Recently I was rearranging my personal library to suit my present needs and at the corner of a shelf, I noticed some books of uniform size. They were the copies of the Mysore University Journal (Arts) of which I was the Chairman of the Editorial Board.
My mind went back to those days when I was the chief at the suggestion of Prof. C. D. Narasimhaiah, even though I was comparatively younger than many Professors. I did my job sincerely and wiped out the arrears of its publication and handed over its charge to an equally competent colleague, Dr. Indira, on my retirement in 1995. I should be pardoned if I sound indulging in self - admiration; but that is a fact, and fact is the essence of history.
I was browsing through these volumes and I noticed a research article written by Dr. Radha Patel (my former student and colleague) on the game of polo in the Rashtrakuta period (Vol. XLII - 1980). I thought of bringing this fascinating aspect to the notice of the readers who may feel proud that polo was played in Karnataka a thousand years ago.
Polo is basically a richman's game or to be precise, it was the game of the Maharajas or the royalty. It is like hockey but riding on a horse and moving throughout the field and scoring goals. The number of players changed from time to time but four seems to be a standard. It is played on the ground (900 x 600 ft) and also on a ground covered with wooden planks (900 x 480ft). The goal is 24 x 10ft. The diameter of the ball is 31/2 inches while its weight is about 132 gms. The game is played for one hour with several rounds of 71 / 2 minutes. After four rounds, players get a break of 5 minutes. The game has two umpires, riding on horses. After every round, change of horse is permitted.
This is a rough description of the game of polo which most people might have heard but not seen (including myself). The origin, antiquity and its spread has been controversial. However, most scholars believe it to be a game of the East. Some people argue that the word polo is of Tibetan origin (pulu meaning ball). On this account it is believed that polo was quite popular in the early centuries of the Christian era. But others believe that polo had its origin in Iran. Archaeologists of Iran have excavated a playground of polo along with stone goal - posts of 10th century BC. The famous Persian poet Firdousi in his well - known work Shahnama has referred to polo as a game of rich Sultans. Subsequently, it spread to other countries like China, Japan, India, Egypt etc.
It is well - known that polo was quite popular during the Moghul period. It was called Jagan. Akbar and Jahangir are said to be expert Jagan players and the former introduced some innovative features into the game, to suit Indian needs. This game is recorded in the Moghul painting also. When the British officers and rich English owners of Tea and Coffee estates began playing this game, it went to England also. Polo was very popular in royal cities like Hyderabad, Jaipur, Bikaner, Patiala etc. This game went to America around the year 1830 and Americans mastered this game in the 20th century. Argentina was also famous for this game.
There is a Jaina temple called Gandhavarana Basadi in Shravanabelagola. On one of the pillars of this temple is a Kannada record dated 5, March 982 AD. It belongs to the reign of King Indraraja IV of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. Though this record was published as early as 1899, its real significance was not understood. The record gives a graphic description of Indraraja with special reference to his proficiency in the game of polo. A part of this description is repeated in another record from Chitradurga also.
It is difficult to understand the descriptions used in the record because they are highly technical in nature. Indraraja was an expert ball game player (Kanduka). That this ball game is what we today call polo is confirmed by the fact that he was playing this game riding on a horse. He was an expert in moving the ball in all the four directions. He could make 338 such movements. He was at ease in dragging the ball (girigi) in hundred ways. He was such an expert that he could move the ball even if it was of the size of a pepper seed and the bat with just four fingers in length. He could comfortably ride a horse even if it was very huge or small. Spectators marvelled at his art of dragging the ball (bidda) with great dexterity. He would not get tired even after playing eight rounds.
The king was adept in making movements of various varieties which the opponents could not even imagine. When the opponent expected him to make a square move, the king would make a circular movement without giving any clue to the opponent. He was capable of hitting the ball with such precision that neither it would go beyond nor fall short. The technical terms used to show his expertise like Sukara, dushkara, vishama, trimandala, yamakamandala etc cannot be understood properly. They refer to various types of movements. The record concludes that opponents were afraid of playing against king Indraraja. Sometimes the opponents used to play foul game but this king always resorted to fair game.
Definitely there is exaggeration in the description of the expertise of the king in the game of polo. But what is important is not his expertise but the fact that before 982 AD, polo was played in Karnataka, perhaps in his capital Malkhed, now in Gulbarga district. This is a definite evidence for the game of polo at least 500 years ago before the Moghuls and 1000 years ago in Karnataka. This is one more feather in the cap of Karnataka culture and should make Kannadigas proud.
