Bharatanatyam's technical vocabulary is one of the most systematic in any dance tradition in the world. The Natyashastra describes and classifies: 108 Karanas (combinations of hand and foot movement — the building blocks of dance composition), 64 Melas (combined positions), 32 Charis (leg movements), 9 Rasas (emotional states), 49 emotional expressions of the face, 24 Asamyuta Hastas (single-hand gestures), 13 Samyuta Hastas (combined-hand gestures), and 30 Nritta Hastas (purely ornamental gestures). The technical precision of this system has allowed Bharatanatyam to maintain a continuous tradition over two millennia.
The performance structure of a Bharatanatyam recital (Margam) has a fixed sequence: Alarippu (invocation of the body's parts) → Jatiswaram (pure rhythmic movement to solfege syllables) → Shabdam (first narrative item, usually devotional) → Varnam (the centrepiece — combining Nritta and Nritya) → Padams (lyric compositions exploring Bhakti and Shringara rasa) → Tillana (finale of pure rhythmic movement) → Mangalam (auspicious closing). Source: Ghosh (1967); Kersenboom (1987).
Shiva as Nataraja — the cosmic dance
The most iconic image of Shiva in South Indian temple art is Nataraja — the Lord of the Dance. The form shows Shiva in the Ananda Tandava (the dance of bliss): one leg raised, the other pressing down on the dwarf demon Apasmara (ignorance/forgetfulness), four arms radiating outward, a circle of fire (the cosmos) surrounding the whole. The iconographic reading: the raised back right hand holds the damaru (drum — the sound of creation); the lowered right hand points down in the Abhaya mudra (protection); the lower left hand points to the raised foot (liberation); the raised left hand holds fire (destruction). The dance is simultaneously cosmic (creation, sustenance, destruction, concealment, liberation — the five acts/Panchakritya) and personal (the devotee's liberation). Source: Kramrisch (1946).
The devadasi tradition — history and controversy
Bharatanatyam as a living tradition was maintained until the early 20th century primarily by Devadasis — women dedicated as servants (dasi) of the deity (deva) in the temple. They were the custodians of the art form, performing daily before the deity and on ceremonial occasions. The colonial period criminalised the devadasi institution (through the Anti-Nautch movement and later legislative reform), nearly destroying the dance tradition. Rukmini Devi Arundale's revival in the 1930s — removing the art from its devadasi context, standardising it, and presenting it on the concert stage — saved the form but also dramatically transformed its social and theological context. Source: Kersenboom (1987).
Ghosh (1967). Kersenboom (1987). Kramrisch (1946).
The nine Rasas — the art of emotional experience
The Natyashastra's theory of the nine Rasas (emotional experiences communicable through performance) is the theoretical foundation of all Sanskrit performing arts. The nine: Shringara (erotic/romantic), Vira (heroic), Karuna (compassionate/sorrowful), Raudra (furious), Hasya (comic), Bhayanaka (terrifying), Bibhatsa (disgusting), Adbhuta (wondrous), and Shanta (peaceful — added to the original eight by Abhinavagupta). Abhinavagupta's Abhinavabharati (commentary on the Natyashastra) develops the theory of Rasa as aesthetic experience — the sadharanikarana (universalisation) that makes ordinary emotion into impersonal aesthetic experience. Source: Ghosh (1967); Dyczkowski (1987).