Dhanurveda

2021-04-29T19:22:30Z

2405:201:3010:4808:458:3863:7441:6CF0:

{{short description|Sanskrit treatise on warfare and archery}}{{Infobox religious text
| image =
| caption =
| author = [[Bhrigu]] or [[Vishvamitra]]
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| language = [[Sanskrit]]
| period = 1100 – 800 BCE<ref name=Flood1996>{{cite book|last=Flood|first=Gavin|title=An Introduction to Hinduism|isbn=0521438780|year=1996|pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/37 37-39]|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/37}}</ref>
| chapters =
| sutras =
| verses =
}}
'''''Dhanurveda''''' ({{trans|Science of archery / Knowledge of archery}}) is a [[Sanskrit]] treatise on warfare and [[archery]], traditionally regarded as an [[upaveda]] attached to ''[[Yajurveda]]'' (1100{{snd}}800 BCE) and attributed either to [[Bhrigu]] or [[Vishvamitra]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=W. J. |title=Dhanurveda |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001/acref-9780198610250-e-752 |website=A Dictionary of Hinduism |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=24 December 2020 |doi=10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001 |date=1 January 2009|isbn=9780198610250 }}</ref> It is one among the four upavedas to [[Veda]]s (along with ''[[Ayurveda]]'', ''Gandharvaveda'', and ''Sthāpatyaveda'').<ref>{{cite journal |title=Upaveda |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803114818711 |website=Oxford Reference |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi= |access-date=24 December 2020 }}</ref>

==History==
''Dhanurveda'', a section of the Vedas (1700 BCE{{snd}}1100 BCE), contains references to martial arts.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|title=Psychophysical Acting: An Intercultural Approach After Stanislavski|page=66|publisher=Routledge|author1=Phillip B. Zarrilli |author2=Peter Hulton }}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|page=182|author1=Denise Cush |author2=Catherine A. Robinson |author3=Michael York |publisher=Psychology press}}</ref> The ''Charanavyuha,'' authored by [[Shaunaka]], mentions four ''upaveda'' (applied Vedas).<ref>{{Harvnb|Monier-Williams|2006|p=207}}. [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0200/mw__0240.html] Accessed 5 April 2007.</ref> Included among them are archery (''dhanurveda'') and military sciences (''shastrashastra''),<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto1"/> the mastery of which was the duty (''dharma'') of the warrior class. Kings usually belonged to the [[kshatria]] (warrior) class and thus served as army commanders. They typically practiced archery, wrestling, boxing, and swordsmanship as part of their education.<ref>{{cite book |title=Daily Life in Ancient India |author=Jeanine Auboyer |year=1965 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinancie0000aubo/page/58 58] |publisher=Phoenix Press |location=France |isbn=1-84212-591-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinancie0000aubo/page/58 }}</ref>

Vedic hymns in the [[Rigveda]], [[Yajurveda]], and [[Atharvaveda]] lay emphasis on the use of the bow and arrow.<ref>''With the bow let us win cows, with the bow let us win the contest and violent battles with the bow. The bow ruins the enemy's pleasure; with the bow let us conquer all corners of the world.'' – [[Robert Drews|Drews, Roberts]] (1993). ''The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe Ca. 1200 B.C.'' pg 125. Princeton University Press</ref> The second Veda, the Yajurveda, contains ''Dhanurveda'' (dhanus "bow" and veda "knowledge"), which was an ancient treatise on the science of archery and its use in warfare. Several works of ancient literature refer to Dhanurveda. The ''[[Vishnu Purana|Viṣṇu Purāṇa]]'' refers to it as one of the eighteen branches of knowledge, and the ''[[Mahābhārata]]'' mentions that it has [[sutras]] like other vedas. [[Shukra-Niti|Śukranīti]] describes it as that "upaveda of yajurveda" which has five arts or practical aspects.

''Dhanurveda'' describes the practices and uses of archery, bow- and arrow-making, military training, and [[rules of engagement]]. The treatise discusses martial arts in relation to the training of warriors, charioteers, cavalry, elephant warriors, infantry etc. It was considered a sin to shoot a warrior in the back and to fight more than one warrior at a time. The bow used in the Vedic period were called ''danush'', and were described in detail in the Vedas. The curved shape of the bow is called ''vakra'' in ''Artha Veda''. The bowstring was called ''jya'', and was strung only when needed. An arrow was called an ''iṣu'', and a quiver was called an ''iṣudhi''.<ref>The Rig Veda/Mandala 6/Hymn 75/5</ref>

Many of the popular sports mentioned in the Vedas and the epics have their origins in military training, such as boxing (''[[musti-yuddha]]''), wrestling (''maladwandwa''), chariot-racing (''rathachalan''), horse-riding (''aswa-rohana'') and archery (''dhanurvidya'').<ref name="Timechart">{{cite book |title=The Timechart History of India |year=2005 |publisher=Robert Frederick Ltd. |isbn=0-7554-5162-7}}</ref>

Other scattered references to fighting arts in medieval texts include the ''Kamandakiya Nitisara'' (c. 8th century<ref>{{cite book|author=Manmatha Nath Dutt|url=https://archive.org/stream/kamandakiyanitis00kamarich#page/n5/mode/2up|title=Kamandakiya Nitisara or, The Elements of polity, in English.|website=Internet Archive|publisher=Calcutta, Manmatha Nath Dutt|year=1869|access-date=24 June 2014}}</ref> ed. Manmatha Nath Dutt, 1896), the ''[[Nitivakyamrta]]'' by [[Somadeva Suri]] (10th century), the ''Yuktikalpataru'' of [[Bhoja]] (11th century) and the ''[[Manasollasa]]'' of [[Somesvara III]] (12th century).

==''Agni Purana''==
One of the earliest extant manuals of Indian martial arts is in the ''[[Agni Purana]]'' (dated to between the 8th and the 11th century).<ref name="Zarrilli1992">{{cite journal |author=Zarrilli, Phillip B. |year=1992 |title= To Heal and/or To Harm: The Vital Spots (Marmmam/Varmam) in Two South Indian Martial Traditions Part I: Focus on Kerala's Kalarippayattu |url=http://www.spa.ex.ac.uk/drama/staff/kalari/healharm.html|journal=Journal of Asian Martial Arts |volume=1 |issue=1 }}</ref> The ''Dhanurveda'' section of the ''Agni Purana'' spans chapters 248–251, categorizing weapons into thrown and unthrown classes and further dividing them into sub-classes. It catalogues training into five major divisions for different types of warriors: charioteers, elephant-riders, horsemen, infantry, and wrestlers.

The work describes nine [[asana]]s (stances) for fighting:
*''{{IAST|samapada}}'' (“holding the feet even”): standing in closed ranks with the feet put together (248.9)
*''{{IAST|vaiśākha}}'': standing erect with the feet apart (248.10)
*''{{IAST|maṇḍala}}'' (“disk”): standing with the knees apart, arranged in the shape of a flock of geese (248.11)
*''{{IAST|ālīḍha}}'' (“licked, polished”): bending the right knee with the left foot pulled back (248.12)
*''{{IAST|pratyālīḍha}}'': bending the left knee with the right foot pulled back (248.13)
*''{{IAST|jāta}}'' (“origin”): placing the right foot straight with the left foot perpendicular, the ankles being five fingers apart (248.14)
*''{{IAST|daṇḍāyata}}'' (“extended staff”): keeping the right knee bent with the left leg straight, or vice versa; called ''{{IAST|vikaṭa}}'' (“dreadful”) if the two legs are two palm-lengths apart (248.16)
*''{{IAST|sampuṭa}}'' (“hemisphere”) (248.17)
*''{{IAST|swastika}}'' (“well-being”): keeping the feet 16 fingers apart and lifting the feet a little (248.19)

A more detailed discussion of archery technique follows.

The section concludes by listing the names of actions or “deeds” possible with various weapons, including 32 positions to be taken with sword and shield (''{{IAST|khaḍgacarmavidhau}}'');<ref>
''{{IAST|(1.) bhrāntam (2.) udbhrāntam (3.) āviddham (4.) āplutaṃ (5.) viplutaṃ (6.) sṛtaṃ }}''
''{{IAST|(7.) sampātaṃ (8.) samudīśañca (9.-10.) śyenapātamathākulaṃ}}'' (251.1)
''{{IAST|(11.) uddhūtam (12.) avadhūtañca (13.) savyaṃ (14.) dakṣiṇam eva ca}}''
''{{IAST|(15.-16.) anālakṣita-visphoṭau (17.-18.) karālendramahāsakhau}}'' (251.2)
''{{IAST|(19.-20.) vikarāla-nipātau ca (21.-22.) vibhīṣaṇa-bhayānakau}}''
''{{IAST|(23–24.) samagrārdha (25.) tṛtīyāṃśapāda (26.-28.) pādardhavārijāḥ}}'' (251.3)
''{{IAST|(29.) pratyālīḍham (30.) athālīḍhaṃ (31.) varāhaṃ (32.) lulitan tathā}}'' (251.4ab)
</ref> 11 techniques for using a rope in fighting, 5 “acts in the rope operation,” lists of “deeds” pertaining to the [[chakram]] (war-quoit), the spear, the ''tomara'' (iron club), the [[gada (mace)]], the axe, the hammer, the ''bhindipāla'' or ''laguda'', the [[vajra]], the dagger, the slingshot, and a bludgeon or cudgel. A short passage near the end addresses larger concerns of warfare and explains the various uses of war elephants and men. The text concludes with a description of how to appropriately send the well-trained fighter off to war.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nmmkM0fVS-cC&pg=PA467 |title=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas – Swami Parmeshwaranand|page=467 |access-date=27 September 2015|isbn=9788176252263|last1=Parmeshwaranand|first1=Swami|year=2001}}</ref>

==Extant texts==
The extant ''Dhanurvedic'' text is relatively late, found in the ''[[Agni Purana]]'' (chapters 249–252) which is no earlier than eighth century. It ''is'' an edited version of earlier manuals, containing techniques and instructions for kings preparing for war and training his soldiers. It includes the 5 training divisions — warriors on [[chariot]]s, elephants, [[cavalry]], infantry, and wrestlers; and five types of weapons — projected with machines (arrows and missiles), thrown by hand (spear), cast by hands and retained ([[noose]]), permanently held in hands (sword), and the hands themselves. The text states that [[Brahmin]]s and [[Kshatriya]]s are permitted to teach martial arts and that lower [[caste]]s can be soldiers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Green|first=Thomas A.|title=Martial Arts of the World: A-Q|year=2001|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-1-57607-150-2|pages=173–174|url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Martial_Arts_of_the_World_A_Q/v32oHSE5t6cC?hl=en|access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref>

Another extant ''Dhanurveda-Samhita'' dates to the mid-14th century, by Brhat Sarngadhara Paddhati (ed. 1888).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://libcat.unigoa.ac.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=1637|title=Vasisthas Dhanurveda Samhita : (Text with English Translation)|website=Goa University Library|access-date=8 May 2014}}</ref>

The ''Ausanasa Dhanurveda Sankalanam'' dates to the late 16th century, compiled under the patronage of [[Akbar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bogenloewe.de/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1269&language=en|title= Dhanurveda: The knowledge of the bow|author=Wiethase, H|website=bogenloewe|access-date=24 June 2014}}</ref> A 17th-century ''Dhanurveda-samhita'' is attributed to [[Vasistha]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Hindudharma}}

[[Category:Vedas]]

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Dhanurveda