VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA TEMPLE INDIA
Taken from India’s sacred epics, the dance.
backdrop is still the eternal truth of God. It was not strange therefore, that these
From the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the plays were composed by great rishis.
Puranas, the triumph of good over evil is Siddhendra Yogi, wrote the most popular
vividly depicted and the stories of Krishna Kuchipudi drama, the Bhama-Kalapam
are danced regularly in the temple of (Parijatapaharana). It is said he requested
Guruvayur. all families in Kuchipudi to dedicate one of
People taking vows to obtain grace from their sons to the art of the dance and
god, offer a Kathakali performance to god, especially to enact the part of
in the temple court-yard. The ornamen- Satyabhama, the swadinapatika nayika,
tation of the Kathakali dancer, the colours whose love of Krishna, depicted all the
of the face with its division of satvic, rajasic varying moods of the rasa and bhavas of
and tamasic elements, makes him one with the classical tradition.
the character and transforms the spectator After the destruction of the great empire
into a devotee who sees the play of the of Vijayanagar, many of the families of
world before his eyes. Here are the great Bhagavatars sought refuge with the Naik
heroes, the Pandavas, the compassionate Kings of Tanjore and it was at Melattur
Krishna, the gentle Sita and the great village that they settled to perpetuate the
Prince Rama. The audience sees a world art. The patterns of worship in the
of fantasy, but beneath this spectacular beginning of the play are still followed in
dance drama, they are taught the true the dance-dramas of today. The todaya
wisdom of Hindu philosophy. Indeed, the mangalam is the initial prayer and the
dance is a ritual, essential to create a Ganesa vandana destroys all obstructions.
contact between man and divinity. Enacted before the temple, the dancers
In Andhra, in the village of Kuchipudi, dedicate their performance to god. Each
families of Brahmins studied and enacted article is also blessed. For instance, if the
dance-dramas. Each temple had a dance-drama is Prahalada-charita, the mask
balipitha, which was a large, well-polished of Narasimha is placed near the image in
slab of stone placed behind the Nandi which the temple the whole day. The actor also
faced the interior of the temple. Upon this, fasts on the day of the performance to
on festive occasions, the devadasis enable him to realise the role he is to play.
danced. The Kuchipudi Brahmins, the Before Narasimha’s entrance, the mask is
Bhagavatars, entertained audiences with brought out and certain rituals performed.
‘total theatre’, dance-dramas, with stories When the actor actually dons the mask,
from the Puranas, in the temples and also so powerful has been his devotion and
outside in village squares. concentration that he becomes wild and
The great wave of Vaishnavism swept the frenzied while dancing and often goes into
country from the twelfth century and a trance which only leaves him when the
dance-dramas composed from the mask is removed.
Bhagawata became immensely popular. The Yakshagana of Karnataka, similar in
Religious fervour caught fire through content to the dance-dramas of Kerala and
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VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA TEMPLE INDIA
Andhra Pradesh, has several groups The Role of Temple in
attached to the temples. Here too, as in
Kathakali, the actors wear enormous the Socio-Economic Life
crowns, the facial make-up is intricate and of the People
suggestive of the characteristics of the
DR. K.V. RAMAN
role. Costumes too are intricate and
particular colours are used for romantic or
I
demoniac characters.
ndia is a land of temples, big and small,
Every dance-form had its origin in the
spread over the nook and corner of the
temple and dance performances were
land. These temples have many historical
offered as vows to the deity by people in
facets. Primarily, they were centres of
times of calamities. Kings also patronised
worship and religion. But they had also
the dance and it was taken to courts.
wider historical dimensions. They were
In Malavikagnimitram we read of a
centres of art and architecture. They have
competition in the King’s Court. So too, in
played a remarkable part in the social and
the heavenly court of Indra, where Urvasi
economic life of the villages and towns.
the celestial nymph, danced.
Inscriptions found on the walls of the
But it was not merely the temple precincts
temples afford eloquent proof of the many-
that were important. It was and is the spirit
sided activities of the temples in the ancient
of the dance that is the dynamism of its
and mediaeval periods. It will not be an
form. And the spirit is that of dedication
exaggeration to say that the temple was
to the Supreme. The temple is wherever
the hub of the village and, in a society
the dancer dances! As a prayer that sends
which was predominantly religious, the day-
its subtle essence into the cosmos through
to-day life of the people was, in one way
the invisible barriers of sound, so does the
or other intimately connected with the
dance make sacred the ground upon which
temple. From the inscriptions, we get a
it is performed.
wide range of activities of the temple. In
Through the centuries, our country has
the economic field, it served as a large
been invaded and ravaged and new
land-owner, an agent of poor-relief, a local
cultures have poured in. But India has
bank lending money to the poor and the
always absorbed change and made it her
needy, a consumer of goods and services
own. Yet throughout has been the eternal
and, last but not the least, the largest
theme of man’s search for the eternal and
employer having on its rolls a host of
as the Natya Sastra says, ‘One who
employees like the priests to look after the
performs well the art of dance created by
rituals, the manradis (shepherds) to look
Maheshwara will go liberated, to the abode
after the cattle donated to the temple,
of God.’
the cultivators to look after its lands,
garland-makers, washermen, drummers,
pipers, the pandal-erectors and a variety
of artisans. On the social side, the temple
was a centre which provided the forum for
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