In those days, a battle was to end at sunset. No one was to attack the serving attendants like flag-bearers and drummers. If someone surrendered, left the field or was unarmed, he was not attacked. Combat was between equals, that is chariot against chariot, elephant against elephant and horsemen against horsemen. Foot-soldiers fought foot-soldiers. If one person was fighting with another, a third person must not interfere. Although both sides accepted the rules, during the chaos of war, many rules were broken and many wrong things were done. But most of the time the rules were honoured and those who broke them had to face shame and dishonour. The flags of all the commanders flew on their chariots. Bhishma’s flag had a palm tree and five stars on it. Duryodhana’s had a cobra. Thus each one had a distinctive flag that could be recognized by his soldiers.
Rules of War
