Influence of Bharatha Natyam on Lankan sculpture

by Subashini Pathmanathan

The oriental classical dances are mainly influenced by numerous factors such as language, literature, culture, sculpture, religion, paintings, vocal and instrumental music. All these have influenced the classical Bharatha Natyam to a great extent.

Sculptures could be divided into different varieties. They are made out of different metals such as copper, iron, brass, Iyempon, combination of five different metals. Some are ivory sculptures and others wooden sculptures. Then there are stone and clay sculptures. Sculptures are the main source for research study in oriental dance forms.

Guardstonr

Bharatha Natyam is a Tamil classical dance form which is widely practised and preserved in Sri Lanka. So, it is quite appropriate and important to find out the close relationship between Sri Lankan sculptures and Bharatha Natyam. Generally, it is necessary to trace the coordination between these two different arts together.

Most of the sculptures decorate pillars, tops of the pillars, carvings in the pillars and walls of archaeological sites, Hindu temple towers, temple walls, tunnel temples, art galleries and ancient royal courts.

For Bharatha Natyam, the Hidambaram and Thanjavur temple sculptures are the main productive sources for dance research. Similarly, in Odissi dance, the Kalinga sculptures are the main source for research.

Imitation

The Hindu sculptures provide ample opportunities for researchers to compare with the practical side of Bharatha Natyam.

Bharatha Natyam dancers try to imitate and adopt the sculptural poses, sculptural body postures, positions, foot stances and positions, hand gestures and eye glances.

It helps researchers to conduct a comparative study of sculptures with Bharatha Natyam.

Most of the Bharatha Natyam dance poses resemble the sculptural dance poses, and the 108 Thandava Karanas of Lord Siva.

All the sources can be traced to the ancient sculptural poses. For instance, Hindu sculptural poses all over the world are similar. However, the style of the statues differs from place to place. Such slight variations arise due to local influences.

Sri Lankan Hindu temple sculptures are almost the same as those in India. Yet, to some extent they are being influenced by local traditions and regional influences.

Lord Nataraja

For instance, Lord Nataraja's statue at Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu are almost the same. However, the Lord Nataraja's statue found in Polonnaruwa is quite different from those in Tamil Nadu.

This is due to the regional and cultural influences. Lord Nataraja's statue in Polonnaruwa has been influenced by Buddhist sculptures. The ancient Shiva Lingam found in Polonnaruwa is also different from those in Hindu temples. This is due to the cultural, regional and ideological influences.

In Hinduism some deities are sculptured in the standing position, and others are in the sitting position. Each hand of the deity depicts certain gesture.

If a dancer tries to depict the same sculptural pose. She must adopt the same hand gestures of the idol. So, the sculptures provide the main source for Bharatha Natyam which is a Hindu religious dance form.

It is necessary that we must have to follow the Hindu agama and Hindu Shasta traditions.

Archaeological sculptures are found in many parts of Sri Lanka. They provide a wealth of information for the development of Bharatha Natyam. However, nobody uses these sources for studies.

Sri Lankan architectural patterns, Hindu temple structure, cultural chambers, sculptures and paintings resemble those of South Indian temples. Despite such similarities, Sri Lanka preserves its own identity.

Archaeological sites

The construction of places of worship has its own patterns. They depict their own culture, customs, regional and religious influences of different periods.

Besides, the construction patterns of each place of worship provides ample evidence of the ruler's taste. They built temples as they were directly involved in art, culture, tradition and religion.

Ancient Indian rulers were deeply involved in culture and traditions. Different rulers built temples and cultural chambers throughout the Indian sub-continent influencing neighbouring Sri Lanka.

At Hindu temples two guards are installed at the entrance. The male guards are often called Duvalapalakars.

The guards are always in a standing position, with one leg bent and one hand holding the Kathautham.

The other leg rests on the floor. This pose is always adopted in the Classical Bharatha Natyam to depict numerous poses of different deities.

Similarly, in the Sri Lankan archaeological sites there are numerous guardstones. Some guardstones are installed at the entrance of important places such as Buddhist temples. Earlier the guardstones were installed at Royal Palaces, reservoirs and cultural chambers. They are in standing position with curved body and different foot positions.

Mandala Isthana

All these resemble the classical Bharatha Natyam poses and postures. In technical terms the stands of Bharatha Natyam and body positions are often referred to as Mandala Isthana.

The hood of the guardstone is often covered with multi-headed cobras. They were often found at the entrance of reservoirs, royal palaces and places where treasures were buried. This multi-headed Naga King is called Naga Raja.

In Tamil it is called Raja Nagam which has a special place in Hinduism. The Raja Nagam worship is known as Naga Thampiran worship in Hinduism.

Some Raja Nagams are portrayed with five heads, others have seven or nine heads. To depict the Raja Nagam in Bharatha Natyam the Muthura (Hastha) Sarpa sirasa is used. The guardstones are decorated with beautiful ornaments and layers of waist chains.

Chest ornaments

The costumes of the guardstones resemble the beautiful Bharatha Natyam. Besides, beautiful ear and chest ornaments and intricately crafted head crowns are found in sculptures which almost resemble the close affinity of Hindu temple and tower sculptures.

In one hand of the guardstone there is a punkalasa (a pot) and in the other hand a bunch of flowers and buds. In Bharatha Natyam this is depicted through hand gestures and Abinaya.

With the passage of time, Bahirawa sculptures were added to Naga Raja guardstones to protect the buried wealth. Sankha and Padma the two Ganas (Yakas) were installed at the feet of Naga Raja.

Beautiful Naga Raja stones could be found in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The heads of the Naga Raja are decorated with beautiful ornaments.

Over some guardstones Makara heads were installed at the base of the arch. These imply the close links of Bharatha Natyam with Sri Lankan sculptures.