Who are the Devendrakula Vellalar?

Why are they

given first respect at ancient Hindu temples built by
the kings?
Devendran

Also known as Indran/Indra.God of the marutham land.A place where the land was very
fertile for farming.Marutham land is the place where the farmers lived.The community
that lived that are the mallars.The mallars worshipped him.The word Indra denotes that
‘ind’,meaning “to be powerful” and also means “to tear enemies apart”. Lord Indra is
said to have the power to invoke rain. It is therefore customary on hot dry spells to pray
Indra for rain. Lord Indra has been the protector of mankind against the evil forces.
Lord indra is also believed to have the power to revive slain warriors who had fallen in
battle. Indra was the name given to the king of the Devas (title for the king of devas).
The word Indra was coined from Devar-Vendan (Vendan meaning king in Tamil),
meaning king of Devas, then was called as Deva-Vendan later on by Devendirar. The
Buddha literatures revels that indiran meaning one who controls his/her five external
body parts from the desire with well equipped self discipline human being for attaining
the infinity i.e Nirvana. The Indiran brings all powers by using his/her own by the way
of meditation along with self discipline. This type of activities brings all success in to the
life as well as universal peace. The follower of the great powerful personality Devendiran
called as Devendirar. But the great Mallar race, the Devendiran is entirely different from
the Aryan’s Indra. The Devendirar originally the follower of life ethics with the concept
of buddha as their role model. Hence Devendirar Indra is Lord Buddha i.e Devendirar.
Indra or sakra is the name of a powerful god referred in Hinduism, Jainism, and
Buddhism.Sakra means powerful, thus Sakra / Indra / Devendirar is a god with great
power. Sakra or sakka in buddhism is referred as the ruler of the Trayastrimsa Heaven.
The full name of sakra is ‘Sakro Devanam Indra’ means ‘sakra, lord of the devas’. In the
legendary stories of Sakra mentioned in Buddhist text is different from the
Hindu’s http://Indra.In Buddhism,sakra and Hindu’s Indra are independent identity.
Sakra is the emperor of trayastrimsa heaven which is located on the top of mountain
Meru. This paradise is predicted to be the polar center of the material world, around
which the sun and moon rotate. Trayastrimsa is the highest of all the heavens and is in
direct contact with the earth. The god sakra is long-lasting but mortal. It is

believed that when one sakra dies, his place is taken by another deity who becomes the
new Sakra. In the jataka stories and several sutras sakra is mentioned. Sakra married
suja, the daughter of vemacitrin, the Asura chief. Inspite of this marriage there is still
war between the Asuras and Gods. Still Sakra manages to resolve with minimum
violence and without loss of Jainism Sakra or Lord Indra and his wife Sachi is portrayed
to be riding the eternal elephant Airavata. In jain texts sakra appears several times as a
name of the king of the Devas. According to the Hindu religion, Indra is the king of
gods. He is the counterpart of zeus or jupiter of the greek or roman mythology.Hindu
mythology praises him as the ruler of heaven.

Paddy fields in present day Tamil Nadu

Marutam is one of the five lands of ancient 'Tamil country'. It is a fertile land suitable for
'Agriculture'. It was present near the 'River's'. Like all the civilization's around the world
which were present near the river's, the Marutam land gave birth to the 'Tamil
Civilization'. Mallar's were the people who lived in the 'Marutam land'. Their 'God' was
'Vendan' or 'Indran'. They were 'Farmers' and 'Warrior's'.The oldest Tamil literature
Tolkappiyam mentions about the Marutham land and its God. Almost all the Tamil
literature which mentions about the Marutam land also mentions the 'Mallar' as its
people. Pallu poems which were sung exclusively about the life of 'Devendra kula
vellalars' mentions them as Marutam land people.

Devendra Kula Vellalars

Origin:Marutham Land

God of Marutham Land:Devendran(Indran/Indra)

Sub caste:Kudumbar,Devendra kulathan,Pallars,Kalladi,Moopan(Moopanar),Pannadi,

Mannadi and Kadayar.

The Devendra Kula vellalars and Yadav/Konar/Idayar are the only community leaving
throughout whole India.This community are also know as Patel,Gowda,Kurmi,Maratha
Kudambar,Kattiyar,Kudumbi in north India.

Devendra Kula Vellalar is an ancient group of people belonging to the Marutam

land.They are the descendants of Devendran(the god of Marutam land). They are also
the first cultivators of rice. So they are called as 'Devendra Kula Vellalar'.Copper plate
inscription's from Kamakshi Amman Temple, Palani Murugan temple, Nellur and
Sivagangai mentions about the origin of 'Devendra kula vellalar'.

Genetics

According to Sengupta et al., 2006 study Pallar's have Y-chromosome-Haplogroups that

show a curious mix of South Asian haplogroups. Their biggest lineage is R1a1 which
forms 24% of their male population. This Y-chromosome lineage predominates North-
West of the Indian subcontinent. They also have L1 and L3 where L1 is one of the most
common Haplogroup in South India with an appreciable presence in North India and
Pakistan, L3 is mostly observed among Pakistanis and almost absent among South
Indians. Other pan-Indian Haplogroups like H, R2 and J2 are observed at frequencies
greater than 10%.

Mallar and Mallathi

Mallar is a name which denotes the people of the Marutam land. The word Mallar is
present in all Tamil literature from ancient times. The name Mallar denotes a group of
people who are 'Warriors' and 'Farmers'. This can be proven by the following examples.

An example from Thivagara Nigandu(9th century Tamil dictionary) giving meaning for
the word Mallar as 'Warriors' and 'Farmers':
“ "அருந்திறல் வீரர்க்கும் பெருந்திறலுழவர்க்கும்

வருந்தகைத்தாகும் 'மள்ளர்' எனும் பெயர்" ”

—-திவாைர நிைண்டு

An example from pingala nigandu(dictionary) giving meaning for Mallar as 'Warriors'

and Marutam land(Agriculture land) people:

“ "பெருமகை வீரரும் திண்ணியயாரும்

மருதநிை மக்ைளும் 'மள்ளர்' என்ெ" ”

—-பிங்ைை நிைண்டு

Tamil civilization

Tamil civilization developed on the banks of the rivers like Kaveri, Vaigai, Palar,
Bhavani, Amaravathy, Thamirabarani. Agriculture was the backbone of the society.
After the invention of agriculture, people settled near the rivers and became
agriculturists. This change made them to form a society and develop their culture. They
formed a leader for their society and the leader was called as vendan. The land which is
near to river is called as Marutam land in Tamil Language. Ancient Tamil Nadu
consisted of five lands namely Kurinji, Mullai, Marutam, Neithal, Paalai. These lands
were divided on the basis of their geographical locations. Each land had its own god and
people. The Marutam land people were mallar. Mallars were the farmers and their
leader 'vendan' was selected from the mallars. Their leader 'vendan' later became god for
their land(Marutam land).

Fall of the dynasties

Vijayanagar empire

The three dynasties were continuously fighting with each other.After the fall of the chola
empire, the pandyan empire controlled most of Tamil Nadu.The pandyan empire began
to crumble due to due to the two pandyan prince who were fighting for their throne,their
enemies took this as their opportunity and one of the pandyan prince killed his own
brother .The pandyan prince who is alive was killed by their http://enemies.It also had
invasion from the sultans.During 14th Century Pandyan empire began to decline
because of frequent attacks by Muslim Kings. Muslim Kings raided cities, killed
hundreds of thousands of citizens and took huge amount (tonnes and tonnes) of gold
and Jewellery to Delhi. It is to be noted there were about 20,000 Muslim soldiers in the
Pandyan army. But these soldiers betrayed the Pandyan Kings and joined the Muslim
army when Muslim army attacked Pandyan Kingdom. During the end of 14th Century
Vijayanagar army chiefs came to Madurai and defeated the Pandyan kingdom and
established their rule in Madurai. Gradually Vijayanagar army and citizens moved to
Chola and Pandyan Kingdoms all over the Tamil nadu and removed the privileges of the
Tamil elite – Removal of land ownership from Tamils (Mallar – Devendra Kula Vellalar)
The Vijayanagar empire controlled most of Tamil Nadu.

Vijayanagar and Nayak rule

Nayaks of Madurai, Nayaks of Thanjavur, and Poligars

After the fall of the Pandyan empire the vijayanagar empire ruled Tamil Nadu. They
divided Tamil Nadu into many territories called (palayam).They also formed a part of
the Poligars ruling class. The main territories like Madurai and Thanjavur were ruled by
Nayaks. Other Poligars were selected from Tamil Nadu especially those who were
against the Mallars and those who were loyal to the Vijayanagar empire. The
Vijayanagar Empire took the agricultural lands from the Mallars and forcibly
transferred the ownership of land and title to Telugu Nayaks, Telugu Brahmins and
others who supported the Nayak's rule and made the Mallars agricultural labourers on
the lands to which they were owners once. At this point of time the name 'Mallars' was
changed to 'Pallars'. Many 'Pallu' poems were written to popularize the name Pallar.
These 'Pallu' poems also discriminated against the Mallars. New rules were passed to
the general citizens not to have any communication with the Pandian and Chola clans.
Rules were passed to prevent social contacts and intercaste marriages between the 18
worker communities that supported the Tamil society and Tamil Kings.The mallars were
changed to pallars to disgraced them,why were naickers did this? Before this the mallars
killed the naickers ancestors,so the naickers disgraced them and brought their empire
down.

Pallu poems

Pallu poems are part of 'chitrilakiyangal' in Tamil literature. Pallu poems were also
known as 'Aesal'. They were written during the Nayak rule. The first pallu poem was
'mukkoodar pallu'. Many pallu poems were written which include vaiyapuri pallu,
sengottu pallu, thandigai kanagaraayan pallu. All the Pallu poems consist of a Pallan
who has got two wives. It also explains about the farming and the life of a farmer
(pallar).During the period of the pallu poems, the pallars were very poor.

Tamil literature referring to Mallar's

See also: Tamil literature and Sangam literature

Mallars are mentioned in Tamil literature from the ancient Sangam Literature to the
recent 19th century poems, including Purananuru, Kamba Ramayanam,
Thirumurukkatruppatai, Silapathigaram, Agananuru, Pathirtrupattu, Kurunthogai,
Aingurunooru, Kalithogai, Natrinai, and Paripaadal.

The Mallar(Farmer) are praised in the Tamil poem Thirukural. The name Pallar is
mentioned only in pallu poems and later poems.Both the names Pallar and Mallar
denotes the same people.This can be proved by the following example.

An example from mukoodar pallu:

“ "மள்ளர் குைத்தில் வரினும் இரு ெள்ளியர்க்யைார்

ெள்ளக் ைணவன்" ”

—-முக்கூடற்ெள்ளு(ொடல்-13)

The Tamil poems which say that both the names Pallar and Mallar denote the same
people are Mukoodar pallu, Vaiyapuri pallu, Sengottu pallu, Peerur Puranam and
Thandigai Kanagaraayan pallu.

'The indigenous title of the south india Chera, Chola, Pandya kings was
Perumalla(Perumal). Mallan was the name of a Perumalla(Perumal)who built Mallur in
Polanadu. Mallan is also called a rural deity which is set up on the borders or ridges of
the rice field'. 'The word Tirumalla(Tirumal)-Perumalla(perumal) are also derived from
Mallar, Malla. Both terms were originally the titles given by the Mallas to their great
chiefs and kings. Each Perumalla was elected to rule for 12 years. The term sacred
Mallar or the great Malla being once connected with the deity lost its original meaning
which was incourse of time entirely forgotten. This circumstance explains their peculiar
derivation so often found in Tamil dictionaries and strange attempts of grammarians to
explain their startling formation. The name perumal the great Malla is still a royal title
in Malabar'

Mallar Kambam: This sport is still played in India. This sport consists of a pillar(made
of wood) standing in the ground,in which the contestant does some gymnastics. This
sport was once used by the Mallars to strengthen their body.

Malla-yuddha (Malyudham)

ु ,Bengali: মল্লযু দ্ধ, Odia: ମଲ୍ଲ ଯୁଦ୍ଧ, Kannada: ಮಲ್ಲಯುದ್ಧ, Telugu: మల్ల యుద్ధం
(Devanagari: मल्लयद्ध
malla-yuddhaṁ, Tamil: மல்யுத்தம் malyutham, Thai: มัลละยุทธ์ mạllayutṭh̒) is the traditional
South Asian form of combat-wrestling created in what is now India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It is closely related to Southeast Asian wrestling styles
such as naban and is the ancestor of kusti.

In Sanskrit, mallayuddha literally translates to "wrestling combat". Strictly speaking, the

term denotes a single pugilistic encounter or prize-fight rather than a style or school of
wrestling. It is a tatpurusha compound of malla (wrestler, boxer, athlete) and yuddha or
juddho (fight, battle, conflict). The compound is first attested in the Mahabharata
referring to boxing matches such as those fought by Bhima. Another word for a sportive
wrestling match or athletic sports more generally is mallakr‫מ‬ḍa. The second element,
kr‫מ‬ḍa (sport, play, pastime, amusement) implies a more limited-contact style of folk
wrestling rather than true grappling combat.

The term malla was historically a proper name referring to, among other things, an
asura known as mall‫ג‬sura and the name of a tribe from the Malla Kingdom mentioned
in the Mahabharata. The name Malla was also used in this sense for an ancient
mahajanapada, a Nepalese dynasty descended from them, and the Mallabhum kingdom
in Bishnapur. In the Manusmriti (10.22; 12.45), it is the technical term for the offspring
of an out-caste kshatriya by a kshatriya female who was previously the wife.Wrestling in
South Asia has a history of at least 5000 years making it the oldest known codified form
of fighting in the region. Competitions held for entertainment were popular among all
social classes, with even kings and other royalty taking part. Wrestlers represented their
kings in matches between rival kingdoms; death matches before the royal court served
as a way to settle disputes and avoid large-scale wars. As such, professional wrestlers
were held in high regard. In pastoral communities, people would even wrestle against
steers.

The first written attestation of the term mallayuddha is found in the Ramayana epic, in
the context of a wrestling match between the vanara King Bali and Ravana, the king of
Lanka. Hanuman, the god in Ramayana, is worshipped as the patron of wrestlers and
general feats of strength. The Mahabharata epic also describes a wrestling match
between Bhima and Jarasandha.Other early literary descriptions of wrestling matches
include the story of Balarama and Krishna.

Stories describing Krishna report that he sometimes engaged in wrestling matches

where he used knee strikes to the chest, punches to the head, hair pulling, and
strangleholds.[5] He defeated Kans, king of Mathura, in a wrestling match and became
new king in his place. Siddhartha Gautama himself was said to be an expert wrestler,
archer and sword-fighter before becoming the Buddha. Based on such accounts, Svinth
traces press ups and squats used by Indian wrestlers to the pre-classical era.

Training

Boys typically start training at the age of ten to twelve. To avoid stunting their growth,
young trainees are first taught kundakavartana, callisthenics and exercises to develop
their overall strength and endurance without equipment. Exercises that employ the
wrestler's own bodyweight include the sun salutation (Surya Namaskara), shirshasana,
Hindu squat (bethak) and the Hindu press-up (danda), which are also found in hatha
yoga. After acquiring the necessary power and stamina, students may begin
khambhasrama, referring to exercises that use the mallakhamba or wrestler's pillar.
There are a number of pillars, although the most common is a free-standing upright
pole, some eight to ten inches in diameter, planted into the ground. Wrestlers mount,
dismount and utilize this pole for various complex callisthenics designed to develop
their grip, stamina, and strength in the arms, legs and upper-body. In a later variation,
the pole was replaced with a hanging rope. Rope mallakhamba is today most commonly
practiced by children as a spectator sport in itself rather than its traditional role as a
form of training for wrestling.

Other training concepts include the following.

Vyayam: Physical training in general. This includes rope climbing, log pulling, running
and swimming.

Rangasrama: Refers to the wrestling itself and its techniques. Includes locks,
submission holds, takedowns and, formerly, strikes.
Gonitaka: Exercises done with a large stone ring called a gar nal in Hindi. It can be
swung, lifted, or worn around the neck to add resistance to press-ups and squats.

Pramada: Exercises performed with the gada (mace). An exercise gada is a heavy round
stone attached to the end of a meter-long bamboo stick.

Uhapohasrama: Discussion of tactics and strategies.

Mardana: Traditional massage. Wrestlers are given massages and also taught how to
massage.

Malladal

This sport was a fighting contest between the Mallars.

Pallars/mallars (Devendra Kula Vellalars) were in the BC list(Backward class) before

1957,and after 1957 they were put in sc(schedule caste) by the Chief Minister
Kamaraj.The Nadars/Shanars were in Schedule caste(sc)before 1957 and after 1957 they
were put in backward class(bc).The pallars/mallars(Devendra Kula Vellalars) were not
in schedule caste before 1957.Moopan(moopanar) is a subcaste that belongs to
Devendra Kula Vellalar.

Devendra Kula Vellalars

Origin:Marutham Land

God of Marutham Land:Devendran(Indran/Indra)

Sub caste:Kudumbar,Devendra kulathan,Pallars,Kalladi,Moopan(Moopanar),Pannadi,

Mannadi and Kadayar.

The Devendra Kula vellalars and Yadav/Konar/Idayar are the only community leaving
throughout whole India.This community are also know as Patel,Gowda,Kurmi,Maratha
Kudambar,Kattiyar,Kudumbi in north India.

Devendra Kula Vellalar is an ancient group of people belonging to the Marutam

land.They are the descendants of Devendran(the god of Marutam land). They are also
the first cultivators of rice. So they are called as 'Devendra Kula Vellalar'.Copper plate
inscription's from Kamakshi Amman Temple, Palani Murugan temple, Nellur and
Sivagangai mentions about the origin of 'Devendra kula vellalar'.
Devendran

Also known as Indran/Indra.God of the marutham land.A place where the land was very
fertile for farming.Marutham land is the place where the farmers lived.The community
that lived that are the mallars.The mallars worshipped him.The word Indra denotes that
‘ind’,meaning “to be powerful” and also means “to tear enemies apart”. Lord Indra is
said to have the power to invoke rain. It is therefore customary on hot dry spells to pray
Indra for rain. Lord Indra has been the protector of mankind against the evil forces.
Lord indra is also believed to have the power to revive slain warriors who had fallen in
battle. Indra was the name given to the king of the Devas (title for the king of devas).
The word Indra was coined from Devar-Vendan (Vendan meaning king in Tamil),
meaning king of Devas, then was called as Deva-Vendan later on by Devendirar. The
Buddha literatures revels that indiran meaning one who controls his/her five external
body parts from the desire with well equipped self discipline human being for attaining
the infinity i.e Nirvana. The Indiran brings all powers by using his/her own by the way
of meditation along with self discipline. This type of activities brings all success in to the
life as well as universal peace. The follower of the great powerful personality Devendiran
called as Devendirar. But the great Mallar race, the Devendiran is entirely different from
the Aryan’s Indra. The Devendirar originally the follower of life ethics with the concept
of buddha as their role model. Hence Devendirar Indra is Lord Buddha i.e Devendirar.
Indra or sakra is the name of a powerful god referred in Hinduism, Jainism, and
Buddhism.Sakra means powerful, thus Sakra / Indra / Devendirar is a god with great
power. Sakra or sakka in buddhism is referred as the ruler of the Trayastrimsa Heaven.
The full name of sakra is ‘Sakro Devanam Indra’ means ‘sakra, lord of the devas’. In the
legendary stories of Sakra mentioned in Buddhist text is different from the
Hindu’s http://Indra.In Buddhism,sakra and Hindu’s Indra are independent identity.
Sakra is the emperor of trayastrimsa heaven which is located on the top of mountain
Meru. This paradise is predicted to be the polar center of the material world, around
which the sun and moon rotate. Trayastrimsa is the highest of all the heavens and is in
direct contact with the earth. The god sakra is long-lasting but mortal. It is believed that
when one sakra dies, his place is taken by another deity who becomes the new Sakra. In
the jataka stories and several sutras sakra is mentioned. Sakra married suja, the
daughter of vemacitrin, the Asura chief. Inspite of this marriage there is still war
between the Asuras and Gods. Still Sakra manages to resolve with minimum violence
and without loss of http://life.In Jainism Sakra or Lord Indra and his wife Sachi is
portrayed to be riding the eternal elephant Airavata. In jain texts sakra appears several
times as a name of the king of the Devas. According to the Hindu religion, Indra is the
king of gods. He is the counterpart of zeus or jupiter of the greek or roman mythology.

Hindu mythology praises him as the ruler of heaven.

Paddy fields in present day Tamil Nadu

Marutam is one of the five lands of ancient 'Tamil country'. It is a fertile land suitable for
'Agriculture'. It was present near the 'River's'. Like all the civilization's around the world
which were present near the river's, the Marutam land gave birth to the 'Tamil
Civilization'. Mallar's were the people who lived in the 'Marutam land'. Their 'God' was
'Vendan' or 'Indran'. They were 'Farmers' and 'Warrior's'.The oldest Tamil literature
Tolkappiyam mentions about the Marutham land and its God. Almost all the Tamil
literature which mentions about the Marutam land also mentions the 'Mallar' as its
people. Pallu poems which were sung exclusively about the life of 'Devendra kula
vellalars' mentions them as Marutam land people.

Mallar and Mallathi

Mallar is a name which denotes the people of the Marutam land. The word Mallar is
present in all Tamil literature from ancient times. The name Mallar denotes a group of
people who are 'Warriors' and 'Farmers'. This can be proven by the following examples.

An example from Thivagara Nigandu(9th century Tamil dictionary) giving meaning for
the word Mallar as 'Warriors' and 'Farmers':

“ "அருந்திறல் வீரர்க்கும் பெருந்திறலுழவர்க்கும்

வருந்தகைத்தாகும் 'மள்ளர்' எனும் பெயர்" ”

—-திவாைர நிைண்டு
An example from pingala nigandu(dictionary) giving meaning for Mallar as 'Warriors'
and Marutam land(Agriculture land) people:

“ "பெருமகை வீரரும் திண்ணியயாரும்

மருதநிை மக்ைளும் 'மள்ளர்' என்ெ" ”

—-பிங்ைை நிைண்டு

Mallar Kambam: This sport is still played in India. This sport consists of a pillar(made
of wood) standing in the ground,in which the contestant does some gymnastics. This
sport was once used by the Mallars to strengthen their body.

Malla-yuddha (Malyudham)

ु ,Bengali: মল্লযু দ্ধ, Odia: ମଲ୍ଲ ଯୁଦ୍ଧ, Kannada: ಮಲ್ಲಯುದ್ಧ, Telugu: మల్ల యుద్ధం
(Devanagari: मल्लयद्ध
malla-yuddhaṁ, Tamil: மல்யுத்தம் malyutham, Thai: มัลละยุทธ์ mạllayutṭh̒) is the traditional
South Asian form of combat-wrestling created in what is now India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It is closely related to Southeast Asian wrestling styles
such as naban and is the ancestor of kusti.

In Sanskrit, mallayuddha literally translates to "wrestling combat". Strictly speaking, the

term denotes a single pugilistic encounter or prize-fight rather than a style or school of
wrestling. It is a tatpurusha compound of malla (wrestler, boxer, athlete) and yuddha or
juddho (fight, battle, conflict). The compound is first attested in the Mahabharata
referring to boxing matches such as those fought by Bhima. Another word for a sportive
wrestling match or athletic sports more generally is mallakr‫מ‬ḍa. The second element,
kr‫מ‬ḍa (sport, play, pastime, amusement) implies a more limited-contact style of folk
wrestling rather than true grappling combat.

The term malla was historically a proper name referring to, among other things, an
asura known as mall‫ג‬sura and the name of a tribe from the Malla Kingdom mentioned
in the Mahabharata. The name Malla was also used in this sense for an ancient
mahajanapada, a Nepalese dynasty descended from them, and the Mallabhum kingdom
in Bishnapur. In the Manusmriti (10.22; 12.45), it is the technical term for the offspring
of an out-caste kshatriya by a kshatriya female who was previously the wife.Wrestling in
South Asia has a history of at least 5000 years making it the oldest known codified form
of fighting in the region. Competitions held for entertainment were popular among all
social classes, with even kings and other royalty taking part. Wrestlers represented their
kings in matches between rival kingdoms; death matches before the royal court served
as a way to settle disputes and avoid large-scale wars. As such, professional wrestlers
were held in high regard. In pastoral communities, people would even wrestle against
steers.

The first written attestation of the term mallayuddha is found in the Ramayana epic, in
the context of a wrestling match between the vanara King Bali and Ravana, the king of
Lanka. Hanuman, the god in Ramayana, is worshipped as the patron of wrestlers and
general feats of strength. The Mahabharata epic also describes a wrestling match
between Bhima and Jarasandha.Other early literary descriptions of wrestling matches
include the story of Balarama and Krishna.

Stories describing Krishna report that he sometimes engaged in wrestling matches

where he used knee strikes to the chest, punches to the head, hair pulling, and
strangleholds.[5] He defeated Kans, king of Mathura, in a wrestling match and became
new king in his place. Siddhartha Gautama himself was said to be an expert wrestler,
archer and sword-fighter before becoming the Buddha. Based on such accounts, Svinth
traces press ups and squats used by Indian wrestlers to the pre-classical era.