ABSTRACT
It is likely that with the emergence of the horse as the most effective vehicle of war in the wake of foreign invasions, the chariot lost its primacy in the Indian battlefield, around the beginning of the Christian era. However, it did not fade out, as believed widely, and continued to be a part of the Indian armies for many more centuries. The Junāgaḍha inscription of Rudradāman, the Śaka ruler, written in 151 ad, refers to the chariot arm. 1 It clearly suggests that the foreign invaders, who ruled over India around the beginning of the Christian era also patronized this arm.
