Editing Bharatanatyam (section)

===Symbolism===

Bharatanatyam, like all classical dances of India, uses symbolism in its ''[[abhinaya]]'' (acting) and its goals. The roots of ''abhinaya'' appear in the ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' text, which defines drama in verse 6.10 as something that aesthetically arouses joy in the spectator, through the medium of the actor's art of communication, that helps connect and transport the individual into a sensual inner state of being.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=3}} A performance art, asserts ''Natya Shastra'', connects the artists and the audience through ''abhinaya'' (literally, "carrying to the spectators"), that is applying body-speech-mind and scene, wherein the actors communicate to the audience, through song and music.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=3}} Drama in this ancient Sanskrit text, thus is an art that engages every aspect of life to glorify and give a state of joyful consciousness.{{Sfn|Tarla Mehta|1995|p=5}}

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| footer            = Example ''[[List of mudras (dance)|mudras]]'' – gestures as symbols in Bharatanatyam.
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The communication through symbols is in the form of expressive gestures and pantomime set to music. The gestures and facial expressions convey the ''ras'' (sentiment, emotional taste) and ''bhava'' (mood) of the underlying story.<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82"/> In the Hindu texts on dance, the dancer successfully expresses the spiritual ideas by paying attention to four aspects of a performance: ''Angika'' (gestures and body language), ''Vachika'' (song, recitation, music and rhythm), ''Aharya'' (stage setting, costume, makeup, jewelry), and ''Sattvika'' (artist's mental disposition and emotional connection with the story and audience, wherein the artist's inner and outer state resonates).<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82">{{cite book|author1=Tanvi Bajaj |author2=Swasti Shrimali Vohra|title=Performing Arts and Therapeutic Implications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MRcCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-32572-7 |pages=82–84}}</ref> ''Abhinaya'' draws out the ''bhava'' (mood, psychological states).<ref name="BajajVohra2015p82"/>

The gestures used in Bharatanatyam are called ''Hasta'' (or ''[[List of mudras (dance)|mudras]]''). These symbols are of three types: ''asamyuta hastas'' (single hand gestures), ''samyuta hastas'' (two hand gestures), and ''nrtta hastas'' (dance hand gestures).<ref name="BajajVohra2015p85"/> Like words in a glossary, these gestures are presented in the ''nritta'' as a list or embellishment to a prelim performance. In ''nritya'' stage of Bharatanatyam, these symbols set in a certain sequence become sentences with meaning, with emotions expressed through facial expressions and other aspects of ''abhinaya''.<ref name="BajajVohra2015p85">{{cite book|author1=Tanvi Bajaj |author2=Swasti Shrimali Vohra|title=Performing Arts and Therapeutic Implications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2MRcCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-32572-7 |pages=85–87}}</ref> The basic standing position is called as Aramandi.

Bharatanatyam contains at least 20 [[asana]]s found in [[modern yoga]], including [[Dhanurasana]] (the bow, a back-arch); [[Chakrasana]] (the wheel, a standing [[backbend|back-arch]]); [[Vrikshasana]] (the tree, a [[standing asanas|standing pose]]); and [[Natarajasana]], the pose of dancing Shiva.<ref name="Bhavanani 2001">{{cite web |last1=Bhavanani |first1=Ananda Balayogi |last2=Bhavanani |first2=Devasena |title=BHARATANATYAM AND YOGA |url=http://www.dhdi.free.fr/recherches/horizonsinterculturels/articles/bharatanatyamyoga.htm |date=2001 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023215608/http://www.dhdi.free.fr/recherches/horizonsinterculturels/articles/bharatanatyamyoga.htm |archive-date=23 October 2006 |quote=He also points out that these [Bharatanatyam dance] stances are very similar to Yoga Asanas, and in the Gopuram walls at Chidambaram, at least twenty different classical Yoga Asanas are depicted by the dancers, including Dhanurasana, Chakrasana, Vrikshasana, Natarajasana, Trivikramasana, Ananda Tandavasana, Padmasana, Siddhasana, Kaka Asana, Vrishchikasana and others.}}</ref> 108 karanas of classical temple dance are represented in temple statuary; they depict the devadasi temple dancers who made use of yoga asanas in their dancing.<ref name="YJ 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Rea |first1=Shiva |title=The Divine Dance |journal=[[Yoga Journal]] |date=28 August 2007}}</ref> Bharatanatyam is also considered a form of [[Bhakti Yoga]].<ref name="YJ 2007"/> However, Natarajasana is not found in any medieval hatha yoga text; it was among the many asanas introduced into modern yoga by [[Krishnamacharya]] in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite book | last=Goldberg | first=Elliott |author-link=Elliott Goldberg | title=The Path of Modern Yoga: the history of an embodied spiritual practice | publisher=Inner Traditions | location=Rochester, Vermont | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-62055-567-5 | oclc=926062252 | pages=223, 395–398}}</ref>