There are a series of panels on the inner walls depicting dancers in 108 different poses, along with descriptive texts from the Natya Sastra. A study of the portrayal of dancers and musicians shows that the sculptors possessed knowledge of the art of dance and its codification as found in Natya Shastru, a treatise on dance. The dancing figures on the pillars are veritable dreams of beauty.The dance is one of the highest forms of representation of divine powers in Indian art and it is seen in the portrayal of Lord Shiva’s role as Nataraja, the lord of dance. Working though rhythmic body swings, the dancer creates a vocabulary of hand gestures, of eyes as well as facial expressions for the portrayal of moods, emotions, sentiments, actions and ideas. When he requested to be taught painting, the teacher pointed out that it was difficult to follow the rules of painting without understanding the technique of dancing followed by music. Frozen in stone, there is a display of movements of every part of the human frame from head to toe. Indian sculpture celebrates the divine in the forms of Gods and Goddesses as also the man mostly as divine manifestation.A story, mentioned in one of the texts on Aesthetics, narrates how a king asked his teacher to guide him to make sculpture.The most marvelous sculptures portraying the joy of living, are to be found at the world famous Khajuraho temples built by the Chandela kings (10th – 13th century AD). Invariably, the graceful nude bodies are adorned with a variety of ornaments, which not only heighten their charm but also serve as draperies.” All the interiors display a magic world of white marble carved with a profusion of detail with infinite patience and skill which surpasses anything seen elsewhere. Abu in Rajasthan (11th-13th century AD) according to Col James Tod, "are the most superb of all temple in India. Particular themes from the dancers’ repertoire have been portrayed in sculptures where the underlying rhythm is essentially similar to the dancer’s rhythm. But it is obligatory to know the rules of painting first, the king was told. One can easily recognise the profound influence exerted by the classical art of dance on sculpture. One is astounded by the competence of the artists who made the stone pulsate with life passion. The last one is the most evocative in Chola art and its fascinating figures dancing in graceful poses suggest Nityavinoda, perpetual entertainment or eternal music and dance.The amazing bounty of sculptures portraying rhythm and melody through enchanting images of dancers and musicians dazzles the observer with their unsurpassed beauty and grandeur and baffles him with their varied complexity. The dancer in the middle of a sensual pose seems to be lost in a reverie.” The Indian aesthetic tradition implies close relationship between the visual and performing arts, particularly dance, music and drama, which have always played an important part in India’s religious and social life. One of them is playing a bamboo flute, which is still quite common in rural India. His dance symbolised an ecstasy of motion, the rhythm of which holds the universe together, perpetuating the cosmic activities of Creation, Preservation and Destruction. "Art is the creation of beauty,” says Will Durant. For the sculptors, the creation of these immortal images was itself considered an act of worship.The dancer creates an ambience where the theme, the song and the rhythm all combine to produce a particular emotion or sentiment (rasa).We also come across exquisitely carved friezes and sculptures showing dancers and musicians in a number of other temples such as the colossal temple of Konark, devoted to the Sun God, Ramappa temple at Palampet, Mahadev temple near Sikat, temples in Bhubaneshwar and Puri, Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjore and one is Darasuram. The wealth of sculptures is education for the dancers and serves as a term of reference for the revival of classical dance form in the thirties of the last century. The dance is one of the highest forms of representation of divine powers in Indian art and it is seen in the portrayal of Lord Shiva’s role as Nataraja, the lord of dance. The figures are full of warmth and sheer ecstasy of living in the beautiful world.They have captured in stone what could not be recorded in words. With their feet posed in dance stamping the rhythm of their music, these figures are marvelous works of art full of life and movement.A story, mentioned in one of the texts on Aesthetics, narrates how a king asked his teacher to guide him to make sculpture. The holy seat of Nataraja is the magnificent temple of Chidambaram.Traditionally, Indian dance is a display of grace in motion and rhythm.The Dilwara temples at Mt. The cave at Aurangabad (6th century AD) are renowned for a group of reliefs, which depict a dance scene. Movement dominates the sculptures of dancers and musicians whose beauty and grace have been captured in different moods.

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