Mirror of Gesture: Being the Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikesvara

The Mirror of Gesture is an English translation of the Sanskrit text on dance, Abhinaya Darpana by Nandikeshvara, an ex­ponent of theatre in ancient India. It is an abridged version of Bharatar­nava, which is an exposition of classical Indian dance. This treatise is based upon the principles of Indian theatre: natya, nritta, and nritya sastras. Abhinaya Darpana contains 4,000 slokas and an exposition of classical Indian dance, theatre, and music. The date of this treatise goes back to the fifth and fourth centuries bc. It was Nandikeshwara, who had much influence on popular dance exponents, such as Bharatamuni, the author of Natyasastra (second century bc), and Matangamuni, the author of Brihadeshi (fifth century bc). In this English translation, forms of posture used in Indian dance and theatre, such as head movements, mudras made by hands along with its interpretation, invocation to nine planets in the universe, veneration of ten Vishnu’s incarnations, four castes, upper and lower worlds, and living and non-living beings on Earth are discussed.