Nitiprakasika (Critical Analysis)
by S. Anusha | 2016 | 34,012 words
This page relates ‘Army Units’ of the study on the Nitiprakasika by Vaisampayana which deals primarily with with Dhanurveda, i.e., the science of war, weapons and military strategies of ancient Indian society. It further contains details on Niti-shastra, i.e., the science of politics and state administration but most verses of the Nitiprakashika deal with the classification and description of different varieties of weapons, based on the four groups of Mukta, Amukta, Muktamukta and Mantramukta.
Army Units
The presence of a strong army ensures that one’s wealth and kingdom stays protected and that the enemy armies are destructed. Nītiprakāśikā articulates about the constitution of such an army whose maintenance would give immense strength to a ruler. Nītiprakāśikā gives the composition of the basic unit of patti comprising of ratha, gaja, turaga and padāti and proceeds to elaborate on the constituents of further larger units, and culminates with the definition of akṣauhiṇī.
Thus the main divisions of an army are: [Nītiprakāśikā VII. 3-4]: [...]
According to the Amarakoṣa, the smallest unit of the Indian army, a patti, is described to consist of 1 charriot, 1 elephant, 3 horses and 5 men. The senāmukha, gulma, gaṇa, vāhinī, pṛtanā, camū, anīkinī and akṣauhiṇī are respectively three times as big as the corps preceding them, and the ninth formation, which was called Akṣauhiṇī and was considered to represent a complete army, was ten times as numerous as the preceding Anīkinī.
| Name | Chariot | Elephant | Cavalry | Foot soldiers |
| Patti | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Senāmukhaṃ | 3 | 3 | 9 | 15 |
| Gulma | 9 | 9 | 27 | 45 |
| Gaṇa | 27 | 27 | 81 | 135 |
| Vāhinī | 81 | 81 | 243 | 405 |
| Pṛtanā | 243 | 243 | 729 | 1215 |
| Camū | 729 | 729 | 2187 | 3645 |
| Anīkāni | 2187 | 2187 | 6561 | 10935 |
| Akṣauhiṇī | 21870 | 21870 | 65610 | 109350 |
The Nītiprakāśikā, after describing the original patti[1], then proceeds to explain that a chariot or ratha, has a retinue of 10 elephants, 100 horses and 1,000 men; an elephant one of 100 horses and 1,000 men; a horse one of 1,000 soldiers and that a foot soldier had 10 followers. According to the estimate one chariot alone demands an extraordinary number of supporters. And indeed the
Nītiprakāśikā(VII.5-8)[2] lays down the various army corps should have the following constitution which is verbally explained later[3] :
| Name | Chariot | Elephant | Cavalry | Foot soldiers |
| Patti | 1 | 10 | 1,000 | 100,000 |
| Senāmukha ṃ | 3 | 30 | 3,000 | 300,000 |
| Gulma | 9 | 90 | 9,000 | 900,000 |
| Gaṇa | 27 | 270 | 27,000 | 2,700,000 |
| Vāhinī | 81 | 810 | 81,000 | 8,100,000 |
| Pṛtanā | 2,43 | 2430 | 243,000 | 24,300,000 |
| Camū | 729 | 7290 | 729,000 | 72,900,000 |
| Anīkāni | 21,87 | 2,187 | 2,187,000 | 218,700,000 |
| Akṣauhiṇī | 218,70 | 21,870 | 21,870,00 0 | 2,187,000,00 0 |
Arthaśāstra (X. 1. 7-10)–gives another classification of army based on the composition of the forces, the training they receive and their nativity as:
Maulabala–Hereditary troops or the standing army is the best of all the types of armies. It is under constant drill and follows to its ruler; Bhrtakabala–hired troops that rise quickly to the occasion and obedient; Śreṇībala–the corporations is actuated with feelings of rivalry, anger and expectation of success and gain; Mitrabala–troops of an ally; Amitrabala-troops of enemies–sometimes to defeat a common enemy, rival kings would also send in their forces; Āṭavībalā–The wild tribes as well as troops of enemies are eager for plunder.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
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[2]:
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[3]:
Nītiprakāśikā VII. 9-21: [...]