Mãrgi and Desi

The Nãtya Shãstra divides dance into various categories . On one hand we have the clasical dance
forms such as BharatNatyam, Kathakali , Kathak and so on and on the other hand we have dances
like garbã , bhãngrã , chãu and so on. Although these are all dances, they fall into two distinct
categories , that is : Mãrgi (Classical) and Desi (Folk or Regional).

Mãrgi

All the dances that are classical and have specific stylised movements based on the tenets given
by Bharat Muni in the Nãtya Shãstra fall in the Mãrgi category. They have a specifically designed
and well thought repertoire that is carried out as a tradition. Special training is required to
master these dance forms. The thematic content of the songs is mostly religious and hence
oriented towards God.
Egs: BharatNatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kuchipudi and Manipuri

Marga Kriyas:

Nissabda Kriyas : - Avapa (lift hand and fold fingers) Vikshepa (unfold fingers), Nishkrama ( move
arm to right ) Pravesa ( bring arm down anti clockwise) Sashabda Kriyas - Dhruva (snap finger),
Samya (strike right hand with left hand ) Taala (strike left with right hand) Sannipate (clap with 2
hands).

Desi

Dances falling in the Desi category are more regional and folkish in nature. They are oriented more
towards the people and are popular. They are done majorly to entertain and celebrate and have
little or no religious connotation. These folk dances are done in groups during special festivals ,
occassions such as marriage , harvesting seasons or fairs. The steps are generalised and simple and
require no special training. Everybody can participate. Every region or tribe has their own folk
dance.
Egs: Bhangra, Garba, Gidda, Chau, Rajasthani dance, etc

Desi Kriyas:

Nissabda - Sarpini (arm moves to left), krushya (arm moves to right) Patakam (lift right arm),
Patita (put down right arm) Visarjita (wave), Vikshipta (close fingers), Dhruvaka (snap fingers
without sound ) Padmini (bring arm down with palms stretched out), Sasabda - Beat for Drutam ,
Laghu and Anudrutam.
Arunagirinathar in his Tirupugazh in Bhuta Vetala vaguppu mentions the 5 Margi talas as having
emanated from the 5 faces of Siva.
The Sangita Ratnakara mentions the 5 Margi talas as well as 120 Desi talas like Saraswati tala ,
Gouri tala , Nissanka tala etc.

DISTINCTION IN MARGI AND DESI KRIYAS

The distinction between Margi and Desi talas disappeared when the Suladi Sapta talas come into
vogue. The earlier tala systems included the 108 tala system, the Navasandhi tala which were used
for the 9 directions in religious rituals and talas in the Tamil tradition mentioned in works like Tala
Samuthirtham, and Bharata Sastiram. The Margi talas used the angas Laghu, Guru and Plutam. In
the Suladi sapta talas the angas used are Anudrutam , Drutam and Laghu. The old Desi talas like
Ara Jampa and Erukula Jampa figured in Yaksha gana. In the present day Tala system , there is no
classification such as Desi and Margi.
Marga and Desi in the sphere of Prabandhas
Prabandha was the name for all compositions in the classical style in ancient music. The Prabandha
evolved from the Gitis or short songs. In the Natya Sastra 4 Gitis are mentioned - Magadhi ,
Ardha Magadhi, Sambhavita and Prithula. The Prabandhas evolved from these Gitis. By about the
4th C the various types of Margi music, Margi Ragas, Margi talas, and Margi Prabandhas became
slowly extinct. Margi music was too rigid and serious and thus did not enjoy much popularity. The
prabandhas of the margi type were in use only in Ritual worship as in vedic Saman recitation and in
some hymns and other sacred musical forms used specifically for temple ritualistic worship which
can be found even now in the form of Suprabhatam in some temples. Some Bhagavata melas done
during temple festivals also use the Margi Prabandhas. Since even in the Brhaddesi there is only a
mention of 49 types of Desi Prabandhas, we can guess that the Margi type was not popularly
known. The Lakshana Geetas that figure in the Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarsini and the
Moorchanakara Mela Gitas can be classed as Margi music These forms are not meant for
enjoyment of aesthetic values , but are composed to preserve the grammar. They are not
attractive enough to be sung by people at large. The Gita Govinda is the last Prabhanda available
with Raga and tala. The Margi type of Prabandha existed in a minor way in the form of the
Lakshana Gitas and some other types of Prabandha because they were useful in preserving the
grammar and other rules of various subjects. We must remember that in an age when there was no
print, the only way a subject could be memorized was by putting information in a verse form and
setting it to music. Subjects like astrology, maths and Ayurveda were preserved in verse and
either chanted or sung. These were a type of Margi Prabandha . Even as late as the 17th C ,
Venkatamakhi composed Lakshana gitas along with his father Govinda Dikshitar. In the early 18th
C, Shahji Maharaj of Tanjore composed a raga-tala-malika Suladi with 7 sections in the order of
the Suladi Sapta talas in the Gaulantya Ragas. Later in the 19th c we have the 72 Melakarta
Ragamalika composed by Maha Vaidyanatha Sivan which is also primarily meant as a grammar of
music. The Sangraha Choodamani of Govindacharya gives Lakshana Gitas for all the 72 Melakartas.
These are in 3 sections - the Sutra Khanda, the Upanga Khanda and the Bhasanga Khanda. The
first section gives the Swarams, the Chakra and the placement of the Mela within the Chakra .
The next 2 sections give the Upanga and the Bhasanga ragas derived from it.

The Desi Prabandhas were quite popular till the 15th C after which the kriti form discovered by
Annamacharya and later established by Purandaradasa displaced the Prabandha form. The
Prabandha was found too restrictive by the 18th C composers and Tygaraja did a great service to
classical music by developing the more elastic kriti form. The Musical forms that are popular now
like the Varnam, Kriti , Padam, Javali, Tillana etc all belong to the Desi type. Though they are
bound by rules, the main aim of these musical forms is to give artistic pleasure and to express the
beauties of raga and rhythm. Desi music has always been geared to Jana Ranjakatwa and tries to
give a refined type of enjoynent. Desi music is different to light music and folk music because Desi
music is fully classical. Now the term Desi and Margi are not relevant, because we refer to
classical music and light music which are 2 different types of music. The Margi music of earlier
days has become so outdated that it is not considered as part of music. The big divisions now are
the Classical, the Light and Film music. The earlier classification is not applicable any more in
today's music.
 ABHINAYA as LOKADHARMI AND NATYADHARMI
Abhinaya is an Indian art form, which is a medium of “carrying” the dramatic text to the
spectator in a meaningful way. It covers all histrionic activity. It includes the physical, verbal,
mental and decorative as well. Traditionally, Indian theatre classifies abhinaya as fourfold i.e.
angika or physical, vacika or verbal, sattvika or systematized guidelines on abhinaya. They
emphasize that actors must convey the bhavas, emotive states to others by outward expression
called anubhavas. Vibbavas i.e. the determinants and stimulants of bhavas can also get across
through citrabhinaya i.e. “pictured abhinaya”. In this actors can ‘picture’ to the audience the
persons and objects with reference to which the emotive states are evoked.

In traditional Indian theatre the visual aspect of performance created by actors’ bodies occupies
a prominent place. Hence the Natyasastra offers a codification of body language based on
movements of different limbs and sign language based on their usage and applicability. The
abhinaya is called anhika literally means pertaining to physical parts. Gestures and movements are
categorized as mukhaja of facial, sarira or bodily and ceshtakrita of whole organism. All of these
are related respectively to the anatomical classification of upanga i.e. minor physical parts, anga or
major physical parts and sakha literally means ‘branch’ i.e. the arms and legs. The six major angas
comprise the head, arms, chest, sides, waist and legs. Upangas include the eyes, eyebrows, nose,
lower lip, cheeks, and chin. Although they are parts of the head and that is why called as the
vehicles of mukhaja. The Natyashastra describes these facial expressions as the very basic bhava.
It codifies movements of the head together with the upangas, in an amazingly elaborate way.

Hand gestures that is also known as abhinayahastas, are extremely useful in developing a complete
semiology. The literal meaning of hastas is hand. The semiology includes their common name, mudra
or “sign”. Therefore, the Natyashastra offers a detailed account of single as well as combined
hand gestures and their implementation in angikabhinaya, to signify specific objects and the
meaning of a work. In contrast, nrittahastas are hand postures used primarily in pure dance
contexts. Movements of the chest, sides, belly, waist, thighs, shanks and feet have also been
codified in the same measure. Caris i.e. motions below the hips are given an important place in
order to represent walking, or ground motion i.e. bhumicari as well as “aerial” motion i.e. akasacan.
Cari refers to the movement of one foot, accompanied by the shank, thigh and waist. When both
feet move together, it is termed as karana. A combination of three karanas is called khanda and
three khandas combined make up a mandala. Single caris related to others form vyayama or the
system of exercise used in martial arts. The Natyasastra defines a numbr of gatis in order to
impart the varied walks of superior, middle-class and inferior male as well as female characters
such as the hero, heroine, clown, the old, the young and the insane. It also describes a number of
asanas or sitting postures. The general notion of performatory units of movements emerges from
body control in sitting, standing and reclining positions. Asanas, sthankas and mandalas form the
basic static stylized positions from which a variety of possibilities arise.
The principles of recitation and rendering of dialogue include usage of specific musical notes for
particular moods or sentiments. It also includes identification of the three voice registers in the
chest, throat and head and the four accents or pitches of udatta or high ,anudatta or low, svarita
or circumflex and kampita or quivering. Illuminating treatment is given to six alamkaras or
ornaments of delivery. These three can be mentioned as high or low, excited or grave and fast or
slow. These three takes into account the voice in terms of degree, raising or lowering it on the on
hand i.e. a spatial attribute and in terms of speed on the other i.e. the temporal aspect. Six angas
or “physical parts” further investigate the voice in its aspects of inner body space and temporal
sequentially. Viccheda is the suspension withing a subdivision of a given syntactical unit.Visarga is
the stop at the completion of sentence. Arpana is a rendering in a rich, refined, and resounding
voice as if filling the entire space. Anubandha is non-stop rendering without pausing for
breath.Dipana is the heightening of the voice, starting with the lowest register and gradually
rising to the higher levels, whereas prasamana is just the opposite. Thus angas explore the use of
voice from other angels of vocal or verbal continuity and silence, gradual thickening of the voice
and thinning it down. Bharata discusses another aspect as well, intonation, developed further by
Abhinavagupta. The chapter concludes with references to threefold rhythm and tempo as well as
the significance of pauses and stops.

Sattvika, or communication through sattva i.e. “essence” of the mind is considered to be the soul
of abhinaya as in the Natshastra. Delineation of the sthayi i.e. stable or permanent bhava with
corresponding vibbavas, anubhavas and vyabhicari i.e. fleeting bhavas is further strengthened by
the prtyayal and enactment of sattvikabhavas i.e. pure involuntary impulses. These have corporeal
as well as psychic aspects and cannot be performed without purity and concentration of mind.
Therefore, sattvikaabhinaya may be viewed in terms of emotional acting on the one hand and on
the other, in terms of the sattvikabhavas.

The general approach to performance is called samnayabhinaya, explained by Abhinavagupta

through a remarkable image comparing the performer to a perfumer. The latter, having bought
sweet-smelling substances from a merchant, concocts them into a homogenous mixture that makes
a wonderful perfume. In the same way a performer combines his acquired skills, blending all the
elements learnt to give an excellent and balanced performance. The image underlines the process
in which an artist freely creates according to his life experience of people, acquisition of the
shashtric tradition and inner choice i.e. adhyatma out of the various norms laid down for
communicating a particular emotion or situation. It also emphasizes the freedom of the artist’s
innovations and experimentations underlying his judgement in selecting conventional techniques on
the one hand and creating ever-fresh methods on the other.

The treatment of samanya i.e. common abhinaya, compared to the specific ways of using limbs or
voice forms the very foundation of Sanskrit theatre. It discusses vakya or vocal rendering of the
theatrical text, suca or physicalization indicating the meaning of words to come, anukra or
“sprouting” imaginative elaborations of the bhava one after another to unfold the levels of textual
meaning. It also deals with vacika elements like alapa i.e. conversing, pralapa i.e. pratting and vilapa
or crying as very common items of verbal behaviour.Samanyabhinaya constructs syntax for acting
based on these angika and vacika elements, together with such involuntary motive sattvika
manifestations as romanca, vaivarnya, vepathu, and the alamkaras of female grace like bhava, hava
and hela. Sattvika can be described on the basis of the most pervasive sentiment, love as a model
for understanding other emotive states too.

In conclusion, reference must be made to the two practices of representation in traditional Indian
performance. These are natyadharmi i.e. conventional and stylized and lokadharmi i.e. less
conventional based on ordinary life. However, the latter should not be confused with naturalistic
or realistic modes of modern theatre. Even lokadharmi maintains a certain degree of
stylization.Abhinaya is basically a suggestive mode of representation, which may be defined more
in terms of conveying the bhava than ‘acting’. Its doctrines and continuity remain vibrantly present
in Indian traditional forms, whether theatre or dance, classical or folk.
 DASHARUPAKA DRAMATURGY
Dramaturgy is the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of
drama on the stage. The word Dramaturgy was coined by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Dramaturgy is
a distinct practice separate from play writing and directing, although a single individual may
perform any combination of the three.[1] Some dramatists combine writing and dramaturgy when
creating a drama. Others work with a specialist, called a dramaturg, to adapt a work for the stage.
Dramaturgy may also be defined, more broadly, as shaping a story into a form that may be acted.
Dramaturgy gives the work or the performance a structure.
Dramaturgy is a comprehensive exploration of the context in which the play resides. The
dramaturg is the resident expert on the physical, social, political, and economic milieus in which the
action takes place, the psychological underpinnings of the characters, the various metaphorical
expressions in the play of thematic concerns; as well as on the technical consideration of the play
as a piece of writing: structure, rhythm, flow, even individual word choices.[4]
Institutional dramaturgs may participate in many phases of play production including casting of the
play, offering inhouse criticism of productions-in-progress, and informing the director, the cast
and the audience about a play’s history and its current importance. In America, this type of
dramaturgy is sometimes known as Production Dramaturgy.[5] Institutional or Production
dramaturgs may make files of materials about a play's history or social context, prepare program
notes, lead post-production discussions, or write study guides for schools and groups. These
actions can assist a director in integrating textual and acting criticism, performance theory, and
historical research into a production before it opens.[6]
CHAPTER I

TEN TYPES OF RUPAKAS

India, can rightly, boast of a theatrical tradition going back to atleast 3000 years. The
NatyaSgstra of Bharata

(I1 century BC) is admitted by the greatest work produced in India of theatre. But N.S. itself is a
combination of various traditions prevalent at that time. The pre-Bharatan theatre had a history
going backto several centuries. The description of various visual forms in the J2taka stories , We
first exam the nature of ten riipakas. Nataka, Prakarana, Anka, Vyayoga, BhSna Samavakira, Vithi,
Prahasana, Dima andihamrga are the ten rupakas.

NATAKA

Nataka is the most important dpaka described by Bharatal. It is the most perfect one among the
riipakas. The story of drama should be taken from ltihssa or Purana. In Sihityadarpana, Visvanatha
says it is to be selected from mythological or historical records along. In Dasarfipaka it is stated
that the story of drama may also be partly traditional and partly created by the author. The hero
of Nitaka should be an ideal person and must be a King or a God. All the
sentiments,especiallyS~gEira or Vira should find expression in a Nataka. The plot should be simple.
In a Nataka the five sandhi-s namely Mukha, Pratimukha, Garbha, AvamarSa and Nirvahana are use
to develope the story. The five elements of plot or the Artaprakrti-s namely Bija, Bindu, Pat2ka,
Prakari and Karya are also included in it. Bharata does not seem to contribute to the view of the
three unities- of time , ac- tion, emotion- in a drama as in the Greektradition. Hence he does not
give any time limit for a N5taka. But the dura- tion of an act should not exceed one day. But
Sahityadarpana maintains that an act may contain inci- dents of a few days, or even one years when
the action cannot be finished within this time The important portions may be simply narrated or it
may be supposed to pass between the acts. They may be communicated to the au- 4 dience by some
unimportant characters. On the stage there should be no crowd and only four or five characters
should be there at one time. Eating and murder are strictly prohibited on the stage. It should
contain five to ten acts. In dramaturgical works, some contrivances called Arthopaksepakas are
described for introducing minor in- cidents which are not directly connected with the main plot.
Abhijfi3na ~2kuntala can be cited as typical example satisfying the conditions laid down for
Nataka types of Rii~aka.

PRAKARANA

The second type of rGpaka is Prakarana. It is similar to Nataka in number of acts and in number of
Sandhis. But it differs from Ngtaka in a few points 2. Its plot is the poets own creation. The hero
should be a respectable person like a minister or a Brahmin or a merchant. The hero should be one
self-controlled and Calm Dhirakinta. The hero~ne may be a house wife or a courtesan. Mrccakatika
and Malatimadhava are examples of Prakarana .The Anka is also called Utsrstikiinka. In this the
story should be well-known and it is to be developed by means of imagination 3. The main sentiment
should be Karuna. This is considered to be a one act play. It con-tains only two Sandhis, the mukha
and Nirvahana. It contains lamentation of women .The Vyayoga is of Military action with
heroicchar- acters from the epics. It is restricted to one act. Its plot is taken from tradition. It
should contain only one incident which is completed during a day. Only a few women characters
should be there. The sentiment of love is excluded from it. It never admits comic scenes. This
type of RiTpaka contains only the three sandhis- Mukha, Pratimukha and Nirvahana. KaiSiki wti is
excluded from it. Madhyama Vyayoga, ascribed to Bh5sa is a fine example to this type of RGpaka.
This is another type of Riipaka which according to N.S 5,have been enacted in the heaven. It has
no intro- ductory scene. Samavaksra should have some mytho- logical theme and it is religious in
content. It should be in three acts, each of which should have seperate theme. The first act
should contain a story which happens in about nine hours, the second three and a half, and thethird
one hour and a half. Samavakiira deals with the fight between Gods and demons, mortals also are
introduced. Twelve heros will be there. It should include verses having vedic metres like Usnik and
Giiyatri. Srng3ra can be introduced in it but vira should be the predominent rasa. The three kinds
of deception should be inserted, namely, natural su- pernatural and that done by enemies. Three
kinds of ex- 6 citement also should be there, namely that resulting from the burning of a city,
from a battle and storm, wildfire and the like. And three kinds of ~mg2ra also should be in-
cluded, namely Dharmai~giira, Artha ~rng~ra and Kamasrngara. Samavakara has four Sandhi-s,
Mukha, Pratimukha, Garbha and Nirvahana. DaSariipaka and Sahityadarpana gives Samudramadhana
as the example of Samavakara. The work is not available to us.
VITHI

As the name suggests Vithi might have been form performed in the streets. It is something similar
to Bhgua, written in a gay style. It is a one act play and may be performed by one actor or
two.There is no restriction on the kinds of character represented nor on the types of story. This
type of RGpaka have thirteen angas namely, Utghatyaka, Avalagita, Avaspandita, NBlika,
AsalpralSpa, Vakkeli, Prapanca, Mrdava, Abhibala, Cchala, Trigada, VyavahZra and Ganda. In this
play the two Sandhis Mukha and Nirvahana are to be employed. Bharativflti also em- ployed in it.
The five elements of the plot or the ArthapraFis namely, Bija, Bindu,Pataka,Prakari and kerya are
also included in it

PRAHASANA

The Prahasana7 is a farcial or comic satire in one or two acts. The theme is mostly erotic and
invented by the author. Sensuality and hypocricy are the subjects in it. 7 Prahasana have some
causticity and humour. It may have any number of actors . Accordingly to the defenitions of
dramaturgists Prahasana is a Ripaka in one ortwo acts, simply intended to provoke laughter. The
story should be fictitious and the hero may be an ascetic, a brahmin, a king or a rogue. The rest of
the characters are courtiers, servants, beggars, villans, prostitutes and the 1ike.The in- ferior
persons are to speak low prays. Prahasana inlcudes two sandhi-s, Mukha and Nirvahana. It includes
Bharatiqtti also. Bhagavadajjukiya and Mattavilssa are examples of prahasana type of Rupaka.

DIMA
It is a fantastical piece of dramatic performances. Its subject must be well known and taken from
mythology or from popular legends. Sixteen heros can be included in a Dima8. They should be Gods,
Semi-Gods, Gandha~as, Yaksas, Raksasas, Serpents, BhlRas, Pretas, PiSacas and the like. Except
the sentiments of Smgara and Hasya, all sentiments may be delineated. But the principal senti-
ments should be Raudra, Vira and Adbhuta, by magic, combat, wrath, excitement and by the
eclipses of the sun and moon. It has lour acts. In Dima, there.is no Viskambhaka and Pravesaka.
Four Sandhis Mukha,Pratimukha, Garbha and Niwahana are included in this type of RGpaka The two
Vrttis Satvati and Arabhati are employed in it. Sghityadarpana and DaSarGpaka pointout
Tripuradahana as an example of Dima. - Ihamrgag is another kind of Rapaka in four acts. In it the
hero and the villain may be either a human being or a devine one. The heroine may be a Goddess.
The plot is a partly taken from the legends and partly invented. It de- scribes a hero tries to
obtain a divine woman against her will by abduction or some other device. ihgmrga have employed
three Sandhis - Mukha, Pratimukha and Nirvahana. KaiSiki Vrtti also excluded from this type of
riipaka. BhSna is one among the ten types recognised by Bharatal0. It is a monologue in one act by
a single char- acter. The word is derived from the root 'Bhan' which means 'to speak'. According
to Dhanika the predomi- nance of Bharativrtti in it makes the name Bhsna - Si3 bharativrtti
Pradhanatvad bhanah. Vidysnatha supports the view of the Dhanika when he qualifies it as
bhi3rativrtti- bhiiyistham. . . Ramacandra and Gunacandra derive the term from 'bhan' and
interpret it as bhanyate iti bhgnah. The fact that it is almost a soliloquy confirms its origin from
the root 'bhan'.
DEFINITION OF BHANA

Bhana is defined as a one act play of several inci- dents presented on the stage by a roguish rake
called the Vita. Bh%na is of two types. In the first, the dhiirtavita enumerates his own licentious
experience and in the sec- 9 ond, he enumerates the experience of other persons. The whole play
is presented throgh the dramatic technique called AkaSabhSsita with proper action and gestures.
It consists of the diverse conditions of the common people. According to A.G the single character
on the stage presents to the audience the other characters by looking upon the sky and making
conversation with the imaginary persons and reporting it to the on-lookers. Abhinavagupta again
explained that BhSna will serve as a moral lesson to the licentious Bhrahmins, princes and others in
the higher strata of the society.
 LOKADHARMI
According to Bharata, BhSna is a drama depends on natural behaviour in its characters and
presence of s~mple acting the popular usages and activities of men and women of different types
with naturalistic appeal, that is called Lokadharmi. Bharata lays stress on Lokadharmi because it
gives maximum similarity of a play to the world. The Natya is based on the nature of people. The
very soul of Lokadharmi is naturalistic appeal and its every aspects suits to the world17.

NATYADHARMI
If the natural behaviour of the people is stylised and utilised in a play on the basis ofthe
dramaturgical theories is called Ngtyadharmi. Bhanas present Lokhadharmi in matters like cus-
toms and states of people and the dealing of the courte- sans and bawds. BhZnas also followwhat
has been accu- mulated as conventional by Bharata. Bhina being per- formed by a single character
on the stage and present the whole play through the technique of AkS.abh5,sita. Vita follows the
movements of limbs and gestures following the established theories . The dress, make-up and
other ac- cessories of the Vita are also conventional. BhZnas also presents the sorrows and joys of
the human nature. The concept of LZsy5ngas in a Bhana is also conventional. The prescriptions of
'JanSntika' also belongs to Natyadharmi. The above convention seen in the BhSna 2 Q make it a
Natyadharmi play among DaSampakas.
THE PLOT OF BHANA

The plot is divided into three types- Prakhyata, Utpadya and misra. The Prakhyata is that taken
from the ItihSsas and PurGnas. In the UtpHdya type, the plot is a product of the poet's own
imagination. If the plot centres round both divine and human characters and is partly known and
partly imagined, it is known as of the MiSra type. In the Prakhyiita type the author does not
possess freedom because he has to follow the society which is famous among the people. But in
Utpadya type the author has complete freedom in expressing his own ideas. Bharata does not
prescribe any particular plot for a BhSna. Dhanaiijaya c:onsiders an imaginary plot . Visvanstha
recommends the imaginary type of plot of a Bhana. The main object ol'Bh21nas is to ridicule and
satirise certain aspects of the contemporary society and describe certain classes of people in an
interesting manner. The theme of Bh3nas is more serious with occasional touches of humorous
situations from which there is much possibility of knowing about the conditions of life, how people
en- joyed life, how people suffered due to several evils, their amusements and different aspects
of their culture.

HERO - THE VITA

Bharata lays down that Bhgpa should be "dhCrtavitasamprayojyan i.e. having the characters of
rogues and voluptuous people. Such a person need not 21 be the 'hero' in the sophisticated sense.
He is only a character in the play. The heroship is very narturally transfered, to him in the later
BhZinas. The qualifications that are essential for a hero are: generosity, grandeur, high birth,
prudence, valour and piety. All these qualities make him a perfect hero. Hut in BhBna, the who has
contacts with women of low morals of all ranks including courtesans. More or less he is a master of
their professior~. He encourages the youngsters into the pro- fession and directs them in various
modes of Coquittish life. He is welll versed in the erotic science and speaks in sanskrit. He is a
jovial person who does not care much for the marital bonds but, conclemns them. He is very clever
arid capable of see the negative and positive sides of any arguments. The Vita is one who spent all
his riches for a licentious life. He is respected by the courtesans for his excellences. He is a
master in all arts. According to Dhanaiijaya the Vi!a is one who is proficient in a single branch of
learning. Dhanika accepts the Vita as a man of profound knowledge in any one of the fine arts. The
Vit,a plays his role in dramatic and'non-dra- matic literature. Hls role is not magnificiant in the
Natakas . . and Prakaranas. He acts as an assistant to the Nayaka. In the Nataka he acts iaS a
comic character. The Mrccakatika introduces two vitas of different types, one assisting ~ak~ra
and another attending Vasantasena. The second vita appears in Act V as an attendant escorting
Vasantasena on her way to her lover.

22 Nagananda is a drunkard seeking Navamalika In the BhSnas the Vita is in all his glory. He is
ready to protect his friends, when they are introuble. The courtesans seeks his help during their
love quarrel. Bharata does not seem to emphasis the role of Vita as the hero of a Bhsna. It seems
that Bharata includes the Vita of a Nitaka in the cla~ss of low characters. The Vita appearing in
the rupakas except the BhZna can be admit- ted as an inferior character. In the BhSna the Vita is
the only character that appears on the stage. The Vita of the BhSna should not be an inferior
character. The vita teaches the practical offence of love making to the courtesans and pleasure
seekers. Often he acts as a teacher and advicer.

THE MAIN PURPOSE OF VITA

The whole plot of the Bhina revolves round the Vita, the Chief character. He introduces all other
characters. He takes up the responsibility of conducting the play to the end. His main purpose is to
unite the lovers. He accom- plishes this aim towards the end of the day. He is counted as the chief
member of the courtesans colony. He encourages the courtesan girls in their profession. He is a
true friend of lovers. He loves them, lives for them saves thenn from seperation and blesses them
with an endless happy union. He is noble and it is due to his nobility that all the other characters
addressed him as 'Bhava'.

THE SENI'IMENI' OF BHANA

According to Bharata and Dhananjaya the main sen- timent of a Bhana could be SrngHra and vira.
This view is supported by later dramaturgists. A study of the BhHnas shows that most of them
have 6rngara as the main senti- ment. As the Bhana is a popular play intended for depict- ing the
life of courtesans, their passions, 5rngira become the main sentiment. Bhina is a type where in
aesthetics and erotics are seperately dealt in detail unlike othertypes of dramas.

HEROINE: - I'HE COURTESAN

The main plot of BhSna is the love affair of a young courtesan, naturally the sentiment ofthe play
will be 5.mgZira In Bhana, the courtesans art? generally treated as the hero- ine. Her craze for a
paramour and the final union with him by the help of the Vita are generally associated with the
main theme of a Bhana. Several other courtesans of vari- ous nature are depicted in an interesting
manner. The cour- tesans are crooked and only interested in making money. Her life is full of
pretentions for money. The courte- sans are helped in their profession by her mother. The bawd
squeeze money from her lovers. The easy mean to gain the cornpany of a courtesan is to please her
greedy motherwith payment. THE ENACTMENT OF BHANA

Regarding the enact8ment.of the BhZina there is no other evidence available except that given by
the authors themselves in the prologues. Each and every monologue is said to have been enacted on
some occasion of festi- vals of various deities. Owing to the excessive erotic nature of these
BhZinas it is doubtful whether there vvas the public enactment of the Bhsnas. One thing can
del'enitely be said in this connec- tion that these specimens attracted many who enjoyed them as
the Sravyak5vyas.. They became so popularthat some of these BhZinas were copied down by many
in order to have their own copy to be read in privacy . It is a narrative aidecl by conversations with
unseen characters. So the appeal of its sentiment can only be that of a sravyakavya.
 VRITTI AND PRAVRITTI

Vritti literally means style and characteristic.

Vritti is the ‘mother of theatre’ i.e. vrittayo natyamatarah, acc to Natyashastra, chapter 13. In
Sanskrit aesthetics, there are three dimensions of human activity and behavior. These are verbal,
physical, mental and emotional. When such acts or behavior take place passionately, with
absorption or involvement, they spontaneously become heightened and intense. It is caused by
experience of joy, pain o suffering, or caused by sensitivity of the artist and the connoisseur of
art. The verbal, physical, mental and emotional acts in daily lives cannot be termed as rasa
experience. Surcharged with artistic absorpance and creative process, they get transformed into
vrittis, in theatre as well as other art forms.

The individual predominance of emotions varies from person to person,as well as in the
characteristic behavior of people, from region to region. Thus vrittis become important in
delineating a character, a person, or a state of being.

Vrittis can be classified into 4 types

The names can be mentioned as bharati- outspoken, sattvati-internal i.e. essence, kaisiki – soft and
graceful, arabhati- bold and energetic. They correspond to three intrinsic channels of abhinaya
namely, vachika, sattvika and angika. As corporeal actions are visible, they are more concrete,
their tenderness or vigorousness may be clearly experienced. Thus they have been diffrenciated
into two, kaisiki and arabhati. The former is associated with feminine behaviuor, for tenderness is
natural and predominant in women, whereas forceful behavious is natural in the expressions of
men. This does not mean that males lack graceful or delicate aspects and that energy is always
missing in women.

These are very general modes of human action and play according to the demands of the rasa
delineatd. In theatre, the vrittis are artistically improvised, the creative representation of actions
or behavior. The literary notion of style also emerges from the theatrical notion of Vritti. There
ate two categories of performance namely sukumara or tender and aviddha or vigorous. Plays full
of actions like war battle wonder and magic with few female charaters and feautirng sattvati and
arabhatti vrittis, constitue the aviddha. The dima, samavakara, vyayoga and ihamriga dramatic
forms belong to this category, whereas the nataka, bhana, prakarana, vithi, utsrishtikatnka and
natika belong to sukumara performance. Aviddha specially suits plays in which demons occur in
plenty, whereas sukumara is appropriate for drama where human comprise the majority.

PRAVRITTI
Pravritti in Natyashastra refers to specific human behavior varying from region to region. It
divides india into four broad zones to facilitate the understanding of them, so that the Vritti may
find the proper expression through the required potryal in text as well as performance. There are
four types of pravrittis namely, dakshinatya- southern, Avanti-western, audragamadhi- eastern
and pancala madhyama-northern and north western. In each, behavior varies due to predominance
of different vrittis, requiring careful study by the playwright and actor so that description and
performance achieve the accurate representation.

Pravrittis give the detailed description regarding dress type, languages, manners and customs
followed and professions engaged in the different regions of the land. Pravritti is the sense of
Nivendana. The different types of Pravritti have certain common characteristics prominently. But,
since the people hail from different regions, the classification is thus provided. The Dakshinatya
Pravritti deals with souther people having many kinds of dance styles, songs and musical
instruments. They employ the kaisiki Vritti mostly and cultivate efficient gestures. Countries in
and around the mountains of Mehaya,Sahay,Mekala and Kalapaijara are known as Dakshinapatha. All
the areas between southern sea adopt the Dakshinatya Pravritti i.e. KOsala, Yavana, Khasa,
Dramida Andhra, Maharasthra, Venna and Vanivasika. The Avanti Pravritti is aspoted by Vidisa,
Saurashtra, Malava,Sindhu,Sauvira,Anarta,Arbudeyaka,Dasarna, Traipura and Martikavata. The
dramatic performances by these inhabitants are mainly concerned with sattvati and kaisiki styles.
The easter areas comprise of Anga, Vanga,
Kaling,Vatsa,Odhra,Magadha,Pundra,Nepala,Antargira,Bahirgira,Plavangama,Malada,
Mallavataka,Bramhmottara,Bhargava,Margava,Prajyotisa take the local usage known as Audhra
Magadhi. The same is the case with the other areas mentioned in the puranas as falling within the
eastern track and audhra-magadhi Pravritti is to be employed in their productions too. The
Pancala-Madhyama Pravritti belong to regions including
Pancala,Surasena<hastinapura,Valhika,Sakala,Madra and Usmara contiguous to either the Himalayas
or the northern banks of river Ganges. This Pravritti goes in with Sattvati and Arabhatti vrittis
mostly.

Pravrittis as laid down before for different regions should be adopted by experts while sponsoring
dramatic performances.

Origin of Dance
The Gods & Godesses pleaded Lord Brahma to create another veda which would be simple for the
common man to understand. It is believed that considering this request Lord Brahma created
the Panchamaveda, Fifth veda,Natyaveda, an essence of the other four vedas. It is believed that
he has taken pathya (words) form the Rigveda, abhinaya (gesture) from the Yajurveda, geet (music
and chant) from Samaveda and rasa (sentiment and emotional element) from Atharvaveda to form
the fifth veda, Natyaveda.

After creating this natyaveda, Lord Brahma gave the same to sage Bharata and asked him to
popularise this veda on earth. Following the words of Lord Brahma, sage Bharata wrote
Natyashastra or the Science of Dramaturgy, a great, comprehensive work on the science and
technique of Indian drama, dance and music.Bharatanatyam might have got its name from sage
Bharata also.The dancers still follow this work to perform.

There is also another story which says that Godess Parvathi tought this dance form to Usha,
daughter of Banasura, a demon. Usha taught the same to the Gopikas of the city of Dwaraka, Lord
Krishna's birth place. Thus the divine dance form Bharatanatyam was introduced to the mankind.

In Indian mythology,Lord Shiva is considered as the supreme lord of dance. This divine art form is
performed by Lord Shiva & his wife Goddess Parvathi. The Dance performd by Lord Shiva is known
as Tandava, which depicts his violent nature as the distructor of the universe. The tandava
performed with joy is called Ananda Tandava and performed in violent mood is called Rudra
Tandava. There are 7 types of Tandava. Namely Ananda Tandava, Tripura Tandava, Sandhya
Tandava, Samara Tandava, Kaali tandava, Uma Tandava and Gauri Tandava. There are few people
who believa that there are 16 types of Tandava. Tandava has vigourous, brisk movements.The
dance performed by Goddess Parvathi is known as Lasya, in which the movements are gentle,
graceful and sometimes erotic also. Some scholars call Lasya as the feminine version of Tandava.
Lasya has 2 kinds. Jarita Lasya and Yauvaka Lasya.
 MYTHOLOGY OF TANDAVA AND LASYA

Lord Shiva performed various kinds of Tandava Nritya, which had various themes. The Rudra
Tandava depicts the violent aspect of Lord Shiva’s temperament as the destroyer of the universe
at the end of the Kal Yuga.

The Tandava Nritya performed in joy is the Ananda Tandava. As He danced, Nandi the divine bull
played
the drum or the mridangam, and Lord Narada played the Tambura. Lord Vishnu played the
cymbals. For an audience he had the Gods and the Goddesses.

According to popular Hindu mythology, the architect of Heaven, Vishwakarma, created a splendid
theatre in the court of Lord Indra, for the performance of the fine arts. At the request of
Bharata Muni, Lord Brahma created the beautiful celestial nymphs or the Apsara, to perform
certain graceful aspects of dance sequences.

After writing the first chapter of Natya Shastra, Bharata muni, who had trained his sons and
disciples in the art as prescribed in the Natya Veda, and disciples and the groups of the legendary
musicians, or Gandharva and celestial nymphs or Apsara, performed nritta, nritya and natya
before Lord Shiva.
The enhancement of Bharata muni’s knowledge of dance was due to the instructions given to him by
Lord Shiva’s attendants. The know-how for the feminine or lasya style was imparted through His
consort Goddess Parvati, and the tandava style through Tandu, His chief attendant.

Sages spoke of these techniques to their disciples and thus propagated the art to human beings.
Goddess Parvati passed on the knowledge of this divine art to Princess Usha, the daughter of king
Bana. Princess Usha propagated her knowledge of dance to the young milk maidens or gopis of
Dwarka, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The gopis taught it to the women of Saurashtra, who
propagated it to other art-loving women. From thereon it kept spreading everywhere and down the
ages.

Tandava
Tāṇḍava or Tāṇḍava nṛtya, (तततततत, तततततत ततततत) the divine art form, is a dance
performed by Shiva, a Hindu God. According to Hindu mythology, Shiva’s Tandava is a vigorous
dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. While the Rudra
Tandava depicts his violent nature, first as the creator and later as the destroyer of the universe,
even of death itself; the Ananda Tandava depicts him as enjoying. Shiva as Nataraja (lit. "Lord of
dance") is considered the supreme lord of dance.[1]
The Tandava takes its name from Tandu, the attendant of Shiva, who instructed Bharata (author
of the Natya Shastra) in the use of Angaharas andKaranas, modes of the Tandava at Shiva's
order. Some scholars consider that Tandu himself must have been the author of an earlier work on
thedramatic arts, which was incorporated into the Natya Shastra.[2] Indeed, the classical arts of
dance, music and song may derive from the mudras and rituals of Shaiva tradition.

Some of the 108 Karanas of Nataraja at Kadavul Hindu Temple, on Kauai, Hawaii. It is one of the
few complete collections in existence, commissioned by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in the
1980s. Each sculpture is about 12 inches tall.Chidambaram Temple is also known to have a complete
set.

The 32 Angaharas and 108 Karanas are discussed by Bharata in the 4th chapter of the Natya
Shastra, Tandava Lakshanam.[3] Karana is the combination of hand gestures with feet to form a
dance posture. Angahara is composed of seven or more Karanas.[4] 108 karanas included in Tandava
could be employed in the course of dance, fight, and personal combats and in other special
movements like strolling.
The dance is a pictorial allegory of the five principal manifestations of eternal energy:[5]

 'Srishti' (तततततत) - creation, evolution

 'Sthiti' (तततततत) - preservation, support
 'Samhara' (ततततत) - destruction, evolution
 'Tirobhava' (ततततततत) - illusion
 'Anugraha' (ततततततत) - release, emancipation, grace
Thus Tandava symbolizes the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the daily
rhythm of birth and death.
Tandava, as performed in the sacred dance-drama of southern India, has vigorous, brisk
movements. Performed with joy, the dance is called Ananda Tandava. Performed in a violent mood,
the dance is calledRudra Tandava. In the Hindu texts, at least seven types of Tandava are found:
Ananda Tandava, Tripura Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, Samhara Tandava, Kali (Kalika) Tandava, Uma
Tandava and Gauri Tandava.[4]However, some people believe that there are 16 types of Tandava.
"How many various dances of Shiva are known to His worshipers I cannot say. No doubt the root
idea behind all of these dances is more or less one and the same, the manifestation of primal
rhythmic energy. Whatever the origins of Shiva's dance, it became in time the clearest image of
the activity of God which any art or religion can boast of." - Ananda Coomaraswamy[6]
The dance performed by Goddess Parvati in response to Shiva's Tandava is known as Lasya, in
which the movements are gentle, graceful and sometimes erotic. Some scholars consider Lasya to
be the feminine version of Tandava. Lasya has 2 kinds, Jarita Lasya and Yauvaka Lasya.
The Hindu scriptures narrate various occasions when Shiva or other gods have performed the
Tandava. When Sati (first wife of Lord Shiva, who was reborn as Parvati) jumped into the Agni
Kunda (sacrificial fire) in Daksha's Yajna and gave up her life, Shiva is said to have performed the
Rudra Tandava to express his grief and anger. The Shivapradosha stotra says when Shiva
performs the Sandhya Tandava, the other gods
like Brahma,Vishnu, Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Indra play musical instruments and sing Shiva's
praises.[4] Ganesha, the son of Shiva, is depicted as Ashtabhuja tandavsa nritya murtis (Eight
armed form of Ganesha dancing the Tandava) in temple sculptures.[7] The Bhagavata Purana talks
of Krishna dancing his Tandava on the head of the serpentKaliya.[8] According to Jain traditions,
Indra is said to have performed the Tandava in honour of Rishabha (Jain tirthankar) on the
latter's birth.[9]
Laasya Nritya
The dance performed by Goddess Paarvatee is known as Laasya, in which the movements are
gentle, graceful and sometimes erotic also. Some scholars call Laasya as the feminine version of
Taandav. Laasya has 2 kinds. Jaritaa Laasya and Yauvak Laasya.

Lasyanga as Nritta

In the treatises Sangeetratnakara, Nrityadhyay etc., there is a list of Lasyanga-s which are desi .
They list certain points that are like characteristics of the Nritta we follow today.
Laya – When interplay of laya-s with one main laya. Langhit – When the dancer dances off beat to
the percussion instrument. Anganang – Unity of virile and delicate movement.

» Nritta-Tandava and Lasya

Bharata hasn't made the distinction of tandava and lasya according to what males or females do.
Bharata uses the word Lasya in context of Lasyanga-s which are fully interpretative. Where the
heroine who is in love expresses her state of mind and emotions. But in the later treatises
Lasyanga was linked to a female dancer and it was more related to the angika and nritta performed
by a female dancer.
In the Natyasastra the dance taught by Siva's disciple has been termed as Tandava. Abhinava
Gupta states that "Tandavam iti sarvam nrittamucyate". Thus Abhinava Gupta means Tandava and
Nritta are synonymous. He further divides them into Sukumara and Uddhata. He also states that
Sukumara may have some Uddhata element and Uddhata may have some Sukumara element.
Abhinava Gupta has also laid out the seven stages for the development of Nritta. These are –

1. Shuddha Nritta which embraces Karana and Angahara or which only uses gatraviksep.
2. One which interprets the meaning of the song.
3. Nritta which involves following the music- vocal , instrumental and with percussion.
4. Uddhat Nritta or only the virile element.
5. Sukumara Nritta or the delicate element
6. Uddhat misra or where the virile is the primary and the delicate is the secondary element.
7. Sukumar misra where the delicate is the primary element and the virile is the secondary
element.

Saradatanaya states that Nritta is one which is executed by Karana-s and Angahara-s . He doesn't
explicitly state that Tandava and Lasya are a part of Nritta. The Gita which contains Uddhata
Karana, Angahara with the Arabhati vritti is "Tandava". No other treatise tries to include the
vritti-s while explaining the elements of Nritta. He divides the Tandava into Chanda, Ucchanda and
Prachanda. He defines Lasya as the Gita which contains lalit angahara in lalit laya infused with the
Kaishiki vritti. Sarangdeva is very clear as to what Nritta is and what could be its divisions and it's
types. He says Nritta is movements of various parts of the body which is not suggestive of any
particular meaning. He divides this into two elements Tandava and Lasya. He again makes a
threefold division on the basis of its execution .
 1. Vishama - This term embraces all the movements of the acrobats.
2. Vikata - This includes cross dressing as well as imitating the behavior of opposite sex.
3. Laghu - It embraces the execution of Karana-s and Angahara-s.

But it is Nandikeshvara who makes a compact and unique classification that covers all the aspects
of Nritta present in our ancient treatises. He divides it into two -Tandava and Lasya and again
further making a division of these into two -Margi and Deshi Nritta. Under the margi category of
Lasya is Shuddha Lasya. Nandikeshvara doesn't define what is Shuddha Lasya and directly lays
down the deshi types. The deshi type has been classified into five types. These look more like the
popular forms prevalent in those times.

1. Perani - The dancer paints his whole body white, with hairs untied and wearing the dancing
bells on his knees. It has been specifically stated that he should make delicate movements
and therefore it has been included in the Lasya and not Tandava element. Perani has following
steps for its performance.
– Gharghara - This is the performance relating to the sounding of the dancing bells. It
involves the various types of stamping foot movements to sound the dancing bells.
– Vishama Lakshana - This includes the performance of acrobatic movements. Sarangdeva
has also termed as the movements of an acrobat as Vishama.
– Bhavashraya Lakshana - Interpreting the song.
– Kavicar Laksana - Praising the Nayaka in the Geeta.
2. Kundali–Gondali, again a deshi form has been called as Kundali . Where the Perani was
performed by male dancer and Gondali is performed by a female dancer. Gondali seems to be
a much refined form than Perani . In the beginning Dhruva , Salag and Sudaga prabandha-s
 are sung. Then the instruments are played , which is termed as Melapaka and the dancer then
plays an instrument called Trivali . When the dancer doesn't sing or play instruments it has
been termed as Mukagondali.
Where Perani and Gondali mostly performed as solo, there were group presentations also
which have been recorded. Prenkhani and Dandalasya are examples of folk forms

3. Prenkhani - It includes Karan-s, Bhramari-s, Cari-s and such virile steps in a circular form.
They walk on ropes, play with knifes and various arms. People of Kollatika tribe perform this
Nritta . But it is Nandikeshvara who makes a compact and unique classification that covers all
the aspects of Nritta present in our ancient treatises.
4. Dandalasya - It is like the Raas played in Gujarat, where women in groups play with wooden
sticks.

5. Kalashalasya - In Jayamangal tala the Kalas dance is performed which includes 'garudapluta
Karana' and 'edakakridita cari' .

Nandikeshvara next talks about the Karana-s and Cari-s to be used in them . This is again a pointer
to how the karana-s and Angahara-s, were adopted in the desi Nritta forms. Although some
Karana-s mentioned don't seem to exist, example - In Prenkhani the Sankh and the Samotsarita
mandala Cari should be used. In Gondali Narayan karan and Mattali Cari is to be used.
It is the Tandava chapter which Nandikeshvara talks about gives a great deal of information on
how Karana-s and Angahara-s were adopted and set in tala on syllables. In Bharata's Natyasastra
we only find a mention about Angahara-s set according to tryasra and Caturasra tala.

The Tandava element is divided into

 Margi
 Deshi

The Margi consists of seven types of Bhraman-s. Each Bhramana consists of Gati-s, Karana-s,
chari-s. For each gati he has prescribed a separate tala, but no tala has been prescribed for the
Karana-s or Cari-s. Each tala has been prescribed some specific sabda (bol-sor sollu).
Example: The fourth Bhramana, Bhujanga Bhramana begins with Nagabandha hasta, then Abhnaga
taal has been mentioned on which various movements have to be executed. The abhnaga has it's
own words "Tekitathongatha- Tadhikakukinakajhe" .Then comes the Sinhagati with it's own taal
and sab and then ending with the Sinhavikridita Karana.
It is very difficult to derive any specific meaning. But one thing which we can definitely relate is,
like today we follow the interplay ofjati-s and tala-s in any Nritta item, this concept was already
present and even extensive use of shollu-s (which has been called as Shabda Natya) was practiced.
The desi Tandava is nothing but an offshoot of Margi but using desi Karana-s and chari-s and not
those given in the Natyasastra. There could be another classification which could be made on the
basis of the the treatise Nartana Nirnaya.
 1. Anibandha Nritta
2. Nibandha Nritta

Anibandha is the nritta which is not bound by any rules of gati, tala, yati etc.

Nibandha is bound by such rules.

Urupa - Dance consisting of specific yati, tala, laya, sthanaka, cari and hasta is said to be a urupa .
Though we find no trace of Angahara-s in the Nartana Nirnaya , but keeping the same principle in
mind urupa-s have been created. Here each urupa has it's own tala ,laya or yati.
To cite an example – Suddhaneri - which consists of chatusra sthanaka, rasa tala, vilamba laya,
rathacakra cari. There seems to have grown lot of stress on tala, laya, yati. Urupa-s are an open
proof. There is even more complex tala notation which have been termed as Kuvada-s . They seem
to be small items of tala groups. It also specifies whether that Kuvada has to be performed in a
group or a solo performance . Example – Nagabandha Kuvada - Taking up four tala-s with equal
number of matra-s, and having segments, each tala divisible into three equal segments terminating
into laghu . But why is it called a Nagabandha? Because it involves three dancers who continuously
exchange their mutual position in movement thus giving rise to a serpentine pattern.

Nritta as of today

Today also in all the classical dance find the elements of Tandava and Lasya . This particular
concept has been there in vogue. What Anhinava Gupta or Bharata called "Sukumara" eventually
was termed as Lasya in the later treatises. It is because of this that Perani although performed
my a male dancer is categorized under Lasya because he performs sukumar and not a Uddhata
Nritta. We have found that the stress on tala considerably increased , this is very much evident in
the various tala-s mentioned in Bharataarnava. The concept of mixing various tala-s or laya-s and
yati-s set on sollu - or bol-s seems to be consistently present. Thus the seed of the present form
of Nritta was already sowed as is evident from these later treatises

Sangita Ratnakara
The Sangita-Ratnakara of Sharngadeva (the 13th century) is one of the most important
musicological texts from India, which both Hindustani music and Carnatic music regard as a
definitive text.

The text is also known as Saptadhyayi as it is divided into seven chapters. The first six chapters,
Svaragatadhyaya, Ragavivekadhyaya, Prakirnakadhyaya, Prabandhadhyaya, Taladhyaya and
Vadyadhyaya deal with the various aspects of music and musical instruments while the last chapter
Nartanadhyaya deals with dance.

The significant commentaries on the text include the Sangitasudhakara of Simhabhupala (c.1330)
and the Kalanidhi of Kallinatha (c.1430).

This work was written by Śārńgadēva in the end of thirteenth century. The author was attached
to the court of Yādava King Singhaņa, whose capital was Devagiri ( the present Daulatabad, in the
South Maharashtra).

The work is divided into seven chapters covering the aspects Gīta, Vādya and Nŗtta. The seven
chapters are:

1. Svaragatādhyāya
2. Rāgavivekādhyāya
3. Prakīrņakādhyāya
4. Prabandhādhyāya
5. Tālādhyāya
6. Vādyādhyāya
 7. Nartanādhyāya

Chapter 1: Svaragatādhyaya

The Svaragatādhyaya is further divided into eight prakaraņa-s or sections.

Nāda-Sthāna-Śruti-Svara-Jāti-Kula-Daivata-Ŗşi-Chanda-Rasa-prakaraņa

This prakaraņa describes how Nāda arises in the human body and how the Nāda manifesting in the
three Sthāna-s or places in the human body (a) Hŗd (heart region), (b) Kaņţha (throat) and (c)
Mūrdhā (head region) gives rise to Mandra, Madhya and Tāra varieties. In each Sthāna because of
the presence of twenty-two Nāḍi-s, twenty-two Sruti-s are produced.

Śruti-s are units of tonal interval with which the interval of a Svara is measured. Hence the
Svara-s are described next. After describing the intervals of the Śuddha-svara-s those of the
Vikŗta-svara-s are given. Śuddha-svara-s conform to the arrangements of the seven svara-s of the
Şaḍja-mūrcchanā of Śaḍjagrāma. The Vikŗta-svara-s differ from this arrangement. There are
seven Śuddha and twelve Vikŗta-svara-s, as shown in the table.

The seven Svara-s are also associated with the songs uttered by the various birds and animals e.g.
Şaḍja with the voice of peacock. The four kinds of roles that svaras play in a melodic structure,
namely, Vādī, Samvādī, Vivādī and Anuvādī are described next. Finally the association of Svara-s
with different Castes (Jāti), Colours (Varņa), Islands (Dvīpa), Seers (Ŗşi), Chanda (Metre),
Aesthetic tastes (Rasa) are given.
Grāma, Mūrcchanā, Krama and Tāna

This prakaraņa deals with Grāma, Mūrcchanā, Krama and Tāna. Three Grāmas are described -
Şaḍja-grāma, Madhyama-grāma and Gāndhāra-grāma. The names of the Seven Mūrcchanā-s in each
Grāma are also given.

Among the tānas there are two kinds- Śuddha and Kūţa. Śuddha-tāna is a Mūrcchanā devoid of one
or two svara-s. Kūţa-tāna-s are those varieties of Mūrcchanās in which the svaras occur in a
disorderly way e.g., 's g r m p d n'. Those varieties in which svara-s are present in an order are
called Krama-s.

Sādhāraņa-prakaraņa

Sādhāraņa is of two kinds (a) Svara-sādhāraņa (b) Jati-sādhāraņa. Sādhāraņa means ' being
common to two or more elements'. When an extra svara occurs within the region between two
svara-s then it is called sādhāraņa svara. Such svara-s are seen to occur in the region between
Gāndhāra and Madhyama and between Nişāda and Şaḍja.

Jati-sādhāraņa deals with two jatis belonging to the same grāma and having the same amsa and
that consequently share similar scale formation.

Varņa-Alańkāra-prakaraņa

The sixth prakaraņa is on Varņa and Alańkāra. Varņa-s denote the different kinds of movements
that a melodic line can take. There are four varņas—Sthāyi, Ārōhī, Avarōhī and Sañcārī.
Alańkāra-s are ornamental patterns of svara-s that decorate a melodic line. Alańkāra-s are
classified under the four Varņa-s.

Sthāyi-varņa-alańkāra-s 7
Ārōhī-varņa- alańkāra-s 12
Avarōhī-varņa-alańkāra-s 12
Sañcārī-varņa-alańkāra-s 25

are described. In addition seven more Alańkāra are given.

Jāti-prakaraņa

The seventh prakaraņa is Jāti-prakaraņa in which the 'lakşaņa'-s or characteristics of eighteen

Jāti-s are given. These eighteen Jāti-s are :

1. Şāḍjī
2. Ārşabhī
3. Gāndhārī
4. Madhyamā
5. Pañcamī
6. Dhaivatī
7. Naişadī
8. Şaḍjakaiśikī
9. Şaḍjōdīcyavā
 10. Şaḍjamadhyamā
11. Gāndhārōdīcyavā
12. Raktagāndhāri
13. Kaiśikī
14. Madhyamōdīcyavā
15. Kārmāravī
16. Gāndhārapañcamī
17. Āndhrī
18. Nandayantī

Before the description of the individual jāti-s are furnished, the first seven are classified into
`Śuddhā' and `Vikŗtā' and the remaining eleven as `Samsaragajā'. The characteristics or the
lakşaņa-s that are used for a describing a Jāti are the same ten as mentioned in Bŗhaddēśī. i)
Graha: the svara commencing the melody. ii) Amśa: the predominant svara that formed the tonic
and also frequently occurred in the melody. iii) Tāra: the svara in the higher register up to which
the melodic movement could ascend. iv) Mandra: the svara in the lower register up to which the
melodic movement could descend. v) Nyāsa: the svara on which a song finally concludes. vi)
Apanyāsa: the svara on which the section of the song can conclude. vii) Alpatva: the svara, which
should be sparingly used or rendered weak. viii) Bahutva: svara, which is strong and frequently
used. ix) Şāḍava: the svara, which could be omitted to render the jāti in six notes. x) Auḍuva:
those two svara-s, which could be dropped to render the jati in five svara-s.

In addition three more are given. These are:

 1. Sanyāsa - the svara on which a portion within a section of a song concludes.
2. Vinyāsa - the svara on which a melodic phrase especially underlying a word, concludes.
3. Antaramārga - the special movement of the melody involving the Amśa and the Alpa svara-s
taking place in the region between Graha and Nyāsa svara-s.

After the description of the Jāti-s the author gives the notation of a song based on one of the
Amśa svara-s of the Jāti. A song for each of the eighteen Jāti-s is given.

Gīti-prakaraņa

The last prakaraņa is called the Gīti-prakaraņa. Although it is named thus it takes up the
treatment of certain musical forms called Kapāla and Kambala first and then goes on to Gīti-s. The
Kapāla songs are based on some derivatives of Jāti-s and they are made up of words describing the
fierce form of Lord Śiva.

In the second part of this prakaraņa, the Gīti-s are described. Gīti is a kind of variation brought
about through changes in the duration of certain element of a song. There are two kinds of Gīti.
Pada-gīti: It relates to the text of the song and denotes the change in the duration of the
syllables of the text in a song. Tāla-gīti: This relates to the change in the duration the Kriyā-s or
actions of a tāla.

Chapter 2: Rāga-vivēka-adhyāya

The second chapter describes the Raga-s. The Rāga-s are divided into Mārga and Dēśī. Among the
Mārgarāga-s there are six varieties—Grāmarāga, Uparāga, Rāga, Bhāşā, Vibhāşā and Antarabhāşā,
The four kinds of desi rāgas are Rāgāńga, Bhāşāńga, Upāńga and Kriyāńga. Grāmarāgas resemble
the Jāti-s closely and they are further classified on the basis of the different melodic styles
characterising them. These styles are called "Gīti" and are of five kinds—Śuddhā, Bhinnā, Gauḍī,
Sādhāraņī and Vēsarā. In all, there are thirty-three Grāmarāga-s. Uparāga-s and Rāga-s are closer
to Grāmarāga-s.

Bhāşā-s, Vibhāşā-s and Antarabhāşā-s are derivatives of Grāmarāga-s and Uparāga-s and
represent different tunes of the parent Rāga. Rāgāńgarāga-s are derivatives of Grāmarāga-s and
Bhāşāńga-s are derivatives of Bhāşā-s. Kriyāńga-s are certain melodic themes employed in
dramatic performances portraying different kinds of emotions.

In this chapter Śārńgadēva deals primarily with the Dēśīrāga-s. In addition he describes the
parent Bhāşā and the source Grāmarāga-s. Under each Grāmarāga he gives in notation a song called
Ākşiptikā based on that Rāga.

Chapter 3: Prakīrņaka-adhyāya

The third chapter deals with a variety of topics. They are—a) The characteristics Vāggēyakāra-s.
Vāggēyakāra-s are composers of both the melody and text of a song. b) Guņa-Dōşa: The
characteristics of different kinds of Voice; Merits and Demerits of Men singer (Gāyana), Lady
singer (Gāyanī), Śabda and Śarīra. c) Gamaka: There are fifteen kinds of Gamaka-s, namely the
kinds of shake or oscillations that svaras can be endowed with. d) Sthāya: There are ninety-six
kinds of Sthāya-s, which represent the feelings or effects associated with rāga phrases. e)
Ālapti.: There are two kinds of Ālapti.
 1. Rāga-ālapti—the non-rhythmic melodic structure preceding a composition similar to the
alapana of present times.
2. Rūpakālapti- Melodic improvisation done with the song text as the base (similar to a 'Nerval')

Chapter 4: Prabandha-adhyāya

Prabandha represents a collection of musical forms described in terms of two aspects, namely,
'Dhātu' and 'Ańga". Dhātu denotes the different sections, which are, at a maximum, five:

1. Udgrāha
2. Mēlāpaka
3. Dhruva
4. Ābhōga
5. Antara.

Ańga-s are six: and denote the content of a song.

1. Svara
2. Biruda
3. Tēnaka
4. Pāţa
5. Pada
6. Tāla
These cover the three aspects of Music - Melody, Tāla and the text.

Prabandha-s are divided into three classes:

1. Sūḍa
2. Āli
3. Prakīrņa.

Sūḍa prabandha-s are further divided into two groups

1. Śuddha-sūḍa
2. Chāyālaga-sūḍa.

Chapter 5: Tala-adhyāya

This chapter could be divided into 2 sections, one dealing with Mārga tāla-s the other with Dēśī
talas. The Mārgatāla-s are 5:

(i) Caccatpuţa
(ii) Cācapuţa
(iii) Şaţpitāputraka
(iv) Sampakvēşţāka
(v) Udghaţţa.

The different aspects of these tāla-s like the time units - Laghu, Guru and Pluta -, the Kriyā-s; the
different forms of a tāla like Ēkakala Dvikala and Catuşkala are described along with the
Mārgatāla-s. In this section is also included the description of musical forms called `Gītaka-s'.
Gītaka-s musical forms are set in a temporal framework defined in terms of the margatala
structures.After these the Dēśītāla-s used in the prabandhas, which total around 120, are
described.

Chapter 6: Vādya-adhyāya

In the sixth chapter come the four classes of musical instruments.

i) Tata - Stretched stringed instruments
ii) Suşira - Literally those with holes, i.e., the wind instruments
iii) Avanaddha - Literally covered i.e., drums constructed as vessels covered by stretched
membranes
iv) Ghana - Literally dense objects i.e., solid pieces like Bell, Cymbals etc.

For these Vādya-s not only the construction but also the technique of playing and the compositions
played on them are described. Some of the instruments under the four categories are:
a) Tata - Ekatantrī, Citrā, Vipañcī, Mattakōkilā, Ālāpinī, Kinnari
b) Suşira - Vamśa (of different sizes), Kāhala, Şańkha.
c) Avanaddha - Huḍukka, Paţaha
d) Ghana - Kāmsyatāla, Ghaņţā

Chapter 7: Nartana-adhyāya

The seventh and the last chapter is in two parts. The first one deals with Nartana. The term
Nartana is a common term representing the arts of Nŗtta, Nŗtya and Nāţya based on the
movements of the limbs of the body. However only the aspects of Nŗtta is relevant to Sańgīta.
The various elements of Nŗtta like Hasta, Karaņa, Ańgahāra and Cārī are described and also the
characteristics of a good dancer and teacher. The different kinds of performance of sańgīta
involving the three aspects of Gīta, Vādya and Nŗtta are described. Some of these are - Śuddha-
paddhati and Gauņḍalī-vidhi.

In the second part of this chapter,the author describes the Nine Rasa-s, namely, Śrńgāra, Vīra,
Hāsya, Raudra, Adbhuta, Karuņā, Bhayānaka, Bībhatsa and śānta. Rasa-s represent the different
tastes that are evoked in the audience by the human feelings that transpire in the performance of
Sańgīta.

Importance

Sańgītaratnākara is a very important text and this is evident from the fact that many
commentaries were written on it. The famous ones are Sańgītasudhākara of Simbabhūpāla and
Kalānidhi of Kallinātha. Sańgītaratnākara is to a great extent a compilation of the information
found in earlier works like Nāţyaśāstra, Dattilam, Bŗhaddēśī, Sarasvatī-hŗdayālańkāra-hāra and is
greatly influenced by the commentary of Abhinavagupta on Nāţyaśāstra. On the other hand the
work made a great impact on almost all the writers in the subsequent period. Thus it forms a
useful bridge between the ancient and the medieval periods. Śārńgadēva called himself Nih,śańka
i.e., `doubtless'. He also names a stringed instrument as Nih,śańka-Vīņā and Dēśī-tala as
Nih,śańka-tāla. This book is a great landmark in the history of Indian Music.
 SAMANYA ABHINAYA AND CHITRA ABHINAYA

The technique of Indian Classical dance as mentioned in numerous treatises begins with
Natyashastra and progress through the medieval works of 16th and 17th Centuries. Indian dance
synthesizes the technique of other arts to evolve an art which was considered the most significant
of all. The principles that govern the technique of Indian classical drama. Three broad principles
preside over Indian drama’s structure and stage presentation. The first is the mode of
presentation, namely. Dharmis, Natya, loka. The second consists of the different types of styles
namely Kaiseki, Sathavati, arbhati and bharti. The third is the four types of acting namely the
angika,vachika, costume, make-up, stage props and so on.

There are other principles related to these such bahya, abhyantara, Pravrittis, samanyabhinaya
and chitrabhinaya. It is the combination of all these principles which appear in their original form
in the contemporary stage presentation of some of the Indian Classical Dances. Three broad
principles govern the structure of Indian drama and stage presentation. The first is the mode of
presentation, namely, dharmis, Natya and loka. The second consists of the different types of
styles namely Kaiseki, Sathavati, arbhati and bharti. The third is the four types of acting namely
the angika,vachika, costume, make-up, stage props, aharya, satvika. However in Natyashashtra,
these principles have been discussed in the chapters of drama. The texts belonging to later period
deals with dance as independent art as well as these principles in relation to dance. In Abhinaya
Darpana Prakasha the independent treatment of dance from the view of the principles that govern
it has been enumerated. Sarangadeva and the writers of the Vishnudharmottra Purana and the
Natyashastra Sangraha follow this.

Techniques of samanyabhinaya, bahya. Abhyantra and chitrabhinaya are in turn composed of

different elements of the four types of abhinaya. Dance technique evolved directly out of the
diverse elements of the dharmis, the Vrittas and the abhinaya. It can be concluded that drama has
been utilized in the techniques of Indian classical dance.

Bharata describes histrionics, which is called Abhinaya in natyashatra. The drama is communicated
to the spectators in four ways.
o The communication through body movements, called Angika abhinaya, where the
movements of major limbs like head, chest, hands and feet as well as movements of
minor limbs like eyes, nose, lips, cheeks, chin etc. are involved. The glances, gestures,
gaits are also part of angika abhinaya.
o The communication by speech is called Vachika abhinaya. In this, the vowels, consonants
and their places of origin in the mouth, intonation, modes of address etc. are discussed.
While giving the literary aspect of drama Bharata describes ten types of dramas which
are known as Dasharupaka. One of them is Veethi i.e. road shows. At present, a lot of
them are seen during the election time. Extraneous representation is
called Aaharya Abhinaya and is done by means of costumes, make up, ornaments, stage
properties etc.
 o Representation of temperament of the characters is called Sattvika Abhinaya. It is the
highest quality of abhinaya expressing the inner feelings of the character by subtle
movements of lips, nasal ali, trembling of body, turning the face red, rolling down the
tears etc.
o Then Bharata describes how to represent the phenomena like sunrise, sunset,
different times of the day, rains etc. which is called Chitrabhinaya. He also mentions in
detail how to show the animals on stage, how to make them artificially and with what
material.

This brings us to the last point. It speaks of the universality of outlook of Coomaraswamy that he,
the modern interpreter of Nandikesvara’s Abhinava Darpana, had stressed what Bharata had
characterized as theSamanya Abhinaya–“the totality of perception which encompasses the
physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual planes”. 9 “It will be seen” observed Coomaraswamy,
“that in all cases the dance is felt to fulfil a higher end than that of mere entertainment. It is
ethically justified upon the ground that it subserves the Four Ends of life, and this view
of Natya is plainly stated in Tiruvenkatachari’s preface stated below. The arts are not for our
instruction, but for our delight, and this delight is something more than pleasure; it is the
godlike ecstacy of liberation from the restless activity of the mind and the senses, which are the
veils of all reality, transparent only when we are at peace with ourselves. From the love of many
things, we are led to the experience of Union: and for this reason Tiruvenkatachari does not
hesitate to compare the actor’s art or dancer’s art with the practice of Yoga. The secret of all art
is self-forgetfulness”. 10
 PURANIC GODS

The Hindu religion is famous example of worshipping over 330 million deities. Each deity or god has his
own identity and the names are associated with their power. Since ancient days, the sages and seers
sensed god everywhere, he is considered to be omnipresent as well as omnipotent. Gods enjoy a chief
position in the Hinduism. Indian Puranas describe the significance of Gods. Puranic Deities in India
include both male and female goddess. In the Puranic texts, the immense supremacy of these gods and
goddess are described profoundly.

The Indian Puranas narrate the stories and myths of Vishnu and Siva who were visualized as forming a
triad with Lord Brahma. These Puranic Deities in India evolved during the period of 4th or 5th century
A.D. Various legends are associated with the deities of the Puranic Period. Lord Vishnu, the minor Vedic
deity was identified with Vasudeva. He is believed to have ten incarnations (avataras) and Krishna
emerged as an incarnation too. Lord Shiva, another Puranic deity is the ancient fertility god. He is
worshipped in various forms.

The female ensemble of Siva, Shakti or Goddess Durga in association with her male deity is also
regarded to be among the Puranic Deities in India. She is regarded as the source of power. In addition
to that Shaktism and development of Tantrism stresses on the power of Goddess Durga. Other gods
and goddess are also worshipped as the Puranic deities. There are gods for vegetation, gods for
weather, gods for nature, gods for geographical areas, gods for villages as well as gods for the house.
Furthermore, the Gods infuse art and creativity and provoke destruction too. Thus lots of deities found
their place in the Puranas and in other Hindu mythologies.

Twelve Principal Deities

The Trimurti
Brahma – the creator (in charge of raja-guna – the quality of passion).

Vishnu – the maintainer On charge of sattva-guna – the quality of goodness).

Shiva – the destroyer (in charge of tama-guna – the quality of ignorance).

The Puranas (Sanskrit: पुराण purāṇa, "of ancient times") are ancient Hindu Vedic texts
eulogizing various deities, primarily the divineTrimurti God in Hinduism through divine stories.
Puranas may also be described as a genre of important Hindu religious texts alongside
some Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the
universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and
descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.[1] Hindu Puranas have been
classified in accordance with the three gunas or qualities as Sattva (Truth and
Purity), Rajas (Dimness and Passion) andTamas (Darkness and Ignorance), or according the
three aspects of the divine Trimurti as Vaishnava, Brahma and Shaiva Puranas.[2]
Puranas usually give prominence to a particular deity, employing an abundance of religious and
philosophical concepts. They are usually written in the form of stories related by one person to
another. The Puranas are available in vernacular translations and are disseminated
by Brahmin scholars, who read from them and tell their stories, usually in Katha sessions (in which
a traveling Brahmin settles for a few weeks in a temple and narrates parts of a Purana, usually with
a Bhakti perspective).
Mahapuranas
Of the many texts designated 'Puranas' the most important are the Mahāpurāṇas. These are
always said to be eighteen in number, divided into three groups of six, though in fact they are
not always counted in the same way. Combining the various lists Cornelia Dimmitt and J. A. B.
van Buitenen have collated twenty names, totalling 429,000 verses:
Upapuranas
The Upapuranas are lesser or ancillary texts: these are sometimes also said to be eighteen in
number, with still less agreement as to the canonical titles. They include among many: Sanat-
kumara, Narasimha, Brihan-naradiya, Siva-rahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava,
Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesha, Mudgala,
and Hamsa, with only a few having been critically edited.[32] [33]
The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are devoted to Ganesha.[34][35] The Devi-Bhagavata Purana,
which extols the goddess Durga, has become (along with the Devi Mahatmya of the Markandeya
Purana) a basic text for Devi worshipers.[36]
 Sthala Puranas
This corpus of texts tells of the origins and traditions of particular Tamil Shiva temples or
shrines. There are numerous Sthala Puranas, most written in vernaculars, some with Sanskrit
versions as well. The 275 Shiva Sthalams of the continent have puranas for each, famously
glorified in the Tamil literature Tevaram. Some appear in Sanskrit versions in the Mahapuranas
or Upapuranas. Some Tamil Sthala Puranas have been researched by David Dean Shulman.[37]
Kula Puranas
These Puranas deal with a caste's origin myth, stories, and legends (the word kula means
"family" or "tribe" in Sanskrit). They are important sources for caste identity though usually
contested by rival castes. This subgenre is usually in the vernacular and may at times remain
oral.[38] These have been little researched, though they are documented in the caste section of
the BritishCensus of India Report and the various Gazetteers.

VEDIC GODS

There are 1028 hymns in the Rigveda, most of them dedicated to specific deities.
Indra, a heroic god, slayer of Vrtra and destroyer of the Vala, liberator of the cows and the
rivers; Agni the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods; and Soma the ritual drink dedicated to
Indra are the most prominent deities.
Invoked in groups are the Vishvedevas (the "all-gods"), the Maruts, violent storm gods in Indra's
train and the Ashvins, the twin horsemen.
There are two major groups of gods, the Devas and the Asuras. Unlike in later Vedic texts and
in Hinduism, the Asuras are not yet demonized, Mitra and Varuna being their most prominent
members. Aditi is the mother both of Agni and of the Adityas or Asuras, led by Mitra and Varuna,
with Aryaman, Bhaga, Ansa and Daksha.
Surya is the personification of the Sun, but Savitr, Vivasvant, the Ashvins and the Rbhus, semi-
divine craftsmen, also have aspects of solar deities. Other natural phenomena deified include Vayu,
(the wind), Dyaus and Prithivi (Heaven and Earth), Dyaus continuing Dyeus, the chief god of
the Proto-Indo-European religion, and Ushas (the dawn), the most prominent goddess of the
Rigveda, and Apas (the waters).
Rivers play an important role, deified as goddesses, most prominently the Sapta Sindhu and
the Sarasvati River.
Yama is the first ancestor, also worshipped as a deity, and the god of the underworld and death.
Vishnu and Rudra, the prominent deities of later Hinduism (Rudra being an early form of Shiva) are
present as marginal gods.
The names of Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the Nasatyas are also attested in a Mitanni treaty,
suggesting that the some of the religion of the Mitannis was very close to that of the Rigveda.
[edit]Deities by prominence

List of Rigvedic deities by number of dedicated hymns, after Griffith (1888). Some dedications
are to paired deities, such as Indra-Agni, Mitra-Varuna, Soma-Rudra, here counted doubly.
The early Vedic religion was naturalistic. Evidently, there were neither temples nor idols. The
mode of prayer was recitation of mantras. Sacrifice was offered for Praja (children), Pasu (cattle)
and Dhana (wealth) and not for spritual upliftment or misery.

Early Vedic Religion

 Believed in one Supreme God
 Did not believe in idol worship
 Worshipped the forces of nature as the manifestation of one Supreme God
 Vedic Gods have been classified into 3 categories - Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Celestial
 Indra, Agni, Varuna, Surya, Rudra, Yama, Soma, Marut, Dyaus, Vayu and Prajanaya. Prithvi,
Saraswati, Usha, aditi were female deities. They were not given the same position as male
Gods.
 People did not worship for spiritual reasons but for the welfare ofPraja & Pashu
 Recitation of prayers, chanting of Vedic hymns and sacrifices or yajnas were an important
part of the worship.

Rig Vedic Gods

He was the most important divinity. He played the role of a warlord, leading the
Indra
Aryan soldiers to victory against the demons. 250 hymns are devoted to him in the
 Rig Veda. He was associated with thunder and storm and is addressed by various
names: Ratheshtha, Jitendra Somapa, Purandra, Varitrahan and Maghayam
He was the second important divinity. He was intermediary between Gods and men.
Agni
200 hymns of the Rig Veda are devoted to him.
Varuna He was the upholder of Rita or cosmic order or natural order. He personified water.
Soma He was considered to be the God of plants. An intoxicant drink was also called soma.
Yama He was the guardian of the world of dead.
Surya Similar to that of the Greek God Helios
Savitri The famous Gayatri mantra is addressed to Savitri
Lord of jungle path, main function was that of guarding of roads, herdsmen and
Pusan
cattle.
Vishnu A relatively minor God at that time.
Vayu Wind God
Dyaus Father of Heaven
Aditi Goddess of Eternity
Maruts Storm Spirits
Gandharvas Divine Musicians
Ashvins Healers of diseases and experts in surgical art
Ribhus Gnomes
Apsaras Mistresses of Gods
Rudra An archer of God, whose anger brought disease
Vishvadeva Intermediate Deities
Aranyani Goddess of Forest
Usha Goddess of Dawn
Prithvi Goddess of Earth