Inventory

Vajramushti (knuckle duster)

Full Description:

A rare and well-preserved steel vajramushti, a gladiatorial knuckleduster native to India. Nine wide spikes of descending lengths sit in a row protruding from the front of an oval grip and two wide metallic thorns bulge from either side, somewhat resembling a blooming lotus flower. Also apparent are three small holes at the base of centre-most prongs.

Its handle, which would comfortably fill the inside of a fist, bears an inventory inscription in Kannada, a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the Southwestern Indian state of Karnataka. In English, it reads: “Sri Krishna 1177. U: vajramushthi N. 18” (translation credit: Nidhin Olikara). This intriguing vajramushti is from the Mysore ayudhashala (armoury), housed at the palace of the Wodeyar (also spelt Wadiyar) royal family of Mysore (now Mysuru), Karnataka. ‘Sri Krishna’ refers to Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1799–1868), the twenty-second maharaja of his kingdom, who marked each item with serial numbers and labels using his own name as a prefix to each marking. It is difficult to determine what the “U” means or represents but could possibly signify someone it originally belonged to or an inventory category.

Other similar vajramushtis exist in the Mysore armoury, including two from the eighteenth century depicted by Robert Elgood.¹ While one of them is exact in design to the vajramushti described above, it bears a lengthier inscription on its handle. It also appears to be the very same vajramushti as presented a decade earlier by H.Talwar in his book about the Mysore Palace² on page 35. The other seems to be fashioned from horn and slightly cruder in construction.

The Pitt Rivers Museum is home to another antique vajramushti.³ Made from buffalo horn and coming from Andra Pradesh in South India, it was previously owned by British anthropologist and ethnographic collector Alfred Walter Francis Fuller (1882–1961). It was given to the museum in 1913. A beautiful piece, but not as intimidating as its iron counterpart.

Vajramushti, Sanskrit for ‘thunderbolt fist’, is both the name of this close-range duelling weapon, as well as the medieval blood sport it belongs to. The weapon was named after a thunderbolt due to its multi-pronged appearance and the devasting effect it has on flesh and bone when pounded by it. There are several references in Hindu scriptures and epics that liken the fists of powerful warriors to that of Lord Indra’s divine thunderbolt, his primary and most notable weapon of war. For instance, according to the Ramayana, India’s oldest Sanskrit epic:

“Thereupon that hero [Angada, a warrior of Lord Rama’s army] … clenching his fist, hard as a thunderbolt, resembling even Indra’s ashani [i.e., vajra], dealt it, in great anger, upon the rakshasa’s [demon’s] breast.”⁴

Full-contact Vajramushti duels are still displayed to this day and can be spectated annually at the Hindu festival of Dasara (Dusshera) in Mysuru. Nowadays, the vajramushti is usually made of wood, but horn or metal was typically used in the past. Combatants grasp this spiked knuckleduster in their right hand whilst using their empty left hand to ward off their opponent’s blows. Following tradition, they enter the arena wearing only a loin cloth, devoid of any protectants. Blood from injuries usually ensue. Though, unlike other historical duels, referees break up fights before severe mutilation or a fatality takes place.

Eyewitness accounts of Vajramushti duels have been recorded over the centuries. For example, British soldier James Scurry (1766–1822) provides his own account of Vajramushti duelling in his autobiographical book, The Captivity, Sufferings, and Escape, of James Scurry:

“They had on their right hands the woodguamootie [vajramushti], or four steel talons, which were fixed to each back joint of their fingers, and had a terrific appearance when their fists were closed. Their heads were close shaved, their bodies oiled, and they wore only a pair of short drawers. On being matched, and the signal given… they begin the combat, always by throwing the flowers, which they wear round their necks, in each other’s faces; watching an opportunity for striking with the right hand, on which they wore this mischievous weapon which never failed lacerating the flesh, and drawing blood most copiously.”⁵

The Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture, edited by Dattatraya Chintaman Mujumdar (1882–1954), contains a chapter on Vajramushti in which the types of strikes traditionally executed with this brutal knuckleduster are listed:

“In order to give a clear idea of the strokes that are stuck in this [style of armed] wrestling [and boxing], the following picture is given with the names of strokes and their places on the human body. The strokes are as follows: – (1) Tamacha (left temple) (2) Cheer (on chin) (3) Cheer (on elbow) (4) Cheer (on unarmed wrist) (5) Head (6) Bahera (right temple) (7) Hool (thrust on face) (8) Panja (on armed wrist). When the armed fist is being taken to the left stroke, No. 7 is given straight on the face, while strokes No. 5, 6, and 8 are given when the armed fist is to the left.”⁶

Note: ‘tamacha’ (‘slap’ in Hindi) is a forehand strike, ‘cheer’ (‘slice’) a vertical strike, ‘bahera’ a backhand strike, ‘hool’ a forward thrusting strike, and ‘panja’ a clawing strike.

H.S.S.

Provenance

Private collection USA

Reference