box” of such mantras, each of which had specific purposes: (1) mantras for
worship of a specific deity; (2) personal mantras to develop the character
of the student; (3) mantras associated with particular animal poses to gain
superior power and actualization of that pose; (4) weapons or combat
mantras used for a specific technique to give it additional power; (5) all-
purpose mantras to gain access to higher powers of attack or defense; and
(6) medical/healing mantras used when preparing a particular medicine or
giving a particular treatment. These secrets are given only to the most ad-
vanced students, and many masters are loath to teach them today. When
they are taught, a student is told never to reveal the mantras since to do so
would “spoil the power of the mantras.”
Although kalarippayattu has undergone a resurgence of interest dur-
ing the 1980s and 1990s, its traditional practice can, when compared to
more overt streetwise forms of karate and kung fu, seem anachronistic to
young people wanting immediate results in order to practice a martial art
that looks like what they see at the cinema.
Phillip B. Zarrilli
See alsoIndia; Religion and Spiritual Development: India; Varma Ati;
Written Texts: India
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