Indian Martial Arts

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”, usually deriving from Dravidian 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 is a compound of the words sastra (weapon) and vidya (knowledge).Dhanurveda derives from the words for bow (dhanushya) and knowledge (veda), the “science of archery” in Puranicliterature, later applied to martial arts in general. The Vishnu Purana text describes dhanuveda as one of the traditional eighteen branches of “applied knowledge” or upaveda , along with shastrashastra or military science.  A later term, yuddha kala, comes from the words yuddha meaning fight or combat and kala meaning art or skill. The related term sastra kala (lit. weapon art) usually refers specifically to armed disciplines. Another term, yuddha-vidya 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.

While it is only a theory as of now, Shaolin Kung Fu  could be of Indian origin. It has been found in many historical scripts of the Gupta period, but still said as Bodhidharma  third son of a king from pallava dynasty in southern India is founder of shaolin and kung-fu...