தேவாரப் பாடல்களில் நடன வடிவங்களும் அழகியலும்: பக்தி இலக்கியம், தத்துவக் கோட்பாடுகள் மற்றும் கலை மரபுகளின் ஒருங்கமைப்பு

Dance Forms and Aesthetics in Devaram Hymns: An Integration of Devotional Literature, Philosophical Doctrines, and Artistic Traditions

Abstract

The Devaram hymns, the quintessential canon of Tamil Saiva devotional literature, represent a vital synthesis of theological fervor and the sophisticated artistic traditions of the 7th-century Bhakti movement. This study examines the Devaram—composed by the triumvirate of Tirugnanasambandar, Tirunavukkarasar, and Sundarar—not merely as liturgical poetry but as a foundational document of Tamil dance aesthetics. Central to this analysis is the iconographic and kinetic portrayal of Lord Shiva as Nataraja (the Cosmic Dancer). The research explores how the hymns articulate the Pancha-kritya (five-fold cosmic acts), mapping the divine functions of creation, preservation, destruction, concealment, and grace onto the rhythmic and gestural framework of the Tandava. By analyzing the intersections of Angika (physical expression), Mudras (symbolic gestures), and Rasa (aesthetic experience), this paper argues that the Devaram transcends descriptive poetry to function as a philosophical treatise on movement. The study concludes that the dance philosophy embedded within these hymns provided the conceptual and structural blueprint for the evolution of later Chola temple iconography and the formalization of the Bharatanatyam tradition.