War Ethics And Rules Of Engagement In The MAHABHARAT

The laws of armed conflicts were founded in ancient India on the principle of humanity. The ancient Hindu texts clearly recognized the distinction between military targets, which could be attacked, and non-military persons and objects, which could not be attacked. Warfare was thus largely confined to combatants, and only the armed forces were legitimate targets. It was not allowed to destroy  either cities or towns during war. Humanitarian considerations are also a powerful motivating force behind the codification of modern international humanitarian law, the main objective of which is to limit the suffering caused by war.

In Hindu tradition the spirit of unity and universality extends to the whole world. The Rig Veda declares that “there is one race of human beings,” so the validity of different traditions, religions, indeed of paths to truth, has always been respected. Our guiding principle has been “Sarva Dharma Sambhava(respect for all religions).” In ancient times the first and foremost duty of the king was to protect his people. Protection consisted in countering internal threats as well as external aggression to man’s liberty.Hinduism,like most religions, believes that war is undesirable because it involves the killing of fellow human beings and hence should be avoided as a means of settling disputes.However, it does acknowledge that there might be situations when it is better to wage war than to tolerate evil.

Already in ancient India, the importance and necessity of a standing military force was understood. This recognition subsequently led to the maintenance of a permanent militia to fight off any kind of opposition and aggression.The armed forces were thus also etained in times of peace. Interestingly, it was widely acknowledged that peaceful remedies should be exhausted before having recourse to armed force. Ancient India developed a method in four successive stages for the settlement of disputes between States: the first stage is called peaceful negotiation (sama); the second stage consists of offering gifts (dana) to appease the enemy; the third is a veiled threat (bheda); and the last stage allows the use of force (danda).The clash of arms in battle is therefore clearly undesirable as long as it can be avoided. The policy of conciliation and making gifts should be tried first before engaging in war.

War Ethics And  Rules Of Engagement  In The  MAHABHARAT:

1. War is to begin at sunrise and end at sunset.

2. A single warrior cannot be attacked by multiple warriors.

3. Warriors that had the same weapon and mount, i.e., horse,  elephant,chariot or on foot can duel with each other.

4. A warrior that has surrendered cannot be injured or killed.

5. The surrendered warrior becomes a prisoner of war and is subject to the protections allocated to such a warrior.

6. An unarmed warrior cannot be injured or killed.

7. A warrior with his back turned away from the opponent cannot be injured or killed.

8. A person or animal not partaking in the battle cannot be killed.

9. An animal in battle cannot be killed unless it is considered a direct threat.

10. Each weapon carried in battle came with certain rules that had to be complied with. As an example, it was prohibited to strike the enemy below the waist in a battle with mace.

11. The war had to be just and warriors were not to engage in an unjust war.

12. Land was not to be harmed in any shape or form.

13. Farmers were to be unaffected in a battle and their lives, along with those of women and prisoners of war were considered sacred.