Mudgar

"Mudgarpani" Yaksha
Mathura, 100 BCE

Mudgarpani ("Mace-holder") Yaksha, Art of Mathura, 100 BCE.^[1] This colossal statue in the round is 1.96 meters tall.^[1] The right hand holds a mudgar, the left hand used to support a small standing devotee or child joining hands in prayer.^[2]

A mudgar (Sanskrit: मुद्गर, romanized: mudgara) or mudgara^[3] is a type of gada (mace) from India, and it is generally considered to be made of wood, but can also be made of iron.^[4]

Usage

The mudgar appears is ancient Indian sculptures, where it is commonly held by Yaksha deities, known as mudgarpani (mudgarapāṇi; mudgar-holders).^[5]

An ancient Jain story named the Antagadadasao tell the story of a man named Ajjunaka who was worshipping the image of the "Yaksa who held a mace", when he was attacked by five bandits, an event which shook his devotion to the Yashka. Afterwards the Yaksa possessed Ajjunaka, giving him the strength to kill the five bandits.^[6]

Nowadays, for training purposes when using Indian clubs, one or two wooden gada ("mudgar"), reaching up to 70 kilograms in weight, can be used: they can be swung behind the back in several different ways; this is particularly useful for building grip strength and shoulder endurance.^[7][8]

Examples

• 
  Yaksha holding mudgar and child. Art of Mathura, 100 BCE.^[9]

See also

• Mace (bludgeon)

References

1. Dated 100 BCE in Fig.88 in Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2007). History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE. BRILL. p. 368, Fig. 88. ISBN 9789004155374.
2. Fig. 85 in Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2007). History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE. BRILL. p. Fig.85, p.365. ISBN 9789004155374.
3. Books, Kausiki (2021-10-24). Skanda Purana: Brahma Khanda: Dharmottara Khanda: English Translation only without Slokas. Kausiki Books. p. 169.
4. Bulletin of the Victoria Memorial. Trustees of the Victoria Memorial. 1973. p. 49.
5. Handa, Devendra; Agrawal, Ashvini (1989). Ratna-chandrikā: Panorama of Oriental Studies : Shri R.C. Agrawala Festschrift. Harman Publishing House. p. 90. ISBN 978-81-85151-29-8.
6. Sharma, Ramesh Chandra (1994). The Splendour of Mathurā Art and Museum. D.K. Printworld. p. 76. ISBN 978-81-246-0015-3.
7. Kasulis, Thomas P.; Aimes, Roger T.; Dissanayake, Wimal (1993). Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780791410806.
8. "Mudgar exercise-club". British Museum. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
9. Dated 100 BCE in Fig. 85 Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2007). History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura: Ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE. BRILL. p. Fig.85, p.365. ISBN 9789004155374.