From: "Vrn Davan" Mailing-List: list vediculture@yahoogroups.com Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 08:28:45 +0000 Subject: [world-vedic] Fwd: Search for warfare recipes in India's ancient texts From: Bal Ram Singh To: bsingh Subject: Search for warfare recipes in India's ancient texts Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 13:01:22 -0500 Dear Friends, Many eastern and western intellectuals have sifted through India's ancient texts in search for wisdom and enlightenment. Many including Mahatma Gandhi used them to assert their struggles for justice and peace. Times seems to have truly changed. Ancient books are now being examined (see below a BBC report dated May 14, 2002) for recipes of war, including chemical and biological warfare agents. The book in question was written by Kautilya (also known as Chanakya) who was the Guru to India's Emperor Chandragupta Maurya prior to 300 BC. Emperor Chandragupta Maurya was not an ordinary emperor, nor was his Guru Kautilya. Both of them were responsible for the defeat of Alexander the Great (known as Sikandar in India) and his appointees. Kautilya was an Acharya (professor) in world's first known university, Taskshila (or Taxila) which is now located in Pakistan, not too far from the Afghanistan border. His book Kautilya's Arthashastra (translated in English as Economics, which is obviously very limited translation) is filled with social, political, economic, and spiritual and medical wisdom. Those days professors were more than teachers of books, or worse constructionists of theories quoting others. Writing of books was mostly based on the practice of their philosophy (hypothesis, thesis, theories, principles, and laws) by themselves and their close associates. Kautilya is believed to have written his book after completing his responsibility as a teacher, strategist, and leader, and after taking leave from his day to day worldly responsibilities. In other words, it was his retirement effort while living in remote mountains. At least in his case, his real scholarship started after his retirement. Kautilya jumped into the fray to help fix anarchy that was widespread in those days at least in his part of the world due to irresponsible ways of the King at that time, and ended his mission only after defeating Alexander the Great. His struggle began with speaking out strongly against the King and actively opposing him. From Kautilya's life there may be lessons for many of us in the academia. One must take a stand in the interest of larger good of the society, and there is a lot more strength in the principles of a self-practicing professor (or intellectuals in general) than we may realize. Let's be bold in speaking out for truth. Bal Ram http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1986595.stm BBC News Tuesday, 14 May, 2002, 11:13 GMT 12:13 UK India defence looks to ancient text The book includes a special diet for soldiers in combat By Shaikh Azizur Rahman in Bombay Indian scientists are turning to an ancient Hindu text in their search for the secrets of effective stealth warfare. They believe the book, the Arthashastra, written more than 2,300 years ago, will give Indian troops the edge on their enemies. India's Defence Minister George Fernandes has approved funding for the project, and told parliament recently that experiments had begun. The research is being carried out by experts from the Defence Research and Development Organisation and scientists from the University of Pune and National Institute of Virology in western India. The book includes the recipe for a single meal that will keep a soldier fighting for a month, methods of inducing madness in the enemy as well as advice on chemical and biological warfare. Powders and remedies The book was written by military strategist Kautilya, also known as Chanakya and Vishnugupta, a prime minister in the court of India's first emperor Chandragupta Maurya, in the fourth century BC. The author was an adviser to India's first emperor "All of us are excited about the possibilities and do not for a moment think that the idea is crazy," said Professor SV Bhavasar, a space scientist who has spent many years researching the Arthashastra. "Decoding ancient texts is not an easy task but we are very hopeful of success," he added. According to a Pune University report, the book says that soldiers fed with a single meal of special herbs, milk and clarified butter can stay without food for an entire month. Shoes made of camel skin smeared with a serum made from the flesh of owls and vultures can help soldiers walk hundreds of miles during a war without feeling tired. A powder made from fireflies and the eyes of wild boar can endow soldiers with night vision. Chemical warfare Kautilya wrote in the Arthashastra that a ruler could use any means to attain his goal, and Book XIV touches on aspects of chemical and biological warfare. Scientists say the text can help in modern warfare. The book says that smoke from burning a powder made from the skin and excreta of certain reptiles, animals and birds can cause madness and blindness in the enemy. The book also provides the formula to create a lethal smoke by burning certain species of snakes, insects and plant seeds in makeshift laboratories. "Our focus at present is on how humans can control hunger for longer durations and walk for longer period without experiencing fatigue, Project leader Dr VS Ghole, head of the environmental engineering department of Pune university, said the team was now focusing on the methods of controlling hunger and increasing stamina. "Once we have made some headway we will go into researching Kautilya's notes on night vision and other fields," he said. Professor SV Bhavasar said the team also had plans to research other ancient Hindu texts. These include manuscripts which "claim to provide secrets of manufacturing planes which can not be destroyed by any external force, could be motionless in the sky and even invisible to enemy planes." Bal Ram Singh, Ph.D. Director, Center for Indic Studies University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 285 Old Westport Road Dartmouth, MA 02747 Phone: 508-999-8588 Fax: 508-999-8451 Email: bsingh@umassd.edu Internet address: http://www.umassd.edu/indic