The Bhakti movement was a protest against the
ritualistic and other stringent modes of worshiping God. It gave way to a new
concept of worship where all human emotions were directed towards God. Love, in
all forms is the most cherished emotion of all. Thus, love between every human
relation was directed towards Kṛṣṇa. The stories from Śrīmad Bhāgavata
describe the unconditional love of gopī-s, the friendly love of gopa-s,
the motherly love of Yaśodā, the tender amorous feeling between Rādhā
and Kṛṣṇa, all of these sentiments are transcended into sublime love of
devotees towards Kṛṣṇa. The philosophy of the Bhāgavata-s is
conveyed to the people through the mischievous and amorous pranks of Kṛṣṇa.
The above said content of Kṛṣṇa lore became the
core part of the Kathak tradition. The folk compositions based on various
seasons like jhūlā, kajrī, caitī, horī, etc. were brilliantly
interlinked with the Kṛṣṇa stories and were presented in Kathak. The cheḍ-chāḍ
or the mischievous and amorous pranks of Kṛṣṇa with gopī-s is the
common theme in gat bhāv of Kathak. These include the breaking of pot (panghaṭ
par cheḍ-chāḍ), stealing of butter (mākhan corī), hiding the clothes
of the gopī-s (cīr haraṇ), etc. The nāyikā of thumarī was
identified as Rādhā and the nāyak as Kṛṣṇa. The madhura
bhāva bhakti came alive in Kathak presentations in the temples of
Vrindavan, Mathura, and the entire region of North India and the western belt
of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
As mentioned above, there was deep philosophical
message behind the various acts of Kṛṣṇa. The breaking of pot by Kṛṣṇa
symbolizes the breaking of ego. The pot filled with water is analogous to the
mind full of ego. Who else than Kṛṣṇa can clear the mind of ego and
prepare it to fill with pure devotion! The stealing of butter indicates the
stealing of pure love or purity of mind. Here the butter is the symbol of pure
and unconditional love and Kṛṣṇa tries to steal this from the pots
(mind) of the gopī-s. The act of cīr haraṇ explains the total
surrender towards God. It also has a deeper meaning, where the clothes are
analogous to the stains of bad karma-s on the soul. The stealing of
clothes symbolizes the cleansing of the karma-s revealing the pure souls
of the gopī-s.
In temples the kathak-s used to narrate the
stories explaining the philosophy behind the stories and the same would be
enacted and danced by the Kathak dancers. This way the philosophy and the
spiritual message was conveyed to the masses in an interesting style. During
the medieval period there was a remarkable development in Indian music in the
North. This gave rise to Hindustani classical music, which encompassed variety
of compositions like bhajan, ṭhumarī, dādrā, horī, etc.
Even the traditional folk songs were included and modified to suit the
classical format.
The huge corpus of Bhakti literature by various saint
poets was also included in the classical system. Moreover, the saint poets were
adept in the classical system of music and the ancient śāstra-s of
dance. Many of their compositions include the dance syllables and technical
terms of dance which were prevalent then. For example, the bhajan by Sūrdās,
‘śrī nanda nanda nācata sudhaṅga…’ In this the word ‘sudhaṅga’
means śuddha aṅga that is body movements which are technically correct
and clear. This is a technical word related to dance. Similarly, there are
syllables of dance as well as percussion which enhance the scope for dance in
these compositions. With the dance element and the devotional content inbuilt
in the compositions, the Bhakti literature became ideal for the kathak-s
to narrate and illustrate the Kṛṣṇa themes.
Kathak tradition through ages has continued to present
the devotional compositions of the saint poets. With time, the devotional garb
has been left in the temples and the content has become a part of the
repertoire. The dance form is no more attached to any religion and does not
function as a didactic medium. Today very few people are aware or try to
understand the philosophy and the intense devotional aspect of the
compositions. Thus, the cheḍ-chāḍ and other amorous pranks of Krsna
are seen only on mundane level and not on spiritual level. However, the
treasure of Bhakti literature has enriched the form and it still lures the
Kathak dancers to explore the various shades of sublime love which paint the
Kathak canvas with its enchanting colours.
Dr. Varada Pandit.
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