Written by London Swaminathan

Post No. 15,708

Date uploaded in London –7 May 2026

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.

this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.

tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

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Years ago, I wrote about south American Mayan – Indian link with 68 similarities. I said then that Hindus used hands in ball game but Mayas used foot in the ball games. When Hindus used flowers or cloth to make balls , Mayans used rubber to make balls.

Later I showed where Sankara used ball game in Viveka Chudamani and Sangam poets used ball games in Tamil poems.

Now I am revising my theory after reading an article by  M Biardeau in Ludwik Sternbach Felicitation volume part two . here is what he says,

“Two episodes of the Mahabharata allude to some kind of ball game. The first mentioned takes place at the time of the first meeting of the young Kauravas and Pandavas with the Brahmin Drona. The boys had been playing with a ball – vitaa—till they fall into a well and were unable to reach it and get it back.  They were looking at one another with shame when a dark-complexioned hoary Brahmin appeared nearby, duly sanctified by the performance of his daily rites. The helpless young princes with great hopes surrounded the Brahman who was none else than Drona.

Finding the weakness of Kshatrias’ might ,  Drona wanted to show off his Brahminic superiority. He threw a seal ring of his into the well and manged to recover first the ball with mantra inspired blades of grass and then ring with an arrow, and gave the ring MUDRIKAA to the boys. As reward for the feat, Bhisma appointed  Drona  as  master of arms for the 105 cousins.

(Mahabharata 1-131-17 Pdi parva)

Nothing is said about the ball in the above episode. But the verb used was uddhr. This is the verb used to narrate how Vishnu in his Varaha avatar rescued the ball  shaped earth from the bottom of the ocean.

Mahabharata does not say foot or hand was used while playing; but we can guess only a powerful kick thew the ball into the well.

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The second episode is the story of Prthaa/Kunti ‘s adoption. She herself narrated it to Krishna in the Mahabharata XII.347-2

Kunti’s birth name was Prtha. She was given by her father to his cousin Kuntibhoja as friend does to a friend.  Her father promised this when she was playing the ball—kriidantim kanduhastikam. Here is a comparison ,

Prtha is closer to Prthvi—ball shaped earth. When she was playing the ball game means throwing the ball to another player. It is the symbol of earth/country  changing from one king to another – like throwing the ball. Whatever the explanation maybe her adoption was decided when she was playing a ball game according to Mahabharata.

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Following is my old article on Hindu’s Ball Game

Ball Game in Sankara’s Viveka Chudamani – Research Article on VC-42 (Post No.13,548)

WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No. 13,548

Date uploaded in London – 15 August 2024              

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लक्ष्यच्युतं चेद्यदि चित्तमीषद्

बहिर्मुखं सन्निपतेत्ततस्ततः ।

प्रमादतः प्रच्युतकेलिकन्दुकः

सोपानपङ्क्तौ पतितो यथा तथा ॥ ३२५ ॥

This is from Viveka Chudamani (VC) of Sankar

lakṣyacyutaṃ cedyadi cittamīṣad

bahirmukhaṃ sannipatettatastataḥ |

pramādataḥ pracyutakelikandukaḥ

sopānapaṅktau patito yathā tathā || 325 ||

325. If the mind ever so slightly strays from the Ideal and becomes outgoing, then it goes down and down, just as a play-ball inadvertently dropped on the staircase bounds down from one step to another.

 Notes:

[Ideal—Brahman. Cf. Mundaka II. ii. 3-4.

What a terrible and graphic warning to happy-go-lucky aspirants! ]

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Adi Sankara was down to earth in explaining the greatest Hindu philosophy Advaita (Monism). Man is God is the ultimate truth. But the strangest thing is that he used even ball game in his hymn.

Hindu literature is full of ball games. But it is not the foot- ball that was invented by the ancient South American civilizations. Tamil and Sanskrit poems described the flower balls that were used as Volley Balls.

There is a genre in Tamil called அம்மானை Ammaanai, where women sit or stand in circles and play ‘throw and catch’ ball  game. Another version is, they sit one against another and throw the pebbles or flower balls or big and light seeds skyward like a juggler.

Depending upon the skill of the person, the number of balls or round objects are used.

2000 year old Sangam literature has several references to flower balls used in games. It was a woman’s game in ancient India

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செப்பும் பந்தும் போல.

Like a box and a ball-  is a proverb in Tamil. Both are children’s toys.

In Sangam Tamil literature ball game was also called கழங்கு Kazangu.

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FROM SANGAM LIERATURE

Following are few references to ball games in 2000 year old Sangam books:-

Perumpaanaatruppadai- line 335;

Nattrinai – 47, 79;

Pathitruppaththu – 15-5;

Paripaatal- 8-106/7;

Akanaanuuru – 17, 49, 66

Puranaanuuru – 36

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From Tamil Dictionary

ammāṉai n. அம்மானை [K.ammāle, M. ammāna.] 1. Girls’ game of keeping a number of balls in the air, some rising while others are falling; அம்மானையாட்டம்.

—SUBHAM—

TAGS- ball game, Sankara, Viveka Chudamani, Sangam Tamil poems, Mahabharata, Pandavas and Kauravas, Kunti