In the epic Mahabharata, no battle would take place after sunset. And this has set some in the army wondering if that is the reason why the first night test of the nuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-II missile ended in failure.

“Apparently our scientists believe in the Mahabharata where no fight used to take place after sunset,” said an army official.

Agni-II, the surface-to-surface missile has been the country’s ambitious project under its Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. Its first trial after sunset this month ended in failure. This is the second test failure for the ballistic missile.