Hinduism

The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives Hinduism

Contributors: Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi Edited by: Paul Joseph Book Title: The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives Chapter Title: "Hinduism" Pub. Date: 2017 Access Date: May 6, 2017 Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc. City: Thousand Oaks, Print ISBN: 9781483359892 Online ISBN: 9781483359878 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483359878.n299 Print pages: 786-787 ©2017 SAGE Publications, Inc.. All Rights Reserved. This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online version will vary from the pagination of the print book.

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Hinduism is more a way of living life than a religion. It is based on the concept of dharma, meaning “to bear.” It is also known as Sanatana Dharma (“eternal law”). The essence of this religion is to know a difference between good and bad. Since God is the container of all living beings, there is no notion such as “evil” in Hinduism. Unlike most major world religions, such as Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Islam, and Judaism, Hinduism has no historical founder. The earliest followers of this religion were Rigvedic tribes of Indo-Aryans who migrated from Eurasia and settled in ancient India in the period about 2500 to 1500 BCE. A wide range of various Indian religious groups comes under Hinduism. While there is a lot of difference in their rituals and traditions, they worship same deities and gods, which are historically interrelated to each other in myths and religious stories. The guiding principle of Hinduism is universal brotherhood, love, and respect for all religions. Hinduism regards life similar to a war. The body is a battlefield, in which good and bad elements wage a continuous war. The religious Hindu text Bhagavad Gita (also called Bhagawad Gita) says war is an obligatory duty to curb the bad, and the cycle of war and victory repeats until a person dies. One must do his or her best to subdue the bad enemy, and make the good victorious. To avoid fighting when it is very much required is bad karma. Similarly, if someone wages a war while engaging in desires and expectations then it results in bondage and bad karma. One must fight a war with detachment and deference and as a service to god. Hinduism and War Hinduism considers nonviolence as the greatest virtue, but it acknowledges the necessity of war to protect the good and punish the bad. War seems a reaction to peace and vice versa. The preservation of good at any cost results in war. Hinduism does not justify a war for a religious purpose; neither has it had any concept like “crusade” or “jihad” in its religious literature. But it advocates dharma yuddha (“a just war”). We find religious texts in Hinduism that promote war as a moral duty, but there are teachings that condemn violence too. Hinduism believes that war is undesirable, and it should be waged when it is unavoidable. Ancient texts describe four ways to settle a conflict: sama (“peaceful negotiation”), dam (“to appease the enemy”), bheda (“strategic and political threat”), and danda (“to punish”). But the texts direct that it is always better to wage war than to tolerate bad. Hindus are prescribed to use force in self-defense. Many Hindu scriptures have been written on war. The important texts are Vedas, Manusmriti (“the laws of Manu”), and Bhagavad Gita. The Vedic hymns tell about a society that was in constant warfare, mostly with the dark-skinned aborigines whom they describe as Asuras. The epics and Dharma Shastra recognize two kinds of war: dharma yuddha (“righteous war”) and kutta yuddha or adharma yuddha (“unrighteous war”). In dharma yuddha, the warriors fight without thinking of the reward. Rigveda provides many references to war. The soldiers and warriors alike were supported by Vedic gods, such as Indra, the rain god; Brihaspati, the guru of the Vedic gods; and Vayu dev, the wind god. The warriors usually drove chariots, and their weapons were bows, arrows, darts, swords, and so forth. The ancient texts describe several causes for war, such as securing imperial power, self-preservation, the maintenance of the balance of power, and oppression of the people. Rigveda enunciates that there were some wars for the purpose of getting cattle, whereas protecting the wife was the cause of war in the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Some of the Sanskrit words for warrior are gosu yuddh (“fighting for cattle”) and

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The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives

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gavisti (“desire for cattle”) in the scriptures. Rigveda sets down the conduct of war in the form of rules that state: one must not attack the sick person, woman, old, and child; one must not tip the arrow with poison; one must not attack someone from behind; these acts are sinful and lead to hell. The Rigvedic tribes of Indo-Aryans when invaded first in India did not possess the present caste system. The Kshatriya (“warrior”) came into being when society became organized. The kings were chosen from the Kshatriya caste, and it was their moral duty to curb the bad. The other castes were Brahmin (“priest”), Vaishya (“merchant”), and Shudra (“common”). The Shudra caste also included the members of the conquered race. Later, these castes divided into various subcastes, and exogamous groups. When a king contemplated invading a country or waging a war, he sent an ambassador to the opposite king with a message “fight or submit.” In the epic Mahabharata, there is reference of such ambassador’s role for negotiation by Krishna. This epic describes the war between two royal clans of the same family, the Kauravas and Pandavas. Arjuna, a Pandavas prince, faced a dilemma whether it is noble to wage a war against his kinsmen and teachers. Krishna advised him that it is necessary to fight a just war to overcome the bad. The teachings of Krishna to Arjuna in the war are later known as the famous text Bhagavad Gita. This philosophy of just war founded the ethics of war in India, such as the practice of stopping war at sunset, and others. Manusmriti (“the laws of Manu”) describes three duties of a king: he should not shrink from battle, he should protect his people, and he should attend the Brahmin. A king must defend himself when he is challenged. He must give priority to the lives of his subjects, and he must sacrifice his life if it requires protecting the lives of others. Manusmriti establishes rules for the conduct of the rulers. These codes say that a king should not fight with concealed weapons in woods or use weapons that are barbed, poisoned, or ablaze; and the battle should be an honest duel. Moreover, he writes, let not strike one who has surrendered, or who is a eunuch, or someone who is sitting or sleeping. Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, wrote a famous treatise, Arthashastra, where he counseled that it is better to wage war against an unjust king who has no democratic support. His counseling helped Chadragupta Maurya to defeat Nanda kings and also prevented Seleucus from invading India from the west. Furthermore, he discussed it is wise to avoid war with a righteous king. He pointed out that when there is a choice between a righteous king and unjust king, a war should be waged against the latter because even unjust kings’ subjects will not help them in the war. However, few ancient texts provide references to unrighteous war for the sake of selfpreservation of the state. One such text is Sukras Nitisara by Sukracharya, where he pointed out that a weak king always had a problem in maintaining a state, and therefore he suggested three courses of action to strengthen the kingdom. A weak king should enter into a sanddhi (“treaty”) with his enemy, or resort to mantra yuddha (“a war of intrigues”) and kuttayuddha (“unrighteous war”). In the last two kinds of war he suggested to invade the enemies’ kingdom from the rear and all sides to harass him. Kautilya mentioned three types of wars that would be beneficial for the state: open war, concealed war, and silent war. The ancient Indian texts prescribed humanitarian treatment in the war. Manu lay down that the combat between the same rank and position warriors is permitted. Collective attacks against a single warrior or temporarily disadvantaged soldier was not allowed. Ramayana

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provides reference that an ambassador should not be slain. Mahabharata and Ramayana tell the story where the weapons of mass destruction were avoided. Kautilya directed a king for the humanitarian treatment toward the defeated army soldiers. He wrote that a king should release the captured soldiers once the war is over. The victorious king should keep a part of captured wealth and the rest he should distribute among his armed forces. A righteous king only kills an unjust person but he does not confiscate his wives, sons, and property. A victorious king should not impose his culture or tradition on the defeated people; moreover, he should pay respect to the local deities and gods. Many of Kautilya’s ideas about war followed the traditional advice provided in Dharma Shastra. The laws in ancient India were more humane and broader, and they were confirmed to the Hindu religious texts. See alsoIndia; Religion and War Amitabh Vikram Dwivedi http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483359878.n299 10.4135/9781483359878.n299 Further Readings Ferguson, John. War and Peace in the World’s Religions. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. H i n d u W i s d o m. “W a r i n A n c i e n t I n d i a,” 2006. http://www.hinduwisdom.info/War_in_Ancient_India.htm#The%20Laws%20of%20War (Accessed May 22, 2014). Hume, Robert E. “Hinduism and War.” American Journal of Theology 20/1 (1916): 31–44. Jayaram, V. “Hinduism Beliefs About War.” Hinduwebsite.com—The Real Hindu Website. http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_war.asp (Accessed May 22, 2014). Miller, Barbara Stoler. The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna’s Counsel in Time of War. New York: Bantam Books, 1986. Popovski, Vesselin, Gregory M. Reichberg, and Nicholas Turner. World Religions and Norms of War. Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2009. Subedi, Surya P. “The Concept in Hinduism of ‘Just War’.” Journal of Conflict and Security Law 8/2 (2003): 339–361.

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The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives