Essay name: Hastalaksanadipika a critical edition and study
Author:
E. K. Sudha
Affiliation: Government Sanskrit College (Tripunithura) / Department of Sanskrit
This is an English study on the Hastalaksanadipika—a manual depicting the Mudras (gestures) of the Kerala theatre. It is a very popular text supposedly dating to the 10th century A.D. This study also touches the subject of Krsnanattam, Kathakali and Kutiyattam—some of India's oldest theatrical traditions in Kerala.
Chapter 3 - Later developments of dramatic techniques
18 (of 22)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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is conveyed through the movements of the body, the Āngikābhinaya or histrionic representation is very important and it forms a separate unit due to its technical nature. The NS gives two types of Āngikābhinaya, one being the movements of different parts of the human body and the other being the discussion on the combination of these primary movements. Unlike the other dance treatises such as Sṛngāraratnākara, Bharatarnava etc. the BRB deals only with the first type of histrionic representation as the main topic. The author refers to other technicalities such as cari, maṇḍala etc. in the context of the viniyōgas (uses) of the particular limbs. Many of the other topics relating to Nāṭya are summed up in upōdghāta portion which is mainly devoted to a definition of Bharatanatya on the model of other ŝastras. Thus, an attempt is made here to give a detailed analysis of the contents of the upōdghāta portion of the BRB. 106 SOURCES
Many earlier texts and authors became the source of the BRB.
Among them the prominent text is Ādibharata.
ÁDIBHARATA:- M.R. Kavi in his preface to the first edition of the NS
(Gaekwards Oriental Series) says that there is an earlier work called
Dvādaśasāhasri, which is the source of the present NS and that this work
is simply called Adibharata, which is in the form of a dialogue between
Śiva and Parvati. He also says that there are fragments of this work. The
author of the BRB mentions the Adibharata on two occasions. In the
