Sambodhi 1978 Vol 07

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 52

Ganesh
Thite
out of a good bamboo, accompanied by a good string and capable to throw arrows at a long distance. A bow should have an uneven number of joints e.g. three, five, seven, nine etc. A divine bow is five and half hands long and has seven or nine joints. A human bow should be four hands long and have three or five joints. The bamboo out of which a bow is made should not have an even number of joints e.g. four, six, or eight. A bow with joints of even number leads to sorrow. The bow of a warrior who fights while sitting on an elephant or horse should be made of a horn and that of a warior who fights while he is on a chariot or while on the earth, should be made of a bamboo. The string of a bow should be made of a cotton or out of a sinew of a female deer, or of a she-buffalo or of a cow or of skin of a bamboo. Arrows should be made out of ripe, hard bamboo. An arrow which is broad at the mouth and small at the back is considered to be of a female type and can go at a long distance. An arrow of small in size at the mouth and big at the back is of male type and can be used in order to penetrate something very hard An arrow of even size is considered to be of eunuch-type and can be used for penetrating a small thing. By means of an arrow with the mouth of the size of a razer, the bow of another warrior can be cut; by means of an arrow with the mouth of the size of a needle, his armour can be penetrated; by means of an arrow with the mouth of the size of half-moon his head can be cut. There are three kinds of aims, viz. moving, steady, and mixed. In a battle if one shoots the enemy below the naval, one will have to suffer in hell. Bow is the weapon of a Brāhmaṇa, sword, that of a Ksatriya, spear, that of a Vaisya and club, that of a Śūdra (Patala 135).
An archer has to practice everyday, in the morning and evening, according to the guidance of his teacher. In the absence of practice he loses his control over his vision and hand. Before he starts practising if the bow is broken and string cut, or if he sees a serpent, he should consider it as a bad omen and should not start practising. There are various positions for shooting. Thus in the position named Alidha, the left leg is in front and the right is slightly bent. This position is useful for shooting at an aim which is near. In the position called Pratyalidha the right foot is in front and left is slightly bent. This position is useful for shooting an aim which is at distance. In order to shoot an arrow in the ajm which is very firm the position named Gāruda is used. In it one keeps one's left knee on the ground and puts one's right leg slightly bent. In this way there are many positions and one should practise all these. On certain days, however, one should not practise archery. Thus, for example, the eight, fifteenth, and fourteenth days of a month are not auspicious for practise and if one practises on these days one would suffer calamities (Patala 136).