What can be a better and simple human companion object than a wooden stick! Even before our ancestors would have gotten hold of sharp rocks and metals, they must have had sticks that they could use for protection and assistance.In Sanatan warrior arts, wielding sticks of various sizes and shapes is one of the most beautiful art that you one learn. Beginning with sticks one can also train for all the other Amukta Shastras (handheld weapons) like Khadg, Gada, etc. as well as fitness tools like Samtola and Karlakattai. Learning to swing sticks with both hands independently and in-sync not only gives strength and health to our body but also vitalises our mind. A few minutes of short sticks flows with rhythmic breathing lifts our mind to a meditative state and energises us for the day. This practice is pretty much all one needs to be fit and healthy. In this article we will take a journey through the literary and cultural tradition of short sticks. We will discover that our ancients recommended the practice of short sticks for everyone and it held a reverential position for people from all walks of life. Who amongst us hasn’t heard the tales of valour of Maharana Pratap & his army, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Abakka, Chennamma, the Maratha warriors, the Pallavas etc., and other great warriors of Bharat. These Veers and Veeranganas would fight valiantly with their heavy swords weighing tens of kgs for hours. This certainly points towards a systematic training system that, as we will see, starts with short sticks. Currently, short sticks are practiced all over the globe. In Bharat the traditional practices have declined greatly, but there is still hope and this article is an effort to bring the traditional short sticks practice in vogue again, to help people achieve true physical and mental fitness in a fun way. With current technologies short sticks can be learnt online with coaches from authentic Gurukulam.

Short sticks in recent history & Pallavas

Stick / Danda / Dand used to be a common essential in every household in Bharat until a few decades ago. It is also known as Baint, Sothi, Lathi, Karra Samu etc. in different parts of Bharat.

These are usually made of bamboo which is seasoned with oils and fire to make it stronger and flexible. In ayurveda, bamboo is known for balancing kapa-pitta and curing skin diseases. Short sticks are also made of cane or rattan. Short sticks art is also famous in other indigenous cultures especially those which had Sanatan roots till medieval times such as Thailand, Indonesia, Srilanka, Philippines, Bali, etc. A lot of these places had Sanatani culture and arts during the reigns of Pallavas, Cholas and Chalukyas.

In Pallava warrior tradition short sticks are called with different names such as Podi Kuchi, Salli Kuchi, Sedi Kuchi, Khata Kambu, Kurunthadi, Vajramushti, etc depending on the size and type of the stick.

These sticks may have a sharp weapon attached on one side or on both the sides. These can be wielded by holding from the middle or from one end. For single stick practice, both hand or a single hand grip can be used. Sticks can also be held from the middle, in which case there can be sharp ends on both the sides.

There are various other weapons that are very similar to short sticks such as Khatvang, Bhushundi, Brahm-Dand, Musal (which looks more like Kushti Karlai), some forms of Vajra and Mund/Kapalika. Training for these weapons and different kind of swords & maces has been done by practicing with short sticks first as these are safer and readily available.

The Pallavas

The Pallava tradition had many great Dhanurveda practitioners, like Senapati ParanJothi during Vatapi war with Chalukyas, who attained Moksha walking the warrior path and became one of the Nayanars (63 prominent Shiva Bhaktas, just like the Alwars in Vaishnava tradition). Pallavas ruled the majority of southern India including regions of Andhra. Pallavas trace their lineage from Bharadwaj-putra Drona from Mahabharata which is also the lineage of Marathas. (If we keep such itihasa in context how baseless the bogus atrocity literature starts to appear that tries to create fault lines in Bhartiya society by twisting the pristine systems of Varna and Jati, mis-representing words Arya and Dravid etc. Well, those stories were part of the plan to kill our Gurukuls and traditional knowledge systems and it seems to have worked but let’s say no more! Let's reflect on our Itihasa again and practice our traditions. Short sticks tradition to get back to the might in us and in Bhartiya society. To know more on why atrocity literature continues after Independence watch Sahebs documentary film link).

Pallavas made astounding rock cut temples and structural temples. Short sticks and related weapons form an intrinsic part of the sculptures in these temples, to the point that to identify a Deva one can look at the weapons held.

Podi Kuchi in Ancient Itihasa & Dhanurveda

Dand is an important weapon in our Itihasa and Dhanurveda. I’m picking three examples from different Granths and one excerpt from a talk by the current Shankaracharya Ji of Puri. Let us begin with Bhagwan Ram.

• 1

  कङ्काल मुसलं घोरें कापालमथ किङ्गिणीम् ॥ १२ ॥

  वधार्थ रक्षसां यानि ददाम्येतानि सर्वशः।

  -- Valmiki Ramayana, Sarg 18, Balkand

  

  In the above shloka, Rishi Valmiki gives some of the stick like weapons to Rama and mention that these are specifically useful in killing Rakshasas. Whenever in Ramayana there is a discussion on qualities of Sri Ram, there is a mention of his daily practice and excellence in Dhanurveda (e.g. 18th Sarg BalKanda, 1st Sarg AyodhyaKand).

• 2

  तूनचर्मावनद्धाङ्ग स्थापयित्वा नवं दृढ़म् ।।

  करेणादाय लगुड़ं दक्षिणाङ्गुलकं नवम् ।

  उद्यम्यघातयेद् यस्य नाशस्तेन शिशोर्दृढ़म् ।। १०

  उभाभ्यामक्षहस्ताभ्यां कुर्य्यात् तस्य निपातनम् ।

  अक्लेशेन ततः कुर्वन् बधे सिद्धिः प्रकीर्त्तिता ।

  कङ्काल मुसलं घोरें कापालमथ किङ्गिणीम् ॥ १२ ॥

  वधार्थ रक्षसां यानि ददाम्येतानि सर्वशः।

  -- Agni Purana, Adhyay 251, Dhanurveda

  Chapter 251 of AgniPurana that deals with DhanurVeda in context to combat fights and wars gives some instructions on the most effective attack using a lathi which will lead to win in a battle.

  A Dhanurveda practitioner should get a sturdy stick coated with Tunir. He should practice upside down head strike with dominant hand. This strike is powerful enough to kill an enemy. Once perfect with single stick, he can then practice double stick fights. If perfected such a skill is enough to spontaneously kill the enemy.

  Tunir is a form of leather that can dampen the impact of stick hitting by mistake during practice (It might have other usages that may require further study).

• 3

  All women must learn fitness knowledge systems and practice fighting with single-stick, quarterstaff, sword and bow and arrow in addition to other Kalas. It is evident in phrases like "व्यायामिकीनां विद्यानां ज्ञानम्, वैजयिकीनां विद्यासमुद्देशप्रकरण" etc.

  -- Third chapter, Kama Sutra, Rishi Vatsyayana

  Dand was not just used in wars and combats but it was a household essential if we see a few generations back. Not only for man but also for women. Third chapter of Kama Sutra which talks about the education of women (and men too) gives instructions to learn fitness knowledge systems and stick fighting in addition to other Kalas.

• 4

  In scriptures, this Danda that Sanyasis have is known as Vishnu Linga. It is a symbol of Shri Vishnu Bhagwan & it’s also called ‘Brahma Dand’. … There are types of Danda as per the different traditions. One type of Danda is having six knots. You may know that the Mantra of ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ is six lettered one. This six knotted Danda is known as “Sudarshan Danda”. In a different lineage, Danda is having eight knots. The mantra of Shri Narayan Bhagwan is eight lettered one and the name of this Danda is Narayan Danda.

  -- Swami Nishchalanand Saraswati, Shankaracharya Sri Govardhana Peetham of Puri

  Since olden times, Sanyasis are referred to by the kind of stick that they carry as Eka Dandi Swami or Tri Dandi Swami.

  

  From Sri Adi Shankaracharya to Ramanujacharya all held dands at all the times. Sri Adi Shankaracharya started Dashnami Sampradaya (ten orders) of Eka Dandi Swamis and among them two were specifically supposed to practice and teach ShastraVidya. He also established Akhadas for practicing Shastra Vidya such as Juna Akhada. The Naga Sadhu Akhadas were further emphasised by Sri Madhusudan Saraswati. Later, Ramanandis sect took the Astra-Shastra vidya to fight against barbaric muslim invaders. They were quite successful in establishing dharma back many times in major temple cities and adjoining areas like Someshwar, Kashi, Mathura etc. When these sanyasis skilled in Astra-Shastras and having realized their bodies as just old clothes, chanting name of Mahakal "Har Har Mahadev" would run for war, the Kaal himself would shiver in fear then what to say about coward barbarians standing in front of them.

  

  These great success stories hardly make it to the mainstream, however in recent times there are articles, books and films e.g. doc films from channels such as Vishuddi, ((on Indian resistance)to Islamic invasions), Prachyam, SangamTalks etc. that give justice to such unsung contributions.

Podi Kuchi in present day Bharat & its Relevence

Our festivals, art forms and rituals have been carrying deep ancient knowledge from the antiquities of tens of thousands of years to present day. There are various festivals in India that celebrate sticks and include dance forms and martial arts as integral part.

One festival in Andhra, called Banni festival, celebrates Bhagwan Shiv killing two demons - Mani and Mallasura - by clobbering them with sticks. The people celebrate by enacting the scene and showing their skills with sticks. Unfortunately, rather than improving the quality of these celebrations and popularising them, the celebrations are reported as if indigenous traditions are crazy and the people are uncivilised. Search for “Bani festival in Andhra” and you will find only these sort of reports and nothing great. While at the same time short stick art is making its way back to us from abroad as an exotic art form. Traditional stick fight has seen a decline in recent times in India. Wikipedia on Lathi Khel mentions: “Due to the drop in practitioners and spectators, the yearly Lathi Khela convention is now held once every three years”.

Different Sanatan Dharma Gurus at different times have taken up the task of reviving Shaurya in our society and have established institutions for bringing the knowledge of Dhanurveda back like Guru Vashishtha, Sri Vishwamitra, Bhardwaj Muni, Guru Dron, Guru Gobind Singh, Sri Adi Shankaracharya. In current day we have various institutions working for the revival of authentic traditions. One such Gurukulam is Jothi Kshatriya Gurukulam coming from the lineage of Pallavas themselves. In the Pallava tradition as expounded by Dr. Jothi Kannan, the current successor of Paran Jothi school, short sticks are combined with Mei-Padam and Karlakattai to form a complete fitness training taking care of strength-endurance, joint stability and mobility and Pran Shakti or the trio of respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems. If we are practicing this traditional system of fitness, we don’t need to focus on how fat we are, how much carbs are we eating and whatever new fad the fitness industry is glorifying. The practice will bring it all, the Ang-Lakshanas based on our unique genetics and stage of life, while we can focus on our swadharma. With the trust in our roots, we will start adopting nutritional aspects of our tradition as well and will prefer home made food instead of packaged junk and outside food with unknown source of ingredients. Diseases may still come but we will have the Pran-Shakti and tenacity to endure the hard times, before the disease goes away. We will have the practice as our partner through thick & thin and through old age.

The Government of India too is recognising the importance of traditional sports and warrior arts. Summits like “First National Martial Arts Mela in Thiruvananthapuram” are a testimony to that. Now the onus is upon us to learn, practice and understand the depth of these great warrior arts spread across Bharat rather than falling in the vicious western fitness traps with their crooked definition of fitness. The practice of short-sticks and related arts can be practiced in different ways to achieve various goals such as flows to increase mental focus and relax the mind & body, for mobility and speed-endurance; as a self-defence shastra; as an addition to MeiPadam which can have theraputic benefits for all lifestyle diseases and balances all the systems including nervous, cardio-vascular system; as a precursor to musal & karlakattai training for strength endurance, bulletproofing joints and giving functional strength that has great carry over in day-today life, various sports and athletics. Sticking to our tradition for fitness naturally makes us immune to the current ills and crazy cultures of body shaming, cyclic “science based” myths to pump money to supplement industry and pharma, false celebrity stories of fitness which make us constantly feel bad about our body types and also overly judging others while pursuing and expecting un-natural western body types that are mostly neither fit nor functional. A mentally and physically strong society with trust in indigenous time tested methods can easily develop self-reliance and protect itself and Dharma.

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