Sacred Dance of India

Author(s): Mrinalini Sarabhai
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Page 30

great Kapılendradeva of the 15th century, whose dancers were from Telangana and Orissa
That the Ranı herself danced in the 16th century, is mentioned for she was known as 'gopi sakhi' and later, as in Manipur, the King Prataparudradeva encouraged the dancers to enact the love songs of Krishna, for he himself was a devotee of the saint Chaitanya It was he who made the decision that only the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva should be recited in the temple of Jagannath
While the maharıs in the temple of Jagannath are dedicated to Krishna, there are maharis in Bhuvaneswar who worship Shiva and Shaktı, in the temples of Jhankad and Kakatpur
In 1592, the Mughals came as conquerors and the dancers who until then served only the deities, were taken to dance in the courts But the rites in the temples still continued and the maharis to this day dance twice in the sacred hall of the temple and also at the special festivals Boys at this time were trained in the art and danced, dressed as girls They were called 'gotipuras'
The superb sculptures on the temple walls tell us of the quality of this style, which combines both Tandava and Lasya and follows closely the rules of the Natya Shastra of Bharata In Bhuvaneswar, at Konarak and in other temples dance poses have been immortalised in stone
The Odisse dance begins with a song to the earth 'Bhumi Pranam' and then a devotional poem to Ganapatı, the remover of all hindrances to the performing arts
Then the dance to Shiva, 'the Batu Nntya', describes in song the worship to the God with ritualistic gestures and movements
The 'Ishta Deva Bandana' expresses devotion to a particular God, and the 'Swara Pallavı Nritta' which follows, brings out all the rhythmic and musical qualities of this form
Abhinaya is exquisitely portrayed in the Radha-Krishna theme usually from the lyrics of Jayadeva's Gata Govinda.
The last dance in a performance like the tillana of Bharata Natyam emphasises the pure dance or 'nritta' aspect called the 'tarı zham' or 'natangi
The similarity of the Orissa dance form with Kuchipudy is striking Historical evidence and inscriptions in Telugu tell us that the Kalinga emperors who were ardent Vaishnavites restored the Jagannath temple of Puri The Kalinga king, Viranarasimha III, was responsible for building the Konarak temple of Orissa in 1262 At this time, dancers from Orissa were brought to Srikakulam and there was much intermingling of the cultures, especially during the regentship of Naraharı Tirtha who was a devotee of Krishna
An interesting dance depicting the Tandava style of the Odissi Form, is the Sabda Svarapata, danced only by men and dedicated to Shiva Extremely vigorous and inspired, it has its roots in perhaps one of the most ancient of forms, when men first danced
The dancer, who represents Shiva in all his aspects, becomes one with the dancing God, and often falls into a state of trance
Throughout India, ancient forms are suddenly perceived through the veils of kaleidoscopic movements of new patterns added imperceptıbly through the centuries The dance remains a rite to please the Gods, and the Gods themselves still lead the way