Page:A Short History of Aryan Medical Science.djvu/24

16 of the art of war, and mentions different kinds of weapons classified under four heads : (1) Mukta (missive), as the discus, etc, (2) Amukta (non-missive), as the sword, etc. (3) Muktamukta (both missive and non-missive), as the javelin, etc. (4) Yantra-mukta (machine-projectile), as the arrow, etc. The army consisted of infantry, cavalry, car-fighters and warriors fighting on elephants. They were known by the name of Padati, Ashvarudha, Ratharudha, and Gajarudha respectively. The Hindoos have had from a primeval period a fighting class called the Kshatriyas.

Hindoo Law is as old as their religion. Manu is the oldest of Hindoo writers on Law ; and his book of Institutes still forms the basis of the Hindoo social fabric. It is an important record of Hindoo society at least three thousand years old. Other writers on Law, like Yajnavalkya, Parashara, etc., are also held in great reverence, and are still quoted as high authorities in deciding subtle points of dispute.

India out-distances all the countries in the world in the domain of Philosophy. There are six systems of Indian Philosophy, called Darshanas, or ' Mirrors of Knowledge.' These are