Indian dancing

INDIAN DANCING

Udvestita: Palm turned upward. Apavestita: Palm tutned downward. Vyavrita: Sweeping movement from the wrist. Bhujanga: Snaky movements of the hands. These prana serve to impregnate the hand gestures with meaning and purpose.

ASAMYUKTA, OR SINGLE-HAND GESTURES: Though the Natya Shastra and the Abhinaya Darpanam \imit themselves to twenty-six and twenty-eight gestures respectively, several more have crept in, swelling the number to thirty. We shall here merely group and name them without detailed descriptions. Examples of how mudra may be used to represent various objects are given with each group.

Group I This group consists of eight #udras, whose basic sign is the Pataka hasta with the hand held upright, fingers fully extended, and the thumb bent to touch the base of the forefinger as shown in the bottom right-hand photograph on page 93. The other mwudras ate variations of this gesture. . Pataka Hasta (Flag) . Tripataka Hasta (Flag in three parts) . Ardha-pataka Hasta (Half-flag) . Mayura Hasta (Peacock) . Kartari-mukha Hasta (Artow-shaft) . Ardha-Chandra Hasta (Half-moon) . Suka-tunda Hasta (Pattot’s beak) . Arala Hasta (Bent or crooked hand)

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Examples:

Let us take the basic sign, the Pataka Hasta, to illustrate the use of the hands in this group. This particular mudra can represent the wind; the abode of the gods; a year; a river; the bosom; holding a sword; beckoning; blessing; and various other actions and objects. It is the position of the hand and its hasta prana, i.e. the manner in which the hand is moved or kept still, that indicates the exact meaning of the mudra.

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