The Epic History of Indian Army
Ancient History | | The epic history of Indian Army dates back to more than ten thousand chequered years. The two epics of ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ constitute the fundamental framework around which the edifice of Indian Army is built. The massive epic war ‘Mahabharata’, fought at Kurukshetra in north-central India, has left indelible imprints on the Indian psyche. Fought relentlessly for eighteen days in quest of peace, the force level described in the Epic states 18 ‘Akshaunis’, seven with the ‘Pandavas’ and eleven with the ‘Kauravas’, amounting to nearly 400,000 assorted troops fighting on chariots, horses, elephants and foot soldiers. | Though innumerable wars have been fought thereafter, almost all were in quest of universal peace and ‘dharma’. Recourse to arms was only taken when peace was threatened. In fact the word 'peace' forms the very core of Indian philosophy, which can most aptly be traced to one of India's ancient scriptures known as the ‘Yajurveda’. In it is stated in verse, the English translation of which reads - “May the sky be peaceful; may the atmosphere be peaceful; may the earth be peaceful; may eternal peace cometh upon us”. | The archaeological history of India dates back to more than 2500 BC, when an urbanised civilisation known as the Indus Valley Civilisation flourished along the banks of River Indus, in the alluvial north - western plains. Similar findings like the coastal cities of Lothal and Dwarka came to light more recently along the coast of Gujarat. However, the Indus Valley Civilisation’s two urban centres at Mohenjodaro and Harappa gradually declined in the second millennium BC, and almost completely disintegrated around 1500 BC due to ecological reasons like drying up of rivers and drought. The coastal cities disintegrated due to massive floods. | | | | | | | | Due to the gradual extinction of such civilizations, the north-western invasion route through the Hindu Kush Mountains remained