Editing Kalaripayattu (section)

==== Origins of Kalaripayaṭṭu ====
Paraśurāma, the warrior incarnation of Viṣṇu, is said to have thrown his paraśu or battle-axe out into the sea from Gokarṇa to Kanyakumari, on the coast of Mangalore. As the axe sank, a strip of land rose up out of the waters, that became Kerala, also called Paraśurāmakṣetram or Bhārgavakṣetram. After pulling Kerala out of the ocean, Paraśurāma taught the martial art to 21 disciples so that they may maintain peace in the land. There exist palm leaf manuscripts in the possession of ancient families that have learnt and preserved Kalaripayaṭṭu for generations that attest to the fact that Paraśurāma was their first guru. The word kalari presumably comes from the Sanskrit term khalūrikā, which refers to a military training ground, or possibly from the Tamil word kalam meaning ‘arena or area for drama, gladiatorial, or gymnastic exhibitions’, and the root of the Malayalam ‘payattu’ is Tamil payil, ‘to train or practise’. Ancient palm leaf manuscripts often specify the size, placement and orientation of the kalari. References to many of the sword and shield techniques, archery, weaponry etc. employed by Kalaripayaṭṭu are found in texts such as the Agni Purāṇa and the Nāṭya Śāstra from circa 14th century.

Kalaripayaṭṭu styles that were practiced in the old Travancore region of Southern Kerala and the adjacent districts of Kanyakumari were also continued to be practiced by non-Nair castes such as the Nadars and Sambavars. The Southern styles decidedly purport a more Tamil origin, and differ from Northern ones — they trace their foundations to Sage Agastya rather than Paraśurāma, practice in open spaces than in special roofed pits, and their masters are known as asans. They also incorporate more of the “vital spots” techniques, called varma ati or chinna ati, tracing the tradition to the 108 vital spots identified by Sage Agastya in his text Varma Oti Murivu Cara Cuttiram and Agastyamuni’s student Bhogar’s Varmaśāstram, written in Tamil. The medicinal treatment that is linked with is identified as Dravidian Siddha medicine rather than Āyurveda. A considerable mixing of styles and arts has occurred in the past few decades, and a number of masters frequently mix both southern and northern techniques.