Posts about Mudras written by sangeethas. Before we proceed to step 4 of mardhita, let’s look at the Samyutha or Sankyutha (Sanskrit, meaning together/combined) Hastas. Rajashree Warrier enacts famous Indian stories using elaborate mudras, movements, and facial gestures, with Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan providing the voiceover. There are 14 stories. The content derives from the popular Panchatantra and Jataka tales. Bharatanatyam mudras are used for the story telling and English is used for the voice over.
Today we will be learning the Samyutha Hasta verses from Mr. Santosh Kumar.
Here is the verse…
Anjalishcha kapothashcha karkata svasthikasthathaa
dolahasthah pushpaputaha uthsangah shivalingakaha
katakaavardhanashchaiva karthareesvasthikasthathaa
shakatam Shanka Chakrecha samputah paasha keelakau(keelako)
mathsyah koormo varaahashcha garudo naagabandhakaha
khatvaa berundakaakeshcha avahithasthathatheivacha
Note:
There can be slightly different readings of the above verse. For eg.
The last line may be taught as “khatvaa berundakaakeshcha ithyethe avahitha samyutha kara” depending on the reading used.
In the next session, we will have checkpoint test no.2. So please work on what has been taught so far..
Best wishes…
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One of the most striking features of Indian classical dance and dances of Thailand,[1]Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar and is the use of hand gestures. Speaking in dance via gestures in order to convey outer events or things visually is what mudras do. To convey inner feelings, two classifications of mudras (hand/finger gesture) are used in Indian classical dance, Thai dances, Cambodian dances, Lao dances and Burmese dances, and are indeed a prominent part of the dancer's vocabulary.
Background[edit]
The Abhinaya Darpa (a descriptive primer for dancers) mentions that the dancer should sing the song by the throat, express the meaning of the song through hand gestures, show the state of feelings in the song by eyes, and express the rhythm with his or her feet.
From the Natya Shastra, a text on the arts, this beautiful quotation and translation is often quoted by Indian classical dance instructors:
- 'Yato hastastato drishtihi'...'Where the hand is, the eyes follow'
- 'Yato drishtistato manaha'...'Where the eyes go, the mind follows'
- 'Yato manastato bhavaha'...'Where the mind is, there is the feeling'
- 'Yato bhavastato rasaha'...'Where there is feeling, there is mood/flavour, sweetness (i.e., appreciation of art; aesthetic bliss)'
So vast are the subtleties expressed in the hand gestures of hasta that the vastness of what being human entails, and perhaps even what the entire universe contains, might be expressed by the dancer.
Hence as 'hasta' form a distinct coded language which brings a unique poetic element while performing, so too when abhinaya (traditional facial expressions), pose (attitude), and rhythm complete the language, the dancer may express practically anything and everything to an attentive audience.
Gestures[edit]
In Bharatanatyam, the Classical Dance of India performed by Lord Nataraja, approximately fifty-five root mudras (hand/finger gestures) are used to clearly communicate specific ideas, events, actions, or creatures in which thirty-two require only one hand, and are classified as `Asamyukta Hasta', along with twenty-three other primary mudras which require both hands and are classified as 'Samyukta Hasta'; these fifty-five are the roots but the branches permit of many more mudra, some of which are used primarily as aesthetic or decorative enhancements.
| Name in Sanskrit | Translation(s) in English | Other meanings | Illustration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pataka | Flag cloud,forest | ||
| Tripataka | Flag in three parts crown, tree | ||
| Ardhapataka[2] | Half flag | ||
| Kartarimukha | Scissors face | ||
| Mayura | Peacock | ||
| Ardhachandra | Half moon | ||
| Arala | bent | ||
| Shukatunda | parrot head | ||
| Mushthi | fist | ||
| Shikhara | Peak | ||
| Kapitta | Elephant Apple | ||
| Katakamukha | Opening of a bracelet | ||
| Suchi | Needle | ||
| Chandrakala | Face of the moon | ||
| Padmakosha | Lotus bud Fruit | ||
| Sarpashirsha | Snake head | ||
| Mrigashirsha | Head of a deer | ||
| Simhamukha | Face of a lion | ||
| Langula or Kangula | Lily | ||
| Alapadma | lotus | ||
| Chatura | Four | ||
| Bhramara | Bee | ||
| Hamsasya | Swan head | ||
| Hamsapaksha | Swan wing | ||
| Sandamsha | Pincers | ||
| Mukula | Flower bud | ||
| Tamrachuda | Rooster | ||
| Trishula | Trident | ||
| Ardhasuchi | Half needle (this not there there are 28mudras ) | ||
| Vyagraha | Tiger | ||
| Palli | Knot | ||
| Kataka | Resting Place |
Bharatanatyam Mudras Malayalam
| Sanskrit | English | Other Meanings | Illustration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anjali | Offering | ||
| Kapotam | Dove | ||
| Karkatam | Crab | ||
| Swastikam | Auspicious sign | ||
| Dola-Hastam | Drummer's hands | ||
| Pushpaputam | bag of flowers | ||
| Utsangam | embrace | ||
| Shivalingam | sign of Lord Shiva | ||
| Kataka-vardhanam | chain | ||
| Kartari-swastikam | |||
| Shakatam | carriage | ||
| Shankha | Conch-shell | ||
| Chakram | Rotating disc | ||
| Pasha | Ropes | ||
| Kilaka | bolt | ||
| Samputa | round shaped casket | ||
| Matsya | Fish | ||
| Kurma | Tortoise | ||
| Varaha | Boar | ||
| Garuda | Half-eagle, half-human mount of Lord Vishnu, a bird/birds flying | ||
| Nagabandham | snakes entwined | ||
| Khattva | cot | ||
| Bherunda | A pair of birds |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to mudras. |
Bharatanatyam Mudras Samyuta Hastas
- ^https://disco.teak.fi/asia/thai-classical-dance/
- ^http://onlinebharatanatyam.com/2007/09/24/ardhapataka-hand-gesture-mudra/
- Indianartz.com. Hasta Mudras - Gallery.
- Ramm-Bonwitt, Ingrid (1987). Mudras - As Maos Como Simbolo do Cosmos.