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Kalarippyat is one of the oldest living traditions of martial
training in the world, with its roots in the Dhanurveda, the
ancient Indian science of warfare. Martial training and self
disciplining through a ritualistic and spiritual process of
learning, is synthesized in the Kalarippayat tradition which
found its roots in Kerala, the southern most state of India.
In Malayalam, the name ‘Kalarippayat’ means ‘martial training
inside a kalari or arena’. The word Kalari signifying the
training premises is derived from the Sanskrit
term’Khalaoorika’ whichstands for ‘military training ground’.
History
Though exact proofs of various stages of evolution of the
Kalarippayat tradition is still being traced, available
historical evidences show that the form as practiced to day,
evolved during the 9th through 12th centuries A.D .
Travelogues of the 14th and 16th century travelers to Kerala
like Durate Barbosa and the popular ‘Ballads of Northern
Malabar’ describe that Kalarippayat was an integral part of
the medieval Kerala society as it played a vital role in the
warriors. During this period when kerala consisted of several
small feudal principalities in constant clashes, Kalarippayat
as a highly developed martial training and physical culture
system attained great prominence . No village was without a
kalari near the temple pond run by a known master who was
revelry addressed as the Gurukkal.
Traditional palmleaf manuscripts available on kalarippayat
refer to the warrior sage Parasurama as the first Guru of
Kalarippayat. It is said that parasurama after retrieving the
land of Kerala from the ocean, taught this martial art o to
his 21 disciples o in order to protect the land and to
maintain peace.
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