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Module - I Maurya and Gupta Armiess

Military History
King (Swami), Danda (Arny), Janapada (Territory), Amatya (minister), Mitra (Friend),
of Ancient India
Durga (Fort), Kosa (Treasure)
Shatru (Enemy)—- The 8th element added by Arthasastra.

Kautilya metions that the king must undergo military training.
Kautilya also refers to Chaturangbala (Cavalry, Infantry, Chariot and Elephants) as
Note the main components of Army. Each one of them was placed under a commander. He
also mentions about medical service to the Army, the recruitment policy, war plans,
fortification etc.

4.2 Gupta Empire
The Gupta empire ruled between A.D 300 to A.D 550. Between the Mauryan dynasty
and the Gupta period, the large empire was broken into smaller Kingdoms under
Kanishka, Satvahanas and the Kalinga rulers. The basic organization of the army and
its employment in battle remained similar over the years. The military of the Gupta
Empire remained based on the traditional four part armies or Chaturangabala. They,
unlike other armies, included a mounted cavalry by this time. They modeled the dress
and armor of their cavalry after the well-crafted and equipped soldiers of the Kushan
empire.

The Guptas preferred armored cavalry forces that attacked with lances or swords.
The weapons used such as bow and arrow were made of metal instead of bamboo or
wood as in earlier times. The Guptas seem to have relied heavily on infantry archers,
and the bow was the dominant weapon of their army. The version of the longbow was
composed of metal, or more typically bamboo, and fired a long bamboo cane arrow
with a metal head. The longbow was reputedly a powerful weapon capable of great
range and penetration and provided an effective counter to invading horse archers.
Iron shafts were used against armored elephants. Fire arrows were not part of the
bowmen's arsenal contrary to popular belief.
The era of the Gupta Empire in India was all about conquering. The rulers wanted to
expand their reach across India. They did this by attacking the Kingdoms around them
to gain land. Samudragupta, son of Chandragupta, was a King out for conquest. He
desired to unite all of India under his rule and quickly set out to accomplish this dream
by starting wars across much of the Indian region. During the reign of Chandragupta
II, Gupta Empire maintained a large army consisting of 500,000 infantry, 50,000 cavalry,
20,000 charioteers and 10,000 elephants along with a powerful navy with more than
1200 ships. Chandragupta II controlled the whole of the Indian subcontinent; the
Gupta Empire was the most powerful empire in the world during his reign. The reason
for conquest and building a large empire was to protect the Kingdom from disintegrating
into smaller ones thus dissipating power. The decline of Mauryan and Gupta period
led to such a disintegration and weakening of the forces thus the invaders such as the
Sultanates were able to overcome the later Kings and establish their control over
India.

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MILITARY HISTORY