Balarama Jayanti – The Plough as a Weapon

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 Vikram M Rart, Budo, Bujinkan, hinduism, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, photography, training, travelLeave a comment

Lord Balarama is the elder brother of Lord Krishna. 27^th Aug 2026 is supposed to be Balarama Jayanthi, which commemorates the birth of Balarama. Balarama is considered an incarnation of Ādi Shesha, the Naga on whom Lord Vishnu reclines. But he is also sometimes considered an avatāra of Lord Vishnu, and a part of the Dashāvatāra. He is the 8^th avatāra, after Lord Rama and before Lord Krishna in this chronology, as far as I am aware.

Balarama depicted as the 8th Avatāra in the Dashāvatāra. The above image shows, from left to right, Rama, Balarama, Krishna & Kalki.

Balarama is associated with 2 weapons, the plough and the gada (mace). The plough is the most iconic weapon associated with him, and this is shown in depictions of Balarama for almost 2 millennia now. The internet claims that the plough is associated with him because he evolved from originally being an agricultural God.

Balarama was the greatest exponent of the gada or mace of his age. He was the mentor for both Bhima & Duryodhana in the art of mace fighting. Observe the image of Balarama in the image seen below. Here he is depicted with the plough and a large staff, which is a pestle, called Musala in many Indian languages. The pestle or Musala could be considered a club or a bludgeoning weapon. A gada or a mace is an evolution of the club. So, Lord Balarama is associated with bludgeoning weapons.

Balarama depicted with the Musala/Onake/Pestle in his left hand and the Plough in his right hand. This carving is from the Sasbahu temple in Nagda, Rajasthan. Image credit – Wikimedia Commons (Michael Gunther).

Balarama’s association with the plough and to a lesser extent the mace or large staff is what inspired this article. The occasion of Balarama Jayanthi gives us an opportunity to explore the various plough-like weapons in various cultures. It also gives us an opportunity to discover the use of the Musala as a weapon in recent Indian history!

The plough is a tool used to break the earth or turn over the soil in preparation for sowing. It is an ancient tool that has been in use for several thousand years. It is iconic in its shape. It consists of a wooden shaft with another piece of wood, called a ploughshare, attached at an angle to one end of the shaft. The shaft is pulled by a beast of burden, horses or oxen for example, while the angled piece of wood is drawn through the ground to turn the soil. The tip of the ploughshare could have a piece of metal attached to it, to increase its efficiency.

Balarama singlehandedly creating a channel for the Yamuna, using a traditional large plough. Image credit – “Tales of Balarama”, published by Amar Chitra Katha”.

The plough, sometimes spelled “plow” could be of varying sizes. Some could be large and pulled by animals while, smaller ones existed for use by humans. Of course, these days, mechanized ploughs can be much larger. Seen below are examples of a large are small ploughs.

A big traditional plough. The shaft is mentioned in red, while the ploughshare is mentioned in yellow.

A closeup of the plough seen in the previous image. The metal plate affixed to the ploughshare is seen clearly in this image. It is pointed to by the red arrow.

A small traditional plough on display at the Kumarakon Heritage Museum, Vembanad, Kerala.

Balarama wielding a plough is seen in multiple interpretations. The oldest is perhaps a coin issued by Agathocles, an Indo-Greek king from northwestern India in the 2^nd century BCE. An image of Balarama, also called Sankarshana is seen in the image below.

A coin from around 190 BCE, issued by Agathokles of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. The image on the left shows Balarama or Sankarshana. In his right hand, Balarama is holding aloft the plough. The image on the right depicts Lord Krishna. There two images are on two sides of the same coin. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Here, the plough is held in Balarama’s right hand. It is not a large weapon. It is not dissimilar in size from a modern-day hammer that exists in tool kits in many homes to this day. But modern interpretations show the plough being a large weapon. One such interpretation is from the Mahabharata published by Amar Chitra Katha in the 1980s. This interpretation is seen in the image below.

Balarama shown wielding a large plough as a weapon. Image credit – “Mahabharata 39 – After the War”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

In the depiction of Balarama from the Sasbahu temple in Nagda, Rajasthan seen earlier, both the plough and the musala are seen as either short or medium sized weapons at best. The musala is called the “onake” or “vonake” in Kannada. It is a large pestle that was used to grind grains into flour.

These came in multiple sizes, from about 2 to 4 feet in length. The diameter is between 2 and 3 inches. This would correspond with a Jo or an Ojo in Bujinkan parlance. The Jo and Ojo are both staffs that are about 4 feet in length, with the Jo having a diameter of about an inch and the Ojo being larger, 2 inches or more.

The musala or onake could taper from the grinding end to the end handled by the user. With this design feature, the staff starts to resemble a club. And the mace is an evolution of the club. So, Balarama being depicted with a musala and being an ace wielder of the mace could be considered the same or at least an evolution of the depiction of the same martial skill set.

Can the depiction of Balarama with a plough and a musala be a representation of his creation (agriculture through the plough) and destruction (destruction with the mace) being two sides of the same coin? I have no idea.

I had written an article last year, detailing the extraordinary action of “Onake Obavva”. Obavva is a hero for the people of Karnataka. She used an onake/musala/pestle and fought off the army of Hyder Ali until help arrived during the late. She lost her life in the process. This event is from the 18^th century. I had also shared videos with the article depicting modern day women wielding a jo and ojo. A link to this article is seen below. Do refer to the same for more information about the pestle as a weapon. Now we return to Lord Balarama.

Onake Obavva and Jojutsu

Balarama was a great warrior. He, in conjunction with his brother Krishna was responsible for holding off the armies of Jarasandha 18 times, when Mathura was invaded repeatedly. Even as a child, he killed the Asuras Dhenuka and Pralamba. He killed the mighty wrestlers Mushtika and Koota in Kamsa’s arena as a young man.

Balarama depicted using the Musala/Pestle against Jarasandha’s forces. Image credit – “The Bhagavata, Special Edition” (Kindle version), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Later in his life he is said to have killed the mighty Vānara Dwivida. Dwivida was supposedly a part of the Vānara army that fought at Lanka during the Ramayana and a friend of Narakāsura, who was killed by Lord Krishna. Balarama is also supposed to have killed Rukmi, the King of Vidarbha, who was Krishna’s brother-in-law.

Balarama depicted defeating Mushtika. Image credit – “Tales of Krishna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Balarama, from most depictions was a large and powerful individual. This in turn lends credence to his being an ace wrestler. Balarama killed Pralamba while being carried on the latter’s back. This could be imagined to be Balarama applying a lock on the upper body of Pralamba while choking him to death. Also, Mushtika was a dreaded wrestler who was killed in the ring in a fight with wrestling rules! Strikes were allowed in these wrestling matches; they were not purely restricted to grappling.

Balarma shown with a village chieftain in the Krishna Mandapam, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. Obser how Balarama is depicted as a much larger individual compared to those around him. Also, the person on whose shoulders Balarama has put his arm is depicted as being humbled at the casual gesture from the great man.

The image above shows how much larger than the regular citizens Balarama is shown to be. Of course, it could be that the size difference is showing the huge difference in the social standing of the individuals or the divine aspect of Balarama. The greater size could imply greater importance or divinity the individual. But considering the other known aspects of Balarama’s life, the size could be attributed to his strength and chosen warrior skills.

I would suspect Balarama was a great hunter as well. The Asura Dhenuka was killed while he was in the form of a donkey. Balarama was also supposed to have helped Krishna kill an elephant by the name of Kuvalayapeeda.

Balarama defeats the Asura Pralamba. Image credit – “The Bhagavata, Special Edition” (Kindle version), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

While fighting the armies of Jarasandha, Balarama used all the weapons a warrior of his class used in that era. He was proficient with the use of the bow and arrows as well. But his weapon of choice on the battlefield and his specialization was with the gada, or mace.

Balarama depicted using the Gada/Mace against Jarasandha’s forces. Image credit – “Krishna and Jarasandha”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

As mentioned earlier, he was a mentor to both Bheema and Duryodhana in the art of mace fighting. The fact that his students were on opposite sides of the Kurukshetra War and that Krishna was not using weapons, were what resulted in his abstaining from the fighting in the great war.

Balarama chooses to not participate in the Kurukshetra War. Image credit – “Mahabharata 27 – Sanjaya’s Mission”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

This brings us to the plough being associated with Balarama. I have not heard of any description of how he used the plough in a fight, in any of the many conflicts he was involved with. So, I will use article to explore how the plough could have been a weapon or at least modified into one.

The plough is a tool that has a “head”, the ploughshare, that is at an angle of between 45 and 90 (or a little more) degrees to the shaft. To repeat myself, if one observes the plough depicted on the Agathocles coin and on the carving from Nagda, it is not a large weapon. It is either a short or medium sized weapon, that can be used in one hand.

One weapon from Japanese history that comes close to the form factor of a plough, is an agricultural implement that doubled as a weapon which was used in one hand, is the Kama. It is a sickle that was used as a weapon in the past.

A pair of Kama. Image credit – Wikipedia.

A training version of the Kama. This trainer was made and photographed by Siddharth Sahu.

The Kama was combined with a chain and a weight at the end of said chain. This combination of weapons was called the Kusarigama (Kusari – chain, Kama – sickle). The chain and weight were used for ranged attacks and also to distract or deter opponents. The Kama came into action at close quarters while the chain could also be used to immobilize opponents if the opportunity presented itself.

A pair of Kusarigama. Observe the chain (kusari) and bulbous weight (fundo) attached to the Kama. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Observe all the versions of the Kama from the 3 images seen above. The blade is roughly at a right angle to the shaft, similar to the plough. Now observe the artistic depiction of the plough in the image below. The plough depicted is very large, but the form is very similar to that of the Kama.

Balarama depicted using a plough that looks like a very large Kama! Image credit – “The Bhagavata, Special Edition” (Kindle version), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

A weapon used across India, Persia and Europe is the past, that was similar in shape to the Kama and therefore the plough is the Crow’s Beak axe. This of course, was always a weapon and never an agricultural tool. The Crow’s Beak was useful against chainmail armour and to a limited extend against plate armour.

A Crow’s Beak axe, on display at the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Observe the incredible artistry on this weapon. Two elephats are depicted fighting at the base of the blade and Lord Hanuman himself is seen standing on the back!

A Crow’s Beak axe on display at a dojo.

This is a closeup of the head of the Crow’s Beak from the previous image.

Now observe the image seen below. It is a closeup of the first image in this article. It is a modern-day depiction of Balaram in the style of ancient carvings. Here, Balarama wields the plough behind his head in his right hand and the club in his left hand. The plough is held like one would hold a Crow’s Beak axe while striking an opponent. The plough is indicated by the white arrow for clarity.

Balarama seen wielding the plough like an axe, in his right hand, while he holds a club in his left hand. The plough is indicated with the white arrow.

Considering this similarity to an axe, it must be noted that the depictions of the plough resemble two modern day tools. One is the modern-day Ice Axe, which resembles a plough due to the axe resembling the ploughshare in its angle to the shaft and the adze resembling the other part of the ploughshare, that farmers use to guide the plough in the right direction.

An Ice Axe. Image credit – Wikipedia.

The other modern-day tool is the Geologist’s Hammer. This tool has a point or an adze on one side and the other side of the hammerhead is a regular hammer. Observe the image below and the similarity in the form factor will be obvious.

A Geologist’s Hammer. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Now observe the historical tool or weapon seen in the image below. It is a one handed two headed axe which resembles both the Ice Axe and the Geologist’s Hammer! Further, it has a recognizable axe head on one side and a short sickle head similar to that of a Kama on the other side! 😊

A two-headed axe, with a normal axe head on the right and a kama sickle blade on the left. This specimen is on display at the Kumarakom Heritage Museum, Vembanad, Kerala.

Now, once again look closely at the plough depicted in the right hand of Balarama in the ancient coin. It looks very similar to another tool which also doubled up as a weapon from Indian history! I am referring to the Ankusha or the elephant goad. The Ankusha is the weapon of choice for Lord Vayu, the God of the Wind and the Guardian of the Norwest.

In the image below, ignore the axe and the spearhead. The hook attached to a shaft is the Ankusha in its basic form. This is very similar to the depiction of the plough in the coin! This weapon, while combined with a spearhead or an axe or both was used in Indian history. The Ankusha was useful in hooking & deflecting weapons, shields and the limbs of opponents when necessary.

An Ankusha. Ignore the spearhead at the tip and the axe head. The hook with the shaft depicts a basic Ankusha. If one looks closely at the plough held in Balarama’s right hand on the coin seen earlier in this article, it looks remarkably similar to an Ankusha!

If we are speaking of an Ankusha and the plough can be held as an axe, we must mention the Bearded Axe. This is an axe that somewhat combines the utility of an axe and an Ankusha. The axe head delivers the blows while the “beard” of the axe head enables hooking weapons and the limbs of opponents. The shape of the axe head of a Bearded Axe, as seen in the image below indicates how an axe head could be constructed to function similarly to an Ankusha.

A Bearded Axe. Observe that the axe head also resembles the hook in the Ankusha in its form. Image credit – Wikimedia Commons.

Let’s now flip the plough, the smaller versions of course, that are depicted in Balarama’s hands. Imagine holding the plough depicted on the ancient coin, where the ploughshare is held near the fist and the shaft extends out beyond that. One could imagine this as the Ankusha from the image above held in reverse, with the spearhead being the handle. There did indeed exist such a weapon in Japan in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

This was the Jutte. It was weapon issued to police officers in Japan when swords had been outlawed after the Meiji Restoration. The “hook” worked to catch/stop swords and redirect the attack. The protruding shaft made of metal worked efficiently as a club when necessary.

A training version of the Jutte. Observe that the slot looks similar to the hook on an Ankusha. This weapon is essentially a reversed Ankusha! Thus, it could be considered, in shape and form, a reversed plough as well!

Now let us get back to modern depictions of Balarama wielding a large plough. In the image below, while fighting the afore mentioned Vānara Dwivida, Balarama is depicted dual wielding a large pestle and a large plough! Imagine the strength that would require!

Balarama depicted dual wielding! With the plough and the pestle in each hand! Imagine the strength and skill needed to pull this off! :-) Image credit – “The Bhagavata, Special Edition” (Kindle version), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

A tool that would resemble a large plough in form factor, if not in weight is the Scythe. This again, is an agricultural tool with a large sickle blade. The blade seems like an oversized blade of a Kama from Japan. This tool is also commonly associated with depictions of the Grim Reaper, who symbolizes death.

A Scythe. Image credit – Wikipedia.

While the Scythe in its original form might not have ever been used as a weapon, there existed a weaponized version called the “War Scythe”. This was a polearm with the blade turned up 90 degrees, to be parallel to the shaft rather than the usual perpendicular. This weapon, interestingly, leads us back to Japanese weapons from history. The War Scythe resembles the Naginata, which was itself a version of a glaive. The Naginata has a short blade on top of a long shaft. The difference though is that the Naginata has the sharp edge on the outer side of the curve of the blade, while the War Scythe has the same on the inner side of the curve of the blade, just like with a normal scythe.

Troops from the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth seen with their “War Scythes” in the mid-19th century. Image credit – Wikipedia.

I have no idea if Balarama ever used the plough like the weapons I described, but it is still worth considering, for warriors of the past, like their modern-day counterparts, could wield multiple weapons expertly, even if they had personal favourites among the tools of war. It would also not be wrong to presume that weapon designs borrowed from tools and warriors could adapt from one to the other as needed.

This concludes this article where I have tried to restrict myself to the martial aspects of Balarama that I could recollect. Balarama’s life is fascinating in many ways beyond his martial abilities. His marriage to Revathi has a sci-fi element to it, with time dilation being involved! Further, the pestle/musala/club/onake, while being a favourite weapon of Balarama’s, ended up being the implement responsible for the destruction of his entire clan! The Vrishni clan of the Yadavas literally self-destructed by killing each other with pestles! But these are points beyond the martial arts, at least for now.

The Bujinkan schools from an Indian perspective – Terrain, People & Evolution – Part 2

August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

This post is the second part of a 2-part series. The link to the first part is seen below.

The Bujinkan schools from an Indian perspective – Terrain, People & Evolution – Part 1

I would encourage everyone to read both parts. However, if you are here, there is no need to read part one before coming to this post. To enable this, I am sharing the introduction to this series, which is also seen with part 1, below. This gives a reader a fair idea to go ahead with this post and visit part 1 later.

Over the years of training the Bujinkan system of martial arts, one will invariably study the different schools that form a part of the system. There are 9 schools that the Bujinkan is comprised of. Of the 9 schools, 6 are practiced regularly in dojos around the world. These 6 schools are mentioned below.

Togakure Ryu
Gyokko Ryu
Koto Ryu
Shinden Fudo Ryu
Kukishinden Ryu
Takagi Yoshin Ryu

When we train each of these schools, we learn the evolution of these schools. This consists of the conditions in which these schools had their origin and how they evolved over the years. The origin of the schools pertains to a region and its geography.

As an Indian, the terrain in different regions of Japan, where these schools had their origin and evolution, does not come to mind immediately. But the geography and climate which influenced and perhaps defined the schools for a very long period of time is important. To perhaps alleviate this issue, I am writing this post.

I will share images and examples from Indian history which are rough approximations of the geography and physical conditions in which the 6 schools mentioned above were created and evolved over time.

In Jan 2025, I had written a more detailed post about the schools form a part of the Bujinkan system of martial arts. The link to this post is seen below. Do refer to this link for more information about the schools.

The Bujinkan, as I see it – Series 1, Part 3

We had looked at the Togakure Ryu, the Gyokko Ryu and the Takagi Yoshin Ryu in part 1, the link to which is seen above. We will look at the remaining 3 schools in this post.

KOTO RYU

The Koto Ryu is a sister school of the Gyokko Ryu (which we looked at in the previous part) in some ways. Over the course of history students from the two schools have been handed over the responsibility of the Soke (Inheritor – Grandmaster) for the other when there was a need. Gyokko Ryu is an expression of Kosshi Jutsu whereas Koto Ryu is an expression of Koppo Jutsu.

The Koto Ryu is not necessarily specialized towards close-quarters combat. It favours slightly greater distances between opponents, a “middle distance” if you will. The Koto Ryu also favours individuals moving in and out of the range of opponents. The distances change from short to long alternatively and as necessary. This is not unlike fighting with sword and shield. The use of the sword takes one closer to an opponent while defending with a shield allows one to move out of the range of an opponent’s attack.

The above image shows a woman wielding a sword and a shield. This is a carving that is present on the Keerthi Sthamb (Tower of Glory) in the Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan. This lady is wielding a short sword. So, her fighting style could be relatable to the Koto Ryu, even if this school does not specify the weapons to be used. As someone wielding a short sword and a shield, she would dart in and out of the range of an opponent, for attack and defence, movement which is emblematic of the Koto Ryu.

KUKISHINDEN RYU

The Kukishinden Ryu, based on what I have learnt, is characterized today by arms and armour. Quite some weapons we train in the Bujinkan these days come from the Kukishinden Ryu. Supposedly, a lot of the techniques in the Kukishinden Ryu are descended from situations where the opponents used armour to protect themselves. The methods used to put an opponent at a disadvantage when she or he is protected in armour differ from when opponents are unarmoured.

The Kukishinden Ryu is also supposed to have a heritage of use at sea. Sailors are supposed to have used the Kukishinden Ryu on ships, or large boats in the past. This included pirates and naval troops. This is not to say that the Kukishinden Ryu was not applied on land. I have never seen this school be practiced in modern day on boats. This aspect, while discussed, does not overly inform the manner in which the school is practiced.

The above image shows a chainmail shirt displayed in the State Museum in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. This is perhaps the most commonly used form of armour over several centuries across most of Eurasia. The protection chainmail provided against cuts and slashes affected the way soldiers moved since they could ignore attacks that were purely cuts. This armour did not give the same degree of protection against thrusting attacks.

The above image shows the plates worn by soldiers on top of chainmail shirts. These were worn on the front over the chest and on the back. This display is from the City Palace Museum in Udaipur, Rajasthan. These plates added protection against thrusts in addition to the protection against cuts that chainmail afforded.

This image shows chainmail leggings which also have plates for added protection. These are also displayed in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Observe the round plates over the knees. The have wicked spikes! I wonder if kneeing an opponent with the spikes was a good idea though. If the kick is against an unarmoured part of an opponent, it would be effective. But if it was against armour, the damage would not be great.

The chance of the spike getting caught in the opponent’s armour or causing pain to the one kicking needs to be considered, before concluding that spike was a smart addition! Also, could it have been placed there for a psychological advantage over an opponent? For it looked scarier than it was effective? I guess that is food for thought.

This image is also from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. It shows a female guard of the women’s quarters (Zenana Mahal). This guard is armed with a chainmail shirt, helmet and a spear. These guards, as discussed with another image in the section for the Gyokko Ryu, also used swords, shields, daggers and early firearms. The spear forms practiced in the Bujinkan also have their roots in the Kukishinden Ryu. In a way, this image captures very well the essence of the Kukishinden Ryu, weapons and armour.

This image shows some arms and the armour used by Maharana Pratap. Pratap is perhaps the most famous ruler of Mewar and among the best-known warriors of historical India. In this display he is seen with a chainmail surcoat on top of a set of overlapping plates over his chest. The chainmail is fastened with a cummerbund.

Also seen in the image are his famous twin swords and spear, which was supposedly his favourite weapon. This display is also from the City Palace Museum in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Kukishinden Ryu also has its own school of sword fighting. The kind of kit seen in this image is what would have been emblematic of elite warriors in India in the 16^th century, which corresponds to the Sengoku period in Japan. This era was the high noon of mediaeval combat in Japan.

The above image shows a “Toothkudi Ship”. The image is from the Maritime Heritage Museum, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. This was a type of ship used historically on the East Coast of India.

This image shows a “Kottiya”. This image is also from the Maritime Heritage Museum, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. This was a type of ship used historically on the West Coast of India.

This image shows a model of a “Lakshadweep Odi”. The image is also from the Maritime Heritage Museum. This was a type of ship used historically on the on the Southwestern coast of India.

All the 3 types of ship seen above are what are classified as “Dhows”. Variants of this design of ship have been in use in Indian waters for almost 2 millennia, right up until the 20^th century and were the mainstay of trade activities. The martial arts used by pirates and private guards of cargo and merchants would have likely applied their craft on boats of this kind.

SHINDEN FUDO RYU

The Shinden Fudo Ryu is a school that is supposed to have developed through combat in wooded areas. This school also has no defined physical postures (kamae), perhaps because keeping any defined physical posture in uneven terrain that forested areas present, is not practical.

The other oft observed aspect regarding the Shinden Fudo Ryu is that it uses open palm strikes. This supposedly is akin to the wings of birds which do not form fists! This attribute also harks back to the natural world which seems inextricably linked to the evolution of this school. In other words, the terrain seems to be the most important among the defining aspects of this school.

Many battles in Indian history have been defined by the terrain. One example is the Battle of Saraighat in 1671, where the river Brahmaputra played an important role in the victory of the Ahoms over the Mughals. Another example is the 3^rd Battle of Panipat, in 1761, where the plain ground benefitted the use of mobile camel mounted artillery of the Afghans over the heavy artillery of the Marathas.

But one battle where the wooded terrain specifically aided one side was the Battle of Dewair in 1582, when the Rajput forces of Mewar defeated the Mughal Army in the Aravali Hills in Rajasthan. This Battle was fought in the hills and gorges of Dewair which is in the midst of the Aravali Hills, which are covered in dense scrub forest, which diminished the advantage provided by Mughal numerical superiority.

I am sharing videos and a photo of the terrain where this battle was fought. There is only a memorial built to commemorate this battle at the location. Nothing else has come up and no development has changed the terrain in nearly 450 years!

This video shows the entire area (Dewair ka Darra) where the Battle of Dewair was fought, from the top of the memorial that has been built. This shows the difficulty of the terrain for large bodies of troops to maneuver in.

This photo is from the road leading to Dewair. The density of the scrub and thorn forest on the slopes of the hills is clearly visible here.

This short video shows how poor the visibility is along paths with dense vegetation all around.

This video shows the terrain along the road close to the actual Gorge (Darra) of Dewair. Some of the sudden plunges in the rocky terrain are visible in this video.

The above photo and set of videos are a wonderful example of fighting in uneven terrain in wooded areas, very similar to the geographies that gave us the Shinden Fudo Ryu!

This brings me to the end of this two-part series of articles that show, from an Indian historical perspective, where the origins of the regularly practiced schools of the Bujinkan lie.

The Bujinkan schools from an Indian perspective – Terrain, People & Evolution – Part 1

August 13, 2026August 12, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, Indian History, Martial Arts, hinduism, Indian Culture, training1 Comment

Togakure Ryu
Gyokko Ryu
Takagi Yoshin Ryu
Koto Ryu
Kukishinden Ryu
Shinden Fudo Ryu

As an Indian, the terrain where the schools had their origin does not come to mind immediately. The terrain and climatic conditions in India are quite different (at least in large parts) from that in Japan, where these schools had their origin and evolution. But the geography and climate which influenced and perhaps defined the schools for a very long period of time is important. To help my fellow Indians identify terrain and conditions similar to the those that led to the birth of these schools, I am writing this post.

I will share images and examples from Indian history which are approximations of the geography and physical conditions in which the 6 schools mentioned above were created and evolved over time. I have used, as far as possible images and videos of places where actual combat occurred. All the images are videos in this 2-part series are taken by me during visits to these locations.

The Bujinkan, as I see it – Series 1, Part 3

TOGAKURE RYU

I have heard from my teacher and mentors that the Togakure Ryu, at least in part, evolved from the way troops fought inside castles. The long deep kamae (physical posture) and linear movement in the Togakure Ryu is supposed to be an outcome of having to move linearly in narrow passageways. Castles, like many forts and palaces around the world, had narrow passages to defend them better. This same feature was true for walkways along fort walls. I am sharing images from the Udaipur City Palace the Kumbhalgarh Fort below.

The Udaipur City Palace was built with defence in mind, for the kingdom of Mewar, the capital of which was Udaipur, was at perpetual war with the Mughals, Afghans and other neighbouring Sultanates for centuries. Mewar’s earlier capital Chittorgarh was brutally sacked thrice between the 14^th and 16^th centuries.

Kumbhalgarh, was smaller than other major centres of Mewar, and was never held for long by her enemies. It seems to have been built mainly for defence, with a 36 km long wall (supposedly the 2^nd longest in the world after the Great Wall of China). The walls have wide walkways in places, but the stairs up and down the walls are narrow and easy to defend.

The above image shows a narrow passageway in the City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Two people will have a really hard time walking next to each other in this corridor. And there are no deviations to duck into. So, anyone who enters will be at risk from the moment they enter until they exit. Of course, with sturdy and big shields one can safely traverse these passages. But the passages can be barricaded and attackers can have a hard time fighting defenders, even in small numbers, especially if they are using pole weapons, to slow down the attackers.

Seen above is another corridor from the City Palace, Udaipur. This one is much wider than the one in the previous image. Maybe 6 to 8 soldiers can walk next to each other here. But this also means a larger number of troops can hold corridors like this, in formation and full kit, like spears, swords, shields, armour and missile weapons.

This is a narrow staircase from the Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan. Not only is it narrow, one also cannot see what is on the other side of the doorway to the right at the top. This uncertainly adds to delaying attackers and gives defenders opportunities to fight back.

This image shows the entrance to another narrow staircase. Here, one needs to duck at the doorway, making one all the more vulnerable. This image is from the City Palace, Udaipur.

The above image shows the wall of the Kumbhalgarh Fort, indicated by the arrows in red. The wall stretches for 36 km, with varying widths. What is seen in the image is the widest part. It is said that 4 horsemen can ride alongside each other on the walkway. I would estimate that 8 to 10 soldiers can do the same. While this is much wider than the narrow passageways and stairways seen in the previous images, this is still not very wide. Considering that a fall off the wall would injurious, if not fatal, the lack of space is a considerable challenge to fighting on top.

This image shows the walkway on the wall from the previous image, a “ground level” view if you will. Not only is the path not wide, the occasional steps also make the ground uneven while fighting.

GYOKKO RYU

The Gyokko Ryu, from what I have heard, is perhaps the oldest school in the Bujinkan system. The Gyokko Ryu is a system of very close quarters fighting, with just about a half-arm distance between the opponents. I have heard that this was a consequence of the Gyokko Ryu evolving from fighting in small spaces, like chambers and rooms in castles and homes in historic Japan.

It is also said that this system was used by women, mainly of the court, to protect themselves in case the castle was breached and their quarters were attacked. This seems logical as the Gyokko Ryu was already adapted to be applied in small spaces.

Considering that palace passages were narrow spaces themselves, some of the concepts of the Gyokko Ryu would be applicable in the spaces where the Togakure Ryu would be applicable. Of course, there is not strict distinction in where a specific system of fighting should be applied. It depends on the opponents, the situation and what one actually is capable of or trained to do.

The above image shows a room from the Kumbhalgarh Fort. It is not very big. Even the royal chambers of this fort are not very large. The guide there said that this fort was a “fallback option” for the rulers of Mewar. When Chittorgarh was attacked or Udaipur was threatened, they retreated to Kumbhalgarh while planning a counterattack.

Kumbhalgarh was well defended by terrain, by the Aravali hills, which were forested as well. So, taking this fort was a lot harder than attacking the other 2 major centres of Mewar. Considering this “fallback” feature of Kumbhalgarh, the living quarters are small compared to other palaces. And fighting in these chambers is kind of what the Gyokko Ryu was designed for!

This image shows the walkway and watchtower at one of the higher points of the Kumbhalgarh Fort. Small cannons could also be placed here. Consider fighting in just the watchtower indicated with the red arrow. It is a confined space where fighting would be in very close quarters. While the walkway could be considered to be conducive to the Togakure Ryu and the Gyokko Ryu, the tower itself would be ideal space for the Gyokko Ryu.

This image shows the staircase up to the walkway of the main outer wall of the Kumbhalgarh Fort. It is so narrow that only one person can climb up at a time and her or his shoulder would scrape the wall doing so! I would say it is nearly impossible to fight on these stairs! It is pretty much suicide, if even a slight slip occurs.

Considering that the evolution of the Gyokko Ryu involved women in combat, here are 2 examples. Seen above is the chainmail armour of a female palace guard from the City Palace museum in Udaipur. The women’s quarters, or Zenana Mahal, had guards who were women. These fighting women wielded spears, swords, shields, early firearms, knives and bows and arrows.

This image shows a carving on the Vijay Sthamb (Tower of Victory) in the Chittorgarh Fort. It is a close up showing a woman mid-flight. She is wielding a dagger and is poised to strike at an opponent she has trapped with her legs. This is a classic example of close quarters combat. She is in grappling distance and is utilizing a short-range weapon. The dagger is seen encircled in red.

TAKAGI YOSHIN RYU

The Takagi Yoshin Ryu is another school that has a link to palace culture. I have heard it said that this school evolved, at least partially, from the skills developed by bodyguards while defending their patrons, who tended to be aristocrats and wealthy folk. The techniques in this school include those that involve taking down and restraining individuals, something akin to arresting individuals. This was supposedly to capture potential assassins, spies and similar criminals, so that they could be questioned for information later. Restraining individuals in turn involves some movements that are expressions of grappling.

The above image shows a carving on the Vijay Sthamb in the Chittorgarh Fort. This is the carving, the close-up of which was seen in the earlier image. I considered it a display of an expression of the Gyokko Ryu earlier due to the use of the dagger and the close quarter fight that is shown. However, this image can also be considered an expression of the Takagi Yoshin Ryu.

The woman in the image has restrained, or perhaps trapped, another individual with her legs. It seems like the trapped individual is struggling and using his right arm to maybe fight back. But the woman is wielding a dagger, poised to strike. What we cannot tell is if the dagger is a threat, promising injury or worse if the person does not surrender, or if it is the moment before she strikes the fatal blow. If it is indeed a threat, the trapped individual could be interrogated later!

The above image shows a panel from a temple in Pattadakal, Karnataka. This carving dates to the 8^th century CE. India has a very long tradition of wresting and grappling arts. This tradition includes the martial systems of Malla Yudhha, Kushti and Pehalwani.

This panel shows people trying to trap and take done one another. Individuals are trying to restrain arms, trip the other over and grasping about the waist. In the far-left panel, one individual is attacking another from behind, using legs to apply a body choke (tai jime) and a choke on the neck with the hands.

This image also shows a panel from Pattadakal, Karnataka. This panel also shows scenes of grappling and an attack from the rear. Towards the right side is an individual either performing a head stand in celebration or has been flipped over by his opponents.

I will conclude part of this 2-part series here. We will delve into the Koto Ryu, the Kukishinden Ryu and the Shinden Fudo Ryu in the next part.

Chetak & “The Day of the Horse”

July 16, 2026July 11, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

11^th July is celebrated as “Word Horse Day”. This gives us a good opportunity to discuss horses, armour and the martial arts. The most famous horse in Indian history is likely Chetak, the mount of Maharana Pratap in the 16^th century.

Seen above is a statue of Maharana Pratap astride Chetak. This statue is from the Maharana Pratap memorial, Moti Magri, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Chetak carried Pratap into many of his battles, including the famous Battle of Haldighati in 1576. Chetak also breathed its last during this battle.

The image seen above shows the armour worn by Chetak when it was ridden into battle. This image is of the exhibit in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. The armour includes a saffron tabard as the lowest layer. Over this is a combination of chain mail, overlapping lamellar armour and reinforcing circular plates to protect a lot of the horse’s body. The armour includes a protective plate to protect the front of Chetak’s head. Interestingly, a fake elephant trunk is part of the protection for the head/face.

The above image shows the combination of tabard, chain mail and the reinforcing plates from the side. The stirrup and saddle are clearly visible in this image. Could it be that the armour below the stirrup does not have lamellar plates to protect the rider’s legs from chafing?

The above image shows the lamellar part of Chetak’s armour up close. The small overlapping plates are clearly seen in this image.

The circular metal plates that protect the lower parts of Chetak’s fore and hind quarters are seen up close in the above image.

Observe the armour used by Rajput warriors in the 16^th century. It also includes chain mail and lamellar protection for the torso. This shows that the armour for Chetak was remarkably similar to that designed for humans! This exhibit is also from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Seen above is the information shared regarding Chetak’s armour displayed at the City Palace museum in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The 2 images above show a closeup of the protection provided to Chetak’s head and face. Also seen up close is the fake trunk. The guides at the museums say that a fake trunk was affixed to the head of a horse to confuse elephant on a battlefield. Apparently, elephants would assume the horse was a small or baby elephant and give them pause in their attack. I am not sure how true this is or how effective this strategy was. This same information is also seen in the information plaque with information regarding Chetak’s armour.

Chetak, as I mentioned earlier, gave up its live during the Battle of Haldighati in 1576. The forces of Mewar, led by Maharana Pratap fought Mughal forces led by Raja Man Singh of Amber in this battle. The forces of Mewar started very well in this battle when the battle was fought in a narrow pass. Later when the fight moved to a plain, the superior numbers of the Mughal forces took their toll and Maharana Pratap has to retreat.

During the battle, one of Chetak’s hind legs was severely injured. Yet, Chetak carried Maharana Pratap to safety. The horse is supposed to have leapt over a gorge caused by a stream to evade Mughal pursuers. Maharana Pratap escaped successfully, but Chetak was spent after the last leap and breathed its last almost immediately after.

Maharana Pratap is supposed to have been distraught at the loss of his loyal mount. A memorial or samadhi was built for Chetak near the spot where he leapt over the gorge and gave up his life. This samadhi exists to this day and is a popular tourist destination.

Seen above is the samadhi built for Chetak in Haldighati.

Seen above is the plaque describing Chetak’s samadhi.

The above 2 images show a close up of the chhatri or cenotaph dedicated to Chetak at the samadhi sthal (place of the samadhi/memorial).

The above video shows the location where Chetak is supposed to have leapt over the gorge. The stream itself is now overgrown and not visible but is clearly audible, as discernible from the video.

It is said that during the battle of Haldighati, Maharana Pratap on Chetak and Raja Man Singh on his elephant came face to face. Chetak is supposed to have reared up on its hind legs to enable its master to hurl his spear at Man Singh. Man Singh survived, but his mahout lost his life to the spear. This supposedly made the elephant go out of control and diminished Man Singh’s ability to command effectively.

But while rearing up on his hind legs, one of Chetak’s hind legs is supposed to have been badly injured by the blades attached to the elephant’s tusks. Many images I saw in Udaipur depict the elephant holding a sword in its trunk. An example of this is seen below. This image is from the Pratap Vijay Smarak, Dewair, Rajasthan.

The depiction seen above is not a one off. There are at least 3 depictions I saw of something similar in 3 different museums! Personally, I am not convinced that an elephant held a sword in its trunk. It is more likely that blades were attached to the tusks of the elephant.

The above image shows a display of a surviving sword attached to an elephant’s tusks. This image is from Wikipedia.

Another example of swords mounted on an elephant’s tusks is on display at the Royal Armouries in London. This exhibit is used as an example in the above video. This is an episode of the popular History Channel series, “Forged in Fire”. This episode challenged a couple of master blacksmiths to recreate this sword! I opine that something like this might have injured Chetak at Haldighati, unlike what is depicted in the painting shared earlier.

Another famous horse that finds mention in Indian history is Bucephalus, Alexander’s horse. Bucephalus lost its life during the battle of Jhelum (battle of Hydaspes), when Alexander’s forces fought the forces of Porus. Alexander is supposed to have built a town in memory of Bucephalus. Google Gemini tells me that this town is identified as likely being Jalapur Sharif in the Jehlum district in Pakistani Punjab.

Observe the text at the bottom of the above image, underlined in blue, which shows the numbers making up an Akshauhini. Image credit – “Mahabharata 30 – The War Begins”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Horses have always been vitally important in Indian history. The Mahabharata gives some staggering numbers for the total number of horses that participated in the Kurukshetra War! Some details of these numbers are shared below.

In the Kurukshetra war, there were both cavalry and chariots, both of which used horses.
18 Akshauhinis (loosely translated as a “Division”) participated in the Kurukshetra War.
Each Akshauhini consisted of 65,610 cavalry and 21,870 chariots.
Each chariot was pulled by 4 horses.
That brings the total to, {(65610 * 18) + ([21870 * 4] * 18)} = 27,55,620 HORSES IN THE WAR!
That is 27.5 lakh or 2.75 million horses! That is the current population of Jamaica or Lithuania!

Observe the text at the top of the above image, underlined in yellow, which shows the number of horses per chariot. Image credit – “Mahabharata 30 – The War Begins”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

In recent times, the Marathas come to mind when cavalry is mentioned. The Marathas captured a very large part of India by being excellent light horsemen whose maneuverability was respected by all their opponents. Even among the Rajput warriors, I personally feel that the design of the spear they used was influenced by their cavalry habits. I had written a post about this, which is shared below. I opine that the rings or bands at different points along the length of the spear could partially be due to its intended use as a lance from horseback.

The Rajput Spear – What are the rings for?

Of course, the world has seen great cavalry and equestrian cultures all over the world throughout history, starting with the Scythians and Hunas (Huns) to the Mongols and the Hussars, all of whom inspired awe. The performances of mounted horsemen to this day are special, be it with tent pegging, mounted archery or any number of stunt performances all over the world.

In current times, owning and maintaining horses is extremely expensive. So, even though equestrian sports have survived and evolved, martial arts from horseback have diminished and are not practiced much. We no longer practice fighting from horseback, let alone fighting other cavalrymen. We do not know much about the nuances of fighting with swords or spears from horseback as against using the same while on foot.

Even in the Bujinkan system of martial arts, which I am a student of, it is said that cavalry techniques were a part of the disciplines practiced historically. Of course, there was no Bujinkan back then, and cavalry techniques were a part of the Ninja Ju Hakkei which informed the Togakure Ryu.

Historically, there are 18 segments of the Togakure Ryu, of which only a few are practiced regularly in modern times. One of the 18 segments of was “Ba Jutsu” (“Ba” refers to horse and jutsu is “art/practice of”) which included horse riding and cavalry techniques. Ba Jutsu, as far as I know is not actively practiced in the Bujinkan or even just in the Togakure Ryu anymore.

2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse. I had written an article in February of this year exploring the relationship between the horse, knowledge and the martial arts from a Hindy perspective. I am sharing that post below. The earlier article juxtaposes with this one, which is purely about the physical aspects of fighting with respect to a horse.

Lord Hayagreeva – An Indian perspective through Budo, of the “Year of the Horse”

I will conclude this article with a reference to Chetak’s enduring legacy in modern India. From the 1970s through to the late 90s, Bajaj Auto produced a scooter brand called “Bajaj Chetak”. This scooter was named from the mount of Maharana Pratap himself. It was an extremely popular model of scooter and was widely seen on Indian roads. It has not been reinvented as an electric scooter. Chetak thus lives on in collective Indian memory.

An early and iconic model of the Bajaj Chetak. Image credit – Wikipedia.

The Bujinkan = The continuous transition between Lords Rama & Krishna

July 4, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India, Indian Culture, Indian History, krishna, Martial Arts, religion, spirituality, trainingLeave a comment

The stories in Hindu culture are case studies to understand life experiences and perhaps identify paths to follow when times of travail are experienced at various points in an individual’s life. These stories include the various tales depicting instances from the lives of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna.

Lord Rama is called “Maryada Purushōttama”. Lord Krishna is called “Leela Purushōttama”. The word “Purushōttama” is made up of the words “Purusha” and “Uttama”. “Purusha” means human or generically “man”. “Uttama” means excellent or of the highest order. So, “Purushōttama” means an extraordinary or excellent human or an individual who is of the highest calibre.

“Maryada” has multiple meanings, from “respect” and “honour” to “norms” and also “limits”. When we say “limit”, it specifically refers to “self-control”. “Leela” can mean “play (of the divinities)” or “tale” or “story”. A story is nothing but a possible (plausible?) or potential scenario.

I had written a whole post about the “Maryada” aspect of Lord Rama, a link to which is seen below. Lord Rama was a God. He needed to follow no rules that applied to the people he lived with. He was not even subject to the laws that applied to kings who were responsible to their citizens. But he followed every rule that applied to humans diligently, even when it resulted in great personal tragedy. He followed the rules even when the rules were not just, at least by modern standards.

Maryāda Purushotham Rama and the Martial Arts – Control is the key

Lord Rama could have broken every rule with absolutely no consequences to either himself or anyone dear to him. He could have protected them with divine abilities. But he CHOSE a life of hardship by foregoing the abilities of the divine. This was his SELF-CONTROL, the ability to stay human by limiting the use of the divine. This demonstrated ability throughout his life is what makes him Maryada Purushōttama.

Lord Rama’s life shows the benefits of self-control despite the pain it causes. This fact is what makes his life a case study. To demonstrate some instances from Lord Rama’s life when he chose hardship due to self-control instead of the loophole divinity provided, are seen below.

Lord Rama was going to be anointed heir apparent, but he lost this position due to a promise his father had made. He further lost his home and the company of his family in the same sequence of events when he was exiled to the forest. He accepted this loss because it was his responsibility, as he saw it, to uphold the word of his father.

Lord Rama chooses to keep his father’s word despite Bharata requesting him to change his decision. Image credit – “The Ramayana”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Even when his father was no more and he could have chosen to reverse the exile, as the person whose word he was upholding was no more, he did not. His brother Bharat, in whose interest he was exiled, beseeched him to return and yet he let the exile continue, for the word of his father was a sacred contract to be upheld. It was like he was the heir apparent to even his father’s promises, even if the consequences of the promise were not in his best interests, and the promise was being extracted in bad faith. Lord Rama was not obligated to do keep his father’s word, yet he did.

Lord Rama rescued Devi Sita from Ravana. But this came at the cost of a very large number of lives. And despite all the effort, Devi Sita had to endure the Agni Pariksha to satisfy the norms of society as it existed then. He did not stop this either as a God or as a man who commanded enormous respect, because this would put him above the rest of humanity.

Devi Sita has to endure the Agni Pariksha. Image credit – “The Ramayana”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Eventually, he had to abandon Devi Sita again, to prevent setting a wrong precedent to a society that used his life as an example to cover up their mistakes. He never tried to create an exception despite his ability and right to do so. This was despite doing so would be the right thing, as we see it today. He put the sanctity of societal norms above what we would consider the “right thing”.

These events reveal that the purpose of the Rama avatāra was not just the elimination of Rāvana; it was to render a life as a case study in restraint and self-control.

Lord Krishna is the one who shows possible situations and outcomes through the story of his life. The “possibilities” that are shown highlight how rules and norms can be challenged, especially if they seem wrong at any given time. This is despite all of society or any individual of power or even a God choosing to disagree and uphold a norm that is wrong.

Lord Rama chooses to abandon Devi Sita despite knowing it is not the right decision. Image credit – “Sons of Rama”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

This act of identifying possibilities is the act of upholding Dharma (that which sustains) even when that results in actions that endanger one’s self, reputation and legacy. Some instances from Lord Krishna’s life when he chose to circumvent the “norms and rules” to sustain Dharma, are seen below.

Lord Krishna encouraged the worship of a mountain (Govarhdana) over the worship of Lord Indra, because the worship of Indra was carried out due to fear of retribution and not genuine devotion. This act incurred Indra’s wrath and Lord Krishna chose to employ his divinity to protect his fellow citizens. Not for him were the need to live as a human and suffer unjust retribution.

Lord Krishna suggests that Govardhana Giri (mountain) is worthy of worship over Lord Indra. Image credit – “Tales of Krishna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Lord Krishna chose retreat(!) over a need for victory against Jarasandha, the mighty ruler of Magadha. Dwaraka was built on the coast, far away from the reach of Jarasandha. The people of Mathura had to endure several invasions from Jarasandha. While Krishna and his brother Balarama, with their inhuman abilities defeated each of the invasions, prosperity could only be ensured by retreating from the Jarasandha’s sphere of influence.

Lord Krishna holds up Govardhana Giri (mountain) with his little finger! Image credit – “Tales of Krishna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Krishna used deception several times during warfare. This was despite his having to live by the code of the Kshatriyas and fight fair. Some instances when Lord Krishna chose deception to end conflicts are,

Running away from Kālayavana, to lead him into a trap in cave where Muchukunda inadvertently killed him. This act made him earn the epithet, “Ranchod Das”, or “one who runs from a battle”, which is not really a flattering adjective.
Krishna used the Pandavas to eliminate Jarasandha, and that was by tricking the king of Magadha into a duel against Bhima, the only person who could defeat Jarasandha, away from the battlefield.
Krishna defeated Narakāsura by bypassing his armies and carrying out an air raid on the latter’s palace at night, where Narakāsura was sleeping! Not only did Krishna violate norms by attacking at night, but he also used Garuda, who was a divine being, to circumvent a large part of Naraka’s troops.
During his peace mission to Hastinapura, in a last-ditch effort to prevent war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Krishna revealed his divine form (Vishwaroopa) to try and convince Duryodhana to make peace. If Duryodhana had been a bit more reasonable, he would have seen the futility of going up again a God.
Krishna used an illusion to enable Arjuna to kill Jayadratha and a lie to defeat Drona during the Kurukshetra War.

Mathura survives 17 invasions by Jarasandha! Image credit – “Krishna and Jarasandha”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Thus, the Krishna avatāra was a case study in the need to uphold the essence of Dharma and not just the rituals and norms that seem to lead to Dharma. Dharma evolves and this necessitates evolution in ways of life; rigidity (rules and norms) itself could become the enemy of Dharma. This vision of what evolution could lead to is perhaps what the many “Leela” of Lord Krishna demonstrate.

Krishna runs away from the battlefield despite being a Kshatriya! Image credit – “Krishna and Jarasandha”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

The Bujinkan system of martial arts, among many other concepts, emphasizes self-control and a need to adapt. The two concepts are interlinked. In a situation of real physical conflict, one can never apply techniques as they are taught and trained in a dojo. The forms and techniques trained in class are just options that are available to a practitioner, they are “possibilities”.

The form or technique or even just a concept that can be applied in a conflict against a single or multiple opponents, is a choice to be made by the individual(s) participating in the conflict. The consequences of the choices lead to further choices and so on, until the conflict is hopefully mitigated. Each choice is like a “Leela” (though not divine) we discussed earlier in this article.

Krishna and the Yadavas retreat to Dwaraka to survive further invasions by Jarasandha. Image credit – “Krishna and Jarasandha”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

For example, if there are multiple opponents, receiving the attack by not trying to escape might not be wise. If an opponent is unarmed, strikes against this person might be viable. If the opponent is being violent and high on substances, subduing the opponent might be the need of the hour. One needs to adapt to the situation and “THE SITUATION” changes every INSTANT. This continuous adaptation is to flow with the changing situation.

This is no different than being able to see the “possibilities” at every instant. If one can train oneself to be able to see multiple possibilities at all times and adapt, one is as close to being “limitless” as possible. I am referring to a physical conflict, but the same principles will apply even if one is involved in a verbal altercation or a tough negotiation, which is nothing but a conflict over a favourable deal.

Krishna carries out an aerial attack on Narakaasura, while mounted on Garuda. Image credit – “Tales of Krishna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

A key ingredient in being close to “limitless” and able to see several options at all times is SELF-CONTROL. At its simplest level, self-control could simply mean not expecting any form or technique applied in a fight to result in an expected outcome, specifically the outcome seen in a dojo during regular practice. Different opponents have vastly different physical abilities and skills based on their background, genetics and experience in different martial arts. This means doing what needs to be done to survive and not expect anything one does to work in a specific manner.

If any action does not have a desired outcome, one must adapt instantaneously. There is no room for anger at the opponent, doubt in the self because a technique did not work or any analytical paralysis. This stopping oneself at an emotional level and staying in the moment to stay alive and use all opportunities available is SELF-CONTROL. This needs to be applied at all times. SELF-CONTROL and FLOW (BEING LIMITLESS) are both equally important and two sides of the same coin in any situation that needs conflict management.

Krishna attacks a sleeping Narakaasura, violating the norms of war! Image credit – “Tales of Krishna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Thus, one needs to apply the traits demonstrated by both Lord Rama and Lord Krishna during their respective lifetimes. In my opinion, the continuous application of both self-control and flow is like switching between Lord Rama and Lord Krishna incessantly!

So, practicing the Bujinkan and perhaps other martial arts as well, is akin to celebrating the interplay between Lord Rama and Lord Krisha all the time! 😊 Rama to control the self and decide when to limit one’s own “need to do” or “expect something” and Krishna to “stay limitless in going beyond form” and “seeing the endless possibilities in any movement”.

Krishna uses a deceptive illusion to enable Arjuna’s slaying of Jayadratha. Image credit – “Mahabharata 35 – Arjuna fulfills his vow”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Krishna convinces Yudishtira to lie, against his nature, to stop Drona. Image credit – “Mahabharata 36 – The Battle at mindnight”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

An aside – Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, has spoken several times about how the core of Lord Rama’s and Lord Krishna’s lives was the debate between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Lord Rama’s life was about living a life as described by the law, even if the law seemed unjust at times, while Lord Krishna’s life was about not following the law when it went against the spirit of the justice or the law itself. What I have described about Lord Rama and Lord Krishna in relation to the martial arts is not very different as concepts go, from this view expressed by Mr. Sanyal. Seen below is a video where Mr. Sanyal is expressing his views.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITER_dobOB0

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 3 (of 3)

June 4, 2026May 29, 2026 Vikram M Rart, Budo, Bujinkan, hinduism, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, photography, training, travelLeave a comment

This is the concluding article in this series of 3 posts where I share images and observations about various spears I have come across over the last few years. I continue in this article from where I had left off in the previous post. In this post we will continue looking at more spears, spearheads and spearpoints and consider their attributes, with a slightly greater focus in this one on spearpoints from cultures beyond India.

In the last 2 posts, we looked at images of parts of spears starting from about a thousand years ago. We also looked at the spear wielded by Maharana Pratap. While this post can be read as a standalone, I would highly recommend readers to go through the previous two articles in this series for a better appreciation of this one.

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 1

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 2 (of 3)

Images 1 (L) and 2 (R) – Image 1 shows a spear from the Kumarakom Heritage Museum, Vembanad, Kerala. Image 2 shows the spear in image 1 in comparison with the spear in image 14 in the previous post. This spear is also shown with a red arrow pointing to it in image 2.

We had left off in the previous article, the previous part to this post (Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 2), with an image of a long spear (image 14 in the previous post) from the Kumarakom Heritage Museum in Kerala. We continue now with an image of another spear from the same museum. This is the one in image 1 above. The same spear from previous post is seen in image 2, with a red arrow pointing to it.

The spear in image 1 is very short, between 3 and 4 feet long. Image 2 shows this spear in comparison with the long spear (it is the same spear in image 14 in the previous article). The shorter one is less than half the length of the longer one. I am not sure if the shaft and the butt cap are the original ones that were mounted with this spearhead.

The most interesting thing about this spearhead is that it is remarkably similar to the spearheads the Vikings are supposed to have used. The image below will illustrate this point.

Image 3 – A replica of a Viking spearhead

I bought the spearhead seen in image 3 in Sweden, in the Old Town of Stockholm, at a store called “The Viking Store”! 😊This piece is supposed to be a replica of the regular spearheads that Viking soldiers used. It is about a foot long, with the spearpoint and the socket both being about 6 inches in length.

Now compare this spearhead with the one on the spear in image 1, displayed in the museum in Kerala. I think the 2 spearheads are very similar. This again goes to show how robust and versatile this design of spearhead was! The Viking era is considered to be from the 8^th century to the 11^th century. I suspect the example from the Kumarakom museum is from the 19^th century. So, this design lasted for 1,200 years! Of course, in reality it lasted a lot longer than that!

Image 4 – A spearhead displayed at the Kumarakom Heritage Museum, Vembanad, Kerala.

The image above shows another spearhead displayed at the Heritage Museum in Kerala. It has a flattened diamond section and 2 small wings between the spearpoint and the socket. The weapon above the spearhead is a hooded katar. It is a regular katar that has a “hood” to protect the knuckles and wrist of the wielder.

Image 5 – A spearhead displayed at a dojo.

Many years ago, our dojo rescued a set of antique arms. They were with a local antique dealer who was going to scrap them all as no one seemed interested. So, the dojo pooled resources and rescued the antiques which would otherwise likely have been melted as scrap. A set of these could be restored for display and study by martial artists. We do not know the age of any of these, or the actual metals used in their construction. We think they are from the 18^th and 19^th centuries and are mostly made in India.

Images of a few spearheads from this set are seen here, starting with the one in image 31. This spearhead has a leaf shaped point. The point and socket are both about 6 or seven inches long. The edge has come damage and is pretty thin. It is completely flat and has no pronounced increase in thickness towards the centre of the spearpoint.

Image 6 – A spearhead displayed at a dojo.

This spearhead seems to have a point made of steel affixed to a socket made of brass. I am not sure if the joint is with a weld or with glue. The spear point is triangular in shape and about 9 inches long. It has a substantial midrib that contributes to the rigidity of the spearpoint.

Image 7 – A spearhead displayed at a dojo.

This spearhead is large. The spearpoint itself is more than a foot long. The socket is another 10 or so inches long. The point is attached to the socket with 2 rivets as seen in image 7. This spearhead could be considered a short sword by itself. The spearpoint has 2 sharp edges that can cut if need be. The point also has a bit of reinforcement for effective thrusting against heavy clothing or chainmail.

The surface texture of this spearpoint keeps the hammered look. It is not polished to give a smooth finish. I wonder how long the actual spear on which this was originally mounted would have been?

Image 8 – The 18 Arms of Wushu

The internet tells me that the above image depicts “The 18 Arms of Wushu”. Many years ago, I bought the set seen above as a souvenir from China. At the time I didn’t know this specific name and bought it as it depicted different polearms which are Chinese in origin. Apparently, this is a common souvenir that is also available online these days. Each of the pieces is about 6 inches in length.

Not all of the 18 are spears as we think of them in the conventional sense, but they are all polearms. Some are designed for cutting or hacking and some are even designed for digging, so they cannot be called spears as they are not thrust centric weapons.

I am not sure of the specific name for these. A search on the internet, even with AI, was not satisfactory. So, I shall only mention the names of the ones I know and just describe the rest.

Image 9 – A close-up of 5 of the heads of the “18 Arms of Wushu”.

The weapon on the far left is certainly a spear. It has a crescent shaped cutting tool on its right, which could be an axe. The second weapon from the left has a spearhead resembling a snake, or perhaps an antler. I think of an antler as there is a single prong towards the tip that deviates from the sinuous point.

The weapon in the middle is what I believe is called the “Monk’s Spade”, for it was used by martial monks both as a spade and as a weapon. To the right of the Monk’s Spade is what I think of as a Kwan Dao. This is similar to the Japanese Naginata or a Glaive from other cultures. It is essentially a curved sword blade atop a spear shaft.

To the far right of the image is another spear. I am not aware if it has a specific name. It has what seem like wings below the spearpoint. I am not sure if they are wings or 2 small crescent blades just below the point.

Image 10 – A close-up of another 5 heads of the “18 Arms of Wushu”.

The spear at the far left of image 10 resembles the spearhead in image 4, displayed at the museum in Kerala, India. It has a leaf shaped spearpoint and 2 wings below the point. The spearhead to its right reminds me of the European Partisan spear. In sheer size it also similar to the large Rajput spearpoints seen in images from part 1 of this series of articles. I am sharing that image here again. The spear in the middle seems like one with the classic leaf shaped spearpoint seen all over the world. I am not aware of the Chinese names of any of these.

The large polearm that is second from the right also looks a Kwan Dao to me, but his one seems a lot bigger than the one seen in image 9! I would say that this resembles the Japanese Bissento (horse cutter). To the far right is what seems an equivalent of the Farsa seen in an image in part 2 of this series of articles, which I am sharing again. It is a combination of an axe and a spearpoint on a pole. I am not sure what its Chinese name is.

Image 11 – Display of two spears from the Government Museum, City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The spearhead from image 10, that is second from the left, reminds me of the spearpoints on the 2 spears seen in image 11.

Image 12 – Display of two spears and a farsa (halberd) from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The combination weapon at the bottom of image 12 is the Farsa (halberd), which is what the weapon at the far right of image 10 reminds me of.

Image 13 – A close-up of 5 more heads of the “18 Arms of Wushu”.

I am not aware of the Chinese names of any of the polearms in image 13 either. The spearhead on the far left in image 13 is intriguing! It resembles a tapering spindle. I am not sure if it was purely a thrusting weapon or used for both thrusting and blunt force strikes with the lower parts of the spearpoint. The weapon that is second from the left is a crescent. I am not sure if is a blade or not. I can only imagine how this was wielded or deployed.

The weapon in the centre seems like a short sword at the top of a pole to me. To my eyes it resembles the spearpoint from image 7, but this one does not seem to have a point. The weapon that is second from the right seems like an anti-cavalry weapon as it has a hook at the tip. This would be useful in pulling riders off their horses, or in tripping horses. The other side of the hook seems to have a blade, though I cannot be sure.

The weapon on the far right is a double-sided weapon. It has the same head on both ends of a pole. It seems like a pole with a bludgeon on its two ends.

Image 14 – A close-up of the last 3 heads of the “18 Arms of Wushu”.

Again, I am not aware of the original Chinese names of the 3 weapons in the above image. The spear one on the far left seems like a variant of the spear on the far left of image 9. Here, there seem to be crescent blades on both sides of the spearpoint, unlike the one in image 9, where there was only one crescent blade with the spearpoint.

The weapon in the centre has a spearpoint with a hook to its right. The hook I guess could be used to parry the weapons of opponents and pull people off horses, if not just trip them. The last of the 18 arms, on the far right of image 14, seems like a trident where the central point is longer than the two prongs on the sides. To my eyes, this also seems like an Okinawan Sai mounted atop a spear shaft. The central spearpoint seems to flare and narrow along its length. I wonder what purpose that design serves?

If anyone knows details of “The 18 Arms of Wushu” and the weapons depicted in the above images, including their names, please do share the same with me, in the comments to this post. It would be great knowledge.

Image 15 – Display of bayonets from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Bayonets when fitted to rifles make the rifles modern equivalents of spears. This makes bayonets, in my opinions the last iteration of the spear in world history. Image 15 above shows a collection of bayonets of different kinds, all likely from the end of the 19^th century.

In the above image, some weapons displayed look like swords, but they really are bayonets. Some bayonets were functional short swords. The swordlike bayonets in the above image have a forward curve with a recurve towards the tip. This type of blade was called the Sosun Pata in Maratha culture. In the British Army of that time, I believe it was called the “Yataghan Bayonet”. The Yataghan was a short Turkish (Ottoman) sword similar to the Maratha Sosun Pata and was used in the same time period. Instead of a conventional cross guard, a socket is added to these swords which make them bayonets. Th socket is used to fix the blade to the end of a rifle barrel.

Observe the 2 points encircled in red in the above image. Both points are reinforced. While the use of armour had disappeared by the time these bayonets were used, soldiers used heavy clothing and bayonet points had to be strong enough to get through these layers.

Image 16 – Display of bayonets from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Observe the bayonet encircled in red in image 40. It has a triangular section which tapers down to a fine point. It has no cutting ability but would thrust very well due to its rigidity. It has the famous offset design where the spearhead is parallel to the rifle barrel. The socket at the bottom is fixed to the end of the rifle and even if one were to shoot while the bayonet wat fixed, the point would not be in the path of the bullet.

Observe the swordlike bayonet above the one just described. In this image the hole in the cross guard is clearly visible. This hole is the socket which was used to affix this bayonet to the rifle.

This concludes this article and this series of 3 posts in which I shared images of spears and observations regarding their attributes, especially their spearpoints and spearheads.

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 2 (of 3)

May 28, 2026May 23, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, training1 Comment

I will continue this article from where I left off in the previous post. We will look at more spears and consider their attributes, with specific focus on the spearheads and spearpoints. In the previous post I had shared a brief introduction regarding spears. We had also looked at images of parts of spears from over a thousand years ago. We also looked at the spear wielded by Maharana Pratap. While this post can be read as a standalone, I would highly recommend readers to have a look at the previous article in this series for a better appreciation of this one.

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 1

Image 1 – A Rajput spear displayed at the Hall of Heroes, Maharana Pratap Smarak, Moti Magri, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

This exhibit is labelled as a “Javelin”, but I would just call it a spear. This is not behind a wall of glass, so I got some good images of this one. The age of the exhibit is not shared. The spearhead is fairly long and looks like it has a flattened diamond section.

The shaft is all metal in this spear. I am not sure if it is a hollow shaft, but I would suspect that it is, to keep its wight low. Also, considering it is classified as a javelin, the weight of a hollow shaft would enable easier throwing of this weapon.

The rear end has a ball and a spike. This weapon also has rings at different places along the shaft. The centre of the shaft has a section that does seem to exist as the place to hold if this weapon was being hurled. I am sharing a short video of this weapon which shows it in greater detail.

Image 2 – Display of two spears and a farsa (halberd) from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

In image 2, the two weapons on top are spears, the one at the bottom is a combination weapon, called a Farsa (halberd), which combines an axe and a spear. The age of these weapons is also not mentioned in the display, but all 3 are very interesting in construction! All three weapons have steel shafts (I am assuming it is steel, but it is metal for sure). The top spear is about 8 or 9 feet in length while the one in the middle is longer than the one on top. The halberd I estimate to be about 7 feet long.

The spear on top has a very long spearpoint! The shaft is pretty narrow, an inch or lower in diameter. The shaft is decorated with engraving or something like filigree. The spearpoint is close to 3 feet long! It seems to have a hollow ground triangular section for rigidity and tapers down to a very fine point. This is one my favourite weapons among all the pictures I am sharing. 😊

The spear in the middle has crook in the upper third of its length! It almost seems modelled on a bayonet from the early flintlocks! The bayonet in many designs is slightly offset from the barrel of the rifle, and this spear seems to be doing something similar. There is no description in the exhibit explaining the reason for this offset design.

Image 3 – Close-up of the spearhead of the “offset” spear and the rear ends of the spear and farsa seen in image 2.

The “offset” spear has a rather short leaf shaped spearpoint with a midrib. The rear end of the spear at the top is blunt and also narrow, like the rest of the spear and its point. The rear end is similar to the one seen in the spear wielded by Maharana Pratap, seen in the video of the same.

Image 4 – Close-up of 2 spearheads and of the rear end of the “offset” spear seen in image 2.

The very long spearpoint of the spear at the top is almost 3 feet in length. It tapers down to a very narrow point that would be extremely effective in thrusting, given that it has a triangular section. I can almost imagine this to be a lance!

The rear end of the spear with the “offset” in image 14 is large and bulbous. It is the very definition of a Hirumaki I mentioned in the previous post. I am not sure if it is hollow or solid in nature. The Farsa (halberd) has a spearhead like any other spear.

Image 5 – Display of spears from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The 3 spears seen in image 5 are the most fascinating of all the images in my opinion. Like all the rest, their age is unknown. These exhibits are labelled, “Spears with a channel design”. 😊These are all clearly hollow. It seems that the shafts of these spears are made from a wireframe! My initial thought was that this is to reduce the weight of the weapons as whole. But I have no idea what the real intent behind this design was. It is not mentioned in the museum either.

I also cannot guess how comfortable wielding these weapons would be. Are the shafts smooth and nimble due to a lower weight? Or do the open slots affect the handling characteristics? Do the slots affect the ease with which one can slide the hands and fingers along the shaft? I have no idea.

The spear at the top in this image is 9 or more feet in length in my opinion, while the lower 2 are about 6 or 7 feet long. Observe the rear end of the spear at the top. This is at the far left of the image. It has a double ball and spike configuration. This makes me this think that this would be heavy in the rear, as the spearhead here is quite small (image seen further down).

Image 6 – Close-up of various parts of the spears seen in image 5.

Image 6 shows the hollow shaft of the top spear from image 5 up close. The slots are clearly visible. The size of the slots do not seem to be uniform along the length of the shaft. Also seen in image 6 is the spear head of the spear in the middle and the rear end of the spear at the bottom.

The spearpoint is leaf shaped and about 10 to 12 inches in length. It has a midrib for rigidity. The rear end of the bottom spear is similar to ends of the spear wielded by Maharana Pratap and the top spear seen in image 2. The rear end seems to be made of brass based on the colour.

Image 7 – Close-up of the spearhead and rear end of one of the spears seen in image 5.

Image 7 shows the spearhead of the spear at the bottom and the rear end of the spear in the middle. The spearpoint is leaf shaped and small, about 6 inches in length. It has a pronounced midrib. The rear end of the middle spear is almost identical to the end of the spear at the bottom, as seen in image 6.

Image 8 – Close-up of the spearhead of the spear seen at the top in image 5.

Image 8 shows a close-up of the spearhead of the top spear in image 5. The spearhead is very small compared to the length of the spear. The spearpoint itself is smaller still, seeming just like an arrowhead. The point is reinforced, being robust at the tip to enable better penetration.

Image 9 – Display of spears from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The exhibit seen in image 9 is an interesting one indeed! The spears here have an increasing number of spearpoints. 😊The lowest one has a single point, the one in the middle has 2 points and the one at the top has 3 points. That makes the spear at the top a trident or a trishoola and the one in the middle a bident or a pitchfork. I am guessing Poseidon, Hades and Zeus would be proud of this display! :-P

The age of any of the spears in this display is not mentioned. The lowest one about 6 feet long, and ones above are about 7 and 8.5 feet long respectively. The shafts of these spears seem to be bamboo or rattan to me. It is possible that the shafts are not the original ones on which the spearheads were mounted. The trident has no butt cap. The spear and the bident both have a ball and spike for a butt cap.

Image 10 – Close-up of the spearhead of the spear at the bottom in image 9.

Image 10 shows the spearpoint on the lowest spear from image 9 up close. This is a robust spearpoint! It has a triangular section which tapers down to a point. This makes it really stiff for effective thrusting. There is also a hollow grind on the triangle to reduce weight.

Image 11 – Close-up of the spearhead and rear end of two of the spears seen in image 9.

The image above shows the 2 points of the bident from image 9. It has 2 spearpoints and is constructed to give the appearance of a twisted cord or vine. This would also make the spearpoint robust. The end of the spearhead just below the two spearpoints has a decoration. There are 2 small lions (in my opinion) just before the spearpoints begin.

Seen in the lower part of image 11 is the butt cap of the lowest spear from image 9. It shows the ball and spike clearly. There is a chance that the ball is hollow.

Image 12 – Close-up of the spearhead of the spear at the top in image 9.

Image 12 shows the 3 points of the trident from image 9. The 3 points are maybe 6 to 8 inches long while the spearhead including the socket is about a foot long. The 3 points also give the appearance of a twisted cord. This also likely gives robustness to the points. The tips of the points seem to be triangular in section and look wicked!

Image 13 – Katar from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Observe the exhibit numbered “2” in image 13. The label calls it a “Katar”. A Katar is a punch dagger that was popular in many parts of India from the 14^th through the 19^th centuries, first as a fighting weapon and later as a part of regal attire. This could be a katar, the blade shape does resemble that of a katar. The blade is about 10 inches or a bit more in length and quite broad. The age of this exhibit is not mentioned.

But to my eyes this is a short spear. It is definitely capable of thrusting. The length including the short shaft (should we call it a handle in this case?) is about 2 feet, making the weapon between 2.5 and 3 feet in length. It could definitely cut well, but the length of the handle makes me think it is better at thrusts then cuts. Maybe this was a case where a short spear could double up as a short sword.

The beauty of the weapon makes me think this was likely used as a status symbol, for it exudes wealth and power! This exhibit also brings to mind the Aiel culture from the “Wheel of Time” novel series by Robert Jordan. In the books, the Aiel are a culture that abhors swords. They use spears of different lengths and some of them are short, for close quarters combat. This could easily be one of the short spears used by an Aiel clan chief! 😊

Image 14 – A spear from the Kumarakom Heritage Museum, Vembanad, Kerala.

The Kumarakom Heritage Museum is not a usual museum. It is a small private museum run by small group of people who preserve things from the last 150 to 200 years. The number of visitors is also small. So, many of the exhibits can be touched, felt and handled by visitors under the supervision of a guide, who accompanies every group of visitors. This gives a wonderful tactile experience!

One of the exhibits was the spear seen in image 14. I suspect it is from the late 19^th century. It is an all-metal construction, between 7 and 8 feet in length. The shaft is lean and solid, not hollow. The shaft tapers towards the rear end. The spearhead is leaf shaped and about a foot in length. The spearhead reminds me of pop culture versions of the Assegai that was used in parts of Africa.

This spear has the rings at different points along its length. The rings are not placed at even lengths. I am not sure why they are placed at the points they are placed at. But the design with rings is similar to the spear of Maharana Pratap seen in the previous article and the other Rajput spear from image 1. The rear end of this spear is similar to Maharana Pratap’s spear and two of the spears in image 5.

This series on spears will conclude with the next post. I will share more images of spears and observations regarding their attributes. The next article will have more images of spears from cultures beyond India.

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 1

May 21, 2026 Vikram M Rart, Budo, Bujinkan, hinduism, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, training, travel2 Comments

Spears have been used by modern humans, human ancestors and close relatives of homo sapiens for a very long time. The oldest known spears are supposed to be 400,000 years old, made by a sister species. Some of the best-preserved spears made entirely of wood, including sharpened points, are supposedly 300,000 years old, found in Schöningen in Germany. The oldest identified spear points made of stone are supposed to be around 500,000 years old.

Schöningen spears. Image credit – Wikipedia

Spears likely started out as tools for hunting and evolved into weapons of war. Spears, in their various forms have been in use since pre-historic conflicts all the way through to the 20^th century. It is only in the current century, with long range weapons becoming the mainstay for all conflicts, that spears are not in use. The bayonet, that was used all through the 20^th century on all kinds of automatic rifles was perhaps the last iteration of the spear.

Spears have varied from simple wooden staves to handheld spears, to javelins to very long pikes to lances of various types. They have been used on foot, on chariots and from horseback. Spearpoints became a part of various combination weapons, like halberds and poleaxes. Long spear points could double up as short swords, as happened in African cultures.

The shafts of spears went through several iterations too, in terms of material, length, decoration and girth. Shafts could be narrow and light, comprising of rattan or wider and stiff, being made of wood or metal. The metal shafts could be hollow as well, to keep the weight of the weapon down. The shaft could be long or short as the situation required.

The points of spears could be made of anything from stone or obsidian to copper, bronze, iron and steel. They could be long or short, sturdy or fragile (for a single use), wide or lean (depending on the opponent it expected to tackle).

In a series of 3 posts, I will share a few images of spears, spearheads and spearpoints I have come across over the last few years. Most are from India, while a few are images of representations of spears from cultures outside India. These 3 articles will be more of images with some observations from me.

Image 1 – Display of spearheads from the Sanchi Museum, Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh. All of these are from the 11^th century CE.

In the above image, through the exhibits labelled 8, 9, 10 and 12, 4 different spearpoints or spearheads are displayed. The exhibit labelled 8 looks like a long triangular spearpoint. The one labelled 12 seems to have two sets of “wings” or barbs sticking out perpendicular to the spearpoint itself. The spearhead labelled 10 has a square cross-section, tapering down to a point. The exhibit labelled 9 is a long leaf shaped spearhead with a groove down the middle in the lower half of the point. Each of these, based on what I estimated when I saw them, is between 12 and 18 inches long.

Image 1a – A spearhead displayed at a dojo.

This is an antique spearhead that was rescued from scrapping by our dojo. It is about 18 inches in length and the spearpoint is about 10 inches long. The spearpoint is square in section and tapers down to a point. I am not sure of the metal used in making this spearhead. I suspect that this spearhead is from the 19^th century, though the exact age of this exhibit is not known.

Image 1b – Another view of the spearhead from image 1a.

Image 1b shows the same spearhead from image 1a, from a different angle. This shows the square section of the spearpoint more clearly. The profile of the spearhead in image 1a is remarkably similar to that of the exhibit labelled “10” in image 1. This means that the same type of spearhead was in use for about a thousand years, if not more! That is quite some consistency in human history!

Images 2 (L) & 3 (R) – Display of spearpoints from the Sanchi Museum, Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh. Both are from the 11^th century CE.

Seen in the above 2 images are leaf shaped spearpoints. These are much shorter and wider than the specimen seen in image 1. In both the above exhibits, one side is convex (as seen in image 2) and the other side is flat (as seen in image 3). The length of both of these is about 8 inches according to my estimate. The material used in the spearpoints in the 3 images above was not mentioned, but they seem to be either iron or steel.

Image 4 – Display of spears from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Each of the spears seen in image 4 is about 8 feet in total length. The shaft seems to be rattan and about an inch in diameter. I am not sure if the shafts are the original ones on which the spearheads were historically mounted. The age of the shaft and spearheads was not mentioned as part of the display. A close-up of the spearheads is seen in the following 2 images.

Image 5 – Close-up of the spearheads and butt spike of the spears seen in image 4.

The spearhead at the bottom is big. It is well over a foot long and very wide as well. The point is reinforced to enable better thrusts, which might go through chainmail. This spear with its large head reminds me of Renaissance era European Partisan spears.

The butt spike/cap of the middle spear is seen. The conical shape reminds me of what is called in Japanese spears (yari) as an Ishizuki.

The spearhead on the top spear has 2 wings on the side. The spearhead as a whole reminds me of a Japanese Jumonji Yari, which also have a central spearpoint with 2 wings on the side. The two wings enable with parrying weapons of opponents and also in hooking opponents, whether to trip them or to pull them off horses. The central point is about 10 inches in length while the total length of the two wings combined is 18 inches or more.

Image 6 – Close-up of the spearheads and butt spike of the spears seen in image 4.

The spearhead in the middle again resembles a Japanese Jumonji Yari. If there was only one blade instead of 2, it would be akin to the Japanese Kama Yari (Kama is the sickle in Japan, which looks a Crow’s Beak axe or an ice axe of modern times). The butt spike at the top is similar to an Ishizuki. The butt cap of the lowest spear, which is the rear end of the one with the large spearhead (reminiscent of the European Partisan) is not entirely conical, but has a blunt, slightly bulbous head. O a Japanese spear, this would likely be called a Hirumaki, which is also a protective counterweight at the rear end of a spear. But unlike the Ishizuki which resembles a spike, the Hirumaki resembles a ball.

Image 7 – Display of spears from the Government Museum, City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Image 7 shows 2 more spears. These are a bit shorter than the ones seen in image 4, maybe 6 to 7 feet in length. The one on top is similar to the one with the single large spearpoint, seen in the previous image. The one below has a narrower, slightly shorter spearhead. It has a proportionately more robust construction due to the robust midrib combined with a narrow profile. The age of these 2 exhibits was not available. My personal belief is that these are likely from the 18^th and 19th centuries.

The lower spear brings to mind what is depicted as an “Assegai” in popular culture. The assegai is a spear used in Eastern Africa. Observe the rear end of this spear. The Ishizuki and Hirumaki are combined here! The spike at the end also has the counterweight for improved balance in handling the weapon. This weapon also has rings or bands along its length, which divides the shaft into segments, which are not of equal length. This will be seen in further examples. I will also write a separate article about what I think the purpose of these was.

Image 8 – Spear on display at the Government Museum, City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

The spear in image 8 is also about 6 feet in length. It has a pronounced taper even in the shaft, almost like a needle! Due to the taper in the shaft and a small narrow point, this resembles the prehistoric Schöningen spears. This exhibit seems to have been a prestige piece. It has ivory inlay all along the shaft, though this is not visible in the picture. The butt cap again has both a ball and a spike integrated together.

Image 9 – Display of spear and spear shaft from the State Museum, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

In the above image, both exhibits are referred to as spears, though I personally believe that the one on the left is just the butt cap on the shaft. The one on the right is over 7 feet long as I see it. A close up of the spear head is seen below.

Image 9 – Close-up of the spearheads seen in image 8.

In this spearhead the point itself is pretty short, just a few inches long. The spear head including the socket used to attach it to the spear shaft is about 10 inches or so in length, but the actual spearpoint is about 5 inches only. The spearpoint seems to have a triangular section with a hollow grind as seen in the close-up above.

Images 10 & 11 – The image on the left shows the armour, swords and spear used by Maharana Pratap! The image on the right shows a closeup of the spearpoint and a part of the spearhead. This display is from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Maharana Pratap was supposed to have been 6 feet tall. So, I presume that this spear is around 8 feet long. The spearpoint itself is about a foot long. It is a narrow point, with a flattened diamond section and a bit of hollow grind towards the socket. The socket that attaches the point to the shaft is itself about a foot in length.

The spear shaft is richly decorated as befits a king. This spear also has the rings along its length that I mentioned in reference to the exhibit seen in image 7. This spear also has a distinct section near the centre similar to the ones seen on javelins used in the modern Olympic sport of javelin throwing. The spear and the javelin were supposed to be Maharana Pratap’s favourite weapons. So, if this spear could double up as a javelin there need be no surprise.

A video of the spear is seen below which shows the different sections in greater detail. The rear end of the spear has a cap which is similar to the one seen in image 6. The image and video are not of the best quality due to the reflection from the protective glass and museum lighting. ☹

The above video shows Maharana Pratap’s armour, two swords and spear.

Image 12 – A representation of a female guard of the Zenana, including the chainmail armour and spear she is likely to have worn and wielded respectively. This display is from the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

I am sharing this image just to show that women were participants in the trade of arms as well. They wore armour and wielded weapons. The spear seen in this image is similar to the one in images 8 & 9. This exhibit is from the actual Zenana (women’s quarters) of the Udaipur City Palace.

I will continue this series of articles in 2 further posts. I will share more images and observations of spears and their attributes from other cultures in the upcoming posts.

I am sharing the cover image of this article above, just to share information about it.

This image shows an armed doorkeeper, wielding a spear. This carving is from the one of the Torana (Gateways) at the Great Stupa in Sanchi. This individual is wielding a spear taller than himself, with a leaf shaped spearpoint with 2 wings at the bottom. This I think, is the oldest image in my collection of the use of a spear. Hence its choice as the cover image.

Shikan Ken and The Day of the Leopard

May 7, 2026May 5, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, trainingLeave a comment

3^rd May was International Leopard Day! Learning this was a pleasant surprise, for it gives me an opportunity to share a few observations about the martial arts that relate to leopards. 😊

Image credit – “The Book of Indian Animals” by S H Prater, published by the Bombay Natural History Society

In Chinese Martial Arts, there is the “Leopard Fist”, just as there is a “Tiger Fist”. The Tiger Fist seems larger, for it uses an open palm with the fingers bent at an angle, imitating the claws of a tiger. The Leopard Fist is smaller in comparison. This fist has the fingers bent at the first joint from the base. This is in contrast to a regular fist where the fingers are best at the base.

In the Bujinkan system of martial arts, practitioners learn the basics called the “Ten Chi Jin Ryaku no Maki”. In this set of basics, there is a segment called the “Hiken Juroppo”. This section teaches students 16 (Juroppo) ways of using their fists, fingers, elbows, knees and feet to strike opponents. One of these 16 is called the “Shikan Ken”. It roughly translates to “secret spear”. The way a fist is made for the Shikan Ken is identical to the Leopard Fist.

Shikan Ken, front view

I remember being told that the Shikan Ken was used to strike narrow gaps while fighting armoured opponents. The Bujinkan has a heritage of systems that were developed to fight while wearing and against opponents wearing the Yoroi (Japanese armour). Armour has certain gaps that could potentially be exploited. The Shikan Ken is narrower than the regular fist (Fudo Ken) and this made it better suited against the small gaps that exist between plates and pieces of the Yoroi. It is also extremely effective in striking the neck of unarmoured opponents.

Shikan ken, profile views

The relative “smallness” of the Shikan Ken or the Leopard Fist, in a roundabout way circles back to the success of the Leopard itself. The Leopard (Panthera Pardus) belongs to the “Panthera” group, wild cats which are called the “Big Cats”. Big Cats, unlike all the other wild cats, can roar. There are 5 big cats, the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, the leopard and the snow leopard. Of these 5, the leopard is only larger than the snow leopard. Even pumas, which are not classified as big cats, could outweigh leopard. So, the leopard is on the smaller side when it comes to the big cats.

But this “smallness” seems to have served in its success as a species. The Leopard is the big cat with the largest distribution. From all ecosystems in Africa, to the arid regions of West Asia, to the frigid forests of Siberia to most of India and Sri Lanka, leopards inhabit a very large range and consist of some 11 sub-species.

My Uncle who was a naturalist by profession, used to tell me a statement he had heard, “a leopard can hide its body where a tiger can hide its head”! This elucidates how much larger a tiger is, when compared with a leopard. This “smallness” allows a leopard to survive on smaller prey, with a smaller territorial range. The smaller size also allows a leopard to hide in places a tiger could never hope to fit in.

Leopards, due to this advantage, have expanded to sub-urban regions around many large cities in India. In these environments, they survive on dogs, pigs and smaller livestock. Leopards have started entering apartment complexes at night to prey on pets. This has led to greater conflict with humans, but India has always been tolerant of wildlife. This is an evolving situation and how leopards adapt in the coming decades is yet to be seen.

Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag. Image credit – Wikipedia.

But the fact that leopards have remained resilient and highly adaptable as a species is beyond question. This fact along with the afore mentioned smaller size led to the unfortunate success of leopards as man-eaters in the past. Man-eating leopards are exceedingly rare these days. But in the past there have been many documented individuals that did prey on humans.

The deadliest man-eater in history is the Tigress of Champawat, who is considered to be responsible for 436 human deaths in India and Nepal in the first decade of the 20^th century. But a close second is the Leopard of Panar, who is considered responsible for the death of 400 humans! An even more infamous man-eater is the Leopard of Rudraprayag, which preyed on humans between 1918 and 1926. The number of victims of this man-eater is supposed to be 125 with other undocumented cases. All these man-eaters were shot by Jim Corbett.

Man-eating Leopard of Panar. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Returning to the “smallness” and the exploitation of gaps in armour, there is one weapon which, in my opinion, exemplifies the “Leopard Fist”. This is the famous Katar, a punch dagger with its origins in India. This dagger is not held in either the ice pick or sabre grips. It is held in a manner where the dagger seems to extend from the fist. The grip is either the traditional fist or the Leopard Fist. Looking at it from the perspective of the Bujinkan, the Katar would be held with a Fudo Ken or a Shikan Ken.

2 Katar displayed in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Observe the Katar on the left, the blade is pretty long, but the 2 prongs of the “H” shaped handle are not long, they are of normal length. On the Katar on the right, the 2 prongs of the handle are much longer, to protect the hands of the wielder. The blade on the Katar on the right is of normal length.

The Shikan Ken is useful against narrow spaces. Given the manner in which the kater is held, it is an extension of the fingers in the Shikan Ken. The blade of the katar becomes an extended, sharper, pointed version of the Shikan Ken. This makes its effective against the same gaps in armour.

2 more Katar displayed in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Observe the one on the right, it has a reinforced point for piercing chain mail.

In the Indian historical context, chain mail was prevalent a lot longer than in the west. So, many katar had reinforced points to pierce through the rings of chain mail. The blade of the katar in some cases was considerably longer, in which case it was more a chopping weapon than a punching/piercing weapon. The two prongs on the sides of the hand guard of a guard were longer in some examples, to protect the hand better.

A Katar displayed in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. This is a Katar that has the sheath and blade combined. The two cross bars on the handle can be pressed to open the sheath and reveal the blade. It is wonderful engineering which is supposed to be why these examples were prestige pieces.

Beyond the core functional aspects, the Katar was also a part of regal attire and used as a prestige piece for power projection. In this avatar of the weapon, it had beautiful ornate hilts and blades. There were a lot of examples where the blade had a sheath that would separate to the sides to reveal the blade inside!

Another Katar displayed in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Look at the beauty of the blade! Imagine the prestige this would add to royal attire!

Yet another Katar displayed in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Devi herself resides on this blade!

Yet another Katar displayed in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Look at the handle of this specimen! Two Golden Hands are clasping each other. :-)

There are also instances of the Katar being a combination weapon. Flintlock pistols were incorporated into the hilt of the Katar, which would presumably fired off before the blade would be deployed. The Katar has many other forms I cannot go into here, including the “Hooded Katar”, which some consider to be an older form. In this version there is a protective shell for the knuckles of the wielder. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to explore the katar in greater detail sometime.

A Katar displayed in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. In this example, the two prongs of the handle have flintlock pistols built into them! They are fired by a mechanism similar to the one that opens the sheath from the earlier example.

The pictures of the Katar used in this article are mostly from Rajasthan. This seems apt as I conclude this post, for the Jawai hills are in Rajasthan, and the rocky scrublands of Jawai are one of the best places to spot and appreciate leopards in India.

This is a zoomed-out view of the Katar handle from the previous image. This Katar handle had a full-length sword blade attached to it! :-D

Lord Parashurāma – An exemplar of the Shugyo (martial journey)

April 18, 2026April 18, 2026 Vikram M RBudo, Bujinkan, hinduism, India, Indian Culture, Indian History, Martial Arts, religion, trainingLeave a comment

19^th of April of 2026 is Parashurāma Jayanthi, celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Parashurāma. Lord Parashurāma is the 6^th avatāra of Lord Vishnu in the Dashāvatāra (dasha – 10, avatāra – incarnation). Lord Parashurāma is perhaps the ultimate representation of an “epitome of the martial arts”. He represents the progression of learning and development of abilities in the martial arts; starting with old fashioned physical abilities to the development of a martial system that resonates in India to this day.

His abilities expanded from close quarters combat to long distance combat. Over time, he became a repository of all the divine weapons that could cause incredible destruction at long distances and over large areas. He created divine weapons of his own! He became a martial arts teacher to the greatest warriors of his age. He played a vital role in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata!

He was an avatāra of Lord Vishnu for only a portion of his life. Yet he could only ever be contained by either in battle by his own students or another avatāra of Lord Vishnu! He literally went from a vengeful young man to a wise sage! I hope to delve into the great martial prowess of Lord Parashurāma in this article, to identify how these abilities are still practiced in real world martial arts, which almost always have real life applications beyond the dojo.

My favourite image of Lord Parashurāma. Image credit – “Bhagavatha”, published by Anada Prakashan.

The “Parashu” in Parashurāma’s name itself describes his martial abilities. Lord Parashurāma’s name is Rama. He was the son of the Rishi Jamadagni and Renuka. Since he was a descendant of Rishi Bhrigu, his name would be “Bhargava Rama”, the Rama in the line of Bhrigu. But he is always known as “Parashu Rama”, or “Rama of the Parashu”.

“Parashu” is the Sanskrit word for an axe. So, when we say Parashurāma, we mean “Rama of the Axe”, or “Rama who wields the Axe”. This is because the weapon most associated with Lord Parashurāma is the AXE. The axe is the weapon that made Lord Parashurāma a feared individual and the weapon he wielded as he fulfilled his purpose as an avatāra. The axe or Parashu wielded by Parashurāma was bestowed upon him by Lord Shiva.

Bhargava Rama, before he became Parashurāma, meditated on Lord Shiva. Being pleased with Rama’s efforts, Lord Shiva instructed him in the martial arts and also handed him the axe that made Rama, Parashurāma. This instruction in the martial arts also resulted in Parashurāma becoming the greatest warrior of his age!

The axe has been used as a tool first and then as a weapon for millennia, perhaps from the early stone age or the Paleolithic age, which lasted from 3.3 million years before present till about 12,000 years before present. Ever since, the axe has never not been in use in human history. It is still used extensively, mainly in working wood and as a tool used by firefighters and other rescue personnel.

Stone hand axes from the Lower Paleolithic era, displayed at the museum in Aihole, Karnataka

A representation of a stone hand axe from the State Museum, Bhopal

The axe has been used as a weapon in various cultures all over the world. In Japan, a large battle axe was used and referred to as the “Ono”. This seems to have been used to break into buildings or other structures while breaching enemy strongholds. In India, apart from the Parashu, the axe used to fight was called the “Tabar” in Indo-Persian culture and in the regions that is influenced.

A representation of a tabar. The part encircled in yellow is the axe. The other side of the head is an “Ankusha” (elephant goad). This is a combination weapon.

In Europe, thanks to more historical research than in many other parts of the world, several examples of axes used for fighting are known. The most famous use of the axe that comes to mind, thanks to depiction in pop-culture, is by the Norse cultures, or Vikings. The Vikings used axes of all sizes, from one handed versions to the large “Dane Axe”, which is sometimes claimed to have been able to take down horses!

A Dane axe seen on the Bayeux tapestry. Image credit – Wikipedia.

The Dane Axe was the signature weapon of Housecarls, the elite warriors of Norse armies. The Norse expanded their cultural presence all over Europe from the British Isles to France to modern day Russia and Ukraine to even the Byzantine empire that occupied parts of Anatolia, modern day Turkey. The elite royal guard of the Byzantine Emperor, called the Varangian Guard, were mostly Norsemen, between the 10^th and 14^th centuries. They also carried the Dane Axe. So, this large axe, which stood some 4 to 6 feet tall, was used all across Europe from the North-West to the South-East!

There were other variants of the axe used in Europe. The Francisca, a one-handed axe was used by the Franks (in regions that later became France). This was a weapon what could be used in-hand or thrown at the enemy. Apparently, the Francisca was optimized for throwing. The word for axe in French was “hache”, which gives the modern word “hatchet”, which is a synonym for “axe”.

A historic Francisca. Image credit – Wikipedia.

The axe even came to be included in polearms, which were called “Halberds”. Halberds of various shapes came to be in late-medieval and renaissance Europe. Many of these came to include a variant of the axe. A variant of the halberd, called the “Farsa” was also used in India around the time of the Mughal Empire. The halberd almost always included a spear point. This allowed a long weapon to not just pierce efficiently but also have sufficient hacking ability.

A Farsa, from the City Palace Museum in Udaipur, Rajasthan. This is an Indian version of the halberd.

It was the development of the full plate harness (full plate armour) that led to the development of perhaps the most iconic axe in history, the Pole Axe. I have heard it said that this weapon can also be called the “Poll Axe”. Since it was impossible to cut through the plate of the armour of men-at-arms and knights, weapons that caused blunt force trauma through the armour and pierce the gaps in the armour were developed.

This combination weapon was about the height of a man, some 5 to 6 feet tall. It included a wooden shaft and a head that included an axe, a hammer and a spear point. The axe head here could be similar to a conventional axe head we are used to seeing or a “crow’s beak”, which resembles an ice pick.

A training version of the Pleaxe

Further west, in the Americas, the Tomahawk used by the Native Americans is another pop-culture icon. This was a small axe or hatchet that could be used single handed, as a tool or as a weapon. It was supposedly thrown as well. Interestingly, there were supposedly tomahawks which could be used as smoking pipes!

An antique Tomahawk. Image credit – Wikipedia.

Since I have mentioned different types of axes, it must be mentioned that the design and construction of axes vary based on whether it is intended for use as a tool or as a weapon. Of course, an axe designed as a tool can be used as a weapon and vice versa, but there was design optimization. Axes used as weapons were lighter for easier wielding while those used as tools were robust for endurance.

A Crow’s Beak in the City Palace Museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan

The axes used as tools were further segregated as splitting axes and chopping axes. This distinction allowed the wedge of the axe head to be modified suitably. Axes used as weapons were leaner. They tended to be thinner towards the centre and thickened towards the cutting edge for better force transfer. Further, the profile of the axe head also changed based on the application.

There were “bearded axes”, which had the front cutting edge be considerably longer than the rear end or the eye of the axe. This enabled them to hook the weapons and shields of opponents better. There were even axes which had the cutting edge elongated towards the opponent, to allow for thrusting with the same axe head!

A representation of a Bearded Axe. Image credit – Wikipedia.

I am not sure if there is a description of the specific axe or axes that Lord Parashurāma used. I am also not aware of any specific description of the techniques Parashurāma used to wield his axe effectively. Parashurāma also possessed various celestial weapons that he has acquired from Lord Shiva apart from his Parashu. I am not sure if he used these in conjunction with his axe while he vanquished his enemies. By common sense, It seems likely that he used the axe for close quarters combat while he deployed his Divyāstras (divine weapons) for ranged attacks against larger numbers of enemies.

Parasurāma conducted 21 campaigns against corrupt Kshatriyas, likely rulers who were corrupt or considered unworthy. In these wars he decimated entire ruling families! The bloodletting is supposed to have been so immense that the blood of his enemies filled up 5 lakes! The land where these lakes existed was called the Samantapanchaka. It was later the battlefield of Kurukshetra, where the great war took place during the Mahabharata.

Of the 21 campaigns, the first one is truly remarkable. Kartaveerya Arjuna was a ruler of the Haihaya clan who ruled from Mashishmati, a city on the banks of the river Narmada. He was also called Sahasra Arjuna. Sahasra means thousand. Arjuna was supposed to be “Sahasra Bāhu”. Bāhu means arm. So, “Sahasra Bāhu” means “thousand arms”. Sahasra Arjuna was called so because he supposed to have had a 1000 arms! This is generally taken to mean that his might was immense, comparable to an individual with a 1000 arms.

Kartaveerya Arjuna or Sahasra Arjuna was a great devotee of Lord Dattatreya, due to whose blessings he became a mighty human and a great king. But with time he became an arrogant individual and an unworthy ruler. He and his sons were responsible for the death of Parashurāma’s father, the Rishi Jamadagni. This led to Parashurāma going to war single handedly against Arjuna and his many sons.

Sahasra Arjuna depicted literally with a 1000 arms, stopping the flow of the river Narmada. Image credit – “Ravana Humbled”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Sahasra Arjuna’s fighting abilities are demonstrated by his defeat of Ravana. This is the same Ravana who had conquered all before him and later fought Lord Rama in Lanka after he abducted Devi Sita. Arjuna imprisoned Ravana after the latter lost a duel against him. Ravana was eventually released agreed to a peace with Arjuna. This was after Rishi Pulastya, Ravana’s grandfather, interceded on his behalf.

The might of Kartaveerya Arjuna. Image credit – “Ravana Humbled”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

While common knowledge attributes the adjective “Sahasra Bāhu” for Arjuna to signify might, I differ in my opinion. A great warrior, even while just considering one’s fighting abilities and not tactical or strategic brilliance, is not measured by just physical might. They are also respected for their skill with weapons and in unarmed combat. They can also be great due to speed and agility, apart from just strength.

Arjuna knocks out Ravana. Image credit – “Ravana Humbled”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

So, is it likely that Arjuna was a rare warrior who could wield all manner of weapons with consummate skill? Was he able to move with such ease and grace that an opponent felt like he was fighting several opponents at the same time? I opine that this is likely. Arjuna could move and use multiple weapons with such skill and ability (speed, agility and strength) that it seemed like he had a 1000 arms! Hence, Sahasra Bāhu!

It was this great Arjuna that Parashurāma defeated in his first battle. Parashurāma defeated and killed Arjuna and his sons to avenge his father. After this, he went on a rampage that constituted his 21 campaigns and led to the slaughter of a very large number of people! This act of his was the purpose of the Parashurāma avatāra. He was an avatāra only during this time. But that was not the end of his life’s purpose.

Lord Parashurāma slays Kartaveerya Arjuna. Image credit – “Parashurama” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Lord Parashurāma’s 21 campaigns against the Kshatriyas. Image credit – “Parashurama” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Lord Parashurāma is counted among the immortals in Hindu culture. He is believed to be still alive. His next task on this Earth is to be the mentor for the Kalki avatāra, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu that is yet to appear. But between his slaying of Kartaveerya Arjuna and the coming of Kalki, he was instrumental in the happenings of both the Ramayana and the Mahabharta. He is even supposed to be responsible for the current geography of the Indian peninsula! And the creator of one of modern India’s most popular martial arts!

Lord Parashurāma seeks combat with Lord Rama. Image credit – “The Ramayana”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Lord Parashurāma’s stature and abilities as a warrior are reflected by the people he interacted with during the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Parashurāma’s campaign against Kshatriyas ended when he faced Lord Rama. During the swayamvara of Devi Sita, Lord Rama broke the bow of Lord Shiva. Parashurāma, being a devotee of Lord Shiva, was angered by this act and faced off against Lord Rama. But there was no fight. Parashurāma recognized the next avatāra of Lord Vishnu in Rama and withdrew.

Dasharatha, father of Rama, is extremely worried by the prospect of his son facing Lord Parashurāma in a fight. Image credit – “The Ramayana”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Parashurāma was invincible. Rama’s father Dasharatha knew this and was worried when Rama faced off against this great warrior of old. Parashurāma’s withdrawal shows that it took another avatāra of Lord Vishu to stop him from fighting, let alone defeat him! That shows how great a warrior, in other words, martial artist Parashurāma was, even after he was no longer an avatāra!

Parashurāma recognizes Rama as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Image credit – “The Ramayana”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Parashurāma’s encounter with Rama also made him realize that rulers who were committed to Dharma were back in the world. This meant that he could stop his campaign against corrupt Kshatriyas. Parashurāma now focused on yajnas and meditation to atone for the many deaths he had caused. He also gave away all his possessions.

Parashurāma needed land to meditate on and share his knowledge and possessions. To this end, he got the sea to retreat! He is supposed to have hurled his axe into the western sea (today called the Arabian Sea). The sea retreated beyond the point where the axe landed. The land that was reclaimed by the retreating of the sea is supposed to be India’s western coast, all the way from Goa through Karnataka and Kerala. This coast is also called “Parashurāma Kshetra” for this reason.

Parashurāma, after his interaction with Lord Rama went on to become a great martial arts teacher. He was the teacher to 3 of the greatest warriors in the Mahabharata. Bheeshma, the general of the Kaurava armies and the greatest warrior of the era was a student of Lord Parashurāma. Karna, the lost brother of the Pandavas and the king of Anga, was also a student of Parashurāma. Drona, the martial arts teacher of both the Pandavas and Kauravas acquired the knowledge of divine weapons from Lord Parashurāma, which he passed on to his students.

The greatness of Parashurāma as a martial artist is again highlighted by his 3 illustrious students. Bheeshma had to fight his Guru as Princess Amba of Kashi had approached Parashurāma after she had faced great injustice due to Bheeshma. Bheeshma and Parashurāma fought each other to a standstill with their divine weapons. So, another instance where Parashurāma could be contained, came about because of an individual Parashurāma himself had trained! It took a student to stop the teacher, no one else could do it!

Bheeshma fights his Guru Parashurāma to a standstill. Image credit – “Bheeshma” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Guru Dronācharya acquired all the celestial weapons and learned the means to use them from Lord Parashurāma. He used these with such devastating impact that the Pandavas had to resort to deceitful means to kill him on the 15^th day of the Kurukshetra War! With the knowledge acquired from Parashurāma, Drona was invincible, in the same mould as his great teacher! This necessitated the deceit employed against him.

Drona acquires weapons from Lord Parashurāma. Image credit – “Mahabharata – 5, Enter Drona”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Most of the divine weapons described in the Mahabharata come from the various Devas, like Indra, Agni, Vāyu, Varuna, Kubera, Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and the like. But Lord Parashurāma created his own divine weapon! Such was his ability! He created the Bhargavāstra, a weapon of great destructive power, which he bestowed upon his student Karna. Parashurāma also gave Karna his bow, called the Vijaya, which rivalled Arjuna’s (the Pandava) Gandeeva in fame. Karna used both the Vijaya and the Bhargavāstra to devastating effect against the Pandavas before his death on the 17^th day of the Kurukshetra War.

Karna learns from Parashurāma. Image credit – “Karna”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

The journey of Lord Parashurāma, from a student of Lord Shiva, to an avatāra of Lord Vishnu to his becoming a martial arts teacher of great renown is remarkable. It signifies what is called “Shugyo” in the Bujinkan system of martial arts, and Japanese martial arts in general. “Shugyo” refers to “martial journey”. It is the journey in life through the practice of martial arts that a student of the same goes through.

Lord Parashurāma went through the ultimate Shugyo! He started off as a student of the greatest teacher, Lord Shiva, and acquired mastery over the greatest weapons of his age. He applied his learning to eliminate the greatest threats of his age to Dharma. He then went on to become the greatest martial arts teacher of his age and created the greatest warriors of the next age! He went from student to grandmaster of a martial lineage, while being undefeated all the while!

This act of Lord Parashurāma being a grandmaster brings us to the modern day. He is considered the preceptor of Kalari Payattu, one of India’s most popular martial arts in current times. This is a martial art system that originates in the Southern Indian state of Kerala, which is a part of the Western Coast, the Parashurāma Kshetra referred to earlier. I have heard it said that Kalari Payattu has 2 lineages, a northern and southern lineage.

Maharishi Agastya is considered the creator of the southern lineage while Lord Parashurāma is credited with creating the northern lineage. Kalari Payattu is a complete system, like the Bujinkan system of martial arts that I am a student of. It comprises of armed and unarmed combat and a healing system. The weapons trained include short, medium and long-range weapons.

This brings me to the concluding point of this article. It relates to the application of martial arts in day-to-day life. It was mentioned to me a few weeks ago, by someone close to me, that a practitioner of the martial arts, specifically of the ones with origins in the eastern hemisphere, do not feel anger. In my opinion, this is a fallacy. The practice of the martial arts might lead to effective and consistent anger management, but not a lack of the emotion of anger.

This is a good place to discuss anger management, as Lord Parashurāma was feared for his anger. This was perhaps because he could fly into a rage, especially during his 21 campaigns against corrupt rulers. And his rage could lead to entire armies being slaughtered. But even the great avatāra changed over time. He gained control and atoned for the lives he had taken. He even gave back to society through his students and his creation of martial arts practiced to this day.

I have always felt that martial arts are a synonym for conflict management. The conflict could be internal, due to one’s own emotions, or external, due to interactions with other people and systems of society. A lot of the time, there is no clear solution to the problems or conflicts we face, like traffic or process management in offices, hospitals or anything we might come in contact with. It might also have to do with neighbours, pollution and family.

Violence can never be used to solve problems in a democratic country. And other solutions, if any, might take an inordinate amount of time, not to mention financial expenditure. These situations will invariably lead to any individual feeling anger, routinely.

Now consider training in a dojo or any other setting. A lot of the time, during practice, one might face an opponent with greater physical skills – speed, strength or just sheer size. One might even be up against multiple opponents. And then there are situations with weapons and multiple opponents with weapons! These are situations where one feels anger at the sheer lack of options to survive even in a practice situation. And this invariably leads to fear and then to anger. The anger is at the unfairness of the situation and at oneself, for not being able to deal with it or at being angry after years of training! 😊

These are situations during which one trains to be able to control oneself. That is conflict management and anger management at the same time. One controls oneself to find options to survive and thus influence the situation. When one feels anger in a routine situation, hopefully the martial training comes to the fore to keep a check on it. It is like thinking, “if I could survive a physical attack, this situation where there is no physical threat cannot be worse, can it!”

So, the practice of the martial arts leads to improved self-control. The control a practitioner can achieve depends on the duration of training and the circumstances life has put one through. There is no formula for this. With self-control, it might seem with some people that they never feel anger. But that cannot be a universal expectation.

In about 20 years of training, the only Budoka I have felt feel no anger at all are among the senior most Sensei in the Bujinkan system of martial arts. These are people with over 50 years of martial experience! They are also people who have overcome great travails in life and are over 70 years of age! So, age and wisdom (which is dependent on life experience) are likely to play a big role here.

All the other Budoka I have had the fortune of interacting with, even those training since the 1980s, are not beyond anger. They definitely feel the emotion, but they also have terrific self-control. They never let anger dictate their movements or actions, and almost definitely never their words. They have mastered the martial art to better themselves, not to leave behind a part of themselves (which is what anger is). This at least, is my experience at this point in life.

This concludes this article, where we went from celebrating Lord Parashurāma to appreciating axes from all over the world to considering anger and the martial arts.

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Mundane Budo

An exploration of budo in Indian culture

hinduism

Balarama Jayanti – The Plough as a Weapon

The Bujinkan schools from an Indian perspective – Terrain, People & Evolution – Part 2

The Bujinkan schools from an Indian perspective – Terrain, People & Evolution – Part 1

Chetak & “The Day of the Horse”

The Bujinkan = The continuous transition between Lords Rama & Krishna

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 3 (of 3)

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 2 (of 3)

Spears, Spearheads and Spearpoints – Part 1

Shikan Ken and The Day of the Leopard

Lord Parashurāma – An exemplar of the Shugyo (martial journey)