Shiva dhyana shloka | Kathak | Aangikam bhuvanam

The very first shloka of Nandikeshwar’s Abhinaya Darpanam is dedicated to Lord Siva, the cosmic dancer. While the shloka is a prayer in reverence of the Lord, it also states the four kinds of “abhinaya“ that makes dance (or drama) possible. “Aangik“, or that pertaining to the movements of the body, the postures and the facial expressions, “Vachika“, constituting the songs, poetry (or dialogue), “Aaharya“, referring to the costume, make-up and ornaments, and lastly, “Saatvik“, that which pertains to emotions and the subtle aspects of our Being. Any performance that seeks to produce Rasa has to bring these four aspects together in harmony. The hymn beautifully equates all these aspects of abhinaya to Siva himself. The first three as tangible manifestations as his body, speech and ornaments, and the last as Siva himself, as his Saatvik, silent Self.