Ancient Indian Empires and Weapons

Shaitan

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Date: 2nd–1st century B.C.

Culture: North India (possibly Pataliputra, Bihar)

This miniature figure is among the earliest known representations in metal of a goddess with weapons radiating from her hair. The style suggests she was made in the Ganges basin region of northern India—probably at the ancient Magadha capital of Pataliputra (Patna)—and attests to this region being instrumental in the development of this iconography. About the early fifth century, the fully elaborated form of the goddess Durga appears, first in a rock-cut depiction at Udayagiri, displaying the same weapons. While the precise identity of our figure is unknown, she is clearly part of an emerging protector goddess tradition.
 
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sesha_maruthi27

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Archeological proof of Atomic warfare in Ancient INDIA

 
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W.G.Ewald

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The kingdoms that dominated the Northwest could never conquer the Southern and Eastern Kingdoms due to military factors. First of all their horses would succumb to the tropical climate of Southern and central India, even if they could operate effectively in the forested or mountainous regions. Furthermore the powerful, but expensive (they could take ten years to construct) compound bow was susceptible to warping in the humid climate unlike the bamboo longbow. Inversely, when the empires of the South and East advanced into the planes of Western or Northwestern India they would be out maneuvered and out shot by the mobile horse archers.
Ancient India Military
 

Shaitan

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On the left side, just near the pilaster, where centaur figures have been cut, stands tall, a male guardsman carved as if he has half turned towards the door on his left. His face is long and oval with pointed chin, which looks like an Afghan face. I have not seen such a face in any of the rock cut temples in Deccan. He has shoulder length hair, on which he wears a unique kind of dome like headgear, which again reminds me of similar headgear worn in central Asia. He is holding a double spear of a short length in a sheath near his breast with his left hand. Ends of the double spear are seen below the sheath. His right hand rests on the handle of a broad bladed short sword with a slight curvature. The scabbard of the sword is tucked into the knot of the sash worn by him around his waist. The knotted ends of the sash, are seen in front of him. He appears to be wearing huge and heavy earrings of about 7 rings or coils in his ears and at least 3 necklaces of various lengths around his neck. The upper beaded necklace is like an amulet. Middle necklace is Elaborately carved and is heavily bejeweled. The lower necklace is the longest one and consists of four or six medals woven in a string. In the middle of the necklace, there is a curved pendant, again heavily bejeweled. On his arms, he is wearing heavily jeweled wrist bracers and armlets in the shape of 3 petals of a flower, again heavily bejeweled. He is wearing a cloth band across his left shoulder tied in a knot near his right waist. It is possible that this cloth band and the sash around his waist could be parts of a long cloth band worn in this fashion. The garment around his loins is very interesting. It is definitely not a dhoti but has number of split plaits and at least appears like a skirt or a Scottish kilt. Most probably it is a dhoti worn in a different fashion. He is wearing some kind of band on his left thigh above his knees, but it is difficult to make out what it actually is. From the aboe description, it would be clear that he is unlikely to be an ordinary guardsman. He could be a knight or someone higher up.


The face of figure of a male between the two doors of the hall, is much disfigured. He has a round oval face and wears a different kind of headgear, similar to what farmers in this part of country used to wear few decades ago. He is again wearing 3 necklaces made from big beads or flowers and heavy earrings of 7 rings. He wears a cloth band across left shoulder and a sash. He had a short sword with scabbard tucked in his sash. Now, only the end of the scabbard is visible. He is wearing a dhoti on his loins all right, which falls nearly to his right ankle and left knee.


There is another figure of a worrier carved between the door on right side and the latticed window. Here, the head dress looks like the traditional farmer's headgear,from Maharashtra, which basically is in a form of a long band of cloth wound round the head with two ends flying off near the shoulders. He is wearing two flower garlands. On his arm he is wearing arm bands, which might be shaped like triple cobra hoods and alsofour wristbands. He wears a big hanging earring of a different design. His left hand rests on the handle of a curved sword handle with its scabbard seen near his body. In his right hand, he is holding a bow. Behind him a quiver full of arrows can be seen. He seems to be wearing a full length dhoti coming up to his ankles in heavy full folds.
http://chandrashekharasandprints.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/traces-of-an-empire-rock-cut-temples-of-bhaje-part-iv/#comment-1850



2nd century BC
 
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TrueSpirit

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Why I cannot see a single picture on this thread...? I tried all browsers equipped with all extensions, scripts & permissions.

You are using imageshack for uploading images, right?

Then, what is wrong in this particular thread. I do not see any issue in any other threads.
 

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