Age of (Divya)Astras?

April 2, 2026April 1, 2026 Vikram M Rhinduism, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

Remember the event during the swayamvara of Draupadi in the Mahabharata, when Arjuna shoots an arrow through the eye of a model fish that is rotating above a pool of water, while looking at the reflection of the fish in the pool? It was an incredible feat of archery! A similarly incredible use of technology was seen in July 2022 when a variant of the Hellfire missile, the R-9X was used to assassinate the then leader of the Al Qaeda.

Watch between the 32 and 34 minute mark in the above video

This variant of the missile called “AGM-11R-9X” is supposedly called the “ninja missile”. It has no explosive warhead. 6 blades extend from the sides of the missile when it is striking the target that it destroys. The lack of explosives minimizes collateral damage. In effect, it is a modern-day arrow! The archer need not be Arjuna though, or even a human! The missile can be fired from a drone, from a considerable distance.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62400923 – This article has an image of the missile being discussed (I could not find an image on Wikipedia or a duty free image)

Now consider this event from the Ramayana. When Rāvana shot an arrow at Vibheeshana, Lakshmana shot that arrow out of the sky. This is an impressive feat of archery as well, intercepting a fast-moving arrow with another one. And this feat is seen over and over in our modern world. One just needs to look at the news these days and all one sees are missiles being intercepted other missiles.

Lakshmana’s arrow intercepting Rāvana’s arrow. Image credit – “Ramayana”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

The ability to intercept incoming missiles, whether they are ballistic missiles, cruise missile, drones or drone swarms seems key to surviving modern day warfare. One of the missiles that comes close to replicating Lakshmana’s feat is likely the Stunner missile that is used by Israel as part of its David Sling air defence system. This missile also carries no warhead.

It uses a “kinetic warhead” to destroy the incoming threat, be it a rocket or aircraft or drone or cruise missile. “Kinetic warhead” means that the missile physically strikes the target it is supposed to destroy. In this sense, it is exactly like an archer shooting down an arrow.

Image of Stunner missile. Observe the unusual “Dolphin Nose” on the missile. Image credit – Wikipiedia.

Now consider the use of the Narāyanāstra by Ashwatthama on the 15^th day of the Kurukshetra War in the Mahabharata. The use of this celestial weapon causes weapons of all forms to rain down on the Pandava forces, including maces, chakras and flaming arrows. It is literally an inescapable rain of death from the sky. And this scary occurrence is something we see happening routinely in the wars being waged all around.

The above 2 images show the Nārayanāstra being invoked by Ashwatthama and the effects of the Astra. Credit for the images – “Mahabharata 37 – Karna in Command”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Ballistic missile these days have MIRV capability. MIRV stands for “Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle”. It means that each missile carries multiple warheads. This causes one missile to strike multiple targets! Again, a rain of destruction over a large area from the sky.

The above image shows the use of MIRV, where multiple warheads are present in the same missile. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Even at a much lower technology level, this has been happening for decades. Consider rocket artillery. A barrage of rockets is fired at targets several kilometres away, to flatten the target area. The Indian version of this weapon is called “Pinaka”. Pinaka is the bow wielded by Lord Shiva, a weapon that can wreck incredible destruction.

The above image shows the Indian version of the Smerch multi-barrel rocket launcher. This is similar to the Pinaka system. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Consider the attack by King Sālva against the city of Dwaraka, the city of Lord Krishna. Sālva obtains a chariot that can fly as a boon. He uses it to carry out aerial attacks on the city. The ability to launch attacks from the air gives him a great advantage. He is safe, far away from the reach of the defenders of the city. This situation from the Hindu epic seems to have come true in the times we live in.

Sālva attacks Dwaraka with his flying chariot. Image credit – “Krishna and Rukmini”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

While we know that archers shot arrows in the past, the platforms that carried the archers to the place where they launched the attack were vitally important. In the past, the platform was the horse and even before that, it was the chariot. And modern-day aircraft are the equivalent of chariots of the past.

A chariot was a platform with a large store of weapons. Image credit – “Mahabharata 30 – The War Begins”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

With the increasing range of beyond visual rage missiles and the development of stand-off range weapons, aircraft these days have become delivery platforms for weapons. They stay away from the target, away from any anti-aircraft defences the target might possess. And the range of missiles means that aircraft no longer need to get stuck in dogfights. So, the aircraft of today and perhaps of the near future will derive an advantage by being capable of having large payloads of weapons. Chariots of old carried a lot of weapons and in this aspect, modern aircraft are the concept of the chariot reach its current pinnacle.

A modern Indian Su 30 MKI, with a large payload of weapons. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Let me return to the Stunner missile I mentioned earlier. Observe the tip of this missile. It does not have the usual tip that looks like a spear point, which is seen in many missiles. The Stunner missile has what is referred to as a “Dolphin Nose”. The nose of the missile has this unique design due to the sensors it supposedly uses to track and strike the incoming missiles it is targeting. Similarly observe the tip of the Brahmos missile developed by India & Russia. Its tip is different as well; due to the way its ramjet engine is utilized.

The above image shows the different types of nose cones of different missiles. Credit for all images – Wikipedia.

This is not unlike the past, where arrowheads of different types were used for different purposes. There were broad heads, bodkins, swallowtails, crescent shapes and these arrowhead types were used for different purposes. Bodkin heads were used for armour penetration, swallowtails for hunting and crescent shapes for hunting birds. If missiles are the gigantic arrows of the present, humankind is doing just what it did in the past.

Different arrowheads – the one at the bottom is a swallowtail, the one at the top is a bodkin, the above the swallowtail is a crescent and the one in the middle is a broadhead. Image credit – Wikipedia.

An assortment of arrowheads as used during the time Maharana Pratap, late 16th century CE. This is an image from the museum at the City Palace, Udaipur, Rajashtan.

Today’s missiles have a measure of accuracy called CEP (circular error probable), which is measured in mere metres. This is the measure of the radius within which 50% of the fired missiles will strike. If the target is the centre of the circle with the defined radius, the smaller the radius, the more accurate the missile. Cruise missiles tend to be more accurate compared to Ballistic missiles.

The accuracy of some missiles is such that they can strike individuals standing on a balcony to avoid collateral damage! This is what happened in the initial example I had shared, with the “Ninja Missile”. This also a culmination in modern times of a skillset always cherished by humanity, that of accuracy.

An example of this is again seen in the Kurukshetra War of the Mahabharata. Duryodhana dons an impenetrable armour given to him by Drona. So, Arjuna targets Duryodhana’s fingernails as they are not protected by the same armour! Imagine striking targets as small as an opponent’s fingernails from a moving chariot, who is also on a moving chariot! The skill of the archer would be a marvel to this day! And modern missiles can achieve something equivalent, that is an even greater wonder!

The above 2 images depict Arjuna targeting Duryodhana’s fingernails. Image credit – “Mahabharata 33 – Drona’s Vow”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

For decades now, a lot of us Indians, born in the 20^th century, have been used to a specific representation of archers fighting each other due to what was shown on TV and even on the big screen. In the mid-80s the Ramayana was telecast on Doordarshan (India’s state broadcaster) during prime time. It was supremely successful and defined fantasy combat using bows and arrows for multiple generations. The visual effects were very poor by today’s standards, but back then the joy it generated is indescribable.

In that serial and many others televising stories from Hindy culture, archery was always shown one on one. Almost all the time, these archers would use “Divyāstras”, which are celestial weapons. Sometimes these weapons, in the form of arrows, appear on the utterance of a mantra. At other times, an archer utters a mantra, which invokes the divine weapon onto the arrow that he or she is about to shoot.

Once the celestial weapon has been invoked and shot as an arrow, the opposing archer would invoke a counter astra, to overcome the effect of the astra coming at him or her. The two arrows fly through the air or space and face off against each other, when one arrow is defeated, signifying a loss for the archer who shot the same. This would continue until one archer was killed.

The above 2 videos are from the old Ramayana TV serial from the mid-80s. This clarifies what I was trying to describe in the previous paragraphs.

This was fantasy back in the day, but modern combat seems remarkably similar to what was depicted in old TV serials! Modern combat seems to be all about missiles and drones targeting locations on the ground while trying to survive other missiles or drones launched to destroy the same. It is missile vs missile, missile vs gunfire, drone vs missile, drone vs drone and drone vs gun.

Of course, there are other methods like electromagnetic pulses that are used to take down drones and drone swarms, which are called “soft kill” options. As I have been mentioning all along, drones and missiles are the arrows of today, and when they fight each other, it is exactly like the arrows facing off in old tele serials!

Examples of this are seen everyday on TV in the war currently being waged all over West Asia. Missiles and drones are being shot down everyday with other missiles, guns, lasers (!) and other methods. These defences are being overcome with the sheer number of drones in specific instances. In an Indian context, in May 2025, India defeated Pakistani attempts to attack India with missiles and swarms of drones during Operation Sindoor. India shot down a Fatah 2 missile with an MRSAM (medium range surface to air missile) and took down over a thousand drones over 3 nights with guns, missiles, jamming devices and other soft kill options.

On the 12^th day of the Kurukshetra war, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, is fighting Shalya, the king of Madra. During the fight, Abhimanyu catches an arrow shot at him by Shalya with his bare hands and then shoots the arrow back at Shalya, to great effect! This has still not happened. We do not have giant Mecha that can “catch a flying missile” and redirect it at the point of launch. But there is an interesting parallel to this situation in modern warfare.

Abhimanyu captures Shalya’s missile and sends it back at him. Image credit – “Mahabharata 33 – Drona’s Vow”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

During Operation Sindoor, Pakistan launched several PL15E missiles at Indian aircraft. Most or all of these were rendered useless by the defensive abilities of Indian aircraft, including electronic countermeasures. Some of these PL15E missiles were retrieved from the ground in a largely intact condition. This recovery meant that India could study these missiles and refine counter measures to the PL family if missiles used by China. The parameters of the missiles like the radar it used, its fuel, its electronics would be valuable data to use in a future conflict. I think the term many in the defence circles use is acquisition of electronic signatures and adding to threat libraries to counter future threats with the capture of these missiles.

I will add an aside here. India’s primary family of beyond visual range (BVR) air to air missiles is the “Astra” family of missiles. The Astra Mk1 is operational. Astra Mk2 is about a year away becoming operational. Astra Mk3 has been renamed Gandiva and is under development. The Gandiva is an Indian equivalent of the European Meteor, being a Solid Ducted Fuel Ramjet (SFDR) driven missile.

A few months ago, it was revealed that the range of both the Astra Mk1 and Mk2 have been improved significantly. After this revelation it was mentioned by some on social media that this range extension was due to the data gathered by studying the captured Chinese missile! Apparently, a fuel called CL20 was used in the PL15E, which was replicated by Indian defence research agencies and using this new fuel helped increase the range of the fuel.

Adi Achint, the host of this channel has quite astute observations on many aspects military and geopolitical. This seems like a rare misstep (in my personal opinion), where it is mentioned that the captured Chinese missile led to the improvement in the Indian missile.

The story was later mentioned as being flawed. The range improvement was indeed due to an improved fuel for the Astra missile, with a better Octane Rating. But this improvement was a completely indigenous achievement. It had nothing to do with the data from the downed Chinese missile.

This video explains that the improvement in the Indian missile was entirely due to the efforts of Indian Defence Research Agencies.

Another example of “capturing a missile and sending it back”, in my opinion, is with the Shahed 136 drone developed by Iran. The Shahed 136 drone is a low-cost attack (kamikaze) drone with a turbo prop engine developed by Iran. The low cost meant that it could be produced in very large numbers. Russia imported these drones for use in its war with Ukraine. Russia called this drone, “Geran”. Russia made its own improvements to the “Geran family” of drones, including adding a turbojet engine.

After the Iran-Israel conflict that occurred during Operation Rising Lion in July 2025, a few Shahed drones were acquired by the USA. The USA produced its own version of the Shahed design, called “Lucas”. Now, India has produced a drone with its own improvements, including swarming capability, based on the design of the Shahed. India’s version is called the “Sheshnaag 150”. This is a classic version of “capturing a missile and sending it back”. Everyone now seems to have a variant of the Shahed drone which they can use against each other!

The above images shows the Iranian Shahed 136 (Top Left), The Russian Geran 2 (Top Right), the US LUCAS (Bottom Left) and the Indian Sheshnaag 150 (Bottom Right). Image credit for all images except that of the Sheeshnaag 150 – Wikipedia. Image credit for the Sheshnaag 150 image – NDTV.

If one reads the graphic novel rendition of the Mahabharata published Amar Chitra Katha over 42 issues, it will be evident that the greatest warriors are the ones who fight mostly from chariots or sometimes from elephant back. Warriors who fight from chariots even had a classification system to determine how great a warrior was (Rathi, Atirathi and Maharathi). One of the most commonly used methods to disable these great warriors was to destroy their weapons or chariots.

The bow of an opponent being targeted. Image credit – “Mahabharata 31 – Bheeshma in Command”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Perhaps it was difficult to defeat the warrior. So, their bows, shields and chariots were targeted. A warrior without a bow to shoot arrows from diminishes as a threat except in close quarters. In a chariot, the charioteer and horses were prime targets to disable the mobility of a warrior. Barring these 2, the wheels of a chariot were targets. All of this again, helps diminish the threat of a warrior by affecting his or her mobility.

The chariot was a prime target. Image credit – “Mahabharata 31 – Bheeshma in Command”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

This seems remarkably similar to targeting missile launchers and weapons stores to weaken enemy nations. Similarly, aircraft and runways are targeted to take air power off the board in a war. Further command centres are targeted to eliminate leadership and trained personnel who can coordinate a war. All of this significantly reduces the ability of a defence force to be a threat.

This is true for defensive system as well. An air defence system like the S-400 Triumf, Akash or the HQ16 consists of mobile units which shift their position after firing at enemy assets in the air. This is to survive any attack from other aircraft that might attack that position after the coordinates of the threat are identified and relayed back. This mobility is, if I am not wrong is called “shoot and scoot”.

The defensive formations possess multiple radars operating at different frequencies. These radar waves can be detected and hence reveal the location of the air defence units. Anti-radiation missiles that lock onto the source of the radar waves are used to target these radars.

Even loitering munitions that stay in the air just waiting for a radar to be turned on are used to target air defence units. The moment a radar comes on, the loitering munition, which is nothing but a suicide (kamikaze) drone attacks the radar and blinds the air defence system. It also creates a hole in the overall air defence web that can be exploited by enemies.

In a slightly twisted manner, there is something vaguely similar to a loitering munition in the Mahabharata. After Arjuna slays Jayadratha in the evening of the 14^th day of the Kurukshetra war, he cannot allow the severed head of Jayadratha to fall on the ground. Jayadratha has a boon of protection from his father, due to which, anyone who causes the lifeless head of his son to fall on the ground will have his or her own head explode!

Jayadratha’s father is mediating far away from the battlefield. So, Arjuna has to keep shooting arrows into the head to make it travel all the way to where Jayadratha’s father is sitting in meditation and make the severed head fall into the lap of the father. When the shocked father stands up, the head falls onto the ground and his own head explodes! This is because the father was responsible for his own son’s lifeless head to fall to the ground, as it fell from his lap. So, with a lot of hand waving, the head could be a loitering munition, for it was in the air until it found its target, which was Jayadratha’s father!

Arjuna ensures that Jayadratha’s head lands on the lap of his father, by keeping the head flying for a while. Image credit – “”Mahabharata 35 – Arjuna fulfills his vow”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

One thing that loitering munitions and swarms of drones cannot destroy are assets and people protected in hardened shelters and buried in bunkers underground. To reach and destroy these assets, bunker buster bombs and missiles with penetrative tips are required. This again is not unlike developing arrows that can penetrate armour. Modern bunkers are like protective armour on steroids.

Armour penetration is the reason bodkin tipped arrows were developed, for normal broad heads could not penetrate many forms of armour used in the past. This was a problem that was confronted all through history. In medieval Indian history there is a popular example of the use of a javelin to great effect.

Amar Singh, the son of Maharana Pratap, hurled a javelin with such force that it went right through an armoured Sultan Khan and his horse! Sultan Khan was the leader of the Mughal forces during the battle of Dewair in 1582, which Maharana Pratap won and retook most of Mewar from the Mughals.

A painting depicting Sultan Khan being impaled by Amar Singh at the Battle of Dewair in 1582. Photo of the painting a the Pratap Vijay Memorial in Dewair, Rajasthan.

On the other hand, a drone swarm is like a rain of arrows. This was a technique used in history by many cultures. The English used massed archers to great effect against the French at the Battles of Crecy and Agincourt. Here, armoured knights were protected from the arrows, but their horses were not, and the volume of arrows caused severe problems in mobility on a sodden battlefield.

In Indian history, in 1192, during the 2^nd Battle of Tarain, the armies of Prithviraj Chauhan could not contend with the “Parthian Shot” used by the cavalry of Mohammad of Ghor. The “Parthian Shot” is a circular formation used by Turkic armies to pepper enemy armies with arrows to prevent them from getting into close quarter combat.

The legionnaires of Rome used the turtle (testudo) formation to protect themselves from arrows of enemy archers as they closed the distance. The turtle formation involved soldiers building a protective enclosure for themselves using their own shields. So, a swarm of arrows or any projectile was always a known threat to armies and their assets. Modern armed forces use multiple innovations to protect themselves from modern rains of arrows, which are drone swarms.

A reenactment of the Testudo formation. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Tanks have, since the Ukraine war started in early 2022, evolved to have “Cope Cages”. These are metal grills added on to the top of tanks. This innovation has come about because drones started attacking the top of tanks, where their armour is the weakest. This metal grill acts as a net to stop the drone or the ordinance it drops from impacting the tank directly.

Apart from this, defence against drones and drone swarms has evolved rapidly into many forms. There are the usual interceptor missiles. These days there are also lasers that take down drones and missiles as well. And then there are the soft kill options like jamming a drone or a swarm that knocks them all out of the sky. A fantastic example of jamming a drone swarm is by another drone!

The Raytheon Coyote Block 3 drone uses a High-Power Microwave emitter to jam drone swarms. It flies past a swarm and knocks them all to the ground! The short video linked below demonstrates the same. Interestingly one of the systems India will soon use against drone swarms is named after a person from Hindu tradition. The system is called the “Bhargavastra”.

This video shows the Raytheon Coyote Block 3 drone in action.

The Bhargavāstra is a celestial weapon deployed by Karna during the Kurukshetra War. It caused a lot of damage to the Pandava forces. It was a weapon created by Karna’s guru, Lord Parashurāma. Parashurāma is descended for Maharishi Bhrigu, which makes him a Bhārgava, hence the weapon he created was called the “Bhargavāstra”.

One of the multiple options that the modern Bhargavastra will use to take down drones is a set of “micro missiles”. These are supposedly missiles that will explode in close proximity to a drone swarm. This explosion will create a cloud/curtain of shrapnel perpendicular to the direction of flight of the missiles. The drone swarm will have to fly through this barrier of shrapnel, which will shred the drones! The micro missiles used here seem to use a proximity fuse which results in their exploding before close to the swarm.

The above video from the channel “Alpha Defense” describes the working of the Bhargavastra.

I must mention a pop-culture reference here, from the book and TV series, “The Expanse”. In the series, large spaceships fight each other. All of these ships possess several “Point Defence Cannons” (PDCs). These are gatling guns that fire tungsten bullets to take down incoming missiles. Most of these rounds do not strike any target and keep flying through space without slowing down, as there is no friction in the vast emptiness.

In book 6 of the series, “Babylon’s Ashes”, the main character Naomi Nagata carries out a fantastic maneuver. She fires off lots of PDC rounds into space. Then she makes an enemy ship fly into the swarm of tungsten bullets by some interesting tactics! It is fantastic to read this sequence. This entire solution seems very reminiscent of what the Bhargavastra will do to drone swarms.

The cover of Book 6 of The Expanse novel series, titled “Babylon’s Ashes”. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Considering that drones are preferred these days due to their low cost and low technological input, there seems to be another parallel from history for this. Drones can affect all manner of assets and human lives, and can be manufactured in very large numbers by organizations that do not have large quantities of resources like money, manpower and technology. This makes them the weapon of choice in all manner of modern conflicts including asymmetric ones.

During the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries CE, the Chinese developed the repeating crossbow. This weapon was smaller and had a shorter ranger than conventional crossbows. But they made up for this deficiency with a larger rate of fire. A large number of small bolts could be fired even by a soldier without too much training. This weapon was supposedly used to defend specific points like gateways and ships. This is like a modern-day machine gun perhaps, but with arrows/bolts instead of bullets. These days drones are becoming bullets, with a focus on low cost, low manufacturing time and a requirement in very large numbers.

The one thing that has remained constant is the development of technology over many millennia. This continuous development has literally made the concepts in stories from Hindu culture come alive in current times. Projectile weapons went from sharpened sticks to sticks with flint points. The atlatl was invented to increase the range of the javelin.

The invention of bows and arrows increased range further. Archery technology never ceased to stop improving, from optimized wood to composite bows (which needs the right glue, right sinew etc.) to variation is arrowheads and fletching. Even channels (called nalika in India) to shoot arrows that shorter than the draw length of a bow were developed!

The above video is a fantastic exploration of historical Indian archery, from the channel “Sangam Talks”. The “nalika” is seen between the 31 and 32 minute mark.

With the domestication of horses came chariots and these, over time, gave way to just cavalry, with the invention of the saddle and stirrup. Cavalry stayed a constant in warfare until the First World War! Projectiles became musket balls and then bullets and now we are back to the age of projectiles, just scaled up from the past exponentially!

The range and precision of the new missiles have been made possible by an increase in intelligence and communication technology! Network centric warfare and an ability of countries with low earth observing satellites added to electronic and human intelligence have made every missile as deadly as the Divyāstras from the tales!

The aircraft or launcher that fires the missile no longer needs to be guided from the point of launch. Other radars and satellites can guide them along to targets that move constantly! And drones can return to base to be reused if the target is not available! This is exactly like withdrawing an astra for later use! Like Arjuna did and Ashwatthama did not, at the very end of the Kurukshetra war!

Arjuna can withdraw the weapon, but not Ashwatthama. Image credit – “Mahabharata 39 – After the war”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

The ability to know everything that is happening on any given battlefield even allows today’s battle management systems which are laced with AI, to match the ideal weapon for a given target! This level of knowledge is reminiscent of Sanjay’s Divyadrishti during the Kurukshetra War! He could see and hear everything that happened on all parts of the battlefield while being far away, thanks of course to divine abilities. This ability lasted him only for the duration of the war and for purposes of narrating the happenings to Dhritarashtra, not to actually fight.

Sanjaya can see and hear everything happening far away, thanks to his temporary “Divyadrishti”! Image credit – “Mahabharata 30 – The War Begins”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

In conclusion, we seem to have truly entered the age of Divyāstras! The celestial weapons and abilities described in the Mahabharata, Ramayana and other stories might be fictional, but certainly suggest that these weapons and abilities were aspirational for humans since times immemorial. We have always wanted to achieve the destruction these weapons are said to be capable of. And now, with human ingenuity, and centuries of technological development, these aspirations of destruction have become real.

The New 8-fold Path

February 11, 2026February 7, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

A few years ago, I had written an article about the “Ashtha Siddhi”. “Ashtha” means eight and “Siddhi” means achievement. So, “Ashtha Siddhi” means “eight achievements”. The link to the article is seen below.

The Ashta Siddhi and Budo

The 8 achievements can be applied brilliantly to the martial arts. They can also be applied to any conflict management situation any of us faces in daily life. These 8 traits could be explained in magical terms, but they can be as down to earth as necessary. I go into all of this in the article linked above. Do read the article for details.

This article, a much shorter one, is about how the “Ashtha Siddhi” seem to be the exact set of rules that are being applied in the various conflicts that are in the headlines these days. The war in Gaza is still on, the war in Ukraine is still on, a war seems to be brewing in Iran, a near war occurred in Venezuela, all of the Sahara is under military rule, a civil war is on in Myanmar & in Syria and Pakistan is constantly fighting Afghanistan. There is a potential of military conflict in a large part of the world!

The 8-fold path is related to Buddhism. From the little that I know, this is part of the teachings from the Buddha. The 8-fold path describes the way one should live life, in order to escape the many sorrows life throws at an individual.

Above image shows a collage of SCALP EG cruise missile (top left), Rampage missile (top right), SAAW bomb (bottom right) and the Harop loitering munition (bottom left). All images are from Wikipedia. All of these were used during Op Sindoor.

The 8-fold path and the “Ashtha Siddhi” have 8 tenets. But considering the conflict-ridden world we live in, it seems to me that the “Ashtha Siddhi” are currently more applicable, at least at the level of military and political manoeuvring. In that sense, the “Ashtha Siddhi” can, in my opinion, be called “The new 8-fold path”.

Seen below is a table which mentions the “Ashtha Siddhi” with some details. Each “Siddhi” is mentioned with its meaning, how it is achieved in a military conflict and an example of the same from Operation Sindoor, when India stole a march over Pakistan, in May 2025. These are just observations of mine, from a layman who has no military or political experience. The observations are based on the little I know from information available in the public domain and my experience in the martial arts.

Sl. No.	Siddhi	Definition	Activity/Objective	Example
1	Anima	Be as small as necessary	Achieve absolute superiority in the chosen or all domains/theatres of a given conflict	Destruction of specific terrorist bases or specific airfields.
2	Mahima	Be as large as necessary	Destroy a large number of targets with multiple precision missiles/guns/drones at the same time or use one powerful missile to cause damage over a large area.	Destruction of airfields across the length of Pakistan.
3	Laghima	Be as light as necessary	Use attack teams/launchers/guns/drones that are highly mobile and scoot after the attack. The time for set up of the weapon should not be too long.	Use weapons that only target AWACS or specific buildings in a civilian area.
4	Garima	Be as heavy as necessary	Use a large enough number of attack systems (launchers/guns/drones) that can coordinate and saturate an enemy’s position with firepower or attack a large enough number of enemy positions to break an enemy’s will. Have weapons that can cause very heavy damage either underground or across a horizontal area.	Use weapons that strike deep underground and eliminate the command-and-control structure of the enemy. At the same time destroy the officer’s mess to eliminate the people who man air assets.
5	Praapti	Be able to receive everything or anything that is needed, from information to attacks of the enemy.	Be able to receive all information from and about an enemy, from the psychology of the enemy leaders to the technical abilities of the opposition. Know all this, at all times and in real time. This includes AI to analyse data, ELINT, HUMINT, satellites and real time LEOs (Low Earth Observation). Be able to receive any attack with any weapon the enemy throws at you, with minimal or no damage, like with extraordinary air defences (which will not bankrupt you!)	Use AI to predict Pakistani deployments and the decision-making patterns of the enemy military leadership.
6	Prākāmya	Be able to take anything you need to, at any time (from the enemy in this case)	Be able to take out any enemy, enemy position or target with the right weapon needed for the target. Possess all types of weapons from sniper rifles to energy weapons to non-lethal weapons to artillery to drones to missiles to delivery platforms in a large enough quantity to never let the enemy recover.	Use different types of weapons from cold war era guns to indigenous Aakash missiles to Brahmos to S-400 to French and Israeli missiles for defence and offence as needed.
7	Vashitva	Be able to control everything	Control the battlefield and the escalation matrix	Destruction of terrorist bases without SEAD & DEAD operations initially and later, to show the enemy its place, nullify its ability to see and launch (by destroying AWACS, radar, airbases and air defence systems respectively).
8	Eeshitva	Be like a God (or “achieve Godhood”)	Achieve absolute superiority in the chosen or all domains/theatres of a given conflict	Force the Pakistani establishment to sue for a ceasefire which they refused 3 days earlier.

Above image shows a collage of the Akash missile (top left), Barak 8 missile (MRSAM/LRSAM – centre), Brahmos cruise missile (bottom left), S-400 Radar (right). All images are from Wikipedia. All of these were used during Op Sindoor.

Celebrate the Weapons!

January 22, 2026January 21, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

26^th January is celebrated as “Republic Day” in India. It is the day on which the Constitution was adopted in 1950 and India became a republic. Every year, there is a parade on Kartavya Path (formerly Raj Path) to celebrate this event. The event is presided over by the President of India and is accompanied a guest, who is generally a leader of another nation or a bloc of nations.

The Republic Day parade has cultural displays from many Indian states and Union Territories. Also a part of the event are marching contingents and bands from several units of India’s armed forces, police services and reserve troops. But the highlight of the event is always the display of several weapon systems, from the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The weapons and weapon systems displayed include not just offensive weapons like missiles and aircraft, but also defensive systems and force multipliers. These include radar and electronic warfare systems and also the AWACS and air to air refueling aircraft.

A little over 5 years ago, I had made a video that looks at historical weapons from an Indian perspective. That was the time of the pandemic, and we were all working from home. So, all celebrations that used to take place in the office as part of employee engagement were conducted virtually.

One of the celebrations that was done virtually was the Independence Day, on 15^th August. The video I had created was as part of that event. But considering that the video was all about weapons and the display of modern Indian weapons is a part of the Republic Day parade, I am sharing that old video as a part of this post.

Wish you all a pride filled Republic Day! 😊

Asura Planet

October 9, 2025September 13, 2025 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

In Hindu culture, the Asuras are very often seen in a negative light. Asuras, sometimes conflated with Rakshasas are, from a modern perspective, the villains in most of the stories we hear. But as we know these days, they are not villains. Some of them might end up becoming villains. More often than not, they are in opposition to the Devas.

The Asuras usually include the Daityas and Dānavas. Daityas, Dānavas and Devas are cousins. They end up battling for control of various realms often. While the stories we hear and read eventually end with the destruction of one or a few specific Asuras, it does not mean that they always end up on the losing side. They end up being the victors quite often.

It must also be remembered that while the Asuras are seen conquering the realm of the Devas (Swarga and its capital Amarāvati), and the realms of humans or Mānavās, the Asura realm is shown as being attacked or conquered by the Devas (never the Mānavās) only a few times. The Asuras regroup time after time under different leaders and attempt a new conquest. They succeed in their conquests quite often and subdue the realms of Devas and Mānavās. This conquest leads to an avatāra of Vishnu or Devi or Shiva to be responsible for saving the Devas and Mānavās.

The Asura Shumbha conquers Swarga. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

This sequence of events leads to interesting observations. Firstly, if the Asuras were rarely invaded and only defended against, it seems that they were too powerful to face offensive action. Only one of the Trimurthy or Devi could attack them and succeed. The two instances that I am aware of when the Devas attacked and defeated the Asuras was when Vrtra was slain and then when Viprachitti was defeated.

Secondly, it seems that the Asuras were the definition of resilience, innovation and perseverance. Every time they were defeated, they held out to rise in strength again. This is resilience. The next Asura leader performed great meditative penance (tapasya) to achieve a great boon from Lord Brahma. This boon nullified the advantage provided by the Amrita in the possession of the Devas. This is innovation. This process took years on end. But after this gap, the Asuras invaded again with the new leader and his or her powers and generally succeeded in defeating the Devas. They ruled Swarga for a long time after the victory before a divinity defeated them. This is perseverance.

Mahishi taunts the Devas after acquiring her Boon. Image credit – “Ayyappan”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

I mentioned the Amrita in the possession of the Devas in the previous paragraph. Amrita gave the Devas great health and immortality. This was an unbeatable technological advantage. To overcome this advantage, the boons the Asuras acquired were vital. This mitigated the advantage provided to the Devas by the Amrita, at least to a certain extent.

An aside – I have heard that this is a likely origin of the word “Asura”. During the Vedic Age when Yajnas were widely prevalent, two sacred drinks are mentioned as being offered to the Gods, Soma and Sura. These were not offered to some Gods. These Gods came to be “Asura” as “Sura” was not offered to them, the “A” indicating the lack of the offering. I am not sure if this is accepted by everyone or if it is just another theory.

The martial art I practice is the Bujinkan system of martial arts. The Bujinkan is sometimes referred to as “Ninjutsu”. But Ninjutsu, or Ninpo, is one of the facets of the martial arts practiced as part of the Bujinkan system. The “Nin” in both Ninjutsu and Ninpo, refers to “Perseverance”. So, Ninjutsu is “The Art of Perseverance” and Ninpo is “The Way of Perseverance”. And if the Asuras are the exemplars of perseverance, they are the true practitioners of Ninjutsu!

Historically speaking, the Devas in their primary roles are representative of the natural elements. Indra, the king of the Devas, is the God of Thunder and Lightning and Storms. This means that he is a personification of these natural forces. Similarly, Agni represents Fire, Vayu represents the Wind and Varuna represents water and water-bodies. Surya represents the Sun, Chandra or Soma the moon and one of the Vasus represents the Sky. The Ashvins represent healing properties, speed (horses) and safety during voyages. It seems to me like they represent the natural intelligence of humans to protect themselves.

Humans have striven from time immemorial to survive the elements. Over millennia they achieved mastery over the elements and learnt to thrive despite the elements. Now we have reached a stage where human actions are causing chaos in the elements in the form of climate change and devastating the natural world.

This flow of events over the last several thousand years suggests to me, that we are the Asuras. The Devas are nothing but the natural world as mentioned earlier. Humans initially cowered before the elements, but showed resilience to survive all ecosystems. This resilience and human expansion was facilitated by the continuous innovation demonstrated by humankind. The innovation took centuries in many instances, like the domestication of livestock, crops and most importantly, fire. The continuous flow of innovation is only possible through rugged survival. This is the perseverance of the human species as a whole.

So, humans have over several centuries demonstrated resilience, innovation and perseverance. With these traits, humankind has conquered the natural world, in other words, the Devas. This checks two boxes for humans to be the real Asuras. The third box relates to the Asura trait that led to their defeat time after time.

The Asuras after their successful conquests, gradually descend to being despots and cruel dictators. They end up throwing the natural order into chaos. It is at this stage that the avatāra appears to defeat the mighty Asura leader and drive the Asuras out of the realms of Devas and Mānavās. The Asuras go from being conquerors to destroyers, which leads to their downfall.

Mashisa goes full despot. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Humans, as mentioned earlier are supposedly throwing all ecosystems of the Earth out of whack. All species are suffering and even among humans, there are several that are living lives whose quality is far lower than those of the rest. All of this seems like humankind is the Asura nation that has gone full despot. This is the third box to check for humans to transcend into being Asuras. This is also the event that should trigger the arrival of an avatāra.

Mahisha imposes monotheism. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

But is the natural world itself going to be the avatāra aided by conflict within the human nations? I have no idea. But the fact that humans are the real Asuras seems clear. Perhaps humans are like Asuras on steroids. Humans strive to succeed, acquire knowledge and build technology. This is not unlike severe tapasya over a long time. This technology, which is the equivalent of the boons from the stories lets humans harness technology and change geographies, in the form of construction, mining and pollution. This is the equivalent of a conquest and its subsequent subjugation.

Let me elucidate with an example. Hiranyakashipu, when he became all powerful, imposed monotheism (or at least forced Viashnavās to give up their religion). He forbade the worship of Vishnu and forced people to worship him instead. This is the same as the powerful nations expecting everyone to conform to their own education, values and lifestyle. The most powerful nations can achieve this through the boons of wealth and technology. This leads me to this, we are on the cusp of becoming the Asura Planet.

Let me backtrack to the struggle between the Devas and the Asuras for a bit. I had mentioned that the Asuras were rarely invaded by the Devas and this was due to how powerful the Asuras were. Of course, it could be that the Devas did not attack the Asuras or eliminate them out of the goodness of their hearts. The Devas could have been satisfied with the life they had achieved through the use of Amrita. But then, they were all cousins and if the Devas had turned conquerors, especially after being in possession of Amrita the Asuras and Devas would simply be swapping roles, at least in the stories. That said, Devas were not entirely content with their lot and fought among themselves too.

Hiranyakashipu becomes a dictator. Credit for both images – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Some examples of the Devas being in conflict among themselves are the following.

Indra and Agni seem to have been in conflict multiple times. Agni took the help of Krishna and Arjuna to stop Indra from interfering when he consumed the Khāndava forest. Indra wanted to stop Agni as his Naga friend Takshaka lived in that forest.
The Asura Rambha was saved by Agni when Indra wanted to kill him as he was meditating. Indra had already killed Rambha’s brother Karambha through deceit. Thanks to Agni’s actions, Rambha eventually reincarnated as Raktabeeja to protect his son Mahishāsura.
The Asura Jalandhara was raised in the ocean, the abode of Varuna. Jalandhara attacked the Devas to retrieve the treasures of his adoptive father Varuna. In this manner, Varuna and Indra seemed adversarial even though they were not out to fight each other. Varuna had raised the Asura who would attack the Devas.
The Devas and Asuras fought a war call the Tārakāmaya War in the Puranas. This war occurred because the wife of Brihaspati, Tara was either abducted by Chandra (Soma) or she eloped with him. Brihaspati was the preceptor of the Devas. This incident led to a war where the Devas sided with their Guru while the Asuras sided with Chandra.

Based on these instances, it is quite likely that the Devas were not entirely peaceful or docile. It is therefore not necessary that they did not invade the Asuras out of the goodness of their hearts.

Since we spoke of Brihaspati, I must mention Shukrācharya. Shukra or Shukrācharya was the Guru or preceptor of the Asuras. He is the personification of perseverance and innovation, which could make him the ultimate expression of Ninjutsu!

Shukra found a way to defeat death itself! He performed tapasya with Lord Shiva as the focus. Once Lord Shiva was pleased, Shukrācharya learned the “Sanjeevini Vidya (Kriya)” from the Lord. This led to his being able to resurrect Asuras who were dead! This was essentially the same as being immortal. It seems to me that the Devas had no choice but to acquire Amrita to counter the Sanjeevini Vidya!¹

In the Bujinkan, we learn of the 5 Gojo (roughly translatable as “pearls of wisdom”). These are five important concepts that, taken together, can be a guide to life. The 5 Gojo are,

Fumetsu no fusei – translatable as “give and give” or “endless giving”
Mamichi no jikai – translatable as “following/staying on the right path”
Shizen no niniku – translatable as “the perseverance of nature”
Shizen no choetsu – translatable as “the transcendence of nature”
Komyo no satori – translatable as “the light of wisdom”

I will not go into the detail about the Gojo here. I have written a separate article describing these as I understand them, the link to which is seen in the notes below*. I would however, draw an analogy between the Asura and modern human way with the Gojo.

The tapasya (meditation / penance / continuous effort) performed by the Asura and the human quest for knowledge is an outstanding example for “fumetsu no fusei”. One has to give oneself to the endeavour incessantly. This focus is the “right path”, which is tread over long periods of time. One needs perseverance to stay this path and continue the tapasya. When the tapasya reaches fructification, one transforms or transcends the current state. This could be as simple as being able to apply the newly acquired knowledge or technology as a consequence of the tapasya. These form the first four of the five Gojo.

Then comes the fifth, the one hardest to practice. At a high level, it could mean that the knowledge acquired or technology developed as a result of the tapasya is applied in the “correct” manner. Here, the term “correct” is incredibly hard to define in reality. Who can define, what is the correct way to do anything? I opine that it is nearly impossible, except at a personal level. This is why it takes “wisdom” to do the right thing with the new knowledge or technology. And if the application seems “correct” in a “given context”, one could have seen “the light of wisdom”.**

If one follows the right path with perseverance and is transformed after a long time on the path, wisdom could be the outcome of the experiences on the path. This could be another way to interpret “Komyo no satori” or “the light of wisdom”. But if the objective on the path was never “wise” or “correct”, both of which are subjective, could the outcome be any “good” of display “wisdom” in a positive manner? I have no idea. Similarly, we tend to assume “wisdom” to result in a positive outcome. But wisdom could also reveal ways and means to achieve negative outcomes.

Hiranyakashipu transforms with great abilities through perseverance and steadfast focus after overcoming great travails, but fails to gain wisdom. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

These conundrums are perhaps what led to the defeat of many famous Asuras. They are also what cause the problems we modern humans face. The Asuras practiced the first 4 of the Gojo and became great. They defeated the Devas and made the Asura realm great. This also made them responsible for the “natural order”, which they inherited when they defeated the Devas.

Perhaps some of them failed at this responsibility. Imposing monotheism, like Hiranyakshipu did, or turn a predator of women and molester of Rishis, like Ravana did are examples of failing to protect the natural order. This is also an example of failing the 5^th Gojo after passing the first 4. These Asuras actually attempted to snuff out wisdom, let alone be guided by its light!

Ravana, despite great abilities, boons and knowledge, was a great tormentor of people and molester of women. Image credit – “The Ramayana”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Something similar is seen in the challenges we face in our lifetimes. Between 1900 and 2000, humans went from dreaming of flight to landing on the moon to exploring the solar system! Between 1950, when horse and bullock drawn carts were still prevalent in most parts of India, we have gone to having trouble with parking spaces for cars in most urban areas! This is a fantastic representation of a collective achievement of the first 4 Gojo.

That said, pollution and supply chain issues have come to haunt us all. Sustainable development is at loggerheads with the desire for great levels of comfort and convenience. Armed conflict is back in a big way, not that it ever went away completely. Inequality in wealth levels across the world are not diminishing as fast as citizens of the world would prefer.

But all points of view that cause these problems are correct and valid, at least to those who hold them. And this is another demonstration of how “wisdom” is hard to come by. And this is not unlike the problem with the Asuras, who failed to sustain the “natural order” (Rta). Natural Order is not too different from the climate, the change in which is yet another example of a failure of the practice “Komyo no satori”.

This again leads me to my opinion, we humans, or Mānavās, are the Asuras. This is not self-deprecation. It is just an identification of how we want to be the Devas or higher yet, the great Trinity that can fix everything. That is perhaps why we have so many stories of warning to the self, with Asuras as the antagonists!

Notes:

¹ The Devas used Kacha, the son of Brihaspati, to obtain the Sanjeevini Kriya. The story of this event is incredible by itself. It has romance in a “honey pot” espionage operation. That also means, once technological parity had been achieved, the boons were the next technological disruptor.

* The Gojo – A personal understanding – https://mundanebudo.com/2023/03/16/the-gojo-a-personal-understanding/

Teachers are Weapons

September 4, 2025August 10, 2025 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

In 1991, there was TV series telecast on Doordarshan called “Chanakya”. Doordarshan is the state broadcaster of India and back in 1991, there was no other TV channel in most of India. The 4 metro cities had one other channel. The serial “Chanakya” was incredibly popular when it was first broadcast. It is still very popular and has great recall. The series was based on the life of Vishnugupta Chanakya, also called Kautilya, who was among those responsible for the creation of the Mauryan Empire in India in the 4^th century BCE, and also the author of the “Arthashāstra”.

The series was 47 episodes long. By episode 10, the ruler of Gandhāra, Āmbhi, has submitted to Alexander of Macedon and this is not acceptable to a lot of the ruling class and the general populace. Chanakya is a teacher at the University of Takshashila (capital of Gandhāra) at this time and is worried at the turn of events. The leader of the university mentions to him at this time that if the administration is incapable of leading the society, that job falls to the teachers. This conversation is fiction of course. But Chanakya was a teacher and he did go on to cause major political upheavals in Indian history.

Watch between the 16 and 17 minute marks to see the conversation I referenced earlier.

Chanakya causes major changes by creating a capable set of people who can administer. These are led by a student of his called Chandragupta. Chandragupta Maurya is mentored to be a good ruler. An army to support Chandragupta is created, as is a political alliance, who are willing to take on the ruler of Magadha. In summary, Chanakya, is a teacher and an extraordinary intellectual who could take on the mightiest empire of its time and reset the administrative system, which echoes in Indian society and politics to this day.

Fast forward some 2300 years and we see that universities are still at the centre of attention. In India, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is in the news often for espousing views that seem to be that of the Left. It is accused of being anti-India in some the thoughts it seems to express. These ideas seem to stem from both students and the teaching staff, particularly in the Social Sciences and Humanities areas like history, economics and political science.

In the USA, famous universities like Harvard and Columbia were in the limelight recently for causing disruptions in support of Gaza, against the actions of Israel. These universities, including both students and teaching staff were accused of being anti-Semitic. Professors from these universities and the JNU are popular in both social media and legacy media which are considered to be “Left leaning”. In the case of the JNU at least a few alumni of the JNU have tended to influence administrative policy both from within and without the Government.

So, a situation where professors are involved in politics and are shaping (or at least attempting to) national policies continues from the times of Chanakya through to contemporary times. These educators carry out their activities by shaping the minds of students over many years and decades. They can create a large section of the population that votes for governments that enact the policies vouched for by the university teachers. Barring this, they can influence a section of the population through intellectual output like papers, books, podcasts etc. to expect a government to enact policies the professors taught them to think are right.

In India, some intellectuals including professors have been branded “Urban Naxals” due to their perceived support for the Naxal movement. The Naxal movement is a violent Leftist movement that wanted to replace India’s government with a Socialist administration. The Naxal movement is currently almost over in India, having been defeated by India’s security apparatus. The “Urban” part of the pejorative comes because these intellectuals live in urban areas and sympathize with or support Naxals, who mainly operated out of rural areas.

I just mentioned that professors influence the populace through content that includes books. The main audience for teachers from primary education to universities are their students and the main tools used to influence students are textbooks. “Influencing” students can be called “Conditioning” (perhaps with a negative connotation). Students can be conditioned to think in a certain manner and accept certain events as true or concepts as correct if their textbooks say so. This is especially easy if knowledge is imbibed through rote learning.

This means that a textbook is weapon in the arsenal of teachers that can be applied against impressionable minds. It is not unlike drugs and gases than can make individuals susceptible to suggestions. But the textbooks act gradually over longer periods of time. And this has resulted in the strong opinions and heated discussions taking place in India currently, about the content in text books.

This is especially true of history textbooks. These days, people are questioning which administration is introducing what change in a history textbook for any given class. Questions are also raised about the motivations behind the changes introduced and the individuals nominated to the committees that propose or make the changes to the textbooks.

In this video, Michel Danino, the current head of the committee that is writing History textbooks for the NCERT, speaks about the process and controversy surrounding the same.

The entire conversation around history textbooks is because both the Right and the Left in our country are concerned about whose way of looking at history will be more influential with kids. In other words, the crux of the matter is, whose weapon (textbook) will be used in the conditioning of young minds?

In the Bujinkan system of martial arts, we lean of a concept, which in Japanese, is called “Jokin Hansha”. “Jokin Hansha” refers to “conditioned responses”, or the way we humans behave and react to situations as a result of the conditioning we experience in our lives. Consider a situation where someone looks at another and extends their right hand with the fingers outstretched, the other person will extend his or her own hand to shake the hand that was offered. This is not something that we think of too much. It is something that we are all conditioned to do. It has become a part of our natural behaviour. This is an example of “Jokin Hansha”.

Belief in a “certain narrative” or a specific “memory of history” is much the same. It is a “Jokin Hansha”. Every conditioned behaviour can be used to manipulate individuals and groups of individuals. Consider this, one person throws a punch at another, the person on the receiving end, will invariably move or throw up her or his own hands in defence. If the punch was a feint, the attacker can use the defensive movement of the defender to change the attack to a hand grab or move into the space vacated by the other individual in defending against the fake punch.

In this situation, the default defensive behaviour of one person was used by another person to her or his own advantage. A feint was used to capture space or an arm. This is an application of Jokin Hansha. This same situation can be replicated with textbooks.

Seen above are a series of rough sketches that depict how one individual’s movement is used to the benefit of the other. Sketches by Keane Amaral.

If a student has been conditioned to believe that members of one community are disadvantaged due to a lack of financial resources and education by the vagaries of history, any action by a member of that community which could be derogatory towards another community, might be forgiven as “they do not know better”, irrespective of what the motivations of the individual might have been.

If however, a student has been conditioned to believe that members of said community have historically been conquerors and plunderers, and a member of that community behaves in a manner derogatory to another, the situation could be different. Irrespective of the economic and financial condition of the community, the feeling will be, “this is how they have always been, and deserve to be retaliated against”. This difference in response is what scares people. It is the “Jokin Hansha” of a society that is at stake! Textbooks are the weapon in making or breaking the responses of a society to future scenarios!

That said, weapons are useless without the will of the one wielding the weapon. Teachers can mitigate the success or failure of any attempt at conditioning. Which way the teachers who impart the knowledge from the textbooks direct the mind-set of kids depends on the personal brand of politics they believe in. From this point of view, the teacher is the weapon, a living one, who in turn deploys a lifeless weapon in the form of a textbook.

The notion of conditioning can be considered at a more personal level. In Eastern cultures, the teacher is greatly respected and in some cases, considered a second parent. Many kids in India start school with a prayer that explicitly equates a teacher with the Gods*. All of this is conditioning.

This results in students putting a teacher on a pedestal. This is even more so in the physical arts, like sports, dance, martial arts, music, spirituality and the like. The sense of respect is so great that students never consider that a teacher might be wrong, or might not know everything! This means that there is no questioning of what a teacher mentions or asks of the students.

But in reality, teachers are just humans who are experts (hopefully) in the subject whose knowledge or experience they are sharing. Some teachers will have human frailties and weaknesses. Put together the conditioning which results in devotion towards the teachers and teachers who are not perfect, and the creation of a cult is possible.

Teachers can exploit students. Teachers can prevent students from moving on to study with other teachers or study subjects and art forms that they are not teaching. It is also likely that teachers might not identify cases where they are of no use to a student. A student might not really enjoy what the teacher is sharing or not have an aptitude for the same.

In cases of such a mismatch, a teacher should be able to let go of a student, and encourage a student to explore other options. Not doing any of these is a failure. Numbers of students could lead to a sense of importance for a teacher which could lead to exploitation and act as an incentive to hold on to them. In the same vein, more students could mean more wealth for teachers and that is an incentive to control students as well. And then there are the horrible cases of sexual exploitation and other forms of control that a cult could possibly lead to.

All of this means that a student must find the right teacher. This is especially true in a world where education is an expensive proposition and also a business, with a lot of challenges for those involved in it. The teacher-student match needs to work for both, at least for a short duration. Let me share a few statements I have heard while training at my dojo that emphasize the need for a productive teacher-student relationship.

I have heard from my teacher and mentors that Hatsumi Sensei, the Soke (Grandmaster) of the Bujinkan, said that one should find the RIGHT teacher. He is supposed to have mentioned this in the context of there being a lot of teachers and not all of them are a right fit for all students.
I have heard it said that, just as teacher is present when the student is ready to learn, a student is present when the teacher is ready to teach.
It is supposedly said that, a teacher appears when a student is ready, and when a student is really ready, the teacher disappears.

All of the above statements mean that a teacher has a huge responsibility. He or she should be able to impart knowledge and share experience, but not PRESUME responsibility for the journey that is a student’s life.

Now that I have outlined how teachers can be instrumental in making, rewiring and possibly wrecking individual lives and also affect the fate of societies and nations, I will share a story where teachers played a pivotal role in directing the fate of entire societies. The story of the Narasimha avatāra, in its nuances, explains beautifully, how teachers work in the background to affect events that change the world forever.

While Lord Narasimha and Hiranyakashipu are the main characters in the story of the Narasimha avatāra, I opine that Maharishi Nārada and Shukrachārya (the Guru of the Asuras) are the two individuals who shape the story to be what it ended up being. Both of them were teachers of Prahlad at different times and hence shaped events as they unfolded.

When Hiranyakashipu was meditating upon Lord Brahma to attain a boon that would make him an equal of Lord Vishnu, or the Devas at least, his kingdom was attacked. The Devas saw an opportunity to destroy Hiranyakashipu’s kingdom while he was away. Without Hiranyakashipu to lead them, the Asura kingdom was defeated. Indra, king of the Devas, took Hiranyakashipu’s wife Khayadu hostage. Khayadu, the queen, was pregnant with Prahlad at that time. Indra even entertained thoughts of killing Hiranyakashipu’s son as soon as he was born.

Indra decides to abduct Prahlad’s mother Khayadu, but is dissuaded by Maharishi Nārada. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

But Maharishi Nārada intervened and prevented Khayadu from being taken hostage. He also saved Prahlad’s life by this action. Khayadu lived at the āshrama of Sage Nārada until Hiranyakashipu returned after successfully attaining the boons. Prahlad was born after his father had returned from his venture. But according to the story, while at the ashram, Sage Nārada explained the virtues and greatness of Lord Vishnu to Khayadu. Prahlad is supposed to have imbibed this knowledge while still in his mother’s womb. In this manner Maharishi Nārada was Prahlad’s first teacher.

Khayadu at the āshrama of Maharishi Nārada. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

This knowledge gained from the Sage stayed with Prahlad after he was born, during his childhood years and even as an adult. Prahlad was a devotee of Lord Vishnu even after he became the king of the Asuras. Hiranyakashipu was outraged that his son was a devotee of someone he considered his greatest enemy, and whose worship he wanted to stamp out.

Prahlad being sent to Shukrachārya as a student. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Prahlad was put under the tutelage of Shukrachārya as he was the Guru of the Asuras. But Shukrachārya was unable to diminish in any manner Prahlad’s devotion towards Lord Vishnu. In fact he was concerned as Prahlad was sharing with his other pupils the knowledge received from Nārada. Since Shukrachārya failed, Hiranyakashipu attempted to kill Prahlad through various means, all of which failed. These attempts led to the arrival of Lord Narasimha to protect his devotee, Prahlad, and to the death of Hiranyakashipu.

Shukrachārya fails to diminish Prahlad’s Bhakti for Lord Vishnu. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Since it was Prahlad’s devotion to Vishnu that led to the arrival of Narasimha, I suggest that Nārada was the cause for the avatāra. Nārada was the one who inculcated devotion** towards Vishnu in Prahlad and hence set up the events that culminated in Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu. At the same time, is it possible that if Prahlad had been weaned away from Bhakti towards Vishnu by Shukrachārya, the Narasimha avatāra would have been different, or been postponed, or not occurred at all? It seems possible, but the story would certainly have been different.

Prahlad sharing his thoughts about Vishnu with other Asura students. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Thus, it was Narada’s actions and Shukrachārya’s failure that led to the Narasimha avatāra occurring as it did. It was a contest between two teachers. On this occasion, Narada’s action were the ones that led to the story we know. Shukrachārya had many other successes, they are just not relevant to this article. In this manner, the actions of two teachers determined the events that led to one of the most important stories in Hindu culture.

Prahlad confirms that Nārada is his teacher. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Before I conclude, I must add another point. Maharishi Nārada ensured that Indra released Khayadu. In doing so, he ensured that Indra would not be committing the same crime that Kamsa, Lord Krishna’s uncle would commit much later. Kamsa killed all of Vasudeva’s children with his sister Devaki as soon as they were born. Also, by ensuring that Prahlad was not killed before he was born, he ensured that Indra did not commit the same crime that Ashwatthāma would commit in the future, at the end of the Kurukshetra war in the Mahabharata. Both Kamsa and Ashwatthāma suffered severe consequences for their actions. Indra would be eligible for the same fate had he carried through with his impulsive plans.

If Indra had been deserving of divine retribution, would the Devas be eligible for Vishnu’s protection, in the form of Narasimha? Perhaps not. Thus, by ensuring Indra did not commit actions worthy of punishment, and Prahlad was a devotee of Lord Vishnu, Maharishi Nārada literally laid the groundwork for the coming of Narasimha.

Maharishi Nārada prevents Indra from committing a grave crime. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Based on the above points, teachers shaped the future of empires and ensured the Gods could protect the world in the past. In current day, teachers can shape the future of individuals AND societies for better or worse as we saw in the case of university professors, creators of textbooks and martial arts instructors. Conditioning, which is one of the outcomes that actions of teachers eventually lead to, is thus a weapon. And that makes me suggest, TEACHERS ARE WEAPONS.

As some of you might have guessed, the idea for this post comes from tomorrow, September 5^th, being celebrated as “Teacher’s Day” in India. September 5^th is the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India. He was a preeminent intellectual, author and educator, whose life is celebrated by recognizing the contribution of teachers to the country.

Notes:

* The shloka (loosely translated as prayer) where teachers are equated with Gods, is seen below.

Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnuhuh

Gurur Devo Meshwarahah

Guruhuh Sākshāt Parabrahma

Tasmai Shree Guruve Namahah

It translates to,

Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu

Guru is Maheshwara (Shiva)

Guru is literally the Supreme Being

I bow/salute that Guru

** I use the words Bhakti and devotion interchangeably, though “devotion” is not a perfect translation for the word “Bhakti”.

Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 5 – The enormity of all that happens in the background

August 14, 2025August 3, 2025 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, training1 Comment

Some 25 years ago, I read the book “Every Man a Tiger” by Tom Clancy and General Chuck Horner. This was a non-fiction book published in 1999. It was about the air operation during the First Gulf War, also called the Kuwait Liberation War. General Chuck Horner was the commander of the Allied air forces during that war.

I had read very few books about military history at that time and most of those were about the Second World War. The interest in modern warfare had been kindled in many of my generation in the aftermath of the Kargil War in 1999. It was also in the latter half of the 90s that satellite television had fully taken off and there were several series related to military technology and spy craft on the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel.

At that time, I had only read one book, “Despatches from Kargil” by Srinjoy Choudhary, about Indian military history and that was related to the Kargil War. This book had been published in late 2000. “Every Man a Tiger” was more of a history book than the other because it had been written some 8 years after the conclusion of the First Gulf War. If I recall right, about a quarter or a third of the book deals with the transformation of the United States Airforce (USAF) after the Vietnam War.

This part of the book details how the USAF improved its quality management, adopted new technologies and improved its focus on logistics. This part of the book is dull compared to the parts describing the action and management of the war. But in hindsight, it shows a remarkable level of foresight in the leaders of the USAF in the years between the Vietnam War and the First Gulf War. And this part of the book is what inspired me to write this article.

I had not and still have not read many books about Indian military history. This includes military history post 1947. This is partially because not many military history books were popular in the social circles I grew up in. This in turn could be because this genre was not stocked in the libraries that were frequented back then. It could just be that the genre was not very popular in general.

I always thought that not much had been written about recent Indian military history*. Perhaps this is true in comparison the number of books written about Western military history in the same period. But it turns out that quite a few books were indeed written, and I was not aware of those until they were mentioned on YouTube videos discussing Indian military history. That being said, I have also heard from retired Indian military leaders and thinkers that there are not enough books about contemporary India military history, thinking and strategy. I am sharing a link to a video that specifically discusses this issue.

This video elucidates how Indian military history is not well documented.

But, irrespective of the lack of books for Indian citizens to read about the evolution and improvement of the Indian armed forces, the forces are clearly doing a great job despite all the constraints they face. The evidence of this is in the actions taken during Op Sindoor, which occurred between 7^th May and 10^th May of 2025. The actions reveal that the armed forces are continuously learning and adding to their repertoire of abilities, processes and technologies.

I am guessing it is extremely difficult to make a movie about the awesomeness of military planning. It is a continuous activity and incremental in nature. It might not make for great viewing in terms of the action and drama of actual fighting involving humans. This challenge is likely to increase going further. This is because war will be taken over to a significant extent by technology, from drones to stand off weapons to beyond visual range missiles to using AI in target acquisition. Pilots will likely be on the ground or far behind drone swarms and the target will never be seen by any operator, except through sensor packages.

During the years since the pandemic, we civilians have seen news about war all the time. It started with the Armenia-Azerbaijan war which introduced us all to drones taking centre stage and legacy systems like tanks and artillery guns being vulnerable. This was followed by the India-China stand-off in the Himalayas, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war (with Operation Spider’s Web being the latest news-maker from this war), the war in Gaza, the Israeli actions against Hezbollah, the clash between Pakistan and Iran, the fight against the Houthis in Yemen, Op Sindoor and most recently, the war between Israel and Iran (Op Rising Lion).

In India’s case the face off with China was more about maneuvering and not about technological superiority. The one deadly clash that occurred did not involve firearms! But the conflict prior to this, involving Pakistan, did.

Post the Pulwama terrorist attack where 40 CRPF personnel were murdered by a suicide bomber, India carried out an air strike using Mirage 2000 aircraft against a terrorist training centre on Jabbar Top in Balakot in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated the next day with Operation Swift Retort. In this operation, India lost a Mig-21 Bison aircraft while Pakistan lost an F-16. India also lost a helicopter to friendly fire. The pilot of the Mig-21 was taken prisoner and released a short while later. 200 or more terrorists are supposed to have been killed in the first Indian strike.

This short skirmish did not see the use of drones. At this time, India still did not possess the Rafale fighters which carry the long-range Meteor air to air missile. The S400 Triumf was not available for long range air defence either. Both of these were on order but had not been delivered yet. At the same time, Pakistan did not have the J10C Chinese fighter carrying the PL15E missiles. It did not have the Chinese air-defence and cruise missiles either. So, this skirmish was similar to what had been seen in the previous decades.

And then the Armenia-Azerbaijan war happened in 2020, over the Artsak or Nagorno-Karabakh region, which changed everything. This was followed by the Ukrainian defence against Russia with drones and Russia’s adaptation to this new kind of war. This started in early 2022 and is still going on. The defence forces of the whole world learned from these 2 conflicts and air defence became a facet of great importance. The defence was vital against low-cost drones and rockets and also against man-portable guided missiles that target attack aircraft and helicopters.

The Israeli layered defence system, comprising the Arrow AD system, the David’s Sling system and the Iron Dome emerged as an example to learn from. These proved their abilities in the Israeli war against Hamas & Hezbollah starting in late 2023. But the Israeli system was recognized to be very expensive for all countries to emulate. The cost of the interceptors far exceeded that of the drone swarms and cheap rockets and artillery shells they defended against.

Fast forward a year and a half to Op Sindoor and this changed. A new Indian example that could be emulated had been battle tested. I have heard it said that for the first time, the cost of the interceptors that took down drones launched by Pakistan was lower than the cost of the drones themselves. Indian Air Defence systems took down missiles fired by Pakistan and military aircraft as well. I have also heard it said that the layered air defence system India demonstrated between May 7^th and 10^th came as a surprise both within India and without.

This video is an example of everyone’s surprise at the effectiveness of Indian air defence.

India’s air defence system, based on my limited knowledge, consists of the AAD (Advanced Air Defence – it is an anti-ballistic missile Air Defence system), the S400 Truimf, the MRSAM, the Akash missiles and the Zu-73 and L-70 guns. There are also snipers, shoulder fired missiles and “non-kinetic” systems like lasers and jammers to take down drones.

In this video, between the 28 and 35 minute marks, the speakers discuss “Grene Robotics”, one of the organizations whose equipment was used in Indian air defence during Op Sindoor. Grene Robotics has developed a system called “Indrajaal” (Indra’s Net) for air defence.

The AAD used to intercept ballistic missiles was likely not used during Op Sindoor. The S400 was supposedly used to take down Pakistani aircraft, including one Swedish Saab Erieye 2000 AWACS at a distance of 313 km! This system also prevented the PAF from rising to take on the IAF on the 9^th and 10^th when Pakistani bases and command centres were destroyed. The MRSAM or Akash is supposed to have intercepted Pakistani Ballistic missiles. The intercepted missile is supposedly the Fatah-2 or the Shaheen. Chinese CM400AKG missiles were also supposedly used against the S-400 but were intercepted as well.

This video explain the events surrounding the CM400 missile.

Large numbers of drones, including those of Turkish and Chinese origin were deployed by Pakistan. Many of these were supposedly taken down by the Bofors L-70 and Soviet origin Zu-73 guns. Both of these are guns that first came on the scene in the fifties and sixties! India also operates other old air defence guns & systems like the Tunguska and Osa, the Pechora and Igla. All of these are very old weapons!

But the game changer as a whole was the Akashteer system. This is a network that connects the IACCS (Integrated Air Command and Control Centre) of the Air Force and the air defence systems of the Army and Navy. This networking ability apparently identifies an aerial threat and designates the correct system to neutralize it. So, expensive systems are not utilized for smaller threats. This system supposedly uses AI to report all threats also ignore ones that can cause no real harm (missiles that might fall in fields are simply ignored and not intercepted).

In this video, the speakers describe at a high level, the “Akashteer” system used by India for air defence.

The major threat that assets like fighter aircraft face as seen in modern warfare are surface to air missiles (SAM) and shoulder fired missiles manned by small groups of soldiers, as seen during the Russia-Ukraine war. The response to this has been “Stand Off” range weapons. These are weapons that have a greater range. These can be deployed from within safe airspaces and stay outside the range of the defensive munitions.

This lesson was clearly learnt by the IAF. None of the Indian aircraft supposedly left Indian air space during Operation Sindoor. Long range missiles like the air launched Brahmos, Rampage, Scalp and SAAW were deployed. So were kamikaze drones like the Skystriker and Harpy (both of Israeli origin, but manufactured in India). This learning prevented a repeat of a post Balakot-like situation. Even though a few fighter aircraft were lost (before SEAD and DEAD operations, one must add), no pilots were lost, and most importantly, all mission objectives were met.

The most incredible observation that comes up from all of the action during Op Sindoor is that the defence planners and strategists in India have done a fantastic job! They have clearly always known the capabilities of the enemy and the evolution of modern warfare. Every evolution and adaptation has been tracked and responded to! The end result is a mission that produced results, that for a civilian layman seem like clockwork! Of course, there must have been several adjustments over the course of the 4 days, but those are data for further learning by the defence forces.

The reason I mentioned the books about military history at the beginning of this article is because I hope there are some great ones about Op Sindoor in the near future. Not just a blow-by-blow account of how the events progressed, but books that detail how Indian defence preparedness evolved in the 5 or 10 years prior to the conflict. It would also be amazing to understand how the surgical strike in 2016 and Balakot related actions in 2019 affected planning and evolution of military actions.

It seems India has always learnt lessons after every conflict, be they a war with neighbours or an insurgency within the country. I am sharing a link to a video that details the same. This is a video by Shekhar Gupta, the Editor-in-chief of “The Print”. But there is also a feeling among us Indians that we do not document our military history and also that we learn lessons only after a crisis.

This video charts the evolution of India’s security architecture over the decades after independence.

Perhaps there is truth to both. But from the number of books I had not heard of and how much detail is coming out on the internet in recent times, both are not entirely true. We citizens I think, are just frustrated that we did not know more. The actions and successes of Op Sindoor certainly indicate that India has been learning continuously. The volume of data about Indian strategic evolution and military advancement in the last few years also indicates that the other lacuna (aircraft number, engine development, submarine numbers etc.) are being addressed.

I have been following content creators on YouTube who track advancements in Indian defence preparedness regularly. They track the technology, the planning, the strategy and the supply chain for these as well. Following them, I have realized that despite feeling the progress is agonizingly slow, forward movement is happening every day! For they simply would not have content to produce otherwise. Three channels I follow on YouTube, all of which produce content in Hindi, are,

There are others like Bharat Shakti and Strat News Global, which focus more on strategic and tactical issues, and less on technical aspects. There are many other content creators who focus on developments in the Indian defence space. Add to this the several retired defence personnel, who have started writing books and creating their own content on YouTube and we are beginning to move towards a resource rich phase for civilians interested in India’s military evolution.

To be more specific about the points in the previous paragraph, the 3 defence YouTube channels I mentioned, were instrumental in me knowing a lot of the systems used by India during Operation Sindoor. These channels might not know and sometimes do not reveal if they know, what is not explicit in the public domain. So, the actual status of the induction or deployment of a weapon system or network would not always be available on these channels, nor would exact technical details and numbers deployed. But the general capability and the progress of development of various systems will be known if one follows these and other such channels regularly.

For example, these channels have always spoken about the progress of the AAD ballistic missile defence. They have also spoken of the MRSAM and the multiple variants of the Akash missile system. I only knew that the MRSAM (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile) was based on the Israeli Barak-2 missile, and was jointly developed by DRDO with Israeli industry because of these channels.

I also knew that that the Indian Nagastra was used in Op. Sindoor and that the Israeli Harpy/Harop and Skystriker drones were produced locally due to these channels. Further, I know the difference between the “Sudarshan Chakra” and “Sudarshan CIWS”! 😊The former is the name for the S-400 Triumf in India and the latter is the “Close in Weapon System” (air defence gun system) being developed by L&T. I also knew the difference between the Akash missile and the Akashteer networking solution. 😊

Further, as we realize more about the development and planning of weapons based on evolving threat perceptions, what is clear is that these days war is almost as much a matching between adversaries, of R&D, Supply Chains, engineering abilities, defence budgets, communication and the actual people on the frontlines, who operate various weapon systems. It almost seems like a never-ending exercise in management, finance and technology even though they are not visible. Only the final operators of the tools of war are visible and the outcome of the deployment of weapons are known.

Of course, none of this is new. All of this has been going on for centuries, all over the world. One can only imagine the efforts needed in managing the men and animals in an Akshauhini mentioned in the Mahabharata. How did one feed and clear the dung of over 21000 elephants! How did one breed, train and manage hundreds of thousands of horses used in the Kurukshetra war!

In the historical era, Alexander’s campaigns are considered a success of his supply chain. In Roman history, we hear of the “Marian reforms”. These refer to the reforms carried out by Gaius Marius around 100 BCE, in the army of the Roman Republic. They are supposed to include changes to the composition of the army and its training. There were also supposedly changes to equipment design and how these were procured. All of this is supposed to have resulted in a more effective Roman army**. This process of evolution is heard of from every culture in all parts of the world.

The outcomes of Op Sindoor have brought to the fore the efforts that go into the procurement, maintenance and equipping of fighter aircraft and drones, beyond just the actual combat in the air. These days, aircraft supposedly never see their opponents, they are only aware of their presence and actions due to electronic sensor packages. These sensor systems can deploy defensive weapons when needed!

This means there needs to be an R&D and manufacturing ecosystem in a country if it has to even survive going up in the air. If the ecosystem is absent or nascent, money has to be found to procure the abilities from other nations, which means a focus on geopolitics! All this means the focus is on integration and that mystical word, “synergy”.

The achievement of objectives is more about the integration of all systems to work together than just having numbers or courage. Numbers and courage matter a lot, but do not guarantee success. I had read a sentence in a “Modesty Blaise” story, “The Warlords of Phoenix”. It goes something like, “guns make a weak man strong, but make a strong a man a giant”. In a contemporary context, this could be “numbers and courage make a weak nation strong, but integration makes the strong nation untouchable”.

Let me use an analogy from the martial arts to elucidate further. Consider training with a spear. The spear is a stick with a pointed metal tip at one end. The stick is called the shaft or haft of the spear. Remove the shaft and the spear is a dagger at worst or a short sword at best. The advantage of range that made the spear vital in the past is nullified. The shaft is also how a wielder interacts with the weapon.

So, the shaft is what makes a spear, not the spear head! But the tip or spear head is what everyone looks at, respects, appreciates and most importantly, fears. Remove the shaft and the fear diminishes greatly.

This is exactly like modern warfare. The drones, fighter aircraft and the missiles are the tip of the spear. But the planning, management, technology, study, and finances are the shaft of the spear. Without these, the tip diminishes greatly in its ability.

Taking this analogy further, the air defence system is like the shield or armour to the missiles and aircraft that are the spear. Historically, the shield and armour have been as important as the spear or the sword. These were used by all cultures and were always a part of a soldier’s kit for most of history. A soldier with a spear and a shield is more devastating as against one with just a spear. And a soldier with just a shield and no spear is even less so.

The Shield and Armour are vitally important to a soldier. Image credit – “Mahabharata 33 – Drona’s Vow”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

So, the defence system and the offensive weapon package together make for a combination that affords a greater probability of mission success. This is the integration that we discussed earlier. A lack of integration, while still capable, is not as effective as the other.

So, one of the things that Op Sindoor has done spectacularly, is to bring the focus onto the parts of conflict management that are not glamourous and are less well known. The management, planning and continuous learning that enable the successful execution of a military operation have been highlighted like never before. And we as a nation can breathe easy as the planners seem to have been doing a great job behind the scenes.

As a last analogy, martial arts training is all about drudgery. One trains for long hours for years on end, despite knowing that the need to apply the learning might never occur. This is also the most preferred situation; one never wants to fight, for the variables in any conflict are numerous. The learning from training in the martial arts are likely applied in walks of like beyond physical combat.

Similarly, the machinery that defends our nation has clearly been going full steam! One can only imagine and marvel at the innumerable hours spent over years, putting together and training with the various aspects that resulted in the success of Op Sindoor! We owe a debt of gratitude to all the individuals who played their parts in this mammoth exercise.

Lastly, just as the martial arts are likely to lead to benefits beyond physical combat, our nation’s defence preparedness will lead to greater economic development due to increased spending on R&D and manufacturing and the many export opportunities that are likely to materialize.

Notes:

* Some other books I have read and heard of about Indian military history are mentioned below. These are beyond the ones mentioned in the article proper.

1962: The War that Wasn’t by Shiv Kunal Verma
1965: A Western Sunrise by Shiv Kunal Verma
The Garud Strikes by Mukul Deva
The Battle of Haji Pir by Kulpreet Yadav
The Battle of Rezang La by Kulpreet Yadav
Nimbu Saab: The Barefoot Naga Kargil Hero by Neha Dwivedi and Diksha Dwivedi
India’s Most Fearless : True Stories of: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh
There are several other books that have out in recent times!
There is a lot more content on YouTube in the form of podcasts that details recent Indian military history and evolution

** I have heard a statement about Roman military training that goes something like, “the training is like bloodless fighting, while fighting is like bloody training”. I had heard this statement in an old series called “War & Civilization” on Discovery Channel in the late 90s. The series was based on the work of John Keegan.

Similarly, it seems that India’s success in Op Sindoor was as much about the study, planning, research, management and training when there was no fighting, as about the actual fighting during the operation.

Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 4 – Celebrate War!?

July 31, 2025July 10, 2025 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial ArtsLeave a comment

Wendy Doniger has said that the “Arthashāstra”, written by Kautilya (Chanakya) is a “wicked” book. She means this with a negative connotation, as the book recommends violence. She refers to the Arthashāstra’s recommendation to wage war with neighbours and maintain friendly relations with states that are not immediate neighbours.

I agree with Wendy Doniger. The Arthashāstra is a “wicked” book. But I mean it with a positive connation. The book is “Wicked Good”! And for the same reason that Doniger gives. It does not shy away from military conflict. It advocates readiness to participate in violent conflict, if the situation so demands.

Watch between the 48 and 52 minute marks. Between the 40 and 48 minute marks Ms. Doniger expresses her opinion on how Hinduism is a violent religion.

India is a secular nation. But it has a strong Hindu civilizational character that pervades a very large part of its population. Hindu culture is NOT inherently NON-VIOLENT. The worldwide popularity of Mahatma Gandhi* and his pervasive impact on our national consciousness might make some think that Hindu culture is “non-violent”. But it definitely is not, and it most certainly is not a believer in pacifism!

Hindu culture emphasizes “ahimsa”, but that is not the same as non-violence. I have written previously about “ahimsa” from a martial perspective. I will not repeat that here but will leave links to the earlier articles*. Simply put, ahimsa is about not having malice towards anyone or any nation. But that only means that one should not go looking for a fight. If someone brings a fight to you, the threat must be nullified, there can be no doubts there.

Jainism is closer to non-violence, since it tries to avoid harming any creature. But there were kings who practiced Jainism who did participate in wars. So, even Jainism is not entirely free from practitioners who had to commit violence. The other socio-religious systems in India, including Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and tribal belief systems (these are Hindu adjacent), did not actively impose pacifism on their adherents. So, there is no historical precedent for active avoidance of military conflict in the Indian cultural sphere.

Historically speaking, from the time of Bimbisara, around the lifetime of the Buddha, in the 6^th century BCE till Operation Sindoor, two months ago, there has never been a time when there was no military conflict in some part of India.

Now consider the stories from Hindu tradition. Avatāras, or incarnations of divinities are integral to several of these stories. The avatāra cycle is all about war, or violent conflict to say the least. And I am not referring to just the avatāras of Lord Vishnu. Many forms taken by the Devi Shakti also involve war. A few examples of this are seen below.

Lord Varāha defeated Hiranyāksha
Lord Narasimha defeated Hiranyakashipu
Lord Vāmana defeated Bali Chakravarthy to stop the war between the Devas and Asuras
Lord Prashurama defeated Kārtaveerya Arjuna
Lord Rama defeated Ravana
Devi Durga defeated Mahishāsura
Devi Kali defeated Raktabeeja
Devi Chāmundi defeated Chanda and Munda

In each of the example cases the defeating was at the end of a war. A war that had caused severe hardship for multitudes and brought the natural order itself to the brink of destruction. Here, “natural order” includes the way people lived (society) and the forces of nature. Also, the avatāra does not appear until all options for fighting back are exhausted.

From L to R – Durga, Kali, Chamundi. Image credits – “Tales of Durga” published by Amar Chitra Katha

People, including the Rishis and the Devatās attempt to defeat the Asuras or any other adharmic or harassing entity/group by themselves. They succeed quite often. Examples of the Devas and Rishis defeating threats without an avatāra’s support are seen below

The fight against Vrtra
The fight against Viprachitti
The Tārakāmaya war

Only when it is clear that they cannot survive the fight does an avatāra appear. The avatāra fighting on the side of the people, Rishis and Devatas is what turns the fight in their favour.

Varāha (L) & Narasimha (R). Image credits – “Dasha Avatar” published by Amar Chitra Katha

In this same vein, the Asuras are not always the ones with the upper hand. They often end up on the losing side. They have great Asura leaders who rise up, perform severe meditation/penance to achieve boons that grant them the ability to defeat all their adversaries. In all the examples above where an avatāra was needed, an Asura had acquired invincibility due to a boon, which rendered the Devas and humans powerless. If the Asura had not chosen to upend the natural order, there would have been no need for a war.

Vāmana (L), Parashurāma (R). Image credits – “Dasha Avatar” published by Amar Chitra Katha

So, it is an incessant cycle of conflict. The war that liberates the Devas and people is always celebrated. It does not mean that war is something people looked forward to. It is just that they knew that someone would want to consolidate power. This consolidation led to a reduction in the quality of life for most people. This hardship is not something that should be meekly accepted and hence a fightback is a must. This awareness that one needs to fight against unjust powers is what leads to the celebration of war, for the war destroys the injustice. Such a war can be termed a Dharma Yuddha, as against a general Yuddha (war) which is a resolution of a conflict through the use of violence. But that does not take away from the fact that even a Dharma Yuddha is a war with all the hardships accompanying one. Only when the war and hardship end is there joy, not during one.

Let’s now return to the Arthashastra by Chanakya. As a document, it had been lost for several centuries, before being rediscovered in the 20^th century. But its influence over Indian political and administrative thinking has endured. I am sharing a video from the YouTube channel of the media organization “The Print”. In this video, the editor-in-chief of The Print, Shekhar Gupta, discusses a Chinese report about Indian strategic thinking.

In the report, the Chinese say that Indian actions are strongly influenced by the Arthashastra! This is some 2,300 years after the document was composed! It reinforces the influence of the Arthashastra enduring despite the original document being lost. This means that if the Arthashastra advocated constant defence preparedness, war and violent conflict were never eschewed in India at any time in her past. War was constant and preparation for it was of paramount importance as part of the duties of a king.

Watch between the 18 and 20 minute marks.

It is only in post-independence India that a collation has occurred between Gandhian Ahimsa and Pacifism. In my opinion, the Ahimsa practiced by Gandhiji was not “non-violence” and definitely not pacifism. I think Gandhiji fought a war to defeat the British belief in their civilizational superiority. This was one part of the fight for Indian independence. The other part was a violent conflict, fought by the revolutionary movement. I have written two posts in the past describing these 2 parts, where the freedom struggle is looked at through the lens of martial arts. These 2 parts together succeeded in forcing a British withdrawal, immediately after the second world war. The links to these 2 articles is seen in the notes below**.

Last, as we consider the Arthashastra, we must remember that it was NOT written by a soldier/warrior. Chanakya was a political visionary and teacher, but not a man of war. He would likely be called an “academic” if he were alive today. This shows that it is not just fighting men and women who are dangerous. Academics and people who can motivate and shape societies can be equally dangerous. These people are knowledge workers, who are dangerous because of their knowledge.

Knowledge is used in two ways. One is through the creation of technology, tactics and strategies that contribute to any war effort directly. The other is in the narrative warfare that takes places constantly and away from the fields of battle. Narrative warfare to affect the populace as a whole is a lot more important in modern times with the reach of both legacy media and social media. We all see examples of this all the time.

The use of narratives through academics and other knowledge workers, “intelligentsia” as a whole, can have a positive or a negative effect. If the communication that happens is supportive of the administration and society, the people behind it (including podcasters, influencers, journalists, reporters etc.) would be hailed as patriots. If they are conceived to be detrimental to society, these same individuals would be branded “anti-national” and that very uniquely Indian adjective, “Urban Naxals”.

The idea of both the narrative and weaponry being instrumental in a conflict, even violent ones, has always been known. This is why Turkic rulers built pyramids of severed heads and Mongols destroyed civilian populations, as a form of psychological warfare. The tales of savagery captured in documents and passed on by word of mouth induced a fear that was advantageous to the invaders.

This is also why the proverb, “The Pen is mightier than the Sword” exists. In Japanese, the pen and sword are expressed as “Bun and Bu”. “Bun” refers to knowledge and “Bu” refers to violent conflict. In modern times, we have a new term to refer to individuals who play a part in conflicts far away from any frontline. We call them “keyboard warriors”.

Notes:

* https://mundanebudo.com/2022/10/13/ahimsa-and-the-martial-arts-part-1/

** https://mundanebudo.com/2022/10/27/ahimsa-and-the-martial-arts-part-2/

** https://mundanebudo.com/2022/11/10/ahimsa-and-the-martial-arts-part-3/

I came across a clip on Instagram around the time that Operation Sindoor was going on. In the clip one individual was critiquing the video of another. The original video clip has a woman claiming that “we do not celebrate war”. This statement was being critiqued in the video, where an individual clearly stated that “we do celebrate war”. This person went to explain how in Hindu culture war is indeed celebrated, with examples. This video was the inspiration for this article of mine. The link to the video is seen below.

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Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 3 – Money matters!

July 3, 2025June 22, 2025 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

India did not have a strong martial arts culture in the last few decades, until recently. Even now, it is not prevalent in all parts of the country. In places with higher disposable incomes, interest in and practice of the martial arts is growing. In parts of the country that have a strong continuation of historical traditions, martial arts are present as well, but more as a performance art. This is not true historically though. Martial arts were a vital part of Indian culture for many centuries before diminishing in importance in the latter half of the 19^th century.

Now that martial arts are making a comeback, an interesting aspect is visible. There is a cost associated with practicing the martial arts. The costs include time, effort and money. Financial costs include, tuition fees of teachers, membership fees of gyms or dojos, cost of apparel and training equipment*. Training equipment includes protective gear and training tools, which include practice weapons. Beyond this, time is spent in traveling to the place of practice and in practice itself. And then there is the effort that it takes to make time and financial resources available for martial arts practice.

The costs mentioned above were present in the past as well. For some professions, this cost was valid as it directly impacted the earning of a livelihood. This is true in modern times as well. But for individuals who are not working with law enforcement, first responders and the defence services, this cost is not necessary. The payback is not necessarily monetary. Hence, there comes a point when martial arts practice becomes discouragingly costly. This was true in the past and is true in contemporary times as well.

The cost of martial practice extends to nations too. Here the cost is justified as a nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are dependent on the expenditure on its martial wings, in other words, defence forces, intelligence agencies and law enforcement services. As this is vital at a national level, all nations have defence budgets.

But the defence budgets of all nations are not the same. The defence budget of the USA is almost a trillion USD! The defence budget of China is about 350 billion USD. The defence budget of India is 78 billion USD (in 2025). The cost of defence preparedness might be the defence budget but that is not the same as the cost of war.

The cost of war, depending on how long it lasted and the devastation it caused can be varying. The cost in terms of loss of life and limb of citizens is incalculable. It renders a section of the population unable to participate in any economic activity and in many cases dependent on the state, which is a necessary drain on the economy. There is also a cost associated with reconstruction and rebuilding of the economy. This is exclusive of the opportunity cost and the uncertainty of real recovery.

Unlike the cost of war, defence preparedness can have a positive effect. Over time, increasing defence budgets can lead to the creation of a military-industrial-academic complex. This complex leads to better education for large sections of a society and development of a manufacturing ecosystem. This leads to more jobs, development of advanced technologies and improved innovative abilities of a society. Defence preparedness also involves having great infrastructure in perpetuity. And then there is the boost to the economy through the export of weapons and weapon systems. All this is without even considering the benefits of the development of dual use technologies. Beyond all this there is the saying “If you want to have peace, prepare for war” (from the original Latin, “Si vis pacem, para bellum”).

It could perhaps be said that preparation for war can lead to restarting and rebuilding of a flagging or destroyed economy. A perfect example of this is the Ashwamedha Yajna in the Mahabharata, which occurs years after the end of the Kurukshetra War. The reason the epic gives for the event is that Yudishtira performs this yajna to atone for the sins committed during the Kurukshetra war. But I opine that the reason for this yajna was to kick-start the economy of the kingdoms of Hastinapura and Indraprastha.

A very large number of males had died in the Kurukshetra war. If the numbers from tradition are considered, somewhere between 3 and 4.5 million men died in the war. This meant that a large part of the working population in Northern India was dead. The coffers of all the kingdoms that participated in the war were empty due to the logistics of the war. This meant that the economy of all the participants was in the doldrums.

The Ashwamedha Yajna requires a large investment to perform and conclude successfully. To start with, a large quantity of gold is needed in the performance of various rituals and all the participating Brahmanas have to be compensated for their part in the yajna. A strong army is needed to protect the horse, the Ashwa of the yajna.

The economy does not allow for an Ashwamedha Yajna. Image credit – “The Mahabharata, Part 41 – The Ashwamedha Yajna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha

The horse would wander around for a year in various kingdoms. These kingdoms could stop the horse or let it pass through. If they let it pass through, they had to offer tribute or sign a treaty with the army of the king whose horse it was. If they stopped the horse, they kingdom that stopped the horse had to fight the army protecting it. The fact that an army was involved meant that a functioning supply chain was needed, apart from soldiers and their training.

The massive logistics effort needed for the Yajna. Credit for the images- “The Mahabharata, Part 41 – The Ashwamedha Yajna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha

So, all parts of the economy have to contribute to the Ashwamedha Yajna. Food production is needed to feed the army. Industry is needed to equip the army and carry out the yajna itself. Administrative and financial bureaucracies have to be put in place to coordinate the logistics of all the activities. With all this coming up, the economy gets a jolt to restart. The tribute from the successful performance of the yajna ensures capital flows for growing the economy further.

A strong military is needed and military conflict is inevitable during the Ashwanedha Yajna. Credit for the images- “The Mahabharata, Part 41 – The Ashwamedha Yajna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha

But, for a faltering/failed economy to be able to do this, an initial capital infusion is needed. This could be a loan. But in the Mahabharata, there was no institution or fellow kingdom that could afford to hand out a loan post the Kurukshetra War. So, the Pandavas dug up buried treasure. Maharishi Veda Vyasa directed them to the treasure. The treasure, a vast hoard of gold became the seed capital for the Ashwamedha Yajna and the prosperity it eventually led to.

Buried treasure is initial investment! Credit for the images- “The Mahabharata, Part 41 – The Ashwamedha Yajna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha

This wonderful segment of the Mahabharata shows how preparation for a war could lead to economic recovery. But the Kurukshetra war itself caused untold devastation. The epic is in this sense a wonderful case study for both war and its consequences and the economic recovery preparation for war can lead to (even if the defence preparedness is disguised in a sacred yajna).

Thus, it has always been about availability of resources for martial preparedness, and martial preparedness to protect and enhance economic resources and their availability. But, and it is a BIG but, this only holds where there is a democratic or a Dharmic society. A Dharmic society as I am referring to the word, is one that is defined by a clear understanding of responsibilities of the administration, even if the head of government is a king or queen who holds power due to heredity.

Wealth distribution is a must during and after the Yajna. Image credit- “The Mahabharata, Part 41 – The Ashwamedha Yajna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha

Defence preparedness is unlikely to function in the case of Palace Economies. A palace economy is one where the leader or king or dictator or the family of the same, controls all resources and distribution of the same. This control could be arbitrary, based on the will of the leadership, with no link to real world performance, hardships, challenges or threats.

A fantastic example of a palace economy is the Delhi Sultanate in India, specifically under the Mamluk dynasty and the Khaljis. All the Turkic invasions of Northern India were by palace economies. From the little history we were taught, there was no doctrine of administration that these invaders followed.

After the fall of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals controlled the regions of Punjab. The later Mughals, after the death of Aurangzeb, struggled to defend this region. When Ahmed Shah Abdali of the Durrani Empire centred in modern day Afghanistan invaded Punjab repeatedly, they were unable to protect the populace of this region.

Abdali was a wonderful example of a palace economy as well. He took over the regions of Afghanistan after the death of Nadir Shah of Persia, under whom he had previously served. The later Mughals were also a palace economy, but with a much smaller resource pool to go around. Abdali, on the other hand, invaded Punjab and northern India several times to acquire wealth, which was then distributed as he desired, further strengthening his palace economy. The invasions of Northern India continued until 1761 and the 3^rd battle of Panipat and the invasions of Punjab continued for a few years even after that seminal event.

Abdali won the 3^rd battle of Panipat, but the cost of the victory dissuaded him from ever returning to the plains of Northern India. His ravaging of Punjab is chillingly captured in the following Punjabi saying. “Khada peeta lahe da, baki Ahmed Shahe da”. It means that only what one has eaten and drunk is one’s own, the rest belongs to Abdali. It refers to the loot that ensued when Abdali attacked; people lost everything. And this kind of loot was important to keep a palace economy functioning.

The lack of this functioning in the later Mughal court required the Marathas to fight the 3^rd battle of Panipat. Though they lost the battle, they successfully diminished further Afghan invasions. All further battles between Indians and the Afghans, beyond Punjab, occurred when Afghanistan was invaded by the East India Company or the British Raj. By this time, the Afghan palace economy had faltered and become dysfunctional as well. This is classic of nations where economic development did not kick off in the early modern era.

There is however a trap of exhausting one’s economy with an excessive focus on defence preparedness. I have heard a lot of people say that the USA defeated the USSR by outspending them on defence. The USSR failed economically and could not keep up with the USA. In the quest to keep itself on par with the US in defence spending, the USSR bankrupted itself.

Economic growth and development are a vital part of being able to spend on defence. The overall economy of a nation must grow continuously. When this happens, a part of the growth can benefit the defence budget. If the economy does not grow, but the defence budget keeps increasing, the country eventually ends up being a basket case. This focus on overall economic development is the reason the Ashwamedha Yajna ends up rejuvenating the national economy, because it focuses on supply chain as a whole and not just on the armed forces.

In the modern Indian context, we Indians have a threat on two fronts. Pakistan on one and China on the other. Pakistan is gradually becoming a client state of China and is being used by the latter to prevent India from becoming a competitor on the global stage for various resources. The events in Galwan in 2020 and in Pahalgam in 2025 clearly reveal that ignoring the threats will not make them go away. India will have to always be ready to militarily confront the twin threats. I include threats in the cyber and space domains when I use the term “military” here.

So, increasing defence spending is a foregone national imperative for perhaps the coming decade. This is likely what both adversaries want, to slow down India’s economic growth. China is banking on what was mentioned in my previous post, make the Indians fight themselves to keep them occupied and weakened – Pakistanis are Indians by a different name, remember**?

Will their expectation of a weaker India come to pass? Will this spending take us the way of the USSR or make our economy grow faster and become more robust? This is a question the answer to which will only become apparent in maybe 10 or 15 years. If we go about only importing technology and weapon systems, we could go either way. But if an academic, industrial military complex is developed locally, we could become a far greater economy with a stronger military and overall national power.

Notes:

* Let me elaborate with an example. We needed training katana for practice at the dojo. We could by them online, in a sports store, get a carpenter to make it or make training katanas ourselves. Back in the middle of the 2000s, an online purchase or a purchase at a sports store was out of the question. E-commerce was just beginning for only books and sports stores did not stock much martial arts equipment other than karate and taekwondo apparel and training pads. Getting a carpenter meant having a sample to go by. All of this had one serious impediment, MONEY. We did not have disposable incomes to consider this purchase lightly. We had to seriously consider if we would train the martial arts for years to come, to consider the investment feasible. Chances of continuing were always small, so the investment was unlikely as well.

That left the option of making our own training katanas. This was done with building scrap available at home, mainly small diameter PVC pipes, which were wrapped with fabric tape and held together with cellophane or insulation tape. The hardest things to make were the scabbard or saya of the sword and the tsuba or disc guard on the katana. Because these were difficult to make, the saya was given a skip and the tsuba was a piece of thermocol (polystyrene). These worked to an extent.

The drawback with the handmade equipment was twofold. The lack of a saya meant that any technique that required the drawing of a sword could never be accurately practiced. It was always an approximation. The flimsy tsuba came apart often and that led to either injured fists or to a lack of understanding of how to use the tsuba to lock the opponent’s position. So, there was pain and poor training. Both these were due to a lack of financial resources.

Our teacher back then had said that in the past, good weapons were expensive and the same was true in contemporary times as well. This was a lesson well learnt. It was as clear an elucidation of the importance of money in martial arts as any. Money leads to technology and training and both improve chances of survival.

** https://mundanebudo.com/2025/06/19/thoughts-from-op-sindoor-part-2-nothing-has-changed/

Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 2 – Nothing has changed

June 19, 2025June 7, 2025 Vikram M RIndia CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History1 Comment

William Dalrymple’s book, “Return of a King” has a very interesting statement about the rulers of Afghanistan. He says early in the book that the Kings of Afghanistan, found it hard to invade Punjab and the plains of Northern India in the first half of the 19^th century. Dalrymple further states that this was a time-tested strategy followed by the rulers of Central Asia and Afghanistan for many centuries to accumulate wealth.

Excerpt from the book, “Return of a King”, by William Dalrymple

Northwestern India has faced invasion through what is now Afghanistan for millennia. It started with the Persian Empire and was followed by an invasion by Alexander of Macedon. These invasions were followed by the invasions of the Indo-Greeks, Indo-Sakas, Indo-Parthians, Kushanas and the Hunas. These invasions lasted from the 6^th century BCE till the 6^th century CE. What was characteristic of these invaders was that they assimilated into the local culture, while also making contributions of their own.

The next series of invasions, of the Arabs, began in the 8^th century was not too successful. This was followed by the Ghaznavid invasions in the late 10^th and early 11^th centuries. These invasions ended Hindu and Buddhist control in what is today Afghanistan. This was the beginning of what can be considered the Turkic invasions. These invasions set the template for plunder and the loot of wealth.

Then came the Ghorid (Ghurid) invasion at the end of the 12^th century CE, which led to the establishment of Turkic rule in Northern and Western India and was called the Delhi Sultanate. This was followed by the invasion of the Mughals (who were Turco-Mongol), Iranians and lastly, the Afghans in the mid-18^th century. This was the end of the invasions of India from the Northwest, until the middle of the 20^th century, after Indian independence.

Invasions from the Northwest, in chronological order

There was the British conquest in the 18^th century, preceded by minor conquests by the Portuguese in the early 16^th century. But the European attacks came from the South, from the seas and are not relevant to the purposes of this article.

The invasions following that of Mohammad of Ghor, were unlike those in the previous millennia. The rulers chose to impose their native culture over the local populace. Yes, this is a simplistic statement, but not entirely wrong. Even the culture they chose to emulate was that of neighbouring Persia and not that of the populace they ruled over. Their contributions were not nil, but unlike those of the previous millennia, these were not entirely positive to the conquered cultures and populations.

The geographical extent of Indian culture in the 3^rd century BCE extended till modern day Southern Afghanistan and Baluchistan in the West. This was a cultural extent and not a political spread. The entire subcontinent, except for the odd century, was always split into multiple kingdoms, that warred with each other. So, the conquests of the invaders were not against a monolithic “Indian” kingdom, but against individual kingdoms, who were mostly smaller than the invaders.

Both the invasions from the North and the West and the warring of Indian political entities continues to this day. With variations of course. The modern-day republic of India is one of at least 3 political entities that exist within the historical cultural spread. If one considers just 3 countries formed out of British India*, the pattern of Indian states fighting one another and the invasions from the Northwest, both persist unabated.

India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the modern countries most associated with British India. Pakistan, by dint of its birth and historical association with Buddhist and Hindu cultures, is India with a new and different name. So, every time Pakistan attacks India, either with conventional forces or through its terrorist proxies, it is an instance of Indians fighting Indians. Exactly like in the past few thousand years.

Pakistan is India’s western neighbour, and the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh are India’s north. So, every time there is a terrorist attack in J&K or a war with Pakistan, like in Kargil in 1999, the invasion is still from the Northwest, just like in millennia past. So, the pattern holds, nothing has changed. The difference is that Pakistan now tries hard to associate its identity with Turkey & the broader region of West Asia, contrary to the facts of history.

This is not new either. The Mughals, despite having Rajput Hindu mothers, identified themselves as Timurid after Timur the Lame, who hailed from Uzbekistan. Today, Pakistan, fills the dual role of an Indian entity identifying as foreign and that of an invader from the Northwest. Neither role is something that modern Indians can be happy about.

But about the reason for the invasion/attack? In the past, it has mostly been about controlling the wealth generated from the fertile plains of the Sindhu and Ganga river systems. The Sindhu river system includes Kashmir, Punjab and Sindh, while the Ganga river system includes all of North India excluding modern day Rajasthan. Today, large parts of the Sindhu system are in Pakistan. Also, Pakistan cannot hope to plunder wealth like the invaders of the past, nor can it take over any part of North India. So, why bother with the attacks?

The answer is likely the control of wealth within Pakistan. The leadership of the Pakistan army is the leadership of Pakistan, for they control the political leadership and are strongly associated with the business elites as well. These 3 groups control a lot of the wealth in the country as they control a lot of the agricultural land, and the prime real estate used for other purposes. For the army to stay powerful, they need the enemy in India, even though India neither wants any part of Pakistan, nor a war with it, not even a minor one.

So, if there is no powerful enemy in India, a powerful army is not really needed. There is a saying I have heard from many people in India. It goes, “The Indian state has an army, while the Pakistani army has a state”. This explains the situation beautifully. The army is like a parent to the Pakistani state. Keeping this image leads to power, which fuels budgets, prestige and wealth.

So, the “wealth” that the Pakistani army hopes to earn is power at home and that is achieved every time India is demonstrated as an existential threat to the state. An attack on India triggers a counterattack, which demonstrates a threat to the state, and this leads to the importance of the army. And from this importance flows everything else mentioned earlier.

For India on the other hand, the situation is still the same, Indians are still fighting Indians called Pakistanis, who have chosen to the take on the role of the Northwestern invaders, for the original invaders have either weakened to insignificance or just disappeared altogether.

This post is different from my usual articles. I almost always describe connections between traditional martial arts, Hindu culture, Indian history and modern Indian life. This article though, is entirely focused on Indian history. This is because of thoughts I have had post the actions taken by the Indian military during Operation Sindoor between 7^th May and 10^th May, 2025. Including the content of this post with another post (the next one) was making the other one too long and expansive in scope. The next post after this one, will go back to the usual pattern of connecting dots.

Notes:

* Burma, Aden and parts of Somalia were also administered as parts of British India

Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 1 – Sutemi Waza and Mission success

June 2, 2025June 1, 2025 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, India CurrentAffairs, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

The first strike of Operation Sindoor was carried out in the early hours of 9^th May 2025. This attack was carried out against 21 targets in 9 locations in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (POJK). The attacks were carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and supposedly units of the Indian Army. The attack by the IAF used precision munitions.

The munitions used supposedly included the Scalp cruise missile, the Hammer, the Rampage and perhaps the Crystal Maze and Brahmos as well. The details are not officially made available as yet. The platforms that deployed these munitions include the French Rafale, the Indo-Russian Su30MKI and others, including the Russian Mig 29 and French Mirage 2000. None of the aircraft crossed into Pakistani airspace. All munitions were launched from Indian airspace.

All 21 targets were successfully destroyed with video evidence. All 9 targeted locations were terrorist bases or headquarters that were known and identified. There was no collateral damage, either civilian or military. And this LACK OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE is a VERY IMPORTANT POINT that leads to several amazing observations, from an operational perspective, from an Indian societal perspective and form learning for martial artists, specifically those are not experienced in the defence services.

Pakistan claims to have shot down 5 Indian aircraft during this strike on terrorist targets. Indian forces have not officially released any details of what the losses entailed were. It will be revealed in due course, as the Indian defence establishment does not hide its losses. This information is not revealed as Op Sindoor is not yet officially declared as completed. Unofficial sources claim that India lost 3 aircraft, one Rafale, one Mig 29 and one Su30MKI.

What is clear is that no Indian pilot was lost. The Director General of Air Operations (DGAO) has made it clear that no human life was lost during the strike on terrorist targets. This means that even if the aircraft were lost, the pilots were safe. The DGAO also made it clear that as part of achieving mission objectives, losses were to be expected and were acceptable. This statement means that AIRCRAFT WERE EXPENDABLE, THE PILOTS WERE NOT.

So, why were these losses acceptable? Could they not have been prevented? The events of the early hours of 10^th May 2025 answers the second question. Yes, the losses could have been prevented. On 10^th May, the IAF struck several Pakistani Air Bases and air defence installations. Between 11 and 13 bases were hit, again with precision strikes, using pretty much the same munitions as earlier, including perhaps the indigenously developed SAAW (Smart Anti Airfield Weapon).

DURING THIS SECOND PHASE, NO AIRCRAFT WERE LOST. Why was this? Because this time around, the IAF carried out what I have come to learn, is called SEAD and DEAD actions. SEAD stands for “Suppression of Enemy Air Defences” and DEAD is “Destruction of Enemy Air Defences”. Once Pakistani air defences were eliminated, the IAF could take out the air bases with no losses.

The strikes on air bases destroyed runways, command and control centres, staff waiting centres and hangars (or hardened shelters). This rendered the Pakistani Air Force incapable of any retaliation for the next few days at least. This gave the IAF air dominance. Once this was achieved, Pakistan asked for cessation of hostilities and India agreed as the objective of striking terrorists had already been achieved.

It must be said, both Pakistan and India attacked each other with several drones as well. Pakistan also used ballistic missiles of varying ranges. Pakistani drones and missiles were intercepted and destroyed by integrated Indian Air Defence systems. But Pakistani Air Defence systems failed. The defence in India was all along the Pakistani border. The strikes Pakistan endured, was along its entire length; some say the attacks inflicted damage to its nuclear weapon storage and integration facilities (this is not admitted or confirmed). The strikes were sufficient to end further hostilities after 10^th May 2025.

The attacks by Pakistan on the nights of 7^th and 8^th mostly included various types of drones. On the night of the 9^th the attack included ballistic missiles. The targets of these attacks included Indian military installations, religious sites and civilian areas along the border. This convinced the Indian side to escalate and not limit itself to terrorist targets. Pakistani military installations were now legitimate targets, WHICH THEY WERE NOT IN THE FIRST PHASE, ON THE 7^TH OF MAY.

Once the military was a target, India carried out SEAD and DEAD operations, which allowed further strikes on Pakistan with NO LOSSES. This shows that the losses could have been prevented on the 7^th of May as well. Why the losses were deemed acceptable earlier is also answered here.

The object on the 7^th of May, as stated earlier were terrorist bases. Terrorists, in the case of those supported by Pakistan, are weapons of the state targeting India and her citizens. This makes the terrorists, tools of the Pakistani state. The state in Pakistan, is its military, specifically the Pakistan Army. The civilian Government of Pakistan, according to several commentators, is one that is selected by the Army and not elected by the people. This was done by manipulating the election results. So, a tool of the Pakistani state is essentially a tool of the Pakistan Army.

As mentioned earlier, on the 10^th of May, the IAF attacked Pakistani air bases. Air bases are places from where aircraft and other weapons are launched. So, the base by itself is a weapon, or maybe a weapons platform. In this same vein, the terrorists, being tools of the Pakistan Army, are weapons of an unconventional kind. It was these “weapons” that India targeted on the 7^th.

Because only these weapons (terrorists) were targeted, and not the conventional military, SEAD and DEAD actions were not conducted prior to the strikes. This gave the Pakistan Air Force an opportunity to retaliate. INDIA CHOSE TO ACCEPT LOSSES RATHER THAN ATTACK MILITARY TARGETS! THIS IS A MESSAGE THAT SHOWS RESTRAINT AND DISCRETION. This self-imposed restriction was lifted when Pakistan chose Indian military and civilian targets. The fact that potential losses of expensive aircraft was seen to be acceptable but not the lives of the pilots shown incredible foresight, planning and execution of the Indian military establishment! This fact is mind-boggling!

Why though, did India accept this possible loss of air assets? This is because India, unlike its hostile neighbour is a mature civilian democracy. India wanted to punish terrorists that murdered its citizens, not invade Pakistan or cause harm to its citizens. This maturity in the Government meant that it was willing to sacrifice its military assets. If the Government had chosen to conduct SEAD and DEAD operations on 7^th May, these losses would not have occurred, but hat action would also have made India an aggressor against Pakistan, rather than a country seeking justice.

This entire episode where India accepted potential losses in aircraft and perhaps did indeed lose a few, while not sacrificing its pilots is a fantastic demonstration of a concept that many martial arts teach. The fact that it was applied in modern day aerial warfare makes it all the more incredible, giving practitioners of the traditional martial arts no excuses to not train this concept. This is the concept of SUTEMI WAZA.

I am familiar with the Bujinkan system of martial arts, so I shall explain this concept from this perspective. I expect that most martial arts, whether they train armed or unarmed combat, will have a similar concept, and methods to practice the same. Sutemi in Japanese means “sacrifice” and waza means “technique”. “Sutemi Waza” thus stands for “sacrificial techniques”. But what is being sacrificed and how is it a technique?

The best way to describe the concept of Sutemi Waza is with the form called “Tomoe Nage”. “Nage” here means “throw”. “Tomoe” means “comma”, like the punctuation mark. So, when one executes a “Tomoe Nage” on an opponent, one drops one’s own body to break the balance of the opponent and throws her or him over oneself. The image below shows the execution of the tomoe nage and explains the situation far better than any words can.

Hatsumi Sensei, Soke of the Bujinkan, performing a “Tomoe Nage”. Image credit – “Unarmed Fighting Techniques of the Samurai”, by Sensei Hatsumi Masaaki.

In this form or technique, the person executing the throw sacrifices her or his own balance by dropping down to the ground and this sacrifice enables the throwing of the opponent. One likely scenario where this technique is used is when both opponents are evenly matched or when other forms are not possible in the given situation. However this technique is executed, the objective is to break the opponent’s flow by sacrificing one’s own balance.

One of the martial schools (ryuha) studied as part of the Bujinkan system is the “Takagi Yoshin Ryu”. This is a school that was historically practiced by bodyguards. Hence it involves a lot of subduing and immobilization techniques. This was done in the past to capture someone for further information gathering. Of course, the techniques in this school can be used to lethal effect, but the objective was to capture wherever possible.

One of the 9 sections of the Takagi Yoshin Ryu is called the “Tai no Kata”. This can be roughly translated to “The form of the body”, “tai” being the body and “kata” being the form. There are 15 techniques as part of this section, and 10 of these end with a variation of the tomoe nage, where the opponent is thrown over oneself to nullify the threat.

The concept of sutemi or sacrifice can also be applied in a more generic manner, which is also common to all martial arts. This involves “Letting go”. Whenever there is a situation where one’s attack is successfully blocked by the opponent or if the opponent is too strong for a given attack to succeed, there is no point in continuing with the same. One has to let go. This “letting go” of the attack allows one to move around and find another opening to exploit and if nothing else conserve energy by not wasting it on pressing a fruitless attack.

In the case of Op Sindoor, this concept of “sutemi” was executed flawlessly by the Indian Military. By accepting potential losses, they gained so much more. Not only was their performance as a defence force appreciated the world over, but it also cemented India as a responsible nation that can be depended upon to not violate the peace. It also demonstrated that India could achieve any offensive mission at will, tailored to the conditions that are prevalent.

This focus on the mission brought home another interesting distinction between the Indian and Pakistani air forces. On an episode of the “Carvaka Podcast”, a YouTube channel run by Kushal Mehra, the host Kushal was discussing Op Sindoor with defence analyst Angad Singh. A link to this video is seen below. Angad Singh had an observation that is fantastic. He said that the Pakistani Air Force had a mindset of “Knights of the Air”. They are more focused on facing off against the Indian Air Force than on a given mission objective.

Video of the interaction between Kushal Mehra and Angad Singh. Watch between the 36 and 43 minute marks.

This mindset makes the Pakistanis focus exclusively on the number of aircraft lost in any given engagement. Hence, they were flaunting the fact they shot down some Indian aircraft. They completely missed the fact that the Indian Air Force successfully completed all its mission objectives, of destroying terror targets with no collateral damage and with no loss of life for itself. This was in stark contrast to the mindset of the Indian Air Force, who let go (sutemi) of the need for a “clean scoresheet” to achieve the mission objective. Of course, it is now well known that Pakistan also lost multiple aircraft, both on the 7^th and on the 10^th of May. So much for keeping score over achieving what their mission should been, protect targets in Pakistan.

I have one last observation to make in this article. Sutemi Waza is an old concept in the martial arts, but is visible even in modern hi-tech warfare. In this same vein, I recently understood the use of Vyuha that were used in the Mahabharta War at Kurukshetra in modern warfare. Major General G D Bakshi (Retd.) was speaking at even to launch his own book, “Indian Strategic Culture: The Mahabharata and the Kautilyan Ways of War”. The link to the YouTube video of his speech is seen below. A Vyuha is a battle formation from ancient or historical times. It is how troops are arrayed in a battle or the formation they assume as a battle progresses to achieve certain objectives.

Video of the speech by Major General (Retd.) G D Bakshi. Watch between the 19 and 21 minute marks.

During his speech, General Bakshi explains how the Ardha Chandra Vyuha (crescent moon or half moon formation) was used in modern warfare. He mentions that this formation was used by India against Pakistan during the tank battle at the battle of Assal Uttar, in 1965. This battle was a severe defeat for Pakistan. The crescent moon formation in my understanding, is what is also called the “pincer movement”, where an enemy is enveloped and attacked from multiple sides.

A representation of the Ardha Chandra Vyha (Crescent moon formation). Image credit – “The Mahabharata – 37”, “Karna in command”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

When I had seen a representation of the Ardha Chandra Vyuha in a comic format back in the 80s, it had seemed like a static formation. But after listening to the General, it seems that this is a formation that is formed in response to an attack. The crescent is formed as part of receiving an attack from the enemy. When the enemy is enveloped and the pincer attack happens, the formation looks like a crescent moon. It need not have started out like that!

While we speak of the Mahabharata, it must be said that the epic also cautions against seeking glory and focusing on the mission objectives. This contrasts with the psyche of the Pakistan Air Force as described by Angad Singh, which I mentioned a few paragraphs earlier. The image below, of a panel from the Mahabharata published by Amar Chitra Kata, clearly illustrates this point, even if warriors back in the day did break this rule. Personal glory it seems, has always been intoxicating.

Image from the Mahabharata cautioning against duels seeking personal glory. Image credit – “The Mahabharata – 38”, “The Kurus routed”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

In a more recent historical context, Shekhar Gupta, in a video of his mentioned that the use of massed artillery by India during the Kargil War of 1999 was inspired by the same tactic used by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the 19^th century. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire that was a major power in the 19^th century. Shekhar Gupta is the Editor-in-chief of The Print, a well-respected news media organization in India. The link to the video in which Mr. Gupta mentioned this is seen below. He mentioned that this fact will be part of a soon to be released book by Major General Lakhwinder Singh (Retd.) of the Indian Army.

Video of Shehkar Gupta speaking about the use of artillery in the Kargil War being inspired by the tactics of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Watch between the 13 and 15 minute marks.

So, modern military engagements demonstrate that concepts developed over centuries of marital practice continue to endure, while the technology used to put the concept into practice has changed continuously. I expect I will post a few more articles based on the thoughts that Op Sindoor has left me with.

These are just my thoughts as a layman with no military experience. I could be wrong about many things written in this post, including the actual events that took place and the thinking behind the same. This is partly because all details of Op Sindoor have not been officially revealed yet.

On 31^st May 2025, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, in an interview with Bloomberg accepted that there were aircraft losses, but the numbers were fewer than six. The CDS also mentioned that any tactical errors on the 7^th were fixed right away. This is perhaps his way of saying that Pakistani air defences were eliminated before any strike, after the 7^th. This could mean that Pakistani military was a legitimate target after the 7^th and not on the 7^th. It could also mean that the Indian military, after the events of the 7^th has decided that not only is the successful completion of the mission important but ensuring that no assets are lost is equally important. Either way, there are likely to be more aspects to learn from the operation in the weeks and months to come. A link to a snippet of the CDS’ interview is seen below.

Video which contains a snippet of CDS Genral Anil Chauhan’s interview with Bloomberg. Watch between the 3 and 4:30 minute marks.

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An exploration of budo in Indian culture

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Age of (Divya)Astras?

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Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 5 – The enormity of all that happens in the background

Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 4 – Celebrate War!?

Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 3 – Money matters!

Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 2 – Nothing has changed

Thoughts from Op Sindoor, Part 1 – Sutemi Waza and Mission success