Abhinaya-darpana (English)
by Ananda Coomaraswamy | 1917 | 16,981 words | ISBN-13: 9788121500210
The English translation of the Abhinaya-darpana (“the mirror of gesture”) by Nandikeshvara: an encyclopedic manual of the art of gesticulation. It belongs to a wide range of literature known as Natya-shastra: the ancient Indian art of dramatic performance, theatrics, dance and music. The Abhinaya Darpana is an abridgement of the Bharatarnava, a m...
Chapter 23 - Hands denoting Famous Rivers
Hands of the Famous Rivers.—
Moving upwards and downwards (yyāvṛtlacāpaveṣṭitau) indicates a river, etc.: for any river, the Patāka hand is used. I shall expound the right fashion of those hands that indicate Gaṅgā, etc., in accordance with their special virtues.
For Gaṅgā, etc., Tāmracūḍa; for Yamunā, Rekhā; for Krṣṇā-verī, Siṃha-mukha; Kaverī, Catura; Sarasvatī, Patāka and Catura; Narmada, Ardha-patāka; Tungabhadra, Haṃsāsya; Sarasvatī, Bāṇa; Vetrāvatī, Sūci; Candra-bhāga (Chenab) the hand moving; Sarayu, Padma; Bhīmarathi, Arāla; Suvarṇa-mukhī, Ardha-catura; Pāpanāsinī, Śukatuṇḍa.
So it is said by those who know bhāva; and for rivers not mentioned here the Patāka hand is applicable.