ANTAGONISTIC CHARACTERS IN INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE: PERFORMANCE, SYMBOLISM, AND AESTHETICS

International Journal of Computer Science (IJCS) Published by SK Research Group of Companies (SKRGC)

Abstract

Antagonistic characters occupy a crucial place in Indian classical dance as they generate dramatic tension, define moral contrast, and deepen the aesthetic experience of performance. Across traditions such as Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, and Yakshagana, these characters are not merely “villains” in a modern narrative sense; rather, they are carefully constructed embodiments of bh?va, rasa, and symbolic conflict. Their presentation draws on the interrelated languages of abhinaya, gesture (mudr?), facial expression, costume, makeup, rhythm, and music to produce a layered performance that can evoke fear, disgust, wonder, irony, or tragic intensity. Classical treatises such as the N??ya??stra and Abhinaya Darpana provide the conceptual basis for this performance grammar, where oppositional characters help illuminate the relationship between virtue and vice, order and chaos, devotion and ego, or dharma and adharma. In regional performance traditions, antagonistic figures also reflect local social memory, ritual worldviews, and cultural attitudes toward power, gender, and embodiment. This article examines the meaning, classification, and performance of antagonistic characters in Indian classical dance, arguing that they are central to both dramaturgy and aesthetics. It further shows how these characters have evolved through modernization, stage adaptation, and global presentation, while retaining their symbolic force in the performance ecology of Indian dance.

References

Keywords

Indian classical dance, antagonistic characters, abhinaya, rasa, n??ya??stra, abhinaya darpana, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, symbolism, aesthetics.