Krishna in Classical Dances

Legends say that hearing the call of Krishna’s flute, hoard of Gopis went in search of him. Krishna then multiplied himself and danced with each Gopi, as he felt that he owed the Gopis a debt that can never be paid for, they came to him renouncing everything. This relation of the lover (Krishna) and beloved (Gopis) has been compared to that of Parmatama (Krishna) with the Gopis (individual souls) in the field of consciousness called Brindavan.

Dasavatara

The 10 avatars are Matsya, Kurma, Boar, Narasimha, Waman, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and future Kalki avatara. Lord Krishna is the archetypal lover and personification of transcendent love and desire. Legends have grown around him and his exploits as a Makhanchor Child, Cowherd, a Lover, a statesman, a soldier and a philosopher.

This love also was portrayed as Madhur Bhakti Bhava, the eternal / timeless love between lord and his devotees i.e. Gopis, among whom Radha has the highest position. The portrayal of this eternal love of Radha and Krishna is seen in all the classical dance styles. Further, there is an immense impact of “Geeta Govindam” the love poetry of Radha Krishna written by 12 century Sanskrit poet Jayadev. This is evident from the following:

Odissi dance is famous for its dances based on the Gita Govinda.

The devadasis throughout South India used to perform padams and javalis (poetic dance compositions) centering on a heroine’s longing for Krishna.

Kuchipudi tradition originated as a type of Bhagavata Mela, a dramatic sadhana in which themes from the life of Krishna were acted out by Brahman males.

Krishna Leela is one of the Abhinaya in Bharatnatyam, Kathakali and Kuchipudi dances

The Rasa dance evolved with the legends of gopis and Krishna dancing together. The cult of Radha and Krishna, particularly the raslila, is central to the themes of Manipuri dance.

In Sattariya dance, one of the major dances is the Krishna Nritya which portrays the activities of young Krishna. Another dance style in Sattariya dance is based on the life of Lord Krishna; Nadubhangi Nritya covers the story of Lord Krishna defeating the poisonous snake “Kaliya”.

In this way, virtually every classical Indian dance tradition came to include a plethora of dances based on the themes of Krishna’s life.