Image title: Figure 190. A dancing girl

This is the sculpture of a dancing lady standing in Ayata Sthana, right leg straight and left leg at ease. Her left hand is holding a lotus and her right hand is in Uru Hasta. An Abhanga posture.

In Ayata Sthana the right foot is to be in Sama, while the left foot is in Tryasra at a distance of about a span from each other. The right hand can be on the hip where as the left hand is to hang loosely in Lata but here it is holding a Padma. Such sculptures of dancing girls not necessarily performing any Cari or Karana is very common in the south Indian temples as they enrich the environment of the temples and they are also proof of existing of Dasis in the temples.

Gallery information:

Kumbakonam is considered as one of the holiest places in Tamil Nadu and is known for its temples and Mathas (monasteries which were centres of Brahmanical learning). These photographs depict the connection between the sculptures in the temples and Natya Shastra and related texts dealing with iconography.