Karanas are the 108 key transitions in the classical Indian dance described in 4th Chapter named "Tandava Lakshana" of Natya Shastra. ''Karana'' is a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
verbal noun, meaning "doing".
Description
Natya Shastra states that Karanas are the framework for the "margi" (pan-Indian classical) productions which are supposed to spiritually enlighten the spectators, as opposed to the "desi" (regional folk or pop dance) productions which can only entertain the spectators. "One who performs well this Karana dance created by Maheswara will go free from all sins to the abode of this deity," states Natya ShastraNatya Shastra translated by Manmohan Ghosh 2002 Chowkhamba Press, Varanasi - Page 75.
Some of the well-known interpretations of karanas are by Dr.Padma Subramanyam that were based on 108 brief movement phrases describing specific leg, hip, body, and arm movements accompanied by hasta mudras described in the Natya shastra and other scriptures, and from depictions of the movements in sculpture in five South Indian temples, notably the
Chidambaram temple
Thillai Nataraja Temple, also referred as the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nataraja, the form of Shiva as the lord of dance. This temple is located in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. This temple has ancient ro ...
which contains depictions of the full set. Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam has written a book called Karanas-Common dance codes of India and Indonesia, based on her research of karanas from the temples of Prambanan(Indonesia), Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram, Thiruvannamalai, and Vriddhachalam. In the 20th century, she was the first dancer to reconstruct the Karanas as movements, which were considered mere poses earlier.
Some other
Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...
gurus, such as
Adyar Lakshman
Adyar K. Lakshman (16 December 1933 – 19 August 2014) was a noted Indian Bharatnatyam dancer, choreographer and guru.
Early life
Born on 16 December 1933, Adyar K. Lakshman hails from Kuppam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. His fath ...
(Kalakshetra school), as well as the Kuchipudi gurus
Vempati Chinna Satyam
Vempati Chinna Satyam (15 October 1929 – 29 July 2012) was an Indian dancer and a guru of the Kuchipudi dance form.
Chinna Satyam was born in a brahmin family at Kuchipudi, Andhra Pradesh. He was taught by Vedantam Lakshmi Narayana Sastry ...
and C.R.Acharya have also attempted to reconstruct all the 108 karanas, which were often significantly different from Padma Subrahmanyam's interpretations so much so that even on the chari (leg movement) level there was no agreement as to whose interpretation is correct. Due to the significant variations in the depictions, most traditional Bharatanatyam schools considered Padma Subrahmanyam's style, which incorporated Karanas as incorrect, which forced her to name her own style as Bharatanrityam rather than
Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...
. Many of Padma Subrahmanyam's disciples, such as
Bala Devi Chandrashekar
Bala Devi Chandrashekar is a Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher based in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. She was trained under Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. Bala Devi Chandrashekar is a Professor of practice in Asian performing arts. Her approa ...
(SPNAPA Academy of performing arts) - Sujatha Mohan (Padmashree Nrithyalaya), Uma Sriram, Jayashree Rajagopalan, Dominique Delorme (France) and others are teaching the 108 karanas based on Dr. Padma's research.
There used to be devadasis who performed all the 108 karanas. Still, now in most contemporary Bharatanatyam or
Odissi
Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.parampara up to date.
Apart from that, performing of the same Karana differs greatly across different classical Indian styles. Currently, as regards the exact technique, there are no established standards and no universally agreed-upon interpretations of the texts and sculptures.
Dances of India
Dance in India comprises numerous styles of dances, generally classified as classical or folk. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local trad ...