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The worship of Murugan (later identified
with Subramanya) and Mayon (Krishna) involved dancing.
There were other dances associated with other deities
like Siva, Durga, Indrani etc. Adiyarkkunallar (the
famous commentator of the epic Silappadigaram) states
that Krishna danced 10 kinds of dances – of which there
is actual mention of 3 in the epic – alliyakuttu,
malladal and kudakuttu – danced on the
occasion of his victory over Kamsa, Banasura and after
the release of Aniruddha. Siva is said to have danced
the kodukotti and pandurangam dances
after tripuradhana in the presence of Brahma,
his charioteer. Murugan danced the tudi after
the exposure of surasura. Kamadeva danced the dance of
Hermaphrodite, Durga the dance of marakkal after
vanquishing the asuras. Similarly Lakshmi danced the pavai
after her victory over the asuras, Indrani the kadayam
after the defeat of Banasura. (Kanak Rele, in chapter “History of Kerala – Its Theatrical Arts and Mohiniattam” in “Mohiniattam: The Lyrical Dance”) |
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Innumerable inscriptions from Chola times
tell us of the philanthropy of Devadasis. They erected new
shrines, rebuilt old and crumbling ones, plated some of
the roofs with copper, gold and brass. They commissioned
master sculptors to make gold and bronze images of gods,
goddesses and saints to be installed in temples.
Devadasis, who had specific roles to play in the festivals
and processions of temples, donated lands to ensure these
celebrations. The wealthier Devadasis donated jewellery,
lamps, plates and bells made of solid gold for temple
service. (‘Women of Pride: The Devadasi heritage’ by Lakshmi Viswanathan) |
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Chali nach of Sattriya is a soft
and graceful dance based on purely lasya style of
dancing. The concept of this dance is based on the
devadasi style of dancing that prevailed in the
Hayagriva Madhava Vaishnava shrine during the mediaeval
period. Chali nach is of 2 types - Suddha
Chali and Rajaghariya Chali. The Suddha
Chali is the standard form of dance number evolved
by Madhavadeva and Rajaghariya Chali is a
divergent one evolved subsequently by Sattra
institutions. (‘Sattriya dance: Technique and repertoire’ by Jagannath Mahanta, Nartanam, April-June 2013) |
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