Kalaripayattu
Kalari is the short form of Kalaripayattu, an ancient form of Martial art still practiced in parts of Kerala. Kalaripayattu is actually two words- Kalari meaning ‘Training’ and Payattu meaning ‘Fight’ – So it is the art of training on how to fight on a battlefield. Earlier taught only to Kshatriyas ie, the warrior clan, it was later taught to the Brahmans (priests) too but it was very late that this form of art reached the common man. Kalari is not just a set of styles and tricks to fight, nor was it developed by some person. It’s said to be taught to humans by the Warrior God Shiva himself. It’s a complete set of courses with Hand to hand combat, defense, Weapons, Yoga, and even healing techniques. You could say it turns you into a Fighter, Defender, and Doctor.
.The Origin:
Kalari is said to be the fighting technique of the gods. It was taught to humans through Parshuram, a Brahmin (The Priest clan), by the Warrior God – Shiva. His mother was a princess and maybe that’s why he had a special interest in weaponry. His father advised him to learn martial arts from Lord Shiva himself and thus he became a disciple of Lord Shiva. Pleased with his learning skills, Lord Shiva gave his disciple his Parashu (axe) and thus Ram became Parshuram.
The Anger act –
A single act of anger would change Parshuram`s life forever. A king attacked his home, hurting his family and took away the cow which was their livelihood. Angered by this he went to reclaim it and in this process fought with the king and his armies leading to the death of the king. When he brought the cow back home his father was not pleased with the killing and asked him to do penance.
While Parshuram was away, doing penance, the king’s son attacked and killed Parshurams father. When Parshuram returned and saw his father dead with 21 cuts, he vowed to kill 21 unjust kings however his rage didn’t decrease and he went slaying thousands of Kshatriyas. Finally, it was his great-grandfather who came to him and was able to calm down. Parshuram then gave away all his land and traveled south.
THE ORIGIN OF KERALA
He wanted to do something for his clan and since he had no land he called upon the Bhoomi (Earth) Goddess and the God of oceans. They asked him to throw his axe deep into the Occean. The axe went far and the ocean withdrew until Bhoomi Devi lifted the land up. The place where the Parshuram`s axe fell came to be known as Kerala. Parshuram then brought 61 families from the north.
KALARI-PAYATTU
Usually martial arts was taught to only Kshatrians – the warrior clan which consisted of the king, nobles and soldiers. He didnt want , what happened to him to be faced by any other brahmin or priest. So he constructed his school to teach the art of warfare known as Kalaripayattu – The art of Warfare.. The course was extensive touching the subjects of Defence, Attack, Marmani, Yoga, Meditation, and the art of Healing, which is why even today Kalaripayattu is different from all martial arts. No other martial art has such extensive course.
The Anger act –
A single act of anger would change Parshuram`s life forever. A king attacked his home, hurting his family and took away the cow which was their livelihood. Angered by this he went to reclaim it and in this process fought with the king and his armies leading to the death of the king. When he brought the cow back home his father was not pleased with the killing and asked him to do penance.
While Parshuram was away, doing penance, the king’s son attacked and killed Parshurams father. When Parshuram returned and saw his father dead with 21 cuts, he vowed to kill 21 unjust kings however his rage didn’t decrease and he went slaying thousands of Kshatriyas. Finally, it was his great-grandfather who came to him and was able to calm down. Parshuram then gave away all his land and traveled south.
THE ORIGIN OF KERALA
Parashuram wanted to do something for his clan and since he had no land he called upon the Bhoomi (Earth) Goddess and the God of oceans. They asked him to throw his axe deep into the Occean. The axe went far and the ocean withdrew until Bhoomi Devi lifted the land up. The place where the Parshuram`s axe fell came to be known as Kerala. Parshuram then brought 61 families from the north.
KALARI-PAYATTU
Usually martial arts was taught to only Kshatrians – the warrior clan which consisted of the king, nobles and soldiers. He didnt want , what happened to him to be faced by any other brahmin or priest. So he constructed his school to teach the art of warfare known as Kalaripayattu – The art of Warfare.. The course was extensive touching the subjects of Defence, Attack, Marmani, Yoga, Meditation, and the art of Healing, which is why even today Kalaripayattu is different from all martial arts. No other martial art has such extensive course.
