Ksattra: The Tradition of Valour in India

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Bharata has been a land of plenty in many ways. We have had a timeless tradition of the twofold principle of Brahma (spirit of wisdom) and Ksattra (spirit of valour) nourishing and protecting this sacred land. The Hindu civilisation, rooted in Sanatana-dharma, has constantly been enriched by brahma and safeguarded by ksattra

. The renowned Sanskrit poet and scholar, Satavadhani Dr. R Ganesh takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride through space and time, highlighting the dazzling acmes when ksattra shone brilliantly and also pointing out the despicable abysses when ksattra was all but forgotten.

This book is a must-read for all Indians in general and all students of Indian history in particular, for it paints an authentic picture of the past unlike the post-Independence History textbooks, which have attempted to whitewash the crimes against humanity committed by the Islamic invaders and downplayed the achievements of the native rulers who adhered to Sanatana-dharma. The spirit of valour tempered by wisdom ensured the continuity of our civilisation spanning more than seven millennia. We can forget this only at our own peril.

This book is a result of deep research spanning many years but it has been presented in an eminently readable form, accessible even to high school students. It has been adapted into English from Dr. Ganesh's bestselling Kannada work Bharatiya ksattra-paramparè ('Indian Kṣattra Tradition) by Sandeep Balakrishna and Hari Ravikumar, who are authors in their own right with several books to their credit.

Satavadhani R Ganesh is one of India's foremost Sanskrit poets and scholars. He writes and lectures extensively on various subjects pertaining to India and Indian cultural heritage. He is a master of the ancient art of avadhana, where he faces a group of eight (in astavadhana) or hundred (in satavadhana) questioners and in response to their many queries, composes extempore poems set to meter; solves poetic challenges; solves a magic square; keeps track of the count of a randomly rung bell; etc. Ganesh performs avadhana in Sanskrit, Telugu, and Kannada (he is credited with reviving the art of avadhana in Kannada.) He is fluent in many languages including Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Latin, Greek, Italian, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, and Marathi. He is well-versed in the Vedas, Upaniṣads, the later smrti texts, other systems of learning in the Indian spiritual and cultural canon like the Vedangas, the various classical texts on the arts like the Natya-sastra, and literature in classical Sanskrit.

Ganesh holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master's degree in Metallurgy as well as in Sanskrit. Hampi University awarded him a D. Litt. for his thesis, 'The Art of Avadhana in Kannada.' Tumkur University awarded him an honorary doctorate (D. Litt.) He is recipient of several awards and recognitions including the Badarayana-Vyasa Puraskar from the President of India for his contribution to the Sanskrit language.

For several decades now, there have been attempts to distort India's history, culture and traditions starting from the period of Islamic invaders. The distortions are largely the handiwork of British imperialists, the missionaries, and more recently, the Marxist historians and self-proclaimed intellectuals. The trend continues unabated even to this day.

At the root of these distortions lies a ruthless and sustained as-sault on everything that represents Bharatiya cultural ethos - be it traditional values, time-tested customs, and institutions. One has to question how it is, that, despite twelve centuries of sustained assault, Sanatana-dharma has continued to survive and thrive.

The history of the world shows that most ancient cultures and civilisations that encountered the Abrahamic religions-especially the proselytizing religions of Christianity and Islam-were wiped out within decades. The Hindu civilisation and perhaps the Chinese are the only exceptions. The land of Bharata is the sole survivor of the brutality inflicted upon it over millennia by fanatics who were opposed to natural living and inclusive philosophy and ways of life.

As an illustration of the engineered distortions mentioned above, recall this statement made by Syed Shahbuddin -

Because Hindus fear the Muslims, they have fallen on the path of secularism. Each time they were conquered by Muslim soldiers, they have learnt to sink and bend like powerless blades of grass. This can be seen several times in our history.'

If Shahbuddin's understanding of Indian history is accurate, isn't it strange that these 'powerless blades of grass' are still the majority in Bhärata?

To find an answer to this enigma, we have to explore the ancient concept of kşattra. This Sanskrit word can be loosely trans-lated as 'spirit of valour,' 'courage,' 'warrior spirit,' 'heroism,' 'self. less courage (in the context of war),' and so forth.

In an attempt to whitewash the Islamic invasions and their protracted rule of India as well as to downplay the greatness of Hindu India before the entry of Islam, a horde of Marxist historians began re-writing our history. Hindu empires of the pre-Islamic era were portrayed as bloodthirsty and oppressive. Hindu empires that challenged or resisted Islamic invasion were painted as rebels and upstarts.

However, the British took this to a truly devious level. They meticulously classified what they called the 'martial races' of India and then demonized those 'races' that posed the gravest physical threat first to the East India Company and then to the Empire; or those 'races' that rebelled against them the Nairs of Kerala being a case in point.

The history of the word thug, which eventually acquired an abusive connotation, one which survives till date, originates in the systematic campaign of vilification by the British of these proud and unyielding warriors. This slander campaign was successful. The Hindu society fell for it and began viewing the 'thugs' as evil people. And so it was with countless such 'races.'

In 2011, thanks to the generous support of the Gokhale Institute I of Public Affairs (GIPA), I had the opportunity to deliver a series of lectures titled 'Bharatiya Kşattra-parampare' on the tradition of valour in India. Those lectures were compiled and published in book-form in 2016. The one who played a major role in both these instances is the revered and adored elder, Nadoja Dr. S R Rama-swamy. I remain forever grateful to him. My thanks to all the indi-viduals at GIPA and Rashtrotthana Sahitya for their help!

More importantly, Sri Vighneshwar Bhat patiently went through all my lectures-which were haphazard and meandering, as lectures are wont to be and not only got it transcribed but also gave it a structure. It was Sri B S Ramu, who was responsible for recording the original lecture series. I remain indebted to both of them for their selfless efforts.

History is a subject that I have pursued seriously for a long time, but I am not a qualified historian nor a scholar of history. All that I claim is that I have sincerely and thoroughly read the writings of the great historians of the past to the best of my abilities. This work is a by-product of all my years of reading and research in this field-and I extend my heartfelt thanks to all those historians whose erudition have lit the path of my study. Wherever possible, in the course of the discussion, I have mentioned the sources and the historians whose work I have used. This being a transcription of a lecture series is not a serious work of scholarship envisioned as a treatise on history, so I have not included a bibliography nor foot-notes with mountains of citations. It is, however, my humble sub-mission that everything that I have said is backed with evidence.

If I have to broadly introduce the book, it is an examination of the development of the Indian tradition of valour starting from the Vedic period (c. 5000 BCE) all the way up to the Age of the Marathas, with 1857 CE as the cut-off point.

In this vast timespace, there are several details that have been lost and several others that are peripheral. Whatever I have left out is merely an indication of my own limitations and not in the least any disrespect to those topics. My attempt has been to share with you, in an intimate and lucid manner, the great milestones of the remarkable journey of the Indian ksattra tradition. And even for this, the main motivation has been the abysmal state of our history textbooks and the teaching of history to our children: sans reverence for the courage and sacrifice of our heroes or even desa-bhakti (loosely, 'patriotism'). The period after 1947 has seen a disgusting corruption of the education system, either because of lack of vision or wilful sabotage, and the aim of the present work is to make the newer generations aware of some of the fundamental facts that have been concealed. If the perusal of this work leads to an objective re-examination of our history without abandoning desa-bhakti, I will deem my labours amply rewarded.

I have not dealt with the tradition of valour seen in World War I and in later times. Apart from the fact that my familiarity with that period in history is limited, there are several books that deal with this era, some of which are published by Rashtrotthana Sahitya.

My friends Sandeep Balakrishna and Hari Ravikumar have added value and grace to my work through their translation and I am left with no words to thank them adequately for this great favour they have done to me. My heartfelt thanks to my young friend Shashi Kiran B N for his painstaking efforts in thoroughly reviewing the manuscript, adding diacritical marks, cross-verify-ing references, and filling a few gaps with his own translation.

Bharata has always been a land of plenty-in no small part Bowing to its unique geography. Many people from around the world looked upon India with reverence and awe; there were others who desired to grab it and make it their own. For over two thousand years, India has been attacked by foreign forces, yet it is the only unbroken civilisation in the world, with a cultural history of over seven millennia-and a Hindu majority country to this day. One who wishes to learn how this was possible will do well to examine the concepts of brahma and ksättra. We may liken the former to the mind and the latter to the body. The spirit of wisdom driving the spirit of valour to ultimately serve the greater purpose of dharma or sustainability of the culture. As we read these pages, we will realise that the foremost duty-nay, the raison d'être of ksättra is to protect, defend, and uphold dharma.

Satavadhani Dr. R Ganesh's work of popular history entitled Bharatiya ksattra-paramparè' in Kannada accomplishes the rare feat of giving us an insight into the Indian tradition of kşättra (which has been, during its glorious peaks, tempered by brahma). This book charts a new course in a niche realm of the civilizational, cultural, and socio-political history of Bharata.

It is appropriate that ksattra represents the sarira (body) of our civilization, for indeed the body is the basic instrument we possess in order to accomplish acts of dharma-a sentiment that has been captured in the timeless words of Kalidasa: sariram-ädyam khalu dharma-sadhanam.

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