{{short description|Performance arts rooted in Hindu musical theatre}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Use Indian English|date=July 2015}} [[File:Stamp of Armenia - 2018 - Colnect 806145 - Indian Dance Manipuri.jpeg|thumb|300px|An illustration of the ''Manipuri Raas Leela'' Dance ({{langx|mni|Jagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi}}), one of the officially recognised classical dance forms of India, depicted on a postage stamp from Armenia.]] {{Hinduism}}
'''Indian classical dance''', or '''''Shastriya Nritya''''', is an umbrella term for different regionally specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,<ref name="lipner206" /><ref name="holmbowker85" /><ref name="Brown2013p195">{{cite book|author=Frank Burch Brown|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8g8BAAAQBAJ|title=The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the Arts|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-19-972103-0|pages=195–196}}, '''Quote:''' All of the dances considered to be part of the Indian classical canon (Bharata Natyam, Chhau, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam, Odissi, Sattriya, and Yakshagana) trace their roots to religious practices (...) the Indian diaspora has led to the translocation of Hindu dances to Europe, North America and the world."</ref> the theory and practice of which can be traced to the Sanskrit text ''Natya Shastra''.'''<ref name="lochtefeld467" />{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=60-68}}<ref name="khokar57">{{cite book |author=Mohan Khokar |title=Traditions of Indian classical dance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=prjnAAAAMAAJ |year=1984 |publisher=Clarion Books |pages=57–58|isbn=9780391032750 }}</ref>''' The number of Indian classical dance styles ranges from six to eight to twelve, or more, depending on the source and scholar;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/list/6-classical-dances-of-india | title=6 Classical Dances of India | Britannica }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sarwal |first1=Amit |last2=Walker |first2=David |title=Staging a Cultural Collaboration: Louise Lightfoot and Ananda Shivaram |journal=Dance Chronicle |volume=38 |issue=3 |year=2015 |pages=305–335 |doi=10.1080/01472526.2015.1088286|s2cid=166744945 }}</ref> the main organisation for Indian arts preservation, the Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight: ''Bharatanatyam'', ''Kathak'', ''Kuchipudi'', ''Odissi'', ''Kathakali'', ''Sattriya'', ''Manipuri'' and ''Mohiniyattam''.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Bishnupriya Dutt |author2=Urmimala Sarkar Munsi |title=Engendering Performance: Indian Women Performers in Search of an Identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uNaGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA216 |year=2010 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-81-321-0612-8 |page=216}}</ref> Additionally, the Indian Ministry of Culture includes ''Chhau'' and ''Gaudiya Nritya'' in its list, recognising ten total styles.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.indiaculture.gov.in/dance | title=Dance | Ministry of Culture, Government of India }}</ref> Scholars such as Drid Williams add ''Chhau'', ''Yakshagana'' and ''Bhagavata Mela'' to the list.{{Sfn|Williams|2004|pp=83-84, the other major classical Indian dances are: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Sattriya, Chhau, Manipuri, Yaksagana and Bhagavata Mela}}<ref name="Brown2013p195" /> Each dance tradition originates and comes from a different state and/or region of India; for example, Bharatanatyam is from Tamil Nadu in the south of India, Odissi is from the east coast state of Odisha, and Manipuri is from the northeastern state of Manipur. The music associated with these different dance performances consists many compositions in Hindi, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Sanskrit, Tamil, Odia, Telugu, Assamese, and many other Indian-Subcontinent languages; they represent a unity of core ideas and a diversity of styles, costumes, and expression.
== Summary ==
Indian classical dancing started around 200 BCE in India, as a joyful and celebratory activity, often in devotion to Hindu deities. Many of the performances are choreographed to retell stories of the gods and other historical accounts. All styles of Indian classical dance are vibrant, expressive, and spiritual. Dance performances usually take place at festivals, universities, various cultural events, and more. The dancers who perform these styles are usually professionals who have devoted years of study and practice in their respective style of Indian classical dance. In performances, the dancers move to the beat of the song or music that is playing; in some styles, such as Kathak, bells are worn around the ankles at times for added rhythmic effect when the feet are stomped. The dancer takes the role of the character that they are portraying in the performance, the composition being specific, and become emotionally connected with the story and the audience.<ref>Aryan Singh A guide To Indias History</ref>
When dancers perform classical Indian dancing, they wear traditional clothes including sarees, lehengas, and kurtas. Usually, women are the main performers in Indian classical dancing, though men are not absent from the tradition. The costume for women usually consists of a long, colorful, handmade gown (worn without shoes), with an intricately embroidered pattern(s) and beading on it. For accessories, there is the use of much ornate jewelry, such as necklaces, rings, earrings, nose-rings, bracelets and anklets, sometimes with bells attached which ring each time the dancer stomps their foot in rhythm. The costume also includes a head-piece or some form of scarf, depending on the style. The women usually wear considerable amounts of facial makeup, not only to be noticeable from the audience, but to fully embody their character.<ref>Aryan Singh A guide to Indias History</ref>
== Types of classical dances == The ''Natya Shastra'' is the foundational treatise for classical dances of India,<ref name=lochtefeld467>{{cite book |author=James G. Lochtefeld |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration |year=2002 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8239-3180-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/467 467]}}, '''Quote:''' "the Natyashastra remains the ultimate authority for any dance form that claims to be 'classical' dance, rather than 'folk' dance".</ref><ref name="BajajVohra2015p6">{{cite book |author1=Tanvi Bajaj |author2=Swasti Shrimali Vohra |title=Performing Arts and Therapeutic Implications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MRcCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-32572-7 |pages=6–7}}</ref> and this text is attributed to the ancient scholar Bharata Muni.<ref name=khokar57 /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Schramm |first=Harold |title=Musical Theatre in India |journal=Asian Music |publisher=University of Texas Press |volume=1 |issue=1 |year=1968 |pages=31–40 |doi=10.2307/834008|jstor=834008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Coorlawala |first=Uttara Asha |title=The Toronto conference on "new directions in Indian dance" |journal=Dance Chronicle |publisher=Routledge |volume=16 |issue=3 |year=1993 |pages=391–396 |doi=10.1080/01472529308569140}}</ref> Its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE,{{Sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|pp=xxiv, 19–20}} but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE.{{Sfn|Wallace Dace|1963|p=249}} The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters.{{Sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{Sfn|Emmie Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=1–25}} The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances.{{Sfn|Natalia Lidova|2014}}{{Sfn| Kapila Vatsyayan | 2001}} Dance and performance arts, states this ancient text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues, and the essence of scriptures.<ref name=mog17>{{cite web |title=The Mirror of Gesture |author=Coormaraswamy and Duggirala |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1917 |page=4 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924012568535#page/n5/mode/2up}}; Also see chapter 36</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Guy L. Beck |title=Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UzUMCAAAQBAJ |year=2012 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-61117-108-2 |pages=138–139 |quote='''Quote:''' "A summation of the signal importance of the Natyasastra for Hindu religion and culture has been provided by Susan Schwartz, "In short, the Natyasastra is an exhaustive encyclopedic dissertation of the arts, with an emphasis on performing arts as its central feature. It is also full of invocations to deities, acknowledging the divine origins of the arts and the central role of performance arts in achieving divine goals (...)".}}</ref>
{{Quote box | bgcolor=#FFE0BB | align=right | quote= '''Performance arts and culture''' <poem> Let Nātya (drama and dance) be the fifth vedic scripture. Combined with an epic story, tending to virtue, wealth, joy and spiritual freedom, it must contain the significance of every scripture, and forward every art. </poem> | source =— ''Nātyaśāstra'' 1.14–15<ref name=mog17 /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Natyashastra |publisher=Sanskrit Documents |url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/natya01.pdf}}</ref>}} While the ''Natya Shastra'' is the revered ancient text in the Hindu tradition, there are numerous other ancient and medieval Sanskrit dance-drama related texts that further discuss and expand on the classical repertoire of performance arts, such as the ''Abhinaya Darpana'', ''Abhinava Bharati'', ''Natya Darpana'', ''Bhava Prakasa'' and many others.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|pp=xxix, 131-137}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Mandakranta Bose |title=Movement and Mimesis: The Idea of Dance in the Sanskritic Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JS_pCAAAQBAJ |year=2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-011-3594-8 |pages=13–32, 108–112}}</ref>{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=18-37}} The term "classical" (Sanskrit: "Shastriya") denotes the ancient Indian Shastra-based performing arts.
The text Natya Shastra describes religious arts as a form as ''margi'', or a "spiritual traditional path" that liberates the soul, while the folk entertainment is called ''desi'', or a "regional popular practice".{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|p=32}}{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=67, context: 60-68}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Thera Mahanama-sthavira |title=Mahavamsa: The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBxpTwfTx4QC&pg=PA40 |publisher=Jain Publishing |isbn=978-0-89581-906-2 |pages=40–41|year=1999 }}</ref>
Indian classical dances are traditionally performed as an expressive drama-dance form of religious performance art,<ref name="Brown2013p195" /> related to Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, pan-Hindu Epics and the Vedic literature, or a folksy entertainment that includes story-telling from Sanskrit or regional language plays.{{Sfn|Ragini Devi|1990|pp=25-30, 67-68, 166}} As a religious art, they are either performed inside the sanctum of a Hindu temple, or near it.<ref name=lipner206>{{cite book |author=Julius Lipner |author-link=Julius J. Lipner |title=Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qv3fCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA206 |year=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-24061-5 |page=206}}, '''Quote:''' "It would be appropriate here to comment on Hindu classical dance. This developed in a religious context and was given high profile as part of temple worship. There are several regional and other styles as well as source texts, but the point we wish to stress is the participative nature of such dance. In form and content, the heart of dance as worship in Hinduism has always been 'expression' (abhinaya), i.e. the enacting of various themes".</ref><ref name=holmbowker85>{{cite book |author1=Jean Holm |author2=John Bowker |title=Worship |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_nUAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |year=1994 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-85567-111-9 |page=85}}, '''Quote:''' Hindu classical dance-forms, like Hindu music, are associated with worship. References to dance and music are found in the Vedic literature, (...)".</ref> Folksy entertainment may also be performed in temple grounds or any fairground, typically in a rural setting by traveling troupes of artists; alternatively, they have been performed inside the halls of royal courts or public squares during festivals.{{Sfn|Farley P. Richmond| Darius L. Swann| Phillip B. Zarrilli|1993|pp=3, 34-36, 47, 171-173, 215, 327-329}}
However, this is not the case for Kathak, Manipuri and Chhau as it has their own uniqueness. Kathak can be also performed on courtyards of mosques and had Muslim elements while Manipuri had the ''huyen langlon'' genre which focuses on combat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.neontommy.com/news/2014/06/kathak-dance-puts-hinduism-and-islam-same-circle.html|title = Kathak Dance Puts Hinduism and Islam in the Same Circle}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/gem-of-a-journey/article5530221.ece|title = Gem of a journey|newspaper = The Hindu|date = 13 May 2016|last1 = Chowdhurie|first1 = Tapati}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esamskriti.com/essays/pdf/14-dec-manipuri-dance-a-journey.pdf|title=Manipuri Dance: A Journey|website=esamskriti.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/story/19790815-manipuri-dance-elbowed-out-by-bharat-natyam-odissi-kathak-822668-2014-02-22|title = Manipuri dance elbowed out by Bharat Natyam, Odissi, Kathak| date=22 February 2014 }}</ref> Like Manipuri, Chhau also had elements on combat.
== Dance forms == The Natya Shastra mentions four ''Pravrittis'' (traditions, genres) of ancient dance-drama in vogue when it was composed – ''Avanti'' (Ujjain, central), ''Dakshinatya'' (south), ''Panchali'' (north, west) and ''Odra-Magadhi'' (east).<ref name=kothari6>{{cite book |author1=Sunil Kothari |author2=Avinash Pasricha |title=Odissi, Indian classical dance art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_0MAQAAMAAJ |year=1990 |publisher=Marg Publications |isbn=978-81-85026-13-8 |pages=5–6}}</ref>
Sources differ in their list of Indian classical dance forms.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://living.oneindia.in/expressions/factual-expressions/indian-classical-dance.html |title=Indian Classical Dance |date=2009-04-19 |publisher=One India |access-date=2010-06-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417044206/http://living.oneindia.in/expressions/factual-expressions/indian-classical-dance.html |archive-date=2009-04-17 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Narayan |first=Shovana |title=Indian classical dances: "ekam sat vipraah bahudaa vadanti" |publisher=Shubhi Publications |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxBq4xq94ZYC |page=5|isbn=9781845571696 }}</ref> Encyclopædia Britannica mentions six dances.<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica. [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150714/dance/25710/Indian-classical-dance?anchor=toc25710 dance (performing arts) : Indian classical dance]. Retrieved 03-11-2010.</ref> The Sangeet Natak Akademi has given recognition to eight Indian dances.<ref name=":0" /> The Indian government's Ministry of Culture includes nine dance forms.<ref name="moc">{{cite web |url=https://www.indiaculture.nic.in/dance |title=Dance |publisher=Indiaculture.nic.in |access-date=2022-05-27 }}</ref> Scholars such as Drid Williams and others include Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the nine classical Indian dances in the Sangeet Natak Akademi list.<ref name="Brown2013p195" />{{Sfn|Williams|2004|pp=83-84, the other major classical Indian dances are: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Sattriya, Chhau, Manipuri, Yaksagana and Bhagavata Mela}}
The classical dance forms recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Ministry of Culture are:<ref name=":0">[https://sangeetnatak.gov.in/award-honours/ratna-awards-guidelines SNA || Awards & Honours<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indiaculture.nic.in/dance|title=Dance | Ministry of Culture, Government of India|website=indiaculture.nic.in}}</ref>
=== Eight classical dances recognised by the Sangeet Natak Academy and the Ministry of Culture === * ''Bharatanatyam'', from Tamil Nadu * ''Kathak'', from Uttar Pradesh * ''Kathakali'', from Kerala * ''Kuchipudi'', from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana * ''Manipuri'', from Manipur * ''Mohiniyattam'', from Kerala{{efn|Encyclopædia Britannica excludes Mohiniyattam from the list of the Indian classical dances.}} * ''Odissi'', from Odisha * ''Sattriya'', from Assam{{efn|Encyclopædia Britannica excludes Sattriya from the list of the Indian classical dances.}} <ref name="moc"/>
=== Images === <gallery> File:Bharata Natyam Performance DS.jpg|{{center|''Bharatanatyam''}} File:Kathak 3511900193 986f6440f6 b retouched.jpg|{{center|''Kathak''}} File:Kathakali BNC.jpg|{{center|''Kathakali''}} File:Kuchipudi Performer DS.jpg|{{center|''Kuchipudi''}} File:Rasa Lila in Manipuri dance style.jpg|{{center|''Manipuri''}} File:Mohiniyattom performance.jpg|{{center|''Mohiniyattam''}} File:Odissi Performance DS.jpg|{{center|''Odissi''}} File:Sattriya dance of India by Shagil Kannur 4.jpg|{{center|''Sattriya''}} </gallery>
Some famous Indian classical dancers are :
* ''Bharatanatyam'' - Rukmini Devi, Padma Subrahmanyam, Vyjayanthimala, Sheema Kermani, Padmini, Pt. Smt. Swati Daithankar (who was awarded the 'Nritya Alankar' by Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal) * ''Kathak'' - Birju Maharaj, Nahid Siddiqui, Lacchu Maharaj, Gopi Krishna, Saswati Sen, Manjari Chaturvedi * ''Kathakali'' - Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Guru Kunchu Kurup, Ramankutty Nair, Guru Gopinath * ''Kuchipudi'' - Mallika Sarabhai, V. Satyanarayana Sarma, Deepa Shashindran, * ''Manipuri'' - Guru Bipin Singh, Darshana Jhaveri, Jhaveri Sisters, Devjani Chaliha, Amala Shankar * ''Mohiniyattam'' - Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, Shobhana, Sunanda Nair, Kalamandalam Radhika, Thankamani, Kalamandalam Hymavathy * ''Odissi'' - Sujata Mohapatra, Madhavi Mudgal, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Surendra Nath Jena, Shobana Sahajananan, Minati Mishra * ''Sattriya'' - Jatin Goswami, Indira P. P. Bora, Ghanakanta Bora, Sarodi Saikia, Pushpa Bhuyan,
== Shared aspects == All major classical Indian dance forms include in repertoire, three categories of performance in the ''Natya Shastra''. These are ''Nritta'', ''Nritya'' and ''Natya'':<ref name=meduri1>{{cite journal |last=Meduri |first=Avanthi |title=Bharatha Natyam-What Are You? |journal=Asian Theatre Journal |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |volume=5 |issue=1 |year=1988 |pages=3–4 |doi=10.2307/1124019|jstor=1124019 }}</ref>
* The ''Nritta'' performance is an abstract, fast and rhythmic aspect of the dance.<ref name=koskoff955 /> The viewer is presented with pure movement, wherein the emphasis is the beauty in motion, form, speed, range and pattern.<ref name=meduri1 /> This part of the repertoire has no interpretative aspect, no telling of the story. It is a technical performance, and aims to engage the senses (Prakriti) of the audience.<ref name="Descutner2010p45">{{cite book |author=Janet Descutner |title=Asian Dance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8tCYjXOtkdgC |year=2010 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-3078-1 |pages=45–46}}</ref> * The ''Nritya'' is slower and expressive aspect of the dance that attempts to communicate feelings, storyline particularly with spiritual themes in Hindu dance traditions.<ref name=koskoff955>{{cite book |author=Ellen Koskoff |title=The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73MO0eiQD_EC&pg=PA955 |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-99404-0 |pages=955}}</ref> In a ''Nritya'', the dance-acting expands to include silent expression of words through gestures and body motion set to musical notes. The actor articulates a legend or a spiritual message. This part of the repertoire is more than sensory enjoyment, it aims to engage the emotions and mind of the viewer.<ref name=meduri1 /><ref name="Descutner2010p45" /> * The ''Natya'' is a play, typically a team performance,<ref name=kjayakrishnan25>Kavitha Jayakrishnan (2011), [https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/6356 Dancing Architecture: the parallel evolution of Bharatanātyam and South Indian Architecture], MA Thesis, Awarded by University of Waterloo, Canada, page 25</ref> but can be acted out by a solo performer where the dancer uses certain standardized body movements to indicate a new character in the underlying story. A ''Natya'' incorporates the elements of a ''Nritya''.<ref name=meduri1 />{{Sfn|Reginald Massey|2004|pp=33-38, 83-84, 207-214}}<ref name="NettlStone1998p516">{{cite book |author1=Bruno Nettl |author2=Ruth M. Stone |author3=James Porter|display-authors=etal |title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC&pg=PA516 |year=1998 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1 |pages=516–521}}</ref>
All classical dances of India used similar symbolism and rules of gestures in ''abhinaya'' (acting). The roots of ''abhinaya'' are found in the ''Natyashastra'' text which defines drama in verse 6.10 as that which aesthetically arouses joy in the spectator, through the medium of actor's art of communication, that helps connect and transport the individual into a super sensual inner state of being.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=3}} A performance art, asserts ''Natyashastra'', connects the artists and the audience through ''abhinaya'' (literally, "carrying to the spectators"), that is applying body-speech-mind and scene, wherein the actors communicate to the audience, through song and music.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=3}} Drama in this ancient Sanskrit text, this is an art to engage every aspect of life, to glorify and gift a state of joyful consciousness.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=5}}
The communication through symbols is in the form of expressive gestures (mudras or hastas) and pantomime set to music. The gestures and facial expressions convey the ''ras'' (sentiment, emotional taste) and ''bhava'' (mood) of the underlying story.<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82" /> In Hindu classical dances, the artist successfully expresses the spiritual ideas by paying attention to four aspects of a performance: * ''Angika'' (gestures and body language), * ''Vachika'' (song, recitation, music and rhythm), * ''Aharya'' (stage setting, costume, make up, jewelry), * ''Sattvika'' (artist's mental disposition and emotional connection with the story and audience, wherein the artist's inner and outer state resonates).<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82">{{cite book |author1=Tanvi Bajaj |author2=Swasti Shrimali Vohra |title=Performing Arts and Therapeutic Implications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MRcCgAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-32572-7 |pages=82–84}}</ref> * ''Abhinaya'' draws out the ''bhava'' (mood, psychological states).<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82" />
== See also == {{Performing arts}} * Culture of India * Hindu texts * Languages of India * Puranas * Vedas * Yajna
== Footnotes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== Bibliography == * {{cite book |last=Ambrose |first=Kay |title=Classical Dances and Love of India |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=1984}} * {{cite book |author=Ragini Devi |title=Dance Dialects of India |url=https://archive.org/details/dancedialectsofi0000ragi |url-access=registration |year=1990 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0674-0}} * {{cite news |author=Natalia Lidova |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0071 |title=Natyashastra }} * {{cite book |author=Natalia Lidova |title=Drama and Ritual of Early Hinduism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TKarwqJJP0C |date=1994 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1234-5}} * {{cite journal |last=Williams |first=Drid |title=In the Shadow of Hollywood Orientalism: Authentic East Indian Dancing |url=http://jashm.press.illinois.edu/12.3/12-3IntheShadow_Williams78-99.pdf |journal=Visual Anthropology |volume=17 |issue=1 |year=2004 |pages=69–98 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.1080/08949460490274013 |s2cid=29065670 |access-date=2016-08-05 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121105/http://jashm.press.illinois.edu/12.3/12-3IntheShadow_Williams78-99.pdf |url-status=dead }} * {{cite book |author=Tarla Mehta |title=Sanskrit Play Production in Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7naMj1UxIkC |year=1995 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1057-0}} * {{cite book |author=Reginald Massey |title=India's Dances: Their History, Technique, and Repertoire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6MJ8jbHqIwC |year=2004 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-434-9}} * {{cite book |author=Emmie Te Nijenhuis |author-link=Emmie te Nijenhuis |title=Indian Music: History and Structure |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrgfAAAAIAAJ |year=1974 |publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=90-04-03978-3}} * {{cite book |author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Bharata, the Nāṭyaśāstra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKW1PAAACAAJ |year=2001 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-1220-6}} * {{cite book |author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Classical Indian dance in literature and the arts |year=1977 |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi |oclc=233639306}}, [http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/toc/z2008_2719.pdf Table of Contents] * {{cite book |author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Indian classical dance |year=1974 |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi |oclc=2238067}} * {{cite book |author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Aesthetic theories and forms in Indian tradition |year=2008 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |oclc=286469807 |isbn=978-8187586357}} * {{cite book |author=Kapila Vatsyayan |title=Dance In Indian Painting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58fUibaZdGYC |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-153-9}} * {{cite journal |author=Wallace Dace |title=The Concept of "Rasa" in Sanskrit Dramatic Theory |journal=Educational Theatre Journal |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=249–254 |year=1963 |jstor=3204783 |doi=10.2307/3204783 }} * {{cite book |author1=Farley P. Richmond |author2=Darius L. Swann |author3=Phillip B. Zarrilli |title=Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OroCOEqkVg4C |year=1993 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0981-9}} * Revealing the Art of Natyasastra by Narayanan Chittoor Namboodiripad {{ISBN|9788121512183}} * {{cite web |title=Andhra Pradesh Portal: Dance |publisher=Andhra Pradesh Government |url=http://www.portal.ap.gov.in/Pages/Dance.aspx |access-date=2010-11-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204133637/http://www.portal.ap.gov.in/Pages/Dance.aspx |archive-date=2010-12-04 }} *Aryan Sing (2021) Guide to Indias History New Forest High School
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Dance in India}} {{Hindudharma}}
! Category:Sacred dance Category:Hindu art