Gadā (Mace)

[Full title: War weapons > Śāstras > Amuktāyudhas > Gadā (Mace)]

This is described by Tattvavivṛti as a heavy weapon ([...]), with broad knotted head, four cubits length and a handle. From the various movements, numbering twenty, it can be inferred that gadā could be used to fight in close combat and also could be flung at the enemy to make him inactive.

This being a heavy weapon required lot of strength on the part of the warrior to wield it (V. 32-4):

[...]^[1]

The twenty different movements possible when using this weapon can be understood with the help of the commentary:

(a) Parimokṣa -avoiding blows

(b) Praharaṇa- attacking

(c) Varjana -escaping from the blow - [...]

(d) Paridhāvana -running backwards - [...]

(e) Abhidravaṇa -going quickly towards the enemy—[...]

(f) Ākṣepa–to frighten the enemy, a sort of eyebrow movement–[...]

(g) Avasthāna–stable position (standing steadily)

(h) Vigraha–meeting with the body of the enemy—[...]

(i) Parāvṛtta -rotary movement backwards - [...]

(j) Sannivṛtta–rotary movement forwards - [...]

(k) Avapluta–jumping of enemy on oneself - [...]

(l) Upapluta–himself jumping on the enemy -[...]

(m) Dakṣiṇamaṇḍala–clockwise movement - [...]

(n) Savyamaṇḍala–anti-clockwise movement

(o) Āviddha–striking mildly - [...]

(p) Praviddha–striking intensely - [...]

(q) Sphoṭana–making noise by striking one’s shoulders-[...]

(r) Jvālana–reason for anger - [...]

(s) Upanyasta–striking of enemy’s gadā by one’s own gadā-[...]

(t) Apanyasta–converse of Upanyasta-[...]

Mānasollāsa (II. 1. 189-93)^[2] mentions that the gadā used by the king during the gadāvinoda should be made of strong wood or metal, be solid, have a strong and wide head with pointed tip; good handle and base; it also tells about handling the weapon in different movements.

Mahābhārata (Śalyaparva, 57. 25-6; 43)^[3] presents various movements of the gadā during the duel between Bhīma and Duryodhana.

During the gadāyuddha, Bhīma used various types of gadā movements–he coursed in beautiful circles, advanced, receded, dealt with blows, warded those of his adversary, ran towards his foe, stood immovable, prepared for attacking the foe, circumambulated the foe, but prevented his foe from circumambulating him. He avoided blows by bending or jumping aloft.

Śukranīti defines gadā as having octogonal shape with a broad top and pleasing appearance. (IV. 7. 212cd):

[...]

Vīramitrodaya^[4] talks about the measurement details of the weapon. It says that the daṇḍa is to be of fifty aṅgulas and should have knots of one aṅgula size. The edge should be of the size of the thumb.

V.R.R. Dikshitar^[5] adds that gunpowder was used to turn these maces to projectiles but does not explain the concept.

In the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Gadā is classed along with weapons like mudgara, musala, vajra and aśani. These were metallic in nature and were probably made of iron. Kumbhakarṇa’s mudgara is described as kālāyasam; āyasa means iron rather than bronze or copper. Khara’s gadā is said to have been heavy as well as glowing.

In the Mahābhārata, we find that gadā was widely used. It was partly or entirely made of iron, covered with gold plate or ornamented with gold. They were sometimes wrapped in silken cloth. Under the same category fell the following weapons–musala, mudgara, ulūkhala and bhusuṇḍī.

Raghuvaṃśa mentions gadā as a widely used weapon (VII. 52).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The edited texts carry the reading’[...]’; it does not fit the context. But only if the reading is ‘[...]’ the total number of movements of gadā will be twenty as mentioned in the text itself.

[2]:

[...]

[3]:

[...]

[4]:

Lakṣaṇaprakāśa,p. 315: [...]

[5]:

War in Ancient India, p. 113.