Sculpture 24? of Tanjavur represents the karaṇa, bhujaṅga-trāsitam of the Nāṭya śāstra no 24. The left leg is placed on the ground in sama pose; leg is bent while the right is lifted and is across the body to the left as in Naṭarāja images. The body is twisted to the right at the waist and so is the neck and face, the front right arm is at waist level in the pose of pushing or preventing some thing. The left hand is on the chest in pataka pose, with the palm facing in. The rear right arm holds a damaru and the left, fire as in Naṭarājā images.Bharata states that this karaṇa should be represented by showing the kūñcita leg raised and thigh turned to the side in three fourth profile. The waist and the knee should also be twisted similarly. Bharata has not mentioned anything about the position of the hands. Abhinava Gupta gives valuable information on this karaṇa. First he says Nṛitta is of remote antiquity - beginningless anādi siddha. This karaṇa is named after the pose of frenzied reaction of a man, who notices a snake by his leg. As he would hurriedly lift his leg out of fear and throw his hands out of fear in reflex to ward of the reptile.At least three karaṇa sculptures in Kumbhakonam conform to Bhujaṅga mode of dance 84, 85, and 86. In all the three the lower part of the body and the leg position remains the same. The left leg is flat on the ground in Sama; the right is lifted up and is swung across and the feet are in level with the knee. The body is turned to the right. In panel 84 the right hand is near the chest. The left hand is extended on the same side at shoulder level. The head and face are also turned to the right. However it seems to be the Bhujaṅga trāsita variety. The position of the legs, the twist of the waist, and torso, and the right hand lifted unto the waist, suggest this panel represent Bhujaṅga trāsita karaṇa. The Chidambaram has a variant leg position; the left leg is flat on the ground, the right is lifted up, but not thrown across as in Naṭarājā sculptures; instead it is folded the heel touching the thigh. The right arm is thrown across the body in Kari hasta the left is in patāka, like the abhaya hasta. The torso is twisted and so is the face. The terrifying fear on seeing the snake is subtly suggested well in this pose.Bharata's Nāṭya śāstra lists three dance karaṇas associated with the bhujaṅga variety Bhujaṅga-trāsita, Bhujaṅga-trāsta-recita, and Bhujanga-ancitam. The Kamikāgama also lists three Bhujaṅga varieties of Śiva's dance namely Bhujanga-trāsa, Bhujaṅga-lalitam and Bhujaṅga-bhairavam. From the description given in the text it seems that the Bhujaṅga-trāsita form corresponds to the Naṭarājā image. The Bhujaṅga-lalita is also a variation of the same karaṇa in that the text says the lifted leg should be slightly above the knee. The third one is the Bhujaṅga-bhairava which is identical with the ūrdhva-tāṇḍava. In the 7th cent Tēvāram of Saint Sambandar a form of special dance is mentioned as bhujaṅga-rāga-mānatattan. The 10th cent Tamil text Kallādam? mentions the dance of Śiva as bhujaṅga-murai-tūkki i.e., the bhujaṅga category of dance. It is obvious the bhujaṅga variety of dance has been very popular in the south atleast from the 7th cent if not earlier. Three Bhujaṅga varieties are shown in the Tanjore panel with the right leg lifted up (instead of left leg) resembling the Naṭarāja images. The Sāraṅgapāṇi panels also have the right legs lifted up as in Tanjavur. Two karaṇas at Chidambaram show the right leg lifted, while a third panel shows the left being lifted from the ground.T.A. Gopinatha Rao in his monumental work “”The Hindu Iconography” identifies the now familiar Naṭarājā image as the Bhujaṅga trāsita of the Nāṭya śāstra. Illustrating five Naṭarājās he has given a detailed account of this dance (II.Pt.1.p.227). (F.75-80). The agamic description supports the identification. However in none of the representations at Tanjavur, Kumbhakonam, or Chidambaram we come across the Naṭarājā form depicted among the karaṇas. Either the leg poses are different or the hand pose is different.It is interesting to see the definition of Bharata in his Natya sastra and Abhinava Gupta's comment on this Karana.kuñcitam pādam utkṇhipya? trayaśram ṇrum vivartayet .kati jamu vivartacca bhujaṅga trāsitam bhavet .. —Bharatanṛttasya anādi siddhatvāt karoṇam idam ukta svarṇpam. āsankita driṇhta nikaṭaḥ sarpa trāsāvishtasya iva gati samvarte bhujaṅga trāsitam karaṇam. hastau tu pāda vasāt vyāvartita parivartitam bhavataḥ. krameṇa dola hastaḥ. paraḥ katakasyaḥ iti karaṇam. etad sādrsyāt bhujaṅga trāsita cāsita cāri ucyate. Evam karaṇa tulyam nāma sarva cariṣnu vācyamAs mentioned above Bharata does not say which leg should be on the ground which should be lifted up. He simply says the bent leg should be lifted up and the thigh should be turned three fourth moved to the side and in the same way the hip and knee should also moved out and swung back and this is called Bhujaṅga trāsita karaṇa.Abhinava Gupta commenting on this, gives why the name Bhujaṅga trāsita. Doubting the existence of a snake and suddenly out of fear tembling and lifting the leg like movement gives the name for this Karaṇa. He further says as dance is beginningless the name is derived in this way and all other names for all the karaṇas should also be derived. Then he goes on to give the position of hands and legs for this karaṇa. Abhinava Gupta says the hands spread out and swung back and one should be duly in dola hasta and the other should assume katakasya?. The leg movement should be as if lifting hurriedly the foot on seeing suddenly a snake near by. It is the cari that is called Bhujaṅga trāsita. (evidently Gaja gati, Aśva gati, Hamsa gati, Sakata, Gaṅgāvatarana etc. are names so derived).A fine early example of Bhujaṅga trāsita karana comes from Tamil Nadu from a place called Siytamaṅgalam, in North Arcot district. The illustration shows Śiva portrayed dancing with four arms. The upper arms holding fire in a cup and the other hand paraśu. The front right arm is in abhaya hasta and the left is hanging in dola hasta by the side. The right leg is planted on the ground as in popular Naṭarāja sculptures and the left is lifted and is across the body at the knee level. What is amazing is the well portrayed snake, a cobra with hood spread out and tongue thrown out raises its head. The left leg of dancing god is lifted up immediately above and answers admirably the haste and tremple with which it is lifted up. The illustration is found on a pillar in an excavated rock cut cave caused by the famous Pallava ruler Mahendra-Varman around 600 CE. This example shows the left hand in dola hasta which is also called gaj hasta or kari hasta in the popular Naṭarāja sculpture. Dola hasta means not a static hand but swinging hand like that of an elephant's trunk. While Bharata does not mention the hand position we saw Abhinava Gupta says it should be sakatasya. We shall see such a pose in found is the Tanjore illustration which admirably conforms to Bharata's tradition.We may mention that in earlier representation especially in bronze we find the Catura Tāṇḍava dominates with both its legs on the ground. A few years back a bronze image of Catura Tāṇḍava Śiva in bronze was found, what is important in this bronze assignable to early 10th cent, the a snake is found separately before the legs and it must fall under the Bhujaṅga variety. But it has no Apasmāra puruṣa beneath its legs. About six such dancing figures are known as from Kodumuḍi, Kuḷittalai, Vāyalūr, Thiruvarankuḷam and Nallur have yielded such figures in almost all of them except Nallur they have no apasmara puruṣa nor do they have the snake. Such catura tāṇḍava images fall under different category and are not called Naṭarāja images but simply Nṛtta mūrti. It is important to note that in the Tanjore temple there is an image of dancing Śiva in the west representing Sandyā Nṛttamūrti which is in catura pose. The Sandhyā dance is a probably the Bhujaṅga Lalita dance mentioned in Āgamas.There is another form Bhujaṅga dance called Bhujaṅga trāsta recita and also as temple of Kāñchi 700 CE, a Pallava foundation where we see Śiva is dancing holding a snake in with two hands held above his head. It is possible that it represents the Bhujaṅga trasta recita dance. A fine example is found in Aihole where Śiva dance with the snake held in his hand. The other dance of Śiva with his leg raised up may be Bhujaṅga Bhairava. Further study is required to precisely to identify the differences in these categories but so far as Bhujaṅga trāsita is concerned that it represents the popular Naṭarāja is almost certain. Such a sculpture conforming in all aspects of the variety mentioned in the Nātaya Śāstra and also in Abhinava Gupta is the 25th karaṇa represented in Tanjore.
