Gada
गदा · gadā
An Indian blunt mace with a round head on a shaft and a spike at the top; the weapon of the god Hanuman and the prize for kushti champions.
Quick Facts
IndiaAbout the weapon
The gada is a blunt mace from the Indian subcontinent, Sanskrit gada. In the epic Mahabharata, Balarama, Duryodhana, Bhima, Karna, Shalya and Jarasandha are named masters of the gada. Outside India it was adopted in Southeast Asia, where it is still used in silat today. We have not been able to establish the dating of its origin in the sources. The gada is made of wood or metal and essentially consists of a round head mounted on a shaft, with a spike at the top. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds an Indo-Persian steel and gold gada from the 17th century, 26.5 inches long, about 67 cm. The art of fighting with the gada is called gada-yuddha. The mace is used singly or in pairs and can be handled in twenty different ways; gada-yuddha techniques are mentioned in the Agni Purana and the Mahabharata. The gada is also part of the equipment of kalaripayattu. Training uses wooden mudgar clubs: swung once or with two behind the back in several variations, strengthening grip and shoulder endurance. The karate strength tool chiishi and its exercises also derived from the gada and mudgar. The gada is the main weapon of the god Hanuman, and Vishnu holds a gada named Kaumodaki in one of his four hands. The wrestler The Great Gama was known for frequent training with the gada, and kushti wrestling champions often receive one as a prize.
Related weapons
- Variants: Mudgar