Mardani khel Mardani khel Mardani khel is a weapon-based Indian martial art from Maharashtra. It is particularly known for its use of the uniquely Indian patta (sword) and "vita" (corded lance). The early history of mardani khel as a distinct system is difficult to trace prior to the 1600s, but it is said to owe its development to the particular geographic conditions of Maharashtra. A hilly region characterized by valleys and caves, the inhabitants became expert horsemen who favoured light armour and highly mobile cavalry units during war. Whether they began as kshatriya or shudra is unclear, but the Maratha's reputation was
Malla-yuddha (given), so severe as to break teeth, and put out eyes, and disfigure faces, so much so that here and there men are carried off speechless by their friends; they give one another fine falls too. Malla-yuddha is now virtually extinct in the northern states, but most of its traditions are perpetuated in modern kusti. The descendents of the Jyesti clan continued to practice their ancestral arts of malla-yuddha and vajra-musti into the 1980s but rarely do so today. Malla-yuddha has survived in south India however, and can still be seen in Karnataka and pockets of Tamil Nadu today. Wrestlers