Mudra and Notation
Domain 6 tests hastas and how dance is written down. Learn a working set of mudras with their meanings, the three-way classification, and the notation each style uses.
Core rules
- Asamyuta hasta - a gesture made with one hand; the Abhinaya Darpana tradition lists 28.
- Samyuta hasta - a gesture using both hands together; 24 are listed. Nritta hasta - decorative gestures for pure dance; 13 in the same text.
- A hasta is not a word. One gesture carries many meanings by context: pataka (flat extended palm) can mean clouds, forest, blessing, a slap or 'stop'.
- Working set: tripataka (crown, tree), ardhapataka (river, knife), kartarimukha (separation, lightning), mayura (peacock, applying tilak), sikhara (Shiva, holding a bow), suchi (pointing, one), alapadma (full-blown lotus), bhramara (bee), hamsasya (garland, tying a thread), anjali (palms joined, salutation).
- Notation: Bharatanatyam uses sollukattu (tai-ha-tai-hi, ta-ka-di-mi) tied to adavu names; Kathak writes bols against the tala, e.g. tatkar 'ta thai thai tat / aa thai thai tat'; cycles are marked X for tali/sam and 0 for khali.
Worked example
Show a bee circling a lotus. Reasoning: the lotus is alapadma, fingers cupped and flared like a full bloom; the bee is bhramara, the hand held with index curled and thumb and middle finger joined, moved in small circles near the flower. Using pataka for the lotus loses the specificity the examiner wants, and using bhramara for the flower is simply the wrong meaning.
Traps
Mixing pataka and tripataka (tripataka bends the ring finger). Saying samyuta means 'both hands identical' - many samyuta hastas are asymmetric, such as karkata. Assuming sollukattu and bol are one system. Forgetting that nritta hastas exist as a third category alongside single- and double-hand gestures.