Part 3 - Swords and Shields in the Mahabharata

[Full title: Cutting Weapons in the Mahabharata (1) Swords and Shields]

I. the Sword and the Shield

Sword == 484 The sword was known as asi (1.202.17), nistrimsa (I.126.2; III.157.42), khadga (VIII.32.64; IX.9.9), karavala (1.27.44; III.166.14), and sayaka (IV.38.30-33). A good sword was long (dirgha, mahat) (1.186.7; IV.5.24), thick (pita) (IV.5.24), broad (vipula, prthu) (X.8.49; XI.16.35) and heavy (guru) (IV.38.34), capable of dealing effective blows, and withstanding great pressure (IV.38.32; VIII.62.29). As a cutting weapon it was extremely sharp (III.263.33; VIII.62.29; XI.16.23). It was made of iron or steel (IV.38.34, 47.97), smooth, clean, without a single stratch (IV.7.1, 38.34; X.7.64), sometimes black in colour (IV.7.1), sometimes greenish-blue like a vaidurya gem or a blue lotus (VIII. 8.27), and sometimes bluish-grey like the sky (XIII.62. 29; X.6.14). Its sharp edges were greased with oil (VII.154.26). The hilt or the handle of the sword was made of gold (II.49.9; IV.38.30-31; X.6.14) or ivory. Ivory hilts with gold ornamentation were very popular (VI.92.49%; VIII. 14.30, 18.27, 56.37). Some of the sword-hilts were studded with gems (VII.47.37). The word 'khadga', very common for a sword, which also means a rhinocerous, was probably derived from the peculiar hilt of the sword, made of rhinohorns. Kautilya does mention sword-hilts of rhino and buffalo horns (II.18).

485 The sword was kept in a sheath (kosa) of u leather or metal, to prevent its edges from being blunted or rusted (IV.38.30-34). Special favorites were sheaths of tiger-skin (IV.38-30, 44.32), but cow and elephant-hide too was utilized for the purpose (IV.38.32; 44.32). Some of the sheaths were decorated with designs and kinkini bells (IV.38.31). The sword was tied to the waist by a waist- "Baddhanistrimsa" is an oft repreated band and straps. epithet of an armed warrior (III.91.28, 158.28; XII.59. 105). The sword came into the picture in close hand to hand fights, when the warrior was deprived of the protection of his car. With his chariot put out of use, he would jump onto the ground, his sword unsheathed and continue to fight on foot till a co-warrior came to his rescue with a chariot. Most of the sword-duals ended thus, rather ingloriously with the two opposing knights taking shelter in the chariots of their rescuers (VI.49.30, 70. 28; 70.28; 80.27). On rare occasions did a blow prove fatal (VII.31.63; VIII.9.31). This state of affairs is reminiscent of Arrian's pointed comment that the Indians in the 4 th century B.C. were, on the whole, reluctant to engage in close hand to hand sword-fights (Date 1929:21). However, a fearless warrior like Bhima, weilding a sword, was a terror on the battlefield. At one stage

= 486 he climbed on to the elephant of the Kalinga Prince Bhanumat, killing him as well as his beast with vigorous strokes of his sword (VI.50.24). But a swordsman, even though a terror at close quarters, was always at a disadvantage before a car-riding archer, who was stationed high above the ground from where he stood and could thus aim more accurately with the numerous arrows at his disposal. The sword was useless in chariot-to-chariot fights, for the two cars generally stood way apart from each other. It was ineffective as a missile, although it was sometimes flung at the enemy (VI.50.72, 114.67; VII. 29.16, 91.40, 153.21; VIII.17.39). The best example of a valiant swordsman in action during the Mahabharata war is that of Abhimanyu, who continued to fight recklessly with a sword, from the ground and on foot, the Kaurava stalwarts who were in their chariots, when his own car was smashed and his horses and driver killed, till Drona broke his sword at the hilt with sharp arrows (VII.47.37). This was the fate of many a swordsman, and very often no sooner had a knight stepped off his chariot and taken up his sword and shield that they were cut to pieces by a barrage of arrows (VII.72.28.131.48, 142.6, 164.149; VIII.18.33, 38.98, 56. 37). In spite of this disadvantage the sword was an important weapon in the Epic. There are innumerable references to it, and every chariot warrior as well as an

infantry and a cavalry soldier was armed with a sword. But more than a weapon of offence it appears to have been a weapon of self-defence, when the bow was cut, the mace broken, and the chariot smashed. Swordsmanship was also an important feature of martial training, and it consisted of intricate manoeuvres with the sword called "mandalani" (VII.164.147-148). Shield A swordsman always carried a shield, called a 'carma' (I.123.7; II.66.14; III.120.17; V.162.20; VI.51.29; VII.12-60; VIII.9.30; IX.9.9; X.8.80; XII.195.8), which as the very name suggests was made of leather, generally oxhide (arsabha carma) (VI.50.25, 67.28, 83.30, 112.19; VII.91.40, 117.33), stretched tightly over a framework of wood, bamboo, or wickerwork. The Mahabharata also refers, though only once, to a 'phalaka', a wooden shield, made from the wood of the Vasi ( ? ) tree (V.152.3) and adorned with small bells (ghanta). Metal shields of gold (VII.138.17) and iron (III.16.5) are also mentioned once, but evidently they were rare and too heavy. The so called 'iron' shields (lohacarma) were an extra-large variety, not to be carried in the hand, but placed on the fortified walls of a city. As for the gold shields, it is more likely that gold was merely an embellishment or at the most an encasing for leather (VI.92.49, 114.62; VII.114.50). 487

488 Nothing is said about the size and the shape of these carmas, except for a 'trikuta carma' (XII.160.49), probably a triangular shield with 3 edges. On the other hand, 'trikuta' might also refer to three sharp projections of metal jutting out from the outer surface, serving as decorations as well as piercing knobs. A few shields as noted above, were broader and larger than usual. These kinds were not carried by the soldiers, but placed on fortifications of cities like Dwarka (III.16.5) to protect the walls effectively. The shield was used mainly as a protection and a cover during sword-fights, to ward-off the blows of the sword, and is therefore continuously paired with a sword (1.102.17; II.66.14; III.120.17; V.162.20; VI.44.34; VII. 46.21; VIII.32.65; IX.25.15; XII.99.31). The However, it was also used as a cover against arrows (VI.49.34). Arjuna faced the arrows of Angarparna Yaksa, armed only with a torch and a shield (I.158.23). In the same way Bhima fought his way out of a seige of chariots, taking the arrows on his shield (VI.50.25). shield in this capacity is referred to as 'saravarana' (VI. 56.17, 57.30; VII.35.23; 138.17). Skill at weilding the sword and the shield together is best illustrated by the description of Abhimanyu's last-ditch fight, when he whirled them both around with such speed, swiftness and vigour, that his opponents were unable to make out the one

from the other (VII.13.51-53). Most of the shields were decorated on the exterior with gold. These decorations consisted either of gold networks (VI.67.28; VII.114.50) or more commonly, of motifs such as stars and crescents (VI.50.25, 56.17; VII.13.51; VIII.9.30, 24.73). The crescent was a favorite motif, with the number varying from a 8 to a 100, to a 1000 (II.66.14%; VIII.62.23; X.8.53), but the pattern of a 100 crescents was the most popular (VI.49.30, 83.30, 112. 19; VII.90.30, 91.40, 164.149; VIII.9.27, 17.86, 38.98; XI.18.17), so much a part and parcel of the shield, that very often the epithet "satacandra" alone was used to denote a shield (VI.78.31; VII.72.28, 164.135, 137; VIII. 42.35; IX.25.15; X.8.80). These motifs were cut out from gold sheets (VI.50.25) and attached like applique to the leather. The beautiful effect of these decorations is brought out by the poet when he describes the shield of Siva as the dome of the sky studded with stars and planets (VIII.24.73). Jayadratha's shield adorned with peacock feathers and small kinkini bells (VII.12.57) was probably the only exception.