Gati in Theory and Practice
by Dr. Sujatha Mohan | 2015 | 88,445 words
This page relates ‘Analysis of technical terms: Tandava and Lasya’ of the study on the Theory and Practice of Gati (“gait”) which refers to the “movement of a character on the stage”, commonly employed (as a Sanskrit technical term) in ancient Indian Theatrics and the Dramatic arts, also known as Natya-shastra. This thesis explores the history and evolution of Gati and also investigates how the various Gatis are employed in regional performance traditions.
Analysis of technical terms: Tāṇḍava and Lāsya
According to Bharata the term tāṇḍava is a synonym for nṛtta. Nṛtta was created by Śiva and given to Taṇḍu and he in turn added appropriate songs and instruments for presentation and thus it was known as tāṇḍava.
recakā aṅgahārāśca piṇḍībandhāstathaiva ca |
sṛṣṭvā bhagavatā dattastaṇḍave munaye tadā ||[1]
Tāṇḍava, which was attributed to Lord Śiva, was performed by Pārvati in a delicate manner.
recakairaṅgahāraiśca nṛtyantaṃ vīkṣya śaṅkaram |
sukumāraprayogeṇa nṛtyantī caiva pārvatīm ||[2]
Bharata defines the forceful tāṇḍava as uddhata prayoga and the graceful as sūkumara prayoga, which was later known as lāsya. Though the movements are the same for tāṇḍava and lāsya, due to the inherent differences in nature of the male and female, the ultimate effect is different when performed by the two genders.
Tāṇḍava is full of vigour and is supplemented by lāsya, the graceful dance. These represent the violent and the tender nature, that is, the forceful male energy and feminine grace.
Abhinava gupta uses the term tāṇḍava and lāsya in his commentary where he quotes that Pārvati is pleased when there is a little of lāsya and Śiva with his gaṇas are pleased when there is a little of tāṇḍava.
yatkiñcillāsyametena devī tuṣyati nityaśaḥ |
yatkiñcittaṇḍavaṃ tena somaḥ sānucaraḥ śivaḥ ||[3]
Lāsya according to Bharata is a graceful dance, which is an aṅga of the dramas. The later works describe these dances in various ways. Tāṇḍava and lāsya are the two modes of dancing in which the former represents the forceful dance and the latter represents the gentle dance.[4] According to Śāradātanaya, tāṇḍava is that which has forceful karaṇas and aṅgahāras performed in ārabhaṭi style for the songs sung. It was propagated by Taṇḍu, and by this both the word meaning and the sentence meaning are represented.[5] Lāsya is that which is performed for the songs in kaiśikī style with graceful aṅgahāras and laya. The term lāsya is derived from the root ‘las’ and is performed when the rhythm, song, instruments, dance and the histrionic representation are all performed gently.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Ibid.VI.260.
[2]:
Ibid.VI.249, 250.
[3]:
Ibid.vol.I.com.p.178.
[4]:
Śabdakalpadruma vol II p.918.
[5]:
Bhāvaprakāśa II. pp.45,46.