Rathamausala

[Ade G]

A friend is trying to model a Rathamausala for his Indian army - currently his research shows a helicopter-bladed cart affair pushed by horse-power - is this close?

[Jim Webster]

I've heard that description is some of the 20th century Indian discussion but whether or not it's correct I don't know.

[Ade G]

I've heard that description is some of the 20th century Indian discussion but whether or not it's correct I don't know.

Cheers Jim - my mate showed me a drawing recreating such a thing - looks very like the da Vinci creation

[Erpingham]

Google pulls up some images from a Bollywood epic showing the vehicle as a chariot pushing an upturned hover mower on a long pole in front of the horses.

[Jim Webster]

Start watching at about one minute in

[Duncan Head]

I've posted this to a couple of online fora before, I think:

V R Ramachandra Dikshitar, "War in Ancient India" (New Delhi 1944, 1987), p.126:

"In the famous work Uvasagadasao there is the story of the war between Kuniya (Ajatasatru) and his uncle Chedaga. The story is historical. In it two engines of war were put into use. One was a mahasilakuntaka and the other rathamusala. The Prakrit text of the Bhagavati (Benares ed. pp. 500-1) describes these two engines. From this description it seems that the first weapon was of the nature of a catapult which threw big stones on the enemy. The second was a sort of clubbed chariot. Perhaps it resembled the scythed chariot of the ancient Persians. The peculiarity of the rathamusala was that this chariot moved on without horses and with no driver. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that this weapon of war should have been provided with some contrivance to propel it. We are not however in an position to show the nature of this contrivance. (Uvasagadasao - trn. by A F R Hoernle (Calcutta 1888) Vol. II Appendix pp. 59-60). The same story is told in one of the tales in the Kathakosa which are illustrative of the tenets and practice of Jainism. (See C H Tawney - Kathakosa p.179, Oriental Translations Fund, London 1895. See also H C Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India IV. ed. Calcutta, pp172-3)."

A K Srivastava, "Ancient Indian Army: Its Administration and Organisation" (New Delhi 1985), p. 38:

"Ratha Musala: This arm was a mechanical chariot and wreaked carnage in the enemy files. Hornle believes it to be a scythed chariot provided with some sort of self-propelled machinery. Possibly someone from inside rotated its wheel in the manner of the mediaeval practice. Ajatasatru had pressed them into service. Bana and Dandi also refer to such vehicles."

And that is, I think, about all there is in terms of actual source material.

[Justin Swanton]

A K Srivastava, "Ancient Indian Army: Its Administration and Organisation" (New Delhi 1985), p. 38:

"Ratha Musala: This arm was a mechanical chariot and wreaked carnage in the enemy files. Hornle believes it to be a scythed chariot provided with some sort of self-propelled machinery. Possibly someone from inside rotated its wheel in the manner of the mediaeval practice. Ajatasatru had pressed them into service. Bana and Dandi also refer to such vehicles."

[Ade G]

Thank you all - I shall pass the information on