Dharmayuddha is a Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 word made up of two roots: dharma

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

meaning righteousness, and yuddha meaning warfare. In the ancient Indian texts

Hindu scripture

The Literature regarded as central to the Vedic and Hindu literary tradition was originally predominantly composed in Sanskrit. Indeed, much of the morphology inherent in the learning of Sanskrit is inextricably linked to study of the Vedas and other early texts....

, dharmayuddha refers to a war that is fought while following several rules that make the war fair.

For instance, in a righteous war, equals fight equals. Chariot warriors are not supposed to attack cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 and infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

, those on elephants are not supposed to attack infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

, and so on. The rules also forbid the usage of celestial weapons

Astra (weapon)

In Hindu mythology, an ' was a supernatural weapon, presided over by a specific deity. To summon or use an astra required knowledge of a specific incantation/invocation, when armed. The deity invoked would then endow the weapon, making it impossible to counter through regular means. Specific...

 (divine weapons bestowed by the gods) on ordinary soldiers (as opposed to soldiers of noble birth). The build-up of weapons and armies is done with the full knowledge of the opposing side and no surprise attacks are made.

The rules of engagement also set out how warriors were to deal with noncombatants. No one should attack an enemy who has temporarily lost or dropped their weapon. The lives of women, prisoners of war, and farmers were also sacred. Pillaging the land was forbidden.

Dharmayuddha also signifies that the war is not fought for gain or selfish reasons. A dharmayuddha is waged to uphold the principles of righteousness.

Dharmayuddha in the Mahabharata

In the Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

epic, which describes the Kurukshetra war

Kurukshetra war

According to the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata, a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins of an Indo-Aryan kingdom called Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in the Kurukshetra War in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated as allies of...

, the two sides agree on the following rules:

• Fighting must begin no earlier than sunrise and end exactly at sunset.
• Multiple warriors may not attack a single warrior.
• Two warriors may duel, or engage in prolonged personal combat,only if they carry the same weapons and they are on the same mount (no mount, a horse, an elephant, or a chariot).
• No warrior may kill or injure a warrior who has surrendered.
• One who surrenders becomes a prisoner of war and will then be subject to the protections of a prisoner of war.
• No warrior may kill or injure an unarmed warrior.
• No warrior may kill or injure an unconscious warrior.
• No warrior may kill or injure a person or animal not taking part in the war.
• No warrior may kill or injure a warrior whose back is turned away.
• No warrior may strike an animal not considered a direct threat.
• The rules specific to each weapon must be followed. For example, it is prohibited to strike below the waist in mace warfare.
• Warriors may not engage in any 'unfair' warfare whatsoever.
• The lives of women, prisoners of war, and farmers are sacred.
• Pillaging the land is forbidden.

While King Yudishtira of the Mahabharata began his war for righteous reasons, by the end of the 18 days of fighting he and his relatives had broken every other rule of righteous war.

Dharmayuddha in Other Texts

Beyond the Mahabharata, the principles of dharmayuddha are referred to in many other ancient Indian texts, including the Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

and the Dharmashastras or law texts.

See also

• Interventionism (politics)
  Interventionism (politics)
  Interventionism is a term for a policy of non-defensive activity undertaken by a nation-state, or other geo-political jurisdiction of a lesser or greater nature, to manipulate an economy or society...
  
  
• Jihadism
  Jihadism
  Jihadism is a term to describe the renewed focus on armed jihad in radical Islamic fundamentalism....
  
  
• Just War
  Just War
  Just war theory is a doctrine of military ethics of Roman philosophical and Catholic origin, studied by moral theologians, ethicists and international policy makers, which holds that a conflict ought to meet philosophical, religious or political criteria.-Origins:The concept of justification for...
  
  
• Militarism
  Militarism
  Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
  
  
• Roerich Pact
• Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC)
  Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC)
  The Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project is an initiative of the to support the application and implementation of the international law of armed conflict.-Overview:...
  
  
• Rule of law
  Rule of law
  The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
  
  
• Rule According to Higher Law
  Rule according to higher law
  The rule according to a higher law means that no written law may be enforced by the government unless it conforms with certain unwritten, universal principles of fairness, morality, and justice...
  
  

External links

• Strategic Thinking in Ancient India and China
• Chennai Online Comparison of the nighttime fighting rule in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.