Indian Army looks up Arthashastra for war tips

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"The Asian Age", 8 June 2002

 

'Army looks up Arthashastra for war tips'

 

London, June 7: The Indian Army is looking for tips on warfare in Kautilya's

Arthashastra, the ancient Sanskrit book written during Chandragupta Maurya's

reign, to give its soldiers an edge in any conflict with Pakistan.

 

Indian scientists believe the 2,300-year-old Arthashastra contains an

"extraordinary series of tips that can make their soldiers strong and their

foes insane," the Times said here on Friday.

Defence minister George Fernandes has approved funds of Rs 800,000 for the

project that will be taken up by the Defence Research and Development

Organization and scientists from the University of Pune.

"All of us are excited about the possibilities and do not for a moment think

the idea is crazy," Professor S.V. Bhavasar, the leader of the project, told

the paper. "Decoding ancient texts is not an easy task, but we are very hopeful

of success."

 

The Arthashastra was written by military strategist Kautilya who was chief

adviser to Chandragupta Maurya in the fourth century BC. The book includes a

recipe for a meal said to satisfy hunger for a month, a powder that can endow

soldiers with night vision and methods of inducing madness in the enemy. There

are verses on chemical and biological warfare too.

 

Research has revealed verses narrating how warriors survived without food for a

month after eating a meal of special herbs mixed with ghee. Camel-skin shoes

coated with a serum made from the flesh of vultures and owls are said to have

helped soldiers walk hundreds of miles without tiring. And a powder made from

fireflies, fruit and wild boars' eyeballs are said to endow soldiers with night

vision.

 

Scientists are particularly interested in Book XIV, which is said to contain

secrets of o< forms of chemical and biological warfare. In that chapter,

Kautilya provides a formula for creating a choking gas from burning certain

species of insects and snakes. Another powder, when burnt, is said to induce

madness and blindness in the enemy.

 

Scientists are now focusing on how the text could be used to help soldiers

control hunger and walk for longer without feeling tired. "In high-altitude

border areas like Kashmir, our soldiers need to walk long distances daily. Our

military establishment is quite hopeful that Kautilya's special met will be of

big help to keep their backpacks lighter on vigilance assignment, and also

during an emergency like war," Soumya Ghosh, one of the researchers, said.

 

Once that research is complete, the scientists plan to start researching verses

that deal with night vision and other chemical formulas contained in the text.

Before the scientists can test the formulas, they must be decoded by experts in

Sanskrit. "Kautilya is very secretive and has encoded it in his verses because

he wanted his secrets to be understood by a chosen few," Professor Bhavasar

said. Once the secrets of the Arthashastra have been unlocked, researchers

intend to scour through other texts for secrets of invincibility - including

manuscripts which "claim to provide secrets of manufacturing planes which

cannot be destroyed by any external force.