It serves as devotion since it induces into the dancer a trance which emerges as divine and summons into him a higher personality, writes Dr ASHA GOSWAMI
The classical feature of the Indian tradition urges the Indians to pose their gods as endowed with sportive and playful nature. This tendency has grown due to their carefree mind. While dealing with their deities, they tend to rise above the confinement of their pragmatic and utilitarian individuality by entering into the super mundane realms which are full of freedom and joy. Consequently throughout in the Indian tradition, plays and playful activities such as dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments, form regular features of their favourite gods. Hence, lord Shiva and Shri Krishna turn out as the most playful gods of the Hindu Pantheon. lord Shiva is the most cherished Nataraja, the lord of play. As he is held as the promulgator of not only the art of dance but the whole of the aesthetic sciences which he created so that the human beings on earth can rejoice and feel delighted.
Such a gesture of dance by lord Shiva coincides with the world creation and is named aanandanritya or aanandatandava. The same gesture when coincides with the dissolution of the universe is known as prachandanritya or prachanda tandava. Some believe that Shiva in this dancing pose embodies in himself dormant energies and simultaneously arises these all around and thereby gives manifestation to the eternal energy which further results into the evolution; maintenance and dissolution of the world. Hence, all the beings, natural forces are held as the effects of lord Shiva’s eternal dance which occurs during all the Kalpas. Besides, Shiva’s persona as archetypal dancer is also held as representative of total activity leading to the all creation in the world. Since dance arising dormant energies, gives vent to the Supreme Energy which shapes the world on large scale.
Generally speaking about the dance, it may be asserted that such an activity of the body even becomes amplified in the ordinary dancer also and with the result, supra normal powers develop in him and thereupon not only he realises his own self but also merges into divine essence; since dance, like yoga practice, also serves as a kind of devotion or worship since it induces into the dancer a trance which ultimately emerges as the divine, sweetest essence and summons into him a higher blissful personality.
Relating this classical feature with Shri Krishna, the Indian tradition has viewed him as the most crypto playful god as Natanagara implying best of dancers who sings, plays on flute enacts super play raasa, indulges in joyful spring festival and rainy season festival whereby he reveals as a complete manifestation of his blissful potency like yogmaya, his sportive instinct that helps him reflect all of his blissful aspects. like Shiva, he is also cherished as the maker of all the arts, music and dance. Motive of his famous dance on the hoods of Kaliya is held to be the prototype of Kathak dance form. Similarly a lyrico drama Krishnagiti performed as a mode of worship in the Guruvayur Krishna temple of Kerala has given rise to the famous dance form known as Krishnattam.
Moreover, to elaborate upon his playful trait, the musical instrument flute is also associated with Krishna, as it helps him express himself during raasa in both melancholy and sprightly ways. As its play by Krishna represents the lure of the Almighty and invite/call the sentient and insentient beings in the form of the Gopis; green pastures and the river Yamuna to go back to Him who is their lord and their own true self. Besides, Krishna’s crypto sportive and playful personae also proves to be as one of the most dominant conceptions of the Indian culture and tradition. As Krishna’s such conception signifying glory, majesty, purity and projecting libidinous amusements of the God on Earth as he is synonymous with India’s cultural celebrations and the eternal spring. He is also cherished as the God of festivals as Krishna festivals start with the beginning of calendar year with the onset of Vasanta .
Some believe that Shri Krishna’s sportive and playful trait is construed on the basis of the Upanishadic doctrine of treating Divine as representative of Transcendental glory and joy “aanando brahmeti vyajaanaat” attaining whom the seekers could also feel and see the entire splendour of the world in the form of composite essence of Joy in one form as Krishna, the most blissful lord who indulges in sports, lilas with an objective to sport and enjoys himself not for any other cause but only so that his devotees are blessed. According to Vallabhacharya, Krishna’s personae as dancer par excellence or Nata Nagara is representative of his true state wherein resorting to his Maya which denotes his majestic power [Vilaasashakti] and endowed with which he becomes all majestic and could behave as He wished and indulge in pastimes and playful pranks as a regular way of life. His divine figure “ever smiling, playing on flute and dancing among the gopis is so enticing that he is befittingly called Krishna the one who as a resort of the highest pleasure , beauty and glory attracts most”.
Finally, it may be reiterated that the aesthetic sense of the Indians and its relativity to the apprehension of God as “all bliss, all ecstasy and all frolic” has played major role in their religious aspirations leading to the revelation of the divine as an embodiment of continuous sweet melody and harmonious symphony of grace and joy to mankind in the form of “Nataraja Shiva whose dance fructifies into the manifestation of the world forces and Natanagara Krishna whose love dance Raasa signifying eternal , ever expansive play of God declares him as an embodiment of love , beauty and bliss”.
The writer is a noted Indologist and authority on Krishnaite Studies