Chakram
Encyclopedia
The chakram also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: चक्रं, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
: chakkar, Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
: cakera), sometimes called a war quoit, is a throwing weapon from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Its shape is of a flat metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
hoop with a sharp outer edge from 5–12 in (12.7–30.5 ) in diameter. It is also known as chalikar.
Unlike Chinese wind and fire wheels
Wind and fire wheels
Wind-and-fire wheels are mêlée weapons, wielded as a pair, associated with Chinese martial arts such as baguazhang and taijiquan.Each wheel is a flat metal ring approximately 38 cm in diameter. One quarter-segment has a padded grip with a cross-guard; the other three segments have protruding...
, which are generally larger and used as melee
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
weapons only, the chakram was designed to be thrown but could also be used in-close. Because of its aerodynamic shape it is not easily deflected by wind. The word chakram comes from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
term chakra
Chakra
Chakra is a concept originating in Hindu texts, featured in tantric and yogic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning" .Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices...
, meaning circle or wheel.
History
Earliest references to the chakram come from the Indian epicsIndian epic poetry
Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya . The Ramayana and Mahabharata, originally composed in Sanskrit and translated thereafter into many other Indian languages, are some of the oldest surviving epic poems on earth and form part of...
Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
where the Sudarshana Chakra
Sudarshana Chakra
The Sudarshana Chakra is a spinning, disk-like super weapon with 108 serrated edges used by Lord Vishnu. The Sudarshana Chakra is portrayed on the right rear hand of the four hands of Vishnu, who also holds a Shankha in his left rear hand, a Gada in his right fore hand, and a Padma in his left...
is the weapon of the god Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
. Chakradhaari ("chakram-wielder") is a name for Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
. The chakram was later used extensively by the Sikhs as recently as the days of Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
. It was often associated with Sikhs because of the Nihang
Nihang
Nihang is an armed Sikh order. Early Sikh military history is dominated by the Akali Nihang military order, particularly for many famous military victories won while often heavily outnumbered. The Akali Nihang have historically been held in great affection and respect by Sikhs due the pivotal role...
practice of wearing chakram on their arms, around the neck and even tied in tiers on high turbans.
From its native India, variations of the chakram spread to other Asian countries. In Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, Malaysia, and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, the chakram was not flat but torus
Torus
In geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle...
-like. The Mongol cavalry used a similar throwing weapon with spiked edges.
Construction
Chakram are traditionally made from steel or brass which is beaten into a circular shape against an anvil with an indentation for the curvature. Two ends are connected with a piece of brass and then heated, forming a complete circle before the brass is removed. Some chakram, even those used in combat, were ornately engraved, or inlaid with brass, silver or gold.Techniques
The chakram's combat application is largely dependent on its size. Regular-sized steel chakram could be thrown 40–60 meters, while brass chakram, due to their lower mass and better airfoil design, could be thrown in excess of 100 meters. If properly constructed, it should make no sound when thrown. In single combat, the chakram could be thrown underarm like a modern Aerobie. In battle, it was usually thrown vertically so as to avoid accidentally hitting an ally on the left or right side. A stack of chakram could be quickly thrown one at a time like shurikenShuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
. On elephant or horseback, chakram could be more easily thrown than spears or arrows.
The most iconic method of throwing a chakram is tajani, wherein the weapon is twirled on the index finger of an upraised hand and thrown with a timed flick of the wrist. The spin is meant to add power and range to the throw, while also avoiding the risk of cutting oneself on the sharp outer edge. An adept user can twirl the chakram while using another weapon with the other hand. The use of tajani in battle was perfected by the Nihang
Nihang
Nihang is an armed Sikh order. Early Sikh military history is dominated by the Akali Nihang military order, particularly for many famous military victories won while often heavily outnumbered. The Akali Nihang have historically been held in great affection and respect by Sikhs due the pivotal role...
who employed a particular formation to protect the chakram-wielder from harm. Although variants of the chakram would make their way to neighbouring parts of the region, the tajani technique remained unique to Indian martial arts
Indian martial arts
The Indian subcontinent is home to a variety of fighting styles. In Sanskrit they may be collectively referred to as ' or '. The former is a compound of the words and , meaning "knowledge of the sword" or "knowledge of weaponry"...
.
Chakram could also be worn on the arms or wrists and used like knuckle-dusters. Some are as large as a shield and worn around the neck, making them equally suited for hand-to-hand combat as well as for throwing. When worn on the arms the chakram could be used to break or cut the opponent's arms while grappling. In the turban, it could be raked across an enemy's face or eyes while fighting in close-quarters.
In popular culture
- Xena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
: XenaXenaXena is a fictional character from Robert Tapert's Xena: Warrior Princess franchise. She first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, before going on to appear in Xena: Warrior Princess TV show and subsequent comic book of the same name...
's most iconic weapon in the series was a chakram, which returned to her after she threw it. In later seasons, it also split in half, firing off in two different directions, before rejoining as it returns to her. - In the Dynasty WarriorsDynasty Warriorsis a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...
series, Sun Shang Xiang wields chakrams as her main weapon (except in Dynasty Warriors 6Dynasty Warriors 6is a hack and slash video game set in Ancient China, during a period called Three Kingdoms . This game is the sixth official installment in the Dynasty Warriors series, developed by Omega Force and published by Koei. The game was released on November 11, 2007 in Japan; the North American release...
.) - In TronTron-Film:*Tron , a franchise that began in 1982 with the Walt Disney Pictures film Tron** Tron , a 1982 science fiction film by Disney, starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan, Dan Shor and David Warner...
, the original identity disc was derived from the frisbeeFrisbeeA flying disc is a disc-shaped glider that is generally plastic and roughly in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to fly by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating....
, but was updated with the chakram design for Tron: Legacy for easy carrying on the back and faster aerial attacks than the older disc. Rinzler is the only program depicted to utilize two discs at once. - In the renamed strategy videogame Age of Empires III: The Asian DynastiesAge of Empires III: The Asian DynastiesAge of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is the second official expansion pack for real-time strategy video game Age of Empires III developed through a collaboration between Ensemble Studios and Big Huge Games, and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Mac version was ported over and developed...
, there's a the settlement of Sikhs (called in the game Udasi Temple) that allows the training of sikh warriors who throw chakram to the enemy. - In the book Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck, Ren is given a chakram by Durga. It is later used in the next book, Tiger's Quest, by his brother, Kishan.
- In Final Fantasy XIFinal Fantasy XI, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a MMORPG developed and published by Square as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was released in Japan on Sony's PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, and was released for Microsoft's Windows-based personal computers in November 2002...
, chakrams are used by a variety of job classes, such as thieves or warriors, as a throwing weapon. The chakram returns to the thrower and is not expended. - In Tales of SymphoniaTales of Symphoniais a video game first released for the Nintendo GameCube and later for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. It debuted in Japan on August 29, 2003, selling 953,000 copies, in Canada and the United States on July 13, 2004, and in Europe on November 19, 2004. The game received a Japanese-only PlayStation 2...
, the player-controllable character Colette Brunel wields a pair of chakrams and can be equipped with progressively better ones, including whimsical variations like the flying disc (e.g. "frisbee") and the tambourine. - In the Kingdom HeartsKingdom Heartsis an action role-playing game developed and published by Square in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney...
games, the character AxelAxelAxel is a Scandinavian and German male given name, which is also used in parts of the English-speaking world. A French feminine form is Axelle...
wields two chakrams as his weapons. It should be noted that these weapons are mislabled, and are instead based off of the Chinese wind and fire wheelsWind and fire wheelsWind-and-fire wheels are mêlée weapons, wielded as a pair, associated with Chinese martial arts such as baguazhang and taijiquan.Each wheel is a flat metal ring approximately 38 cm in diameter. One quarter-segment has a padded grip with a cross-guard; the other three segments have protruding...
. - The League of LegendsLeague of LegendsThe BetFred League of Legends was a darts tournament featuring some of the legends of the game of darts which commenced in May 2008. The tournament is broadcast on Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom....
character Sivir fights using a bladed, x-shaped chakram. - in the anime and manga "buso renkin", one of the minor characters (gota) would use chakram's as his main weapon
External links
- Details of chakram history and use
- History of chakram
- More history and cultural details
- http://www.flight-toys.com/rings/chackrum.html
- Deadliest Warrior Rajput Spotlight