Warfare and Military System in Vedic Literature
by Rinki Deka | 2023 | 39,711 words
This page relates ‘Military Espionage’ of the study on Warfare and the Military System of ancient India as gleaned from the Vedic Literature. The purpose of this work is to study the defensive and offensive systems of the Vedic people, including their army divisions, political and administrative systems, use of arms and armours, fortification, ethics and other principles related to warfare; while reflecting the social system and cultural aspects of ancient India.
Military Espionage
Spies played an important role in both the civil and military affairs. The term dūta is mentioned in several verses of the Ṛgveda-saṃhitā[1] and other later Vedic texts.[2] According to A.A.Macdonell and A.B. Keith, dūta acted as a messenger or envoy.[3] It appears from various literary evidences that the dūtas are called spaśa [spaśaḥ] (spies),[4] which is interpreted by Sāyaṇācārya as—spaśaḥ spaṣṭāḥ, i.e. visible [spaṣṭa].
He explains further thus—
kūle spaśaḥ spaṣṭāḥ/ sthitā ityarthaḥ/ yathā kūlasthaḥ puruṣo’dhogatamudakaṃ jijñāsustatrasthaṃ manuṣyaṃ vā vilokayitumavākpaśyati tadvat/[5]
Which means the spy acts ‘as a man, who, standing on the shore looks down on the water below or on someone in it.’ So, the term spaśa indicates the existence of spies in the Vedic society. The Śatapathabrāhmaṇa used the term pālāgala to mean the spy.[6] He also figured as one of the king’s jewels and the king offered ājya in his house to the deity Adhvan, i.e. the path.[7]
The Āpastambaśrautasūtra also says—
adhvane svāheti pālāgalasya gṛhe juhotyanṛtaṃ dūtaṃ bruvate//[8]
The sacrificial fee for the dūta was a skin-covered bow, leathern quivers and a red turban.[9] The Ṛgveda-saṃhitā often speaks of the spies of Varuṇa, who sit around him.[10] They behold the two worlds. The spies were undeceived and wise.[11] In a Ṛgvedic verse, Yama’s messengers are mentioned as having boardnosed, dark-hued, insatiate, and having exceed strength.[12]
Sāyaṇācārya explains this as follows—
yamasya saṃbandhinau dūtau…./kīdṛśau/ urūṇasau dīrghanāsikāyuktau asutṛpau parakīyān prāṇān svīkṛtya taistṛpyantau udumbalau urubalau vistīrṇabalau//[13]
The Atharvaveda-saṃhitā also states that the spies of Varuṇa descended from heaven and looked with thousand eyed and travelled over the world.[14] Besides Varuṇa, spying are also attributed to Agni,[15] to Soma,[16] and to demons combated by Indra.[17] Agni is mentioned as a dūta, i.e. a messenger or an envoy of the mortals to the Gods, requesting them to come to the sacrifice.[18] The Taittirīya-saṃhitā also mentions Agni, as the messenger of the gods.[19] In the Atharvaveda-saṃhitā also Agni is called the avant courier of the people.[20] Indra has spies, and was sometimes himself referred to as a spy.[21] In the Ṛgveda-saṃhitā, Saramā is mentioned as the messenger of the gods or of Indra.[22] She was sent by
Indra for espionage to find out the treasures of the Paṇis.[23] Soma, the amenable moon god, too had spies. His widely restless spies never closed an eye and were active everywhere.[24] In this context, Griffith states that Soma’s rays watch the actions of men, detecting and capturing the wicked like hunters’ with snare and nooses.[25] They kept the king informed of the latest happenings.[26] Sometimes charioteers were also sent to the enemy’s camps as spies. For instance, Sañjaya, the charioteer and friend of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, was sent as the Kaurava envoy to the Pāṇḍava’s camp to impress upon them the futility of a war.[27] Again, the charioteer of Duryodhana was Ulūka, who conveyed the message to the Pāṇḍavas about the Kaurava challenge to fight.[28] The Purohita or priest was also sometimes sent as a spy to the enemy camp. The priest, who was wise, holy, skilled in sacrifice and the furtherance of praise, could act as spy. As for example, the Pāñcāla king Drupada sent his priest as a spy to the Kauravas on behalf of the Pāṇḍavas.[29]
There are various duties assigned to the spies to perform. They are employed in the military system as early as in the Vedic period. To run the political system systematically, the king engaged the dūtas or spies to gather secret information related to his friends and foes.[30] The king employed spies for his work as chief executive. Spies were generally employed to watch the conduct of men.[31] They are to keep contact with the general public, and are to inform the king about the trend of public feelings in his kingdom. With the help of spies, the king could explore both the state of his own kingdom and of his foes. They also look after the home, officials, including those of the royal house-hold as well as to report on the doings in the enemy kingdom. The spies are described as the eyes of the king. The Śāntiparvan of the Mahābhārata refers to seven qualities of a dūta, viz. kūlīn, i.e. he should be of high desent, kulasampanna, i.e. of a good family, vāgmī, i.e. eloquent, dakṣa, i.e. clever, priyaṃvādin, i.e. sweet-speeched, yathoktavādin, i.e. faithful in delivering the message and smṛtivādin, i.e. possessed of good memory.[32] Regarding the employment of dūta Manu says, ‘Let the king appoint an ambassador who is versed in all sciences, who understand hints, expression of the face and gestures, who is honest, skilful and of noble family. He must be loyal, honest, possessing a good memory, knows the proper place and time for action, handsome, fearless and eloquent’.[33] Manu also says that it is the dūta who brings about alliance or war.[34]
Thus, it can be said that the Vedic Āryans developed a very high code of warfare. They had to maintain well organised and trained armed forces for their military pursuits. The king acted as the head of the body of politics. The warrior used the horses, elephants, chariots in the battlefield. They used bows, arrows, lances, spears, swords, discus, etc., as their weapons for offensive and defensive purposes. The warriors were endowed with coat of mail, helmet, and handguard, to protect themselves from the friction of the bow-string. The people of the Vedic age build forts and arsenals as defensive measures. They used forts to protect their state from the enemies.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Ṛgveda-saṃhitā , 3.3.2, 6.8.4,7.3.3,10.14.12
[2]:
Atharvaveda-saṃhitā , 3.2.1, 8.8.10, 8.44.3 Also vide, Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa , 3.5.1.16
[3]:
Vide, Macdonell. A.A. & Keith, A.B., op. cit.,Vol. 1, p.371
[4]:
Ṛgveda-saṃhitā ,1.25.13, 6.67.5 Also vide Atharvaveda-saṃhitā , 4.16.4, 5.6.3
[7]:
[8]:
Āpastamba-śrauta-sūtra , 18.10.25
[9]:
[10]:
bibhraddrāpi hiraṇyayaṃ varuṇo vasta nirṇijam/ pari spaśo ni ṣedire// Ṛgveda-saṃhitā , 1.25.13
[13]:
Sāyaṇa, Ibid.
[14]:
[16]:
Ibid., 9.73.4
[18]:
agniṃ dūtaṃ vṛṇīmahe hotāraṃ viśvavedasam/ asya yajñasya sukratum// Ibid., 1.12.1 Also vide, Ibid., 1.161.3, 8.44.3
[19]:
agnirdevānāṃ dūta āsīduśanā…./ Taittirīya-saṃhitā , 2.5.8.5
[20]:
agnirno dūtaḥ pratyetu vidvān pratidahannabhiśastimarātim/ sa cittāni mohayatu pareṣāṃ nirhastāṃśca kṛṇavajjātavedāḥ// Atharvaveda-saṃhitā , 3.2.1
[21]:
[22]:
Ibid., 1.62.3, 1.72.8, 3.31.6, 5.45.8, 10.108
[23]:
Ibid., 10.108.2-4
[24]:
sahasradhāre’va te samasvarandivo nāke madhujihvā asaścataḥ/ asya spaśo na ni miṣanti bhūrṇayaḥ padepade pāśinaḥ santi setavaḥ// Ibid., 9.73.4 Also vide, Atharvaveda-saṃhitā , 5.6.3
[25]:
Vide, Griffith, R.T.H., The Atharvaveda, Vol.I, p.197
[26]:
Jaiminīya-brāhmaṇa , 1.234
[27]:
Mahābhārata , 5.23,24,25,27
[28]:
[29]:
[30]:
urūṇasāvasutṛpā udumbalai yamasya dūtau caratau janā anu / tāvasmabhyaṃ dṛśaye sūryāya punardātāmasumadyeha bhadram//Ṛgveda-saṃhitā , 10.14.12
[32]:
kūlīnaḥ kulasampanno vāgmī dakṣaḥ priyaṃvadaḥ/ yathoktavādī smṛtimāndūtaḥ syātsaptabhirguṇaiḥ// Mahābhārata , 12.85.28
[33]: