Charkula is a dance performed in the

Braj Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhumi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal, Ballabhgarh and Nuh in ...

region of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. In this dance, veiled women balancing large multi-tiered circular wooden pyramids on their heads dance to songs about

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. Each pyramid has 108 lighted oil lamps arranged in a spiral. It is specially performed on the third day after

Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...

. It is believed that on that day

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

was born. According to legend, Radha's grandmother ran out of the house with the charkula on her head to announce the birth of Radha, Since then, Charkula has formed a popular dance form of Brajbhoomi, performed during various festivities. Every aspect of the culture of the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh is associated with Lord Krishna. So it happened with the Charkula dance as well – a folk dance of the Braj area, which has also found its origin in the Krishna legend. It is believed that the Charkula dance celebrates the happy victory over

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

by Krishna and the cowherd community of Braj. This dance, therefore, became a symbol of happiness as well as joyful rapture. Krishna raised the mount Goverdhan and as if to re-enact the Govardhan Leela the dancing damsel of Braj raises the 50 Kilo Charkula on her head while performing the Charkula dance.

References

Dances of India Folk dances of Uttar Pradesh Brij {{india-dance-stub