Chakram
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The chakram (Devanāgarī: चक्रम) is a throwing weapon that was used by the ancient Indians; it is a flat metal disc with a sharp outer edge from 5 to 12 inches (13−30 cm) in diameter.
The word comes from Sanskrit and means round, circle, or wheel. Earliest references come from the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana (here the Sudarshana Chakra is the weapon of the god Vishnu). It was used by Indian armies, mostly by Sikhs (who have it on at least one flag). Chakri, is a name of Krishna.
Because of its aerodynamic shape (similar to an aeroplane wing, Flying disc, or Aerobie), it is not easily deflected by wind.
One should be careful not to confuse chakram with wind and fire wheels, which are larger and used in melee.
[edit] The chakram in pop culture
A fictional version of the chakram has been used in many fantasy and martial mediums, but none are as popular or famous as the chakram used in the popular TV series Xena: Warrior Princess — where the fictional character Xena, the protagonist of the show — is able to throw her chakram great distances and cause it to ricochet off surfaces to either hit her enemy or return to her.
In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the chakram is an available weapon that can be dropped by certain enemies when defeated. The player can equip two of them at a time.
In the Namco role-playing game Tales of Symphonia, the Chosen of Regeneration in Sylvarant, Colette Brunel, wields a pair of chakrams.
In the Westwood Studios role-playing game Nox, the chakram is one of the weapons available to the warrior.
In Cassandra Clare's novel City of Bones, Hodge's preferred weapons are a series of metal chakram, which he can throw with expert skill and precision.
The character Mizuti from the Gamecube game Baten Kaitos uses a pointed chakram, which he spins around his wrist using magic.
The character Mint from the PlayStation game Threads of Fate uses a pair of chakrams as both weapons and conduits for her magic.
The characters Salsa and March from the Xbox 360 game Eternal Sonata use twin chakrams as their weapons of choice.
The weapon TokTz-Xil-Ul employed by the TzHaar people in the MMORPG RuneScape is essentially an obsidian chakram.
The character Tira from the PlayStation 2 video game Soul Calibur III uses a large version of the chakram called the Aiselne Drossel (also known as a ring blade) as her weapon of choice.
The character Django from the manga One Piece uses a chakram as a weapon and as a tool to hypnotize people.
In the manga Buso Renkin, Gouta Nakamura uses twin gear shaped chakram called Motor Gears.
The character Yuki Kenmochi from the Cutie Honey The Live television series can summon a chakram when transformed into Sister Yuki.
The characters named Wardens, Hero units from the Warcraft 3 game wield a stylized version of the chakram.
The character Amy from the game Grand Chase, is a dancer who wields a chakram as her weapon.
In the game Darkeden, the race Ousters wield chakrams to performs melee based attacks.
In the RPG Suikoden V, the characters Sialeeds and Sharmista both fight using chakrams.
Axel, from Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, uses fire-imbued chakram.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Details of chakram history and use
- History of chakram
- http://www.flight-toys.com/rings/chackrum.html
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