Wrestling in Indian arts

The history of games is as old as the history of mankind. Wrestling is one of the ancient games. At the dawn of civilization, we found that wrestling was a highly developed combative sport in India. In the Ramayana period, the art of wrestling seems to had been the most popular game and during the Mahabharata period, at several places, mallayuddha was motioned. According to Harivansa Purana, both Sri Krishan and Balram were masters of wrestling art. Because of its popularity Mallapurana, a detailed version was composed in Gujarat. Wrestling was also included in the Olympics in 708 B.C.E. The popularity and significance of wrestling in Indian society can be gauged by its representation in Indian arts. For instance, the popularity of this art can be seen in paintings, terracottas coins, and sculptures, etc. Throughout India, murals depicting in action often adorned the outer and inner walls of buildings such as temples, chaupals, chhatris, havelis, etc. The present paper will explore the art used by the artist in various types of technic used by wrestlers in their arena (akhara), and methods of warm-up and study these art forms within that context to infer socio-cultural aspects.