he ideals of India, through the ages, have retained a
remarkable continuity, clearly recognising in every sphere of activity, the
Kinship of God and Man.
The Upanishads propound - "Devo
bhuta devam yjet" - become a God in order to
worship God.
Shiva, the destroyer, is
the King of Dancers and called Nataraja. His
beautiful Consort, the slender waisted Parvati,
daughter of the Himalayas was the first teacher of dancing who
brought the art down from the heavens to teach it to the people of the earth.
"There is no wisdom, nor
knowledge, nor art, nor craft, no devise, nor action that is not to be found in
natya" - says the guru, Bharata. And in Ancient India, Natya
included dance, drama and music.
"Bharata Natyam" is a
form of authentic Indian Dance Art, the antiquity of which goes to the Rig Veda
Hymns. The earliest authoritative treatise we have is that monumental work -
Natya Sastra of Bharata, the Sage Promulgator
of the great art. Bharata is also explained as signifying the three fundamentals
of Art - Bhava, Raga and Thala (Emotion, Melody &
Rhythm).
Rich and lyrical in conception and execution, Bharata Natyam
bids fair to be the Dance of India, par
excellence.
Natya Veda is spoken of
as the fifth Veda in the line Lord Brahman created Natyaveda, the fifth one
taking elements from the four traditional Vedas.
He took the Pathya - the
text to be spoken in the dramas from the Rigveda, Gita
- song from the Samaveda, Abhinaya - acting
from the Yajurveda and Rasas - sentiments
from the Atharvaveda. This fifth Veda was taught to Bharata by Brahman with an
instruction to hand it down to his sons to be promulgated on earth over the
years.
Related Topics:
YKUF's Bharat Natyam Classes
Thandava -
The Dance of Lord Shiva
Curative Power of Indian Classical Dance
Bharatnatyam: Meditation in Motion
For More Information Contact:
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P.O. Box No. 1933, G.P.O. Mumbai 400 001
Tel: +91 (022) 2284-4449
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Internet: info@yogakalaupasana.org