Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 6th June 2016, 01:30 PM

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parashu

Quote"Construction;
The Parashu could be double edged or bladed or single-bladed with a spike on the non cutting edge. It usually measures between 3 – 5 feet though some are as long as 7 feet. The parashu is usually made of iron or wootz steel. The cutting edge is broader than the edge which is attached to the haft. The haft is often tied with a leather sheet to provide a good grip.

In Hinduism;
The parashu is the weapon of the god Shiva who gave it to Parashurama (see artwork below), sixth avatar of Vishnu, whose name means "Rama with the axe" and also taught him its mastery. He is regarded as the founder of the northern style of kalaripayat. Parashurama was the guru of Dronacharya, the guru who instructed the Pandavas in the epic of the Mahabharata. Bhishma and Karna, half brother of Pandava also took instruction in weaponry from Parashurama, a disciple of lord Shiva, and was known to have terrible temper having lost his father to the evil asura. In his anger, Parashurama used the parashu to get rid of the all the Earth's tyrannical kshatriya caste twenty-one times over. Parashurama's weapon had supernatural powers. It had four cutting edges, one on each end of the blade head and one on each end of the shaft.

The Parashu was known as the most lethal close combat weapons of the epics. It is also one of the weapons of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga and is still depicted on their idols throughout India." Unquote.

It occurred to me that where weapons were so engraved on the psyche through their belief system that those famous ancient seemingly mythical items would find an important place in the actual battle field systems down the ages..

Martial Arts;
I found it interesting that the Agni Purana Martial Style between the 8th and 11th Century AD mentions in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_martial_arts~
Quote" The section concludes with listing the names of actions or "deeds" possible with a number of weapons, including 32 positions to be taken with sword and shield (khaḍgacarmavidhau), 11 names of techniques of using a rope in fighting, along with 5 names of "acts in the rope operation" along with lists of "deeds" pertaining to the chakram (war-quoit), the spear, the tomara (iron club), the gada (mace), the axe, the hammer, the bhindipāla or laguda, the vajra, the dagger, the slingshot, and finally deeds with a bludgeon or cudgel. A short passage near the end of the text returns to the larger concerns of warfare and explains the various uses of war elephants and men. The text concludes with a description of how to appropriately send the well-trained fighter off to war.''Unquote.

Conclusion;
The point is that most of the weapons used in battle by mounted and dismounted Indian warriors are contained in these martial arts which became standard practice throughout the story of India down the ages. It seems apparent that these weapon skills were taught for close combat action and the Mace and Axe would therefor have been used where required....Systems changed and armies developed and dropped certain techniques though retained the weapons for traditions and parade purposes and particularly in the time of the late Persian Qajar period; axes became part of the scene at Military pageants etc. I assume the same thing happened in India...Modern armies still retain such historically honoured weapons such as swords and remnants of body armour, lances, and spears often adorned with regimental colours.

Note; See also https://books.google.com.om/books?id...ghting&f=false page 69 where it is noted that the Sumerians discovered that making the axe head heavier and sharper pushed the foot pound impact up to 77.5 when the critical power needed to crunch through body armour was only 66 foot pounds... thus they had a winner in hand.... which would be a dominant factor for warfare for the next 2000 years.

6th June 2016, 01:30 PM	#27
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	PARASHU. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parashu Quote"Construction; The Parashu could be double edged or bladed or single-bladed with a spike on the non cutting edge. It usually measures between 3 – 5 feet though some are as long as 7 feet. The parashu is usually made of iron or wootz steel. The cutting edge is broader than the edge which is attached to the haft. The haft is often tied with a leather sheet to provide a good grip. In Hinduism; The parashu is the weapon of the god Shiva who gave it to Parashurama (see artwork below), sixth avatar of Vishnu, whose name means "Rama with the axe" and also taught him its mastery. He is regarded as the founder of the northern style of kalaripayat. Parashurama was the guru of Dronacharya, the guru who instructed the Pandavas in the epic of the Mahabharata. Bhishma and Karna, half brother of Pandava also took instruction in weaponry from Parashurama, a disciple of lord Shiva, and was known to have terrible temper having lost his father to the evil asura. In his anger, Parashurama used the parashu to get rid of the all the Earth's tyrannical kshatriya caste twenty-one times over. Parashurama's weapon had supernatural powers. It had four cutting edges, one on each end of the blade head and one on each end of the shaft. The Parashu was known as the most lethal close combat weapons of the epics. It is also one of the weapons of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga and is still depicted on their idols throughout India." Unquote. It occurred to me that where weapons were so engraved on the psyche through their belief system that those famous ancient seemingly mythical items would find an important place in the actual battle field systems down the ages.. Martial Arts; I found it interesting that the Agni Purana Martial Style between the 8th and 11th Century AD mentions in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_martial_arts~ Quote" The section concludes with listing the names of actions or "deeds" possible with a number of weapons, including 32 positions to be taken with sword and shield (khaḍgacarmavidhau), 11 names of techniques of using a rope in fighting, along with 5 names of "acts in the rope operation" along with lists of "deeds" pertaining to the chakram (war-quoit), the spear, the tomara (iron club), the gada (mace), the axe, the hammer, the bhindipāla or laguda, the vajra, the dagger, the slingshot, and finally deeds with a bludgeon or cudgel. A short passage near the end of the text returns to the larger concerns of warfare and explains the various uses of war elephants and men. The text concludes with a description of how to appropriately send the well-trained fighter off to war.''Unquote. Conclusion; The point is that most of the weapons used in battle by mounted and dismounted Indian warriors are contained in these martial arts which became standard practice throughout the story of India down the ages. It seems apparent that these weapon skills were taught for close combat action and the Mace and Axe would therefor have been used where required....Systems changed and armies developed and dropped certain techniques though retained the weapons for traditions and parade purposes and particularly in the time of the late Persian Qajar period; axes became part of the scene at Military pageants etc. I assume the same thing happened in India...Modern armies still retain such historically honoured weapons such as swords and remnants of body armour, lances, and spears often adorned with regimental colours. Note; See also https://books.google.com.om/books?id...ghting&f=false page 69 where it is noted that the Sumerians discovered that making the axe head heavier and sharper pushed the foot pound impact up to 77.5 when the critical power needed to crunch through body armour was only 66 foot pounds... thus they had a winner in hand.... which would be a dominant factor for warfare for the next 2000 years. Attached Images Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 6th June 2016 at 03:36 PM.