39
kaḷari,[1] paṛandalai,[2] mudunilam;[3] these words also indicate waste uncultivated land, on which contests of all kinds took place and show that war did not imply the ruination of crop-bearing land. The army, paḍai,[4] tānai,[5] was divided into various groups, aṇi,[6] uṇdai,[7] oṭṭu;[8] the front ranks were ākkam,[9] koḍippaḍai,[10] tār,[11] tūśi,[12] nirai,[13] and the back ranks, kūḻai.[14] This shows that military science was not unknown to the Tamils.[15] In later times the army was divided into four sections, chariot-warriors, elephant-warriors, horse-warriors, and foot-soldiers. Of these all but the horse-arm came down from ancient times. South India was not the home of the horse and has always imported horses from the valley of the Sindhu, from Persia and other countries. But there is no doubt that the elephant was used from early times both for royal ostentation and military purposes. 'The warrior sits on an elephant, which looked like the god of death (maṛali). He has a broad and high breast, covered with a coat made of the tiger's skin, which the volley of arrows cannot pierce. The elephant resembles the ship that passes on the sea, the moon which moves among the stars; it is surrounded by armed maṛavar like sharks, and is so excited as not to recognize its mahout.'[16] The elephants were skilfully trained and carefully looked after by the pāgan,[17] tied to posts, kandu,[18] taṛi,[19] in the ālai,[20] elephant-house, and fed with palmyrah trunks, rice and jaggery; they were bathed in tanks or rivers, their face painted with vermilion and decorated and armoured with face-plates, ōḍai,[21] suḻi.[22] Chariots heavily decorated with wood-carving, in the profusion of which Indians revelled, and brilliantly coloured, śayam tōytta,[23] trappings in various patterns and elephant warriors and foot-soldiers decked with garlands of the leaves and flowers which were the badge of each royal house, formed the serried ranks assembled on the battlefield. Of the implements of war, some came down unaltered from the Stone Age, such as the club, taḍi,[24] eṛul,[25] taṇḍu,[26] the shorter one being kuṇil,[27] the bow, vil,[28] kokkarai,[29] śilui,[30] taḍi,[31] tavar,[32] muni,[33] besides the compound noun koḍumaram, bent-wood. Other implements were made of stone at first, and iron was substituted for stone in the early Iron Age: such as the sword, vāḷ,[34] uvaṇi,[35] ēdi,[36] kaḍuttalai,[37] tuvaṭṭi,[38] navir,[39] nāttam,[40] vañjam,[41] vaḷ,[42] short swords being called kuṛumbidi,[43] śurigai,[44] katti,[45] and bent ones.
- ↑ (
Tamil characters)
- ↑ 2
- ↑ 3
- ↑ 4
- ↑ 5
- ↑ 6
- ↑ 7
- ↑ ஒட்டு.
- ↑ ஆக்கம்.
- ↑ கோடிப்படை.
- ↑ தார்.
- ↑ 12
- ↑ 13
- ↑ 14
- ↑ Murugan, the Tainil war-god, who was assimilated by the northerners with the non-Vedic god Subrahmaṇya, also called Shaṇmukha, Kārttikeya, is said to have invented different forms of military formations and written a treatise on the subject in Sanskrit.
- ↑
புலிநிறக் கவசம் பூம்பொறி சிதைய
வெய்கணை கிழித்த பகட்டெழின் மார்பின
மறலி யன்ன சரிற் மிசையோனே
களிறே முன்னீர் வழங்கு சாவாய் போலவும்
பன்மீ னாப்பட் டிங்கள் போலயுஞ்
சுநலினத் தன்ன வாளோ (illegible text)மாய்ப்ப
மரீஇயோ ரறியாது மைாதுபட் டன்றே. - ↑ 17
- ↑ 18
- ↑ 19
- ↑ 20
- ↑ 21
- ↑ 22
- ↑ 23
- ↑ 24
- ↑ 25
- ↑ 26
- ↑ 27
- ↑ 28
- ↑ 29
- ↑ 30
- ↑ 31
- ↑ 32
- ↑ 33
- ↑ 34
- ↑ 35
- ↑ 36
- ↑ 37
- ↑ 38
- ↑ 39
- ↑ 40
- ↑ 41
- ↑ 42
- ↑ 43
- ↑ 44
- ↑ 45
