Malla-yuddha such a wrestling match against a visiting champion in Singapore. Traditional Indian wrestling first began to decline in the north after the medieval Muslim invasions when influences from Persian wrestling were incorporated into native malla-yuddha. Under Mughal rule, courtly fashion favoured the Persianate pehlwani style. Traditional malla-yuddha remained popular in the south, however, and was particularly common in the Vijayanagara Empire. The 16th-century Jaina classic "Bharatesa Vaibhava" describes wrestlers challenging their opponents with grunts and traditional signs of patting the shoulders. Sculptures at Bhatkal depict wrestling matches, including female wrestlers. As part of his daily routine, the king Krishna Deva
Musti-yuddha sphere including Muay Thai in Thailand, Muay Lao in Laos, Pradal Serey in Cambodia and Lethwei in Myanmar. Various types of boxing existed in ancient India. The earliest references to musti-yuddha come from classical Vedic epics such as the "Ramayana" and "Rig Veda". The "Mahabharata" describes two combatants boxing with clenched fists and fighting with kicks, finger strikes, knee strikes and headbutts. Duels ("niyuddham") were often fought to the death. During the period of the Western Satraps, the ruler Rudradaman - in addition to being well-versed in "the great sciences" which included Indian classical music, Sanskrit grammar, and logic -