Natyam was introduced to the mankind. Admittedly there are no universal theories concerning Bharata Natyam’s origin , except for one. This is the mythological story of Lord Shiva, who is considered the supreme lord of dance. This divine dance form was first performed by Lord Shiva & his wife Goddess Parvathi in the heavens. This is the reason why the Bharata Natyam dancer is considered as a worshipper of the Divine. The dance performed by Lord Shiva is known as Tandava, meaning the dance of the universe. The following is a description of Lord Shiva's well-known pose of Nataraja: his right hand holds the drum of creation , which symbolizes a new awakening. Next, his left hand holds fire, thereby representing destruction of the ignorant people. His other right hand is raised in blessing, the other left hand points to his left foot, which has crushed demon Muyalaka, who also represents ignorance (Chandra, 38). This pose of Nataraja, is best understood and experienced when seen personally. One need not be a religious Hindu in order to appreciate the exquisiteness of the Nataraja’s philosophy. This is the philosophy that states the destruction of all human ignorance toward their fellow mankind.Bharata Natyam has definitely gone through lot of changes over the years. In olden days it was performed mostly by female artists. They were called Devidasis, who would perform in the temples. These Devidasis were accomplished artists who would sing, dance, and play many instruments. They were very fluent in Sanskrit & other languages which helped them to interpret the compositions which they would perform. But this tradition came to an end as the Devidasis lost their position in the society, due to their lack of “formal” education (Rai, 2). Then, Bharata Natyam was performed for kings and queens in the royal courts. Now the artists were called Rajanartakis (kings dancers), instead of Devidasis. These people too, were a...
