Chakram - ancient Indian weapon: description, features and history

Modern youth for the most part do not even know what chakras are. The older generation remembers that this is an amazing metal ring, which Xena skillfully used, a princess warrior from the popular eponymous series of the 90's. And very few people know: the chakram is an ancient Indian weapon. Perfect, as the Sikhs and other warriors of past centuries believed.

The Legacy of the Gods

The people of India have always relied on ancient sacred teachings and treatises in life, in everyday life and on the battlefield. Like many other attributes, the throwing weapon of the chakra, as it is called at home, was an imitation of a powerful fire disk with a hole inside that was used in the wars of gods, demons and people in the Indian epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana". According to the legends, it was created by the gods: Brahma himself inflamed the fire for him, Vishnu put a piece of divine wrath and handed the preparation to Shiva, who gave the weapon the power of his third eye and pressed his foot with all of this into a flaming disk that cut off the head of the demon Jalamdhar himself.

Chakram - the weapon of antiquity

Unfortunately, ordinary mortals do not possess the power of the gods. Despite the beautiful legend, there is still no exact understanding of where this deadly ring came from in the traditions of India. The disputes connected with its origin do not cease till now. According to the main hypothesis, even in the Neolithic age, ancient people used stone as a projectile, and already in the Stone Age, this object acquired polished sharp edges along the entire perimeter. Confirmation of this hypothesis is the recent findings in the archaeological excavations of the north of the country. Thus, the chakras are weapons that have traveled from ordinary stone to a perfect metal form.

Materials, sizes, types

The deadly disc became an integral part of the Indian culture and fighting technique. Copper or steel strips were used to make the chakra, the width of which varied from 10 to 40 mm, and the thickness reached 3.5 mm. Accordingly, the diameter of the finished product could be 120-300 mm. If we turn to the treatise of Fahr al-Din, The Art of War, which was written in the XIII century, we learn that it indicated that the disk itself would be of two types: easier with a hole and heavier without a hole. But an unusual kind of this ancient weapon was used in Ceylon. It could be characterized by a capacious phrase "spiked chakram", since it had a jagged outer edge, but in the local dialect its name sounded like "a pair of valalla".

Real craftsmanship

Travelers of those ages, and all the others who saw and described the possibilities of the formidable drive in battle, admired its deadly power, harmonious perfection and technique of application. The Indian throwing weapon to the chakras could cut off the enemy's limb, and the range of his flight could reach 100 meters, although the most convenient distance for a strike is 50 meters. The art of owning the chakram was not generally available, it was the privilege of only aristocratic families whose offspring began their education from early childhood. It is quite natural that in the inept hands the deadly disc could do more harm than good, and cripple not so much the enemy as the thrower himself and his associates. The technique of throwing the chakra also had its own nuances. So, there were several ways to throw. A warrior could untwist a throwing disc on the middle finger or rod and point towards the enemy, otherwise the ring was clamped between the palm and the thumb, like a modern flying saucer. And yet, thanks to a multitude of different techniques, the warriors were casting the chakramas not only horizontally, but also vertically, and even in batches.

Art of War

Another treatise on the military case under the name "Dhanurveda" described the Indian canonical throwing and small arms, and one of the twelve species was the chakra. The weapon that killed at a distance, without the contact of the warrior with the victim, was in India the most revered, because it did not weigh down karma, which is very important for such a religious nation. This is also one of the reasons why the lethal discs were so in demand and were inferior only to the bow, which was considered more perfect. The acquisition of five weapons was part of the compulsory curriculum for young men from noble families, they were taught the proper technique of possession from an early age. Strictly determined and the sequence of the use of a weapon as it approaches the enemy. The first was the bow, the second was the chakra, the sword and spear were used, and the mace and knife were very close. At the most extreme, the methods of combat without weapons were also studied.

From superiority to oblivion

Up to the XII century, unique deadly disks were in service with the army, but gradually the military leaders began to adopt combat techniques from other nationalities, in particular, Turks, Persians, and the chakra-national pride and wealth-remained an aristocratic hobby and was not used in real combat. However, the art of owning this ancient weapon was not completely forgotten. This was the case until the 16th century, when the technique of fighting with the chakra did not return to life and was not given a second wind, but all thanks to the Sikhs, the followers of the new religion from the Punjab. Their history is inseparable from the war, and the guerrilla, because their opponents have always been certainly more.

The tactics of the Sikhs are inseparably linked with sudden attacks from ambushes, stun of the enemy, deadly attack and lightning retreat so that the enemy can not react and understand where to wait again for the offensive. And therefore it is not surprising that Sikhs chose the chakras as their main weapon. They even developed a special tactic - salvo throwing of sharpened rings, with the front row of metal from the shoulder of the palm, and the rear - with the rotation of the fingers over the heads of the first. Gradually the chakras (weapons) became a true symbol of the Sikhs. Especially in this distinguished nihangs - members of the radical branch of the Sikhs. His image was also present on the main emblem of this current - khande. In terms of its significance, it can be compared with the Muslim crescent or the Jewish star of David.

In addition, the chakras and sikhs and nihangs wore themselves as decorations, they were put on a "dastar bunga" - a national peaked turban, worn behind their backs, and the largest specimens on their necks. Particularly zealous Sikhs opposed the colonization of India by Britain. Fought for a long time and desperately, but in 1957, the British suppressed the uprising, broke and disarmed the rebels, destroying all their arsenals. Over time, the art of owning the chakra lost its importance and was gradually forgotten. The last mention of their use dates back to the 40s of the last century, at that time they were sometimes used by street robbers. In our time, a formidable weapon is only a cultural heritage and a symbol of the Sikhs.

Analogues in other cultures

The chakras are the throwing weapons of India, but other ancient peoples created something similar. The closest analogue is the Chinese throwing plates, called "coins of poor people", made of bronze and reaching a diameter of 60 mm. Sometimes they were also sharpened on the edge.

"Fei Pan Piao" - another creation of the Chinese. These plates resemble modern disc circular saws, it is closer to the "spiked chakramam" of Ceylon. Also in the Land of the Rising Sun, there are analogs of the deadly discs, and they are more famous than the chakras. These are multi-ray stars - shurikens. However, the biggest difference between these weapons is not the form, but the way of application. Throwing plates of other countries used covertly, in the shadows, this weapon of assassins, while the chakras were widely spread, used openly and in large scale - in major battles and not only.