Ancient Sports in India

Chess

Chess originated in ancient India and was known as Chatur-Anga - meaning four limbs. It represents four-fold divison on the ancient Indian army – infantry, war elephants, cavalry and chariots. Chaturanga is the direct ancestor of shatranj which was played by the Pandavas and the Kauravas.

The Mahabharata story of Pandvas and the Kauravas throws light on the fact that a game similar to chess was played in ancient India, nearly 3000 years ago. Some historians are of the view that this game was also used in the allocation of land among different members of a clan when a new settlement was being established.

Playing Cards

The popular game of cards originated in ancient India and was known as Krida-patram. It was one of the favorite pastimes of Indians in ancient times. This game was patronized especially by the royalty and nobility. In medieval India, playing cards was known as Ganjifa cards which were played in practically all royal courts. This game is recorded to have been played in Rajputana, Kashyapa Meru (Kashmir), Utkala (Orissa) the Deccan and even in Nepal. The Mughals also patronized this game, but the Mughal card-sets differed from those of the ancient Indian royal courts.

Some scholars are of the opinion that this game was in fact introduced into India by the Mughals. But according to Abul Fazal author of the ‘Ain-e-Akbari’, the game of cards was of Indian origin and that it was a very popular pastime in the Indian (Hindu) courts when the Muslims came into India.

Martial Arts

Ancient India claims to have been the origin of judo and karate. Kerela’s martial art form Kalaripayate is similar to karate.Those who practice it have to develop acrobatic capabilities, when using swords or knives to attack their adversaries, and even an unarmed exponent who can be a force to reckon with. The violent nature of Kalaripayate is evident from the daggers and knives that were used. Unlike Kalaripayate, judo and karate do not allow the use of lethal weapons. Early martial arts find mention in Vedic literatue and in the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. In Mahabhata, Arjun and Karan had a battle between each other using fists, bows and swords. Boxing fights are also described in Ramayana.

With the advent of Buddhism, this art form was spread to the Far East by the monks. Such a technique of self-defense would have been necessary for Buddhist monks as they traveled individually or in small groups in foreign lands during which they were exposed to dangers from bandits and fanatics from other religions. Buddhist monks seem to have tempered the originally violent character of this art.

The aim of a Karate practitioner is mainly to disarm and disable his opponent without mortally wounding him. This can be looked upon as a reflection of the Buddhist attitude towards life. Further both judo and karate are deeply interwoven with meditation unlike other martial arts like boxing, wrestling, and fencing. The concentration aspect in judo and karate perhaps stems from this. Both Judo and Karate are sought to be kept as arts to be used only for purposes of protection of the weak.