Aesthetics and Interconnectedness of the Daśa-rūpakas, Upa-rūpakas, and Nṛtya Traditions - Part 5

Upa-rūpakas (Continued)

10. Rāsa – Like goṣṭhi and hallīsaka, rāsa is a kind of Śrī-kṛṣṇā-līlā-nṛtya – a form of dance associated with the divine exuberance of Śrī-kṛṣṇa. Rāsa is also a kind of maṇḍala-nṛtya – group dance; Śrī-kṛṣṇa dances amidst a group of eight, twelve, or sixteen gopikās; rāsa is also a kind of tāla and this form of dance naturally comes with many different tāla-patterns.  Dance is performed both at slow and fast tempos; nṛtta and gīta dominate the rāsa performance, while abhinaya is of secondary importance.  Different kinds of piṇḍī-bandhas are used in the performance of rāsa.  Similarly, many dance choreographies involving the śṛṅkhalā, bhedyaka, and latā patterns are employed in rāsa. Piṇḍī-bandha[1] refers to group choreographies involving formation of different shapes – kamala (lotus), mayūra (peacock), and śūla (spear) are some shapes documented in the treatises.  Śṛṅkhalā, as suggested by the name, refers to the formation of a chain – dancers interlock their hands with each other and form different kinds of chains; such formations can be seen in many forms of dance across the country; śṛṅkhalā formations can be found in bihū-nṛtta, santāla, gòṇḍa, and other forms of folk dance as well. Bhedyaka is a form of group choreography, where a dancer or a team of dancers break away from a bigger group, which is in the form of a piṇḍī-bandha or śṛṅkhalā; the name bhedyaka suggests such breaking apart.  Latā, as suggested by the name, refers to a kind of dance where the artistes intertwine with each other like a creeper.  These can be found in several parts of the word.  We find references to such group choreographies in the Nāṭyaśāstra. While in the rūpaka-tradition, the divine activities of Śiva are provided as examples for the lāsya and the tāṇḍava flavours, in the upa-rūpaka tradition, Śrī-kṛṣṇa's līlas are often quoted. In the Nāṭyaśāstra, even in the segments where śuddha-nṛtta involving cārī, mahācārī, and āsārita are discussed, Śiva’s (and his family’s) līlas are quoted as examples. This is an important difference between the daśa-rūpaka and the upa-rūpaka tradition.

11. Nāṭya-rāska – Also referred to as carcarī-nṛtya, this form of dance is performed in the vasanta-ṛtu – spring season.  Śrī-harṣa mentions this in his nāṭikā called Ratnāvalī. Carcarī refers to the clapping of hands and is also the name of a tāla.  Thus, nāṭya-rāsaka involves dancing with clapping of hands (carcarī-tāla is, perhaps, a reference to the variety popularly known as chāpu-tāla today).  Bhoja says varṇa-tāla should be used in accompaniment of nāṭya-rāsaka. In this form of art, women dance in piṇḍīs and gulmas (in the form of a tree or a bush). They may also dance as couple, holding tālas, mardala, ciṭikè, trumpets, and other musical instruments in their hands. It finally ends with a maṅgala-gīta, which narrates the manner in which the devas rejoiced during the amṛta-mathana.

12. Daṇḍa-rāsaka and śamyā-rāsaka – These forms can be called sub-varieties of nāṭya-rāsaka and are forms of kolāṭa, as evident from the name (daṇḍa means a stick[2]); they involve dancing in groups holding sticks – dancers make multiple formations and tap each other’s sticks.  Rājaśekhara, in his Karpūra-mañjarī describes daṇḍa-rāsaka performed by thirty-two women for the vaṭa-sāvitrī-vrata.  Treatises such as Saṅgīta-samayasāra authored by Pārśvadeva, Nṛtta-ratnāvalī of Jāyapa-senānī, and Nṛtya-sarvasva of unknown authorship document dance forms similar to daṇḍa-rāsaka where an object other than the stick is held by the dancers.  Kerchiefs, weapons (including swords, bows, spears), musical instrument (such as paṭaha, huḍukkā, mṛdaṅga, karaṭa, tāla, and ekatantrī-vīṇā), garlands, fans, balls, and earthen lamps may be held by the dancers in their hands. Semblance to this can be found in several deśī forms of dance in India even today.  In fact, such varieties can be found in dance forms of foreign countries as well. Dr. V. Raghavan mentions that, in the past, Sadir dancers were trained in a unique way – they were asked to hold knives in their hands and were to cut vegetables as they danced to tāla; their accuracy in cutting vegetables determined their mastery over tāla.  This form of dance, in fact, bears semblance to the performance of Kūcipūḍi set to Siṃha-nandana-tāla, where the artiste draws a lion with her feet. Abhinava-gupta and Bhoja mention a genre of dance called rāsakāṅka, similar to daṇḍa-rāsaka However, in the form called rāsakāṅka, the emotion of vipralambha dominates.

13. Ḍòmbi, ḍòmbikā, or ḍòmbilikā – A solo dancer, usually female, performs this dance; depending on the nature of the dancer, variety can be brought in.  Ḍòmbi is also a kind of laya-vādya (percussion instrument).  Kalhaṇa, in his Rāja-taraṅgiṇī mentions ḍòmba-gāna, ḍòmba-maṇḍala, etc. In fact, the different acrobatic feats of ḍòmbas (or ḍòmbaras) of the Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil speaking provinces help us understand this form better. The ḍòmbas are usually masters of singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments; they also perform citra-nartana – complex and acrobatic dances.  We may classify gypsy, lambāṇi, bañjārā, and other forms of dance under ḍòmbikā.  A female artiste, dancing as she holds a huḍukkā can also be called ḍòmbi – this comes as a part of a larger merriment involving music, dance, and acrobatics.

14. Preraṇa – Abhinava-gupta says that preraṇa is a form of upa-rūpaka, in which hāsya plays an important role. He also describes preraṇa as a story of birds and animals, which aims to teach positive human values through anyāpadeśa.

15. Rāma-krīḍa – Abhinava-gupta mentions this genre of theatre art; he defines this as a form of upa-rūpaka meant primarily for ṛtu-varṇanā – creative description of seasons.