Bhutesvara Yakshis Mathura reliefs 2nd century CE front

Tribhaṅga or Tribunga is a standing body position or stance used in traditional Indian art and Indian classical dance forms like the

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. The pose goes back at least 2,000 years in Indian art, and has been highly characteristic for much of this period, "found repeated over and over again in countless examples of Indian sculpture and painting". Indian religions carried it to East and South-East Asia. Like the equivalent

contrapposto ''Contrapposto'' () is an Italian term that means "counterpoise". It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the ...

and "S Curve" poses in Western art, it suggests movement in figures and gives "rhythmic fluidity and ... youthful energy". The word derives from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, where ''bhanga'' (or ''bhangha'') is the word for an attitude or position, with ''tri'' meaning "triple", making "triple-bend position". Other poses described in old texts on dance were ''samabhanga'' for the "figure in equipoise", whether standing, sitting or reclining, and ''abhanga'' for a slight bend in one leg giving a smaller curve to the figure. Other more complex positions in dance are ''atibhanga''; the famous Shiva

Nataraja Nataraja () also known as Adalvallaan () is a depiction of the Hindu deities, Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called Tandava.''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2015) The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts ...

figures are examples of this.

History

The history of the stance is often said to reach back to the famous ''Dancing Girl'' from

Mohenjo-Daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';yakshi ''Yakshinis'' or ''yakshis'' (यक्षिणी sa, yakṣiṇī or ''yakṣī''; pi, yakkhiṇī or ''yakkhī'') are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from devas and ...

Bharhut Bharhut is a village located in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It is known for its famous relics from a Buddhist stupa. What makes Bharhut panels unique is that each panel is explicitly labelled in Brahmi characters mentioni ...

, c. 100 BCE, and the classical form of the stance at

Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...

, around 10 CE, and the Bhutesvara Yakshis (2nd century CE). The pose is used on many coins of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

(c. 319 to 543 CE), by both the kings on the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

and the deities on the reverse, and in Gupta sculpture. During this period it became very common in both Buddhist and Hindu art (as well as

Jain art Jain art refers to religious works of art associated with Jainism. Even though Jainism has spread only in some parts of India, it has made a significant contribution to Indian art and architecture. In general Jain art broadly follows the cont ...

). The most famous ancient Indian painting, the large figure of Padmapani in Cave 1 at the Ajanta Caves (c. 478) has the pose, which remains common in

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

figures. The style of the stance changes somewhat over the centuries, and between different regions inside and outside India, as it was carried abroad, mainly to the east and south-east, in the art of both major religions. To simplify considerably, the earlier depictions in

Gupta art Gupta art is the art of the Gupta Empire, which ruled most of northern India, with its peak between about 300 and 480 CE, surviving in much reduced form until c. 550. The Gupta period is generally regarded as a classic peak and golden age of North ...

and Post-Gupta art show major figures in mildly-bent stances, with more pronounced poses in minor figures and especially female ones such as apsaras and

yakshini ''Yakshinis'' or ''yakshis'' (यक्षिणी sa, yakṣiṇī or ''yakṣī''; pi, yakkhiṇī or ''yakkhī'') are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from devas and ...

. By perhaps the 9th-century the stronger version of the stance spreads to most types of figures, and becomes even more marked. This tendency begins to reduce from about the 13th century. The

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

only ever has a slight ''tribhanga'' stance and the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...

s are almost never depicted in the pose.

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

and

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

also only usually have slight versions of the stance; the famous temples of Khajuraho, which provide a profusion of tribhanga poses, include examples for both of them.

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

playing his flute is very consistently depicted in a version of the pose with one lower leg crossed over (or behind) the other and on tip-toe, and he and Shiva are more often given stronger versions of the stance. In the Buddhist and Hindu art of

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

and

South-East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, the stance tends to be a mark of recent Indian influence in early periods, and figures, especially major ones, then gradually straighten as time passes. In all areas this tendency may not apply to figures actually shown as dancing. File:Dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro.jpg, ''Dancing Girl'' from

, c. 100 BCE File:Krishna Govardhana. Bharat Kala Bhavan, ni03-24.jpg, Gupta

lifting Mount Govardhana, 4th to 6th century File:Bodhisattva Padmapani, Ajanta, cave 1, India.jpg,

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

Padmapani, Ajanta Caves, cave 1, late 5th century File:Northwestern India, possibly Tanesara Mahadeva, Gupta period - Plate with a Scene of Revelry - 1972.71 - Cleveland Museum of Art (cropped).tif, Tribhanga poses in a scene of people celebrating a festival, a rare example of secular

File:Beeld van Guanyin, AK-MAK-78 (cropped).jpg, Chinese

gilt-bronze Ormolu (; from French ''or moulu'', "ground/pounded gold") is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold– mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and for objects finished in this way. The mercury is driven off in a kiln le ...

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

File:Tara Borobudur 1.jpg, Tara at

Borobudur Borobudur, also transcribed Barabudur ( id, Candi Borobudur, jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ, Candhi Barabudhur) is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, not far from the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indone ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, 9th century. File:Plaosan Bodhisattva 01.jpg, Bodhisattva, Plaosan Buddhist temple, Central Java, 9th century. File:WLA vanda The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.jpg, The "

Torso", c. 900, one of a pair of bodhisattvas flanking a Buddha statue. File:Tribhanga.jpg,

at Khajuraho File:Mohini 01.JPG,

Mohini Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a '' femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them ...

, 12th century, Western Chalukya Dynasty, showing extreme tribhanga File:White avalokiteshvara.jpg, White Avalokiteshvara from

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, 14th century File:Flöte spielender Gott Krishna Museum Rietberg RVI 530.jpg, Bronze

playing flute,

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, c. 1800

In art

Like many other poses used in traditional Indian dance, including

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.Bharata Natyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

and

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

, Tribhangi or Tribhanga can be found in Indian sculpture as well. Traditionally the

Yakshi ''Yakshinis'' or ''yakshis'' (यक्षिणी sa, yakṣiṇī or ''yakṣī''; pi, yakkhiṇī or ''yakkhī'') are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from devas and ...

is shown with her hand touching a tree branch, and a sinuous pose, ''tribhanga'' pose, as is ''

Salabhanjika A salabhanjika or shalabhanjika is a term found in Indian art and literature with a variety of meanings. In Buddhist art, it means an image of a woman or yakshi next to, often holding, a tree, or a reference to Maya near the ''sala'' tree giving ...

'', whose examples dating to the 12th century can be found in the

Hoysala The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...

temples of Belur, in south-central

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

and the Khajuraho temples built around 9th century CE, where

is depicted at various places in this position which is commonly reserved for

, playing the flute. The Agamic texts suggest that

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

sculptures are to be made in ''tribhanga'' posture facing the east as seen in temple dating 8th-12th centuries. The central deity at the

Simhachalam Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam, also known as Sinhachala or Simanchala is a Hindu temple situated on the Simhachalam Hill Range,which is 300 metres above the sea level in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is dedicated to Vis ...

temple near

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

, the lion-man incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu is in the ''tribhanga'' posture. In the back it carries an inscription dating it 1098, the period of the Chola King Kuloththunga. The Tirumala Rama Idol at the famous

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple Sri Venkateswara Swami Vaari Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The Temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

is also in the same posture. This style has also travels with Indian influence as in China where some sculptures at the

Maijishan Grottoes The Maijishan Grottoes (), formerly romanized as Maichishan, are a series of 194 caves cut in the side of the hill of Maijishan in Tianshui, Gansu Province, northwest China. This example of rock cut architecture contains over 7,200 Buddhist ...

built in the Later Qin era (384-417 CE). Some

Buddha images in Thailand A Buddha image in Thailand typically refers to three-dimensional stone, wood, clay, or metal cast images of the Buddha. While there are such figures in all regions where Buddhism is commonly practiced, the appearance, composition and position of t ...

are also in the ''tribhanga'' (leaning) position and so are some of

Boddhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

in the ancient

Yakushi-ji is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, and was once one of the Seven Great Temples of Nanto, located in Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism. Yakushi-ji is one of the ...

Buddhist temples in Nara, Japan, built in 680 CE, the

Hakuhō period The was an unofficial of Emperor TenmuNussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hakuhō''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File. after '' Hakuchi'' and before '' Such ...

. Takkolam pallava period Shiva temple ''Durga'' also in Tribhanga style is best example is in Tamil Nadu. As compared with the similar European

and "S Curve" poses, the ''Tribhanga'', literally meaning three parts break, consists of three bends in the body; at the neck, waist and knee, hence the body is oppositely curved at waist and neck which gives it a gentle "S" shape It has been closely associated with the Hindu deity

who is often portrayed in this posture.

In dance

It is considered the most graceful and

sensual A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...

of the

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. The

term ''Tribhanga'' means ''Three Bhanga'' and according to K. M. Varma the term ''Tribhanga'' was in the original '' Shilpa Shastras'' literature not the name of a particular standing position but used, contrary to the modern usage in

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, to describe the group of the “Three Bhangas”, namely ''Abhanga'', ''Samabhanga'', and ''Atibhanga''.Cf. Varma, K. M. Myth of the So-called ‘Tribhanga’ as a ‘Pose’. (Santiniketan, 1983).

Notes

References

*Berkson, Carmel, ''The Life of Form in Indian Sculpture'', 2000, Abhinav Publications, , 9788170173762
google books
* Craven, Roy C., ''Indian Art: A Concise History'', 1987, Thames & Hudson (Praeger in USA), *Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, * Masson-Ousel, P., Stern, P., Willman-Grabowska, H., ''Ancient India and Indian Civilization'', 2013 (reprint), Routledge, , 9781136200656
google books
*Rowland, Benjamin, ''The Art and Architecture of India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain'', 1967 (3rd edn.), Pelican History of Art, Penguin,

External links

* {{commonscat-inline Odissi Mudras Indian art Buddhist iconography Hindu iconography Dances of India