, image = , alt = , caption = An illustration of the ''Manipuri Raas Leela'' dance, being depicted in a stamp from

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

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transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

s of "Jagoi Raas" and "Manipuri Raas Leela", the terms in

Meitei language Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in pa ...

(officially called Manipuri) and

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 ...

respectively, for the Manipuri classical dance, in

Meitei script ) , altname = , type = Abugida , languages = Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) , region = * Manipur , sample = "Meitei Mayek" (literally meaning "Meitei script" in Meitei language) written ...

(

Manipuri script ) , altname = , type = Abugida , languages = Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) , region = * Manipur , sample = "Meitei Mayek" (literally meaning "Meitei script" in Meitei language) written ...

) of medieval era , native_name = mni, Jagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi , etymology = ''" Raas Leela of the

Manipuris The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

"'' , genre = Indian classical dance , signature = , instruments = , inventor = Rajarshi Bhagyachandra ( mni,

Ching-Thang Khomba Ningthou Ching-Thang Khomba (also Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra, Jai Singh Maharaja) (1748–1799) was a Meitei monarch of the 18th century CE. The inventor of the Manipuri Raas Leela dance, with his daughter ''Shija Lailoibi'' playing as Radha at ...

) , year = , origin = *

Manipur kingdom The Manipur Kingdom was an ancient independent kingdom at the India–Burma frontier that was in subsidiary alliance with British India from 1824, and became a princely state in 1891. It bordered Assam Province in the west and Briti ...

(historical) * (current) The '' Manipuri Dance'', also referred to as the ''Manipuri'' ''Raas Leela'' ( mni, Jagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi), is one of the eight major Indian classical dance forms, originating from the state of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

. The dance form is imbued with the devotional themes of Madhura Raas of

Radha-Krishna Radha-Krishna (IAST , sa, राधा कृष्ण) are collectively known within Hinduism as the combined forms of feminine as well as the masculine realities of God. Krishna and Radha are the primeval forms of God and his pleasure potenc ...

and characterised by ''gentle'' eyes and ''soft peaceful'' body movements. The facial expressions are ''peaceful'' mostly expressing Bhakti Rasa or the emotion of devotion, no matter if a dancer is Hindu or not. The dance form is based on Hindu scriptures of

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

and is exclusively attached to the worship of

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

. It is a portrayal of the dance of divine love of Lord Krishna with goddess Radha and the cowherd damsels of Vrindavan, famously known as the Raas Leela. The roots of the ''Manipuri Raas Leela'' dance, as with all classical Indian dances, is the ancient

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Sanskrit text ''

Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary ...

'', with influences and the culture fusion between various local folk dance forms. With evidence of Vishnu temples in the medieval era, this dance form has been passed down verbally from generation to generation as an

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...

. At a time when other Indian classical dances were struggling to shake off the stigma of decadent crudity and disrepute, the Manipuri classical dance was a top favorite with girls of 'respectable' families. This Manipuri dance drama is, for most part is entirely religious and is considered to be a purely spiritual experience. It is accompanied with devotional music created with many instruments, with the beat set by

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

s (kartal or

manjira The taal, manjira (also spelled manjīrā or manjeera), jalra, karatala, kartal or gini is a pair of clash cymbals, originating in the Indian subcontinent, which make high-pitched percussion sounds. In its simplest form, it consists of a pai ...

) and double-headed drum (pung or Manipuri

mrdanga The khol is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music ('' bhakti''). It is also known as a mridanga (<

sankirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance art ...

. The dance drama choreography shares the plays and stories of ''Vaishnavite Padavalis'', that also inspired the major Gaudiya Vaishnava-related performance arts found in Assam and West Bengal. Though the term '' Manipuri Dance'' is associated with the ''Raas Leela'', Manipuri dance consists of ''jagoi'', ''cholom'' and ''

huyen langlon Huyen langlon is an Indian martial art from Manipur. In the Meitei language, means war while or can mean net, knowledge or art. consists of two main components: thang-ta (armed combat) and sarit sarak (unarmed fighting). The primary weapons ...

''. Due to the latter, it is one of the only two Indian classical dance forms to feature violence as a motif (the other is Chhau).

History

The first reliably dated written texts describing the art of Manipuri dance are from the early 18th-century.

Medieval period

Historical texts of Manipur have not survived into the modern era, and reliable records trace to early 18th century. Theories about the antiquity of Manipuri Raas Leela dance rely on the oral tradition, archaeological discoveries and references about Manipur in Asian manuscripts whose date can be better established. The

text ''Bamon Khunthok'', which literally means "Brahmin migration", states Panniker, states that Vaishnavism practices were adopted by the king of Manipur in the 15th century CE, arriving from Shan kingdom of Pong. Further waves of Buddhists and Hindus arrived from

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

and

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, after mid 16th-century during Hindu-Muslim wars of

Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

, and were welcomed in Manipur. In 1704, the Meitei King

Pitambar Charairongba ) , title = Ningthou , titletext = , more = , image = , image_size = , alt = , caption = , succession = , moretext = , reign ...

( mni,

Charairongba ) , title = Ningthou , titletext = , more = , image = , image_size = , alt = , caption = , succession = , moretext = , reign ...

) adopted Vaishnavism, and declared it to be the state religion. In 1717, the Meitei King Gareeb Niwaz ( mni,

Pamheiba Gharib Nawaz (born Pamheiba, 1690–1751) was a Meetei king of Manipur, ruling from c. 1709 until his death. He introduced Hinduism as the state religion of his kingdom (1717) and changed the name of the kingdom to the Sanskrit ''Manipur'' (1 ...

) converted to Chaitanya style devotional Vaishnavism, which emphasized singing, dancing and religious performance arts centered around Hindu god Krishna. In 1734, devotional dance drama centered around Hindu god Rama expanded Manipuri dance tradition. Pung cholom performer, Manipur

Meitei King Rajarshi Bhagyachandra ( mni,

) (r. 1759–1798 CE) of Manipur State adopted Gaudiya Vaishnavism (Krishna oriented), documented and codified the Manipuri dance style, launching the golden era of its development and refinement. He composed three of the five types of Raas Leelas, the ''Maha Raas'', the ''Basanta Raas'' and the ''Kunja Raas'', performed at the Sri Sri Govindaji temple in

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

during his reign and also the ''Achouba Bhangi Pareng'' dance. He designed an elaborate costume known as ''Kumil'' (the cylindrical long mini-mirror-embellished stiff skirt costume, that makes the dancer appear to be floating). The ''Govinda Sangeet Lila Vilasa'', an important text detailing the fundamentals of the dance, is also attributed to him. Meitei King Rajarshi Bhagyachandra ( mni,

) is also credited with starting public performances of Raas Leela and Manipuri dances in Hindu temples. Meitei King

Gambhir Singh Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba (1788–1834), also known as Raja Gambhir Singh, was a ruler of the Manipur Kingdom. Biography He was a son of Chingthang Khomba. He succeeded his nephew Yumjaotaba in April 1821 during the seven years devastation. He ...

( mni, Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba) (r. 1825–1834 CE) composed two of the

tandava Tandava (also spelled as ) also known as , is a divine dance performed by Hindu god Shiva. Shiva is depicted as dancing the Tandava in his form of Nataraja. The ''Natya Shastra'', a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts describes various as ...

type, the ''Goshtha Bhangi Pareng'' and the ''Goshtha Vrindaban Pareng''. King

Chandrakirti Singh Maharaja Chandrakirti Singh (1850 – May 1886) was a Meitei monarch and the Maharaja of Manipur Kingdom. He was the son of Maharaja Gambhir Singh. Biography He was born in Imphal, and resided there till the end of his Regime in 1886. Before ...

(r. 1849–1886 CE), a gifted drummer, composed at least 64 Pung choloms (drum dances) and two of the ''Lasya'' type, the ''Vrindaban Bhangi Pareng'' and ''Khrumba Bhangi Pareng''. The composition of the ''Nitya Raas'' is also attributed to these kings.

British ruling period

In 1891, the British colonial government annexed

into its Empire, marking an end to its golden era of creative systematization and expansion of Manipuri dance. The ''Manipuri Raas Leela'' dance was thereafter ridiculed as immoral, ignorant and old-fashioned, like all other classical Hindu performance arts. The dance and artists survived only in temples, such as in

Shree Govindajee Temple Shree Govindajee Temple ( mni, , Shri Shri Govindajee Laishang) is the largest Vaishnava temple in Imphal district of Manipur, India. The temple is dedicated to Hindu deities Radha Krishna ( Govindaji). It was originally built in 1846 during th ...

. The cultural discrimination was resisted and the dance revived by

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

activists and scholars.

Modern era

The classical ''Manipuri Raas Leela dance'' genre got a second life through the efforts of the Noble Laureate

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. In 1919, he was impressed after seeing a dance composition of ''Goshtha Lila'' in

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

(in present-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

). He invited Guru Budhimantra Singh who had trained in ''Manipuri Raas Leela dance'', as faculty to the Indian culture and studies center named

Shantiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

. In 1926, Guru Naba Kumar joined the faculty to teach the ''Raas Leela''. Other celebrated Gurus, Senarik Singh Rajkumar, Nileshwar Mukherji and Atomba Singh were also invited to teach there and assisted Tagore with the choreography of several of his dance-dramas.

Repertoire

''Chali'' or ''Chari'' is the basic dance movement in Manipuri ''Raas'' dances. The repertoire and underlying play depends on the season. The dances are celebrated on full moon nights, three times in autumn (August through November) and once again in spring (March or April). The ''Basanta Raas'' is timed with the Hindu festival of colors called

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

, while others are timed with post-harvest festivals of

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

and others. The plays and songs recited during the dance performance center around the love and frolics between Radha and Krishna, in the presence of ''Gopis'' named Lalita, Vishakha, Chitra, Champaklata, Tungavidya, Indurekha, Rangadevi and Sudevi. There is a composition and dance sequence for each Gopi, and the words have two layers of meanings, one literal and other spiritual. The longest piece of the play focusses on Radha and Krishna. The dancer playing Krishna expresses emotions, while the body language and hand gestures of the Gopi display their feelings such as longing, dejection or cheer. In other plays, the Manipuri dancers are more forceful, acrobatic and their costumes adjust to the need of the dance. Dozens of boys synchronously dance the ''Gopa Ras'', where they enact the chores of daily life such as feeding the cows. In ''Uddhata Akanba'', states Ragini Devi, the dance is full of vigor (jumps, squats, spins), energy and elegance.

Costumes

The classical Manipuri dance features unique costumes. The women characters are dressed, in doll-like ''Potloi'' costumes. The brilliant design of the Potloi was conceived in a dream by Vaishnavite Meitei King Rajarshi Bhagyachandra ( mni,

) of

, in which he saw his daughter dancing in a Potloi. The Potloi costumes for women are tailored such that it is avoids arousal of any unhealthy stimulus in the audience.

Female upper garment

* ''Choli''- A velvet blouse adorns the upper part of the body. The choli is embellished with zari, silk or gota embroidery. Gopis are dressed in red blouses while Radha stands out in green. For Pangals, the sleeves were extended to cover the arms.

Female lower garment

* ''Kumin'' is an elaborately decorated barrel shaped long skirt stiffened at the bottom and close to the top. The decorations on the barrel include gold and silver embroidery, small pieces of mirrors, and border prints of lotus, Kwaklei orchid, and other items in nature. * ''Pasuan''- The top border of the ''Kumin'' is adorned with a wavy and translucent fine muslin skirt tied in three places around the waist in Trikasta (with spiritual symbolism of the ancient Hindu Shastras) and opens up like a flower. * ''Khangoi''- Small rectangular belt over the ''Pasuan''. * ''Khaon''- Rectangular embroidered piece with belt. * ''Thabret''- A girdle around the waist. The dancers do not wear bells on ankles but do wear anklets and foot ornaments. Manipuri dance artists wear ''kolu'' necklaces on the neck and adorn the face, back, waist, hands and legs with round jewellery ornaments or flower garlands that flow with the dress symmetry. The face is decorated with the sacred Gaudiya Vaishnava Tilak on the forehead and Gopi dots made of sandalwood above the eyebrows. The symmetrical translucent dress, states Reginald Massey, makes ''"the dancers appear to float on the stage, as if from another world"''.

Head accessories

* Females- ''Koknam'' (gauze oveerhead, embossed with silver zari), ''Koktombi'' (cap covering the head) and ''Meikhumbi'' (a transparent thin veil) thrown over the head to symbolically mark elusiveness. * Males - '' Leittreng (Kajenglei)'' (golden headdress around the head) and ''Chura'' (made of peacock feathers, wired on top of the head).

Male upper & lower garment

The male characters dress in a ''

dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the I ...

'' (also called ' or ''dhora'') – a brilliantly colored broadcloth pleated, wrapped and tied at waist and allowing complete freedom of movement for the legs. Dancers wear a bright yellow-orange dhoti while playing Lord Krishna and a green/blue dhoti while playing Balaram. A crown decorated with peacock feather adorns the dancer's head, who portrays Lord Krishna. The '' Pung Cholom'' dancers wear white dhoti that covers the lower part of body from waist and a snow-white turban on the head. A shawl neatly folded adorns their left shoulders while the drum strap falls on their right shoulders. Rasa Lila in Manipuri dance style

The costume tradition of the Manipuri dance celebrates its more ancient artistic local traditions, fused with the spiritual themes of ''prema''

bhava The Sanskrit word bhava (भव) means being, worldly existence, becoming, birth, be, production, origin,Monier Monier-Williams (1899), Sanskrit English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Archiveभव bhava but also habitual or emotional te ...

of Radha-Krishna found in the tenth book of the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...

. The ''Huyen langlon'' dancers, however, typically wear costumes of Manipuri warriors. The costume varies depending on their gender.

Music and instruments

The musical accompaniment for Manipuri dance comes from a percussion instrument called the Pung (a barrel drum), a singer, small ' (

s), ''sembong'', harmonium, and wind instrument such as a

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

. The drummers are male artistes and, after learning to play the pung, students train to dance with it while drumming. This dance is celebrated, states Massey, with the dancer wearing white turbans, white ''dhotis'' (for Hindu dummers) or ''kurtas'' (for Muslim dummers), a folded shawl over the left shoulder, and the drum strap worn over the right shoulder. It is known as Pung cholom, and the dancer plays the drum and performs the dance jumps and other movements. Another dance called ''Kartal cholom'', is similar to ''Pung cholom'', but the dancers carry and dance to the rhythm created with cymbals. This is a group dance, where dancers form a circle, move in the same direction while making music and dancing to the rhythm. Women dance too as groups, such as in the Manipuri dance called ''Mandilla cholom'', and these usually go with devotional songs and playing colorful tassels-string tied cymbals where one side represents Krishna and the other Radha. Shaiva (tandava) dances are choreographed as ''Duff cholom'' and ''Dhol cholom''. The songs in ''Huyen langlon'' can be played with any Manipuri instruments such as the '' pena'' and are usually aggressive sounding but they contain no lyrics. The lyrics used in Manipuri are usually from the classical poetry of

Jayadeva Jayadeva (; born ), also spelt Jaideva, was a Sanskrit poet during the 12th century. He is most known for his epic poem ''Gita Govinda'' which concentrates on Krishna's love with the '' gopi'', Radha, in a rite of spring. This poem, which presen ...

Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier ...

Chandidas Chandidas (born 1408) was a medieval poet of Bengal, or possibly more than one. Over 1250 poems related to the love of Radha and Krishna in Bengali with the ''bhanita'' of Chandidas are found with three different sobriquets along with his name, ...

, Govindadas or Gyandas and may be in

, Maithili,

Brij Bhasha The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant ...

or others.

Styles and categories

The traditional Manipuri Raas Lila is performed in three styles – ''Tal Rasak'', ''Danda Rasak'' and ''Mandal Rasak''. A Tal Rasak is accompanied with clapping, while Danda Rasak is performed by synchronous beat of two sticks but the dancers position it differently to create geometric patterns. The Gopis dance in a circle around the Krishna character in the center. The Manipuri dance comes in two categories - tandav (vigorous dance for the dancer who plays Krishna) and lasya (delicate dance for the dancers who play Radha and Gopis). The Manipuri Raas Leela dance style embodies dreamy wavelike movements where one movement dissolves into another like the waves of an ocean. The dance features rounded soft movements of women, and occasional fast movements by male characters. Unlike the other classical dance forms of India, the Manipuri dance artists do not wear anklet bells and the footwork is subdued and gentle in the Manipuri style. The stage movements is part of a composite movement of the whole body. There are five types of accepted Ras Leela, they are Maharas, Basantaras, Kunjaras, Nityaras and Dibaras. The Maharas Leela is the most prominent. This dance is performed in the month of Kartik (around November) on a full moon night. It is a story of the Gopis sorrow after the disappearance of Krishna. After seeing the Gopis disheartened, Krishna then reappears and multiplies himself so that he is dancing with each Gopi. The Basantaras is celebrated on Chaitra (around April) on a full moon night welcoming the spring season. During this time Holi is also celebrated where participants throw colored water or powder at each other. The story of Basantaras is based on Jaidev's Gita Govinda and the Brahma Vavairta Purana. Kunjaras is celebrated on Ashwin (October) in Autumn on a full moon night. Nityaras is celebrated any night of the year except for the previous three raas (Maharas, Basantaras and Kunjaras). The story is of the divine union of Radha and Krishna after Radha surrenders herself to Lord Krishna. Dibaras is celebrated any time of the year during the day besides the periods of Maharas, Basantaras and Kunjaras. The performance comes from the chapters in the ''Shri Krishnaras- Sangeet Samgraha'', ''Govinda Leelamritya, Shrimad Bhagavata'' and ''Sangitamahava.''

References

Bibliography

* *''Manipuri'' by R K Singhajit Singh, ''Dances of India'' series, Wisdom Tree, . * * * * * * * * * *
Table of Contents
* * * * *

External links

All about Manipuri dance
History and development of Manipuri dance forms, Dance costumes, Dance style, Famous Manipuri artists
Manipuri dance
Raas Lila, Video clip (1 minute 29 seconds)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manipuri Dance Classical dance genres of India Hindu dance traditions Krishna in art Krishna in popular culture Manipuri dance Meitei culture Meitei folklore in popular culture