"Yudhishthira said, 'Of what disposition, of what behaviour, of what
form, how acoutred, and how armed should the combatants be in order that
they may be competent for battle?'
"Bhishma said, 'It is proper that those weapons and vehicles should be
adopted (by particular bodies of combatants) with which they have become
familiar by use. Brave soldiers, adopting those weapons and vehicles,
engage in battle. The Gandharvas, the Sindhus, and the Sauviras fight
best with their nails and lances. They are brave and endued with great
strength. Their armies are capable of vanquishing all forces, The
Usinaras are possessed of great strength and skilled in all kinds of
weapons. The Easterners are skilled in fighting from the backs of
elephants and are conversant with all the ways of unfair fight. The
Yavanas, the Kamvojas, and those that dwell around Mathura are well
skilled in fighting with bare arms. The Southerners are skilled in
fighting sword in hand. It is well-known that persons possessed of great
strength and great courage are born in almost every country. Listen to me
as I describe their indications. They that have voices and eyes like
those of the lion or the tiger, they that have a gait like that of the
lion and the tiger, and they that have eyes like those of the pigeon or
the snake, are all heroes capable of grinding hostile ranks. They
that have a voice like deer, and eyes like those of the leopard or the
bull, are possessed of great activity. They whose voice resembles that of
bells, are excitable, wicked, and wrathful. They that have a voice deep
as that of the clouds, that have wrathful face, or faces like those of
camels, they that have hooked noses and tongues, are possessed of great
speed and can shoot or hurl their weapons to a great distance. They that
have bodies curved like that of the cat, and thin hair and thin skin,
become endued with great speed and restlessness and almost invincible in
battle. Some that are possessed of eyes closed like those of the iguana,
disposition that is mild, and speed and voice like the horses, are
competent to fight all foes. They that are of well-knit and handsome and
symmetrical frames, and broad chests, that become angry upon hearing the
enemy's drum or trumpet, that take delight in affrays of every kind, that
have eyes indicative of gravity, or eyes that seem to shoot out, or eyes
that are green, they that have faces darkened with frowns, or eyes like
those of the mongoose, are all brave and capable of casting away their
lives in battle. They that have crooked eyes and broad foreheads and
cheek-bones not covered with flesh and arms strong as thunder-bolts and
fingers bearing circular marks, and that are lean with arteries and
nerves that are visible, rush with great speed when the collision of
battle takes place. Resembling infuriated elephants, they become
irresistible. They that have greenish hair ending in curls, that have
flanks, cheeks, and faces fat and full of flesh, that have elevated
shoulders and broad necks, that have fearful visages and fat calves, that
are fiery like (Vasudeva's horse) Sugriva or like the offspring of
Garuda, the son of Vinata, that have round heads, large mouths, faces
like those of cats, shrill voice and wrathful temper, that rush to
battle, guided by its din, that are wicked in behaviour and full of
haughtiness, that are of terrible countenances, and that live in the
outlying districts, are all reckless of their lives and never flyaway
from battle. Such troops should always be placed in the van. They always
slay their foes in fight and suffer themselves to be slain without
retreating. Of wicked behaviour and outlandish manners, they regard soft
speeches as indications of defeat. If treated with mildness, they always
exhibit wrath against their sovereign.'"
