भारतीय युद्धकलायें

The tradition & historical record

Indian martial arts refers to the fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent. A variety of terms are used for the English phrases "Indian martial arts", deriving from ancient sources. While they may seem to imply specific disciplines (e.g. archery, armed combat), by Classical times they were used generically for all fighting systems. Among the most common terms today, śastra-vidyā, is a compound of the words śastra (weapon) and vidyā (knowledge). Dhanurveda derives from the words for bow (dhanushya) and knowledge (veda), the "science of archery" in Puranic literature, later applied to martial arts in general. The Vishnu Purana text describes dhanurveda as one of the traditional eighteen branches of "applied knowledge" or upaveda, along with shastrashāstra or military science. A later term, yuddha kalā, comes from the words yuddha meaning fight or combat and kalā meaning art or skill. The related term śastra kalā (lit. weapon art) usually refers specifically to armed disciplines. Another term, yuddha-vidyā or "combat knowledge", refers to the skills used on the battlefield, encompassing not only actual fighting but also battle formations and strategy. Martial arts are usually learnt and practiced in the traditional akharas. ¹

An Indus Valley Civilisation seal shows two men spearing one another in a duel which seem to be centered on a woman. A statue of a spear thrower was also excavated from an Indus valley site. Dhanurveda, a section found in the Vedas (1500 BCE - 1100 BCE) contains references to martial arts. Indian epics contain the earliest accounts of combat, both armed and bare-handed. Most deities of the Hindu-Buddhist pantheon are armed with their own personal weapon, and are revered not only as master martial artists but often as originators of those systems themselves. The Mahabharata tells of fighters armed only with daggers besting lions, and describes a prolonged battle between Arjuna and Karna using bows, swords, trees, rocks and fists. Another unarmed battle in the Mahabharata describes two combatants boxing with clenched fists and fighting with kicks, finger strikes, knee strikes and headbutts. The oldest recorded organized unarmed fighting art in the Indian subcontinent is malla-yuddha or combat-wrestling, codified into four forms in the Vedic period. Stories describing Krishna report that he sometimes engaged in wrestling matches where he used knee strikes to the chest, punches to the head, hair pulling, and strangleholds. Based on such accounts, Svinth (2002) traces press-ups and squats used by Indian wrestlers to the pre-classical era. In Sanskrit literature the term dvandvayuddha referred to a duel, such that it was a battle between only two warriors and not armies. Epics often describe the duels between deities and god-like heroes as lasting a month or more. The malla-yuddha (wrestling match) between Bhima and Jarasandha lasts 27 days. ¹

Like other branches of Sanskrit literature, treatises on martial arts become more systematic in the course of the 1st millennium AD. Vajra-musti, an armed grappling style, is mentioned in sources of the early centuries AD. Around this time, tantric philosophers developed important metaphysical concepts such as kundalini, chakra, and mantra. The Sushruta Samhita (c. 4th century) identifies 108 vital points on the human body of which 64 were classified as being lethal if properly struck with a fist or stick. Sushruta's work formed the basis of the medical discipline ayurveda which was taught alongside various martial arts. With numerous other scattered references to vital points in Vedic and epic sources, it is certain that Indian subcontinent's early fighters knew and practised attacking or defending vital points. Around 630, King Narasimhavarman of the Pallava dynasty commissioned dozens of granite sculptures showing unarmed fighters disarming armed opponents. This is similar to the style described in the Agni Purana. Martial arts were not exclusive to the kshatriya caste, though the warrior class used them more extensively. The 8th-century text Kuvalaymala by Udyotanasuri recorded fighting techniques being taught at educational institutions, where non-kshatriya students from throughout the subcontinent "were learning and practicing archery, fighting with sword and shield, with daggers, sticks, lances, and with fists, and in duels (niyuddham)". Hindu priests of the traditional gurukula still teach unarmed fighting techniques to their students as a way of increasing stamina and training the physical body. The Gurjara-Pratihara came into power during the 7th century and founded a kshatriya dynasty in northern India which exceeded the preceding Gupta Empire. ¹

Kalaripayattu had developed into its present form by the 11th century, during an extended period of warfare between the Chera and Chola dynasties. The earliest treatise discussing the techniques of malla-yuddha is the Malla Purana (c. 13th century), unlike the earlier Manasollasa which gives the names of movements but no descriptions. Over a period of several centuries, invading Muslim armies managed to occupy much of present-day Pakistan and northern India. In response to the spread of Muslim rule, the kingdoms of South India united in the 14th century to found the Vijayanagara Empire. Physical culture was given much attention by both royalty and commoners in the empire, with wrestling being particularly popular with both men and women. Gymnasiums have been discovered inside royal quarters of Vijayanagara, and records speak of regular physical training for commanders and their armies during peacetime. Royal palaces and market places had special arenas where royalty and common people alike amused themselves by watching matches such as cockfights, ram fights, and wrestling. One account describes an akhara in Chandragiri where noblemen practiced jumping exercises, boxing, fencing and wrestling almost every day before dinner to maintain their health, and observed that "men as old as seventy years look only thirty". The Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle wrote of cane-fighting in southern India. According to Pietro, it was the custom for soldiers to specialise in their own particular weapon of expertise and never use any other even during war, "thereby becoming very expert and well practised in that which he takes to". As their ancient predecessors, swordplay and wrestling were commonly practiced by the royalty of Vijayanagara. ¹

After a series of victories, the Central Asian conqueror Babur established Mughal rule in north India during the 16th century. The Mughals were patrons of India's native arts, not only recruiting akhara-trained Rajput fighters for their armies but even practicing these systems themselves. The Ausanasa Dhanurveda Sankalanam dates to the late 16th century, compiled under the patronage of Akbar. ¹

Coming from a hilly region characterized by valleys and caves, the Marathas became expert horsemen who favoured light armour and highly mobile cavalry units d… ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Indian martial arts”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Indian martial arts is fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²