Sattriya Classical Dances of India Part 8

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Natya Shasatra _Slokas

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Artist : Shilpi Nandi  "The joy of dance can not be explained or taught. It has to be experienced."  Following are the first few slokas of Natya Shastra. Pranamya Shirasa Devou Pithamaha Maheswarou Natyashastram Pravaksyami  Brahamanaya Duthahrutham     I bow my head to Pitamaha (Brahma – the creator) and Maheswara(Lord Siva – the creator of dance) and reveal the science of dance, drama and music (Natyasastra) as it was taught to me  by Lord Brahma. (Bharata Muni states) Devadanaam Shirasthasthu  Gurunamasya samsthithaha  Vakshasthaschaiva vipranaam   Sheshethwa niyamo bhaved     I seek blesssings and offer prayers( with Anjali hasta ) hands placed above the head for the Gods, at the forehead for the Guru’s, in front of the chest for all the elders and for all others there is no special rules. This is the basic rule for all the Indian classical dance forms of India and is commonly followed in the entire...
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Hasta Mudra (Hand Gestures) Part 3 - Deva Hasta

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Deva Mudras are an integral part of learning Indian Classical dance. These mudras are taught at a very early age to the students in order to achieve fluency. Abhinayadarpana talks about deva hastas. These hastas are not only used in depicting Gods and Goddessess during a play or dance, it is also used for sculptures of these deities. Natyashastra talks about how to decorate the stage.  Bharata also talks about which corner/ side of stage belongs to which God. This concept is extensively used in Vastu Shastra and Agama Shastra. These are called  Deva Hastas and AshtaDikpal Hastas.    Sl No. Deity Right Left 1. Bhrama Hamsasya (Chest Level) Chaturam (Facing Upward, chest level) 2. Vishnu Tripataka at waist level Tripataka at waist level 3. Shiva Tripataka (at the side of the ear) Simhamukham ((at the side of the e...
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Hasta Mudra (Hand Gestures) Part 1 Asamyukta Mudra

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                                 Hand gestures in dance is called Mudra. These are also known as Hasta or Hasta Mudra.  Mudra or these hand gestures are the alphabets of dance. each and every mudra denotes specific meaning. With proper usage of these mudra one can narrate stories. Now with two hands there are two types of hand gestures. They are  ---  Asamyukta Mudra and Samyukta Mudra Asamyukta Mudra   : These are the one hand gestures. When the mudra is performed with only one hand, its called Asamyukta Mudra. There are 28 Asamyukta hasta as per Natya Shastra. These can further be divided into 3 broad groups. they are illustrated below. Pataka : This is the first Asamyukta hasta. All the four fingers (except the thumb) are stretched and placed straight together. The thumb is bent. Pataka is used for showing Flag, Blade, Sword, Blessing, Road etc. Tripitaka : While do...
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