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Dance images of ancient Indonesian temples

(Hindu/Buddhist period): The dance reliefs of
Borobudur
a
Alessandra Lopez Y Royo‐Iyer
a
11 Eton House, Leigh Road, London N5
Published online: 01 Aug 2007.

To cite this article: Alessandra Lopez Y Royo‐Iyer (1991) Dance images of ancient Indonesian temples (Hindu/Buddhist
period): The dance reliefs of Borobudur, Indonesia Circle. School of Oriental & African Studies. Newsletter, 20:56,
3-23, DOI: 10.1080/03062849108729768

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03062849108729768

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 3
IC No. 56, Nov 91

DANCE IMAGES OF ANCIENT INDONESIAN

TEMPLES (HINDU/BUDDHIST PERIOD): THE
DANCE RELIEFS OF BOROBUDUR

ALESSANDRA LOPEZ Y ROYO-IYER

Introduction
The analysis of dance images found on ancient Indonesian temples is complex, for it
involves several issues. The point of departure is that in the context of those civilizations in
which the Hindu and Buddhist religions, often coexisting, had an important role to play, dance
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images relate to certain religio-philosophical ideas, of which they appear to be a visual

rendering. Furthermore, an interconnection existed between the plastic and performing arts,
due to the sharing of aesthetic principles rooted in Hindu/Buddhist metaphysics. This to an
extent determined a free interchange and borrowing from a purely technical standpoint, as will
be seen from the analysis that will follow. The implication is that a study of dance images is an
important part of the study of iconography.1 When one deals with the art history of South and
South-East Asia, more attention should be paid to such images and a specific methodology for
their analysis should be devised. This would have to take into account technical features
pertaining to the performing arts, dance in particular.

This article is based on work done for my doctoral thesis, which looks at dance images
on Indonesian temples (mostly from Java but including a few examples from Sumatra and Bali)
of the Hindu/Buddhist period, up to Majapahit times. The thesis explores the role of such
images in the process of development of the performing and plastic arts, suggesting new
analytical approaches. The spread of the Hindu and Buddhist religions from India to South-
East Asia is seen to be a prime cause for the spread of a specific tradition relating to the art of
dance and drama and image making, all conceived as a unity. Hindu theories of art and
aesthetics identify in the rasa "flavour", the unifying principle of all arts. Within the framework
of Hindu thought, all arts seem to show an identical concern to give expression to the
Formless, applying structurally identical methods.2 The Hindu traditional theories and
codifications of dance and drama embodied by Sanskrit works such as the Natyasastra,3
composed not later than the fourth century A.D., were pan-Indian in character and open to local
interpretations and this was indeed their strength. It was primarily an oral tradition, although
textual versions of sojme works are available within India, and was inextricably linked with
religion - the NS is a Sivaite work: it states that Siva taught dance to his disciple Tandu and his
wife, the goddess Parvati; moreover 6iva is clearly addressed as Nataraja "Lord of the Dance".
The descriptions and prescriptions found in the NS shaped the subsequent development of the
performing and plastic arts at local level, in different and unique ways, both within and outside
India, e.g. Indonesia, becoming what may be referred to as the "sastraic" tradition. This is
borne out by the sculptural evidence.

Religious symbolism of dance images

In an analysis of dance iconography from Hindu and Buddhist temples, regardless of
where they may be found i.e. South or South-East Asia, one can broadly identify three major
functions of the dance images (these range from free-stranding sculpture to reliefs):
(1) the function of dance imagery in terms of the relationship with its contemporary dance
practice, that is relating to a specific period and area; this partly overlaps with
 4
1C No. 56, Nov 91

(2) the function of dance imagery in relation to specific iconographic conventions; this
cannot be separated from a classification of dance images and an analysis of technical
features, in terms of image making and dance conventions and
(3) the function of dance imagery in terms of religious symbolism; this identifies
conceptual differences determined by the religious context, that is, Hindu as opposed to
Buddhist (in the context of this article "Buddhist" mostly refers to Mahayana
Buddhism).
Although in general, from the times of the beginning of Buddhist art in India, there has
never been any real distinction between this and Hindu art, in the sense that interfusion occurs
between them by way of motifs and technique,4 some differences do exist, reflecting subtle
points of departure present at a doctrinal level. Dance images visually translate such
differences on a formal level. The Buddha himself, for instance, is never seen dancing, his
posture is either a perfect samapada "standing upright with the weight equally balanced on both
feet" or padmasana "lotus sitting position", emphasizing stillness, the beginning and end of
movement. His face has no specific expression, encompassing all the gamut of emotions. One
may see in the Buddha image a three-dimensional bindu "dot", the point that is the radiating
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source of energy in terms of linear yantra, a line that is a "tool" to meditation. The Bodhisattvas
and their female counterparts and various Buddhist dieties are however often seen dancing, eg.
Heruka. The dance of these supreme beings is to be seen almost as marking the progression
towards nirvana, towards perfect Emptiness and Stillness; they are pratimas "images" to be
visualized as yantras or mandalas "lines and circular diagrams", by the meditating devotee:
Movement quietens into Stillness, converging into the bindu, Beginning and Ending, the centre
of that "labyrinth of lines" symbolic of the Cosmos, which is the yantra (Zimmer, 1984:123).

On a lower plane, the sensuous dance of the apsaras "celestial maidens" lures the
devotee towards the joys of nirvana in an idiom incomprehensible to those who are not yet
initiated into the doctrine of renunciation. To the Buddhist, dance is primarily expression of the
phenomenal world, to which Bodhisattvas and Goddesses still belong. As a religious symbol,
dance marks the ascent and movement towards Buddhahood, on different yet interrelated
planes. The yantra motif was borrowed from Hinduism and this is not surprising as there
seems to have existed a constant process of absorption of Hindu ideas and symbols within
Buddhism, particularly Mahayana Buddhism.

Within Hinduism the dance image has a function of visualization of the yantra, but there
is an added dimension to the meaning of the dancing gods and of Siva in particular. He is
himself "the dance, cosmic eternal and timeless, moving in space and beyond space and the
spheres into an eternal nothingness of the void" (Vatsyayan, 1984:192). Siva is the Cosmos in
dance. His body in space, with a still centre - Man's body - equates the cosmos with its centre.
The body is also a linear or geometrical abstraction through which a variety of moods and
emotional states are evoked. The navel is the centre into which energy converges and from
which it rises, with an outward movement. The dance shows the timeless and unending cycle
of creation and destruction, birth, death, and rebirth. If a correlation can at all be drawn the
dancing Siva is to the Saivites what the Buddha image is to the Buddhists. The subtle
conceptual differences between Saivism and Buddhism are reduced to nought when the two
religions merge, as is the case in East Java and Bali after the tenth century A.D., where one is
faced with the 6iva-Buddha, whose terrifying aspect - re-echoing the Saivite Bhairaya - is, for
instance, represented in the catuhkdya "four body figure" of Intaran Pejeng, Bali (thirteenth to
fourteenth century A.D.), unmistakably dancing.

In the analysis of the dance of Siva it is its formal aspect in terms of movement and
position of the limbs that is more important than its narrative context or even the nuances of
expression. Regardless of the fact that his dance may represent the pahca krtyas or the many
other activities of the divinity, the dance is meaningful "only through precisely articulated
movements which freeze into definite poses and attitudes" (Vatsyayan, 1984:193). It is
symptomatic that the NS describes the Tandava dance of Siva "not in terms of myth and legend
but in the vocabulary of movement and pose, articulation of limbs and covering of space"
(Vatsyayan, ibid.). It is to the technical vocabulary of the NS that the few Silpasastra texts
 5
IC No. 56, Nov 91

extant in India and the entire tradition bearing on Hindu/Buddhist art and image making,
principally orally transmitted, are heavily indebted. It will be seen that this is not an entirely
Indian phenomenon, rather, it relates, in different degrees and with strong local variations and
flavours, to the Hindu/Buddhist world of South-East Asia, particularly when reference is made
to specific periods in history.

The other two functions of dance imagery, indicated above, require further elaboration,
but this will be withheld until the analysis of some selected reliefs is completed.

Dance images from Borobudur

The site

The Buddhist temple of Borobudur was built during the rule of the Sailendra kings,
probably around 800 A.D. The building of the temple proceeded in stages, over several
decades; consequently there is some heterogeneity, due to the fact that different architects and
master builders were involved in the project. After the end of the Central Javanese era it was
neglected and forgotten. It was rediscovered in the nineteenth century and restored first in the
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early twentieth century under the directorship of Brandes and upon his death, of van Erp and
again in the mid-1970s/early 1980s in a major international undertaking sponsored by
UNESCO. It is truly magnificant and a source of much information on the very history of
Java, through its innumerable reliefs inspired by jataka and avadana stories, carved with
abundant details of contemporary life at the courts of central Java. The study of the monument
by N. J. Krom appeared in the 1920s and it matched the complete photographic record in three
volumes, that had been made after the 1911 restoration.5 These plates and Krom's text are still
invaluable to anyone interested in making a further study of the monument, which in many
respects is still far from having been completely understood (Gomez and Woodward, 1981:1-
14): its name is still unsatisfactorily explained, its exact date unknown, furthermore not all the
reliefs have been identified and there are problems concerning the versions of the stories that
served as guidelines to the makers of the panels.6

Consensus has not been reached yet on the question relating to the function of
Borobudur: was it a stiipa, aprasada or a mandalal Zimmer (1926), Stutterheim (1933), and
Rowland (1967) seemed to prefer the latter interpretation, yet the debate is still open. Finally
there is an important lead that needs careful exploration, that of the possible connections
between Borobudur and Ratnagiri, in Orissa, the latter having recently been carefully studied
byMitra(1983:l-8). 7

Dance iconography and iconometry of the reliefs

Perhaps the most refined specimens of dance images from Central Java are those found
at Borobudur. They share certain features with dance images from other monuments from
Central Java, some of which are from a later period, such as the Saiva Lara Jonggrang temple
at Prambanan. However, they also highlight important differences between dance iconography
of Buddhist temples and Hindu ones. This is the reason why this article is specifically devoted
to Borobudur images.

In general, dance images can be divided into three groups: dancing gods or divine
beings; reliefs of dance scenes within a narrative context or scenes of dance performance in
isolation; dance images with a "decorative" function. Most dance images from Central Java fall
into one of these three categories. At Borobudur dance scenes occur mostly within a narrative
context and ought to be seen as part of the narrative, without excluding other perspectives,
focusing on an interpretation of the scenes as self-contained units. In some instances, the
scenes are shown as interludes, their aim being seemingly that of linking up one relief with the
following one, but this is never done with a sudden break and some elements or characters
appearing in previous reliefs are shown as belonging to the dance party or are somehow fitted
into the scene so as to preserve some continuity.
 6
IC No. 56, Nov 91

A knowledge of two important features is essential for an analysis of all dance images,
regardless of their classification and function. These are the karanas and the hastas "hand
gestures",8 which relate to both image making and dance. The karanas are described in the NS
as a feature of nrtta "pure dance".9 They are defined as units of movement made up of limb
and hand movements; the list given comprises 108 karanas, each with a specific name and a
detailed technical description. The Visnudharmottarapurana, a well-known Sanskrit treatise -
not later than the sixth century A.D. - on dance, painting, and sculpture, conceived as directly
interrelated, also lists karanas. The fact that karanas are movements and not static poses is an
important point. In sculpture only one portion of the whole movement sequence can be
represented and this is usually the beginning or end pose, but it can occasionally be an
intermediate movement phase. Whatever the movement phase depicted in the sculpture may be,
this is usually the most characteristic portion of the karana. Identification of the correct karana
is therefore possible by referring to the detailed descriptions of the NS and by comparing the
sculpture examined with other representations of karanas found elsewhere. A discussion of
karanas cannot be done in isolation, that is, without taking into account the whole structure and
terminology of nrtta. Accordingly, movement can be broken up in terms of sthanas, stances,
caris resulting from the movement of one foot, hastas, hand gestures. Karanas also emphasize
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certain geometrical patterns; this is in relation to the sthana used to make up a certain movement
configuration that is part of the karana. Thus a mandala sthana is underlain by a square and a
karana that uses a mandala sthana (such as NS karana mandala svastika) emphasizes square
patterns and so on. It is not possible here to provide a detailed discussion of all such features;
some detailed descriptions of karanas used in images from Borobudur are given below,
together with an overall classification of karanas by type. This will clarify the analysis.

Classification of Karanas

This classification of the 108 NS karanas, devised by Vatsyayan (1938[a]) is based on

features such as stance and type of foot contact:
(1) sama karanas : these include abhanga and among these, svastika in abhahga images;
(2) alldha or visnukranta: one leg is firmly place on the ground bearing the weight of the
body, bent at the knee or straight, the other leg is either fully extended on the ground or
elevated, away from the body centre;
(3) ardhamandalT or ardharecita or uromandalT: knees are bent symmetrically with the
weight equally distributed on both supports, feet are turned sideways with the heels
facing each other; this group includes the svastika in ardhamandali';
(4) catur and lalita or ghurnita: these focus on the manner in which the foot contacts the
ground (in kuhcita, agratalasancara, sama, etc.), therefore on positions. No real
movement is shown but from these positions a variety of movements can be started or a
variety of movements end in this position. The torso and hands may be in different
. positions but the main feature denoting the placing of the feet does not vary;
(5) prstha and diksvastika: these movements emphasize a turning to the back and to the
sides;
(6) urdhvajanu: this shows an elevation of the leg with a bent knee, to the side;
(7) mandala sthana: feet are in sampada, toes pointing sideways but with some distance
between the feet;
(8) bhujanga trasita: crossing the weightless leg to the opposite side;
(9) vrScika: the weightless leg is placed sideways and back and is lifted up;
(10) sitting karanas: the calf or the thigh are in contact with the floor,
(11) acrobatic karanas: this group includes only a limited number of karanas, such as the
gahgavatarana or the cakramandala.

No karana of the acrobatic type appears at either Borubudur or Prambanan.

Description of karanas shown in the plates

(The descriptions explain in detail the NS definitions)
 ::;
- 7 ••:.
/CNo.56,Nov91

SamalSamanakha "Level nails"

The body stands upright, the weight equally distributed on both supports, legs straight, feet
joined together along the instep line. The arms and hands hang down to the sides, in a natural
position, meaning that the palms automatically face the sides of the body and no folding of the
wrists is involved. This karana could easily be taken as the initial one for a series of more
complicated movements or as the final one after a performance of another series of movements.
It is important to understand that this being a karana, the small movements executed to achieve
the necessary bodily adjustments are part of its performance.

Prsthasvastika "Crossed behind"

The hands are crossed and released with an outward movement. This would appear to be with
the back to the viewers, and the arms and hands are eventually placed at the back. The
apakranta cari is performed: the thighs are rotated inwards, the feet are alternately raised
sideways in kuncita (off the ground), which would involve lifting the lower legs to the side at
middle level; this is followed by another cari, the ardhasiici which would only be a portion of
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the entire suci cari: the foot already in kuncita is raised at a higher level than the knee and then
brought to touch the ground with its ball; there is a return to normal from the previous inward
rotation and an outward rotation the knee before the cari is executed.

Diksvastika "Crossed sides"

Both feet and hands (ankles and wrists) perform a svastika movement but the movement is
executed to the right and left side as well, in a continuous flow. Possibly the dancer performs
another svastika movement to the front in order to end facing the audience, as the usual
representation of this karana shows the dancer performing a frontal svastika. The transition
from one svastika to the other would involve a circular outward and inward vartana of the
arms.

Urdhvajanu "Raised knees"

Another karana derived from a cari. There is a no change of front. The leg is contracted in side
direction, low level, to coincide with place middle (in Labanotation terminology a "limb is in
place when its extremity is close to its base" cf. Hutchinson, 1977:33), about 6 degrees. The
foot is in kuncita, no contact with the thigh is involved. Arms and hands are not specified but
sculptural representations show one extended arm in lata to the side of the other in pataka near
the chest.

Karihasta "Elephant's trunk"

The feet are in ancita. The left hand is placed in the chest region with the hand in pataka, wrist
folded so that the hand hangs down; the arm is bent at the elbow; the right hand moves out and
up to ear level, in karihasta nnta hasta.

Visnukranta "Visnu's step"

The hands execute a circling movement at the wrists, one leg is raised, stretched forward and
bent, with the calf well tucked under the thigh. Vatsyayan (1968:131) interprets this karana as
having the leg extended to the side without any bend; this is often shown in sculptural
representations but is not corroborated by the text.

Mandala svastika "Crossed circle or square"

The hands are crossed with the hands in high level in relation to the wrist joints and the palms
facing front; as this is done the feet are moved four talas from each other, pointing sideways,
whilst the knees are slightly in ksipta, that is, bent and outwardly rotated.
 8
IC No. 56, Nov 91

The study of Borobudur's iconography in terms of dance images has only just begun.
Sedyawati has noted the important role of the Borobudur dance scenes for a study of the
development of Javanese dance and the influence that Indian dance has had on the former. She
has suggested that the dance scenes of Borobudur and other Buddhist monuments have a
specific Buddhist flavour, apparent when these images are compared with those from the Saiva
temple of Lara Joggrang, at Prambanan, in so far as they have a more marked symbolic
function (Sedyawati, 1981:182). This is related to the fact that from a Buddhist perspective,
dance is associated with temptation. Sedyawati also notes that some dance performances show
a rough character: such scenes belong to the series of panels such as the Karmavibhanga,10
where "unworthy and low deeds are depicted" (Sedyawati, 1982:69). She believes that the
reliefs also point to a major difference in the dance styles in vogue at the time when Borobudur
was built, whereby some scenes depict Sastraic inspired dance, others depict indigenous styles
(Sedywati, ibid.). Clearly, the symbolism of the dance scenes of Borobudur does not imply
their being unrelated to the actual dance practice of the time: the symbolism is only one of the
multilayered, intersecting functions of dance iconography.
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The narrative panels of Borobudur show a fundamental difference, in the way they
were conceived, from the narrative panels found on other temples in Central Java, such as the
Ramayana frieze on the inner side of the balustrade of the Lara Jonggrang temple. In the latter
all the scenes emphasize story-telling, following NS dramatic conventions (Sedyawati,
unpublished) and are a clear example of dramatic performance through the medium of stone,
probably inspired by dramatized versions of the epic; the narrative panels of Borobudur,
though exploiting the rasalbhdva conventions of the sastras, evoke a loftier atmosphere (Holt,
1967:57-58). One feels that it is not the interplay of human emotions that is being emphasized.
Stories are narrated, based on textual material, yet the overall impression is that the reliefs
encourage the viewer to go beyond the drama of the narrative and focus on its abstract
symbolism. This finds expression in the way stories are linked to each other, appearing at
specific levels of the temple and showing thematically and conceptually a relationship with the
architectural mandala design of the building. It is also expressed in the layout of the narratives
in terms of formal composition. In a Borobudur relief, vertical and horizontal lines interact
powerfully with each other in the way they divide the space and the geometry of the
composition has a stronger impact on the viewer than the transient emotional content of the
narrative. The rhythms of the ground-plan are reflected in the sculptures of the walls, whereby
the iconometry becomes all important.

This is more forcefully stated by the other type of panel found at Borobudur, with a
non-narrative purpose. It shows figures in a dance-inspired attitude, such as apsaras,
vidyadharas, etc. In such images, particularly when they are found on the outer walls of of the
monument, attention should be specifically focused on the images as linear abstractions,
highlighting the geometrical relationships of the body in space.

In the context of this article, the analysis will not explore iconometric relationships as
this would be too time consuming; instead it will focus on the dance images from a dance
perspective. The underlying assumption is that an iconometric analysis should be preceded by
an examination of the images in which reference is made to the karana technique, for the basic
principles of iconometry such as mana "length" are interconnected with the asanas and
sthanasof dance.

The reliefs
Borobudur's reliefs present one with an "embarras de richesse" and none of the relief
panels selected for the present analysis has any artistic priority and excellence over others that
have been left out solely for reasons of space.

The following ones belong to the first type of relief panel found at Borobudur, that is,
dance scenes within a narrative context.
 9
/CNo. 56,Nov91

(a) Dance scene at Drama court, story of Prince Sudhana, Avaddna, first gallery, chief
wall, lowest series; Krom, 1920-3 l:Series I.b, X.19 (Fig. 1: all Figures will be found
at the end of this article).

The scene occurs as an interlude in the story of Sudhana and Manohara, the
kinnarTprincess, showing the happiness of the pair after their reunion. Here the couple
is seen seated on a throne adorned with lotus flowers and in the act of watching a dance
performance. A dancer is seen on the left-hand side of the panel, accompanied by
musicians playing the flute, the dram, and cymbals. The dancer wears anklets and a
transparent cloth tied at the waist covers her legs down to the ankles. She is performing
a karihasta karana, with her right foot in kuncita, which is shown in an intermediate
phase between lifting and replacing the foot on the ground further away in ancita. This
karana or movements based on this karana have often been depicted in Orissa. At
Ratnagiri a panel of dancers and musicians shows a dance movement based on the same
karana, with the difference that in this case the dancers are male. The same dance
movement can be seen in one of the Parasuramesvara temple reliefs at Bhubaneshwar,
again performed by male dancers. In the context in which this Borobudur panel appears
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there is no apparent meaning for the dance. It would seem that dance here is shown as a
form of entertainment, a sensuous, pleasant pastime in the life of a prince and a
princess. The dance is of a highly refined type: this is a court performance and not a
street one, the dancer is probably part of the princely retinue. The sculptors were
undoubtedly inspired by their knowledge of contemporary court life and when left with
the task of having to embellish the narrative of the text by showing how the princely
couple amused themselves, they chose to depict a scene inspired by contemporary court
dance performances.

(b) Relief in the third gallery, chief wall, Maitreya's tales. Krom, 1920-31: Series III.
XXXIII. 65 (Fig. 2)

Various tales about the Bodhisattva Maitreya are narrated in the panels of the
third gallery. This panel is part of the stories of Maitreya and Samantabhadra and is
again, perhaps even more than the panel examined above, an interlude: two chief
figures, of high rank, are seen seated in a pavilion, watching the performance shown to
the left of the relief. Two female dancers execute a duet dance, conducted by a bearded
dance master who keeps time by clapping his hands. The two dancers are performing a
movement based on the urdhvajanu krana. The dance is of a refined type, set in a
courtly environment. Noticeable are the kinnaras flying above, who lend to the whole
episode a heavenly aura. It has not been possible to this day to establish what part of
the story the relief actually refers to or what text has been used as a guideline; for the
present it had better be regarded as an embellishment, a diversion from the narrative yet
part of it.

(c) Dance of Mara's daughters, first gallery, chief wall, top series, story of the life of
Buddha. Krom, 1920-31 :Series La. XLVIII. 95 (Fig. 3)
This scene is entirely part of the narrative and here dance is seen in its
associations with temptation and seduction. Two of Mara's daughters are on the right-
hand side of the relief, dancing accompanied by drams and cymbals. The girls are
executing an identical movement thus conveying the idea of a duet dance and are seen in
a dance attitude based on the prsthasvastika karana.

(d) Dance performance, relief in the first gallery, balustrade, top series. Krom,
1920:3 l:Series I.(B).a. XXVI. 233a. (Fig. 4)
This scene belongs to the group illustrating jataka stories, but no consensus has
been reached as to which ones. The scene is an interlude in the narrative as are the other
scenes considered above. It depicts a dancing party in apendhapa "pavilion". A full
orchestra complete with cymbals and the ever-present conductor in the act of clapping
 IC No. 56, Nov 91 °

hands to keep the time are shown. A woman dances on a raised platform. Her legs are
well bent in ksipta, the dancer's left leg is raised in a low urdhvajanu, the left arm
raised to the head, the right arm extended at the side in middle/low level. The movement
appears therefore to be based on the urdhvajanu karana. The dancer wears bracelets and
an ankle-length transparent cloth wrapped around the waist and held in place with an
elaborate belt. Her head is turned to the left, with the face turned to the side in
parsvabhimuka. The scene bears little relation to the one that precedes it and the one that
follows, so that it could even be grouped with the class of dance scenes unrelated to
any narrative and thus seen as entirely self-contained. However, the major problem is
that the jataka stories shown in this part of the monument have not entirely been
identified and the scene could be for all we know part of a tale, hence the decision to
classify it as a scene occurring within a narrative.

(e) Wrestling and dancing scene, first gallery, balustrade, top series. Krom, 1920-31:
Series I.(B).a. XVII. 152. (Fig. 5)

Another scene from an unidentified jataka: a high-born man, wearing an

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elaborate head-dress, watches a street performance, with wrestlers and a pair of

dancers, all male, displaying their art. This is one of those scenes that could refer to
social dancing, not conforming to the refined codes of Indian inspired dance depicted
elsewhere (cf Sedyawati, 1982:69). On the other hand the dance attitude depicted here
shows some resemblance to NS conventions and it is possible to suggest that the
influence of that tradition was all-pervasive, whereby certain traits may have been
copied and transformed into dance styles whose roots lay elsewhere. This is because
s"astraic tradition represented a "higher", more sophisticated one, known and performed
in the courts, with some degree of prestige attached to it. Another possibility is that the
sculptors would have reinterpreted a non-s"astraic tradition of dance following the
s'astraic iconographic conventions which borrow heavily from the Sastraic dance.
Unfortunately one of the two dancing figures is defaced, the other one is however quite
clear: the dancer is seen with bent knees but not fully turned out, one foot in kuncita,
the other in sama. The head is fully bent to the left of the dancer, almost resting on his
left shoulder, one arm is in high level above the head, with the hand resting on the
head, the other is extended across the chest to the left side and the hand is held with an
open palm. The left hand, above the head appears to be in musti. In my view this is
likely to be a folk-dance of a social character, purposely stylized by the sculptors who
followed iconographic conventions derived from the sastraic tradition. However, the
possibility that the actual dance may have absorbed some of the sastraic features of the
Indian style of dance in vogue at the time should not be excluded. From what can be
seen of the other dancer, his dance posture has little to do with the dance of the NS and
it is this disparity that leads me to think that the dance was Indian derived but that the
sculptors reinterpreted it trying to use familiar conventions.

No musical instruments are depicted here, but a man is shown holding a pair of
big cymbals. The specific meaning of this panel in the context of the narrative is not
very clear, as the panels of this series have not yet been matched up with any particular
text, although it is very likely that the series depicts jatakas.

(f) Scene with gambang player, first gallery, balustrade, lower series. Krom,
1920:3 l:Series I.(B).b XIV. 89. (Fig. 6)

The relief is badly damaged as the upper portions of the body of the dancers are
not visible: a party of nine dancers whose sex cannot be ascertained, is seen dancing to
the left of a man wearing an elaborate head-dress, denoting a high-born person, seen in
the act of playing a musical instrument, the gambang, accompanied by bells, gongs,
and drums, altogether regarded as the ancestor of the modern Javanese gamelan. No
spectators are seen in this scene and thus it is different in character from the others
described above. The following scene shows worship of a stupa, and perhaps this
dance is somewhat connected with worship. The panels in this series are inspired by
 11
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jdtakas but it has not been possible to this day to identify the exact stories; it may be
suggested that these reliefs should be seen as summarizing salient moments of various
stories with which worshippers were familiar and in this sense each panel would be
self-contained. Krom, however, identified a recurring motif in the whole series, that of
stupa worship, with an overall design that follows heterogeneous tales (Krom,
1927:455). The dancers are shown with a knee bent posture, known as ardhamandalf,,
feet in sama and in kuhcita. No further details can be given owing to the damage in the
upper portions of the relief. The scene is of great interest because it shows a blending
of local, un-Indian motifs (the music ensemble) with Sastraic conventions on dance
depiction, such as the dance poses of some of the dancers. These however, as in
example (e), do not show an "Indian" degree of knee turn-out whereby one could again
regard it as a panel depicting a local dance tradition, albeit influenced by Indian dance
styles.

The next two panels do not depict dance scenes as such but bear a relationship to dance
conventions in the way the figures have been sculpted. The first one should still be seen as
integral to the narrative, the second one represents an instance of what I have called the second
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type of Borobudur's dance relief.

(a) Archer, relief from the first gallery, Avaddna series. Krom, 1920-3 l:Series I.b. LX.
199. (Fig. 7)

This relief appears after the series of the Maitrakanyavaddna, together with four
or five reliefs still unidentified. The figure shown is that of an archer. He stands in a
most stylized pose, reminiscent of that which a dancer would strike if the dancer
wished to convey the impression of being an archer. The figure stands with the legs in
perfect alidha, the body slightly inclined to the right, the hands holding the bow in the
act of shooting the arrow. It is significant that the alidha sthdna is connected with
warriors and martial actions: Siva is often in alidha and Mahisasuramardini" is seen
almost exclusively in alidha or pratydlTdha.^
(b) Heavenly beings, decorative relief of the outer wall of the balustrade. Krom,
1920:3l:Series D.O. II. 12. (Fig. 8).

This panel like all the others on the outer wall of the balustrade, has a different
function from that of the reliefs so far described: it does not have any narrative
meaning, rather, these figures seem to have been put there only for a decorative
purpose. The images represent superhuman beings, not quite gods and goddesses, but
also not human. They may be regarded as raksasas or vidyddharas, in the instance of
the male figures and as apsaras in the case of the female ones. This particular panel
shows a raksasa between two female figures and two separate reliefs of apsaras at
either side. It will be immediately apparent that the languorous poses of the apsaras are
dance related: the one on the left of the onlooker stands in abhahga, which involves a
deflection of the body from the vertical median, with the shifting of the pelvic girdle to
one side and the weight resting on one foot, whilst the other leg, free of weight, is
slightly bent at the knee, thus creating a mild asymmetry. The feet are in sama, the right
arm at the side in low level, with the hand holding a lotus flower by the stem, the left
arm bent at the elbow, with the forearm raised to touch the shoulder, the hand holding a
small bunch of flowers. The head is slightly inclined to the right. It will be here recalled
that bhahgas are a concept found in the Agamas and not in the NS,but their relationship
with dance is apparent when one goes on to consider the different sthdnas and dsanas
that are related to the bhahgas and which have a correlation with those sthdnas
described in the MS1.12 The figure on the right is also in abhahga but the degree of
bending is less pronounced. The apsard holds a long-stemmed lotus flower in her right
hand, the arm fully extended to the side in low level, and with the left hand she holds
another flower smaller in size. The arm is contracted at the elbow joint and the forearm
 12
IC No. 56, Nov 91

held in high level near the shoulder. The hand holds the flower in kapittha hasta. The
head is slightly inclined to the left. The raksasa stands in abhanga, left hip deflected,
right shoulder slightly raised (this equals the pars'va "side" in samunnata). The right
hand holds a club, vertically and upside down, the left arm is bent at the elbow with the
forearm in front, middle level. The hand is in kapittha hasta. The two female figures
flanking the raksasa face towards him and are also in abhanga. The figure on the left
side of the raksasa has her head raised in adhuta, her left arm bent at the elbow, forearm
in front, hand in pataka hasta, the right arm raised in high level with the forearm bent
and placed above the face without touching it, hand in §ikhara hasta. Although all the
figures are not dancing, their stance is nevertheless dance related in terms of stylization
and geometrical treatment of the body.

Dance images via-a-vis dance performance and iconographic conventions

As pointed out earlier, the parallelism in technical principles observed in sculpture and
dance was determined by their being means to express that "inner geometry" emphasized by
Hindu/Buddhist speculative thought and its mathematical structure. Geometry was the basis of
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Hindu mathematics and algebraical thoughts were usually demonstrated geometrically.13

Geometry and trigonometry were connected with astronomical/astrological calculations and
these in turn were an important part of architecture. Sacred buildings could be related to the
heavens through these complicated calculations, the idea being to relate monuments to cosmic
patterns. Proportional measurements provided the link with the mathematical structure of the
Universe, thus emphasizing the importance of numbers as the expression of universal order. In
this connection the iconometry of images and the geometry of space explored through
movement become all the more important.

The existence of a technical parallelism dictated by theoretical considerations, already

allows one to say that dance images were not simply random imaginary creations but must have
had a very definite relationship with the dance practice of their time. It is hard to imagine that
image makers and sculptors would not refer at all to a living dance tradition when depicting
dance scenes or figures in dance postures. There is for instance evidence that, in general, the
style of dance iconography seems to change, following local styles of dance as these acquired a
more definite individual character, as for example shown by images of dancing Siva in
different parts of India. The reliefs on East Javanese candis "temples", always cited as an
instance of breaking free from earlier Indian-style images of Central Java,14 are seemingly
influenced by the shadow-theatre and wayang wong dance-drama, the latter preserved in Bah*
to this day as gambuh dance-drama (Soedarsono, 1984:5-6). This fact shows that even when
one is dealing with iconographic forms which no longer appear to be Indian inspired, a
symbiotic relationship with the performing arts has become a deep-rooted practice which it is
not felt necessary to abandon.

It is important to clarify further the points so far raised. Javanese sculptors, steeped in
the Hindu/Buddhist Sastraic tradition,15 used the same techniques (with differences determined
by the use of a different medium) of body manipulation codified by the Sastraic dance tradition.
This becomes apparent when images showing people in the act of dancing are considered.
These however are not the only images that show such a characteristic use of the body; other
images, not depicting dancers, appear to be guided by the same principles. It is clear that
sculptors did not simply copy dancers and imitate their postures and attitudes in a naturalistic
style and it would be inappropriate to state it in these terms. Naturalism in the sense of close
imitation of aspects of the objective world did not really figure in the Hindu/Buddhist view of
art. The use of European art history terminology can only confuse the issue.

The precise technical parallelism in the treatment of the human body occurring in the
Sastraic tradition on dance, and that on image making was entirely determined by a theory of
proportions with a basis in a well-defined cosmology, in which philosophical and mathematical
speculation were wedded.16 In the Hindu artistic tradition, to which the Buddhist one owes so
much, dance was regarded as the moving force, the inspiration and vital breath of the art of the
 13
IC No. 56, Nov 91

sculptor - the Hindu treatise Visnudharmottarapurana prescribes a mastery of the principles of

the art of dance to trainee sculptors and painters. If one can exclude "naturalistic imitation", it
does not follow that sculptors would not have been inspired by what they saw around them,
particularly in terms of performance. The closeness between dance and sculpture sanctioned by
traditional theories could not have existed and survived as a convention in image making, had
there not been a living dance tradition based on the same principles of body manipulation. That
closeness prescribed by theory was a complex type of relationship between two art forms and
could not exist in a vacuum. Sculpture needed constant feedback from living dance practices,
and this close relationship was maintained in course of time, even when these theories fell into
oblivion. This is indirectly shown by the fact that when the Indian style of dance ceased to be
practised in Java and dance developed along different lines, this change was reflected in the
way that the plastic arts began to depict the human body.

Undoubtedly, the process of change in conventions was very gradual and not linear,
that is, change does not necessarily imply that earlier Sastraic conventions were abandoned as
soon as new ones were adopted (these in turn becoming normative), as the former often
coexisted with others that could be identified as having an entirely local flavour. It is likely that
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in such a process, single features that had been known from the dance practice of an earlier
period, such as poses to indicate a specific character, became standard poses to be used in
iconography, even though they may no longer have been part of the technique of the living
performing traditions. This however seems to be a sporadic phenomenon - an instance of it is
provided by the Durga of Kutri, Bali, eleventh century A.D., appearing in a classic
MahisasuramardinI attitude, in a wide alidha sthana. But to think that all the dance sculptures
of Central Javanese temples were not related to their contemporary dance practice and were
only representations of an ideal dance, existing only as an iconographic convention, is highly
unplausible, for the reasons highlighted above.

The argument that there is no trace of a NS in Indonesia, therefore an Indian style of

dance would have been unknown in these islands, is really quite unconvincing because Sastraic
does not necessarily imply the existence of a written tradition. It ought to be stated clearly at
this point that in India the transmission of dance was and has continued to be mainly an oral
tradition: "although many of the traditional masters do not have a first-hand knowledge of this
text [viz. the NS, or indeed any others, their knowledge, usually acquired by rote,
encompasses the practical application of the theory of the texts" (Gaston, 1982:14). In some
regions of India, such as Orissa, where there are several dance traditions rooted in the NS (i.e.
Odissi, Chau) and which developed following s"astraic prescriptions, written texts relating to
such dance forms are either late or non-existent, which indirectly shows that the written text
was not essential to the growing of the s"astraic tradition.
To accept that a dance based on Indian models did exist in ancient Indonesia does not
exclude the existence of non-Indian dance, to a great extent evidenced by the Borobudur reliefs
which show both types of dance.

Dance images from Central Java and from India

Apart from Borobudur, the dance sculptures of the Lara Jonggrang temple show very
clearly that by the tenth century A.D. a style of dance based on a pan-Indian model, with the
basic position of ksipta knees in ardhamandati "turned out knees and bent legs" and the human
body treated in terms of geometrical shapes, was known.

Comparison with Indian temples of the same period points to the fact that there is no
specific Indian sculptural model for the Lara Jonggrang panels - 62 in number and positioned
along the balustrade of the temple, depicting one or two dancers - although, undoubtedly,
affinities and similarities can be found, in the way a dance movement is depicted, between
dance images from Indian temples and those from Central Javanese temples, as already
indicated in the previous pages.
 14
IC No. 56, Nov 91

The position of the Lara Jonggrang dancers' feet allows a classification in terms of the
five basic foot positions17 of the Tdndava dance of the NS, though curiously not a single image
of the Cosmic Lord dancing himself is found (Holt, 1967:61).18 These are not copies of
existing Indian reliefs, but stand in their own right as depictions of Indian inspired dance as
known in Central Java (cf. Vatsyayan, 1977). Had they not been inspired by a living dance
tradition, they would have been more likely to be copies of existing Indian sculptures from
some Indian temple showing a karana sequence. The latter view would score a point if it were
possible to show that the Prambanari temple is in fact later than the date usually accepted for it
or if the dance panels in question were later additions, contemporary with, say, at least the Cola
BrhadTsVara of Tanjore, if not the 6iva Nataraja temple at Cidambaram.19 These South Indian
temples, however, appear to have been built later than Lara Jonggrang and are among the few
Indian temples where there is a conscious effort to represent NS's dance instructions quite
faithfully, through depictions of karanas. Prior to their time, although dance images abound,
these cannot really be identified as karana series (Vatsyayan, ibid.). The Lara Jonggrang panels
fall into an intermediary category: they are not representations of the NS's karana series as
such. However, the depiction of dance stances and hastas occurs in some sequence20 and when
such reliefs are compared with NS's codifications they are found to be based on NS's
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prescriptions, leaving no further doubt that the Sastraic dance technique was known and
practised in Central Java (cf. Vatsyayaan, op. cit:10; Sedyawati, 1982).21

Technically, the Borobudur dance sculptures are virtually identical to those found at
Prambanan. One finds the occurrence of some types of karana rather than others22 and all
karanas can be classified in the same way as the Prambanan ones, by type. The purpose of the
sculptures is however different: at Borobudur there is no attempt at serialising karanas in a
sequence of any sort. This seems to be in keeping with the different religious identity of the
monument. It goes well on a Siva temple to have a row of dancing figures clearly showing the
Tdndava dance, for I speculate that this is the ultimate purpose of the Lara Jonggrang
sculptures on the outer balustrade, particularly if one bears in mind the nrtta nature of the
Tandava dance. But this would make no sense on a Buddhist monument such as Borobudur,
where every architectural and sculptural detail should be seen within the context of Mahayana
cosmology.

The role of the NS in providing a referential framework for the development of the art
of dance in its formal aspect all over the Hindu/Buddhist world should not be underestimated.
Parallel to this is the role that it played in shaping the rules for the making of dance images, all
found to conform to the same principles regulating the composition of karanas. The tradition is
pan-Indian and widely spread, but at the same time, everywhere, that is in Indian and outside
India, local reinterpretations and adjustments can be seen. This emphasizes the flexibility of the
tradition itself, whereby themes and ideas (with reference to movement) were reworked.
Images found on ancient Indonesian temples up to the period of Majapahit show competent
knowledge of the Indian Sastraic traditions, with the addition of an entirely local flavour and, as
time went by, with new developments and interpretations.

Conclusions

A comparison of dance sculptures from some Indian sites and those found on
Indonesian temples, is not only possible but also necessary to highlight the fact that there were
some specific cultural artistic ties between Indian centres and Indonesian ones.23 This is
corroborated by evidence of other kinds, but it is significant that it is also apparent in terms of
stylistic affinities between dance images found at these centres from either side of the Bay of
Bengal.

I do not think, for instance, it is only a matter of coincidence that the depiction of
certain types of karana, such as karihasta and urdhvajdnu, is so widespread in Orissa and in
Central Java. This fact alone is not sufficient in itself to indicate contacts but when it is
supported by other evidence it helps in pinpointing stylistic parallels in the visual arts, by
taking the formal aspects of the performing arts into account. Similarities in approaches can
 15
IC No. 56, Nov 91

thus be identified, allowing one to be more precise in the assessment of Indonesian cultural
relations with India, by pointing out more specific geographical links. This of course does not
imply that in terms of artistic output, Indonesians faithfully copied Indian specimens. On the
contrary, the evidence gathered from temples such as Lara Jonggrang, where one finds a
karana sequence appearing here earlier than it did in India, points to the fact that works of art
were never imitations, but local interpretations, underpinned by a thorough knowledge of
Indian Sastraic traditions, arising out of well-established cultural relations.2*

It is also apparent, from the analysis carried out in the previous pages, that the study of
images cannot focus entirely on contents (narratives and mythology); form, that is,
composition, the use of space and the geometrico/mathematical relationships involved (between
figures and other elements of a composition) are equally important factors and allow us to put
the plastic arts in their proper architectural context. It was earlier indicated that in the case of
Borobudur dance inspired "decorative" panels, the basic geometrical component of sthdnas,
such as squares or circles, should be taken into account. These shapes may be subsequently
related to the overall architectural plan of the monument for it is likely that iconometrically its
sculptural programme would reiterate the mandala nature of the monument. This type of
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analysis could also be done in the case of those narrative reliefs showing dance scenes, whose
purpose is not always clear as they seem to be set apart from a narrative context. The scenes
would acquire a better defined role, with clearer focus on their abstract symbolism, if an
iconometric analysis of the figures accompanied the iconographic description. This is but one
of the possible lines of enquiry that are opened up by a full understanding of the ways in which
the relationship between dance and the plastic arts operated.

It is also important to emphasize that this relationship was not constant and a-temporal.
it existed within a specific historical context: in Indonesia it holds true for the art of the pre-
Islamic period and even then, in different degrees.25 Hindu theories of art highlight the fact that
the aim of the artist and of those savouring the work of art was release, achieved through art as
an instrument through which the reality of the Universal Being could be experienced.
Experiencing rasa led to moksa "release". Art, including literary composition, was none other
than a form of yoga. The Javanese were well aware of such theories, as shown by the
manggala compositions (invocatory verses) of the Kawi poets: to them the poem was ultimately
a yantra, that is a tool for meditation, and was "conceived of as a receptacle for the god of
beauty, into which he was called down and wherein he dwelt as in his temple. It helped the
author to achieve the aim of his literary yoga, namely union with his istadevata" (Zoetmulder,
1974:185).

The subsequent transformations of the sculptural art of Hindu/Buddhist Java and the
gradual disappearance of Indian dance styles should not be viewed with surprise. The art
interrelationship sanctioned by the Visnudharmottarapurana and the very dance of the NS were
after all a tradition that even in India did not last for ever: "the continuity of tradition in the arts
was maintained so long as these principles [viz. spiritual aims] were accepted as a matter of
faith; when the underlying beliefs came to be doubted, the tradition fell into decay or
disintegrated altogether" (Vatsyayan, 1968:8). If this is true of India, it is even truer of
Indonesia, where Hindu and Buddhist beliefs and practices were but a layer of a complex
multicultural reality.

11 Eton House
Leigh Road
London N5

NOTES

1. Strictly speaking iconography deals with content, that is stories or myths, in relation to images. In the
context of this article, the term is used in the sense of "description or analysis of dance images". This
may or may not involve narratives but it certainly refers to a description of dance themes and
conventions in relation to dance sculptures, which can be broadly classified as being an "iconography of
dance".
 16
7CNo. 56, Nov91

2. Expression to the "Formless" is given by abstracting geometrical patterns. The same process is seen at
work within the structure of Hindu speculative thought, from the Upanisads onwards, where continuous
reference is made to a triangle with a bindu and to a cakra "wheel" with sixteen spokes to give a form
to specific concepts relating to the manifest and unmanifest. This brings into prominence the fact that
the similarity of structure in the arts is not only a case of parallelism, rather, speculative thought,
underpinned by the laws of mathematics, guides the arts and provides them with a common pursuit; in
this scheme of things, man and his body become the common term of reference (cf. Vatsyayan, 1983).
3. From now on Nātyaśāstra will be abbreviated to NS.
4. The great variety of forms of Hindu and Buddhist sacred art and architecture do not seem to relate to a
truly marked distinction between cults. One of the reasons for this homogeneity can be traced back to
the concept of art as craft, whereby architects and craftsmen would be fairly mobile and would be
employed by different patrons in need of their services, thus working at one time on a Buddhist
monument and on a following assignment, erecting a Hindu one. The śastraic tradition was all-
pervasive and its principles were the basis for both Hindu and Buddhist art.
5. This was published between 1920 and 1931 under the title Beschrijiving van Barabudur (3 vols.),
together with Krom's text (2 vols); an English translation of the text appeared in 1927.
6. Reliefs have been identified by matching them up with known Buddhist texts, the majority of which
have not been preserved in Indonesia. There are however still unanswered questions regarding the
versions known to the makers of the monument,
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7. A relationship between the Buddha images of Ratnagiri and those of Borobudur has been noticed by
some scholars cf. Chandra, 1954:79; Ghose, 1933:500-04; Gómez and Woodward, 1981:12.
8. cf. Lopez y Royo-Iyer, unpublished: 172-221 for a complete list and description of all NS karanas and
hastas.
9. An important point should be made here: theorists of Indian dance use the term nrtta to denote pure
dance and nrtya to denote expressional dance with a dramatized content, relying on the use of
hastābhinaya, abhinaya of the hands. The NS however does not mention nrtya. Dance is called nrtta and
abhinaya is regarded as part of nātya "drama" of which nrtta a is itself a component. The problem is
that too precise a correlation has been seen between the dance of the NS and the traditions of Indian
dance that have come down to us, thus misreading the text by harping on the similarities, undoubtedly
present, yet modified in form by the passage of time. In this sense the value of the NS tradition for a
study of the dance forms of South-East Asian countries is enhanced precisely if one does not
superimpose on it the picture presented by present-day traditions of Indian dance, which are essentially a
nrtya form. As far as hand gestures are concerned the NS lists separately nrtta hastas which do not have
any denotative meaning. I would be inclined to emphasize the point that it is nrtta dance that had an
impact in South-East Asia and not nrtya, which represents a tradition other than the NS and in all
likelihood belonging to much later times. It is also significant that not all Indian dance styles are
dependent on hastābhinaya as some styles prefer to emphasize the use of the whole body to express
moods and emotions, not employing hand gestures to denote anything specific, in a way comparable to
that of several Indonesian dances. Strikingly, Chau dances from Purulia and Sairakella make use of
masks, a feature that appears in Indonesian topeng dances, and like topeng, show a definite influence
from martial dances.
10. This series based on the Karmavibhanga text is found on the covered base of the monument and deals
with the law of karma or "retribution".
11. The latter is simply an ālīdha performed on the other side: the two feet are five tala's apart, the feet
pointing sideways, with the left leg stretched and the right one bent. The pratyālīdha is used to indicate
the act of throwing a missile, whilst the ālīdha shows the actual release of the missile (Sedyawati,
unpublished; cf. NS 10, 67-71.)
12. According to Varma (1983:76 and ff.) bhanga and its three varieties (abhanga, samabhanga, and
atibhanga) refer to a lowering of the height that varies from three to five angula s. The lowering of the
height brings about a curve in three areas: the hip, the region between the loin and the neck, the neck.
The Vaisnavasthāna of the NS can be identified as the first type of bhanga. Varma's definition of
bhanga is controversial and a more widespread view is that of bhanga as a pose or deviation from the
vertical medium, with the addition of a fourth variety, the tribhanga. Whether one accepts Varma's
definition or not, the main point is that bhangas, however interpreted are still related to sthānas:
abhanga has an equivalent in the variants of samasthāna and so on.
13. This was specifically the method adopted by the Aryabhatiya school of the fifth century A.D. It is
important to point out that for a long time Hindu mathematics was deemed to lack a method for
demonstrating and proving theorems, hence it was regarded as highly inferior to Greek mathematics in
so far as logical rigour seemed to be absent. With the discovery that it was the commentaries and not
the texts themselves that contained demonstrations to prove the validity of theorems, it became
apparent that this was not the case. It is also thought that in all likelihood, demonstrations were given
through oral instruction (Sarasvati Amma, T. A. 1979:3-13).
 17
IC No. 56, Nov 91

14. It is generally admitted that the main features of the Central Javanese style of sculpture are harmony,
symmetry, and plasticity and links with much art from India are undeniable (cf. Holt, 1967; Kempers,
1959). It should be stressed however that the works were not imitations, exhibiting as they do specific
Javanese traits. For instance, women are not depicted in the same manner as Indian women, with broad
hips, tiny waists, full breasts; they are instead modelled on the much slenderer Javanese type.
Sensuousness is not absent, but one would search in vain for the voluptuousness and explicit eroticism
of Khajuraho and Konarak (cf. Holt, 1967:63).
15. In this respect it is worth noting that knowledge on the part of ancient Javanese architects and master
builders of the Indian text Mānasāra, which deals with architecture and sculpture, has been highlighted
in a recent study (Atmadi, 1988) on architectural design principles of temples in Java. The author,
through the observation of building projections as they appear in the Borobudur reliefs, draws the
conclusion that "building components [ratios] used in formulas for the layered stone structures pictured
in the reliefs are identical to those delineated in the Mānasāra. Differences lie only in the values of the
coefficients" (Atmadi, op. cit:230).
16. Mathematical and astronomical components of Buddhist cosmological conception have been
highlighted by Kloetzli (1983). Here, I can only reiterate that, conceivably, mathematics and astronomy
also played an important role in Hindu cosmology.
17. The five foot positions of the NS are: Sama:: toes, ball and heel touch the ground; Kuñcita: toes and
ball touch the ground; Añcita: only the heels touch the ground; Agratalasañcara: only the big toe
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touches the ground; Udghattita: kuñcita followed by sama or añcita, with the heel striking the ground.
18. It would however not be unplausible to think that the images of male dancers found on the balustrade
panels could well represent Siva himself, even though the figures are shown with only two arms.
19. The Brhadīśvara temple of Tanjore is dated eleventh century A.D. and the Natarāja temple at
Cidambaram was built over a number of centuries, beginning in the eleventh century, down to the the
sixteenth/seventeenth century A.D. The karana series from the NS, appear on the wall of the
Brhadīśvara and, with inscriptions which give the name of each karana as found in the text, on the east
gopura of the Cidambaram temple complex. The gopura was not built before the thirteenth century
A.D.
20. There is no certainty that the sequence one sees today is exactly the one intended by the builders, owing
to the fact that the temple was in ruins before its restoration in the first half of this century. The panels
were scattered on the ground and were subsequently slotted in arbitrarily, as no one could really tell
which figure came first in the sequence.
21. Another important factor which allows one to identify karanas in the Prambanan sequence or indeed
when looking at dance images anywhere else is that the figures can be compared with the Cidambaram
series. The value of the latter as a term of comparison lies precisely in the fact that they were meant to
be karanas of the NS by the sculptors. The figures depict the most salient feature of each karana and
this is matched with the textual nomenclature inscribed at the bottom of each representation.
22. On the basis of the few examples illustrated in this article, one can already state that the following
categories of karanas are found at Borobudur. These correspond to some of those seen at Prambanan:
sama, ālīdha (visnukrānta), ardhamandalī (ūromandalī), prstha, ūrdhvajānu. A more comprehensive
survey is needed to establish how many categories one finds altogether and which NS karanas are not
represented. When I did field-work in 1989 and visited the monument, I did not notice the presence of
any acrobatic karana. This is also the case at Prambanan. I wish to draw attention to the fact that
categories of karanas are best represented by a single one, after which they can be named for
convenience sake, but they include several variants.
23. The whole question of links between Indian and Indonesian religious centres (such as Amarāvatī,
Nālandā, Ratnagiri, Śīvijaya, Borobudur) has to be seen within the context of a study of that complex
process of absorption and transformation of Indian cultural influences which is often referred to as
"Indianization". The very term is controversial and has been repeatedly challenged in order to highlight
the non-derivative nature of South-East Asian civilisations. The debate among historians is still not
settled: "The question that still remains unanswered is that of the initial motivation and the impetus
behind the transplantation of Sanskritic and Buddhist civilization in South East Asia. At what stage did
the purely Indian agency turn into an independent indigenous instrument of cultural continuum?"
(Chaudhuri, 1990:58).
24. For a full discussion of this matter cf. Lopez y Royo-Iyer, unpublished.
25. For instance, Majapahit relief sculpture exhibit stylistic features not shared with the earlier art of
Central Java and its relationship with Indian sastraic conventions is definitely much looser, although I
would not go as far as denying any continuity with the art of Central Java.

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Figure 1
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Figure 3
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Figure 6
Figure 5
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Figure 8
Figure 7
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