important to speak of both these aspects simultaneously. These religious ties add to the beauty and vibrancy of this dance, since Hindu mythology is the core essence of Bharata Natyam. To begin, the highly cultivated art of Bharata Natyam has been handed down over the centuries by teachers called nattuvanars and ritualistic dancers called devidasis, in the temples of south India. This style of dance has descended as one of the devotional dances performed in the temples of South India, from the tenth century to the middle of this century. This is a very popular dance form in South India and was a major part in religious Hindu ceremonies. It is oldest of all classical dance forms in India. It originated in the great temples of the south and usually tells events of Krishna's life (Medhuri, 3).Concerning the religious history of Bharata Natyam, the Gods & Godesses pleaded Lord Brahma to create another veda (teaching) which would be simple for the common man to understand. It is believed that considering this request, Lord Brahma created the fifth veda, named Natyaveda, as a combination of the other four vedas. It is believed that Lord Brahma has taken pathya (words) form the Rigveda, abhinaya (gesture) from the Yajurveda, geet (music and chant) from Samaveda and rasa (sentiment and emotional element) from Atharvaveda to form the fifth veda, Natyaveda (Bhagyalakhsmy, 29).After creating this Natyaveda, Lord Brahma gave this veda to sage Bharata and asked him to popularize this veda on earth. Following the words of Lord Brahma, sage Bharata wrote Natyashastra or the Science of Dramaturgy, a great, comprehensive work on the science and technique of Indian drama, dance and music. This is why Bharata Natyam received its name from the sage Bharata (Chandra 38). Among another popular religious story tied to Bharata Natyam says that the Goddess Parvathi tought this dance form to Uma, daughter of Banasura, a demon, thus the divine dance form Bharata...
