Gada (mace)

The gada (Sanskrit: गदा gadā, Kannada: ಗದೆ, Telugu: గద, Tamil: கதை, Malay: gedak, Old Tagalog: batuta) is a mallet or blunt mace from the Indian subcontinent.

Various gada-yuddha techniques are mentioned in the Agni Purana and Mahabharata such as aahat (आहत), prabrita (प्रभृत), kamalasan (कमलासन), oordhvargatra (ऊर्ध्वगत्र), namita (नमित), vaamadakshina (वामदक्षिण), aavritta (आवृत्त), paraavritta (परावृत्त), padoddhrita (पदोद्धृत), avaplata (अवप्लत), hansmaarga (हंसमार्ग) and vibhaag (विभाग).

[3] The gada is one of the traditional pieces of training equipment in Hindu physical culture, and is common in the akhara of north India.

For training purposes, one or two wooden gada (mudgar) are swung behind the back in several different ways and is particularly useful for building grip strength and shoulder endurance.

[5] In Indonesia the meaning of "gada" has been expanded to refer to other impact weapons including the mace, the morning star, and the flail.

Sculpture of Hanuman carrying the Dronagiri ( Sanjeevi ) mountain, with a gada in his left hand.
Indian wrestler exercising