Discuss the 'Tandava’ dance as recorded in early Indian inscriptions.

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Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Early inscriptions and labelled temple panels record Tandava as Shiva's 108-karana dance, patronised by kings and performed by temple dancers. Chidambaram's gopurams inscribe each karana with its Natyashastra verse, and Rajaraja I's Thanjavur inscriptions settle 400 dancers and name the Nataraja Adavallan.

**Introduction**

Tandava, Shiva's vigorous dance, is codified in the fourth chapter of the Natyashastra, the Tandava Lakshana, as 108 karanas taught through his attendant Tandu. Inscriptions and labelled temple panels show it becoming a royal and temple tradition.

**What the Epigraphic Record Shows**

SKETCH: timeline | Tandava in Stone and Inscription
- 1st c. BCE :: Hathigumpha dance festivals
- 6th c. CE :: Badami, Elephanta Nataraja
- c. 700 CE :: Kailasanatha Urdhva Tandava
- 1010 CE :: Thanjavur 81 karanas
- 12th-13th c. :: Chidambaram 108 karanas

1. **Royal patronage**: Kharavela's Hathigumpha inscription records dance, song and music festivals in his capital, the earliest epigraphic proof of state-sponsored dance, though Tandava is not yet named.
2. **Labelled karanas**: Chidambaram's gopurams carry all 108 karanas, each panel inscribed with its Natyashastra verse, a stone manual that ties performance to the text.
3. **Chola records**: Rajaraja I's Thanjavur temple (1010) carves 81 karanas, and his inscriptions settle 400 temple dancers and name the bronze Nataraja Adavallan, "the one who dances well".

**What the Record Reveals About Tandava**

1. **Forms**: The panels separate Ananda Tandava of Chidambaram from Urdhva Tandava, the leg-raised contest with Kali, while Badami's eighteen-armed Nataraja compresses many poses into one image.
2. **Cosmic and royal meaning**: The dance enacts Shiva's five acts (pancha-kritya), and Chola copper plates praise Parantaka I for covering Chidambaram's dance hall with gold.
3. **Tandava and Lasya**: The temple dancers endowed by Chola inscriptions carried a tradition pairing Shiva's forceful Tandava with Parvati's graceful Lasya, the twin base of Bharatanatyam.

**Conclusion**

The inscriptions turned Tandava from a textual myth into a temple institution preserved in stone, endowment and dancer. Padma Subrahmanyam's reconstruction of the karanas from these panels shows it is living heritage.

Discuss the 'Tandava’ dance as recorded in early Indian inscriptions.

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