Gada (mace)

The gada (Sanskrit: गदा gadā, Kannada: ಗದೆ, Telugu: గద, Tamil: கதை, Malay: gedak, Old Tagalog: batuta) is a mallet or blunt mace from the Indian subcontinent. Made either of wood or metal, it consists essentially of a spherical head mounted on a shaft, with a spike on the top. Outside India, the gada was also adopted in Southeast Asia, where it is still used in silat. The gada is the main weapon of the Hindu God Hanuman. Known for his strength, Hanuman is traditionally worshipped by wrestlers in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Vishnu also carries a gada named Kaumodaki in one of his four hands. In the epic Mahabharata, the fighters Balarama, Duryodhana, Bhima, Karna, Shalya, Jarasandha and others were said to be masters of the gada.