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Archery was considered prestigious in ancient India, dating as far back as even during the Vedic period. Along with Vajra, there is also mention of bow and arrow in ‘[[Samhita (संहिता)|Samhitas]]’ and ‘[[Brahmana (ब्राह्मणम्)|Brahmanas]]’. It is written in ‘Kaushitaki Brahmana’ that the archer's journey is safe and secure on account of his bow. The archer who uses the arrow according to the methods prescribed in the shastras is assured success. Bhishma could use a bow that was six arms long. One specialty of archery was that it could be used by all four divisions of the army. In mythological times, the best archers like Sagara, Shri Ram, Bhishma, Arjuna etc. could all reputedly summon divine weapons (Divyastra), which had such potentially deadly capabilities and powers, that any ordinary chariot mounted archers could not defend. No one could fathom the influence of these magnificent bowmen. Bhishma himself had taken an oath to destroy 10,000 soldiers daily, as per his own orders.
Archery was considered prestigious in ancient India, dating as far back as even during the Vedic period. Along with Vajra, there is also mention of bow and arrow in ‘[[Samhita (संहिता)|Samhitas]]’ and ‘[[Brahmana (ब्राह्मणम्)|Brahmanas]]’. It is written in ‘Kaushitaki Brahmana’ that the archer's journey is safe and secure on account of his bow. The archer who uses the arrow according to the methods prescribed in the shastras is assured success. Bhishma could use a bow that was six arms long. One specialty of archery was that it could be used by all four divisions of the army. In mythological times, the best archers like Sagara, Shri Ram, Bhishma, Arjuna etc. could all reputedly summon divine weapons (Divyastra), which had such potentially deadly capabilities and powers, that any ordinary chariot mounted archers could not defend. No one could fathom the influence of these magnificent bowmen. Bhishma himself had taken an oath to destroy 10,000 soldiers daily, as per his own orders.
== धनुर्वेद का प्रयोग Application of Dhanurveda ==
== धनुर्वेद का प्रयोग । Application of Dhanurveda ==
In the topic containing description of the duties of a king and its sub-topics, in ‘Agnipurana’, the description of archery is found in the Chapters starting from 249 till 252. In ancient times, many texts on Dhanurveda were available, but with the passage of time, almost all them were lost. Thirteen (13) parts of Dhanurveda have been described – (Niti Prakasika page 9)
In the topic containing description of the duties of a king and its sub-topics, in ‘Agnipurana’, the description of archery is found in the Chapters starting from 249 till 252. In ancient times, many texts on Dhanurveda were available, but with the passage of time, almost all them were lost. Thirteen (13) parts of Dhanurveda have been described – (Niti Prakasika page 9)
# शब्द (Sound)
# शब्द (Sound)
# स्पर्श (Touch)
# स्पर्श (Touch)
# Smell)((Taste
# गन्ध (Smell)
# Distance
# रस (Taste)
# Walk
# दूर (Distance)
# Invisibility
# चल (Walk)
# Backside
# अदर्शन (Invisibility)
# Location
# पृष्ठ (Backside)
# Stability
# स्थिति (Location)
# Excursion
# स्थिर (Stability)
# Shadow
# भ्रमण (Movement)
# Aim (Above) to hit a target (to penetrate)
# प्रतिबिम्बम् (Shadow)
# उद्देश्य (Aim) (Above) to hit a target with arrows (to penetrate)
According to Dhanurveda, weapons, both released and unreleased, are thirty-two in number -
# Twelve weapons such as the bow and arrows etc., belong to the category of released weapons (Mukt Ayudh । मुक्त आयुध)
# Twenty weapons such as sword etc., belong to the category of unreleased weapons (Amukth Ayudh । अमुक्त आयुध)
Many popular sports described in the Vedas and epics have their origins in military training, such as boxing (Mushti-Yuddha), wrestling (Mal, Dvandhva Yudh), Chariot-racing (Ratha Chalan), horse-riding (Ashva-Rohan) and archery (Dhanurvidya). Dhanurveda describes the rules, practices and uses of archery, bow-and-arrow making and military training. In this text, an explanation regarding the training of warriors, charioteers, horsemen, elephant warriors and infantry etc. have been elaborated. In Vishnu Purana, Dhanurveda is considered as one of the eighteen branches of knowledge.
== आयुधों के प्रकार ॥ Kinds of Weapons ==
According to Mahabharata, when the Kuru princes started growing up, the responsibility of their initial education went to Rajguru Kripacharya. It was from him that the Kuru princes procured knowledge about Dhanurveda. According to Kripacharya, the four main divisions of Dhanurveda, which he taught to his disciples are as follows<blockquote>चतुष्पाच्च धनुर्वेदः सांगोपांग रहस्यकः।(नी० प्रका० 1-38)<ref>Dr. Chandrasekharan. (1953) ''[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.369604/page/5/mode/1up?view=theater Vaishampayana Nitiprakashika]''. Madras: Government Oriental Manuscript Series, 24 (Adhyaya 1, p6)</ref>
मुक्तं चैव ह्यमुक्तं च मुक्तामुक्तमतः परम् । मंत्रमुक्तं च चत्वारि धनुर्वेदपदानी वै॥(नी० प्रका० 2-11)<ref name=":1">Dr. Chandrasekharan. (1953) ''Vaishampayana Nitiprakashika''. Madras: Government Oriental Manuscript Series, 24 (Adhyaya 2, p21)</ref></blockquote>Dhanurveda has four padas -
* मुक्त-धनुर्वेद - where weapons are released, such as the arrows released from the bow
* अमुक्त-धनुर्वेद - where the weapons are not released and are held in hand while being used to attack the opponent, such as the sword
* मुक्तामुक्त-धनुर्वेद - where the weapons, are used with awareness to release for an attack and are withdrawn to put away are called Muktamukta (Free-nonfree weapon)
* मंत्रमुक्त-धनुर्वेद - where the weapon is fired after reciting a mantra or a chant but the warrior doesn't know the method to terminate it is known as Mantra-mukta.
On the basis of the knowledge of weapons, Dhanurveda has also been classified into four branches<blockquote>शस्त्रमस्त्रंच प्रत्यस्त्रं परमास्त्रमितीव च। चातुर्विध्यं धनुर्वेदे केचिदाहुर्धनुर्विदः॥ (नीति०प्रका०)<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>
* शस्त्र ॥ shastra - these are hand-held weapons
* अस्त्र ॥ astra - weapons that are released
* प्रत्यस्त्र ॥ pratyastra - defensive weapons, used for defending oneself against released weapons (astra), skills procured to defend oneself from an astra
* परमास्त्र ॥ paramaastra - supreme weapon, divine weapons that have capability to chase the enemy they have been aimed at.
Dhanurveda has also been classified into four parts on the basis of actions or parts -<blockquote>आदानश्चैव सन्धानं विमोक्षस्संहृतिस्तथा। धनुर्वेदश्चतुर्धेति वदन्तीति परे जगुः॥(नीति०प्रका० २-१५)<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>
* आदान ॥ Adaan - To control the arrows i.e., to shoot down the enemy's arrows/weapons or to pull them and throw them far away. Destroying/confiscating enemy weapons, firing weapons while riding on a horse are also included in this section
* सन्धान ॥ Sandhaan - Combining two weapons or arts (styles) together, such as therapeutic weapons, aerial weapons, illusionary weapons or inventions. (Divyastra is said to be of two types, ‘नालिक (Naalika)’ and ‘Mantrika (मांत्रिक)’. War fought with Naalika weapons are termed as aasuri maayika or demonic illusory and those which are mantrika are daivika or weapons released by divine mantras.
* विमोक्ष ॥ Vimoksha - it is the art or style of releasing weapons against or in contrary to ‘Aadaan’
* संहार ॥ Sanhar - Compilation of instructions.
Kripacharya mentioned all these four types. Arjuna taught ten ‘angas’ or ten disciplines to the Upapandavas. Vimoksha here is a form of salvation, ‘Sanhara’ or compilation are not in Arjuna's list. Kripacharya included these under other headings. The method of teaching is different for all teachers, but the first two methods remain the same.
== References ==
== References ==
[[Category:Upavedas]]
[[Category:Upavedas]]