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a feature of the temple constructed especially for the ritual dance in front of the shrine Engraved on the sides and on the pillars were the dances as described in detail in the Nritta Ratnavalı
When the Kakatiya Empire fell, the ruler of Kalinga or Orissa, Bhanu Deva I (AD 1263-1277) ruled Divi Taluka and Kuchipudi village was a part of this area, as were Srikakulam, Ghantashala, Muvva (the birth place of the composer Kshetragna), Avanigandha and Challapallı, through which flowed the Krishna river
After the death of Bhanu Deva, Naraharı Teera, his minister, acted as regent for the young prince A disciple of Anand Teera, the great devotee of Sri Krishna, he brought the dancers from Orissa to teach the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva to the devadasis of Andhra The Gita Govinda, since then, has been cherished by the Bhagavatars of Kuchipudi and called 'Ashtapadiattam' or 'Radha-Krishna Nrityam'
After that, many songs were composed on the eternal theme of Radha and Krishna and it was at Srikakulam that the celebrated poem Sri Krishna Karnammta was written by the poet Leelasuka
The Krishna Leela Tarangini was a dance-drama in Sanskrit, written by Tirtha Narayanaswami (14th century) The story opens with Bhudevi (Mother Earth) praying to the Lord Vishnu for protection against evıl The story is similar to the theme in the Bhagavatam, ending with the marriage of Krishna and Rukmini, and the death of the tyrant Kamsa
The seventh chapter in several talas is especially composed for dancers with musical jatus, a peculiarity of the Kuchipudi technique, depicting the Rasa Kreeda.
The name "Taranga' or wave symbolises the dancer's various steps (waves) in the dance art (ocean) In the third canto of Balagopala, the dancer executes a typical dance, dancing upon a brass tray, with a pot of water on her head
There are twelve scenes, and each scene is introduced by the Sutradhara and the Nati, providing the links in the story
Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagar was perhaps one of the most attractive and outstanding personalities of Medieval India He is described as 'gallant and perfect in all things' Every morning the king exercised with 'great weights made of earthenware' and then wrestled with one of his wrestlers Then, till dawn, he went out riding and when dawn broke, he bathed and went to offer prayers in the temple, and then began his day's work His entire reign was a glorious age of the Vijayanagara Empire, when all Southern India was under the man of 'much gentleness and generosity of character, brave and statesmanlıke' Of special interest to dancers is the interesting description of the dance school he had constructed The chronicle of Paes (about A D 1537) describes it thus
This hall is where the King sends his women to be taught to dance It is a long hall and not very wide, all of stone, sculpture on pillars, which are at a distance of quite an arm's length from the wall In each case, from pillar to pullar, is a crossbar, which is like a panel and from pillar to pullar are long panels, the designs of these panels show the positions at the end of dances, in such a way that on each panel, there is a dancer in the proper position at the end of the dance, this is to teach the women, so that if they forget the position in which they have to
