Odissi Dance In Temple Art Of Odisha

ABSTRACT

The Odishan temple sculptures are of two broad categories, namely the cult image and the decorative motifs. There are also gods and goddesses, and depiction of religious episodes to create a religious atmosphere.Religious synthesis is reflected through the images of 'Ardanarisvara' and 'Hari-Hara' such as at Gandharadi. A significant feature of Odishan temple art is the presence of performing art sculpture on the outer walls to signify the fact that religion cannot he separated from real life. The sculptures have preserved thousands of examples, which are treasure-houses of the techniques of Odissi dance. The temples greatly helped the Gurus and research scholars to reconstruct the present form of Odissi dance from an almost lost tradition of dance. As we can see, Odissi, thus, recorded in the temples, provide us a world of Odissi postures, gestures, costumes and ornaments.