The 108 Karanas !

Karana is a Sanskrit word which means "doing"

Doing = “Combined action of the body+mind+soul”

Karana is described in the Natyashastra as

“hastapaadasamaayogaahnrttsyakaranambhavet”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karana_(dance)
Meaning : Karana is a combination of three elements, namely nritta hasta (dance movement of the hands), sthaana (a dance posture for the body) and a chaari (a dance movement of the leg).

"One who performs this Karana exactly the way it was created by Lord Nataraja, they will go free from all sins to the abode of this deity" states Natya Shastra

108 such Karana have been codified in the Natyashastra - a text that is dated to a period of around 2000 years ago, within a margin of 500 years and has been the most influential in defining and shaping Indian performing arts.

The 108 dance movement constitutes the Shiva Tandavam and also forms the basic movements of Bharatanatyam.

Infact Bharatanatyam , Kuchipudi , Kathak ,Odissi ,Kathakali ,Mohiniyattam and Manipuri are all offshoots of the same underlying principle.

Gentle and graceful form of same 108 movements is called Lasya.

Lasya literally translates to beauty, grace and happiness.

Both Tandavam (sharp and forceful movements) and Lasya (soft fluid movements) together constitutes Bharatanatyam.

The 108 Karanas are nothing but the yoga poses of Lord Shiva.

But in Yoga only 36 Karanas are being used while in Cosmic dance a dancer is free to try all 108 poses based on his/her physical , mental and spiritual capabilities.

Karanas are a holistic interconnection of mental, physical and spiritual realms.

In Bharatanatyam each Karana is practiced as a movement and not as a mere posture.

A series of Karanas ( subtle hand and feet movement’s in a spiral fashion) is called as Angahara

Anga = limb

hara = charming, garland that is spiral in fashion,delightful.

What you see below is Angahara,
Angahara is the foundation of Hatha Yoga.

Angahara (series of Karanas) is spiral and it dates from the Vedic period that our DNA itself is spiral.The two spiral strands that contain our genetic information are known as the double helix , this shows that our "TRUE NATURE LIES IN THE DNA"

We are what our DNA is!

So Angahara (series of Karanas) helps you move closer to your “True Nature” that is "your DNA"

This universe is spiral , plants don’t grow in linear fashion - they grow spirally , even planets in the galaxy orbit spirally around each other.

Universal consciousness is Spiral in shape and Karanas will help you move in the way universe is moving.

Moving in a spiral fashion will increase your Energy and this is the basic foundation of Natyashastra.

Karanas can be broken down into Adavus.

Adavus are smaller units of Karana which can help you to stitch 2 Karanas in the dance.

In-between 2 Karanas you can perform small steps called Adavus which is derived from Karanas.
Adavu = 1 dance unit of Karana

Angahara is the combination of many Karanas , while Adavus is a small unit of Karana.

In a dance item , Adavus is the fill in the blanks between 2 Karanas and based on your physical , mental and spiritual capabilities you could decide how many Karanas you want to present in a dance.

Adavu is one dance unit which uses every part of the body and relieves the physical and mental tension as in Yoga. The body is disciplined along with the mind and the soul resulting in oneness which is the very essence of the classical dance. Thus , the art movement permits the complete harmony of the body and mind and acts as an aid to create RASA (The aesthetic value)

Goddess Shakti - "killing Mahishasura pose"

This is a very simple pose , there are many more complicated poses depicting Goddess Shakti which iam yet to learn,
"Mahishasura" is a Buffalo demon that represents a man's dick power existing inside a women's brain , that male power which is killing her own feminine individuality , yet she believes that she has achieved certain great things in life.

Lord Nataraja!

That one dance movement that displays all 108 karanas , this is another Angahara!
Trace of all 108 Karanas are present in this pose , and it is this pose that displays all 4 Vedas.
Rigveda , Yajurveda , Samaveda and Atharvaveda.

Alapadma hasta mudra is a very common Hasta Mudra in Bharatanatyam.

If you see my Adavus, in most of the Adavu's i present "Alapadma hasta"

Alapadma means "Full Bloomed Lotus Flower"

Full Bloomed Lotus is associated with Goddess Lakshmi , so why are we so often using Goddess Lakshmi in the dance steps?

This is borrowed from Rig Veda.

Movements showing Alapadma hasta

Lotus represents Faith.

Lotus is surrounded by mud and dirt - just like how our lives are surrounded by troubles and hardship.

But just like how Lotus finds way of the muddy roots to bloom , we need to stand out and break free from the surroundings which is holding us down.

Lotus represents PURITY.

According to Rig Veda Goddess Lakshmi emerged from the Ocean with 4 hands , each hand representing the 4 goals of our life.

Her 4 hands represents the 4 goals of our life -

"Artha (Material wealth), Dharma (Righteousness), Kama (Desire) and Moksha (Liberation)"

Goddess Lakshmi is the combination of Material + Spiritual.

Pursuing Artha along with Dharma is difficult because there is presence of Adharma in your surrounding,

Pursuing Kama along with Dharma is difficult because there is presence of Adharma in your surrounding,
In both cases there is Adharma around you which will make your life difficult and sometimes Adharma will try to pull you down to their level.
The dirt and filth here is Adharma.

You are not allowed to pursue Material (Wealth and Kama) without Dharma although it seems to be the easiest way out to Rise.

You are suppose to achieve both Artha and Kama along with Dharma, just like how the LOTUS rises unstalked by the mud and water ( surroundings).This is what Goddess Lakshmi is teaching us and this is the reason why "Alapadma hasta" is the most commonly used hasta mudra in Bharatanatyam.

Goddess Lakshmi providing fertility blessings with the right hand and wealth with the left hand

Goddess Lakshmi with 2 lotus one representing Dharma and the other representing Moksha

Once you pursue Kama and Artha along with Dharma you will get Moksha.
This is what the Rig Veda communicates about Alapadma hasta , and this is why we use Alapadma hastha many times during the dance movements.

When ever anyone make you feel / doubt your self-worth , remember the LOTUS flower.

There is something inside your heart which the world cannot TOUCH.

There is something that will help you RISE above like a lotus flower.

Dont allow the surroundings to effect your growth and beauty.

Rise like a LOTUS FLOWER.

No matter how dirty and filthy my surroundings are "i will rise like a lotus flower"
Surroundings does not affect me at all!

The dirt and filth has helped me grow
1. Mentally
2. Intellectually
3. Emotionally
4. Spiritually
What i lost is material , and iam here in the pond to recover my material loss.

Rise again like a Lotus utilizing the dirt and filth,