Kalaripayattu Dance Kerala

Chinese martial arts is known to many. However, this is also a fact that Kalaripayattu is an antecedent of the former. The history of Kalaripayattu, a form of martial arts, dates back around 2,000 years. Indigenous to the southern Indian state of Keraka, Kalaripayattu has its origin in the Dhanur Vedic texts. According to the Vishnu Purana, Kalaripayattu is believed to be among the eighteen traditional branches of knowledge. The institution where the people are trained in this art is known as ‘Kalaris’ while trainers of this art form as referred to as ‘Gurukulas’.

Mythological Background

According to a legend, the credit of the origination of Kalaripayattu goes to warrior saint Parasurama. The saint is believed to be an incarnated form of Lord Vishnu. The exclusive art form was created when the saint threw his axe into the sea and it was drawn back. Later, the saint set up as many as forty-two ‘Kalaris’ along with twenty-one ‘Gurukulas’ or the masters of Kalaripayattu. Parasurama himself taught the Gurukulas the art of defending the land that he made to exist.

Classification of Traditional Schools

It is through the mytho-historical heritage of the state of Kerala that Kalaripayattu came into being. The art form of Kalaripayattu teaches traditional disciplines, both psychological and physiological. Traditionally, Kalaripayattu has been divided into two schools of art – the Northern School and the Southern School.

The northern traditional school stresses upon development from body exercises to combating with weapons. And this ultimately leads to weaponless combat. According to the southern tradition, Agastya is believed to be the patron saint of the art form. Legend has it that when Lord Shiva married Parvati at Kailasa in North, the whole pantheon of gods came to attend the ceremony. Owing to this huge congregation of all the gods in North, an imbalance occurred in the world. To balance the world, Agastya was told to go to the South and maintain the equilibrium with his power.

There’s yet another legend associated with all this. When Lord Rama needed to exterminate the demon king Ravana, he was assisted by Agastya. The latter served as Rama’s mentor and helped him to obtain weapons to defeat Ravana. As per the souther traditional school, footwork plays a pivotal role in achieving the full power of the art form. In addition to this, much focus is given on body movements and the skill to strike at the vital points (which are 108 in number). If struck on these vital points or ‘marmas’, the blow can prove to be extremely fatal.

Why practice Kalaripayattu?

Though you do not require going to the battleground to test your skill like it happened in the olden days, you can achieve numerous benefits by practicing Kalaripayattu. The martial art helps you gain control over the body and the mind as well as harmonize them. Besides being an excellent visual art, it is also a good form of art for self defense. The training of this martial art begins with aerobic exercise and leads to complete dynamism of the body.