Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.s7.13

v2.c16.s7.13

In the Nātya-Śāstra however that particular dance which is known by the name of bhujangatrāsa is defined as follows: one leg being bent in a triangular fashion and lifted up while the body about the hip and knee being slightly turned on one side, is called *bhujangatrāsa*. Abhinavaguptāchārya, the commentator of the *Bharata-Nāṭya-śāstra*, explains the term *bhujangatrāsa* in his *Nāṭya-vēda-vivṛiti*, thus: ‘This kind of dance is called *bhujangatrāsa*, because in it the dancer suddenly lifts up his leg as though he discovered a snake very near him, and appears to be of an unsteady gait. In this, one arm should be in the *dōla-hasta* pose and the other in the *kaṭaka* pose; * and the *dōla-hasta* pose is defined in the *Bharata-Nāṭya-śāstra* thus:— If the hand hangs down freely from the somewhat drooping shoulder, in the form of the *patākā-hasta*, it is called *dōla-hasta* pose. †