Tribhaṅga orTribunga is a standing body position orstance used in traditionalIndian art andIndian classical dance forms like theOdissi, where the body bends in one direction at the knees, the other direction at the hips and then the other again at the shoulders and neck.[1][2]
.JPG)
The pose goes back at least 2,000 years in Indian art, and has been highly characteristic for much of this period, "found repeated over and over again in countless examples ofIndian sculpture and painting".[3]Indian religions carried it to East and South-East Asia. Like the equivalentcontrapposto and"S Curve" poses in Western art, it suggests movement in figures and gives "rhythmic fluidity and ... youthful energy".[4]
The word derives fromSanskrit, wherebhanga (orbhangha) is the word for an attitude or position, withtri meaning "triple", making "triple-bend position". Other poses described in old texts on dance weresamabhanga for the "figure in equipoise", whether standing, sitting or reclining, andabhanga for a slight bend in one leg giving a smaller curve to the figure. Other more complex positions in dance areatibhanga;[5] the famous ShivaNataraja figures are examples of this.[6]
The history of the stance is often said to reach back to the famousDancing Girl fromMohenjo-Daro, of about c. 2300–1750 BCE,[7] although this does not exactly show the usual later form. It may well derive from dance before art,[8] but the remaining record in early art is more clear. The earliest versions are nearly all in female figures, but it gradually spread to males. Versions of the stance can be seen in (Buddhist)yakshi atBharhut, c. 100 BCE, and the classical form of the stance atSanchi, around 10 CE,[9] and theBhutesvara Yakshis (2nd century CE).
The pose is used on many coins of theGupta Empire (c. 319 to 543 CE), by both the kings on theobverse and the deities on the reverse, and inGupta sculpture.[10] During this period it became very common in both Buddhist and Hindu art (as well asJain art).[11] The most famous ancient Indian painting, the large figure ofPadmapani in Cave 1 at theAjanta Caves (c. 478) has the pose,[12] which remains common inbodhisattva figures.
The style of the stance changes somewhat over the centuries, and between different regions inside and outside India, as it was carried abroad, mainly to the east and south-east, in the art of both major religions. To simplify considerably, the earlier depictions inGupta art and Post-Gupta art show major figures in mildly-bent stances, with more pronounced poses in minor figures and especially female ones such asapsaras andyakshini.
By perhaps the 9th century the stronger version of the stance spreads to most types of figures, and becomes even more marked. This tendency begins to reduce from about the 13th century. TheBuddha only ever has a slighttribhanga stance and theJaintirthankaras are almost never depicted in the pose.Vishnu andBrahma also only usually have slight versions of the stance; the famous temples ofKhajuraho, which provide a profusion of tribhanga poses, include examples for both of them.[13]Krishna playing his flute is very consistently depicted in a version of the pose with one lower leg crossed over (or behind) the other and on tip-toe, and he and Shiva are more often given stronger versions of the stance.
In the Buddhist and Hindu art ofEast Asia andSouth-East Asia, the stance tends to be a mark of recent Indian influence in early periods, and figures, especially major ones, then gradually straighten as time passes.[14] In all areas this tendency may not apply to figures actually shown as dancing.
.jpg)
![The "Sanchi Torso", c. 900, one of a pair of bodhisattvas flanking a Buddha statue.[15]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWLA_vanda_The_Bodhisattva_Avalokitesvara.jpg)
Like many other poses used in traditional Indian dance, includingOdissi,Bharata Natyam andKathak, Tribhangi or Tribhanga can be found inIndian sculpture as well. Traditionally theYakshi is shown with her hand touching a tree branch, and a sinuous pose,tribhanga pose, as isSalabhanjika, whose examples dating to the 12th century can be found in theHoysala temples ofBelur, in south-centralKarnataka and theKhajuraho temples built around 9th century CE, whereVishnu is depicted at various places in this position which is commonly reserved forKrishna, playing the flute.[16][17] TheAgamic texts suggest thatShiva sculptures are to be made intribhanga posture facing the east as seen in temple dating 8th-12th centuries.[18]
The central deity at theSimhachalam temple nearVisakhapatnam, the lion-man incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu is in thetribhanga posture. In the back it carries an inscription dating it 1098, the period of theChola King Kuloththunga. The Tirumala Rama Idol at the famousTirumala Venkateswara Temple,Andhra Pradesh is also in the same posture.[19] This style has also travels with Indian influence as in China where some sculptures at theMaijishan Grottoes built in the Later Qin era (384-417 CE). SomeBuddha images in Thailand are also in thetribhanga (leaning) position and so are some ofBoddhisattva in the ancientYakushi-ji Buddhist temples in Nara,Japan, built in 680 CE, theHakuhō period. Takkolam pallava period Shiva templeDurga also in Tribhanga style is best example is in Tamil Nadu.
As compared with the similar Europeancontrapposto and"S Curve" poses, theTribhanga, literally meaning three parts break, consists of three bends in the body; at the neck, waist and knee, hence the body is oppositely curved at waist and neck which gives it a gentle "S" shape[20] It has been closely associated with the Hindu deityKrishna who is often portrayed in this posture.[21]
It is considered the most graceful andsensual of theOdissi positions,[22] and used in many other classical Indian dance forms. TheIndian classical dance ofOdissi is characterized by variousBhangas or stance, which involves stamping of the foot and striking various postures, four in number, namelyBhanga,Abanga,Atibhanga, andTribhanga being the most common of all.[16] TheSanskrit termTribhanga meansThree Bhanga and according to K. M. Varma the termTribhanga was in the originalShilpa Shastras literature not the name of a particular standing position but used, contrary to the modern usage inart history, to describe the group of the "Three Bhangas", namelyAbhanga,Samabhanga, andAtibhanga.[23]
Media related toTribhanga at Wikimedia Commons.jpg){kind=link}