
Krishnaattam (
Malayalam: കൃഷ്ണാട്ടം,
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: Kṛṣṇanāṭṭaṃ) is a temple art in
Kerala, India. It is a dance drama and presents the story of
Krishna in a series of eight plays and was created by
Manaveda
Manaveda (Malayalam മാനവേദന് (1585–1658 AD), the Zamorin Raja of Calicut in northern Kerala is renowned as the author of Krishnanattam. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays.
...
(1585–1658 AD), the then
Zamorin Raja of
Calicut in northern
Kerala.
The eight plays are: Avataram, Kaliyamardanam, Rasakrida, Kamsavadham, Swayamvaram, Banayuddham, Vividavadham and Swargarohanam. It survives in its glory at the
Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple (
Thrissur district, Kerala, India).
The troupe of players, once maintained by
Zamorin of Calicut came to
Guruvayur Devaswom
Guruvayur Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Guruvayurappan, a form of Vishnu, located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and is often referred to ...
. in 1958.The only troupe of artists are well maintained by devaswom till date.
Origin
Krishnanattam is based on Krishnagiti (1654 AD) written by
Manaveda
Manaveda (Malayalam മാനവേദന് (1585–1658 AD), the Zamorin Raja of Calicut in northern Kerala is renowned as the author of Krishnanattam. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays.
...
,
Zamorin of Kozhikode. It is believed that the Zamorin had a vision of Krishna who gave the king a
peacock feather, which became the living symbol of this dance-drama. Krishnanattam players wore a peacock feather and thus commemorated the vision of the chieftain.
The legend

King
Manaveda
Manaveda (Malayalam മാനവേദന് (1585–1658 AD), the Zamorin Raja of Calicut in northern Kerala is renowned as the author of Krishnanattam. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays.
...
told Vilwamangalam about his ambition to view Krishna. The next day the Swamiyar told him that Guruvayurappan has given his consent and
Manaveda
Manaveda (Malayalam മാനവേദന് (1585–1658 AD), the Zamorin Raja of Calicut in northern Kerala is renowned as the author of Krishnanattam. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays.
...
can see
Guruvayurappan playing in the early hours of the morning at the platform of the Elanji tree. He could only see and not touch Him. When as per this agreement,
Manaveda
Manaveda (Malayalam മാനവേദന് (1585–1658 AD), the Zamorin Raja of Calicut in northern Kerala is renowned as the author of Krishnanattam. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays.
...
saw
Guruvayurappan in the form of little child Sri Krishna, he was so excited that he forgot himself and, rushed to embrace little Sree
Krishna. Guruvayoorappan immediately disappeared saying, "Vilwamangalam did not tell me that this will happen". However,
Manaveda
Manaveda (Malayalam മാനവേദന് (1585–1658 AD), the Zamorin Raja of Calicut in northern Kerala is renowned as the author of Krishnanattam. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays.
...
got one
peacock feather
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...
from the headgear of Bhagavan
Krishna.
The peacock feather was incorporated in the headgear for the character of Sri Krishna in the dance drama Krishnanattam based on his own text krishnageeti which is composed of 8 chapters . It was performed near the sanctum sanctorum of the
Guruvayur Temple. On the ninth day, Avatharam was repeated as the
Zamorin felt that it was not auspicious to end the series with the demise of Lord Krishna. The blessed art form is still maintained by
Guruvayur devaswom
Guruvayur Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Guruvayurappan, a form of Vishnu, located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and is often referred to ...
and staged as an offering by
devotees.
File:Monunent of Manaveda in Guruvayur.jpg, Monument of Manaveda in Guruvayur
File:Krishnanattam kalari.jpg, Krishnanattam kalari in Guruvayur near 'Office Ganapathy' temple where the art is taught.
Author
Samoothiri Manavedan Raja (1585–1658 AD) had education from Anayath Krishna pisharody and Desamangalath varrier.
He wrote Poorva bharatha champu (Sanskrit) in 1643. He completed Krishnanattam on 16 November 1653.
His statue was installed near 'Panjajanyam' guest house in
Guruvayur.
Krishnageethi
The
Sanskrit text based on which Krishnanattam was created was written on A.D 1653, aged 68. It consists of eight plays:
Avataram,
Kaliyamardanam,
Rasakrida,
Kamsavadham,
Swayamvaram,
Banayuddham,
Vividavadham, and
Swargarohanam.It is based on 10th and 11th skandhas of
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...
dealing solely the story of
Krishna. It has also gained inspirations from
Gita Govinda of
Jayadeva,
Sree krishna vilaasam mahakavya and
Narayaniyam
''Narayaniyam'' is a medieval-era Sanskrit text, comprising a summary study in poetic form of the ''Bhāgavata Purana''. It was composed by Melputhur Narayana Bhattathiri, (1560–1666 AD) one of the celebrated Sanskrit poets in Kerala. Even thou ...
of
Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri
Melputtur Narayana Bhattatiri ( ml, മേല്പുത്തൂർ നാരായണ ഭട്ടതിരി Mēlputtūr Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri; 1560–1646/1666), third student of Achyuta Pisharati, was a member of Madhava of Sangamagra ...
.
Opening
sloka of Krishnanattam is
*
*,
*
*
Apart from such slokas it is also adorned by many padyageethams like that of
Gita Govinda of
Jayadeva.Krishnagiti is a masterpiece work in
sanskrit by a
keralite.
The stories
The eight plays are: Avataram, Kaliyamardanam, Rasakrida, Kamsavadham, Swayamvaram, Banayuddham, Vividavadham and Swargarohanam. its easily memorised by a
mnemonic "a-ka-ra-ka-swa-bha-vi-swa".On the ninth day, Avatharam is repeated.
The various benefits of Krishnanattam as an offering are listed here.
#Avatharam for a birth of a child.
#Kaliyamardhanam to remove the effect of
poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
.
#Rasakreeda well being of unmarried girls, to end disputes between
couples.
#Kamsavaddham to remove
enemies.
#Swayamvaram for a happy
matrimony.
#Bana yuddham to remove impoverishment, for good farm production.
#Vividha vadham to eliminate poverty and increase yield from farms.
#Swargarohanam for
peace of a departed
soul.
Costumes, Makeup and related Rituals
All four aspects of a drama, as told by
Bharata Muni
Bharata Muni (Hindi: भरत मुनि) was an ancient sage who the musical treatise '' Natya Shastra'' is traditionally attributed to. The work covers ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, especially Sanskrit theatre. Bharata is con ...
-viz, Angika, Vachika, Aharya and Satvika are well coordinated in it.
The teachers and artists themselves made the
costumes. The basic costume differed for male and female characters. The dress of male characters consisted of
#a starched gathered
petticoat
#a gathered white skirt with orange/orange-red and black horizontal stripes near the bottom
#
bells attached to leather pads to tie below the knees
#a long-sleeved shirt open at the back, secured by ties
#a breast-plate
#chest
ornament
An ornament is something used for decoration.
Ornament may also refer to:
Decoration
* Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts
* Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve ...
s of
beads and fresh
flora
#a girdle
#upper arm and wrist ornaments
#one shawl or more with a mirror at each end
#ear and forehead ornaments; and
#a headdress.
For the female characters the basic costume included
#a long, almost floor-length white gathered skirt with red border, wrapped so that the material crossed in the back
#a long sleeved blouse which was open in the back, secured by ties
#a girdle
#arm ornaments
#a wooden breast plate with the breasts covered in red cloth and with ornamentation above and below the breasts.
Female characters tie strings of
bells around their ankles. These are called chilanka.
The actors used any or three colours for their basic make-up.
#
pazhuppu, an orange with more red than yellow
#
minukku, an orange with more yellow than red
#
Paccha
Paccha (Hispanicized spelling of the Kichwa word ''pakcha'' meaning "waterfall")Fabián Potosí C. et al., Ministerio de Educación del Ecuador, ''Kichwa Yachakukkunapa Shimiyuk Kamu, Runa Shimi - Mishu Shimi, Mishu Shimi - Runa Shimi.'' Quito ( ...
, a particular shade of green which has more yellow than blue. If he was to wear a chutti the chutti artist applies it. The chutti was two white protruding borders which extended from ear to ear along the jaw and chin line.
The green for
Krishna as a young child has more yellow than blue. Before applying make-up the actor prostrated himself before the oil lamp and thought of the God
Guruvayoorappan.
The most sacred part of the Krishnanattam costume is the headgear. There are two basic kinds of head dress; a mudi, 'hair that has been wound into a bun and a kiriitam 'a
crown'.
Training
Training for artists starts as early as 10 years for 'vesham' and music, 5 years for
Madhalam and chutti.
Performances
Night performances in
Guruvayur temple in north to Lord
Guruvayurappan occurs as offering by devotees. Apart from performing all over India, its reaches are spanning over Europe and the United States.
Europe-1980, U.S.A-1985, Singapore, Paris.
Present setup
Consists of over 70 employees under Guruvayur Devaswom. Bookings have to be done through Devaswom alone. The rates for one kadha inside the guruvayur temple is rs.3000.
Gallery
File:Krishnanattam_gryr_1.jpg,
File:Krishnanattam_gryr_2.jpg,
File:Krishnanattam_gryr_3.jpg,
File:Krishnanattam_1.jpg,
File:കൃഷ്ണനാട്ടം_.jpg,
See also
*
Bharata Muni
Bharata Muni (Hindi: भरत मुनि) was an ancient sage who the musical treatise '' Natya Shastra'' is traditionally attributed to. The work covers ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, especially Sanskrit theatre. Bharata is con ...
References
External links
guruvayurdevaswom.nic.inKrishnattamNeokerala.comthehindu.comkorzo.nlkrishnattam.tripod.com ''Dance dialext of India''''Kirishananattam''''Medieval Indian Literature''''A panorama of Indian dances''{{coord missing, Kerala
Culture of Kerala
Performing arts in India
Dances of Kerala
Theatre in India
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
Arts of Kerala
Religious vernacular drama
Articles containing video clips