Matches were traditionally codified into four types which progressed from purely sportive contests of strength to actual full-contact fights known as yuddha.

Each yuddhan is named after Hindu gods and legendary fighters: In Sanskrit, mallayuddha literally translates to "wrestling combat".

The second element, khra (sport, play, pastime, amusement) implies a more limited-contact style of folk wrestling rather than true grappling combat.

The first written attestation of the term mallayuddha is found in the epic Ramayana, in the context of a wrestling match between the vanara-king Vali and Ravana, the king of Lanka.

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.

[3] Later, the Pallava king Narasimhavarman acquired the nickname Mahamalla meaning "great wrestler" for his passion and prowess in the art.

[5] Anthropologist Joseph Alter writes of it, "The chapter entitled 'Malla Vinod' describes the classification of wrestlers into types by age, size and strength.

[7] Sjoman notes that the Malla Purana (16–21) names 18 hatha yoga postures (asanas) including Simhasana, Kurmasana, Kukkutasana, Garudasana and Sirsasana.

[7] As the influence of Indian culture spread to Southeast Asia, malla-yuddha was adopted in what are now Cambodia, Malaysia, Java, and other neighbouring countries.

The 16th-century Jaina classic Bharatesa Vaibhava describes wrestlers challenging their opponents with grunts and traditional signs of patting the shoulders.

[citation needed] As part of his daily routine, the king Krishna Deva Raya would rise early and exercise his muscles with the gada (mace) and sword before wrestling with his favourite opponent.

Their wrestling does not seem like ours, but there are blows (given), so severe as to break teeth, and put out eyes, and disfigure faces, so much so that here and there men are carried off speechless by their friends; they give one another fine falls too.

Water is added approximately every three days to keep it at the right consistency; soft enough to avoid injury but hard enough so as not to impede the wrestlers' movements.

Wrestlers begin each session by flattening the soil, an act which is considered both a part of endurance training and an exercise in self-discipline.

To avoid stunting their growth, young trainees are first taught kundakavartana, callisthenics and exercises to develop their overall strength and endurance without equipment.

Wrestlers mount, dismount and utilize this pole for various complex callisthenics designed to develop their grip, stamina, and strength in the arms, legs and upper-body.

Rope mallakhamba is today most commonly practiced by children as a spectator sport in itself rather than its traditional role as a form of training for wrestling.