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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. {{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biX0GdULcbQ&feature=youtu.be
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. {{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biX0GdULcbQ&feature=youtu.be
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)’.<ref name=":2">अस्त्रं तु द्विविधं ज्ञेयं नालिकं मांत्रिकं तथा। Shuka Niti (4/1025)</ref> 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.
The ten disciplines or parts of Dhanurveda are being elaborated as listed below-<blockquote>आदानमथ संधानं मोक्षणं विनिवर्तनम्। स्थानं मुष्टिः प्रयोगश्च प्रायश्चित्तानि मंडलम्॥ रहस्यंचेति दशधा धनुर्वेदांगमिष्यते॥ (महा० आदि० 220। 72)</blockquote>'''Aadaan -''' To control the arrows i.e. to shoot down the enemy's arrows/weapons or to pull or throw them away. Destroying/confiscating enemy weapons, firing weapons while sitting on horse also come under this category.
'''Sandhan -''' 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, Nalika and Mantrika.<ref name=":2" /> War fought with ‘Naalik’ weapons are termed as ‘Asur Mayik’ or illusory weapons by demons and ‘Mantrik Daivik’ or weapons controlled by mantras are used by devatas.
'''Mokshan-''' concentration of attention on the goal is ‘Mokshan’ and inattentive (aimless) concentration is ‘Dhyaan Vimochan’.
'''Vinivartan-''' After releasing the arrows, if one realizes that the opponent is weak or does not have weapons to defend himself, great warriors had the power or capability to recall the arrows by reciting a ‘mantra’ or chant. This art is called ‘Vinirvatan’.
'''Sthaan-''' Using different parts of the bow and locking the arrows in different positions is termed as the art of ‘Sthaan’.
'''Mushti- ‘'''Mushti’ refers to the use of three or four fingers to guide and throw one or multiple arrows without using one’s thumb.
'''Prayog-''' ‘Prayog’ refers to the use of only the index and middle fingers for the purpose of shooting. You can also use the middle finger and thumb to do this.
'''Prayaschitta-''' Using leather gloves as a defensive weapon or holding the string of the enemy's bow to repel arrows or a bow attack (attack with a bow or string) is called ‘Prasyaschitta Anga’.
'''Mandal''' - This is the art form, where the chariot moves fast in circular motion and you have to focus on the enemies or targets by considering them as stationary while they are presenting a moving target by moving fast. Along with this strategy one also has to target the enemies by using ‘Staihana’. ‘Mushti’, ‘Prayog’ and ‘Prayashchit’ and other arts to be engaged completely to establish dominion over the battlefield.
'''Rahasya''' – This is the use of sound as a means of striking a target or use of sound to locate the target.
=== व्यूह संरचना ॥ Strategic Formations ===
Placement of the army in various locations on the battlefield is called Strategic formation. Strategy has special importance in the science of warfare.
समग्रस्य तु सैन्यस्य विन्यासः स्थानभेदतः। स व्यूह इति विख्यातो युद्धेषु पृथिवीभुजाम्॥ (हलायुध कोष पृ० ६४६)
Presently it is called barricade, which means positioning the army in a specific way in the battlefield. An army equipped with an array, can defeat another stronger army, even if it is in minority. On the contrary, even a strong army without an array, cannot defeat a small army with an array. The names of some major arrays are as follows
* श्येन व्यूह - Shyena
* क्रौंच व्यूह - Krouncha
* शकट व्यूह - Shakata
* सिंह व्यूह - Simha
* पद्म व्यूह - Padma
* सर्प व्यूह - Sarpa
* अग्नि व्यूह - Agni
In Atharvaveda, it has been taught, how to protect the army through arrays or vyoohas. Shri Ramchandra had laid siege on Lanka by creating Garuda Vyooha. In the Mahabharata war, strategy formation was a common thing. Similarly, in Kautilya's Arthashastra and Kamandakiya Neetisara, the differences of many types of arrays have been mentioned, but its most authentic description has been obtained from the quotes in the texts named Rajvijaya within Veeramitrodaya.<ref>Devavrat, Acharya (1999) [https://archive.org/details/ssRf_dhanurveda-dr.-devavrat-acharya-missing-pages/page/n14/mode/1up?view=theater Dhanurved]. Delhi: Vijaykumar Govindram Hasananda (p.14)</ref>
=== युद्ध के प्रकार ॥ Types of Wars ===
Wars were carried out using a bow and arrow (Dhanush), Spinning disk like weapon (Chakra), Spear (Kunta), Sword (khadga), Knife (kshurikā), Mace (Gadha) and Arms (Baahu) - these are the seven types of war –
धनुश्चक्रं च कुन्तं च खड्गञ्च छुरिका गदा। सप्तमं बाहुयुद्धं स्यादेवं युद्धानि सप्तधा॥ (विष्णुध०पु० श्लो० ९)
Warrior who has knowledge about Seven Wars- Acharya
Warrior who has knowledge about Four Wars- Bhargava
Warrior who has knowledge about Two Wars-Yoddha
Warrior who has knowledge about One War-Ganaka
In this way, experts in wars are addressed by the above listed names. The war waged by chanting mantras is termed Divine, the war waged by Naaladi (cannon-gun) is called demonic or magical and the war waged with hand held weapons is termed as human. There are four types of hand held weapons – Divya, Naga, Maanush and Rakshas.
=== बाण का उपयोग ॥ Use of Arrows ===
Different types of dangerous arrows were used in archery. In comparison to these monstrous and dangerous arrows, even the explosive bombs of present times are insignificant. These arrows were endowed with divine power. The description of some major arrows are as follows –
'''Agreya Baan''' - This is an explosive arrow. It rains fire and reduces everything to ashes, which can be neutralized by the Parjanya Baan.
'''Parjanya Baan -''' When this arrow is shot, artificial clouds are formed and it starts raining and leads to thunderstorms.
'''Vayavya Baan''' - This arrow leads to terrible storms and causes darkness to engulf the surroundings.
'''Pannaga Baan''' – The use of this arrow gives birth to many snakes and it can be defended by shooting the Garuna Baan.
'''Garuna Baan -''' It is due to this arrow that Garuna is born who eats the snakes.
'''Brahmaastra Baan''' '''-''' This is a very formidable and infallible weapon, and it terminates only after destroying the enemy. It can be only by defended only by shooting another Brahmaastra and nothing else.
'''Paashupata Astra''' '''-''' This has the power to destroy the entire world. Arjuna had the knowledge to release this arrow, during the period of Mahabharata.
'''Narayana Astra''' - This is also a terrible weapon like Paashupata. This Narayanastra has no defense at all. When the arrow is fired, no power in the whole world can challenge or defend it except by surrendering to it with devotion.
Apart from these divine arrows, there is also mention of many other types of arrows like Brahmashira, Agni etc. At present, after Maharaj Prithviraj, this archery has completely disappeared. Amidst today's explosive materials like atomic bombs, amazing military science like Dhanurveda science has its own importance. Therefore, even in the present era, it is necessary to emphasize on the use of archery science for national defense. However, in the new environment, attention is being paid again to archery.
== सारांश ॥ Summary ==
Dhanurveda covers the topics such as the quality of military officers, rules and regulations of various types of wars, recruitment plans, information about injured soldiers, spy network recruits, requirements for weapons and food for war soldiers, animals etc., medical department, role or participation of women in war, types of war, military testing and military training etc. But as per Dhanurveda described in Agnipurana, the process of making of weapons and their use etc. have been specifically described. The Agnipurankar (Veda Vyaas ji) has elaborated in detail in Agnipuraana, about the bow and arrow.
An important conclusion that emerges from the study of Dhanurveda is that there is reference of the science of warfare in many scriptures. No warrior can become a complete warrior unless he studies and gains knowledge in the various scriptures like Metallurgy, Astrology, Patanjalyoga-Ayurveda, Yudhajayarnava-Karma Kaanda, Science of voice modulation (Svara Shastra)-Grammar (Vyakarana Shastra), Smriti-Ethics (Neeti Shastra), Chants (Mantra Shastra) etc.<ref>Jaysinh Gohil. (2022). अग्निपुराणानुसार धनुर्वेद (धनुर्विद्या) की मीमांसा / Analysis of Dhanurveda (Archery) according to Agnipurana. ''Haridra Journal'', ''3''(10), 3–12. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.54903/haridra.v3i10.11388</nowiki></ref>
== References ==
== References ==
[[Category:Upavedas]]
[[Category:Upavedas]]