Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.22

v2.c11.22

Among the Indus civilisation relics unearthed in Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, there are bronze statues of female dancers and stone statues of male dancers. According to legends, Shiva, who is one of the three gods of Hinduism, is the earliest ancestor of Indian dance and is capable of 108 kinds of dance. The universe is in the periodical destruction and renewal under his dance. His *Nataraja* is quite famous. Indian dance also probably originated from religious sacrificial ceremony. The early professional dancers would please the gods by dancing during the sacrifice. But dance as an art has at least 3,000 years of history in India. Before Bharata wrote *Natyasastra*, Indian dance had prospered and matured. According to *Natyasastra*, dance is the indispensable content of all important celebration. *Natyasastra* set rules for Indian classical dance and is still the theoretical source of all Indian classical dance forms.