Art of Natya Through the Ages

7/27/2019 Art of Natya Through the Ages

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ART OF NATYA THROUGH THE AGES

BY

Dr. SHANTI MAHESH

DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC

QUEEN MARYS COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)

CHENNAI.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

METHODOLOGY

ART OF NATYA THROUGH THE AGES

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY


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ABSTRACT

The one word, the name, by which Indian dance as we know

today wasknown universally right into the first quarter of this centurywas nautch. Bharata Natyam, Odissi, ballet and the rest are alllabels that have gained currency only during the past sixtyyears or so. Before that, all Indian dancing, especially in theeyes of the West, was just plain nautch. The word, however,implies more than mere dancing, for it connotes a wholeatmosphere.From the present state of Indian classical dance it is difficult toreconstruct itsposition in Indian society prior to its elevation as a classical art

form throughtransplantation to the concert stage.


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INTRODUCTIONDance in traditional Indian culture permeated all facets of life, but its

outstanding function was to give symbolic expression to abstract religious ideas. The

close relationship between dance and religion began very early in Hindu thought,and numerous references to dance include descriptions of its performance in both

secular and religious contexts. Since traditional Indian society has never clearly

demarcated secular from religious activity, it is difficult and unnecessary to

ascertain in which milieu the dance may have originated. This is an attempt to

analyze the placement of the art of dance from ages.

METHODOLOGYThe interesting view of Indian dancing makes anyone research the richness of

the art. has framed the essence of this paper. This is an attempt to analyze the

placement of the art of dance from ages.

ART OF NATYA THROUGH THE AGESThere has always been some ambiguity surrounding the secular and religious

components of the dance tradition but the earliest references in the Rg Veda and the

early law texts such as the Laws of Manu and the Arthasastra stress the secular

function.

Descriptions of the dance by early European travelers, particularly the Portuguese,

mention both court and temples performances, often by the same girls, emphasizing

the difficulty of dividing the secular from the religious in India.

Early literary references to dance are also ambiguous about the purpose of

the dance. The Rg Veda employs a dancing girl as a metaphor when describing

dawn, but no attempt is made to link dance with religious activity, nor is there any

indication of the disrepute in which dancers were later held. Although this firstreference is from a religious text, it is no more than a poetic metaphor, and lends no

support to the idea that Indian dance began as religious ritual.

The secular importance of dance is affirmed very early from very ancient times viz.

Arthasastra, the Laws of Manu etc which list dance as one of the many

accomplishments of courtesans. There are references to dance in many works like

Meghaduta of poet Kalidasa.

Dance was not restricted to only Hindu temples. It appears to have been


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performed in the temples of all the three indigenous faiths of the subcontinent. An

inscription dated A.D.1270 at Gaya records dance in a Buddhist shrine where

Worship there (offered) thrice a day by means of instrumental music in the highest

key(panchama gata) and Dancing Girls Bhavanis who were Rambha(a celestial

dancer) were attached to the temples and were dancing round wonderfully.Somdeva, the eleventh century Kashmiri writer also refers to dancing in temples.

The eleventh century Jain reformer, Jinavallabha, in his Sanghapattaka was

concerned about the large number of dancing girls distracting monks in the Jain

temples of Rajasthan.

Just as dancers formed part of the court of Indra, the celestial king, it became

the custom for kings to have certain ceremonial activities performed by the dancers,

such as holding the royal umbrella, fanning the royal couple with yak-tail fans, and

being present at state occasions like royal consecrations. Many of the customs,

continued and Abbe Dubois, a priest working in south India in the nineteenth

centruy, records that when a king or distinguished visitor made a formal visit to the

temple, he should properly be accompanied by a certain number of devadasis.In the royal courts the king assumed god-like powers and the same ceremony

was accorded to him as to the god in the temple. In fact, court ritual was modeled on

temple ritual, and while dancers were important adornments to a court, the royal

devadasis could be transferred to religious duties or vice versa.

It is recorded of king Jalauka of Kashmir that : A hundred out of this seraglio who

had risen to dance in honour of the God at the time fixed for dancing and singing he

gave out of joy of Jyestharudra [Siva].

This practice was not restricted to Hindus. A twelfth .century inscription

records the transfer of a dancing girl from one of the Buddhist Temples. (Stupa or

Cave) at Salonapura to the harem of a local king.

In Tamil Nadu in the twelfth century, Rajendra Chola ruled from Tanjore;

under his orders four hundred temple dancers were brought from nearby temples to

be attached to the Brhadisvara temple of Tanjore. The inscription that records the

event is important as it names all the temples, both Saiva and Vaisnava, that had

dancers attached to them. Undoubtedly Rajaraja.s centralizing of the dance

tradition around his temple and court made Tanjore a focus of culture in south

India and it was this early patronage of the Chola kings that led to the

standardization of the Bharata Natyam form of dance as it is known today.

Without patronage, either by rulers or temples, the professional dancing

class devadasis, which included teachers and musicians, could not have developed

the art to the high standard that it achieved. From the time of the Cilappatikaram

(fourth tosixth century A.D.) in which Madavi, the dancer and courtesan, receives a

garland from the king after her first public performance, there are numerous

references to dancers receiving royal recognition for their excellence. The Chola

king Vira Rajendra I (1063-70) ordered some land at Tiruvorriyur to be reclaimed

and the produce used for services in the temples including maintenance of dancing

masters and girls. Kings seem to have been generous in their support, and records of

their generosity can be found in inscriptions. Aditya II (10th c. A.D.) gave land for a

dance performance during Tai Pusam, and three dances to take place beginning the


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day after the festival of Vaigasi Tiruvadirai, for which the dancer was to receive

some paddy. Rajendra Chola Deva (1012-44) and Vikrama Chola (111-35) also gave

some land to support the cost of dance recitals at certain festivals.

Some kings did not limit their encouragement to professional dancers but

encouraged members of their own family, of high birth, to learn the dance. This was

probably to give them grace in deportment and they performed for their own

entertainment as well as that of other courtiers. Perhaps the standards of the dance

altered when it was thus performed by amateurs. One of the Portuguese travellers

who visited Vijayanagar records that the royal ladies of Vijayanagar were taught

the dance. Two other Portuguese travellers, Nuniz and Pietro della Valle (1623-4),

record seeing dance. We understand how dancers and teachers grew up and got

trained in the traditional manner. Many scholars have extensively studied the

tradition of the art of dance.

Some kings did not limit their encouragement to professional dancers but

encouraged members of their own family, of high birth, to learn the dance. This wasprobably to give them grace in deportment and they performed for their own

entertainment as well as that of other courtiers. Perhaps the standards of the dance

altered when it was thus performed by amateurs. One of the Portuguese travellers

who visited Vijayanagar records that the royal ladies of Vijayanagar were taught

the dance. Two other Portuguese travellers, Nuniz and Pietro della Valle (1623-4),

record seeing dance.

Today the dance is no longer restricted to any particular group for whom it was

once a vocation, but has largely become an accomplishment for everyone.

If we take Classical dance, there is the earliest treatise called Natya Sastra in the

original Sanskrit and the Bhagavad Gita.

Anyone trying to understand completely the essence of the classical art

and philosophy could get fully absorbed in the spiritual heritage of India.

Our nation has innumerable doyens in the art of dance, the historical representation

of how the art survived with performance by women who offered it to the Almighty

in various rituals. If we consider the history of our region in the country, the dance

of the Devadasi-s has a distinctive identity of its own and is distinct from

Bharatanatyam or Kuchipudi, although the source is the same. There are stalwarts

like Rukmini Devi, the doyen of Bharatanatyam who could surge forward in the

pursuit of this divine art, overcoming all the social barriers. She was married to

Arundale, a westerner and a pioneer in theology. Her evolutionary growth in dance

could fructify into her dream institution Kalakshetra at Chennai. There are many

Dancers in each variety of Dance- classical or Folk in our country. There are

umpteen kinds of Folk dances also which demand intricate nuances and list of

artistes may be available if we peruse records, hence not mentioned in this Paper.

Dancers and dance aspirants in America in the early decades of this century

were interested in learning Hindu dances . so described to avoid confusion with the

dances of the American Indians because of their curiosity about the cultural

traditions of the fabled land of India.


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CONCLUSION

The glimpse of the survival of the art before ages, awareness of

aesthetic performers with special fervour, is presented in a nutshell in this

article.

BIBLIOGRAPHYI. BOOKS

i] The Sacred Dance of India by Mrinalini Sarabhai Pub: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,

Bombay, First Edition 1979

ii] Siva in Dance, Myth and Iconography by Anne-Marie Gaston Pub: Oxford

University Press, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras reprinted with minor additions, 1985

II. JOURNAL

Sruti.

Documents

Art of Natya Through the Ages