Pehlwani (Kushti)
कुश्तीThe traditional wrestling of the Indian subcontinent, trained in akharas on an earth floor. It arose from indigenous malla-yuddha fused with Persian varzesh-e pahlavani.
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About Pehlwani (Kushti)
Pehlwani, more commonly kushti, is the traditional wrestling of the Indian subcontinent. It arose from the fusion of indigenous malla-yuddha with Persian varzesh-e pahlavani, which arrived with the Mughal empire, and it is still practised in akharas — wrestling grounds that are school and home at once. Wrestling takes place in earth, not on a mat. The ground is tilled daily and prepared with ghee, turmeric and buttermilk; it must be soft for falls but not dusty. Before training the wrestlers rake it themselves, which counts as part of the practice rather than preparation for it. Training rests on repetition in enormous numbers. The dand is a press-up with an arched spine, the baithak a single-leg squat; both are done by the hundred. To these are added the gada, a stone or wooden club weighted at one end, and the nal, a stone ring worn around the neck. The diet is rich and simple — milk, almonds, ghee. But the akhara is not merely a gym. The guru–student relationship governs the daily regime, discipline and, in its traditional form, sexual abstinence. The most celebrated wrestler is the Great Gama, undefeated across decades, and the highest title is Rustam-e-Hind. Earth wrestling is now giving way to Olympic freestyle on the mat, because only that leads to international competition.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.