Practice of dance forms in temples

The Kings were the patrons of art forms such as dance, drama and music. Pallavas were among the earliest rulers of Tamilnadu and they are best known for their architectural wonders of Mahabalipuram. The Cholas were known for the temples around Thanjavur and kings of Vijayanagar Empire for the temples in Karnataka. The temples in India built by them have been providing a nucleus for the growth of various cultural activities. They were not just a place of worship but were a place for social gathering, education and celebration. Art and craft flourished and encouraged in the temples. Performances in the form of music, dance, drama and handicrafts were held here. Thus, the artists acquired the opportunity to worship and present their homage to God and get remuneration from Kings. Inscriptions seen in the temples provide various details about the Kings being patrons of the art forms.

Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa prescribes that each temple should have a theatre on its northern side.^[1] Theatre used to be an essential part of the architecture of temples. Most large temples have a hall meant for the performance and the audience to sit. They were known as the ‘raṅga mahāl’ ‘nṛtta maṇḍapa’, ‘saṅgīta-śāla’ and so on, for occasional sacrifices and dance recitals. This is also called the ‘naṭa-mandirā’ (hall for temple dancing) where, women dancers or devadāsis used to perform dance rituals. The architectural beauty of these halls, the innate carvings of dance sculptures and the inscriptions found here tells us that dance performances were a regular feature in the temple.

Detailed description of staging a Sanskrit play, in a temple is found in the Kuṭṭanīmata^[2] an epic poem composed by Dāmodara towards the end of the eighth century. In an episode in this poem, the author gives a vivid description of the performance of Sri-Harṣa’s Ratnāvali nāṭika. This performance was presented inside Visvanatha temple of Kasi.^[3] Dāmodara gives an extensive account of how they were presented. The performances of Yātrā festivals in temples are noted down in various Sanskrit texts. Jaina āgama, describes about the krīḍa gṛha (playhouse) in Jain temples.^[4] Narmadāsundarīkatha, a fascinating tale of Prākrit, presents a picturesque account of the Jinanātha Mahotsava in a Jaina temple where dances and drama performances took place.