Live data from Hacker News

Mudras in Indian Dance

webindia123.com

1–10 of 25 posts

Re: Mudras in Indian Dance

#3

This looks interesting... Can anyone provide some context as to how these signs are used / what they communicate exactly?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra

It's a fairly comprehensive write-up. I'm mostly familiar with the Hatha Yoga context of mudras.

There's also a few dozen books on the topic. I'd stick to the older more original texts if you want a real understanding, and stay away from the more modern new age fluffy bunny "crystal mudras" nonsense.

Re: Mudras in Indian Dance

#4
post #3

This looks interesting... Can anyone provide some context as to how these signs are used / what they communicate exactly?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra It's a fairly comprehensive write-up. I'm mostly familiar with the Hatha Yoga context of mudras. There's also a few dozen books on the topic. I'd stick to the older more original texts if you want a real understanding, and stay away from the more modern new age fluffy bunny "crystal mudras" nonsense.

Forgot to provide the link to the books: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Mudras&ref=nb_sb_noss

Re: Mudras in Indian Dance

#5

This looks interesting... Can anyone provide some context as to how these signs are used / what they communicate exactly?

I might have picked this up from crystal-nonsense contexts, but certain traditions associate numbers with everything, or if not numbers, then the chakras or organs of the body.

Performing mudras as part of meditation can be a kind of physical mnemonic device, to help focus on whatever concept the mudra is meant to represent.

You could think of praying with hands together as a kind of mudra - posing your hands to access a certain state of mind.

I couldn't say how much overlap there is between chinese qigong and classical indian dance, but probably not none.

Re: Mudras in Indian Dance

#7

This looks interesting... Can anyone provide some context as to how these signs are used / what they communicate exactly?

Here's a short video depicting some of these mudras as used in Bharatanatyam (a form of classical dance from Southern India): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4FtwU2MVoE

Re: Mudras in Indian Dance

#8

This looks interesting... Can anyone provide some context as to how these signs are used / what they communicate exactly?

The art of Indian Dance (traditional) is a amalgamation of facial expressions, body postures and hand gestures. All three must be used in unison to express a feeling / event / scene.

Most Indian dance routines have a context and a back story.

These Mudras (Hand gestures), have specific meanings in the context. So if you are aware of the context, the back story and various aspects of the dance, its easy to become immersed into the act. Its like a mime play.

As an example, the last mudra, the one with the three fingers, represents the weapon of Lord Shiva, with which he uses to kill sinners.

See also : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasa_(aesthetics)

Post reply on HN