Akhara
In some languages such as Odia the word is officially transcribed as akhada, by way of rendering the flapped [ɽ] sound as a d. The Haryanvi and Khari Boli dialects shorten this to khada (खाड़ा).
Legendary figures like Parashurama and Agastya are credited as the founders of the early martial akhara in certain regions of India.
[8] Many of the popular sports mentioned in the Vedas and the epics have their origins in military training, such as boxing (musti-yuddha), wrestling (maladwandwa), chariot-racing (rathachalan), horse-riding (aswa-rohana) and archery (dhanurvidya).
[9] When the 8th-century philosopher Adi Shankaracharya (788–820 CE) founded the Dashanami Sampradaya, he divided the ascetics into two categories: Shastradhari (Sanskrit: शास्त्रधारी, lit.
In 1780 CE, the East India Company administration establish the sequence of order of procession for royal bathing by the akharas at Kumbh Mela to eliminate disputes.
[citation needed][note 1] It relates to a succession of masters and disciples, which serves as a spiritual channel, and provides a delicate network of relationships that lends stability to a religious identity.
[citation needed] Sampradaya is a body of practice, views and attitudes, which are transmitted, redefined and reviewed by each successive generation of followers.
When the 8th-century philosopher Adi Shankaracharya founded the Dashanami Sampradaya, he divided the ascetics into two categories:[2] Astra (Hindi: अस्त्र), the weapons or martial arts have a long tradition in India.
The oldest recorded organized unarmed fighting art in South Asia is malla-yuddha or combat-wrestling, codified into four forms and pre-dating the Vedic Period.
[33] Stories describing Krishna report that he sometimes engaged in wrestling matches where he used knee strikes to the chest, punches to the head, hair pulling, and strangleholds.
[8] Based on such accounts, Svinth (2002) traces press ups and squats used by South Asian wrestlers to the pre-classical era.
Indian martial artists may still practice in regional versions of traditional akhara today, but these are often replaced with modern training studios outside India.
[35] Dangal is Hindi language word which means Sparring or competition in akhara, Sometimes called "Chhinj" in Punjabi.
Langot (लंगोट) or langota (लंगोटा), also Kaupinam (कौपिनम) or kaupina (कौपिन), is a traditional style of Indian loincloth for men, worn as underwear in dangal held in akharas.
The major traditional Indian-origin martial arts akhara, mostly focused on wrestling and Pehlwani, by state include: Shastra (Sanskrit and Hindi: शास्त्र) means treatise, scriptures or the school of thoughts based on those.
It is elected by consensus from among the Mahants of Matha or Marhi (Sanskrit: मठ and Hindi: मढ़ी ) that make up an akhara on every Kumbha Mela and the body holds its post for 4 years.
Among the five elected Sri Pancha of the akhara, they hold the following positions in the decreasing order of seniority, all of which can be considered guru in their own right:
