Dhanurveda

Dhanurveda (धनुर्वेद) (transl. Science of archery / Knowledge of archery) is a Sanskrit treatise on warfare and archery, traditionally regarded as an upaveda attached to Yajurveda (1100 – 800 BCE) and attributed either to Bhrigu or Vishvamitra or Bharadwaja. It is one among the four upavedas to Vedas (along with Ayurveda, Gandharvaveda, and Sthāpatyaveda).

Dhanurveda, a section of the Vedas (1700 BCE – 1100 BCE), contains references to martial arts. The Charanavyuha, authored by Shaunaka, mentions four upaveda (applied Vedas). Included among them are archery (dhanurveda) and military sciences (shastrashastra), the mastery of which was the duty (dharma) of the warrior class. Kings usually belonged to the kshatriya (warrior) class and thus served as army commanders. They typically practiced archery, wrestling, boxing, and swordsmanship as part of their education.

Vedic hymns in the Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda lay emphasis on the use of the bow and arrow. The second Veda, the Yajurveda, contains Dhanurveda (dhanus "bow" and veda "knowledge"), which was an ancient treatise on the science of archery and its use in warfare. Several works of ancient literature refer to Dhanurveda. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa refers to it as one of the eighteen branches of knowledge, and the Mahābhārata mentions that it has sutras like other vedas. Śukranīti describes it as that "upaveda of yajurveda" which has five arts or practical aspects.

Dhanurveda describes the practices and uses of archery, bow- and arrow-making, military training, and rules of engagement. The treatise discusses martial arts in relation to the training of warriors, charioteers, cavalry, elephant warriors, infantry etc. It was considered a sin to shoot a warrior in the back and to fight more than one warrior at a time. The bow used in the Vedic period were called danush, and were described in detail in the Vedas. The curved shape of the bow is called vakra in Artha Veda. The bowstring was called jya, and was strung only when needed. An arrow was called an iṣu, and a quiver was called an iṣudhi.

Many of the popular sports mentioned in the Vedas and the epics have their origins in military training, such as boxing (musti-yuddha), wrestling (maladwandwa), chariot-racing (rathachalan), horse-riding (aswa-rohana) and archery (dhanurvidya).

Other scattered references to fighting arts in medieval texts include the Kamandakiya Nitisara (c. 8th century ed. Manmatha Nath Dutt, 1896), the Nitivakyamrta by Somadeva Suri (10th century), the Yuktikalpataru of Bhoja (11th century) and the Manasollasa of Somesvara III (12th century).

One of the earliest extant manuals of Indian martial arts is in the Agni Purana (dated to between the 8th and the 11th century). The Dhanurveda section of the Agni Purana spans chapters 248–251, categorizing weapons into thrown and unthrown classes and further dividing them into sub-classes. It catalogues training into five major divisions for different types of warriors: charioteers, elephant-riders, horsemen, infantry, and wrestlers.

The work describes nine asanas (stances) for fighting: