Weapons
A wide array of weapons are used in South Asia, some of which are not found anywhere else. According to P.C. Chakravati in The Art of War in Ancient India, armies used standard weapons such as wooden or metal tipped spears, swords, thatched bamboo, wooden or metal shields, axes, short and long bows in warfare as early as the 4th century BC. Military accounts of the Gupta Empire (c. 240–480) and the later Agni Purana identify over 130 different weapons, categorised into thrown and unthrown classes and further divided into several sub-classes.
Over time, weaponry evolved and India became famed for its flexible wootz steel. Armed forces were largely standardised and it is unclear if regular infantry were trained in any recognisable martial system other than standard military drills. More sophisticated techniques and weapons were employed by fighters trained in the warrior jati.
Read more about this topic: Indian Martial Arts
Famous quotes containing the word weapons:
“Never had he found himself so close to those terrible weapons of feminine artillery.”
—Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)