Module 29 Books on Bharatanatyam
As per legends, Shiva was the progenitor of dance. Being a dancer
par excellence, he taught his dance to Tandu / , who taught the art
form to Bharata and Parvati and she in turn taught this to Usha,
daughter of asura Bana and an ardent devotee of Shiva. She was
wedded to the prince of Dwaraka, Aniruddha and thus the art form
was transferred to the mortals. Usha trained the milkmaids of
Dwarka who, in turn, passed it down to the women of Saurashtra. 1, 2
Ever since then, numerous authors and dancers have authored
treatises, books and translations of literature on dance. It goes
without saying that most of the authors were adept in the art form
and were scholars. Thus, they were able to write detailed analysis for
their generation and future generations to follow the text. Even
today, most books on dance are/were written by dancers. Just like
dance, writing skill has become second nature to dancers.
Unlike the books that came out in the last 100 years, where dance
based books concentrate only on dance, the early manuscripts and
literature deal with both dance and music. Music played an
important role in the dramatics and the performance. Thus, many
early books on dance are familiar to music scholars.
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Bharatamuni authored Natyashastra, the primary source of dance
and dramatics of India. Before the Natyashastra, it is highly probable
that the knowledge was mostly shruti and orally transferred from
generations to generations. Some scholars have found that Bharata
mentions few names of literature that existed in his generation in his
magnum opus. However, currently we do not know what those
literature talk about. 3, 4
There are two debatable points with respect to Natyashastra. First is
the dating of the work, although the majority of scholars place it
between 2BC to 2AD, there are scholars who date it somewhere
between 400 BC – 400 AD, and some date it around 500BC. Second
debatable point is the authorship of Natyashastra. While, one would
think that Natyasastra was written down by a single author, many
scholars have postulated that this was authored by many and that
the name Bharata is not specific to a single person, rather a title
given to a scholar. Nevertheless, Natyashastra and its guidelines
remain a hot topic among dancers, scholars and even today dancers
quote and conduct research on various topics listed in Natyashastra. 3, 4
In 300 BC (some claim as it was authored in 1st century), Dattila
wrote Dattilam / . This work deals majorly with music and
specifically Gandharva music, which has direct influence on the
Carnatic music system. Another major work that we have today is
the Brhaddesi / by Matanga / , written in 6th century.
Dattila refers to Brhaddesi in his work to explain certain terms.
Brhaddesi is important work for dancers as this forms a connecting
link between Natyashastra and Dattilam, along with the
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commentary of Natyashastra, known as Abhinavabharati / . 3, 4
Abhinavabharati by Abhinavagupta / , a Kashmiri Saivaite,
written in 10th-11thcentury is the most well-known commentary on
Natyashastra. This work finds prominence second only to
Natyashastra among dance scholars. This is because, Abhinavagupta
has explained in detail the Rasa theory of Natyashastra and also his
commentaries of Bharata’s work has helped scholars to understand
the complex terms mentioned in Natyashastra. It is notable to
mention that Abhinavabharati is the currently available commentary
on Natyashastra to us. There were numerous other commentaries
written before Abhinavagupta on Natyashastra, as he mentions the
names in Abhinavabharati. However, these commentaries have been
lost and currently none are available to us. Abhinavagupta’s work
sheds light on the technical aspects of dance, clarifying the technical
details given by Bharata and additional information. 3, 4
Here, Nandikeshwara’s / Abhinaya Darpana /
has to be mentioned as a contemporary text that dealt with more
practical aspects of dance. While, it is debatable if Abhinaya Darpana
was considered as a rival or not, the information and step by step
guide is a valuable source for dancers, even today. Starting from the
ideal aspects of stage, dancer, audience; Nandikeshwara goes into
detail of hasta mudras, movements of neck, hands, head, eyes, and
other limbs quite detailed than Natyashastra. In fact, Abhinaya
Darpana is accepted as an influential text that numerous regional
language translations and adaptations exist. Ananda Coomaraswamy
wrote a translation of Abhinaya Darpana .In recent times, PSR Appa
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Rao combined all these sources and his book has become a standard
textbook for dancers and dance institutions. 3, 4
Silapadikkaram / , dated a century later than
Natyashastra (2nd – 3rd Century), authored by Ilango vadigal / has detailed description of the courtesan Madhavi in the
Arangetrukadai section. This section deals with the types of dance
training and dance performance of Madhavi. Just like
Abhinavagupta’s commentary on Natyashastra, Adiyarkkunallar’s
commentary on Silappadikaram sheds more information and
clarification of Ilangovadigal’s magnum opus. 3, 4
Skipping centuries, the 12th century onwards saw a deluge of minor
and major works that have been popularly read and commented
upon. Sangitaratnakara / of Sarangadeva / is
front runner among these, where the texts deals majorly with music
and musicality. However, he amalgamates the three aspects of Gita / , Vadya / , and Nritta / as Sangeetha / . He also
touches in detail on Rasa theory. Codification of angikaabhinaya / , and various dance performances such as
Suddhapaddhati / , the Gaundalividhi / and
the Peranipaddhati / are described in detail. 3, 4
Jayasena / Jayasenatipati / Jayappa / was a military
general in the Kakatiya empire, and he has written a treatise on
dance called Nrittaratnavali / , which has inspired
Kuchipudi performers and scholars. Here for the first time, Jayasena
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different forms. This was written in the 13th century.3, 4
Similar to Nrittaratnavali of Jayasena, Maharana Kumbha / in the 15th century authored Sangitaraja / . Here also,
desi forms of dance are described and analyzed in detail. The
Nartananirnaya / of the 16th century authored by
Pandarika Vittala / classifies dance in to bandha/
and anibandha / categories. The fourth chapter is exclusively
on dance, while the remaining three are on music. 3, 4
As Bharatanatyam originated in Tamil Nadu, dance treatise and texts
in Tamizh are also notable in influencing the desi / and margi / forms. These are Koothanool / by Sattanaar/,
Abhinayadarpanam / by Veeraraghavaian / ,
Mahabharata Choodamani / by Soman Aryan / , Bharatasenapatiyam / by Adi Vayitar / , Panchamarabu / by Arivanar, and others.5
There are other texts and treatise of dance and music that have
influenced Indian dance and Bharatanatyam. Some of them are:
Hastabhinaya / by Shardula, Bharatakosham /
by Mahendra Vikrama, Bharata Pradarshika / by
Kohala, Dasarupaka / by Dhananjaya, Sangitasudhakara / by Haripala, Sangitachudamani / by
Jagadekamalla / , Shringara Prakasa / by Bhojaraja / , Sangitasamayasara / by
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Parshvadeva / , Nrtyadhyayah / Nrittadyaraja / by Asokamalla, Natya Pradeepa / by Sundara
Misra and many more. 3
The Thanjavur Marathas, as we know, were influential in establishing
dance by giving patronage to The Tanjore Quartet brothers. It was
during Tulaja’s period(1738–1787) that an important text got
published. King Tulaja authored Sangita Saramrita / .
According to Priyashri Rao, it was somewhere this time period that 4
“The practice of a composition of a text on the lines of the texts like
the Natyashastra or the Sangitaratnakara etc. seems to have ceased.
The focus turned towards the compositions to be employed in dance
presentations.”
Sangita Saramrita has the unique distinction of adavus/
documented for the first time. The adavu names described are both
in Sanskrit and Tamil-Telugu names, as was prevalently used by
dancers of his time. Listed below is a comparison of the Sanskrit
names with Tamizh-Telugu names and in italics as listed by Lakshmi
Viswanathan6
KhanatpadaKuttana / Kuttadavu/ Kuttuadavu
ParsvaKuttana / Nattitattadavu/ Natiadavu
PadaparsvaKuttana / Dhi-ti-tai adavu/ DhiDhi Thai
adavu
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Santadya-parsni-kuttana / - - Tatti-mettadavu / Thattimettu
Mrdusparsana / Anukkaraadavu / Anukuadavu
Karsana-pada / - Kadasakkal / Kadasakal
Svastika / Tatti-k-kattaradu / ThatiKattaradhu
Suddhanga / Sittangu
Ekapadika / Visikkal/ Veechikal
Nipatya-prasaritapada / - VishunduVisi / Vizhinduveechi
Cakra / Cakkaraccuttu/Chakkarachuthu
Motita / Mandi-yadavu/ Mandiadavu
After Tulaja’s work other dance based texts were written by scholars.
For example, Anupasangitaratnakara / by
Bhavabhatta, Sangita(sara)sangraha / () by Narahari
Chakravarty, Ghanashayamadasa, Balaramabharatham /
by Karthia Tirumal, Ragakalpadruma / by AppaDikshita
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Bhatakande.5
Bharatanatyam based books were published as manuals and Do It
Yourself type of guidebooks. Nevertheless, scholarly books were also
published thus adding new facets to the dance form. In 1938, having
stumbled upon a copy of the NatyaShastra, the American dancer
Ragini Devi authored a book on Indian classical dance in English
called Nritanjali in the same year. This was the first English language
book exclusively on Indian dance.
Since then, dancers have authored books in Bharatanatyam. Most of
these books can be categorized into three types: Coffee table books,
Scholarly work with a specific theme, Guidebook or manual for dance
students to understand the intricacies of the art form. A minor
category of dance books that are currently available are
autobiographies and biographies of dancers. These not only shed the
political, social milieu of the dancer’s upbringing it also sheds light on
the pedagogy and inspiration behind the dancer. Thus, this category
helps a student to understand the goal of the dancer.
Some of the books written by Bharatanatyam dancers are as follows
(not exhaustive):
JayalakshmiEshwar Bharatanatyam: How to...: A Step by Step
Approach to Learn the Classical Dance Form,
Hastha Prayogaah: Vocabulary of Hand
Gestures in Bharatanatyam.
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GeetaChandran So Many Journeys by Bharatanatyam Dancer
Anita Ratnam Some dancers of India, Nirmalam / Padma Subhrahmanyam Karanas: Common Dance Codes of India
and Indonesia, Bharata’s Art – Then and Now,
BharatakkalaiKotpadu (in Tamizh),
Legend, Epic Stories from NatyaSastra (for
Children) and NatyaSastraItihasaKadhaigal
(for Children – Tamizh).
Socio Aspects, Dhananjayan on Indian Classical
Dance
Ragini Devi Dance Dialects of India
Lakshmi Viswanathan Women of Pride - the Devadasi Heritage,
Bharatanatyam: A Tamil Heritage
Guide Book
Life
SudharaniRaghupathy LaghuBharatham (Three volumes)
C. Venugopalan Nair Mudras in Bharatanatyam
K. Swarnambigai Naatya Bala Bodhini / (Basic
Viniyogas in English with Meanings)
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Advantages
In-Depth Study, Science of Bharatanatyam
Apart from these, dance scholars have also written scholarly works
that have been published. Some of them are (not exhaustive):
V Raghavan Malavikagnimitra Act-II with special reference
to Malavika’s Dance, South Indian Dance and
Dance-Drama, Sri NarayanTirtha, An
Introduction to Indian Poetics, Natyakalai / (Tamizh), Ramayana Tradition in
Asia, Abhinavagupta and his works, Kavya-
Nataka-Samgraha / --,
Practice)
Reinventing the Arts in Modern South India,
Unfinished Gestures: Devadasis, Memory and
Modernity in South India
Tradition: Celebrating Dance in India
Mandakranta Bose Movement and Mimesis: The Idea of Dance in
the Sanskritic Tradition
Bharatanatyam: Step by step, Indian Classical
Dance – The Renaissance and beyond
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Repertoire
S Sarada or Periya Sarada Kalakshetra: Rukmini Devi
Avanthi Meduri Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986): A
Visionary Architect of Indian Culture and the
Performing Arts, The transfiguration of
Indian/Asian dance in the United Kingdom:
contemporary Bharatanatyam in global
Sutured History of the Devadasi and her Dance,
Bharatanatyam what are you? and History as
an image: mimesis and parody in
Bharathanatyam.
Classical Dance, The Square and the Circle of
the Indian Arts, Dance in Indian Painting,
Bharata: The Natyasastra, Classical Indian
Dance in Literature and the Arts, Asian Dance:
Multiple Levels
Bharatanatyam, Folk Dances, Splendours of
Indian Dance and Uday Shankar
Ashish Mohan Khokar Bharatanatyam, Attendance: Dance Annual of
India
Personalities in Present Day Music
G. Venkatachalam The Mirror of Indian Art, Modern Indian
Painters, Travel Diary of an Art Student,
Sketches, Unheard Melodies
Nityasumangali
Subbudu
B M Sundaram Varna SvaraJati, Tala Sangraham / (‘Compendium of rhythmic theory’),
MangalaIsai Mannargal /
(‘The kings of ritual music’), Marabu Tanda Manikkangal / (‘Women
who gave the gift of tradition’), and
MarabuValiPerasarangal
50th Milestone: A Feminine Critique
Sunil Kothari Bharatanatyam, New Directions in Indian
Dance, Damaru.
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