Army Personnel

When the states grew into vast kingdoms, it was not possible for the kings to lead the armies in the battlefront in person. They had to officers who would carry on duties on their behalf. One such important officer was the Commander-in-chief, the senāpati.

(a) Nītiprakāśikā dictates that the Commander-in-chief is to be elected from a good family with qualities such as cleverness, bravery, sensory control, tested, capable of understanding the intention of the king and hence is a favourite of the king.

He is responsible for the whole army with complete command over his soldiers (Nītiprakāśikā VI. 72-3):

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The commentary Tattvavivṛti is quite helpful in explaining some of the terms here.

(i) [...]–Is explained as ‘[...]’–the one who has been tested. To substantiate this explanation, Tattvavivṛti cites Amarakoṣa which explains it as–[...]

(ii) [...]–this is normally translated as ‘favourite of the king ‘; but it is explained differently by Tattvavivṛti as ‘one who is loyal to the king’–[...]

(b) To him the commanders of the different akṣauhiṇī shall report and to them the junior commanders shall report. They also should be tested for their bravery and loyalty. Separate commanders should be appointed for each unit of the army. Sensing the situation, commanders shall be appointed for two or three combined units (Nītiprakāśikā VI. 74-6):

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(c) A soldier first appointed to a command in any of the branches of the army should be considered senior and his juniors should obey his orders (Nītiprakāśikā VI. 79):

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(d) The soldiers should also be ranged according to each one’s seniority (Nītiprakāśikā VI. 80cd):

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Thus, it can be seen that the seniority of the commanders as well as soldiers depends upon their appointment.

(e) Three well tested commanders should be appointed to each unit of the army; they are–one chief-in-command, another next to him and the third one(the last in command); the latter two obey the orders of the seniormost (Command-in-chief) (Nītiprakāśikā VI. 82):

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In the Vedic period senāpati was called as senānī. The epics talk about the election of the senāpatis in the war council. In the Mahābhārata there are discussions held to choose the appropriate leader for the armed forces. Accomplished in war policies, he should be conversant with the use of various weapons as also in vyūha formations. He should be able to enthuse and inspire the regular soldiers to discharge their duties effectively.

(f) Different watchwords shall be devised daily for the knowledge of the officers and they are not to be made known to all soldiers (Nītiprakāśikā VI. 77):

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(g) Special persons wearing the insignia of the king are appointed to move about the army to announce his orders every now and then (Nītiprakāśikā VI. 78ab):

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(h) The spies undertake to working incognito so as to defeat the plan of the enemies (Nītiprakāśikā VI. 78cd):

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Arthaśāstra^[1] Kāmandakīya Nītisāra^[2] lists out on similar lines the qualifications required for the Commander-in-chief.

Śukranīti^[3] gives a list of officers who are to be appointed in various levels in the army, such as Pattipāla–incharge of five to six foot soldiers; Gaulmika–head of 30 foot soldiers; Śatānīka–the head of 100 infantry men as also the Anusātika–who helps the former. Senānī–is the one who knows the military essentials, contingencies and battleworthy soldiers and appoints functions to guards and sentinels.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

2. 33. 9-11.

[2]:

19. 29. V. 27-44

[3]:

II. 138-140, IV. 7. 263.