Hindu texts "Śruti" refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts, believed to be eternal knowledge authored neither by human nor divine agent but transmitted by sages ("rishis"). These comprise the central canon of Hinduism. It includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads. Of the "Shrutis" (Vedic corpus), the Upanishads alone are widely influential among Hindus, considered scriptures par excellence of Hinduism, and their central ideas have continued to influence its thoughts and traditions. The "Smriti" texts are a specific body of Hindu texts attributed
Ancient warfare disoriented soldiers, subsequently weakened from the previous attacks. During the Vedic period (fl. 1500–500 BC), the "Vedas" and other associated texts contain references to warfare. The earliest allusions to a specific battle are those to the Battle of the Ten Kings in Mandala 7 of the Rigveda. The two great ancient epics of India, "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata" (c. 1000–500 BC) are centered on conflicts and refer to military formations, theories of warfare and esoteric weaponry. Valmiki's "Ramayana" describes Ayodhya's military as defensive rather than aggressive. The city, it says, was strongly fortified and was surrounded by a deep moat. "Ramayana"