were not a part and parcel of the Mahabharata arsenal. The most obvious question to follow would ofcourse be how did only a few men come to posess them ? Were they in posession of some secret poison formulae ? knowledge? If so, From the evidence of the Mahabharata it appears from where did they acquire the that none of the Epic warriors had any knowledge of poison-manufacture. Rather they acquired the poisoneddarts directly from the tribes inhabiting the forests. Karna's famed arrow was acquired from a Naga cheiftain Airavata. None of the Indian tribals are at present known to use poisoned arrows, although many of them do make use of various herbal poisons to kill fish (cf. Chapter III 'FAUNA'). There are, however, tribes in Africa and elsewhere like the Bushmen, Ainu etc. who still use arrows tipped with various herbal and insect poisons to hunt down deer and other wild

animals. Very often the knowledge of extracting, mixing and processing various poison-formulae is a strictly gaurded secret of the tribal cheiftain and he hides his poison-pack, deep in the jungles, in the hollow of a tree or buried underground, far away from the sight of his own tribesmen (Coon 1974:81-82). No wonder then if Karna managed to acquire only a single such arrow from a tribal cheiftain. He may have paid a heavy price for it or exchanged a very precious commodity against it. The poison used by these tribes is extracted from various sources like roots and tubers, leaves, barks, flowers and fruits of different plants and creepers, from the body of poisonous insects and rodents as well as snake poison. The poison used for Karna's arrow was definitely the deadly venom of a cobra, for the arrow is again and again described as 'sarpamukha' or 'serpant-mouthed' The Mahabharata refers to poisoned arrows in another context too, that of hunting. The Epic insists that the Kshatriya princes used only 'suddha' or pure arrows as against the 'lipta' and the 'dighdha', the poison-smeared ones, to hunt down wild animals, particularly the helpless deer (III.37.41; III.47.4; III.157.7). As noted earlier it were probably humanitarian considerations more than anything else which prevented them from using poisoned darts. If the animals were to be spared, then the human beings all the more so ! The strong opposition to the 466

467 use of these arrows in warfare, must therefore, have arisen from a feelings of great disgust at inflicting a cruel and a cowardly death upon the opponent. Even among the tribals who use poisoned darts against animals, great control is shown never to use them against their fellowmen, whether of their own tribe or an enemy tribe (Coon 1972:83). In the Mahabharata too, except for this prohibitiory injunction there is no direct use of these arrows. (ii) Karni; 'posessed of ears i.e. projections', was as the name suggests, a barbed arrowhead. When such an arrow had to be extracted from the body, its barbed tips pulled out a huge chunk of flesh, causing great pain. But hi despite the probition Karni was employed in the Mahabharata war (VI.91.30; VII.66.70; VIII.18.3; X.10.15). (iii) Nalika:too, was used freely in warfare, despite the prohibition. From the name it appears to have been some kind of a tubular arrow (nalikadanda), converging in a sharp point (VI.102.11; VII.141.22, 154.14; VIII.33. 23; X.10.15). It was probably forbidden on the ground that when the point pierced through the body, the tubular tang too went in, boring an unnecessarily large hole. (iv) Bone arrowheads: were prohibhited, probably because they tend to cause sceptic wounds. They included such varities as 'kapisa', 'gavasthika' and 'gajasthika', made from the bones of a monkey, a cow and an elephant respectively.

468 (v) Vastaka: too, in all probability was a bone arrowhead, from the skeletal remains of a 'vasta' or 'basta', a goat in the Rgveda. (vi) Suci : had either a fine needle-like point which penetrated deep into the body or else it had needlelike thorny projections on both the edges, cutting through the flesh and painful to extract. (vii) Samslista: was a two-pronged arrowhead causing two wounds at a time. (viii) Puti : was an unclean, unpolished, rusted arrowhead, causing incurable sceptic wounds. (ix) Jimhaga: was an arrow difficult to combat because of its crooked, zigzag course. This concludes the list of prohibited arrows. Of the nine types mentioned, only the Karni and the Nalika were used in actual warfare, and that too in a very restricted capacity. The others were not used at all and are mentioned only once in the entire Epic. 2 Iron arrows: were by far, the most numerous, refered to as ayasa (VI.50.68; IX.14.3) sarvayasa (VII.99.21) ayasmaya (III.170.28; VII.19.12) ayomukha (VI.98.7%; VII.166.54) sarvaparsava (VI.76.36; IX.14.14) adrisaramaya (III.170.49)

= 469 arrows, asmasaramaya karsnayasa (VIII.66.58) (VII.28.4) saikyayasa (XII.99.28) There were many different varities of iron according to their shape and their use. (i) Naraca: known to tradition as made of iron, 4 were the favorite arrows of the Epic, used in their thousands (IV.38.25; VIII.22.51). (ii) Ardhanaraca: a variety of the same class, mentioned only once, were probably only partially made of iron (VII.37.22). Some of these iron arrowheads, used for splitting and cutting were broader and sharper than the others. They were employed with great advantage for snapping bows and bow-strings, splitting maces, javelins and other weapons and to severe the limbs of men and animals. To this group belonged : (iii) Bhalla: of sturdy metal and the most extensively used of these arrows (V.48.15; VI.79.13, 110.25; VII.24.23, 130.16; VIII.14.4, 42.36; IX.16.31, 28.4). (iv) Ksura or Ksurapra: with razor-sharp edges, as the name indicates, were a very popular variety of this group (VII.66.36, 90.28, 154.14; VIII.45.19). (v) Ardhacandra: crescentic in shape, were specially suited to cut through something (VI.78.37; VII.

= 470 141.22, 143.17, 144.21; VIII.8.4, 39.21). (vi) Vipatha: of the Ksurapra type, were large, broad and thick, with very sharp edges and made entirely of iron (III.255.17; IV.38.26; V.47.52; VII.40.15; VIII. 33.23). (vii) Anjalika : was an arrow of the same class, with which Arjuna killed Karna. It was 3 cubits long, fitted with six feathers, imparted with a terrific speed and capable of piercing right through the vital parts (VI.58.38, 104.30; VII.37.22; 131.93; VIII.67.16). (viii) Pradara : as the name suggests were used for splitting and tearing (VIII.54.15). These 6 types comprise the cutting and the splitting kinds amongst the iron arrows. Other specialized iron arrows were : (ix) Vikarna: an arrowhead with barbs (VII.141.22; VIII.52.8). (x) Vaitastikas : special types suited to fight an enemy at close quarters. Such situations were rare in Epic warfare for generally the two opposing bowmen fought each other from a distance. Special skill and training was therefore required to use the Vaitastika arrows, which were shorter in length than the others, probably only about one vitasti or 9 inches long. Thus of all warriors, only a few skilled archers could use these arrows (VII.

471 164.150). Their use is best illustrated when a jubilant Dhrstadyumna, his sword unsheathed, jumped into the Just chariot of Drona, who had collapsed on the seat. then Drona recovered and prepared to attack with the Vaitastika arrows, causing Dhrstadyumna to retreat in panic (VII.98.50). During his fierce fight with Samsaptakas, Arjuna used these arrows with great advantage, to cut down enemy soldiers immediately around him (VIII.37.16). It is difficult to say if the use of these small arrows implied the use of a smaller composite bow. Probably not, and the skill lay in shooting these small arrows from a normalsized bow. (xii) Anaka and (xiii) Ksudraka: taking into consideration the diminutive 'ka', were probably the other two varities of small-sized arrows. rrow Anaka: minute and sharp-pointed caused instantaneous death. They were employed by Arjuna, along with the Vaitastikas, to mow down the Samsaptakas (VIII.14.15). This is the only mention of anaka arrows while the ksudrakas occur a little more frequently (VI.114.45; VII.24.49, 85.4, 111.13, 141-46). 3 Variously Shaped Arrows : To this category belong a few types which, either due to their shape or make, derived their names from different animals.

(i) Prsatka: a popular arrow, was like the Vastaka probably made of the bones (or even horns) of a spotted deer (prsat) (IV.61.17; V.180.20; VI.81.10; VIII.19.24, 27.32; IX.16.22). According to Kalidasa, its fore-part was made of iron (Raghuvamsa, canto 7, vs. 45). (ii) Gosirsa: mentioned only once (VII 53.23) was probably made of the horns of a cow and is comparable to the 'rurusirsni' of the Rgveda, which was made of the horns of a Ruru deer (Date 1929:12). Horn arrowheads (visana-srngas) are mentioned elsewhere in the Epic too (VII.154.14). (iii) Sarpamukha : "Serpent-headed", was a special epithet of Karna's dreaded arrow, tipped with the deadly venom of a snake. It could burn down anything it touched, and hence is described as 'jvalanta', causing a burning sensation (V.61.10; VIII.5.66, 105). (iv) Catakamukha : mentioned barely once (VIII.33.23) was shaped like the beak of a sparrow (cataka). (v) Varahakarna: was shaped like a boar's ear, triangular and pointed (IV.38.27; VI.80.5%; VII.141.22; VIII.32.65). (vi) Vatsadanta: rather widely used, had a sharp cutting edge like a calf's tooth, and was frequently employed with Bhalla and others of the same type, for snapping and cutting (III.157.56; V.139.37; VI.114.2; VII. 88.43; VIII.33.14; IX.20.12). 472

473 (vii) Kurmanakha: was shaped like the nail of a tortoise (IV.49.11%; VII.90.35). 4 Stone-tipped Arrows ? (i) Silimukha : was probably a stone-tipped arrowhead (from sila = stone). The epithet is also applied to swords (IV.38.34), in which case it probably refers to the stone hilts, although at one place the adjective 'ayasa' (VI.110.35) suggests that metal or iron too, was used in the make of these arrows (VI.75.41, 107.33; VII. 39.24; VIII.17.55; IX.16.82; X.8.59). 5 Wooden Arrowheads (i) Salaka: was employed only once, by Ambastha, to kill the Cedi king. It pierced right through his ribs (VII.24.48). A similar weapon was perhaps the (ii) Khajaka: with which Bhima fatally poked at Ksemadhurti (VIII.8.41). Both these were arrowheads with fine points, like a writing stylus (salaka) or a churning rod (khajaka), causing instantaneous death. On the authority of Kautilya we may take these to be made of wood (Arthasastra : [1.18.10; Kangale 1963:151-52). Of these 31 different types, only a few, like naraca, bhalla, ksurapra and ardhacandra, all iron arrows,

were the most prominent. Silimukha, prsatka and vatsadanta were the other popular types. = 474 Quiver A quiver was known as tuna, tunira, isudhi, upasanga, nisanga, kalapa and saravapa. 110 a Two types of quivers can be distinguished smaller, compact one, carried on the back, the other a larger, heavier one, placed in chariots and on elephants. Tuna and isudhi belonged to the first category (I.124.21; VIII.12.55). So also, generally, kalapa (I. 46.22), saravapa (VII.28.6) and nisanga (IV.55.18). These were tied to the back, on the right side to facilitate the drawing of arrows with the right hand. Isudhi, the old Vedic term for a quiver, is generally used in the dual, indicating that not one but two quivers were tied to the back (VIII.12.30.33.34). These smaller quivers could hold upto ten arrows (IV.38.27). Upasanga (VI.102.21; VII.87.46) and tunira (VI. 50.49%; VII.28.15; VIII.18.26) constituted the larger variety. They were fastened on to the war-elephants and to the interior of chariots to ensure a large and steady supply of arrows. Their numbers varied according to the choice of the warrior and the capacity of the chariot. At

475 one stage Karna asked for as many as 16 quivers (VII.2.24), while Babhruvahana set out to fight Arjuna in a huge chariot, loaded with a hundred quivers (XIV.78.14). A majority of the quivers must have been of wicker-work or wood, some probably covered with leather or metal on the exterior. Some of them were more expensive and ornamental, being lavishly decorated with gold (IV. 38.25). Nakula's quiver which was black in colour was either encased in leather or a sheet of iron, and its exterior was ornamented with a motif of 5 tigers (IV.38.27).