The Hindu Religion and War

Although, since Mahatma Gandhi, India is known by many as the country where the principle of ahim .sā, 'not killing', has being invented and implemented, this ancient principle had originally little or nothing to do with how warfare was conducted and conceived in Hindu society.War was endemic in South Asia and seen as the right and duty of the Hindu king.This warfare, however, was regulated by some rules, which were humane in some respects.Battle was sometimes conceived of as a form of ritual, in which the soldiers were the sacrificial victims, but this does not entail that Hindu kings went to war for the sake of religion.By the 11th century the tradional Hindu view of war was seriously challenged by Islamic invaders.This essay investigates the impact of this confrontation.The conflict between both communities, Hindu and Muslim, has flared up again in recent years.It is argued that the communal unrest in India since its independence tends to alter the Hindu self-perception and its values. Aśoka and ancient warfare in IndiaWhat warfare could mean in India in the 3rd century bc we learn from Aśoka's Thirteenth Rock-Edict.When king Devānā ṁpriya Priyadarśin (i.e.Aśoka) had been anointed eight years, (the country of) the Kali ṅgas was conquered by (him).One hundred and fifty thousand in number were the men who were deported thence, one hundred thousand in number were those who were slain there, and many times as many were those who died.(CII I, 68) The same Edict, however, shows that ethical principles were considered to have a relevance with respect to wartime conditions, when Aśoka continues, After that, now that (the country of) the Kali ṅgas has been taken, Devānā ṁpriya (is devoted) to a zealous study of morality (dhramaśilana = dharmaśīlana), to

Ancient history · Hinduism · History · Indian History and Philosophy · Philosophy · Religious studies · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence · War, Ethics, and Justification