INDIAN MARTIAL ART

Antiquity (pre-Gupta)

The Indian epics contain accounts of combat, describing warriors such as Bhima. The Mahabharata describes a prolonged battle between Arjuna and Karna using bows, swords, trees and rocks, and fists.^[2] Another unarmed battle in the Mahabharata describes two fighters boxing with clenched fists and fighting with kicks, finger strikes, knee strikes and headbutts.^[3] Other boxing fights are also described in Mahabharata and Ramayana.^[4]

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.^[5] Based on such accounts, Svinth (2002) traces press ups and squats used by Indian wrestlers to the pre-classical era.^[5]

Many authorities contend that the 4th century B.C. conquest of India by Alexander the Great laid the foundation of Indian martial arts by dispersing pankration techniques throughout the subcontinent.^[6][7] Notable figures, such as Tatsuo Suzuki, Hirokazu Kanazawa, and Masutasu Oyama have pointed out the influence of Pankration on Indian martial arts.^[8]

Around the 3rd century BC, Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras, which taught how to meditate single-mindedly on points located inside one's body, which was used in later martial arts, while various mudra finger movements were taught in Yogacara Buddhism. These Yoga elements, as well as finger movements in the nata dances, were later incorporated into various martial arts.^[5]

The word "kalari" is mentioned in Sangam literature from the 2nd century BC. The Akananuru and Purananuru describe the martial arts of ancient Tamilakkam, including forms of one-to-one combat, and the use of spears, swords, shields, bows and silambam. The word "kalari" appears in the Puram ^[9] and Akam ^[10] to describe to both a battlefield and combat arena.

The references to "Silappadikkaram" in Sangam literature dating back to the 2nd century refer to the sale of Silamabam staves, swords, pearls and armor to foreign traders. The silambam staff was one of the martial art weapons, which was in great demand with the visitors.^[11][12]

References to martial arts are found in early Buddhist texts. The Lotus Sutra (ca. 1st century AD) refers to a boxing art while speaking to Manjusri.^[13] The Lotus Sutra also categorized combat techniques as joint locks, fist strikes, grapples, and throws,^{[14][unreliable source?]} and also referred to a martial art with dance-like movements called Nara.^{[15][unreliable source?]} Another early Buddhist sutra Hongyo-kyo describes a "strength contest" between Gautama Buddha's half-brother Prince Nanda and his cousin Devadatta.^[13] Other stories suggest that Siddhartha Gautama was a champion of martial arts and archery before becoming the Buddha.^[5]

The Vishnu Purana text describes Dhanur Veda as one of the traditional eighteen branches of knowledge.^[2]

[edit] Classical period (3rd to 9th centuries)

Like other branches of Sanskrit literature, treatises on martial arts become more systematic in the course of the 1st millennium AD.

The martial art of Vajra Mushti is also mentioned in sources of the early centuries CE.^[13] Indian military accounts of the Gupta Empire (c. 240-480) identified over 130 different classes of weapons. The Kama Sutra written by Vātsyāyana at the time suggested that women should regularly "practice with sword, single-stick, quarter-staff, and bow and arrow." Around this time, Tantric philosophers developed important metaphysical concepts such as kundalini energy, chakras, and mantras.^[5]

The Sushruta Samhita (c. 4th century) identifies 107 vital points of the human body in his Sushruta Samhita.^[16] Of these 107 points, 64 were classified as being lethal if properly struck with a fist or stick.^[5] Sushruta's work formed the basis of the medical discipline Ayurveda, which was taught alongside various Indian martial arts that had an emphasis on vital points, such as Varma Kalai and Marma Adi.^[5] With numerous other scattered references to vital points in Vedic and epic sources, it is certain that India's early martial practitioners knew and practiced attacking or defending vital points.^[17]

Martial arts were not exclusive to the Kshatriya warrior caste, though they used the arts more extensively. The 8th century text Kuvalaymala by Udyotanasuri recorded martial arts being taught at salad and ghatika educational institutions, where Brahmin students from throughout the subcontinent (particularly from South India, Rajasthan and Bengal) "were learning and practicing archery, fighting with sword and shield, with daggers, sticks, lances, and with fists, and in duels (niuddham)."^[2]

Around 630, King Narasimhavarman of the Pallava dynasty commissioned dozens of granite sculptures showing unarmed fighters disarming armed opponents. These may have shown an early form of Varma Adi, a Dravidian martial art that allowed kicking, kneeing, elbowing, and punching to the head and chest, but prohibited blows below the waist. This is similar to the Dhanur Veda martial art described in the Agni Purana.^[5]

The earliest extant manual of Dhanur Veda is in the Agni Purana (c. 8th century),^[17] which contains several chapters giving descriptions and instructions on the fighting arts of Dhanur Veda, with reference earlier sutras on Dhanur Veda dating back centuries earlier.^[18] It described how to improve a warrior's individual prowess and kill enemies using various different methods in warfare, whether a warrior went to war in chariots, elephants, horses, or on foot. Foot methods were subdivided into armed combat and unarmed combat.^[5] The former included the bow and arrow, the sword, spear, noose, armour, iron dart, club, battle axe, discus, and the trident.^[2] The latter included wrestling, knee strikes, and punching and kicking methods.

Middle Ages (10th to 15th centuries)

Further information: Origins of Kalarippayattu and Malla-yuddha

INDIAN WEAPON

According to P C Chakravati in The Art of War in Ancient India, Indian armies used standard weapons such as wooden or metal tipped spears, swords, thatched bomboo shields, wooden shields, metal shields, axes, short bows and long bows in warfare as early as the invasion of India by the forces of Alexander of Macedon, and these weapons are all mentioned in even earlier native texts.^[specify] Some troops in ancient times wore personal armor, but the majority did not until medieval times. Armed forces were largely standardised, and it is unclear if regular infantry were trained in any recognisable Indian martial art, other than standard military drills. Over time, weapondary evolved, and India became famed for its flexible wootz steel. Invasion in the 13th century from the pourous northwestern mountain passes that lead from Cerntal Asia and the Middle East into India, likely inspired new forms of weapondary, such as the talwar, a curved blade resembling Persian and Turkic arms. Curved blades had been used in India since ancient times, some even curved toward the cutting side like a sickle, but before the introduction of the talwar, the stright khanda type sword may have enjoyed greater popularity. Martial artists, typically coming from warrior jatis, employed other uniquely weapons such as the katar sword-gauntlet and urumi sword-whip.