Dhanurveda (धनुर्वेदः)

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Dhanurveda is a sub-veda of Yajurveda. This includes subjects related to archery, military science or war art. In ancient times, this traditional knowledge was propagated & spread with great respect throughout India. Many texts on Dhanurveda were available in ancient India, but with time, almost all the scriptures on Dhanurveda are becoming obsolete now. The description of texts of Dhanurveda is available in some scriptures. In Agnipurana, it has been described as one of the 18 branches of knowledge. It also finds a mention in Mahabharata and a scripture called Dhanurveda Samhita is also available. But in most of the other scriptures, one can find some essence of this particular scripture.

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परिचयः ॥ Introduction

In Sanskrit literature, along with high level spiritual knowledge, the highest degree of scientific knowledge is also prevalent. From very ancient times, the pinnacle of physical education is inherent in the science of archery and here it means experimental or special science. Ancient Indian men were adept in the skills of weaponry. Along with their deep spiritual knowledge, they also invented various weapons to suppress terrorists and evildoers. The power of Indians was utilized in establishing religion and not for unleashing terror. The history of archery is as ancient as the antiquity of the Vedas. Fourteen types of knowledge and sixty-four art-forms have been described many times in ancient Indian scriptures like Ramayana, Mahabharata Purana etc. The fourteen types of knowledge and sixty-four art-forms which are described in ancient times are as follows-

अंगानि चतुरो वेदा मीमांसा न्यायविस्तर:। पुराणं धर्मशास्त्रं च विद्या ह्येताश्चतुर्दश॥ आयुर्वेदो धनुर्वेदो गांधर्वश्चैव ते त्रयः । अर्थशास्त्रं चतुर्थन्तु विद्या ह्यष्टादशैव ताः॥ (Vish. Pura. 3.6.27-28 )

Madhusudan Saraswati ji considers Dhanurveda as Upaveda (Branch) of Yajurveda. In Agnipurana, Brahma and Maheshwar have been proclaimed to be the founders of this Veda. Many types of archery are being mentioned in Ramayana and Mahabharata. Dronacharyaji had mentored the Pandavas in the knowledge of Dhanurveda. Archery or military science is an integral part of Dhanurveda. In other words, Dhanurveda can be considered as a synonym for Indian military science.

There is information about Dhanurveda in the scripture termed as Nitiprakash or Neetiprakashika composed by Vaishampaayana Rishi. There is no definitive awareness about the origin and place of origin of Dhanurvidya, but according to historical sources, this knowledge probably travelled from India to Greece and Arab countries. The nuances of this knowledge have been described in detail in Agni Purana.

व्युत्पत्तिः ॥ Definition

Dhanurveda not only denotes the term archery but by implication, all types of weapons come under its umbrella. The specific Veda which describes the art of using the bow and arrow is known as Dhanurveda as per the definition –

        धनूंषि तदादीन्यस्त्राणि विद्यन्ते ज्ञायन्तेऽनेन इति धनुर्वेदः ।

The scripture that describes the knowledge and science related to weapons and war has been termed as Dhanurveda. For Dhanurveda, synonyms like Astraveda, Kshatraveda, Shastra Vidya etc. are used.

Dhanurveda as Upaveda

In the beginning of creation, the sages determined the names of material things for transactional purposes and the prescribed duties for humans (Kartavya Karma) by referring to the Vedas. There are four types of Vedas and each of the four Vedas have four Upavedas. Among the four upavedas, which one Dhanurveda is a sub-branch of, has been pondered upon by scholars in the subject. According to Shri Shaunak ji, the Upaveda of Yajurveda is considered to be Dhanurveda as it is said in Charanvyuha -

यजुर्वेदस्य धनुर्वेद उपवेदः । (Charana Vyuha)

Bhagavata Purana refers to Upavedas as follows

आयुर्वेदं धनुर्वेदं गांधर्वं वेदमात्मनः । स्थापत्यं चासृजद् वेदं क्रमात् पूर्वादिभिर्मुखैः ॥ (Bhag. Pura. 3.12.38)

Upaveda of Rigveda-Ayurveda-Dhanvantari

Upaveda of Yajurveda-Dhanurveda-Vishwamitra

Upaveda of Samaveda-Gaandharvaveda-Narada Muni

Upaveda of Atharvaveda-Sthapathyaveda-Vishwakarma

In the very beginning of Vashishtha Dhanurveda, Dhanurveda has been accepted as Upaveda of Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. Similarly, in scriptures like Shukraneeti, Kodandamandan and Neeti Prakashika, it has been considered as an Upaveda of Yajurveda. It would be appropriate to mention here that-

1. The chapter on Dhanurveda is mainly available in Yajurveda.
2. Description of knowledge and science related to other divine weapons is found in Atharvaveda.

Shukracharya has termed the scripture that guides warfare, weapons and strategy as Dhanurveda. Swami Dayanand ji has integrated the duties related to a king and his subjects in the broad spectrum of Dhanurveda.

Similarly, in Shukraneeti, the five art forms namely yielding weapons, wrestling, placing weapons at the desired place, forming an array and fighting with elephants, horses, chariots etc. have been included in Dhanurveda. In ancient times, six to seven traditional types of Dhanurveda existed in India. They were as follows:

• Tantra Pradhan (fought by hands and feet) war was described by Maharishi Vashishtha in Vashishtha Dhanurveda.
• Apart from the bow and arrow, Maharshi Vishwamitra has mentioned the methods of using spear, mace, sword, etc.
• Astravidya has been mentioned by Jamdagnya (Parshuram).
• Shukracharya described Sanjivani Vidya (Vidya that brings alive the dead) in Aushanas Dhanurveda.
• Discourse on science of electricity was given by Bhardwaja rishi.
• Various weapons were described by Maharishi Vaishampayana.

Dhanurveda Texts and their Authors

Many texts on Dhanurveda were available in ancient India, but with passage of time almost all the texts became extinct and obsolete. Their description is available in some texts like-

S. No	Name of the Text	Author
1	Neetisaar	Acharya Kamand
2	Arthashastra	Acharya Kautilya
3	Yutikalpataru	Maharaj Bhoj
4	Niti Mayukh
5	Veera Chintamani
6	Agni Purana
7	Shardoogdhara paddhati	Acharya Shardoogadhar
8	Manasollaas	Acharya Someshwar
9	Neetivaakyamrut	Acharya Somdev Suri
10	Mahabharata	Maharishi Vedvyas
11	Ramayana	Maharishi Valmiki
12	Neeti Prakashika	Maharishi Vaishampayan
13	Dhanurveda Samhita	Maharshi Vashista
14	Shivokta Dhanurveda

Dhanurveda Samhita

Original texts related to Dhanurveda are not available presently. Though Dhanurveda texts composed by many seers namely Vishwamitra, Jaamadajna, Shiva, Vasistha etc., in the format of small booklets or references are available, yet they cannot be regarded as the complete original texts.

Swami Dayanand has mentioned Dhanurveda written by Maharishi Angira. Acharya Dwijendranath Shastri has described the book named 'Dhanushpradeep' penned by Dronacharya, which had seven thousand verses. Similarly, a book named ‘Dhanushchandrodaya’ with sixty thousand verses dedicated to Parashuram also existed.

In Niti Prakashika written by Maharishi Vaishampayana, Brahma is considered to be the original pravakta of Dhanurveda, who preached Dhanurveda in one lakh chapters to Maharaj Prithu, the son of Veni.

To summarize, Rudra preached Dhanurveda said to have consisted of fifty thousand chapters, Indra preached it with twelve chapters, Prachetas with six chapters and Brihaspati preached it with three thousand chapters. Shukracharya further condensed it and created Nitishastra (Shukraneeti) consisting of one thousand chapters.

Bhardwaja rishi composed a text with seven hundred chapters, Gaurashira composed five hundred, Maharishi Veda Vyas condensed them and created a Niti Shastra consisting of three hundred chapters. Maharishi Vaishampayan summarized it further consisting of eight chapters.

धनुर्विद्या॥ Military Studies and Archery

Military studies is also known by many other names such as Defense and Strategic Education, Military Science, War and National Security Studies, and War and Strategy Studies. In ancient times, weapons like bow and arrow were used as instruments of war. But in the present times, the requirements of war have changed and the methods of war have also changed. In ancient times, knowledge of archery etc. provided significant benefits in the following areas

• Military security knowledge
• Study of military organizations
• National Security
• Art of War
• Skill in using bow and arrow (weapons)
• Preparation of armed forces and strategic array formations for war

As the name of Indian military science, Dhanurveda, proves that archery and weaponry was prestigious study in ancient India since the Vedic period.

Dhanurveda and Martial arts

The trend of classification of art forms is modern. In Sanskrit literature, arts have been enumerated and not classified. The term "fine arts" has been used for the first time in Kalidasa’s literature. But classification of arts was not Kalidasa’s intent. The attempt to classify arts is also reflected to some extent in Shukraneeti.

Classification of Dhanurvedic Arts

Five art forms of Dhanurveda are listed as follows -

1. Weaponry
2. Wrestling
3. Mechanical operations
4. Operating weapons
5. Array formation strategy etc.

There is no end to knowledge and arts, that is, it is infinite and no one can quantify them. Shukracharya has considered the sciences to be thirty-two in number and the arts to be sixty-four. While characterizing them it has been said that -

यत् यत् स्याद् वाचिकं सम्यक् कर्म विद्याभिसाकम्। शक्तो मूकोऽपि यत् कर्त्तु कलासंज्ञन्तु तत् स्मृतम्॥

Which means that the work which can be completed properly by using speech is called ‘Vidya’ or knowledge and the work which even a dumb person can do, using his hands and legs is called art.

Archery

Apart from being a useful art, archery was also a major source of entertainment. Associations or festivals used to be organized for people with proficiency in this knowledge to demonstrate their skills. A similar scene is displayed in the story of 'Asadis Jatak' in the artefacts of Bharhut. An archer is standing under a mango tree and a spectator is also shown in the above scene to watch his feat.

• Shri Ram's ancestor Sagara Chakravarty became the emperor of Ayodhya after receiving the teachings of Agnibaan (Fire emitting arrow) and Dhanurveda from Maharishi Aurva.
• Maharathi Karna, the son of Sun God (Surya Dev) took the knowledge of Dhanurveda from Parashurama.
• Parshurama mentored Drona and Bhishma in the complete skill and knowledge of Dhanurveda.

In the Mahabharata, there is a detailed description of one such association formed by Acharya Drona in which archery competitions were also held and Arjuna was proclaimed as the best archer. Kshatriya women also received education in Dhanurveda and participated in wars. According to Shrimad Bhagwat Purana, Shri Krishna and Balram were taught the secrets of mysterious Dhanurveda along with the four Vedas and its six limbs, in the Ashram of Maharishi Sandipani -

सरहस्यं धनुर्वेदं धर्मान् न्यायपथांस्तथा। तथा चान्वीक्षिकीं विद्यां राजनीतिं च षड्‍‍विधाम् ॥(Bhag. Pura. 10.15.34)

He tutored both of them in Dhanurveda along with its secrets, along with standard legal texts, methods of debate related to logic and philosophy and also taught them the six divisions of political science. Thus, while studying in the Gurukul itself, Shri Krishna and Balram soon became experts in archery and weaponry. In the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, there is a description of Indians being proficient in archery and weaponry. While in the Raghuvansham of Kalidasa an epic composition, there is a description of the sounds emanating by the pulled strings of the great bows of Shri Ram and Shri Lakshman, similarly in Abhijnana Shakuntalam, Dushyant has been described as adept in archery and weaponry.

Purpose of Archery

The main purpose of archery was self-protection and safeguarding the nation. The justification for the study of archery and weaponry was to use it to establish dharma and not for the purpose of terrorizing people. In ancient times, the responsibility of protecting the society was specifically assigned to the Kshatriyas. The etymological meaning of the word Kshatra is to destroy. The great poet Kalidasa described the Kshatriyas as protectors of the self and others in his composition Raghuvansha epic, hence it was absolutely necessary for the Kshatriyas to carry a bow. Protection from others wasn’t required for a proficient archer. It is quoted in Dhanurveda Samhita written by Maharishi Vasishtha that-

The main purpose of archery is to protect noble people from evil robbers and thieves thus helping in the administration of the nation. If there was even one good archer in a village, he was capable of protecting the entire village. Enemies would run away with the fear of his archery skills.

According to Shukra Niti, the science of Dhanurveda imparts not only the skill of operating the bow and arrow, but a the comprehensive knowledge related to the making and operating of all weapons useful in war was taught. Great poet Bhavabhuti depicted the self defensive nature imparted by Dhanurveda in Uttararamcharita.

प्रवक्ता॥ Acharyas of Dhanurveda

The original pravakta for Dhanurveda is Shiva. Parashuram was mentored by Sadashiv himself and so was Maharishi Vashishta. Maharishi Vasishta mentored Vishwamitra in Dhanurveda. In the text called as ‘Prasthaan Bhed’, Vishwamitra is mentioned as the author of ‘Paada Chatushtayatmak Dhanurveda’. In the text by Maharishi Vasishta, significance is given to ‘Tantra Yuddh’ or warfare fought using tantric powers. Vishwamitra amended Dhanurveda and gave it a classical format and thereby assumed the post of Principal (Pradhanacharya). That is the reason why a complete and comprehensive composition of Dhanurveda is not to be found anywhere. However, we find references and description of the knowledge related to these texts in ‘Vasishta Dhanuveda’, ‘Aushanasa Dhanurveda’ and the four chapters namely ‘Maanasollaas’, ‘Yukteekalpataru’, ‘Veeramitroday’ etc. in the ‘Vishnudharmottara Purana’ and in the Agni Puran.

Four Padas of Dhanurveda

In Agni Purana, Dhanurveda has been termed as ‘(Chaturpad)’ or Four-fold path - 1. दीक्षा (Initiation) 2. संग्रह (Collection) 3. सिद्धि प्रयोग (Siddhi Prayog) or experimenting with attained powers and 4. प्रयोग विज्ञान (Techniques in using).

तत्र चतुष्टयपादात्मको धनुर्वेदः। यस्य प्रथमे पादे दीक्षाप्रकारः। द्वितीये संग्रहः, तृतीये सिद्धप्रयोगाः, चतुर्थे प्रयोगविधयः॥ (वाशि०धनु० 1-2)

In Agni Purana, in 249/1 Diksha Pada, the characteristics of the bow and the warrior has been described and bow denotes the weapon used by the warrior as per Dhanurvidya. In ‘Neelkanthi Tika’ of The Mahabharata, diksha, shiksa, self-defense and the instruments used for this purpose, have been described as the four pillars of Dhanurveda.

धनुर्विद्या का महत्व॥ Importance of Archery

Archery had an important contribution in the combat system and military organization of ancient India. The Indian archer could not be stopped in any way, but with passage of time, its importance diminished on Indian soil. In spite of this fact, it does not mean that the use of bow and arrow has become totally obsolete. Prithvi Raj Chauhan was considered an excellent archer.

दुष्टदस्युचौरादिभ्य साधुसंरक्षणं तथा। धर्मत: प्रजापालनं धनुर्वेदस्य प्रयोजनम॥ एकोऽपि यत्र नगरे प्रसिद्ध: स्याद्धनुर्धर:। ततो यान्त्यरयो दूरान्मृगा: सिंह गृहादिव॥ (वाशि० धनु० 1-5)

Meaning - the purpose of Dhanurveda is to protect the virtuous and gentle people from evil people, robbers, thieves etc. A city or village that was inhabited by even one famous archer, would always remain protected because the enemies would avoid and steer away from that village just like a deer and other prey animals, usually run away after seeing the location of a lion.

The Indian Army traditionally had four divisions – Elephantry, Cavalry, Chariot riding warriors and Infantry.

धर्मार्थं यः त्यजेत्प्राणान्किं तीर्थे जपे च किम् । मुक्तिभागी भवेत् सोऽपि निरयं नाधिगच्छति॥ ब्राह्मणार्थे गवार्थे वा स्त्रीणां बालवधेषु च। प्राणत्यागपरो यस्तु सवै मोक्षमवाप्नुयात् ॥ (वाशि० धनु० 45-66)

Dhanurveda Education

Dhanurveda is a synonym for Indian military science. There are four Vedas and for them there are four Upvedas. Among these Upvedas, the first was Ayurveda, the second was Shilpveda, the third was Gandharvaveda and the fourth was Dhanurveda. All the secrets and mysteries of archery and weaponry are included in this Dhanurveda. In Shukraneeti, five art forms, from art form18 to 22 to be precise, are related to Dhanurveda. ‘Nitiprakash’ or ‘Nitiprakashika’ composed by Vaishampayan embodies all the information pertaining to Dhanurveda. This book was edited by Dr. Aapart in Madras in 1882. Other than topics about Dhanurveda, the following topics are explained in this book-

• Instructions about the duties of a king.
• The manufacturing of sword.
• The weapons that are released.
• Marching of the army
• Military applications and royal trade
• Vaishampayana's instruction of Janamejaya in Takshashila (in 8 adhyayas)
• References of Pravartakas of Political Science

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 ‘Samhitas’ and ‘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 gaका प्रयोग Application of Dhanurveda

In the context of 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 got lost. Thirteen (13) parts of Dhanurveda have been described – (Niti Prakasika page 9)

1. शब्द (Sound)
2. स्पर्श (Touch)
3. Smell (
4. Taste
5. Distance
6. Walk
7. Invisibility
8. Backside
9. Location
10. Stability
11. Excursion
12. Shadow
13. Aim (Above) to hit a target (to penetrate)