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temple rituals, K奴峁璱y膩峁�峁璦m serves the religious function as a visual sacrifice
to the temple diety. Its acting style is conventional, composed of an
elaborate blend of symbolic gesture, stylized costumes and physical
movements and loudly chanted dialogue and verses. In the olden days the
chief spectators were the members of upper class. Today men and
women of other castes and communities also watch K奴峁璱y膩峁�峁璦m and it is
also performed outside the confines of orthodox temples.
According to tradition, families of actors and musicians belonging to
particular castes of temple servants namely C膩ky膩rs and Namby膩rs hold
the exclusive right to perform plays in the Kerala temples. The temple
records of the tenth century AD attributed to King Kulasekhara Varman
indicate that K奴峁璱y膩峁�峁璦m was already at an advanced stage of its
development by this date. K奴峁璱y膩峁�峁璦m as it exists today was remodeled
during the time of Kulasekharavarma.3
31 K奴峁璱y膩峁�峁璦m has some significant features which make it different
from other Sanskrit theatrical forms. They are the elaborate and the
prolanged acting of the slokas, the overriding importance of Vid奴峁�aka who
speak in Malayalam and the fact that the role of females are acted by
women of the Namby膩r families called Nanny膩rs. In K奴峁璱y膩峁�峁璦m the
vidusaka has a prominent place. He not only entertains the spectators, but