CULTURAL FUSION IN A RELIGIOUS DANCE DRAMA: BUILDING THE SACRED BODY IN THE MANIPURI RĀSLĪLĀS

By

RODNEY SEBASTIAN

A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2019

1

© 2019 Rodney Sebastian

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my chair Vasudha

Narayanan for the continuous support of my Ph.D study related research and for her patience, motivation, and encouragement. Her guidance and persuasion helped me in framing my main argument for my dissertation. Her ideas about the nexus between

Hindu traditions, body knowledge and dance shaped my conceptual approach in this study.

My sincere thanks also go to the members of my dissertation committee, Sohini

Ray, Jonathan Edelmann, Robin Wright and Joan Frosch. Sohini Ray introduced me to the world of Manipuri dancers residing in Calcutta, Mumbai and Delhi. She communicated with me on how to express the movements, gestures, and body knowledge of the Manipuri rāslīlās in a way that was accurate and at the same time reflective of my personal experiences. Jonathan Edelmann’s feedback, recommendation and guidance on the use of textual sources, especially the literature related to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology and dramas enriched the textual research of my dissertation. By taking courses with Robin Wright, I learned many theories and concepts related to religious performances which I utilized in my dissertation. I am also grateful to

Joan Frosch for her advice on researching and writing about dance. Without they precious support it would not be possible to conduct this research.

Beyond my committee, I am especially indebted and grateful to Manuel Vasquez who coached me in the application of Bourdieu’s theory of structure and practices. His guidance and close reading of my work enabled me to analyze the Manipuri rāslīlās through a theoretical framework that enhanced my understanding of Manipuri culture and its relationship to dance.

3 I want to thank the academic staff and fellow graduate students in the University of Florida, Department of Religion for their support and the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for providing me funding for a semester while I worked on my dissertation.

A special thanks to Annie Newman for providing excellent administrative support.

I am also ever-grateful to the Manipuri scholars on rāslīlās, specifically

Khangembam Khoni and Urmika Maibam who shared their knowledge about Manipur dance while I was in Manipur. While I was writing my dissertation, I constantly relied on them to verify my data and overcome my shortfall as someone who is not a dancer.

I am also thankful to my Manipuri language teachers Sharatchandra Sharma and

Ojhā Bhaktisiddhanta whom I met on a weekly basis while I was in Manipur in an effort t learn the language in a short time. I thank my hosts Ajit Dās and his family for keeping my wife and I protected and cared for during the duration of our stay. I am also grateful to Khomdram Surendra who introduced me to several artistes, scholars and teachers. I am indebted to Dr. Suresh for encouraging me to come to his house every week to discuss my research, for introducing me to several renowned artistes and scholars, and for lending me his books, especially the Cheitherol Kumpapa. There are several other people in Manipur and other parts of India, far too many to mention, but without whose help this dissertation would not have been complete. This includes the staff, teachers and students at Jawarharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance Akademi and the Manipuri State

Archives. My heartfelt thanks to them.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family: my parents for their support, patience and prayers. I am especially gratefuly to beloved wife, Tulasirani for not only providing me encouragement, moral and spiritual support but also for

4 accompanying me to Manipur, living in a culturally and physically unfamiliar environment and enduring the austerities of living without electricity, sometimes for days on end. She also helped me with the artwork in my dissertation and sacrificed her personal well-being and patiently waited for me to complete my dissertation.

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... 3

LIST OF FIGURES ...... 8

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... 10

ABSTRACT ...... 11

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 13

First Impressions ...... 13 Background ...... 13 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework ...... 19 Significance ...... 31 Dance and Performance ...... 35 Methods ...... 37 Outlines of Chapters ...... 39

2 THE INDIGENOUS MEITEI RELIGION OF MANIPUR ...... 44

Introduction ...... 44 Sources ...... 45 Origins of the Meiteis ...... 54 Religious Beliefs and Practices ...... 59 Meitei Gods ...... 61 Male-female principle ...... 65 Body metaphor ...... 66 Nature gods and guardian deiteis ...... 70 Sacred romantic stories ...... 72 Meitei Religious Practices ...... 74 Ritual sacrifices ...... 75 Female dancers ...... 78 Religious hierarchies ...... 80 Lai Haraoba ...... 81 Contribution of Early Kings to Manipuri Rāslīlās ...... 96 Political developments ...... 97 Aesthetic developments ...... 98

3 EARLY HINDU CONTACT ...... 107

Background ...... 107 Names of Manipur ...... 109

6 Trade, Migration, and Early Religious Contact ...... 114 Initiation of Kings ...... 123 Charairongba ...... 123 Garibniwaz ...... 128

4 EMERGENCE OF THE RĀSLĪLĀ ...... 154

Bhāgyacandra ...... 154 Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Practices in Manipur ...... 170 The First Rāslīlās ...... 191

5 BHAKTI RASA IN THE MANIPURI RĀSLĪLĀ ...... 215

Introduction ...... 215 Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Theology of Bhakti Rasa ...... 216 Bhakti in Manipuri rāslīlās ...... 235

6 AESTHETIC STRUCTURE OF THE MANIPURI RĀSLĪLĀS ...... 242

Introduction ...... 242 Aesthetic Elements of The Manipuri Rāslīlās ...... 245 Actors ...... 245 Audience ...... 249 Costume ...... 251 Music ...... 255 The rāsmandal ...... 257 Seating structure ...... 260 Movements and gestures ...... 263 Common dance sequences ...... 267 The Mahārās (The Great Circle Dance) ...... 270 Scenes of the rāslīlā ...... 278 Scene 1: Krishna Abhisar ...... 280 Scene 2: Gopī Abhisar ...... 282 Scene 3: Mapop Jagoi ...... 291 Remaining scenes ...... 301

7 CONCLUSION ...... 312

Summary ...... 312 Future research: Effects of the Early Rāslīlās ...... 316 New dance dramas ...... 317 Outside Manipur ...... 320 Rāslīlās in proscenium stages ...... 321

LIST OF REFERENCES ...... 325

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 337

7 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1-1 Map of Manipur. From Ministry of Development North Eastern Region Website: http://164.100.107.56/node/793 ...... 43

2-1 Panthoibi worship. Photographed by author with permission...... 104

2-2 Maibis invoke the lais. Photographed by author with permission...... 104

2-3 The lais are represented in images. Photographed by author with permission 105

2-4 Maibis lead the dancing procession. Photographed by author with permission...... 105

2-5 Hand gestures during the Lai Haraoba. Illustration courtesy of Emily Tessel ... 106

3-1 Mūrtis of Sitā-Rāma in a Manipuri temple. Photographed by author with permission ...... 152

3-2 Mūrti of Garibniwaz. Photographed by author with permission ...... 152

3-3 Śanta Dās Gosāi in handcuffs. Photographed by author with permission ...... 153

4-1 A statue of Bhāgyacandra mounting the elephant during his test in Assam located under a highway at a busy marketplace. Photographed by author...... 207

4-2 A mūrti of Bhāgyacandra worshipped in a temple at his birthplace. Photographed by author with permission ...... 208

4-3 Wāri-leeba, a religious discourse on CC takes place in a temple hall. Photographed by author with permission ...... 209

4-4 A shrine for a lai is built in a specific place in a household which also worships Hindu deities. Photographed by author with permission ...... 210

4-5 Yubi lakpi (rugby) teams pay their respects to a mūrti of Krishna before the game. Photographed by author with permission ...... 211

4-6 Worship at the Vijay Govinda temple. Mūrtis of Rādhā-Krishna and Caitanya. Photographed by author with permission ...... 212

4-7 Murti of Govindaji and Rāseṣwari in the Govindaji palace. Photographed by author with permission...... 213

4-8 Vasantarās. The drama involves the playing of holī-khel, as shown by the colors on the floor. Photographed by author with permission ...... 214

8 6-1 Costumes of Krishna and the Gopīs. Photograph provided by Ajit Das. Used with permission...... 305

6-2 Early Gopīs’ dress ...... 306

6-3 Panthoibi dancer. Photograph provided by Ajit Das. Used with permission. .... 307

6-4 Krishna’s costume. Photographed by author with permission...... 308

6-5 The rāsmandal...... 309

6-6 Gopī Abhisar (Entrance of the Gopīs). Photographed by author with permission ...... 310

6-7 Final ārati. Photographed by author with permission ...... 311

9 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BhP Bhāgavata Purāṇa

BhRAS Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu

BK Bamon Khunthoklon

BP Bijoy Panchali

CC Caitanya Caritāmṛta

CK Cheitherol Kumpapa

JNMDA Jawarharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance Akademi

NB.CK Nepram Bihari, The Cheitharol Kumbaba: The Royal Chronicle of Manipur, 2012.

SL Sanamahi Laikan. Edited by Bhogeswar Singh, 1973.

SP.CK Saroj Nalini Aramban Parratt. The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes, Vol. 1 (2005); Vol. 2 (2009)

TB Tungkhungia Buranji or History of Assam 1681 - 1826 CE. Edited by S.K. Bhuyan, 1933.

10 Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

CULTURAL FUSION IN A RELIGIOUS DANCE DRAMA: BUILDING THE SACRED BODY IN THE MANIPURI RĀSLĪLĀS

By

Rodney Sebastian

May 2019

Chair: Vasudha Narayanan Major: Religion

From the 18th century, in the Northeast Indian state of Manipur, Hindu religious themes, especially from Bengal Vaiṣṇava traditions fused with indigenous Meitei religious practices to produce culturally hybrid rituals, performances and festivals. The

Manipuri rāslīla dance drama is one of the effects of this religious and cultural contact.

Since the 1780s, Manipuri rāslīlās have been a central form of ritual worship and entertainment for the majority ethnic group known as the Meiteis. Based on a study of the court chronicles of Manipur, ethnographic research of local performances and interviews with artistes and scholars, I examine the origin, development, and structure of the rāslīlās. I study the Manipuri rāslīlās with respect to the flow of theology, sociopolitical structures, ritual practices and aesthetics through fluid cultural boundaries in the 18th century. I argue that in the 18th century, Manipuri agents headed by King

Bhāgyacandra sought to convert Manipur to a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava state in order to forge an alliance with the Vaiṣṇava Ahom (Assamese) kingdom to repel external political threats from Burma. They selected specific aspects of the Gauḍīya tradition which already existed in their indigenous religious practices and which they could accept and transform in ways that resonated with their indigenous cultural knowledge, or the Meitei

11 habitus. They transformed the Meitei religious habitus through innovative reformulations of social structures and religious practices to provide an indigenous aesthetic framework for a hybrid Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism, reflected in, and reproduced by the Manipuri rāslīlās.

12 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

First Impressions

November 13, 2008. Imphal, Manipur – the capital of a small Northeast Indian valley not more than 2,000 square kilometers, but surrounded by hills that cover nearly 20, 295 square kilometers, has served as a meeting point of cultures from East Asia and South Asia for centuries. It was almost midnight in Manipur, on the full moon night of the month Kartik (October – November) of the Indian calendar in 2008. I felt relieved to escape the drab streets of the city, which were lined with unfinished brick buildings, many of which had the architectural flair of a cement block, with the added ornamentation of rebars sticking out from the top and sides. I sat on the steps surrounding the mandap (courtyard) of the Hindu-Vaiṣṇava Govindaji palace temple. The temple looked like a page out of colonial history, with its white Roman columns reflected on the marble floor. I watched as the two main mūrtis (images) of the temple, Rādhā and Govinda, dressed gorgeously and garlanded with lotus flowers stood in the middle of the mandap, serenaded with songs of what sounded like melodies from a Chinese opera, but in Sanskrit words. Around the mūrtis, ladies of varying ages, representing the Gopīs (cowherd maidens) of Vṛndāvan, moved in concentric circles. They made controlled, but fluid and gliding movements with their hands. Their feet slid on the ground softly and landed gently on the forefoot as in traditional Southeast Asian dances. They wore tubular skirts, called potlois, which were covered with red satin, and decorated with mirrors, beads, and intricate circular embroidered designs. In the background, musical instruments such as manjiras (hand cymbals), cylindrical drums known as pung, harmonium, flute, conch and esraj (a stringed instrument) were played. The dance drama told the story of the rāslīlā, the divine dance of Krishna and the Gopīs described in the tenth book of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Having been accustomed to seeing the sharp movements and taut postures of Indian classical dances such as Bhārata Nātyam, I was in wonder at the harmonious blend of East Asian and South Asian literary and performing arts, represented before me in the Manipuri rāslīlā. What was the story behind the dance?

Background

The ethnic groups, languages, and dresses of Manipur today indicate that its culture is an assemblage of components of Southeast Asian and Eastern Indian traditions. This is especially observable in Manipur’s rāslīlā dance dramas, which have been a central form of ritual worship and entertainment for the majority ethnic group

13 known as the Meiteis since the 1780s. In India, there are different forms of dances that are known as rāslīlā. The term is used not so much to refer to a repertoire of performances with a particular style or a coherent technique of presentation. Rather, it is used to refer a genre of dance that dramatize and make prominent a specific episode in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, that of Krishna’s dance with the Gopīs in a forest at night.1 The

Manipuri rāslīlās have distinctive Sino-Indian features that stem from the adoption of devotional themes from the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava2 tradition that were interwoven with gestures and aesthetics from indigenous Meitei dances. Drawing from a year-long extensive ethnographic work in Manipur and archival research, this dissertation explores the history of this fusion through an approach that highlights the embodied and emplaced practices of religious and cultural agents. More specifically, I focus on the interaction of these agents as they are located in various positions in the religious, cultural, political, and economic fields that constitute Manipuri society. I am particularly interested in how the performance of the rāslīlā dances shaped and is shaped by the dynamics of these interacting fields in the 18th century.

As Manipuri culture emerged out of the encounter and blending of different traditions, new religious practices and beliefs gained consensus; they became what social theorist Pierre Bourdieu has termed doxa: taken-for-granted, authoritative and

1 David V. Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), 25.

2 Vaiṣṇavas are generally regarded as worshippers of Viṣṇu and his other manifestations like Krishna and Rāma. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas specifically worship Rādha and Krishna, as well as the religious reformer, Caitanya (1486− 1534) from Bengal, who they believe to be a combined form of Rādhā and Krishna, or more specifically Krishna appearing in the mood of Rādhā to taste the devotion that Rādhā has for him and the pleasure she derives from serving him.While Caitanya started his movement in Bengal and Orissa, much of the tradition’s theology and poetics came from Vraj.

14 authentic styles of performance and received modes of appreciation.3 But this process of cultural and religious sedimentation was not conflict-free, as various actors mobilized their social resources to shape the consensus and (re)interpret its meaning and value.

This contested process resulted in multiple versions of the Manipuri rāslīlā and other dance dramas that differed in terms of stories, costume, language, venues, and gestures.

I argue that in the 18th century, in order to repel external political threats from

Burma, Manipuri political elites headed by King Bhāgyacandra, adopted Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇavism to forge an alliance with the Ahom (Assamese) kingdom. Although other

Hindu influences, such as Nimbārka Rāmānandī and Śākta traditions had already existed in Manipur, these agents, headed by King Bhāgyacandra (r. 1759 – 1798) identified with the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sect primarily because they were able to adapt it to their own indigenous religious ideas and practices. They selected specific practices from the Gauḍīya tradition which they were already familiar with in their indigenous

Meitei religion, and which they could accept and transform in a way that resonated with their own tastes. The most prominent of these was the indigenous practice of dancing for their gods, which was aesthetically transformed into the Manipur rāslīlā dance dramas.

The geographical position and cultural history of Manipur are the contexts behind the structure of the rāslīlās. India’s under-studied northeastern region, sharing borders

3 Pierre Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice (R. Nice, Trans.) (Cambridge, London, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977), 164-169. Bourdieu saw doxa as the source of orthodoxy. He suggested that orthodoxy only exists in a relationship in opposition to heterodoxy when it aims to restore the unconscious state of the doxa that has been disrupted by social change.

15 with China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, is physically and culturally removed from central parts of the subcontinent (See Figure 1-1).4 It is surrounded by mountain ranges, and situated at the meeting-point of East and Southeast Asia with mainland

India. One of the eight states of Northeast India, Manipur has its own relatively autonomous regional history and culture. In fact, when living in Imphal, the state capital of Manipur, it is easy to appreciate the great distance that lies between India’s culturally diverse northeastern region and its central plains. For Imphal is closer to Bangkok than to New Delhi, and the next closest metropolis is Dhaka, Bangladesh.5

Moreover, the East Asian physical features of Manipuris bear visible differences with Indians from the Central, Western, and Southern parts. Within Manipur itself, the approximately 2.85 million population6 consists of three major ethnic groups. The first is the dominant ethnic group known as Meiteis, who comprise of 58.9% of the total population of Manipur7 and who live in the valley. The Meiteis are made up of different tribes that probably migrated from Southwest China and parts of Burma above the

Irrawady River.8 The second and third groups are the Nagas and Kuki-Chins respectively, who live in the surrounding hills. These two groups are made up of approximately twenty-nine tribes. Today, they are mostly Christian, but some of them

4 In 1949, the Central Government of India made Manipur a part of the Indian Union by forcing then Manipuri King Bodhacandra (r. 1941-1949) to sign a merger by placing him under house arrest. See John Parratt, Wounded Land: Politics and Identity in Modern Manipur (New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2005).

5 By road, Imphal to New Delhi is approximately 2386 km (1483 miles) while Imphal to Bangkok is just 1942 km (1206 miles).

6 According to 2011 census of India, Manipur has a population of 2.85 million. (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/default.aspx accessed on 30 August 2017)

7 Census of India 2011.

8 E. Nilakanta Singh, Manipuri Dance (New Delhi: Omsons Publications, 1997).

16 still retain their indigenous religions.9 In this dissertation, I focus mainly on the first group, the Meiteis, because they were the creators of the rāslīlās.

The Meiteis have a complex mix of religious beliefs and practices due to a long history of migration from neighboring regions. Meitei culture contains two main layers of overlapping and intermingling religious traditions. The first is an indigenous tradition, which involves the worship of local gods, spirits and ancestors. This Meitei tradition has a history of religious practices and festivals that were observed with sacrificial rituals, dance, and music for at least two thousand years, if court chronicles like the Cheitharol

Kumpapa are taken to be historically accurate. Before the 17th century, local gods, spirits and ancestors collectively known as “lais” were propitiated through animal sacrifices, offerings of the skulls of enemy tribes killed in battle, and ritual dances.10

Religious influences from what is today known as Hindu traditions had a deep impact on Manipur from the 17th century onwards, due to the interaction of Meitei kings with neighboring kingdoms like Assam, Tripura, and Cachar, as well as the migration of traders, Brahmin missionaries from Bengal, Odisha (formerly Orissa), Tripura, and

Assam. Of these influences, Vaiṣṇavism is the most popular, followed by Śaiva and

Śākta practices. Religious themes, especially from Vaiṣṇava 11 traditions fused with the

9 According to the 2011 census, about 41.29% of Manipur’s population identify themselves as Christian. Most of them are from the hill population.

10 Lai is a broad category that refers to all Meitei gods and Haraoba means merry-making. Therefore, Saroj N. Arambam Parratt & John Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd, 1997), xiv, have translated it as “the pleasing of the gods.” I discuss the translation in more detail in Chapter 2.

11 Vaiṣṇavism is not a single religion, and is the aggregation of multitude of varied traditions, as discussed by Gerard Colas, "History of Vaiṣṇava Traditions: An Esquisse," in The Blackwell Companion of Hindu Traditions, ed. Gavin Flood (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), 266. However, I use the term as applied by scholars to denote the traditions which worship Viṣṇu and his different aspects as god. This includes the traditions who worship Krishna, as the supreme deity.

17 local Meitei religious practices to produce culturally integrated rituals, performances, and festivals. The force of the cultural continuities of the pre-Vaiṣṇava era and its juxtaposition with Vaiṣṇavism caused Manipuris to adopt syncretic or hybrid12 religious identities. Although identifying with Vaiṣṇavism in an institutional way, Manipuris also embody ideas, values, and orientations that stem from their Meitei indigenous religious practices. In other words, Hindu traditions interacted with the local Meitei religion in dynamic ways, which included assimilating, amalgamating and replacing. One of the most prominent products of this interaction is the Manipuri rāslīlā.13

From the late18th to mid-20th century, Manipuri rāslīlā dances were constructed based on a pattern of continual adaptation and accommodation to external influences.

But these external influences were not passively adopted; the Manipuri king,

Bhāgyacandra, along with artistes and scholars selectively adopted some concepts and rituals from both the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition and Meitei religion to produce the first

12 The connotations of terms like ‘hybridization’ and ‘syncretism’ have been the subject of much debate amongst scholars. For example, according to Carl Ernst and Tony Stewart, syncretism “favors the description of a state or condition of uneasy union” and was historically used in a derogatory sense to describe inappropriate inter-religious mixing and the formation of “impure” and/or “heterodox” religions. See Carl Ernst and Tony K. Stewart “Syncretism,” in South Asian Folkore: An Encyclopedia, ed. Peter J. Claus and Margaret A. Mills (New York: Routledge 2003), 586. Hence, a number of scholars have discarded the term because of an “essentialist bias” that presupposes the existence of original pristine religions that blend to create a hybrid. However, Charles Stewart and Rosalind Shaw argued that rather than simply using the term as a label to define the composition and boundaries of religion, syncretism should be explored as an analytical category that focuses on the operation of power and agency and the “politics of religious synthesis.” See Charles Stewart and Rosalind Shaw (eds.), Syncretism/Anti- Syncretism: The Politics of Religious Synthesis (London: Routledge 1997) 2). Following their lead, I use the term syncretism as a category that highlights the creativity of various religious actors and the power- laden construction and maintenance of religious traditions, including Vaiṣṇavism. I believe that the category sheds light on the contested establishment of a Manipuri polity in the 18th century.

13 Other Vaiṣṇava performances include Goṣthalīlā (dance drama of Kṛṣṇa playing with his cowherd boyfriends), Gauralīlā (dance drama of Caitanya), Khubak Isei (song and dance sequence involving clapping), and Naṭa saṅkīrtan (devotional singing and dancing using instruments like the Manipuri drum and hand cymbals). I will discuss them in greater detail later.

18 Manipuri rāslīlās. Political and cultural agents strategically constructed rāslīlās that evoked a sense of shared identity and consensus amongst different religious and ethnic groups in Manipur by simultaneously continuing and reconfiguring the old tradition of worship through dance.

Since the mid-twentieth century, there have been five thematic variants of the

Manipuri rāslīlā: Mahārās (the great rās), Kuñjarās (the bower rās), Vasantarās (the springtime rās), Nityarās (the eternal rās) and Divarās (the daytime rās). There are also variants of the rāslīlā performed in palace temples, village temples, and on domestic and international prosceniums. Besides location, they vary in terms of ritual structure, duration, gestures, facial expressions, language of lyrics, performers’ ethnicity and gender. In this dissertation, I will restrict my discussion to the origins and development of temple performances that developed in the late 18th century (Mahārās, Kuñjarās,

Vasantarās). To prevent this work from becoming too voluminous, later temple rāslīlās

Nityarās (1904) and Divarās (around 1940), and performances on the proscenium stage, which began from the mid 20th century will be discussed in a future project.

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

Several scholars, many of whom are also artistes, have written about the various forms of the Manipuri rāslīlās, providing detailed descriptions of structural aspects such as storyline, theme, lyrics, musical notes, and rituals. For example, Haobam Ibochaoba

Singh discussed the traditional narratives about origins of the rāslīlās, and provided information about the themes, songs, costume, and musical framworks of all five forms of the dance.14 Similarly, Geentajali Devi has written a detailed outline of the structure of

14 Haobam Ibochaoba Singh, The Pre-World War-Ii Form of Ras Leela (Manipur: Haobam Ongbi

19 the Nityarās15 and Hemantakumari Devi did the same for the Mahārās.16 While this is interesting material for the student of Manipuri rāslīlās, the performances cannot be fully understood just by reading descriptive texts narrating their lyrics, musical scales and ritual structures. Such studies leave out the historical and social conditions that had to be fulfilled for the rāslīlās to have their present structures. Saryu Doshi’s edited volume17 and others, like those of Singhajit Singh18 and Nilakanta Singh,19 discussed the Manipuri rāslīlās in relation to other artforms in Manipur, including the earlier indigenous dances, with references to historical developments. However, they did not deal sufficiently with the specific historic and political events that played a major role in the construction of the rāslīlās. Sruti Bandopadhay has provided a historically detailed account of the creation of the first three Manipuri rāslīlās in the 18th century by including the information from royal court chronicles, the works of British colonial historians of Manipur, and religious history of Manipuri by more recent historians.20 However, her work does not deal with Manipur’s political relationship with Burma and Assam, which I argue played a central role in the state-sponsored propagation of Vaiṣṇavism, and the subsequent

Shantibala Devi, 2009).

15 Geetanjali Devi, "Nitya Raas," Jawaharal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy 2008, 61-63.

16 Hemantakumari Devi. "Raasleela of Manipur: An Outline." Jawaharal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, 2008, 67 - 72.

17 Saryu Doshi, ed. Dances of Manipur - the Classical Tradition (Bombay: Marg Publications, 1989).

18 R. K. Singhajit Singh, Manipuri, ed. Alka Raghuvanshi, Dances of India (New Delhi: Wisdom Tree, 2004).

19 E. Nilakanta Singh, Manipuri Dance.

20 Sruti Bandopadhay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications (Gurgaon: Shubhi Publications, 2010); Mathieu Hilgers and Eric Mangez, "Introduction to Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Social Fields," in Bourdieu’s Theory of Social Fields: Concepts and Applications, ed. Mathieu Hilgers and Eric Mangez (New York: Routledge, 2015).

20 production of the rāslīlās. A more careful and sustained critical inquiry on the relationships among the religious, political, social, and cultural fields that constructed and continually developed the Manipuri rāslīlās is needed to better understand the historical development of the multiple models of the dance drama.

Thus, I situate the Manipuri rāslīlā dance within its sociopolitical and religious background and show how it developed within those contexts. I discuss the dance in the context of sociopolitical events like the Burma-Manipur wars in the 18th century by referring to court chronicles. The sociopolitical processes in Manipur, combined with religious and aesthetic dynamics to influence and structure the rāslīlās.

Emphasizing the sociopolitical background of the Manipuri rāslīlā dances, does not mean that I only employ modes of analysis that reduce the richness of the ritual dance to social or political processes. I also try to connect the choices that cultural and religious actors made in response to sociopolitical events, drawing from their cultural orientations, religious tastes, and political ambitions. Here, I follow the lead of historian

Robert Hymes who views culture, and religion within culture, as “a repertoire - not a smoothly coherent system but a lumpy and varied historical accumulation of models, systems, rules, and other symbolic resources, differing and unevenly distributed, upon which people draw and through which they negotiate life with one another in ways intelligibly related to their own experiences, places in society, and purposes.”21 By drawing on cultural resources and the power that is available to them, and negotiating with existing cultural models, cultural agents are able to influence religious

21 Robert Hymes, Way and Byway: Taoism, Local Religion, and Models of Divinity in Sung and Modern China (Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2002), 5.

21 performances, like the Manipuri rāslīlās. Their agency shapes and reshapes culture, and cultural products. I am also mindful that tastes and experiences of cultural agents are not static, and are influenced by changing economic, social, and political factors.

Taking these factors into consideration, multiple models of the rāslīlā cannot simply be attributed to isolated innovations of individuals like kings, as is done in popular narratives.22 These “subjectivist” narratives – in the sense that they only attribute cultural creativity to the conscious activities of special individuals removed from the exigencies of everyday life - fail to grasp the social ground that generates agents capable of producing and reproducing accepted practices. Nor can the richness and diversity of the dances be captured by “objectivist readings,” which treat them as nothing more than the outcome of impersonal social processes like imperialism and religious colonization. After all, social reality is constructed by the conceptions and actions of individual agents. As such, the rāslīlās are the products of a complex and sometimes contested interaction of agents, their religious inclinations, the political and economic power they wield, and their borrowing of resources from other cultural performances. As suggested by Frederik Barth, a civilization is not made up of several integrated parts which form a complete logical whole; rather, different traditions of knowledge coexist, and actors draw on these traditions for resources in imagining and making reality.23 From this, it follows that every member of society does not carry the same culture or the same aspects of different cultural influences. The construction of

22 See Urmika Maibam, "Raas Leela: From Mandop to Proscenium Stage," in Facets of Manipuri Culture, ed. M. Thoiba Singh (2011); Thoiba Singh, "Manipuri Nata, Sankirtana: Origin, Perspectives and Prospects," in Facets of Manipuri Culture, ed. M. Thoiba Singh (2011). for examples.

23 Frederik Bath, Balinese Worlds (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1993), 4-5.

22 the Manipuri rāslīlās should not be viewed as a result of tightly bound strands in a unitary web of social phenomena or the progressive contributions of individual agents, but as the products of plural and differing pieces of history, formed from a repertoire of possibilities and applied by religious, political, and cultural agents in ways that made sense for their locations in time, place and cultural contexts.

In tracing the development of the Manipuri rāslīlās, cultural agents like scholars

(mainly Brahmins from the institution known as Brāhman Sabhā) and dance gurus (who are generally referred to as Ojhā or teacher) commissioned by Manipuri kings, took up an imagery and vocabulary that were common property, and added their own innovations to them. Agents were also motivated by their own aesthetic inclinations or political ambitions. Consequently, the rāslīlās become “political” performances, in the sense that they are points of convergence and resistance in power structures and cultural manipulations of artforms. They were used to articulate a number of different ideas and functions, including devotion, religious hierarchy, entertainment, and/or the enactment of ethnic identity. As pointed out by David Guss,24 the meanings of festivals, and by extension other collective performances, are continually in flux with changing political and social landscapes, and power is negotiated, identities are constructed and reconstructed, and histories are invoked and contested. Individual tastes of agents, the existing vocabulary of ritual performances, and an interactive process that involved consensus and contestation, all contributed to the construction of the rāslīlās.

24 David M. Guss, The Festive State: Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism as Cultural Performance (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2000), 1-12.

23 To provide a full account of the interaction between sociopolitical structures and the individual agency of the cultural and religious producers, as well as of the on-going struggles over taken-for-granted meanings of the rāslīlās requires a framework which understands these dances as a manifestation of society as a whole. Sociologist Pierre

Bourdieu’s theory of practice, and, in particular, his notions of habitus and fields, are useful to construct such a holistic account. His approach makes it possible to identify the features marking the emergence of a new cultural product, the appearance and social position of a specialized elite, and the rationalization and constitution of specific knowledge pertaining to that product, the creation of authorities and institutions through symbolic processes of recognition and consecration, and the setting of conditions for entry to legitimate fields of action.25 Bourdieu’s focus on habitus also allows for the understanding and explaining of phenomena of reproduction, while also accounting for change within a field. I will highlight some of Bourdieu’s basic concepts here and will elaborate on other aspects of his theories relevant to my research when I discuss the history of the rāslīlās in detail.

Bourdieu develops his view of situated agency, that is, agency as enabled and constrained by structures, and structures as created and reproduced by individuals, through his central concept of habitus.26 A person’s habitus is the relatively integrated cluster of tendencies or dispositions that enable him/her to respond to the environment and engage in concerted action with other individuals located in the same space. The

25 Hilgers, Mathieu, and Eric Mangez. "Introduction to Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Social Fields." In Bourdieu’s Theory of Social Fields: Concepts and Applications, edited by Mathieu Hilgers and Eric Mangez (New York: Routledge, 2015), 7.

26 Pierre Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice, trans. Richard Nice (Cambridge, London, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977).

24 habitus is a “system of durable, transposable27 dispositions, structured structures” which can generate practices without a conscious aiming at an end, or an explicit mastery of the methods required to attain them28 or without being the “product of obedience to rules”.29 The habitus is an embodied product of history in the sense that it is inculcated upon the body of a person by the experiences s/he has by virtue of his/her social location(s).

In other words, the social trajectory of a person bestows him/her with the resources to act in ways that are attuned to the socio-cultural contexts in which s/he dwells, including the taken-for-granted ways of doing things for a particular time and place. The concept of habitus is relevant to my study because Manipuris, through their indigenous dances, already had a disposition towards relating to the gods through certain modes of action. This habitus induced the construction and popularity of rāslīlās.

In later chapters, I will show how this disposition played out in the structure of the rāslīlā performances.

The habitus is reflected in the ways of moving, performing with, and adorning the body. As described by Terence Turner, the body develops a “social skin” and “the surface of the body, as the common frontier of society, the social self, and the psychological individual; becomes the symbolic stage upon which the drama of socialization is enacted…”30 Thus, the body becomes shaped and shapes the

27 They are transposable in the sense that they can generate practices in multiple and diverse fields.

28 Pierre Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1990), 53.

29 Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice, 72.

30 Terence S. Turner, "The social skin," HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 2, no. 2 (Fall 2012): 486.

25 sociocultural context within which it acts. In this paper, I pay attention to the building of the Manipuri body that enabled the performance and reception of the Manipuri rāslīlās.

This study will also show how the structures of practice related to the rāslīlās are socially constructed and inculcated; how they are contested and never determine action mechanically. Moreover, these structures enable the social actors to generate practices that, in turn, produce and/or re-produce the enabling structures. While the habitus attains a relative stability during the person’s life’s trajectory, it is not fixed and can change as the tastes of the community changes in response to external conditions. The habitus at every moment structures new experiences in accordance with past experiences. These structures are modified by the new experiences within the limits of choices of selection available to them. The Manipuri rāslīlās, structured one another, and also produced other genres of dance dramas which popularized other stories of

Krishna. These were structured with the available repertoire of gestures, texts, costumes and rāgas (musical scales).

The practical world that constitutes the habitus is the field with its own system of structures, and paths to follow.31 Agents do not act in a vacuum, but in “concrete social situations governed by a set of objective social relations.”32 Hilgers and Mangez articulated a field as “a structure of relative positions within which actors and groups think, act and take positions.”33 Thus, fields are social spaces where various actors are located. On the basis of these overlapping - at times contradictory, and at other times,

31 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 53.

32 Pierre Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, ed. Lawrence D. Kritzman, European Perspectives (Columbia University Press, 1993), 6.

33 Hilgers and Mangez, "Introduction to Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Social Fields," 10.

26 mutually reinforcing – locations, religious and cultural agents in Manipur incorporated and exerted their particular dispositions in shaping the rāslīlās. A field is the relational, that is, social space in which a certain category of goods -- cultural, political, economic, literary, or religious -- are produced, circulated, and consumed.34 Each field has its specific rules and goals;35 for example, the political field is constituted by the resources and relations of power through which a particular group of actors govern the conduct of other actors, imposing hegemony over them.36 The economic field, in turn, is characterized by behaviors directed towards profit maximization. And the religious field encompasses goods, identities, institutions, beliefs, traditions, and practices deemed sacred, pure, and positively special (and thus also those considered profane, impure, and special in a negative way). Society is constituted by the dynamic overlapping of and interplay among these fields.

Defining a particular field is always contextual. One cannot do it in the abstract. It has to be done by establishing what the specific interests of the field are, identifying and following the particular goods that are being produced, circulated, and consumed. In this study, I examine the “goods” at stake, in this case, how the rāslīlās, are produced, circulated, and appropriated by various actors. The construction of the rāslīlās is a socio-political event that is dependent on the whole social field, rather than some individual elements.37 It is not the isolated actions of a particular individual that created

34 Communication with Manuel Vasquez, 12/12/2017

35 Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice, 76.

36 Pierre Bourdieu, Pascalian Meditations, trans. Richard Nice (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2000).

37 Hilgers and Mangez, "Introduction to Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Social Fields."4.

27 the rāslīlās, rather the system of relations among fields, or more specifically, among actors located in multiple fields, such as religious specialists, kings, the artistes, and various audiences that enabled it to be constructed.

Like the habitus, a field is sufficiently stable to provide a logic for the practices of the individuals who are embedded in it. However, it is not fixed or static; it is continually constructed and reconstructed. This is because agents in the field often compete with each other, mobilizing their positional resources (i.e., various forms of capital: social, symbolic, and economic) so as to enhance their access to goods that are considered highly valuable and, ultimately, to control the often-unstated logics that determine those values. In other words, social reality is the outcome of the struggles of individuals seeking to delimit each field and to establish the logics of what counts as legitimate.

There are sanctioned ways to convert various forms of capital. For example, one can convert one's social capital, that is, one's relations in a particular literary, religious, cultural network, into economic gain, i.e. economic capital and vice versa. Or a king may host or sponsor certain styles or schools of rāslīlās to gain political legitimacy and prestige, or a particular dance troupe may perform for a transnational audience as part of a growing market for exotic experiences or world music.

I consider the Manipuri rāslīlās products of the religious field, even though they could be also regarded to be products of the cultural field. This is because they were produced with a religious objective, by religious persons, in a religious environment. The religious field while possessing a relative autonomy tends to occupy a subordinate position, since it is subject not only to the logic of its own institutions but also to that of

28 the political and economic field.38 That is, hierarchies in the political and economic field influence the religious field.

In sum, religious, political and economic fields intersected, as forces from other parts of India entered into contact and colonized Manipur from the 18th century onward.

39 The embodied dispositions of local agents that resulted from this intersection configured the imported religious beliefs and practices in ways that resonated with their own sociocultural contexts and aesthetic structures. These agents activated their social and political capital and their positions in these fields to introduce cultural performances like the rāslīlās. Thus, new practices and religious concepts gained consensus in these cultural spaces, and were accepted as doxa, as taken-for-granted, authoritative and authentic styles of performance and as received modes of appreciation. This process resulted in multiple models of the Manipuri rāslīlā that differed in terms of stories, costume, language, venues, and gestures. In the forthcoming chapters, I will provide a detailed account of this historical process of the first three rāslīlās. I will also invoke other concepts of Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and fields to makes sense of processes such as the production of elites, the conditions for successful innovation, the conversion of capitals, the setting up and perpetuating of power relationships between the dominant and dominated, all which contributed to the development of the rāslīlās as they are performed today.

While Bourdieu takes care to avoid dualisms between agency and structure, between culture and society, and between innovation and reproduction, his approach is

38 Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, 61.

39 By colonizing, I do not refer to European colonizing projects, but the spread of religious ideas and practices from a tradition that is self conscious of its long sophisticated tradition to another location.

29 not entirely successful. Because he views habitus as ultimately determined by class, he tends to think of culture and religion as reflecting economic and political dynamics.

Without neglecting the influence of politics and economics, there is a need to stress that cultural and religious performances are not simply passive to political and social forces.

Cultural performances are not only shaped by the social world in which they exist but have the power to shape it in substantive ways. I will be attentive not only to how social and political forces affected the dance, but also how it affected society in turn. The result of the dynamic spiral through which political and economic forces affect habitus, multiple actors continually putting this habitus to work, informing the structure of the rāslīlās, and the rāslīlās transforming experience and social relations, is that we have a change in the religious landscape of Manipur from its indigenous Meitei tradition to one that involves Vaiṣṇava-Meitei combinatory practices. I will show later how Manipuri

Vaiṣṇavas engage in religious rituals that draw from both traditions.

In addition to adopting an approach that seeks to bridge the divides between agency-structure and religion-culture, I am also advancing a multi-scalar perspective, going from the local to the regional. Most extant approaches to researching the

Manipuri rāslīlās fail to take history into account and, thus, present a static picture of what is a dynamic, contested process of tradition formation. I provide historical information about the development of the rāslīlās to ensure that the ritual dance is not simplistically viewed as a mechanism for the maintenance of social solidarity, or national agendas. Rather, it is due to complex relationships between various agencies. I begin before the 18th century to examine the contexts in which the rāslīlās emerged to ensure that there is sufficient time depth to consider the process.

30 Significance

This study will contribute to the lacuna in scholarship on religious performances of Northeast India in general, and Manipur in particular. The study of religious rituals and cultural performances inform us of how people view their religion as

“encapsulated” in specific performances for themselves and for visitors.40 Cultures are expressed in and made conscious of themselves in their ritual and theatrical performances. As Richard Schechner said, “we will know one another better by entering one another’s performances and learning their grammars and vocabularies.”41 The

Manipuri love of dance, ritual propriety, ceremonial relations, ritual expressions of a cosmic body metaphor and their tendency to harmonize religious beliefs were expressed through the rāslīlās. Indeed, the complexity and intricacy of the rāslīlās are a virtual invitation to understand central aspects of the rich culture of Manipur. The rituals and structure of the rāslīlās could be read as paradigmatic of the features of Manipuri society.

The story of the Manipuri rāslīlās offers a succinct and vivid account of interaction between Vaiṣṇava traditions from the Northeastern states of India and the indigenous

Meitei religion. It is a rich and enthralling story of the fusion of discrete religious traditions and stands with the grain of Manipur history itself. The history of the Manipuri rāslīlās contributes to debates amongst various ethno-religious groups in Manipur like the Vaiṣnavas, Meiteis who have been seeking to revive the pre-Hindu religion, and even the tribes from the hills, many of whom converted to Christianity. These debates

40 Clifford Geertz, "Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight," in The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973), 112.

41 Richard Schechner, Performance Theory (New York: Routedge, 2003), 42.

31 often involve issues of identity and religious history. The findings of this study may be useful to these groups to better understand their shared history. I provide information concerning the historical trajectories and ideological repositioning of religion that led to the composition of Vaiṣṇava artforms in the 18th century. This study raises critical questions about points of continuity and discontinuity of current performances from their religious past.

My focus on a religious dance drama also contributes to the study of Hindu traditions, through a performance-based perspective. For the study of Hindu traditions, the analysis of Manipuri dance as a medium of construction, dissemination and practice of religion would serve as an example of how religious knowledge and sociocultural changes are transmitted in embodied ways. Taking a cue from Vasudha Narayanan who pointed to “the privileging of the written text and beliefs by dominant, hegemonic cultures [that] has led to a marginalization of other ways of knowing, other sources of knowledge, ”42 as well as from scholars like Indira Peterson and Davesh Soneji,43

Katherine Zubko,44 and David Waterhouse,45 who have studied the development of classical dances like Bharata Natyam and Odissi, I trace the origins and evolution of the

Manipuri rāslīlā by focusing on the transfiguration of the Manipuri sacred body.

42 Vasudha Narayanan, "Embodied Cosmologies: Sights of Piety, Sights of Power," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 71, no. 3 (2003): 516.

43 Indira Viswanathan Peterson and Davesh Soneji, eds., Performing Pasts: Reinventing the Arts in Modern South India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2008).

44 Katherine C. Zubko, "Embodying Bhakti Rasa: Dancing across Religious Boundaries in Bharata Natyam" (Emory University, 2008).

45David Waterhouse, Dance of India: History, Perspectives, and Prospects, South Asian Studies Papers (Mumbai: Popular Prakashan Ltd, 1998).

32 In her work, Dancing Bodies of Devotion, Zubko explored how the “universalizing tendency of rasa (aesthetic mood) repersonalized through bhakti (devotion) via the site of the body” enabled the dancing of Bharata Natyam across religious boundaries.46 She argued that bhakti rasa,47 a particular Indian devotional flavor created by the dancer, and relished by the audience participants (and often the dancer too), facilitated the

“performance of devotional bodies across traditions.”48 This study examines how bhakti rasa, a concept that overlaps with both text and practice, can be produced through indigenous dance gestures more closely related to Southeast Asia instead of South

Asia when framed under Indian religious contexts, and through a strategic interaction of

Hindu texts and the body knowledge of the Meiteis. While Zubko examined how Indian aesthetics are produced and reproduced across different religious traditions, I show how they can also be produced within the Hindu tradition, but using a different set of gestures, that are not generally perceived as Indian.

This study also contributes to the genre of scholarly work on rāslīlā performances. They include the works of Norvin Hein,49 John Hawley50 and David

46 Katherine C. Zubko, Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam (Plymouth, UK: Lexington Books, 2014), 2.

47 Bhakti rasa is an analytical category defined by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theologian, Rūpa Gosvāmin in the 16th Century as a specific flavor experienced in a devotional relationship between the devotee and the Hindu god, Krishna. I will discuss this term more closely in Chapter 5. See Zubko, Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam for a discussion on how contemporary performers articulated multiple interpretations of bhakti rasa based on their experiential influences.

48 Zubko, Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam, 3.

49 Norvin Hein, The Miracle Plays of Mathura** (New Haven,: Yale University Press, 1972).

50 John Stratton Hawley, At Play with Krishna - Pilgrimage Dramas from Brindavan (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1981).

33 Mason51 which focused on rāslīlās in the Vraja region. Hein wrote about the history, theology, and rituals of five types of religious dramas he witnessed in Mathurā and

Vṛndāvan, of which the rāslīlā was of indigeneous origin. Hawley presented four dramas he witnessed in Vṛndāvan, one of which is the rāslīlā, and translated the lines with vivid descriptions of the scenes. Mason discussed the theatrical and religious aspects of the rāslīlās in the Vraja. In later chapters, I will refer to their research, especially in terms of their theological and ritual information. This study extends the ethnographic research on rāslīlās beyond Vraja and brings into focus how concepts and rituals normally associated with the rāslīlā genre are applied in a culturally and geographically distant context. Moreover, the significance of the Manipuri version is underscored because it has surpassed the Vraja rāslīlās in terms of national and global prominence, being the first of the rāslīlā genre to be categorized as a classical dance by the Sangeet Natak

Akademi (India's national academy for music, dance and drama) in 1952.

Finally, this research bears relevance to the genre of performance and ritual studies. I seek to go beyond mere descriptive ethnography by engaging theoretical discussions of performance, specifically on how social tradition and identity is negotiated, invented and recovered, using performance as a point of entry. As mentioned above, I advance a theoretical point about the relation between agency and structure, through a focus on the dialectic between embodied disposition and socio- cultural position.

51 Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan.

34 Dance and Performance

Before proceeding further, the question of what constitutes dance must be addressed. Ann-Marie Gaston and Tony Gaston52 suggested that “to qualify as dance, movements must embody significant symbolic, athletic, or decorative aesthetic value.

Dance can be thought of as a unique form of expression that includes movement, emotion, and symbolism.” While this is a useful starting point to define dance, it does not accentuate the cultural and historical underpinnings of dance that I emphasize in my research. Thus, Judith Hanna’s description of dance, wherein she says, “feelings, thoughts, and actions are translated into purposeful, intentionally rhythmic, culturally patterned sequences of action” is a useful addition.53 Hanna’s inclusion of the cultural component that constitutes dance is crucial to my framing of the Manipuri rāslīlā dance as a culturally framed religious performance. A prominent Manipuri male dancer, scholar, and choreographer, Basu Sinam, whom I interviewed, distinguished the skills of indigenous Manipuri dancers from non-Manipuris who also perform the rāslīlā, noting that the former are encultured through gestures and movements:

The way the Manipuri stands, walks, talks and worships – these are reflected in our dances. You will see that a non-Manipuri, no matter how good a dancer she is, cannot dance the same way as a Manipuri. This is because of the differences in culture.54

The emphasis that Manipuris like Sinam places on the cultural context of the rāslīlās has prompted me to adopt Hanna’s definition.

52 Anne-Marie Gaston and Tony Gaston, "Dance as a Way of Being Religious," in The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the Arts, ed. Frank Burch Brown (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 182.

53 Judith Hanna, "Dance and Religion," in Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Mircea Eliade (New York: MacMillan Reference Books, 1987), 209.

54 Interview with Basu Sinam, February 16, 2016 in Imphal, Manipur.

35

In South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, devotional dances are frequently embedded within drama, and both are believed to have originated from, and able to lead to divine inspiration.55 The second century Nāṭyaśāstra, considered by Indian artistes to be the most authoritative Sanskrit text on the science of dance-drama, as well as other treatises on Sanskrit aesthetics, connect dance to divinity by articulating the view that an individual performer or audience can transcend the temporal and material world, and be transported to a divine realm through the performing arts. The rāslīlā dance dramas in particular, fit this narrative of world-transcending devotional performances.

However, these performances should not only be studied for their religious, theological purposes, but also for their role in society. Richard Schechner defined performance as “any action that is framed, enacted, presented, highlighted, or displayed.” 56 According to him, performance studies should be integrative and premised on the view that the performance is not to be “divided up and parceled out, medium by medium, to various other disciplines – music, dance, dramatic literature, art history.”

Rather, it requires attention to all the modalities at play. Following this approach, I examine the Manipuri rāslīlās not just as dance in themselves, but as a dynamic force in an on-going relationship with society, that is, not just as a theatrical show, but as performances in the broad sense of the term. This approach contextualizes my view of

Manipuri rāslīlās as part of a larger sociocultural phenomenon. I relate the construction

55 Gaston and Gaston, "Dance as a Way of Being Religious," 183.

56 Richard Schechner, Performative Circumstances - from the Avant Garde to Ramlila (Calcutta: Seagull Books, 2011), 16.

36 of the dance with other social forces and cultural phenomena, such as political authority, literary production, artistic representation, and the religious inclinations of political agents.

Methods

I adopt a methodology which is sympathetic to “the attentive and detailed description of the phenomena packaged as ‘religion’… [and] paying close attention to the ‘believer’s own account’ as part of the explanatory process.”57 I provide widely held narratives of the development of the rāslīlās, and a description of their religious and aesthetic structure through these lenses. However, subjective accounts and narratives also require social, cultural, and historical contextualization if comprehensive analysis is to be achieved.58 Thus, I draw on historical, textual, and ethnographic methodologies to construct the rāslīlā as a socioreligious formation that is embedded in and generated by particular cultural and political contexts.

In combining textual research with ethnography, I attempt to discern religiously inflected cultural orientations, institutional paradigms, configurations of belief, and patterns of thinking that shaped the rāslīlās. Textual research involved studying the court chronicles of Manipur in which the early history of state-sponsored activities had been recorded. These include the records of the activities of kings supposedly from the

1st century CE to the last king of Manipur, who abdicated his imperial power in 1949. We cannot fully understand the political and social context of Manipuri dance without having adequate knowledge about Manipur society during the reign of previous kings,

57 Steven Sutcliffe, ed. Religion: Empirical Studies: A Collection to Mark the 50th Anniversary of the British Association for the Study of Religion. (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004), xxiii.

58 Ibid., xxvi.

37 especially from the 16th century. Besides the court chronicles, I examined political treaties in the 18th century and other official documents to get a deeper understanding of the evolving political situation within Manipur. These were obtained from the Manipur

State Archives. I also referred to seconday literature on the Manipuri puyas, which were mostly written in archair Meitei script and convey the religious concepts and structure of rituals in pre-Vaiṣṇava Manipur. These sources will be discussed in greater detail in later chapters.

I also referred to books by Manipur scholars and local artistes on the songs and choreographies of Manipuri artforms. These provided a deeper understanding of the devotional and ideational meanings of the performances, and the aesthetic embellishments involved, such as the instruments, costumes, and gestures.

Ethnographic research comprised of methods such as participant observation, interviews, video and audio documentation between 2011 and 2016. I also participated in local festivals, rituals and rehearsals that involved the Manipuri dances. Building on the networks of artistes, scholars, and religious leaders I met with in my two previous visits to Manipur in 2008 and 2011, I interacted with diverse specialists with varying perspectives during my yearlong fieldwork in 2016. I visited local research institutes and dance academies such as the Jawarharlal Nehru Manipuri Dance Akademi

(JNMDA) and the Thoibi Manipuri Dance and Cultural Research Institute in Imphal to collect materials for the project. I also interviewed prominent artistes and gurus from

Kolkata, Mumbai, and Delhi. They include R. K. Singhajit Singh, and Darshana Javeri, who were awarded prestigious national awards such as Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for their contribution to

38 Manipuri dance. This allowed me to obtain a more nuanced view of the current status of the dance in Manipuri society and beyond.

I also ventured beyond framed religious environments in temples, to observe how the dance is organized on stage performances. I travelled with a Manipuri troupe, known as Ranganiketan, for a week in Singapore. Ranganiketan performed in five different venues in Singapore during the Deepavali festival in 2016. While in Manipur, I volunteered my services for Ranganiketan, which included corresponding with the

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) for sponsorship, and their hosts in

Singapore for practical matters such as logistics and negotiating a list of performances for various events. While in Singapore, I served as the MC in many of these performances and introduced Manipur’s culture and performing arts to audiences in

Singapore.

Outlines of Chapters

In giving shape to this dissertation I traverse chronologically from the indigenous

Meitei religion and the arrival of Vaiṣṇava influence in the form of migration, religious conversion, circulation of texts, imposition of religious authorities, new rituals, and temple construction that led to in the production of the rāslīlās. Chapter 2 begins with the local, and provides an overview of Meitei beliefs, gods, rituals, gender roles and a description of public festivals such as the Lai Haraoba. It provides insights on the indigenous Meitei habitus and how it was incorporated or changed for the rāslīlās. I describe some of the rituals and traditions of the indigenous religions of Manipur, and how they overlapped with the incoming Vaiṣṇava traditions. Mutual influences and intersections between the Meitei and Vaiṣṇava traditions include similar myths, cosmologies, concepts of cyclical time, and ritual worship of sacred stones, trees, and

39 images. I also discuss Manipuri kings' contribution to the rāslīlā’s religious themes, music, dance and costume making and show that Manipuri kings played a central role in religion as the mediums between the gods and the general people. Thus, political authority had an important role in religious affairs early on. The kings were, in fact, assisted by shamans known as Maibas (male priests) and Maibis (female priests) who led ritual dances.

Chapter 3 turns to forms of Hindu traditions, especially Vaiṣṇavism that came to

Manipur before the rāslīlās were constructed. I begin with an overview of Indian migrant patterns and trade links with Manipur from the 7th century to the 16th century CE to show early interaction and the gradual development of modern Hindu traditions.

Brahmins from places like Assam and West Bengal, came to Manipur and gradually introduced Vaiṣnavite practices. There was a diversity of received traditions in Manipur.

However, it was Rāmānandī Vaiṣṇavism that was accepted by King Garibniwaz in the mid 18th century and implemented as the state religion. I argue that this was done because it provided ideological support for his military campaigns against neighbouring states like Burma and served to ritually consolidate his power. In the process, the groundwork for the creation of the rāslīlās and its popular acceptance was laid out.

Thus, migration flows, matrimonial alliances, and political alliances served as media for religious ideas and practices from Indian states to spread to Manipur.

In Chapter 4, I provide an account of how the rāslīlā was constructed during the late 18th century within the context of broader sociopolitical circumstances in Manipur. I argue that the habitus of the Meiteis, due to their prior exposure to Vaiṣṇavism and their cultural ethos of worship through dance and music was one of the main reasons for the

40 successful creation and popularity of the rāslīlā. To explore the inculcation of this habitus, I will discuss the hagiography of King Bhāgyacandra (r. 1759- 1798), who was initiated into Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism and is credited with creating three of the five variants of rāslīlā dances: Mahārās, Kunjarās, and Vasantarās. Besides religious zeal, I posit that there were also political reasons for Bhāgyacandra’s acceptance of Vaiṣṇavism.

Using his personal religious capital, he sought to form an alliance with the Ahom

(Assamese) king to regain his kingdom from the Burmese. After the reign of

Bhāgyacandra, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism became the most widespread form of

Vaiṣṇavism in Manipur. The Meitei community accepted Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism more readily than preceding Vaiṣṇava sects in Manipur because of its resonance with the indigenous religious tradition of music, dance, and common themes of dramatic love stories.

The rāslīlās are an expression of patterned movements in which corporeality, devotion, and abstract theology are intertwined. To better understand the experience of the dancers and audience, it would be useful to know about the theology which influenced it. In Chapter 5, I discuss aspects of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology that was likely to have been circulated amongst the religious elites in Manipur, especially in relation to dance dramas. After discussing the theological content of the texts that influenced the rāslīlās, in Chapter 6, I take a phenomenological approach to answer the question: how does the structure of the rāslīlā reflect the fusion of Meitei and Vaiṣnava traditions? I examine how the structure of the dance drama reflects fluid the flow of religious ideologies, gestures, aesthetics, and practices of fluid cultural boundaries. I will show how the dance emerged from the confluence of an array of Meitei and Vaiṣnava

41 rituals and themes to produce bhakti rasa. A segment of the first rāslīlā, the Māhārās will be described in detail, along with its lyrics and accompanying gestures.

In the concluding Chapter 7, I provide a summary of the effects of the first rāslīlās in structuring Manipur’s religious field. This comprises of further developments in religious artforms including two other types of rāslīlās the Nityarās, created in 1904, and the Divarās, created in the 1940s. I review the meeting of the different religious and cultural phenomena that shaped the rāslīlās, reinforced the Manipuri ability to absorb religious and cultural imports, and refashioned them in ways that made sense to their local sensibilities. I also briefly discuss changes in rāslīlās when they were performed on the proscenium in other parts of India and for international audiences in the 20th century.

A broad curve unites the shifts of chapters. I first examine the different models of religion in Manipur and then go on to explore their interactions. I take into account the religious and cultural actors who innovated and contested the formation of multiple models of the rāslīlā, and the broad social and political fields in which they enacted their agency.

42

Figure 1-1. Map of Manipur. From Ministry of Development North Eastern Region Website: http://164.100.107.56/node/793

43 CHAPTER 2 THE INDIGENOUS MEITEI RELIGION OF MANIPUR

It was April 2016, the monsoon season and the festival of Lai Haraoba had begun. The Lai Haraoba is one of the major festivals of the indigenous religions of Manipur. It encapsulates the creation stories, rituals, and cultural performances of pre-Hindu Manipuri society. A number of Manipuri dance gurus I met had mentioned that several gestures and ritual sequences in the Manipuri rāslīlās were derived from the Lai Haraoba. Therefore, I was determined to attend the festival despite the incessant bandhs1 that plagued Imphal during that month. It was most convenient to attend the weeklong festival organized at the Jawarharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Akademi because of its proximity to my residence and its location in a safe area. Besides, I have heard from many dance gurus that their festival was one of the most authentic because the rituals are performed in exact accordance with tradition and unlike Lai Haraobas in other places, do not involve newly incorporated elements like Western musical instruments. But I did not anticipate what I witnessed that week. Trance possessions, hymns led by priestesses that sounded like they were from an ancient epoch, and ritual offerings to fierce and ghastly looking gods were part of the performances in a modern dance academy. These offered a glimpse into the religious life of pre-Hindu Manipur, and the continuities and discontinuities that percolated into the Manipuri rāslīlās.

Introduction

Certain elements of indigenous Manipuri religion are relevant to my study because they were preserved and incorporated into Manipuri Vaiṣṇava practices. The purpose of this chapter is not to provide a detailed historical account of the indigenous

Meitei religion. Rather, I will focus on aspects of the indigenous religion’s ideas and practices that form the Meitei habitus and later influenced the rāslīlās. According to

Bourdieu, past experiences of an individual or society, are deposited in the form of schemes of perception, thought, and action, and tend to continue into the active present

1 These bandhs were road blockades that were organized for political reasons including clamoring for implementing the inner-line permit law that would control the number of Indians from other states coming to Manipur. Schools and public offices were also regularly closed.

44 in the form of habitus, “more reliably than all formal rules or explicit norms.” 2 I will also highlight specific historical episodes and structures of practice that contributed to the ritual and aesthetic structure in the Manipuri rāslīlās. Besides focusing on ritual and structure, I will highlight influences and intersections in the religious and political fields that paved the way for cultural agents to harmonize the two distinctive traditions.

Sources

I draw from my ethnographic research on indigenous religious performances such as the Lai Haraoba and from the analysis of textual sources on Manipur’s indigenous religion. Textual sources include court chronicles, the written observations of

British colonial officers, and the scholarly works of Manipuri historians. There is scant historical information available about Manipur in the early centuries of the Common Era but puyas and court chronicles serve as sources of the religious ideas and practices of the Meitei communities.

My main source of historical information was the royal court chronicle, the

Cheitherol Kumpapa (CK), which is considered by Manipuri scholars to be the most important source of the pre-colonial history of Manipur. The text provides a chronological outline of events and activities centered on the rulers of the Ningthouja clan, which would come to dominate Manipur by the 15th century.3 Gangumei Kabui, a

2 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 54.

3 Parratt opined that the use of the term “Meetingu” (lord of the Meiteis) for ‘king’ indicates that it is essentially a writing of history from a Meitei perspective, over that of other clans. Later, after the Meiteis subjugated the other clans to form a confederacy they came to be known as the Ningthoujas (royal), and the term “Meitei” was used to generally refer to all the clans. See Saroj Nalini Aramban Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 Ce, vol. 1 (London, New York: Routledge, 2005), 4.

45 historian of Manipur referred to it as “the backbone of the history of Manipur.”4 CK records significant events such as earthquakes, epidemics, outcomes of battles, solar and lunar eclipses, public ritual sacrifices, expeditions of kings, and crime and punishment. As such, it offers vivid glimpses of the environment, natural and cultural, in which Manipuri life unfolded.

Most Manipuris consider the CK to be the primary source for the stories of the reigns of Meitei kings, from 33 CE to the last king of Manipur, Bodhachandra, who died in 1955. However, according to Saroj Parratt, a noted historian of Manipur and a scholar on the CK, the early entries from 33 CE to 1485 were reconstructed during the reign of

Bhāgyacandra.5 She found a note in the manuscript version of the CK in the entry for

1432 CE (Sak. 1354) indicating that in the year 1780 Bhāgyacandra commissioned a recompiling of the the CK, possibly because the earlier leaves had been lost or destroyed due to Burmese conquests.6 Thus, Parratt opined that Bhāgyacandra’s scribes “had the task of writing or reconstructing the proto-history of Manipur, presumably from oral sources and memory, and perhaps also from scattered written records.”7 This earlier section of the chronicle, while a useful source of Meitei religious and social practices, contains mythical material that cannot be historically verified.

Further, the dating assigned to the reign of kings in this section is unreliable because

4 Gangmumei Kabui, History of Manipur, vol. 1 (New Delhi: National Publishing House, 2011), 2-3.

5 Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 CE, 4.

6 Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 CE.

7 Ibid., 4. Parratt noted that the language of this section seems to be in an earlier form of Meiteilon, containing words not used in the modern version of the language. This supports the view that it was re- compiled from oral traditions.

46 some of the kings are assigned excessively long reign of almost 100 years or more.

Under these circumstances, the material before the 15th century cannot be considered authoritative for historical purposes. In particular, the reason for the scribes assigning the peculiar date of 33 CE for the first king, Pakhangba, is unknown. However, the information that the CK contains even in this period is still useful in reconstructing the religion of the Meiteis because it contains descriptions of sacrifices and rituals that were performed.

Iin the year 1485, during the reign of King Kyamba, the CK was written down in the archaic Manipuri script, Meitei Mayek and a new dating system was introduced8

Whereas previously, events were recorded within the broad framework of each king’s reign, from this time onwards, each year was named after an individual, to whom the name cheithapa was given. Moreover, the month and the day of each event, along with the year, were recorded, resulting in a more detailed and accurate historical record.

Later, dating by means of the Sakabda era was introduced alongside the cheithapa dating, with each reign of the kings, including the early ones, receiving a Sakabda dating. It is not clear exactly when Sakabda dating was introduced, but it was probably during the reign of Garibniwaz (r. 1709 – 1748 CE) or Bhāgyacandra,9 when Manipur went through an intense period of religious contact with other parts of India.

8 Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 CE, 6.This is also recorded in the CK itself. Nepram Bihari, The Cheitharol Kumbaba: The Royal Chronicle of Manipur (Guwahati, Delhi: Spectrum Publications, 2012). (1897) reads: “On Wednesday the 26th Bar Sahib (British political agent) in the Garot (sic) office by calling the Pandit to tell the name of the Maharaja who had introduced Cheitherol Kumbaba. The Pandit replied ‘it was started from the reign of Pakhangba but written from the period of Meidingu (king) Kiyampa.’ “

9 Bhāgyacandra also introduced another dating system, Chandrabda, a Bengali, system in 1760 CE. Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 CE, 6.

47 The later part of the chronicle, from the reign of King Kyamba (r. 1467-1508) onwards, provides more detailed information and can be regarded as more historically accurate because the king introduced administrative reforms that included recording events soon after they took place. At least two instances recorded in the CK have been corroborated by archaeological evidence. The first, recorded in the year 1726, is the excavation and consecration of a large tank. As part of this ceremonies, the mūrti of

Krishna and the goddess Kāli were placed in the tank.10 In 1906, as reported by colonial officer John Shakespeare,11 the tank was drained, and the same images were found at the foot of the consecration post, exactly as recorded 180 years before. The second instance of corroboration took place in 1905, when while enlarging another tank,

Shakespeare found that the Imphal river had in the past run to the west of the royal enclosure instead of to the east, as it now does. Shakespeare found that an entry dated

1630-1 CE in the CK described the cutting of the present channel, and another dated

1662-3, documented the completion of the work by the filling up of the old bed, allowing the river to change its course.12

The recording of the CK was done by palace scribes known as Maichous. They wrote on “paper” made of the bark of an indigenous tree (su).13 Probably from the time of Kyamba, over centuries, the manuscript form of the CK in Meitei Mayek was kept in

10 NB.CK, 92. Instead of the more common word “image,” I use the word mūrti to refer to the icons worshipped by Hindu Manipuris because it better represents how they perceive them, i.e. as the gods actually being present in the icons

11 John Shakespeare, "Lt. Col. John Shakespeare's Collected Papers on Manipur," ed. John Parratt (Guwahati, Delhi: Spectrum, 2010), 5.

12J. Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur," Folklore 24, no. 4 (1913): 5.

13 Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 CE, 7.

48 the custody of a few court scholars, and an official copy was kept in the Manipur Royal

Palace, overseen by the Pandit Loisang or Amaiba Loisang (an institution of Manipuri traditional scholars) who were responsible for recording significant events in the CK.14

Then, later in 1954, King Bodhachandra ordered the recopying of several leaves which were disintegrating, and authorized this palace version as the definitive one, with royal seals stamped on each page. This implies that there were other manuscripts not considered to be authoritative.

Four years after the British took political control of Manipur in 1891, a version of the CK was transliterated in Bengali script.15 The translations of this version were lost and only found in the mid 20th century in a British museum.16 However, according to

Parratt, this version had been influenced by “brahmanical Hinduism” and was written to

“please the British” because it includes some alterations to the manuscript version.17

Later, another version, also in Bengali script was printed in 1967 (now out of print) and a second edition, in 1989.18 This version by Ibungohal Singh and Khelchandra Singh has been widely accepted as authentic transliteration of the official CK by Manipuri scholars and historians.

14 Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 CE, 9.

15 This re-writing is recorded in Bihari, The Cheitharol Kumbaba: The Royal Chronicle of Manipur, 361.(1895): “Ambika Babu started translating the Cheitharol Kumbaba (Royal Chronicle) in English.”

16 Ibid., 9. Preface by Gangmumei Kamei.

17 Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 CE 11.

18 This is the version by L. Ibungohal Singh and N. Khelchandra Singh, Cheitharol Kumbaba (Bengali Transliteration), 2nd ed. (Imphal1989).

49 It was only in the 1970s that the CK was discovered in its original Meitei Mayek

Ms form under the custody of Kulachandra Ngariyanbam, one of the heads of the Pandit

Loisang, who preserved the official Ms copy of the CK after the cessation of the

Manipuri kingship.19 In 2005, Parratt undertook the task of translating it from its Ms form into English, with original Meitei Mayek text included. She produced three volumes to cover the period from 33 CE to 1891.

In 2012, Nepram Bihari, a retired bureaucrat of Manipur produced a critical version by translating both the the Ms copy and the Bengali transliteration by Ibungohal

Singh, and Khelchandra Singh.20 Bihari’s translation includes the years after Parratt’s translation which stopped at 1891, and ends with the final entry at 1955, denoting the death of the last king, Bodhachandra. Sangeeta Pisharoty, a journalist for “The Hindu” newspaper, who interviewed Bihari wrote that he had to learn the archaic script of Meitei

Mayek to make this translation, a project that took him 17 years to finish.21 Since I do not know how to read Meitei Mayek, for my purposes, I use both both Parratt’s and

Bihari’s translations and cross-checked the dates and information with each other for accuracy. I provide translations and dates in my footnoes. In my footnotes, I use the abbreviation NB.CK to denote Nepram Bihari’s translation and SP.CK for Saroj Parratt’s translation. I will also indicate the specific volume of Parratt’s translation in my

19 Parratt, Wounded Land: Politics and Identity in Modern Manipur, ix; The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 Ce.

20 Bihari, The Cheitharol Kumbaba: The Royal Chronicle of Manipur.

21 Sangeeta Pisharoty (25 February 2012). "Walk with the kings". The Hindu. Chennai, India. https://www.thehindu.com/books/walk-with-the-kings/article2931958.ece#! Accessed on January 12, 2016.

50 footnotes. It will be seen that except for differences in spelling English transliterations of

Meitei words, the content in the two versions mostly concur with each other.

The dating of events in the CK were recorded through the Cheithaba system introduced by Kyamba, which is a method of using sticks to aid counting22 as well as the

Sakabda era. It is not known when the Sakabda era was introduced but it was likely during the 18th century after Manipur was heavily influenced by wider Indian culture.

According to Parratt, this double-dating system is used throughout the CK.23 For convenience, I use the dating system of the Gregorian calendar which were provided by both Parratt and Bihari Singh.

Besides the CK, I also referred to the research by Manipuri scholars on the puyas. The puyas describe the religious stories, rituals and epics of pre-Hindu Manipur.

Besides the indigenous rituals, dances, and songs, they are regarded by Manipuri scholars to be the textual repositories of Manipur’s indigeneous religious ideas before it became a Vaiṣṇava state. According to Rena Laisram, like the CK, Manipuri puyas had been transmitted orally through song before being written down by an institution of anonymous scribes called Maichous (or its later name “Pandit Loishang”) after the invention of the Meitei script during the reign of King Kyamba (r. 1467 − 1508 CE).24 The manuscripts were written down on thin rectangular pieces of the sapwood of the agaru

22 Chei means “stick”and taba means “place down.” According to Parratt, this means that counting was done through the “the placing of sticks or using a base as a means of reckoning the period of time, the years.” Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa - Original Text, Translation and Notes Vol. 1, 33 - 1763 Ce, 3.

23 Ibid., 6.

24 Rena Laisram, Early Meitei History - Religion, Society and the Manipur Puyas (New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House, 2009), 68.

51 or agar (aquilaria agallocha) tree.25 They were kept in the custody of Pibas (eldest male or chief of a clan).26 Popular narratives and certain Manipuri scholars claim that in 1732,

King Garibniwaz, following the advice of his Vaiṣṇava guru Śanta Dās Gosāi, burnt the puyas as part of a larger campaign to suppress the indigenous religion.27 This incident is known as Puya Meithaba. Since the mid-20th century, the State Archives of Manipur has been collecting puyas from various parts of Manipur. Subsequently, a number of people turned in copies of various puyas that were found in their homes.28 Presumably, some individuals had concealed them from the king with the hope of preserving their traditional religion.

Since no serious textual-critical work has been carried out on the puyas, they cannot be considered to be reliable sources of history. Nevertheless, they are useful in constructing a general image of Meitei religion. I mainly relied on the information from the puyas that have been studied by reputable Manipuri scholars like Rena Laisram and

Bhagyachandra Singh. Rena Laisram conducted a comprehensive survey of all the puyas that were compiled and studied by other scholars, and supplemented her construction of Meitei religion with archaelogical evidence, and field research of Meitei

25 Ibid.

26 Khelchandra Singh, "Sources of the History of Manipur," in Sources of the History of Manipur, ed. S.N. Pandey (New Delhi: National Publishing House, 1985), 39.

27 See Kaoba Singh, "Social Dynamism of Hinduism in Pre Pamheiba’s Period," in Bonfire of Books: Cataclysmic Rupture in the Early 18th Century Manipur, ed. Aheibam Koireng Singh and Sanasam Amal Singh (New Delhi: Essential Books, 2014), 7.; and B. Kullachandra Sharma, "The Meitei Puyas: Categories and Classification," in Bonfire of Books: Cataclysmic Rupture in the Early 18th Century Manipur, ed. Aheibam Koireng Singh and Sanasam Amal Singh (New Delhi: Essential Books, 2014), 28.

28 Kaoba Singh, "Social Dynamism of Hinduism in Pre Pamheiba’s Period," 10.Kaoba Singh claimed that over 4000 manuscripts have been found.

52 religious practices.29 Bhagyachandra Singh, using his knowledge of archaic Manipuri script, researched various puyas like the Leithak Leikhalon, Wakoklon, and Khamoi

Yangei Sekaing, and interviewed Maibas and Maibis (indigenous priests and priestesses) to construct a survey of the gods, rituals, festivals of the Meiteis.30

I also gleaned information of Meitei religion from the accounts of British colonial officers who lived in and wrote detailed observations about Manipur. These include those who had served the office of political agent like Robert B. Pemberton,31 W.

McCulloch,32 R. Brown,33 E. W. Dun,34 and James Johnstone35 as well as scholars like

Thomas Hodson36 and John Shakespeare,37 who wrote ethnographies on the Meiteis.

Finally, I consulted the works of Indian scholars like S.K. Chatterjee38 who wrote about

Manipur’s relationship with other Indian states, and that of Manipuri scholars like

29 Laisram, Early Meitei History - Religion, Society and the Manipur Puyas, 24.

30 L. Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur (L. Monmon Devi, 2008), 130.

31 Robert Boileau Pemberton, Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India (Calcutta: Government of India, 1835).

32 W. McCulloch, An Account of the Valley of Munnipore and the Hill Tribes (Calcutta1859).

33 R. Brown, Statistical Account of Manipur (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, 1874).

34 E. W. Dun, Gazeteer of Manipur (Calcutta1886).

35 James Johnstone, My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills (London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company, 1896).

36 Hodson. Thomas Callan, The Meitheis (London: David Nutt, 1908).

37 John Shakespeare, Lt. Col. John Shakespeare's Collected Papers on Manipur.

38 S. K. Chatterjee, "Purana Apocrypha: A Manipura-Purana," in Indological Studies in Honour of W. Norman Brown, ed. E. Bender (New Haven: American Oriental Series, 1962); S.K. Chatterji, Kirata-Jana- Krti: The Indo-Mongloids, Their Contribution to the History and Culture of India, 2nd ed. (Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 1974).

53 Ibungohal Singh,39 Jhaljit Singh,40 and Sarojini Parratt,41 on the indigenous religion of

Manipur.

The rest of this chapter will be organized as follows. First, I will present various theories of the origins of the Meiteis to demonstrate that they are a distinctive ethnic group from the majority of Indians; then, I will present Meitei religious ideas and practices. Both the distinct aspects of the religion and the features that were similar to the Hindu traditions that came later will be discussed. I will especially focus on the Lai

Haraoba dance, which preserved Meitei ideas and rituals, and also had a large influence on the Manipuri rāslīlās. Finally, I provide a list of institutions that were established by various kings of Manipur that were indirectly or directly involved in the production of the rāslīlās.

Origins of the Meiteis

Although the indigenous Manipuris living in the valley had historically belonged to different tribes, presently, they are collectively referred to as “Meiteis.” Noting commonalities in the languages spoken by the different tribes in Manipur and the

Meiteis as well as similarities in their appearance, and cultural practices, C. T. Hodson concluded that they were descendants of the surrounding hill tribes.42 Other scholars have posited various theories about where the Meiteis originated. Prominent Manipuri scholar Nilakanta Singh, based on grouping the Manipuri language, Meiteilon with

39 Ibungohal Singh, Introduction to Manipur (Imphal: Chitranga Sahitya Mandir, 1963).

40 Jhalajit Singh, A Short History of Manipur (Imphal: O.K. Store, 1965).

41 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur.

42 Thomas C. Hodson, The Meitheis (London: David Nutt, 1908), 6.

54 Tibeto-Burman languages, opined that the ancestors of the Meiteis migrated from

Southwest China to the upper waters of the Irrawady and Chindwin River of upper

Burma.43 R.B. Pemberton suggested that they are descendants of a Tatar colony from the Northwest borders of China and had emigrated due to conflicts between the

Chinese and Tartar dynasties in the 13th – 14th centuries.44

Concurring with Hodson, James Johnstone, British political agent from 1877 to

1886, is of the view that the ancestors of the Meiteis are Nāgas who still dwell in the hills in the Manipur.45 Citing ritual and architectural evidences, he wrote:

there can be little doubt that sometime or the other the Naga tribes to the north made one of their chiefs Rajah (King) of Manipur, and that his family, while, like the Manchus in China, and other conquerors, adopting the civilization of the country, retained some of their old customs. This is shown in the curious practice at the installation of a Rajah, when he and the Rani (Queen) appear in Naga costume;46 also that he always has in his palace a house built like a Naga’s, and wherever he goes he is attended by two or three Manipuris with Naga arms and accoutrements. I once told a Manipuri what I thought on the subject, and he was greatly struck by it and admitted the force of what I said.47

While the origins of the Meiteis cannot be conclusively determined, it is clear from the above views that they shared more cultural traits with their Eastern counterparts more than with South Asians, and were a distinct ethnic group.

In Chapter 3, I will discuss in greater detail the migration patterns and influence from parts of South Asia. What is clear here is that Meiteis evolved a distinct culture of

43 E. Nilakanta Singh, Manipuri Dance, 1.

44 Pemberton, Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India, 36.

45 Hodson, The Meitheis, 6.

46 This claim was denied by some Manipuris interviewed by Hodson (The Meitheis, 8). They said it had nothing to do with the Nagas but is an ancient costume of Manipur.

47 Johnstone, My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills, 82-83.

55 their own, dominating the political, and economic apparatus of the valley in Manipur.

Their culture can be set apart from those of any of the groups that various theories claim they have originated from, so much so that their exact origins cannot be determined. Despite their supposed links with the hills, Mohammed Hassan noted that pre-colonial Manipur was characterized by a sharp duality between “a centralised state in the central valley region and village-based autonomous authorities in the surrounding hills” with no clear social integration.48

Early settlers in the valley embarked on new economies based on agriculture and weaving. In this context, the worship of nature and fertility gods became a prominent feature of religion in Manipur. For convenience, I refer to their religion simply as the

“Meitei religion.” However, to describe it as a monolithic unified religion would be inaccurate, because a variety of practices, gods, and beliefs were amalgamated over several centuries of migration by different clans. Over the centuries, the Meitei religion has gone through several transformations, some as recently has forty years ago, when the Meitei revival movement known as Apokpa Marup attempted to present a unified religion called “Sanamahism” as a marker of a pre-Hindu identity to resist Indian political hegemony.49

There are seven major clans in the valley called yek or salai.50 They are Khaba,

Chenglei, Luwang, Khuman, Moirang, Angom, and Ningthouja. The name “Meitei” was

48 Mohammed Sajjad Hassan, "The State and Societies in Northeastern India: Explaining Manipur's Breakdown and Mizoram's Order" (London School of Economics and Political Science, 2007), 6.

49 Nilabir Sairem, "The Revivalist Movement of Sanamahism," in Manipur Past and Present: The Ordeals and Heritage of a Civilisation, ed. Sanajaoba Naorem (New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1991), 109-206.

50 Kabui, History of Manipur, 69.

56 originally applied to the Ningthouja clan alone, but after all the other clans had been unified under the Ningthoujas by the 15th century, it came to be used to refer to all

Manipuris living in the valley.51 Each salai is further subdivided into family groups called yumnak which are again divided into sagei, that trace descent from a common ancestor and bear the same family name. Each sagei and yek has a particular deity that they worship. During inter-tribal battles, the conquering group would claim allegiance from those who had been subdued, to their own deity.52 Over several centuries, the seven yeks inhabiting different parts of the land became subjugated by one, the Ningthoujas, and their ancestral deity, Pakhangba, became a common deity for all Meiteis.

The amalgamation of the seven valley clans, the consequent polity-formation and the emergence of a unified monarchy was likely to have been motivated by a desire to form trade links and gain access to agricultural resources. Manipur occupied a strategic location on the confluence of a south-flowing river system and on the Silk Road in pre- maritime days.53 The valley’s river system was used to facilitate the free flow of goods like pottery and ceramics from Chairel, the southernmost point in the valley to Imphal.54

The clans had to wrestle for control over various access points along the trade routes to enrich themselves. Moreover, there was likely to be competition for land amongst the clans for paddy cultivation, which is the largest agricultural activity in Manipur. Most of

51 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 3.

52 Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, 130.

53 H. Dwijasekhar Sharma and A. Brajakumar Sharma, "Economic History of Manipur During the British Raj," in New Insights into the Glorious Heritage of Manipur, ed. H. Dwijasekhar Sharma (New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House, 2009), 528.

54 Sharma, Economic History of Manipur During the British Raj, 529.

57 the males from the various clans would be engaged in inter-clan wars for greater territorial domain to grow such food. The CK indicates that inter-clan warfare was common.55 Economic growth and integration necessitated control over areas of potential conflict, proper management of economic resources, and the ability of the monarch to deal with rising population density. The kings were accorded political power in exchange for protection of agricultural and economic goods.

As the Ningthoujas accumulated political and economic capital over several centuries, the Meiteis were engaged in a production of a habitus of unifying clans and harmonizing diverse cultural traditions. Harmonization of the deities of the various clans generated a practice that they would carry over when Hindu traditions especially

Vaiṣṇavism contact Manipur. The Meitei tendency to harmonize is a habitus that I will call attention to in later chapters when I discuss the origins and structure of the rāslīlās.

In addition to the tendency to harmonize in the face of diversity, another significant feature of the Meitei habitus is worship through dance and music. Dance and music are primary sources of religious ritual and entertainment amongst both the people of the valley and hills. As noted by Brown and from my own observations, the songs are passed down orally in an older form of Meitei language, with the language being different from that in daily use.56 For example, these songs are sung in rhythmic incantations without fixed grammar rules.57 When the songs are not religious, they are

55 For example see NB.CK 32 (518 CE): “ Sameirang became the king in 440 Saka and his younger brother Thamanglang established the Ningthouja clan and fought with the Angom and killed Kwakpa Thawanthaba the Chief, conquered Angom and offered a feast to the dignitaries.” SP.CK 28 (518 CE): “There was a battle with the Aangoms. In the battle, Kwakpa Thawanthapa the king of Aangom was killed and the land of the Aangoms became a tributary.”

56 Brown, Statistical Account of Manipur, 29.

57 Walter Wong, in his monumental work, Orality and Literacy (New York, Routledge) suggested a number

58 about war and love stories. A drum usually accompanies the dancing, and the costumes vary from tribe to tribe. Some dances, such as “Han-Sengay”, which I observed and is performed by the Kabui hill tribe is similar to the rāslīlās. Both involve leading a procession in circles. Men lead the circle, and women bearing bamboo tubes rap on the ground in time with the music of the drum. The movement is slow at first, then gradually increases, similar in fashion to the rāslīlās.58 The dance ends by the men meeting in a close circle, holding up the daos (a Nāga sword) and cheering. This is similar to the final scene of the rāslīlās, when everyone including the actors and audience come to gather in a circle and offer prayers after the ārati. Moreover, the tinsel ornaments and long feathers worn by the Kabuis on their heads are similar to the headdress worn by

Krishna in the rāslīlās.

Religious Beliefs and Practices

I want to especially highlight the aspects of Meitei beliefs and stories, which are similar to the ones found in the Indian purāṇas. It is unclear whether they originated from the purāṇas during early Indian contact or developed independently.

Nevertheless, they are important in that they reflect the overlaps between the two traditions, which then could have served as a platform for the acceptance of Vaiṣṇava themes and the construction of the rāslīlās. I will also show how Manipuri political and

of features that distinguish expressions in oral cultures from those of literate cultures. For instance, in oral cultures people only know what they can recall, as such memory techniques involving mnemonics and rhythm become more important than fixed grammar rules (pp. 33-36). This applies to pre-16th century Meitei culture.

58 Brown (Statistical Account of Manipur, 52) observed that among the Nagas the males dancing very vigorously and the Kukis dance in a slow monotonous motion.

59 religious agents adapted local beliefs and practices, blending them with the ones that were coming from outside.

The ancient period of Meitei history has two broad divisions of time. Time periods are broadly divided into hangkos and chaks. Hankos is the great divine age, in which only the gods existed while chaks are the human ages, when this world was created.

Chaks are further divided into four ages - hayi, haya, langba and konna, which is the current age.59 The Meitei belief in the division of time periods into chaks resembles purāṇic divisions of ages into four cyclical yugas. However, some popular Hindu notions like the concepts of karma (action and reaction), and the illusory power, māyā, are absent in the Meitei religion. Rather, the Meitei religion views the universe as being filled with amamba, boundless darkness from which yai, light emanated.60 The world is not perceived to be false, temporary or illusory. Instead, creation and this-worldy life is celebrated in their rituals and festivals.

The Meiteis believe that the human body is a location of divine cosmology.61 In fact, five powerful deities that exist in the cosmos are also situated in the body. The god

Koubrou resides at the cerebral cortex, Marjing in the heart, Apanba at the navel,

Thangjing below the navel, and Wangpurel at the reproductive organs.62 Thus, the body is a microcosm of divine cosmology and is imbued with symbolic religious meanings.

59 Laisram, Early Meitei History - Religion, Society and the Manipur Puyas, 68.

60L. Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, 73-74.

61 Unrecorded Interviews Dr. Suresh and Dhanajit Singh in February 2016.

62 L. Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, 82.

60 Moreover, I will show later that the sacralization of the body extends beyond the human body because the universe itself is considered to be the body of the god, Sanamahi.

The body metaphor, thus, pervaded various aspects of Manipuri life and religious habitus. These include mapping the divine body on the land of Manipur, in the construction of a house, in tracing certain steps in the martial arts, and in the naming of the alphabet system. Portions of the human body were also offered as sacrifice during certain rituals, and dance was a medium of communication between men and the gods.

It is therefore not surprising that the dancing body became the most influential marker of

Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism through the rāslīlās.

Meitei Gods

The Meitei pantheon has a supreme creator god, Tengbanba Mapu, who is the origin of secondary gods like Pakhangba, the serpent-like representation of all the gods, and Sanamahi. This is similar to the Vaiṣṇava belief in the supremacy of Viṣṇu or

Krishna over other purāṇic gods. In the Meitei tradition the worship of local and secondary gods is more prevalent than direct worship of the supreme god, who is considered to be rather inaccessible.63 In fact, a myriad of deities are structured in a loose hierarchy with different myths associated with them.

The Meiteis use the term Umang lai, literally “forest gods” to denote deities of different categories. There is no plural form of this word, and for the sake of indicating plurality, I will use it in its anglicized form “lais.” There are various interpretations of the

63 A vague indefinite belief in a supreme being who is almost inaccessible because he is too great is also shared by many of the hill tribes as observed by Johstone, My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills, 65.

61 term, Umang lai. Hodson64 and Shakespeare65 claimed that it refers to deities of the forest. K.B. Singh66 disagrees with reducing Meitei gods to forest gods. He suggested that Umang lai are associated with forest gods because of the Meitei tradition of using a grove, forested area, or a place decorated with trees and plants as the abode of a particular deity. The association of trees and plants with particular deities or nature spirits is also a feature of Indian religious life.67

Sarojini Parratt agreed that Umang lais were never limited to forest deities, and that they can be classified broadly into four categories:68

• Ancestors or deities believed to have had a human existence at some point in the past • Important lais associated with a particular yek • Domestic deities that are the possession of particular clan or family groups (yumjao lai) • Tutelary deities, guardian spirits connected with particular places or directions

From speaking to Manipuris, I often heard that there are 365 Umang lais, including those associated with families, yeks and the community as a whole.

The concept of a sacred cosmos with benevolent and malevolent divine powers or lais that need to be managed to maintain a stable social environment is broadly similar to spirit beings like the nāgas and yakṣas of India, nats of Burma, and the phii of

Thailand.69 The lais are capable of entering various objects to exercise their power such

64 Hodson, The Meitheis, 96.

65 Shakespeare, Lt. Col. John Shakespeare's Collected Papers on Manipur, 407.

66 K. B. Singh, "Traces of Pre-Hinduism in Meetei Society," Folklore, no. 5 (1964): 201.

67 See Banwari, Pancavati: Indian Approach to the Environment (New Delhi: Shri Vinayaka Publications, 1992)., Maneka Gandhi, Brahma’s Hair: On the Mythology of Indian Plants (New Delhi: Rupa and Co., 1994)., and Shakti M. Gupta, Plant Myths and Traditions in India (London: E. J. Brill, 1971).

68 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 9.

69 Saroj N Arambam Parratt and John Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba (New Delhi:

62 as water, mountains, stones, and trees. Their benevolent side helps humans prosper, while their destructive side needs to be appeased through rituals including dances.70

According to Bhagyachandra Singh,71 there are no deities in the Meitei pantheon who cannot be considered to be ancestral. The Meiteis believe their deities high and low, including the great god Atingkok, to be their ancestors. In the Meitei festivals of

Chaklon Laikatpa and Lai Haraoba, the Maiba and Maibis (ritual priests and priestesses) attending to the lai address the related worshippers as the grandson and granddaughters of the deity.72 However, not all the ancestor-deities of the Meitei pantheon are considered to be of equal status. Only the deities that the Meiteis consider important are worshipped in their homes. They include Sanamahi, Leimalel, Phunga

(fire place), Imoinu Ahong Achaobi, Salailel, and Thongalel.73 Of these, the most revered were Sanamahi and Leimalel who still have a place in a Meitei Vaiṣṇava house.

Bhagyachandra Singh has described the Meitei creation story based on his research on the puyas.74 In the Leithak Leikhalon puya, Tengbanba Mapu or sometimes

Atiya Sidaba, is regarded as the highest god of the Meiteis.75 He is all pervading; he embraces everything within creation as a boundless envelope; he alone remains when

Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd, 1997), 1.

70 The Naga hill tribes also believe that evil spirits can influence them and can cause misfortune. They are appeased by sacrifices usually by offering fowls as noted by Johnstone (My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills, 66).

71 L. Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, 43.

72 Ibid., 44.

73 Ibid., 47.

74 Ibid.

75 Ibid., 55.

63 all the created heavens, earths, and deities cease to exist.76 In the creation story, it is also described that in the beginning, the supreme lord Tengbanba Mapu manifested himself in various forms such as tekpi (pig), tikta (tortoise), pagal (python having thousands of hoods), and sali-yange (a species of white long fish) to save the earth.77

This bears similarities to the avatar theory related to the god Viṣṇu in the purāṇic tradition. One of them, a boar named Varāha rescues the earth, which had fallen into the ocean at the bottom of the universe.

Other gods emanated out of Tengbanba Mapu and this was the beginning of the creation.78 Of these, two of them emerged from his side; his right became Sailalel

Sidaba, commonly referred to as Guru Sidaba after Indian influence, and his left became the goddess, Lairembi.79 They are the supreme father and mother of the universe and they live at the peak of Mount Koubru in Manipur. Salailel and Leimalel are identified with Atiya Sidaba (the sky above) and Malem Leima (Mother Earth). The union of the male and female principle in the process of creation is a central theme of

Meitei rituals and dance dramas. I will show later that this theme was entrenched in

Meitei religious logics and pervaded their rituals, dances, and dramas, and was eventually reproduced in the rāslīlās.

Salailel Sidaba’s son, who was born to assist him in the creation was Lainingthou

Sanamahi, one of the most popular gods in the Meitei pantheon. Another son of Salailel

76 Ibid., 26 −27.

77 Ibid., 26.

78 Ibid., 26 −27.

79 L. Bhagyachandr Singh (A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur. 27-28) cited the Wakokkon Hilel Thilel Salai Amailon puya, and Sakok puya as sources of this story.

64 and Leimalel became known as Pakhangba. Later, Sanamahi and Pakhangba had a contest to see who was quicker to go around the universe seven times. The winner would take the throne of Salailel. While Sanamahi went around the universe physically,

Pakhangba, acting on a secret divulged from Leimalel, emerged victorious by circumambulating his father’s throne seven times. This is similar to a popular story in the Śiva purāṇa, when the son of Śiva, Ganesha emerged victorious in a similar contest by circumambulating his mother Parvati while his brother Kartikeya went around the world.80 There are other parallel myths, and they indicate that people from other parts of

India came to Manipur from early times to disseminate them.81

Pakhangba is often regarded as the representative of all the gods in the Meitei pantheon and is depicted as an intertwined serpent-like figure biting its own tail (Fig. 1).

The CK shows that Pakhangba was worshipped by the dominant Ningthouja dynasty as their ancestral deity at the beginning of the first millennium, and his ascendency over the gods likely corresponded with the conquest of the Ningthoujas over the other clans.

Pakhangba is symbolically represented in the lairen mathek or the “python curve” dance performed during the Lai Haraoba and his name is frequently invoked with honorifics and epithets82 during the dance.

Male-female principle

Pakhangba’s queen, Laisana is described in Meitei songs as “the goddess of the waters,” or Irai Leima. The dualism of Pakhanga-Laisana represents the sky-water and

80 S.K. Chatterji, Kirata-Jana-Krti (Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 1974), 225.

81 R.K. Jhalajit Singh, "Some Unconventional Sources of the History of Manipur and Adjoining Areas," in Sources of the History of Manipur, ed. S. N. Pandey (Imphal: Manipur University, 1985), 49.

82 Parratt and Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 10.

65 male-female symbolism common in Meitei religion.83 Each male lai in the Meitei pantheon invariably has a female counterpart.84 The male sky god, is the male principle lai dwelling in the heavens, and conflated with Atingkok, Soraren and Pakhangba.85 The female principle, Laisana, is the goddess who dwells in the waters. The sky is the male fertilizing principle, and the waters are the female womb of creation, and their union sustains life on earth. The heaven is also considered to be the dwelling place of the male lais, and the waters, that of the female lais. At the commencement of the Lai

Haraoba ritual, the male lais are invoked from their abodes in the heaven while the female lais are called from the waters. Both are invited to come and reside in the shrine built for them over the duration of the festival.

Body metaphor

Sanamahi is thought to be the indwelling spirit of all living beings and to bestow energy and life.86 Sanamahi was gradually promoted to a prominent deity by the 18th century. By the 20th century, Meitei revivalists named the Meitei religion

“Sanamahism.” His cosmic body, as a metaphor for the universe, is described in a passage in the Leithak Leikhalon puya translated by Bhagyachandra Singh as follows:

I wear the feather of the peacock. The upper portion of my abdomen is the heaven, my back is the earth, by bones are the iron, my intestines are the

83 Ibid., 12.

84 Ibid., 2.

85 According to Mircea Eliade, many of the supreme gods of ‘primitive peoples’ are called by names such as ‘Owner of the Sky’ or ‘Sky Dweller’. See Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane - the Nature of Religion, trans. Willard R. Trask (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1957).

86 Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur. 29-30.

66 great rivers, Iril and Thoubal. My muscles become the great mountain, Sannaching; my eyes are the sun and the moon.87

The body cosmology is also mapped onto the land of Manipur as revealed by an oral account in Sohini Ray’s research on the Meitei body metaphor:88

Lake Khongampat is the heart; Kangla (the old royal fort) is the naval center; Lake Loktak is the reproductive organ; Nungthong in Sugnu is the anus and urethra. The three important rivers, Imphal Iril, and Nambul form the veins and arteries. The Langol hill is the right hand, and the Thangjing hill the right leg. The Nongmaijing hill is the left hand. Wangbren hill is the left leg. Mountain Koubrou, where we went for pilgrimage is imagined to be the head of this body….

She also described how Meitei worshippers regarded stone formations at the summit of

Mount Koubru, as “parts of the human face resembling twenty-seven letters of the

Meitei alphabet.”89 For example, a stone arrangement resembling the letter “na” which means ear in Meiteilon is believed to represent the organ it signifies.90 The place where they were standing was perceived as the head, and the river ahead was perceived as the body.

Similarly, some Hindu traditions portray the world, the universe, and nature as the body of God. Accoding to Rāmānujā (traditional dates 1017 – 1137), the foundational theologian of the Śrī Vaiṣṇava school, the universe composed of sentient beings and non-sentient matter, forms the body of Vishnu, the supreme godhead in his tradition.91

87 Parratt and Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba., 54.

88 Sohini Ray, "Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India," Anthropological Quarterly 82, no. 1 (2009): 140.

89 Ray, “Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India,” 130.

90 Ibid.

91 Vasudha Narayanan, “Water, Word, and Wisdom: Ecological Perspectives from the Hindu Traditions,” Daedalus 130, no. 4 (2001): 185.

67 Yet another example is found in the second book of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (BhP), which became a popular Vaiṣṇava text in Manipur by the late 18th century, God is described in similar terms in relation to the universe:

nāḍyo 'sya nadyo 'tha tanūruhāṇi mahīruhā viśvatanornṛpendra I anantavīryaḥ śvasitaṃ mātariśvā gatirvayaḥ karma guṇapravāhaḥ II (BhP 2.1.33)

O King, the Cosmic Body of the Lord with limitless power has the rivers as his veins, the hairs of his body are the great trees, his breath is the wind, his movement is time, and his play the transformations of the qualitative forces of nature (guṇa)”.92

Moreover, similar to the purāṇic cosmos, the Meitei religion conceives of the universe pervaded by Sanamahi to be divided into different layers. The Leihourol puya describes five to six layers, and Manipuri historian and puya scholar Rena Laisram93 asserts that heaven and earth have nine layers each, while a simpler division of heaven-earth-water is described in the lyrics of a Meitei song sung in the Lai Haraoba,

Khayomlon.94

In addition to mapping the universe onto a body cosmology, Sohini Ray discussed how the human body as a metaphor pervades various aspects of the Meitei habitus. These include associating the body with arrangement of offerings for worship; using the body schema for constructing a house; and relating its alphabet system

(Meitei mayek) to body parts. The layout for the ritual offering to Sanamahi is as follows: the seat at the top of the offering represents the headgear, in the center there are

92 Jonathan B. Edelmann, "Cosmology: Dialogues on Natural Theology: The Bhagāvata Purāṇa’s Cosmology as Religious Practice," in The Bhagāvata Purāṇa - Sacred Text and Living Tradition, ed. Ravi M. Gupta and Kenneth R. Valpey (New York: Columbia University Press, 2013), 48-62.

93 Laisram, Early Meitei History - Religion, Society and the Manipur Puyas, 69.

94 Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 15.

68 banana leaves on which a small leaf with rice is placed to represent the stomach, the two wings of the banana leaves represent the breasts, seven kinds of flowers placed in a line of the right side represent the right limbs, and the seven fruits lined on the left represent the left limbs.95

In the traditional architecture of the Meitei house (Yumjao), the front door is the mouth, the two windows on the upper sides of the door are the nostrils, the small opening above the door is the bridge of the nose, the roof ridge is the spinal column, and the top roof structure is the ribs.96 In terms of the alphabet system, the Wakoklon puya, organized eighteen primary letters of the twenty-seven letters of the Meitei script in a way that related to parts of the body.97 The primary letters are named according to the body parts they are derived from.98 Examples are as follows: kok - head, sam – hair- parting, lai – forehead. The Wakoklon puya,99 quoted by Ray described the orthography of Meitei alphabets as follows:100

Each of the letters is imagined to resemble a different part of the human body. The first letter kok resembles the head, and the word kok also means head. The second letter sam resembles the hair-parting, and the word sam means hair.

95 Ray, “Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India,” 141.

96 Ray, “Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India,” 141.

97 The other nine letters are derived from the primary letters.

98 Ray, “Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India,” 135-136.

99 Ray, "Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India," 137. According to Ray, the authenticity of the puya has been disputed. Nevertheless, it is used as a source in the teacher’s training course for Meitei mayek (Manipuri script).

100 Ray, “Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India,” 136.

69 The letters are also believed to represent deities, which reside in different parts of the human body, and are in charge of protecting those parts.101 For example, Atiya Sidaba is equated with kok and protects the front. During combat, letters are used as mystical protective armors for the body.102

The above-mentioned examples of the Meitei religious habitus show that they use the symbolic body as a metaphor to conceptualize their religious ideas and practices. This strikes a chord with a common practice in tantric traditions. Gavin Flood has argued that diverse tantric traditions have a common characteristic of using the body as root metaphor or “topos of tantra,” as a vehicle for imagining tradition and cosmos such that the structure of the cosmos, language, and are understood in bodily terms.103 Scholars of Manipuri history have yet to establish if there were any connections between tantric traditions and Meitei religion. Nevertheless, this could well have been a possibility as Śākta traditions had influenced nearby northeastern states such as Assam by the 8th century, a point which I return to in Chapter 3 when discussing early Hindu contact in Manipur.

Nature gods and guardian deiteis

Following from the Meitei worldview of the universe and the human body as sacred, worship of nature gods, especially the sun god is also a prevalent aspect of

Meitei religion. Sanamahi worship is related to the sun worship. Other nature gods in

101 Ray, “Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India,” 145.

102 Ray, “Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India,” 146.

103 Gavin Flood, The Tantric Body: The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion (New York: I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, 2006), 17.

70 the Meitei pantheon are the Moon or Tha, who is worshipped during the last week of every month, and the god of rain and thunder, Sauraren, who destroys evil spirits with a thunderbolt, and Oambaren, the god of floods. It was not surprising therefore, when some of the Manipuris I interviewed (Chourajit Sharma and Banamali Singh)104 equated

Meitei deities with Hindu gods or devas who are also associated with natural forces, like

Indra, the god of rain; Chandra, the moon good; and Surya, the sun god. This type of association was made easier because there was already a tradition of conferring multiple names for a single deity.105 Puyas such as the Lainingthou Sanamahi

Mingkheiron provide 45 appellations to Sanamahi.106

Meiteis believe that a tutelary deity guards each direction. These deities, although not considered to be on the same level as the higher gods like Tengbanba

Mapu, are widely popular in Meitei rituals and society. For example, Koubru, the lord of the north is worshipped with various songs. He is believed to protect people from famine, epidemics, and other natural calamities. There is also Nongpok Ningthou who although regarded as a tutelary deity of the east, is one of the most popular gods in

Manipur. The Nongmaiching hill situated to the east of Imphal valley is believed to be his abode, and the water flowing down from this hill is considered to be sacred. When I visited Nongmaiching hill, I noticed a temple of Śiva on its summit. Once a year, during the month of Phairen (February/March) Manipuris observe a festival called Baruni by climbing the hill at night and worshipping Śiva. My guide Wangkeimayum informed me

104 Informal interviews. February 2016, Imphal Manipur.

105 Laisram, Early Meitei History - Religion, Society and the Manipur Puyas, 72.

106 Ibid.

71 that due to influences from Hindu religions, Nongpok Ningthou was made an incarnation of Śiva, and his consort Panthoibi was identified with Śiva’s wife Parvati.

Sacred romantic stories

Panthoibi is a Meitei goddess of birth and death, as well as a goddess associated with love stories. According to Parratt, her story can be found in the puya, Panthoibi

Khongoon (in the footsteps of Panthoibi).107 Sometimes Panthoibi is depicted along with a tiger, similar to the Hindu goddess Durga and Nongpok Ningthou is described in terms that indicate him to be Śiva. I attended an annual weeklong festival called Panthoibi pūjā, which coincides with the Bengali Durga pūjā. Each day in the early morning and evenings, Meitei songs are sung to her images and are accompanied by an indigenous

Manipuri string instrument, the pena (See Fig 2-1).

The love story of Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi is worth special mention because it is enacted in the Lai Haraoba, and those scenes, along with the theme of love between divine beings, are then reconstructed for the rāslīlās. Their story summarized by Parratt is as follows.108 Nongpok Ningthou, a king whose capital was at

Nongmaijing, met Panthoibi, a princess who was assisting her father in jhuming, a method of terrace cultivation, in which the land is cleared by burning. They fell in love at first sight due to their divine relationship even though they do not exchange words. But

Panthoibi’s father married her off to another man, the king of the Khaba yek, Tarang

Khoinu. After some time, unable to bear the separation from her lover, she left her husband’s house in search of Nongpok Ningthou, who also left his residence to seek

107 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 13. I could not get a copy of the Panthoibi Khongoon.

108 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 13-14.

72 her out. Finally, Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi met at Kangla, the place that later became associated with the coronation of Meitei kings, and they settled at the nearby

Nongmaijing hill. Tarang Khoinu recognized both Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi were lais and worshipped them.109

The story of Nongpok Ningthou and his divine consort Panthoibi was popular in the social and religious life of the Meiteis in pre-Vaiṣṇava times. It is based on the Meitei principle of male-female pairing of lais, mentioned earlier. A genre of oral literature with popular love lyrics contains many references to the Panthobi-Nongpok Ningthou story.110

I saw icons of them being worshipped in marketplaces, ritual festivals and during a

Meitei wrestling festival. Their story is also depicted in the Tangkhul-Nurabi segments in the Lai Haraoba and is an essential part of the festival.

The similarity in the theme of a sacred extramarital conjugal love between

Panthoibi and Nongpok Ningthou with Rādhā and Krishna will be more apparent when I describe scenes from the first rāslīlā, the Mahārās in Chapter 6. For now, it suffices to say that it created a mental structure, a set of implicit moral and aesthetic predispositions to romantic love between a male and female deity. It was part of the process of what Clifford Geertz called “sentimental education” – the way that people learn about their cultural ethos and sensibilities.111 Later, after Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism came to Manipur, these culturally learned predispositions resonated with the Rādhā and

109 Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 7 and Kabui, History of Manipur, 2-3.

110 Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 7.

111 Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures, 449.

73 Krishna affair. This likely contributed to the acceptance and popularity of the rāslīlās, which depicts their love in a dance drama.

Meitei Religious Practices

Meitei religious practices include worship of nature spirits, tutelary deities, sacred trees, and stones. Different tribes associated themselves with different deities. Their religious practices often accounted for the distinctiveness of their tribes. Yet, there were similar practices across tribes. For example, many tribes believed in and practiced augury or divination that predicted things to come, and in a shared world with supernatural forces or beings who rewarded and punished them and whom they encountered through nature.112 As they were consolidated by the Ningthoujas, these differences and similarities were harmonized and became the foundation of diverse, evolving syncretic religious practices in Manipur, both before and after the coming of

Hindu traditions.

The CK show that Meiteis engaged in a variety of religious performances such as tree worship. In the CK, there are at least twelve references to tree worship from 1576 to 1665 CE.113 During my fieldwork, I observed that tree worship is still being carried out and that trees are thought to represent the lais. The most sacred tree for the Meiteis is the tairen (Toona ciliata) and worship of this tree consists of bowing and offering fruit and flowers. It cannot be a coincidence that the mūrti (images) of the prominent

112 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 51.

113 For example SP.CK, Vol. 1, 65 (1592), SP.CK, Vol. 1, 66 (1595), and SP.CK, Vol. 1, 73 (1610) translated these instances as as “(name of a person) dedicated a tree.” These entries corresponded to NB.CK, 49 (1592), NB.CK, 49 (1595) and NB.CK, 52 (1610) that were translated as “(name of a person) performed the U-hongba (U-tree, honba – inaugurate) ceremony.”

74 Vaiṣṇava deities that were consecrated in the 18th century were made from tree trunks. I will discuss this in more detail in Chapter 4.

Ritual sacrifices

Several records in the CK show that blood and wine offerings were made to the lais.114 The earliest recorded reference to animal sacrifice occurs during the reign of

King Kyamba. The CK says that in 1470 CE, Kyamba offered an ox at the foot of Khari hill to seek victory over Kabo Kyang.115 K.B. Singh infers that the casual way in which it was written suggests that this was not an uncommon event during that period, with no mention of the god to whom it was offered.116 Later, during the reign of King Khagemba

(r. 1597-1652) onwards, there are more references to lavish displays of animal sacrifice.

In particular, in the year 1631 CE, when a new palace was built in Kangla, the lais were invoked, and offerings of fruits, flowers, elephants, goats, sheep, cows, ducks, pigeons, hens, pigs, and dogs numbering a hundred each were made.117 Blood sacrifice was commonplace among tribes with whom the Meiteis had immediate contact, and there is evidence that the Kuki and Nāga tribes who live in the hills of Manipur also engaged in offering human sacrifices.118

There are also instances of human sacrifices practiced by the Meiteis. It was common for victorious kings to offer the slain heads of their enemies to lais or bring

114 NB.CK, 53 (1618): “A rite was performed to appease God Marjing by sacrificing wild pig, dogs, ducks, pigeons etc.” SP. CK, 75 (1618): “They sacrificed wild boars, dogs, ducks, fowls, pigeons and many other living creatures.”

115 NB.CK, 39.

116 K.B. Singh, Traces of Pre-Hinduism in Meetei Society, 204.

117 NB.CK, 53.

118 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 119.

75 them back as war trophies. For example, it is recorded that “heads collected from the battlefield fell down while opening Tenthapung in 1585 CE” during the reign of

Mungyamba (r. 1562-1597).119 This practice was similar to that of Chinese Shan kings, who ritually slaughtered war prisoners as offerings to ancestor gods. Some forms of human sacrifice were still performed in the late 19th to early 20th century. Shakespeare shared a verbal account from a lai manai (slave of the lai) in which a certain portion of the manai’s body was extracted and offered to the lai.120 This slave was paid in cash and exempted from tax and forced labor in return for his sacrifice. According to

Shakespeare, he was taken by the king himself and some blood was extracted from his foot, and his hair and nails were cut. These were offered before the lai and buried.

Parratt opined that this ritual could be the survival of a much older human sacrifice.121

While this has yet to be proven conclusively, it is evident that the Meiteis perceived parts of the human body to be ritually offerable to their gods, thus enabling them to establish a means of contacting divinity through the body.

Another form of human sacrifice was introduced during the reign of Kyamba (r.

1467 − 1508 CE). During the New Year festival, a man known as the Cheithaba would be selected to take the sins of the king. His main function was to avert harm from falling up the king or the country. Any natural calamity that occurred would be blamed on him.

In return, the Cheithaba would receive certain privileges; he was exempt from the conscript labor service to the king called lallup, and was given 2.5 acres of land rent free

119 NB.CK, 48.

120 Shakespeare, Lt. Col. John Shakespeare's Collected Papers on Manipur, 443f.

121 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 124.

76 for life along with other gifts.122 The Cheithaba practice continued well into the late 19th century as shown by records of British observers like Hodson.123 He observed that the incoming Cheithaba, when taking his post, offers fruits and flowers to the King, Maiba

Loisang or institution of Maibas, to astrologers, the Queen and finally to Govindaji, a mūrti of Krishna worshipped by the royals.

The different forms of sacrifice involving the human body in the Meitei religion indicate that the Meiteis viewed the body as medium of communication or interaction with the sacred. The range of body sacrifices include the bodies of animals, enemies, body parts of a selected individual, or the symbolic acceptance of sins on one’s own body. Combined with these, were the dancing bodies offered during the Lai Haraoba.

Body sacrifices were conducted to appease the gods and ancestors, to invoke auspiciousness, and to mitigate calamities.

However, as Vaiṣṇavism spread in Manipur, these body rituals became less common and were replaced by new modes of worship which also involved the body, such as Vaiṣṇava saṅkīrtan (congregational singing) and rāslīlā dance dramas. Thus, there was a change in the culturally accepted bodily techniques to relate to the sacred.

In the instances when an animal was required to be sacrificed for a particular lai, the sacrificial animal, though provided by the king, was actually slaughtered and eaten by non-Vaiṣṇavas. Shakespeare observed that the “flesh of the animal was eaten by such people as had not become Hindus.”124 Thus, Vaiṣṇava dietary restrictions were

122 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 48-49.

123 Hodson, The Meitheis, 106.

124 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 23.

77 preserved by using non-Vaiṣṇavas to carry out the slaying and eating.125 Also,

Shakespeare noted that when pigs were offered to Pakhangba and fowls to Nongpok

Ningthou, children who had not received the initiation by sacred thread, a Hindu ritual, ate the meat. He wrote “there are also annual sacrifices to these deities in connection with crops, of a fowl and a goose. The flesh of these animals is eaten by children who have not yet taken the thread, and the people admit that before their conversion everyone used to share in the feasts.”126 In surviving Meitei rituals, such as the Lai

Haraoba, some of these ritual sacrifices are still carried out.

Female dancers

Community worship of the gods was led by Maibas (male priests) and Maibis

(female priestesses). They preserved Meitei myths and rituals through their institution.

While the Maibas serve as healers, rainmakers, and ritual specialists for magical ceremonies, it is the Maibis who play a more prominent role as dancers and diviners.

Maibis lead the dances and songs, and deliver oracles in trance, thus preserving several stories, gestures, and practices through their embodied knowledge. Meiteis believe that a Maibis is chosen by the lais. The women who become Maibis are aware of their status as being selected by the gods to serve them. The future Maibis would display symptoms of mental illness, or of other forms of prolonged illness which cannot be cured.127 Once these symptoms appear, she is supposed to seek a senior Maibi who would initiate her into the order.

125 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 121.

126 Shakespeare "The Religion of Manipur,” 18

127 Nongthombam Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur (Imphal: Cultural Resource Centre, 2005), 48.

78 Maibis are trained as dancers and ritual specialists, and are inculcated into the

Meitei world of myths, music, and chants by their gurus, but their primary identity is to be divine mediators of the lais.128 During lai tongba, a ritual in which the Maibis serves as a medium, she shouts, sings, and moves her body in a frantic trance, and her personal identity becomes displaced by the lai whose message she communicates.

Thus, the female body in particular, is perceived to be conducive in communicating with the divine. Like the Maibis who prepare themselves as oracles for the lais, the girls who are trained to dance in the rāslīlās, undergo preparatory rituals so that they can play their roles effectively as vessels for the divine. They undergo fasts, undertake various vows like sleeping alone, and a ritually worshipped by their family members.

There is evidence from records in the CK that ladies from different Meitei tribes used to perform various dances. It is recorded that in 1886 CE, the Crown Prince

Surachand witnessed women of different villages such as Khurai, Wangkhei, and Kwai performing their own local dances while he was on expedition.129

It is likely that the dominant role of women in Meitei ritual dances paved the way for the women to play an active role in the Manipuri rāslīlās. In other rāslīlā performances in India, such as the ones in Vraja, Odisha, and in the Sattriya dance in the Assamese island Majuli, young boys play the role of the Gopīs, the milkmaid girlfriends of Krishna.130 In the late 19th century, Hodson observed that “all girls whose

128 M. Chaki-Sircar, Feminism in a Traditional Society: Women of the Manipur Valley. (New Delhi: Shakti Books, 1984), 213-14.

129 NB.CK, 344.

130 Mason (Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan, 57) and Hein in their study found that women used to participate in the dance, before they were replaced by child actors. Thet disagree with the reasons for this development. Hein suggested that climate of Muslim rule was the cause, whereas Mason opined that prior to the sixteenth century child actors had already occupied

79 position is at all respectable learn to dance...”131 Thus, learning to dance in Manipur became an embodied mark of distinction.

The dominant role of women in Manipuri dances could also be related to their socioeconomic status. The Ima Keithel (mother’s market) that dates back to at least the

16th century by the calculation of scholars132 is a market that only allows women vendors. It is reported to be the largest of its kind in Asia. It originated as a result of the lallup policy in which men would have to work for the royal court in public works for ten days every forty days or when they were sent away for war. Women stayed back in the villages and sold their farm produce in improvised markets, one of which developed into the Ima Keithel. Hodson also observed that women managed internal trade and the exchange of produce of the country.133 It was socially acceptable for widows to re-marry, although the Meiteis practiced polygamy.134

Religious hierarchies

While women occupied central role in economic and social activities, men remained as the heads of political and religious institutions. The heads of each clan known as Pibas, were also considered to be priests, just like the Maibas, and assumed charge of rituals, while the king, as the head of the Ningthouja clan and the whole

appropriate roles in Krishna performances, and that it was the Caitanya movement’s conservative attitude towards women, and the suitability of children for the roles that were the main reasons.

131 Hodson, The Meitheis, 35.

132 Callan, The Meitheis.35 said it was founded in 1580 during the reign of King Munguyampa.

133 Hodson, The Meitheis, 23.

134 Ibid., 77.

80 confederacy was the high priest of the whole country.135 The Pibas officiated at annual ceremonies in honor of their clan’s ancestors.136 The king officiated only during great calamities like prolonged drought. Consequently, the Meitei kingship was conferred with a large amount of political and religious capital, and played an influential role in determining the religious landscape of the people.

With the institution of Maibis and Maibas, and the position of the Pibas and kings in the religious and political fields, neither religious knowledge nor religious activity was evenly distributed in Manipur. The hierarchies implied that the sociological functions that the indigenous religion fulfilled for the producers of religious knowledge, ritual specialists, and the consumers were differentiated in terms of their position in the division of religious labor.137 These structures continued after Vaiṣṇava traditions contacted Manipur and are visible in the institutions associated with the Manipuri rāslīlās. Moreover, as I will describe in Chapter 3, the presence of an already established religious elite, Maibis and Maibas resulted in conflict with the incoming religious specialists, the Brahmins.

Lai Haraoba

In agricultural societies, religious dances associated with fertility, sowing and harvest are widespread. Manipur, with its staple diet of rice, was no exception. The dances frequently depict the union of the earth, who is perceived as a fecund mother,

Leimarel Sidabi, who is fertilized by the sky-god, Soraren. The specific nature of the

135 Ibid.,109.

136 Ibid., 110.

137 Pierre Bourdieu, "Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field," Comparative Social Research 13 (1991): 11-12 and 17.

81 dance movements of the people living in the valley of Manipur was narrated by

Professor Lokendra Arambam in my interview with him.138 Arambam is one of the most prominent historians of Manipuri tribal performances, who has been studying Manipuri dance for over thirty years, and is a director of several theater plays. He attributed differences in the dances of the Meiteis in the valley with those of the hill tribes to their different geographical landscapes:

Although they belong to the same racial origins, the people in the plains developed different systems of body behavior from the people living in the mountains, because of their adaptation to the environment…those who stayed in the mountains had to adapt to the harsh terrains compared to the valley people, the lowlanders, who are more used to a plentiful water supply from the lakes, and rivers. The nature of their adaptation also influenced the development of their cultural expressions. If you see the dances of the mountain groups, because they have been used to climbing up and down from the mountains…(it) gave a lot of stress on the lower limbs of their body... when they perform their rituals and dances, they exercise more of their lower extremities. They will be lots of steps, jumps and bodily movements of the feet which relaxes those tense muscles. The people in the valley are used to a system of life where rice is cultivated and have ample leisure time waiting for the rice to ripen. During the whole agricultural cycle, they sing and dance and it gives them an opportunity for more sophistication in their cultural expressions. They develop more flexibility in their thumbs and fingers so you will find that they can exercise subtler finger expressions. The elders used to say if you don’t use your fingers, and if you don’t have hand gestures, then you don’t have a dance…. The plains people are more sophisticated in their hand gestures and because of their location were more open to outside cultural influences.

Rituals invoking human and crop fertility in the valley, are depicted in the ancient

Meitei festival, the Lai Haraoba. It is widely considered to be the festival that most closely preserves the ancient Manipuri culture by scholars of Manipuri religion like Saroj

138 Recorded interview with Lokendra Arambam, September 10, 2011 at Imphal, Manipur.

82 Parratt139 and Nilakanta Singh.140 Saroj Parratt and John Parratt claimed that the “totality of its rituals, music and dance presents us with a unique pre-Hindu religious world-view which has remained almost unchanged over a period of a thousand years or more.”141

Although it is doubtful that the dance and its accompanying rituals have not changed, the lyrics sound like an ancient form of Manipuri language. They were handed down by oral tradition through the Maibas and Maibis and have sustained the main structure of the dance. Moreover, the Lai Haraoba consists of distinctive features of

Meitei aesthetics, and also includes village sports like Manipuri wrestling. In Chapter six,

I will highlight some aesthetic elements that were incorporated by the rāslīlās. For now, I will briefly describe the structure of the Lai Haraoba.

Lai Haraoba literally translates as “festival of the merry-making of the gods.”142

Bhagyachandra Singh cited the Wakoklon Puya as support for his definition as “gods became happy at the creation of the earth by the will of the Supreme Lord.”143 Thus, the

Lai Haraoba could indicate the merrymaking of the gods after the creation of the world.

This makes sense because it reenacts the creation story and the gods celebrating it.

However, a number of the gurus I interviewed suggested the “pleasing of the gods” would be a more appropriate term to describe the festival, as it is organized for that purpose. Parratt and Parratt also translated the phrase as “pleasing of the gods” which

139 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 53.

140 E. Nilakanta Singh, "Lai Haraoba," Marg 14, no. 4 (1961): 30.

141 Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, vii.

142 E. Nilakanta Singh, Lai Haraoba. Marg, 14(4), 30.

143 Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, 102.

83 takes into account the perspective of the performers and audience who participate in the festival to satisfy the gods.144

The Lai Haraoba usually takes place during the months of April and May, before the season for planting rice begins. They are also performed after the harvest season for obtaining good crops, fertility, and for protection against evil forces and natural calamities.145 One of the dance gurus I interviewed, Thoiba Singh, who teaches the Lai

Haraoba dance, said that it was performed to rid the community of disease, epidemics, and protect the villages from war, and the attacks from wild animals. There are three kinds of Lai Haraobas:146 the Kanglei Haraoba, which honors Pakhangba as the chief deity; the Moirang Haraoba which features the love story of Khamba and Thoibi and is performed in honor of Thangjing, the chief lai of the Moirang yek; and the Chakpa

Haraoba which is performed in the Chakpa or Loi villages like Andro, Phayeng, Sekmai, which has simpler gestures than the others.147 Though there are some differences among them, the basic structure is similar for all three.

The dedication of Lai Haraoba is not restricted to any specific lais but is performed for any pair of male and female deities associated with the organizers of the festival or the village. The rituals performed in honor of the ancestral lai of each clan play an important role in socio-religious lives of the Meiteis. A common address is made to the participants of the Haraoba, “Lainingthou Lairembigi Manaisa” meaning “O,

144 Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, xiv.

145 Tamphasana Rajkumari, "Ritual Dances and Ancient Socio-Economic Formation of Manipur: A Study of Lai Haraoba" (paper presented at the Proceedings of the Manipur Historical Society, Standard College, Kongba, 2015), 169.

146 Sometimes a fourth, known as Kakching Haraoba is also performed.

147 Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 18.

84 servants of Lainingthou (male god) and Lairembi (female goddess)!” and the ritual structure is more or less the same, although it may be dedicated to different lais. There are Lai Haraobas sponsored by the village community if the lai being worshipped belongs to the village, by the yek if he or she belongs to the clan concerned, or by state if the lai belongs to the king. Mostly, the entire village community participates in the long sequence of rituals in the festival. However, in some places like Andro, outsiders are not allowed to see the festival, indicating that it was meant exclusively for the community and its leader.148 The rāslīlās are also community events. The members of the royal family and the heads of the Hindu religious institutions sit along with ordinary men and women during the performance (see Chapter 6).

The Lai Haraoba dance takes place in a lairembi lampak, an open space in the vicinity of a temple, which acts as the microcosm of the universe and the dwelling place of the lais during the duration of the festival, which can last for up to ten days. The structure of the dance is highly ritualized. Nilakanta Singh noted that “every look is significant, every movement meaningful and even a single blade of grass has to be kept properly.”149 According to Kirti Singh, Meiteis believe that any slight mistake on the part of performers may incur the wrath of gods which manifests through epidemics, war, and natural calamities.150

A chronological outline of the main events of the festival are as follows. On the preceding day, the shrine is cleansed, the courtyard is prepared, and candles in the

148 Rajkumari, Ritual Dances and Ancient Socio-economic Formation of Manipur: A Study of Lai Haraoba, 170.

149 E. Nilakanta Singh, Manipuri Dance.

150 M. Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur (Delhi: Manas Publications, 1988), 168.

85 shrine and at adjacent homes are lighted at night to ward off evils that may hinder the proper execution of rituals. On the first day, in a ritual called lai ikouba (calling the lais), the lais are invited to be present in the images built for them.151 See Fig 2-2 for images of the lais. In some instances, the lais are simply represented by two brass masks representing the presiding deities, Lainingthou (male lai) and Lairembi (female lai), or there are no such iconic representations at all, and a place is merely prepared in which the lais are supposed to inhabit.

During the lai ikouba, the lais are invoked from a body of water because it is believed that in the beginning of creation, only the primeval ocean of water existed on which, the lai Atiya Sidaba, was floating.152 One of the rituals that occur at this stage is the konyai thaba. Here, the Maiba immerses two think pieces of flakes – one gold, and the other silver- into the water. The flakes represent the male and female principle, which need to be rekindled in the water. Then, the khayom, which is composed of an egg, with a thin piece of gold and silver inserted through the outer shell, tied together with leaves of a plant, called langthrei, and some uncooked rice, is also thrown into the water. The khayom represents the male energy, the water represents the feminine energy, and the floating of the khayom on the water represents, “the divine embrace of the sky-father and the earth-mother giving rise to the genesis of life.”153 Maibis who are accompanied by villagers, invoke the lais from the waters by placing flowers in a river or a water tank and ringing a bell. See Fig 2-3, where the Maibis invite the lais from a lake.

151 McCulloch, An Account of the Valley of Munnipore and the Hill Tribes, 17.

152 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 62.

153 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 69.

86 One of the Maibis goes into a trance as the lai indicates its presence. The lais are then ceremonially carried in procession to the shrine for a series of rituals that will occur over the course of their stay.

The procession is led by the Maibis, followed by a party of women and men singing and dancing (See Fig 2-4). The women carry in their hands fruits, and other paraphernalia that are presented to the lais. Nine other gods (Laibungthous), and seven goddesses (Lainuras), believed to be involved in the creation, are also supposed to be present during the Lai Haraoba. Guardian deities of four directions – Thangjing

(southwest), Marjing (northeast), Koubru (northwest), and Wangbren (southeast) are supposed to guard the laibung, the place where the dance is performed. On the days between the first and last day of the festival, the two presiding lais are symbolically brought out of the shrine to witness different ritual performances, indicating that the dance is performed for the gods. This is similar to one of the rāslīlās’ ritual of bringing the mūrtis of Rādhā and Krishna from their temple sanctums to the middle of the pavilion.

The two presiding lais are considered to be the prominent enjoyers of the performance. I reproduce, a quote by Yumshangbi Maibi, a visiting guru of JNMDA that reflects this:

…the two presiding deities are like the king and the queen witnessing an entertainment programme performed by loyal their servants. The human beings amuse them by dancing, singing and imitating the actions of the gods and goddesses through the acts of ritual functionaries like Maiba, Maibis and Penakhongba.154

154 Translation of comments of Yungshanbi Maibi in her book Umang-lai Haraobagi Thouram, 1987, 48-49 by Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 38.

87 For example, in a segment called kanglei thokpa, the Maibi through a trance performance of a deity, Khoriphaba, mimes actions such as wrestling, polo and searching for a paramour for the entertainment of Lainingthou and Leirembi.155 Similarly, in the rāslīlās, the actors simultaneously imitate the actions of the deities like the Gopīs,

Rādhā and Krishna, while performing for them as a devotional offering.

On each morning, the lais are greeted with an aubade called yakeirol and, in the evenings, they are sung to sleep by a lullaby called naosum. A one-stringed instrument called the pena, a type of fiddle (cheijing), with a string made of horse hair and a base

(maroo), made of coconut shells is played by a designated person called the

Penakhongba. The male-female fertility theme in Meitei religious thought, which I discussed earlier, is also reflected in the pena. Some experts on the pena, like Dhanajit

Singh, who teaches Lai Haraoba at the JNMDA informed me that the “maroo represents

Lairembi, the mother-goddess, and the cheijing represents the father-god,

Lainingthou...and the music they produce by their coming together represents creation, and fertility.” The concept of musical instruments symbolically representing gods was transferred to those used in the rāslīlās, such as the pung (drum) which represents

Krishna and the hand cymbals (kartals) which represent Rādhā. The sound produced by the kartals represent Rādhā’s voice.

The Penakhongba is a male singer who sings about the epics of Moirang, a state in Manipur, and the love stories of Khamba and Thoibi.156 The music from the pena produces tonal variations that correspond with different moods specified for various

155 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 38.

156 M. Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur, 213.

88 sequences in the Lai Haraoba. Basu Sinam, a PhD student who did his research on the pena and a prominent rāslīlā dancer informed me that the musical scale for songs in the rāslīlās were adopted from those produced by the pena.157

There is also a specific institution designated for singers and musicians of the Lai

Haraoba named Penakhongba. Penakhongbas were employed in the service of the kings of Manipur. In the mornings, they used to awaken the King up by singing the yakeirol, and often accompanied him on his trips.158 This underscores the importance that was given to music in Meitei society.

For the remaining days of the festival, ritual dances are performed that re-enact the creation of the world, the creation of the human body and the growth of civilization such as building houses and harvesting. They are depicted through hand gestures, dances, songs, and incantations. Thus, the Lai Haraoba conveys knowledge through the body, instilling habitus to the new generations through dance. Saroj Parratt & John

Parrat divided the main rituals into four broad categories.159 They are the laibou (birth), panthoibi, phijang (canopy), and the ougri. During the laibou, which is performed every day of the festival, the Maibis lead a dance sequence depicting creation. This involves the simulation of various processes like child birth, the part-by-part construction of the human body (hakchangshaba), construction of a house, agricultural activities like sowing seeds and harvesting, and making of cloth. The various acts of creation are depicted by hand gestures, some of which were adopted by the rāslīlās.

157 Recorded interview in Imphal, Manipur February 23, 2016.

158 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 54.

159 Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 21.

89 While dancing, the Maibis sing the Hoirrou Haya song that they believe was originally sung by the lais Sidaba and Ashiba at beginning of creation. The following is a description of a section of the hakchangshaba’s lyrical structure and accompanying dance movements. It is based on my observation, and interview with Dhanajit Singh, a choreographer of the Lai Haraoba who works for JNMDA:

[A procession led by the Maibis, dances slowly around the courtyard, and pauses at each corner, to perform leishi jagoi, a turning movement to honor the gods of the directions. During this procession, the construction of the body is depicted through dance movements by the Maibis, accompanied by antiphonal responses by the people participating. See Figure 2-5 for an illustration of the hand gestures.]

Maibi: Ho servants of Laningthou and Lairembi!

People: Yes!

Maibi: Make the forehead!

[The Maibis dances with the palms outwards, and fingers pointing above the eyebrows, to indicate the making of the forehead.]

People: Yes, we have made.

Maibi: Make the eyebrows!

[The Maibi performs a hand gesture tracing the eyebrows.]

People: Yes, we have made.

Maibi: Make the corners of the eyes!

[The Maibi joins both thumbs and index fingers at the corners of the eyes.]

People: Yes, we have made.

Maibi: Make the eyes!

[The Maibi's thumb and index finger form a circle around the eyes.]

People: Yes, we have made.

90 During the hakchangshaba sequence, no one is allowed to leave or enter until it is completed. Sleeping babies are woken up to stay alert. It is believed that not complying with these rules may result in inauspiciousness. This is probably because of the sense of sacrality associated with the body. The different parts of the body are linked with different gods. As mentioned earlier, Sohini Ray’s interview with a Maibi revealed that the goddess Leimarel resides on the left side of the body, and Sanamahi on the right side, and Atiya Guru resides in the eyes to enable humans to distinguish between dark and light.

The theme of construction of the sacred body was adopted in naṭa saṅkīrtan and rāslīlās. In the naṭa saṅkīrtan, the body of Caitanya and his associates would be constructed through drum beats, and in the rāslīlās, Krishna’s form would be represented through a ritual segment called bhaṅgi pareng. Thus, an embodied disposition in Meitei religion was deployed to build new divine bodies and structure new sacred experiences in resonance with past experiences after the advent of Vaiṣṇavism,

I will demonstrate this in greater detail in Chapter 6.

After the hakchangshaba, or the body of the child has been constructed in the womb, the Maibis enacts the construction of a house for his/her delivery. Subsequently, scenes depicting the birth of the child, bathing, and feeding it are all danced. Next, the growth of the child, and building a house (yumshaba) for the new adult is enacted. In this way, the Lai Haraoba functions as a religious and educational dance.

The next major segment, panthoibi jagoi, consists of a dance accompanied by a romantic song on the love between Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi sung by the

Maibis and the Penakhongba. This segment has been included to suggest that the child

91 who has grown into an adult, and who has a house, should now search for a spouse to continue with procreation.160 Thus, this is another instance in which the male-female fertility theme is pronounced in the Lai Haraoba, and by extension, the Meitei religious habitus. A part of this segment also includes Panthoibi searching for Nongpok Ningthou, and includes lyrics such as “O you trees on the hills, you trees that are so beautiful, O you trees of the plain, you trees that are covered in luxuriant leaves, Have you seen his beloved face? Tell me the abode of my beloved one.”161 In Chapter 6, I will show that a similar scene was enacted in the rāslīlās, specifically the Mahārās, when Rādhā and the

Gopīs search for Krishna.

The next two items depict the production of cotton from planting to weaving (pam yanba) and the gathering of the spirits of all the lais (longkhonba). In the former, the

Maibis and people continue antiphonal singing and dancing which mimes the processes of planting, weaving, and making of the garments, which are offered to the lais. In the latter, the Maibis dances as if gathering the souls of the lais into her apron, and placing them in the shrine. This segment ends with a mock race between gods, and goddesses, represented by men and women led by the Maibis.

The third cycle, phijang, is a dance performed under a canopy outdoors. It consists of a series of complex dances, accompanied by songs, which also portray the creation of the universe, and themes of fertility. In one of the main rituals, the Maibis leads a dance procession called lairen mathek (python curve). The procession moves in a curve that looks like a coiled snake, with the tail of the python inside its own mouth,

160 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 76.

161 The translation of the lyrics are from Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 119.

92 similar to the image of Pakhangba discussed earlier. Two people carry a big fan-like object, and two others carry a big canopy in the middle of the laibung. The procession performing the lairen mathek will move beneath the white cloth of the canopy.

Premchand revealed that this represents the “process of sexual union of the divine father and divine mother.”162 In my interview with him, Lai Haraoba teacher, Dhanajit

Singh, in my interview with him said that his gurus taught him that the lairen mathek movement of the procession under the canopy represents the internal movement of sexual fluids within the body during fertilization. He added that this was kept secret through oral tradition and is not known to the scholars who research the Lai Haraoba. In the rāslīlās, the lairen mathek procession does not take place, instead the dancers move in a circle. However, each individual dancer moves her body from side to side in a curvy pattern, embodying the lairen mathek pattern within her body movements.

Finally, on the last day, participants perform a series of dances and lyrics symbolizing the merging of the universe into one (ougri), ending with a song of rejoicing

(kencho). The Maibis, along with supporting Maibas, and the Penakhongba, perform a dance sequence called louyanba, which is a dramatic sequence enacting the first meeting of the lovers, Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi. The Maibis plays the role of

Panthoibi plays while the Maiba the role of Nongpok Ningthou. They wear the traditional costumes of the Tangkhul Naga tribe. They exchange riddles and praises of each other physical beauty. This scene is similar to the Krishna Abhisar and Rādhā Abhisar of rāslīlās in which they meet. The Maibi then comes out with six other women selected from the participants, and they enact a farming scene.

162 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 126.

93 At the end of the festival, the lais are symbolically returned to their heavenly abodes by means of a boat (hijing hirao). The rituals mirror the ones performed on the first day, except that instead of calling upon the lais to inhabit the shrine, they are requested to return to their abodes. Sometimes the festival ends with sports and games such as Sagol Kangjei (polo), Khong Kangjei (foot-hockey), Thouri Chingnaba (tug of war), wrestling, Hiyang tanaba (boat race), and martial arts.163 In fact, Manipur has been credited with the invention of polo.164 The Meiteis believe that Sagol Kangjei (polo) was originally played by the gods in a seven-aside game on horseback with a stick called

Kangjei during the original Lai Haraoba.

Animal sacrifices were reportedly performed at the festival, though I did not witness any at the Lai Haraobas I attended. In the first decade of the 20th century,

Shakespeare165 observed pigs and fowls being sacrificed at Pakhangba’s and Nongpok

Ningthou’s Haraoba in the village of Langmeidon. At several points of the festival, offerings of appeasement are made to the saroi-ngaroi, which literally means “beast-like fish creatures.” They are dangerous spirits, which may harm the participants of the festival and affect its efficacy. However, these spirits are not the central gods in the Lai

Haraoba. The rituals dedicated to them are mostly symbolic as they are ceremonially swept away from the sacred arena of the lais’ courtyard.166

163 M. Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur, 168.

164 See http://www.polomuseum.com/sport-polo/history-polo. Accessed on August 20, 2018.

165 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 23.

166 Parratt & Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 15.

94 It is clear from the descriptions above that the lais are worshipped by rituals mostly led by the Maibis. The prominent role of women in the Lai Haraoba formed a habitus that generated the practice of women playing the role of dancers in the Manipuri rāslīlās. This is in contrast to rāslīlās performances in most of the other parts of India, where only males perform as dancers. From the 17th century, there are records in the

CK that indicate that there was a practice in which women, some of whom were Maibis, were married to a lai and dedicated their lives in service to that lai. For example, a record in the CK in 1681 CE, states “in the year of Shāiron Nāimu, 1603 sak, (1681 CE), in the month of Sajibu, (March/April) the king married off Nāoroibam Chaubi to Lai

Kasa.”167 This Meitei practice of marriage to the lais would be adopted by Vaiṣṇava - influenced Manipur in the 18th century when the daughter of King Bhāgyacandra was married to the mūrti of Krishna worshipped by the royal family.168

The costumes for the various performers are more or less fixed. Maibas are usually dressed in a long white shirt and a white sash wrapped around the waist. In the rare occasion that the Maiba or any other man become possessed by the lai while dancing, he will be dressed in the clothes of a Maibis, instead of a Maiba.169 This is because it is believed that the lais prefer to be served by women rather than men. The dancers wore a small skull-cup of black cloth or velvet, with a narrow band of pearl trimming at the edge. Their jackets are also made of similar cloth or velvet with gold

167 NB.CK, 39. This is translated in SP.CK, Vol. 1, 97 as “In the month of Sachipu (sic) (March/April), Ningthem (king) gave Naoroipam Chaopi to lai Kasa in marriage.”

168 The marriages of Maibis’ to lais and Bhāgyacandra’s daughter’s to Krishna were not like those of devadasīs (temple courtesans) who were dedicated to deities in some South Indian temples. Maibis did not perform the role of temple prostitutes, as devadasīs sometimes did.

169 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 13.

95 trimmings.170 Velvet cloth with trimmings at the edge are also used by the dancers in rāslīlās.

The above-mentioned practices offer a window into the underlying logics that were a part of the Meitei habitus. These logics include the Meitei understanding of the body as metaphor in their cosmology and rituals, their approach to divine romantic love, their emphasis on the fertility rites, and their tendency to dramatically re-enact sacred episodes. In Chapter 6, I will discuss in greater detail how notions of embodiment and the sacred, as well as specific Meitei rituals, especially the Lai Haraoba were adopted in the rāslīlās. In Chapters 3 and 4, I will describe how religious landscape of Manipur changed with the conversion of Manipuri kings to Vaiṣṇava traditions. These changes which include the Hinduization of Meitei festivals, and a fusion of Meitei and Vaiṣṇava ritual practices set the context in which the Manipuri rāslīlās were constructed. However, before venturing into this history, special mention must be made of the acts and significant events during the reign of some of the kings of Manipur before the Vaiṣṇava period that had an impact on the structure of the rāslīlās.

Contribution of Early Kings to Manipuri Rāslīlās

Earlier in this chapter, I cautioned about the historical veracity of the section of the CK before the 15th century. Regardless of the historicity of the dates of that section, the entries could offer important clues to the cultural attributes and religious preoccupations of the Meiteis. Hence, I reproduce parts of this section to provide a general overview of early political and aesthetic developments that may have contributed to the rāslīlās.

170 Hodson, The Meitheis, 16.

96 Political developments

The first mytho-historical king of the Ningthouja dynasty, Nongtalai Pakhangba (r.

33 - 154 CE according to CK), not to be confused with the lai Pakhangba, was regarded as divine.171 Bhagyachandra Singh172 argued that because Nongtalai had the ability to unify small groups of people in the land, and was perceived to possess the divine qualities of the earlier lai Pakhanga, he was taken to be an incarnation of the lai and venerated by later generations. According to him, Pakhangba is not a person but a title, and there were many personalities who assumed the title of Pakhangba and were venerated as the lai Pakhanga.173 Thus, Meitei kings had an early association with divinity that continued during the Vaiṣṇava period. Another king, Khagemba (r. 1597-

1652) introduced the system of bowing down to the king that could have been adopted from practices in Indian kingdoms. He was addressed by the title Lainingthou (god-king) indicating that that the Meitei king was regarded as divine.

The CK shows that over the centuries, there was an increasing role of kings as patrons and authorities on public religious rituals. In the early 16th century, King

Koiremba (r. 1508 - 1512 CE) participated in a royal boat race.174 Later records in the

171 SP.CK, Vol. 1, 23-25 (33 CE): “After taking Laisna to be his (Pakhangba’s) wife and after staying together for a long time, as a lai by day and human by night, one night Laisna challenged him that his (Pakhangba’s) being a lai during the daytime meant that he had a lover.” NB.CK, 31 (33-154 CE): “He married Laisna and lived for a long time by transforming himself to God in the daytime and a human being in the night.”

172 L. Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, 55.

173 L. Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, 55.

174 NB.CK, 41 (1510):” Meidingu Koiremba participated in a royal boat race held in Hiyanngei (October- November).” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 47 (1510): “While Meetingu Koirempa was celebrating the Hiyankei boat race…”

97 CK show that this became an annual event usually held in November and Meitei kings would participate in it. After the advent of Vaiṣṇavism, the boat race would be dedicated to Krishna. By the mid-17th century, there were numerous accounts of Manipuri kings initiating and participating in public rituals like this, setting the scene for the rāslīlā to be inaugurated as a major state sponsored event in the late 18th century.

According to Bourdieu, agents are in multiple fields. They are rarely socialized in one single field; they often have a “cleft habitus.”175 Kings in Manipur were situated in a high position in both the political and religious fields. Bourdieu posits that depending on their position they occupy in the field, their ability to activate dispositions, and on specific social circumstances, these cleavages may lead them to occupy positions marked with conflicts or affirmations within the field.176 In both cases, there may be a rearticulation of doxa and the habitus over time lags. Both these situations were played out in Manipur, as I will show in the following chapters.

Aesthetic developments

There were indications of the early existence of music and dance in Manipur during the reign of Pakhangba’s son and successor, Meidingu Khuai Tompak (r. 154 CE

- 264 CE). The CK records that during his reign there were drums made of deer skin, tiger skin and cow skin.177 During this time, weaving improved. An undated Meitei manuscript Ningthou Phi Shabane (the making of the king’s royal cloth) says that woven

175 Bourdieu, Pascalian Meditations, 64.

176 Hilgers and Mangez, Introduction to Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Social Fields, 18.

177 NB.CK,, 31 (154-264 CE): “During his reign, the drum made of deer skin sounded like the voice of a deer, while that made using the skin of a tiger,…sounded like the voice of a tiger.” SP.CK, Vol. 1,, 25 (154 CE): “In his reign they stretched the skin of a deer to make the pung. When it was tried out, it produced the sound similar to the sound made by a deer. Then they stretched the skin of a tiger and it produced the sound similar to that made by a tiger.”

98 cloth made with patterns of Kabrang (mulberry silk) were used and dyed Kabrang threads were used to make patterns resembling the skin of the Lairen Hangkok (python or dragon) during the reign of Khuiyoi Tompak. The original text provided by Mutua

Bahadur, and his translation reads:

Lairen Mateng-ngu Khuyou Tampokta II Maitrem Laikoksu chairei phisahabana II Lairel halkok unyek tam II Tupi haina mami lakna II Langla langkhan tei II Kabrangja Chulangna II Lairel hayok mami louke II Haipaki II Loitam mera tha II …Puknung walphakphipu haona II Charei phisa tamye II Lairel haykok thok II Tupi yekpu yeksoita II Loitam thapum 7 suna II Charei phi sarakpaki sangting phiroi tam II Matairem khoriyan phisabana II Nauwa khoirel thangpu II Samu khutna paiyna II Punungphi koilen II Charei phimank kina II Phiroikiya

The faithful servant Laikoksu, the senior-most skillful weaver, visualizing the image of Lairen Hangkok, and adopting his skin pattern, wove a Kabrang cloth in the month of Mera (September - October) …weaving of the puknung walphak phi was also begun. Adopting the skin pattern of the python without making any error, the cloth was woven within seven months, the faithful servant Khoiyan, the weaver, carefully measured the length of cloth and holding “a Khoirel-thang” (a sharp knife used for cutting the umbilical chord of a newborn child) cut out the finished cloth. The weaving of the cloth was thus completed.178

These Lairen Hangkok pattern was adopted in the circular border design used in the Manipuri phanek (womens’ ankle-length striped skirt wrapped around the waist) as well as in the skirts of the dancers playing the role of the Gopīs (cowherd maiden) in the rāslīlās. Later during Yanglon Keiphaba’s reign (r. 969 − 984 CE), the Khoi Mayek

(curved) pattern, also typical in the border of a phanek, was introduced179 and in 1591

CE, the spinning of fine thread started.180

178 Mutua Bahadur, Traditional Textiles of Manipur (Imphal: Mutua Museum, 1997), 10.

179 NB.CK, 34 (969–984 CE): “He introduced embroidery of the “Khoi” (hook design) to the women’s phanek phiban.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 31 (969 CE): “Also the embroidering of the phanek all along its border with khoi curved patterns was introduced.”

180 NB.CK, 49 (1591): “The spinning of fine thread was started.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 65 (1591): “The spinning of fine thread commenced at that time.”

99 Later, King Khagemba (r. 1597-1652) was credited with introducing the wearing of a headdress called Kokyet that would be later be worn by men participating in the naṭa saṅkīrtan181 and the wearing of feathers in a silver clasp. 182 The feathers were replaced by paper strips worn on the crown of the actor playing Krishna in the rāslīlās. It was also during his reign that writing of the Meitei script was introduced, several Meitei books and puyas were written,183 and temples for lais were constructed.184

Besides developments in embroidery and costume, there were other aesthetic developments related to building a sacred body for the rāslīlās. In the 11th century, King

Loyumba (r.1074 − 1122 CE) introduced the lallup system, a form of conscript system to recruit fighters for his battles against neighboring kings who had failed to pay tributes.185

Later King Pamheiba (r. 1709 − 1748 CE) modified the lallup system to dictate that all males had to engage military service to the royal family for ten days every forty days, in return for land which was leased out.186 In the 19th century, British political agent James

181 NB.CK, 51 (1606): “He also established…the system of preparing and wearing a particular type of koyet and wearing of lengkhangpaklet.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 70 (1606): “Decorating with flowers over the shoulder and the wearing of fashionable male headdress also started from this period.”

182 NB.CK, 53 (1615): “The use of decorations made of silver duly designed in the form of a rare bird of Manipur called Langei was also introduced.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 74 (1615): “They also began to wear feathers of Langmei (a species of bird found in Manipur), in a silver clasp from that time.”

183 NB.CK, 53 (1616): “As ordered by Meidingu Khagemba, lots of Meitei books in Meitei script were published. Accordingly reading and writing were started in 1538 Saka…” SP.CK 75 (1616): “Meetingu Khakempa ordered them to produce more Meetei books and reading and writing began to be taught on a wider scale.”

184 NB.CK, 53 (1617): “A new temple for worshipping Lai was constructed at Wangon in 1539 Saka.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 75 (1617): “A shrine for the Lai was built in Wangkon.”

185 NB.CK, 34 (1074CE): “During his reign, Gods and men attended the Lallup together, and Gods disappeared but the men emerged victorious. The country was divided into six panas (administrative divisions).” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 31 (1074 CE): “In his reign the humans overpowered the lais, whereas before, the humans and lais were serving together in the Lanlup. The lais disappeared. The humans took over the control of the land and the land was divided into six panas (or divisions) and they all served in the panas.”

186 NB.CK, 92 (1727): “The people had to work for 3 lallups on account of heavey pressure of works.”

100 Johnstone (1877-1878) observed that the lallup system also allowed for public works, such as construction to be carried out, which otherwise would have been an expensive affair for commoners.187

As part of their service to the state during lallup, men were trained in martial arts.

This enabled large numbers of Manipuri men to familiarize themselves with an indigenous form of martial arts involving swords and spears. Thus, the kings imposed a discipline on the bodies of his subjects, which produced an embodied habitus in generations of Manipuri men. The martial arts, commonly called Thang (sword)-ta

(spear), would later have a significant role in the choreography of hand gestures and feet movement in the rāslīlā performances. Specifically, aspects of the nupa-jagoi of the rāslīlās, which refers to the more vigorous movements associated with masculinity, were adapted from the Manipuri martial arts. The nupa-jagoi is parallel to the tāṇḍava form in the Indian classical dance, Bharata Natyam. Particularly, the sitting, jumping, spinning, and leaping movements of Krishna bear resemblance to Thang-ta postures.

While I was in Manipur, I attended weekly martial arts classes taught by a well- known guru, Ranjeet Chingtham, conducted in the courtyard of his home. The association between Thang-ta and Meitei religion was apparent when I was told that I could only begin lessons after a ritual initiation, which involved offering incense and fruits to the Meitei god of fighting, Huyel Lalleima, and a gift of cloth to the guru. My

SP.CK, Vol. 1, 135 (1727): “Lanlup were to report in three groups.”

NB.CK, 93 (1729): “The whole country was divided into 4 panas and the people were asked to discharge the duties of lallup by two groups on Tuesday, 7.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 137 (1729): “Tuesday, the whole country was divided into four panas and the people (males) were made to report in two groups for Lanlup.”

187 Johnstone, My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills, 13.

101 classes involved intense warm-up exercises which stretched the muscles that lasted an hour, as well as breathing exercises, stepping patterns, and jumps. In some sequences, the foot is lifted high as the knee or even the thigh of the other leg, while the hands twirl.

Ranjeet informed me that some of the postures were inspired by animal movements.

For example, a sword-fighting posture, in which the body leans forward with one leg stretched back and the other bent forward was inspired by the lion. The body metaphor that I referred to earlier is also present in Thang-ta. Pallandhabi, a sacred design which represents a star on the body of the earth, is traced out on the floor by steps along with the movements of the swords held in both hands.188 The upper point of the star is the head, the two right points are the right limbs, and the two left points are the left limbs. I was told that Thang-ta also involves war-dance movements that were incorporated in the naṭa saṅkīrtan and the nupa-jagoi of the rāslīlās. Ranjeet also showed me a particular drill which involved twirling sticks by moving the wrists in a curvy pattern that is used in all Manipuri dances, including the Gopīs’ hand gestures in the rāslīlās, called khujeng leibi.

This chapter sketched the religious and political contexts in which Vasinavism was introduced, highlighting the formative logics of the Meitei embodied habitus.These include a tendency to harmonize diverse traditions, worship through dance, the cosmic male-female principle, romantic stories involving gods, the body metaphor, the prominent role of women in dance and ritual, a martial tradition with a repertoire

188 Ray, "Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India," 142.

102 of physical movements in which the body has been disciplined, a hierarchical religious field and aesthetic innovations pertaining to designs and costumes.

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Figure 2-1. Panthoibi worship. Photographed by author with permission.

Figure 2-2. Maibis invoke the lais. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 2-3. The lais are represented in images. Photographed by author with permission.

Figure 2-4. Maibis lead the dancing procession. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 2-5. Hand gestures during the Lai Haraoba. Illustration courtesy of Emily Tessel.

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CHAPTER 3 EARLY HINDU CONTACT

Background

The development of the rāslīlā dances is linked with religious, political, and social changes in Manipur’s history. These transformations include migration, wars, and the changing religious inclinations of various kings. From Chapter 2, we know that the

Meitei religion shared concepts, such as the avatar theory, cyclical time periods, and creation stories, with what is commonly referred to as Hinduism today. It is not possible to say definitely if these concepts arose indigenously or were adopted from Hindu traditions. However, the similarity in beliefs paved the way for the acceptance of

Vaiṣṇavism in the 18th century. In this chapter, I will discuss the early-recorded interaction between other Indian states with Manipur that set the social, religious and political context in which the Manipuri rāslīlās emerged and developed. I will provide a brief overview of Indian migrant and trade links with Manipur from the 7th century to the

16th century CE to show the gradual effects on the religious and social fields. I will pay particular attention to the acts of Manipuri kings, especially Garibniwaz (r. 1720 - 1751), who was the most influential in propagating Vaiṣṇavism to the masses.

Besides the CK, other sources I used include the Sanamahi Laikan (SL)1 which contains stories of Manipuri kings’ accomplishments. It was written during the reign of

Garibniwaz (r. 1709 - 1748) by Luwang Ningthou Punshiba, who was a feudatory chief of the Meiteis in manuscript form and published in 1973 by O. Bhogeswar Singh. I also referred to the Bamon Khunthoklon (BK), a register of migrants, especially Brahmins

1 Bhogeswar Singh, Sanamahi Laikan (Imphal: Amar Publications, 1973)Bhogeswar Singh, ed. Sanamahi Laikan (Imphal: Laisram Lalit Singh, 1973).

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coming to Manipur from the 15th century onwards during the reign of Kyamba. Bamon is a corrupted form of “Brahmin” and the title of the text means “the migration of the

Brahmins.” The BK provides a list of various names of Indian migrants to Manipur, their place of origin, their wives’ name, and the dates and reigns of the settlements from the

15th century. The earliest recorded Brahmin settlement in the BK arrived in Manipur during the reign of King Kyamba (r. 1467 − 1508 CE) and the last came during that of

Churachand Singh (1891 - 1941 CE). However, it was unlikely that many of the migrants were Brahmins. They were probably accorded the status of a Brahmin later on, during the reign of Garibaniwaz in the 18th century. The Ms version of the BK was kept by the Manipuri Sahitya Parishad. I obtained a printed copy of the BK in Meitei language in Bengali script from Manipur State Archives.2

I also refer to the Bijoy Panchali (BP, three volumes) also known as Meitei Puran, which is a state-sponsored construction of the history of Manipuri kings that connected the state to an ancient puranic past and the Manipur of the Mahābhārata. The first volume, Garibniwaz charit (history of Garibniwaz)3, as recorded by the CK, was written in Bengali language by court historians Kritichandra and Hanjaba Tulsi Narayan during the reign of Bhāgyacandra in 1782.4 The second volume, Bhāgyacandra Charit (history of Bhāgyacandra) was initially written down at an unknown date but was published by a

2 BK. Bamon Khunthoklon, Bamonsingi Haurakpham Wari (Imphal: Namthokcaba Yek Salai Press, 2015)..

33 BP.Vol. 1."Manipur Itihas Bijoy Panchali Garibniwaz Charit," ed. Laishram Mangi Singh and Longjam Mani Singh (Imphal: Mahabharat Press, 1966).

4 NB.CK, 126 (1782): “Ibungshi Mantri, Kritichandra and Lairikyengba Hanjaba Tulsi Narayan completed the writing of a book called ‘Bijay Panchali’ of Meidingu Mayamba on Monday, the 15th.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 16 (1782): “Full moon Monday, Yipungsi the Mantri, Yipungo Kritichantram Lairikyengpa the Hanjapa and Tulasi Narayan, these three completed the compilation of the biography of Meetengu Mayang Ngampa (Garibniwaz), the conqueror of the Mayangs.”

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Dina Gunendra in 1934 in Bengali, and re-published by Laishram Mangi Singh and

Longjam Mani Singh.5 The third volume, which I do not use here contains descriptions of the activities of subsequent kings. Laishram Mangi Singh and Longjam Mani Singh published all three volumes providing the original Bengali text along with Manipuri translations. I use their publication. While it is not possible to say with certainty if the BP can be considered a historical document, the CK verified its accuracy in 1923, in an entry which stated that a visiting sannyasi (monk) named Saraswati Goswami upon hearing the BP, claimed that because its contents were similar to records maintained by five Manipuri scholars, it must be true. 6 Although the historical value of the BP is questionable, it provides useful material which may provide additional information on cases which are supported by the CK.

Names of Manipur

I begin with a brief survey of Manipur’s names to indicate the diverse ways in which it was known by other states around the region. This reflects its historical and its cultural linkages with various nearby states. Historical records show that its current nomenclature “Manipur” was used from the 18th century. Prior to that, it was known by a number of different names. Some folklores refer to it as Sanaleipak, meaning land

(leipak) of gold (sana). The puyas claim that it was known by different names during different epochs (chaks). These include Tillikoktong Ahāba during the early Hayi Chak,

5 BP. Vol. 2. "Manipur Itihas Bijoy Panchali Bhagyachandra Charit." edited by Laishram Mangi Singh and Longjam Mani Singh. (Imphal: Mahabharat Press, 1966)

6 NB.CK, 441 (1923): “Shri Sarasbati Goswami, the Sanyasi, further asserted that the records maintained in Shri Bijoy Panchali were similar with the records referred to by 5 persons namely Shri Phurailatpam Atombapu Sharma, Shri Ayekpa Anggo Shelunba, Shri Shougaijam Sanajaoba, and Shri Wahengba Yumjao Babu.”

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Mira-Pongthoklam in the Haya chak, Kanglei-Pungmayol in the Konna (Langba) chak, and Kangleipak,7 and Meitrapak in the current chak.8 In the mid 19th century, R. Brown observed that the Manipuris often referred to their own valley as Meiteileipak.9 Manipur’s neighboring states called it by different names indicated they had some form of relationship with the state. The Shans10 or the tribes east of the Chindwin River of

Burma called it “Ka-thai,” which means a broken group of the Tai people11 or “Cassey.”12

Following this, Burmese called it “Kathe”, a corruption of that word. The Chinese referred to it as Hsiao Po-lo-mein.13

From the beginning of the 18th century, the Ahoms in Assam14 referred to it by names such as “Makeli”, “Meklee” and “Moglai”, and Bengalis and Cacharis as

“Moglie.”15 These names were derived from the mekhala (waist girdle) of the Hindu goddess Durga. In a number of purāṇas including the fourth book of the Bhāgavata

Purāṇa, the story of the immolation of Sati is described. Briefly, when Durga or Sati,

7 The name was derived from Kangla, which was once the capital of the Meitei kingdom.

8 Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, i.

9 Brown, Statistical Account of Manipur, 2.

10 According to Brown (Statistical Account of Manipur, 58), the Shan kingdom of Pong was of considerable importance around the 8th century, and enveloped the whole country between Ava and Assam.

11 Mutua Bahadur, Manipuri in Myanmar. http://e- pao.net/epSuBhPageExtractor.asp?src=manipur.Arts_and_Culture.Mutua_Bahadur_Art_Collection.Manip uri_in_Myanmar_1 . Accessed on December 27, 2017.

12 Naorem Naokhomba Singh, "Religious Syncretism among the Meiteis," International Research Journal of Social Sciences 4, no. 8 (2015): 19.

13 Hodson, The Meitheis, 1.

14 The Ahoms are Shan people who entered Assam from the east and ruled much of the region from the 13th to 18th centuries (See Hugh Urban, "Assam and the Eastern Stattes.")

15 Pemberton, Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India, 19.

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Siva’s wife, had immolated herself due to a dispute with her father, Viṣṇu dismembered her body parts which fell into different places on the earth. These became Śāktapīṭhas, seats of the goddess’ energy and a network of places of pilgrimage, visited by her devotees and tantrics for acquiring power. Assam, in particular is the core of the

Śāktapīṭhas as her yoni fell there.16

Nilakanta Singh claimed that there was a tantric belt from Kashmir to Assam passing through Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, and Bengal and that Manipur could have also been in this belt.17 The name Makeli and other closely related ones may have been given due to this association. This name was depicted in coins issued during the reign of Garibniwaz (1709-48) that described the King as “Mekhleswar” (lord of Mekhala).18

According to historian Jyotirmoy Roy, the story of the mythical origins of how Manipur got a name related to mekhala is described in a Sanskrit work, the Dharani Samhita composed during the reign of Gambhir Singh (r. 1825 - 1834).19 According to this story,

Durga’s torso along with her waist girdle fell in the valley and thus the land became associated with her mekhala.20

16 Since at least the 8th century, Assam, formerly known as Kāmarūpa was revered as one of the most important Śāktapī because this is believed to be where Śiva had burned Kāma, the god of sexual desire to ashes, and restored his body again (Kālikāpurāṇa (10-11th century)

17 Singh E. Nilakanta, Aspects of Indian Culture (Imphal: Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, 1982), 76; Sharma, "The Meitei Puyas: Categories and Classification."

18 Gangmumei Kabui, "Social and Religious Reform Movement in Manipur in the 19th and 20th Centuries," JNU Bulletin (1975): 36; P. Gunindro Singh, "Coins of Manipur," in Bulletiin of Mutua Museum, ed. O. Ibochouba Singh (Imphal: 1982).

19Jyotirmoy Roy, History of Manipur, 2nd ed. (Calcutta: Eastlight Book House, 1973). The Dharani Samhita is out of print and no longer available in Manipur. I was unable to obtain the original text in Manipur despite my best efforts.

20 Kabui, History of Manipur, 2.

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According to the SL, in the early 18th century, the name “Manipur” was officially introduced during the reign of Garibniwaz.21 A few decades later, it replaced Makeli as evidenced by coins issued by Bhāgyacandra which referred to the king as

“Manipureshwar” (lord of Manipur).22 The name is associated with a number of Sanskrit purāṇas and itihāsas (epics) like the Mahābhārata, which also mention “Manipur”.23 S.K.

Chatterjee described the mythological origins of the name of Manipur as follows:24

Śiva and his wife Uma were acting as guards of the arena of the rās dance. They heard the music the accompanying the dance and wished to witness it. But Krishna did not permit it. He suggested that Śiva and Uma find another suitable place where they could perform they rāsa dance themselves. Seeking out such a place, they came to Manipur valley and found Koubrou hill to be suitable. The gods descended with various musical instruments. The snake god Vāsuki illuminated the settings with a dazzling diamond jewel (mani) thrown from his hood. The dance went on for seven days and seven nights. From this incident, the land got its name, and thus the valley became to be known as “Manipur” (city of the gem).

Another story based on Hodson’s interviews of Manipuris, claimed that the country was formerly named Mahendrapur, but Babhruvāhana, the son born of the characters in the Mahābhārata, Arjuna and Chitrāngada, acquired a jewel that formerly belonged to a Nāga Raja, or serpent king, and changed it to Manipur.25

21 Bhogeswar Singh, ed. Sanamahi Laikan.SL. 50: leibak mamingthongdi manipura loimayena hayna mingthonase. “The land’s name should be Manipur” (My translation).

22 P. Gunindro "Coins of Manipur.", 62.

23 See N.N. Acharya, "New Light of the Sources of History of Manipur and Adjoining Areas," in Sources of the History of Manipur, ed. S.N. Pandey (New Delhi: National Publishing House, 1985), 19. He provided a list of references including Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, tantra literatures such as Kāmākhya tantra, and Rudra Yāmala, where Manipur is mentioned. The Mahābhārata Ādiparvan (Book 1, Chapter 207, 13 -23) describes Arjuna’s visit to Manipur, and in the Āśvamedhikaparvan (Book 14, Chapter 40) the son born of Arjuna and Chitrangada, Babhruvāhana is referred to as the king of Manipura.

24 Chatterjee, Kirata Jana Kriti (Contribution of the Indo Mongloid People to Indian Culture), 145-46.

25 Callan, The Meitheis., 7.

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Eager to attain the prestige of being associated with Hindu antiquity to form political alliances with neighbouring Hindu states like Assam, Manipuri Vaiṣṇavas identified their state with the Manipur mentioned in Hindu texts. For example, assuming the Mahābhārata to be historical, M. Kirti Singh,26 a Manipuri historian suggested

“Manipur as a part of India was of immemorial antiquity. The extent of the country is different, but the country remains the same. The route by which Arjuna came to Manipur must be the course of the Surma or Barak River. This was the only hill route connecting

Manipur Valley with Surma Valley til the opening of the Imphal-Dimapur Road in the 20th century.” Such claims were disputed by British colonial works on Manipur, and, from the mid 20th century, by Manipuri scholars motivated with an agenda of reviving Manipur’s pre-Hindu identity. In any case, what is clear is that reconstructions of Manipur’s history were conducted in parallel with other efforts to introduce Vaiṣṇavism, such as the rāslīlās. Historical reconstruction, artistic expression, ritual worship and textual production fed off each other in the religious field.

Debates about textual references and naming conventions aside, the facial features of several Manipuris I met indicate a mix of Sino and Indian features. Colonial observers like Johnstone, and Brown,27 discerned certain “Aryan” features in the

Meiteis. Johnstone speculated “the Manipuris themselves are a fine stalwart race descended from an Indo-Chinese stock, with some admixture of Aryan blood, derived from the successive waves of Aryan invaders that have passed through the valley in

26 M. Kirti Singh, Religious Developments in Manipur in the 18th and 19th Centuries (Imphal: Manipur State Kala Academi, 1980).

27 Brown, Statistical Account of Manipur, 28-29.

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prehistoric days.”28 Brown wrote that “although the general facial characteristics of the

Munniporie (sic) are of the Mongolian type, there is a great diversity of features among them, some of them showing a regularity approaching the Aryan type.”29 These observations call for an examination of migration patterns into Manipur.

Trade, Migration, and Early Religious Contact

Over 200 BCE-100 CE, Indo-Aryan speaking peoples arrived in northeastern

India along the Brahmaputra Valley and came into contact with autochthonous religious traditions.30 Specifically, the spread of Indian religious traditions to Manipur was closely linked to trade networks such as the Silk Road. The Silk Road is a famous network of roads that connected Central Asia and Persia with China, and branched into parts of northeast India such as Assam and Manipur. In light of prevalent patterns of trade and cultural exchanges between the northeast region and other parts of India, it is probable that Indian religions had already entered Manipur in the early centuries of the Common

Era. Evidence to support this thesis can be found in coins dated to the 2nd century bearing Devanagari script found in Manipur.31

Further, Roy cited an undated text called the Poireiton Khunthok, which made references to the settlement of a group of people from outside of Manipur. 32 This text

28 Johnstone, My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills, 98.

29 Brown, Statistical Account of Manipur, 28-29.

30 Paolo Eugenio Rosati, "The Cross-Cultural Kingship in Early Medieval K," Religions 8, no. 212 (2017): 3.

31 Shobhana L. Chelliah, A Grammar of Meithei (Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1997).

32 J. Roy, "Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Bengal," in Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur, Assam and Bengal, ed. H. Ranbir Singh (Imphal: Manipur Sahitya Parishad, 1986).

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describes an outsider named Poireiton lighting up the sacred fire in Manipur, and his descendants establishing villages where they used the fire that was lit up.33 Roy opined that the word “Poireiton” is a modification of the Sanskrit word “Purohit” which refers to a

Brahmin priest who performs fire sacrifices.34 I should also mention the Bishnupriya community in Manipur which would later be very involved in the Manipuri Vaiṣṇava performances. Although they are culturally Manipuri, they speak a language that has a

Kamrupi dialect with Sanskrit influences, indicating that they had originated from

Assam.35 Their origins and time of migration are still debated in Manipur, but they claim to have settled in Manipur before the Common Era, and were later associated with

Vaiṣṇava practices around the 17th century.

Some scholars have proposed that the earliest recorded date for the spread of

Indian religious traditions in Manipur is between the 7th to 8th centuries. 36 They claim that Śākta and tantric traditions from Bengal and Assam led the way. 37 This view originated from a pair of plates excavated by archaeologist by Yumjao Singh in 1935.

They are commonly referred to as the “Phayeng copper plates.” The plates contain

Sanskrit injunctions written using archaic Manipuri script encouraging the worship of

33 There is also mention of a second Poireton who again lit up the sacrificial fire at Andro in the same text cited by Roy ("Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Bengal”).

34 Roy, “Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Bengal,” 59.

35 Birendranath Datta, "Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Assam," in Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur, Assam and Bengal, ed. H. Ranbir Singh (Imphal: Manipyru Sahitya Parishad, 1986).

36 M. Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur, 44.

37 Assam (Kāmarūpa) at that time was ruled by the Varman dynasty (4th-7th century) which incorporated several Vedic, Brahmanic and hetereodox traditions. See Hugh Urban, "Assam and the Eastern States," in Brill’s Encylcopedia of Hinduism, ed. Knut A. Jacobsen, et al. (2011). It had several tribes that worshipped a variety of powerful goddesses that influenced Şakta traditions.

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Śiva, Durga and Ganeṣa, with King Kongtekcha (r. 763-773 CE) as its putative author. A section from the plates translated by Yumjao Singh reads:

Shri Hari, in the year 712 saka, King Khongteckcha, after his ascension to the throne obtained an ancient manuscript through the grace of God as a reward for his devotion to him…. I, the king, according to the injunction of this manuscript worshipped Śiva and Durga for a long time and through their grace received a stone that would make man immortal and not liable to disease.38

However, using the Phayeng copper plate as evidence for the early worship of gods from the puranic pantheon is controversial. Yumjao Singh examined the plates and the shape of the characters and concluded that it could not have been much older than a century.39 A clue to the actual dating of the plates may be found in dates mentioned in the plates themselves; they predicted that there will be a great calamity in the saka year

1790 (1868 CE), upon which the Hindu god Ganeṣa will incarnate himself to deliver the land. This date corresponds to the reign of Chandrakirti (r. 1850 - 1886) that was marked by numerous attempts on the throne and by political unrest. Parratt, therefore, argued the plates are not a prophecy but a post event; the date of composition must have been just prior to 1868. 40 The plates were probably written to support the divine kingship of one of the several claimants to the throne during this troubled period.

Assuming Parratt’s arguments to be true, any significant Indian religious influence on

Manipur’s society and politics has to be dated later.

This is in contradistinction with neighboring Assam, where like most of the other parts of India, local female deities were absorbed into the Hindu pantheon. Around the

38 Translated by Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 105.

39 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 108.

40 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 109.

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9th century, the ancient tribal goddess Kāmākhya was absorbed within Hindu religious folds through cross-cultural processes involving tribal traditions, and orthodox as well as hetereodox Hindu sects, to become the royal tutelary deity of Kāmarūpa.41 Assamese kings strengthed their political power through the myth of Kāmākhya42 and Śākta-tantric rituals and symbols associated with her.43 This is also consistent with other periods of history in South Asia, during which Śākta-tantra systems were used as a vehicle to spread political and religious ideas.44

Based on their close proximity, it could be argued that some of the Meitei religious ideas and practices discussed in Chapter 2, especially the dominance of the body metaphor in ritual and thought, were influenced by Śākta-tantra traditions which had already infiltrated Assam from at least the 8th century.45 This is, however, debatable for want of direct evidence. It is only much later, from the early 18th century, during the reign of Garibniwaz that more pronounced associations with Śākta-tantra traditions emerge. In one instance, a Meitei temple of the goddess Hiyangthang Leirembi, built in the 15th century, had absorbed the practice of observing Durga pūjā in the 1720s. In

41 Kāmarūpa comprises the modern states of Assam, Meghalaya, the village of Koch Bihar of West Bengal and parts of Arunachal Pradesh. See Paolo Eugenio Rosati, "The Cross-Cultural Kingship in Early Medieval kāmarūpa," Religions 8, no. 212 (2017).

42 The Kālikāpurāṇa (11th century) describes the myth of how the cult of the tribal goddess Kāmākhya was absorbed and continued by the mytho-historical king, Naraka. See Biswanarayan Shastri, "Kālikāpurāṇa: Sanskrit Text with English Translation," (Delhi: Nag Publishers, 2008; reprint, 2nd).

43 Rosati, "The Cross-Cultural Kingship in Early Medieval kāmarūpa," 5.

44 See Charles Orzech, Politics and Transcendent Wisdom: The Scipture of the Human Kings in the Creation of Chinese Buddhism (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998). and Hugh B. Urban, The Power of Tantra: Religious, Sexuality and the Politics of South Asian Studies, 2nd ed. (New York: I. B. Tauris, 2010).

45 Studies which discuss the prevalence of the body as a metaphor in tantric traditions include David White, The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996).; and Flood, The Tantric Body: The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion.

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Chapter 2, I described my observance of the Panthoibi pūjā, which coincided with the time for Durga pūjā but comprised of indigenous ritual praxis. Other examples of Śākta influence include the previously mentioned naming of the state as “Makeli” in the early

18th century, the construction of a temple of Kālikā in 1707, and an installation of a mūrti of Kāli during the consecration of a tank in 1726.

It seems that before the 18th century, despite centuries of trade networks and migration, local deities and indigeneous religions maintained their political dominance over Manipur, while Śākta and other Hindu traditions had negligible sociopolitical effects on the state. This could be due to a combination of two reasons. First, Manipur already had a prominent goddess cult through Panthoibi and other female lais, which countered the appeal of external goddess cults. Second, before the 16th century, Manipur was mainly preoccupied with inter-tribal wars within the valley as opposed to wars with neighbouring states. As such, there was no necessity to enter into religio-political alliances with foreign states.

The first recorded Vaiṣṇava contact with Manipur is found in an undated text called the Chingurembi Khonglup (The Companions of Chingurembi), which indicated that a matrimonial alliance brought migrants to the state in the 12th century.46 According to Parratt’s reading of the text, a Meitei king who reigned in the 12th century married a mayang princess from the West. The term mayang was used to describe descendants of Hindu migrants from the West and who were captured by Manipuris during battle.47

46 I could not get access to the text. But Parratt (The Religion of Manipur, 103) cites it. It should be noted that the Chingurembi Khonglup cannot be taken at face value because its date of composition has yet to be established

47 Brown, Statistical Account of Manipur, 14. Indians in Manipur are still colloquially called “Mayang” today.

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The text goes on to list ten persons who had been in her entourage. Some of the names in the list, such as Rām Naral, Tulsi Rām, and Hari, clearly indicate Indian, and specifically Vaiṣṇava names. However, the CK does not say anything about them, leading Parratt to assume that influences from the Indian sub-continent were negligible.48

Between the 14th and16th centuries, there is more evidence in the CK and BK of interactions between Manipuris and people from other states, especially Bengal, Assam and Cachar, in the form of matrimonial alliances and trade routes. Although it is difficult to make assumptions about the religious impact of such singular migrations, we can infer that relations between these states and Manipur were friendly enough for the road travel and trade between the states. I will not discuss them in detail because there is no recorded religious impact of those interactions. It suffices to say that some Hindu religious ideas and practices could have infiltrated Manipur in this period, although the absence of documented evidence on the worship of Indian gods before this period makes it difficult to come to a conclusion about the extent of Indian religious influence.

The first recorded performance of Vaiṣṇava rituals took place in the late 15th

Century. In 1474, the Shan King of Pong ( a region along the frontier between Myanmar and Assam), Tsawba Khekkhomba, after forging a friendship with King Kyamba (r. 1467

− 1508 CE), presented him with a mūrti of Viṣnu riding on the back of his eagle carrier,

Garuḍa, and holding his paraphernalia such as the lotus flower.49 The traditional story goes that once the King fell sick and no physician could treat him. He consulted the

48 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 104.

49 Samon Tejbanta, "Politics of Religion: A Study from Bhagyachandra to Chandrakirti" (paper presented at the Proceedings of the Manipur Historical Society, Standard College, Kongba, 2015).

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Maibis who through their oracles advised him that he could be cured if he worshipped that image of Viṣnu.50 Brahmins were employed to carry out the worship and the king was apparently cured. Thereafter, regular worship of Viṣnu began in the palace of the king, and a temple was built in the palace district at Lamangdong. Subsequently, that place came to be known as Biṣnupur, named after Viṣnu.

According to K. Mahaveda Singh,51 the descendants of a community of Brahmins there claim that their ancestors began worshipping that image with saṅkīrtan, which included singing devotional songs such as the Viṣnu Sahasranāma found in the

Anushasana Parva of the Mahābhārata, accompanied with drums and cymbals.

However, if these claims are authentic, this would be the first instance of Vaiṣṇava saṅkīrtan, a prelude to naṭa saṅkīrtan which would be performed in conjunction with the rāslīlās and would become a central feature of life passage rituals in Manipur. The

Brahmins who worshipped Viṣnu came to be known as Phurailatpams, which is derived from “Phra,” meaning supreme god in Shan language, spoken by the Pongs of

Myanmar.52 Most likely they were from the Bishnupriya community, as they had already settled in Bishnupur. Despite the implementation of Vaiṣṇava practices, there was no evidence, however, that the King himself was formally initiated into Vaiṣṇavism.

The Vaiṣṇava culture of Manipur associated with worship of Krishna, and which eventually produced the rāslīlās had begun through migration of traveling Brahmins and merchants from the 16th century CE. Manipuri scholar Thoiba Singh claimed that

50 Bandopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications, 54.

51 Khwairakpam Mahaveda Singh, "Different Forms of Sankirtan in India and Their Status: A Historical Perspective," in Facets of Manipuri Culture, ed. Thoiba Singh (2011).

52 Bandopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications, 54.

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Brahmins from Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, and Śākta traditions, as well as Buddhists fled from

Muslim invasions and migrated to northeastern regions of India that includes Manipur.53

While it is difficult to ascertain if the migrants were in fact fleeing from Muslim invaders, or if they were actually Brahmins,54 the increased inflow of people of associated with

Hindu traditions is confirmed by the CK and the BK.

During this period, networks between Manipur and Assam were enhanced, as

King Kabamba (r. 1524 - 1542) built a road connecting the two states.55 This road brought migrants from Takhel (Tripura), Gujarat, Tekhao (Assam), Nadia (a part of West

Bengal), Kanpur, Kannauj in in Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal.56 From their names (such as

Sītārām, Subhi Narayan, Rangācharan, Raghunāth Dās, Dāmodar, Govinda Giri), we can infer that many of them were Vaiṣṇavas and the states they were from were associated with worship of Krishna and Rāma. A number of them intermarried with

Meitei women. Matrimonial alliances were also established among the royals, as

Manipuri kings married Ahom princesses and vice versa. For instance, King

Swarganarayana (1497-1539) from Assam had given an Ahom princess in marriage to

Kabamba.57

53 Thoiba Singh, "Manipuri Nata, Sankirtana: Origin, Perspectives and Prospects." 51.

54 BK 2, no. 6: Takhendagi lakpa doom patinigi Ganggaramana sekta kei chanu maimubi panaduna magi aidi sijagurumayumne. “Doom Patini Ganggaraman from Takhel (Tripura) and his wife Sekta Kei Chanu Maimubi were grouped with Sija Gurumayum.” According to the commentary by the Kangleipak Historical and Cultural Research Centre 2013, 5 “Doom” refers to fisherman.

55 NB.CK, 43 (1536): “In 1458 Saka, the year of Leichon Konga Lolu Manba, a road to Tekhao (Assam) was constructed.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 52 (1536): “The road to Tekhao was opened.”

56 These were the states of origin mentioned in the BK.

57 Datta, Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Assam, 5.

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However, Parratt claimed that Vaiṣṇava influence in the 16th century during the reigns of kings like Lam Kyamba (r. 1512 − 1523), Kabamba (r. 1524 - 1542), Chalamba

(r. 1544- 1561), Muangba (r. 1561-1579), and Khagemba (r. 1597 - 1652) was negligible.58 She pointed to the large number of animal sacrifices offered to the lais and other activities, such as wine festivals generally discouraged by Vaiṣṇava traditions, to support the view they were not influenced by Vaiṣṇavism.59 Moreover, there were no explicit references in the chronicles to the worship of any Hindu gods during their reigns.

Despite this, during the reign of Khagemba, the CK shows that some practices that may have been borrowed from Hindu kingdoms were established in the political and social fields. First, a number of measures were introduced that enhanced the position of the king, including transporting him on a palanquin, building of storied houses for him, bowing down before him, and addressing him as “Lainingthou”

(sovereign king).60 Second, cremation of the dead, practiced by Hindus, became more popular at this time.61 Third, it is recorded in the CK that a “yogi” had married Chakpram

Chanu.62 The yogi was probably a migrant, but we see an Indian term of reference being used for the first time. K. Mahaveda Singh claimed that the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (BhP)

58 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 130.

59 For instance, it is recorded in the NB.CK, 52 (1613) that “Khagemba arranged a grand drinking party for the Maibas.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 73 (1613) “Khakempa drank a toast of yu (wine) with the Maiba.”

60 NB.CK, 51 (1608): “Meidingu Khagemba was known as ‘Laiyingthou’ from that time. He also introduced the social custom of bowing down to the king and those who observed this were rewarded with wealth.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 72 (1608): “They also started to address Meetingu Khakempa as Laiyingthou at this time. They also introduced the custom of kneeling down before him at this time.”

61 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 131

62 NB.CK, 54 (1628): “A jogi arrived and married Chakpram Chanu.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 78 (1628): “Jogi also arrived. A maiden from the Chakpa area was arranged to be married to the Jogi.”

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was introduced to the palace during his reign.63 Later with the influence of Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇavism, five chapters of the tenth book of BhP known as rāsa panchādhyāyīi would inform the lyrics and theme of first Manipuri rāslīlā, the Mahārās.

Pockets of migration from places such as Nadia, Prayag, and Tripura continued during the reign of the next king and his nephew Paikhomba (r. 1666-1697 CE).64 Nadia and Prayag were by that period influenced by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism and given some of the names of the migrants (Jai Krishna, Subal, Balaram, Mukunda Giri), there is a high probability that they were Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.65 The CK records that in 1661-2, three men were sent to Cachar and Assam to collect information.66 The CK does not tell us exactly what that information was, but along with mutual ambassadorial visits that took place at that time, it is not unlikely that the Hindu religious ideas and traditions of Assam and Cachar could have also been imported to Manipur’s political elite.

Initiation of Kings

In this section, I will discuss the influence of the first two kings in Manipur’s history who accepted initiation in Vaiṣṇava sects.

Charairongba

Thus far, although structures of practice associated with Indian kingdoms had been inculcated by Manipuri kings, there were no records of them participating in any

Vaiṣṇava rituals. This pattern continued during the earlier part of Paikhomba’s brother,

63 K. Mahaveda Singh, "Different Forms of Sankirtan in India and Their Status: A Historical Perspective."

64 BK 7-9.

65 BK 4 -12.

66 NB.CK, 60 (1661): “In the month of Lamda (March), Chingshong, Laitonjamba and Monting were sent to Tekhao (Assam).” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 89 (1661): “In the month of Lamta (February/March), Chingsong Laitonchampa and Monting were compelled to go to Tekhao.”

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Charairongba’s (r. 1697 − 1709) reign. The king participated in the worship of the traditional lai and constructed temples for them. Soon after his ascension, in 1698, he installed a tablet in a public meeting place in front of the temple of lai Kasa, with the laws of the country inscribed on it.67 In the same year, a temple of Panthoibi was built.68

The worship of Sanamahi was especially prominent. Meitei customs such as

Chenglukpuba, marrying a lady to one of the lais, were observed. For example, in 1700, a maiden from the Soibam family was symbolically married and dedicated to Lai

Nongsaba.69

In April 1704, Charairongba became the first Manipuri king to be officially initiated into the Vaiṣṇava tradition by a Brahmin named Banamali Krishnacarya.70 According to the CK, the king, and his family members and ministers observed fast and accepted initiation into Vaiṣṇavism.71 A few days later, a Brāhmin Gosāī Muni who was a speaker

67 NB.CK, 73 (1698): “A stone slab engraved with some new rules and regulations for people of the country to abide by, was erected infront of the temple of Lai Kasa on Friday, the 4th.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 110: “4 Friday, a stone which had been engraved with most of the constitutional laws and regulations (Wayen thouta) of the land and all that was expected from the subjects was discovered as having been erected in front of the shrine of lai Kasa.” Parratt’s translation indicates that Charairongba actually discovered the stone slab which was used in a previous administration.

68 NB.CK, 74, (1698): “The construction of the temple of Goddess Panthoibi was started on Wednesday, the 27th. SP.CK, Vol. 1, 110 (1698): “27 Wednesday, they began to build Panthoipi’s shrine.”77

69 NB.CK, 75 (1700): “Chenglukpuba ceremony was performed for (Lai) God Nongshaba with Soibam Chanu and on Sunday the 21st and on the same day the marriage was performed.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 112: “21 Sunday, rice and other edible items were taken for the Soipam maiden who was the wife of lai Nongsapa. She was married to the lai on the same day.”

70 BP. Vol 2, 204: “Ningthou Mathang Mathang Pallakpana (Pitambra) Carairongba chaktakta, nimānandī dharma chatli asumba I Dharma asida Banamali Krishnacaryana pibani I…māna leiramba śveta gaṅgā mapāndāgini “During the reign of the former King (Pitambra) Charairongba, the guru Banamali Krishnacarya came from the place of śveta gaṅgā. The king learnt about the teachings of the Nimbārka lineage from him.” (My translation)

71 NB.CK, 78 (1704): “Ningthem Charairongba and his followers who were to embrace Hinduism, observed fast and they were allowed to accept it on that day.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 116: “5 Wednesday, Ningthem Charairongpa and all those who were to accept the name of a Hindu lai (laiming loupa) fasted.”

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or teacher arrived with 22 men.72 Charairongba also adopted a Vaiṣṇava name -

Pitambar Singh, making him the first recorded Meitei to adopt a widely accepted practice of adopting a naming convention that involves their surname which is based on their ancestor’s employment, a Hindu given name, and a nickname. An example of typical name would be Lairik-yem-bum (family name) Guneshwar (Hindu name) Baboo

(nickname).73

The reason for his adoption of Vaiṣṇavism is not clearly stated in the chronicles or other records. Building on Kabui’s assertion that Brahmin scholars exerted Sanskritic influence on Manipur’s court life, especially in the field of astrology, I suggest that the king gradually became influenced by the migrant Brahmins he patronized for their knowledge of statecraft and astrology.74 In fact, CK records indicate that it was a period when Manipur society transitioned towards a more organized feudal system and underwent administrative reforms, as shown by inscriptions with state laws engraved on stone tablets. Therefore, the religious capital that the Brahmins possessed was converted to political capital by Charairongba, who in turn was influenced by their theology.

During the course of my fieldwork, I conducted oral interviews with Manipuris who claim to be descendents of a Banamali from Odisha. They claimed that he was the first among a family lineage of gurus patronized by the royal family. Guruaribam Kumar

72 NB.CK, 78 (1704): “ 22 persons including Goshai Muni (mendicant) Wahaiba (one who speaks/teaches) arrived.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 116 “A medicant teacher and others, totaling twenty-two people, arrived.”

73 They could be called by any of those names but the nickname is most frequently used.

74 Kabui, History of Manipur, 236.

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Sharma expressed “We are half Oriyan (sic) and half Manipuri. If you look at our features, we look a little different. Our ancestors were gurus for the king.” The descendants of Banamali came to be known as Guru Aribams, literally “family of the old guru.”

We are also not told of the specific school or sampradaya Charairongba was initiated into. Scholars have offered different views on this. Manipuri scholar K.B. Singh75 wrote that missionaries from the Nimbārka school arrived in 1704 and gives their names as Ganganarayan, Krishnacharan, Kunjabihari, Nidhiran, and Ramgopal. According to

Singh, the name of the first Meitei convert was Ngangbam Selungba. However, he does not say where he got this information. Nilakanta Singh claimed that Charairongba could have been initiated into either the Nimbārka sect or the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sect.76

Besides implementing Vaiṣṇava rituals such as initiation and temple worship,

Charairongba introduced new practices to the religious field in Manipur. He was the first

Manipuri king to issue coins inscribed with names “Śrī Krishna” and “Śrī Krishna caṛan”

(feet of Krishna). 77 Significantly, the first recorded Vaiṣṇava artforms that would later culminate in the Manipuri naṭa saṅkīrtan and rāslīlās were introduced during his reign.

Due to cultural contact, musical instruments used in Bengal like kartal (hand cymbals), shinga (horn-shaped wind instrument) and sanai (wind instruments) were introduced.78

According to historians Mahaveda Singh and Dwijendra Narayan Goswami,

75 K. B. Singh, "Manipuri Vaishnavism: A Sociological Interpretation," Sociological Bulletin 12, no. 2 (1963): 66-67. He did not provide the source of his information.

76 E. Nilakanta Singh, Aspects of Indian Culture, 79.

77 L. Kunjeswori Devi, Archaeology in Manipur (New Delhi: Rajesh Publications, 2003).

78 Bandopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications, 41.

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Charairongba worshipped Krishna with a form of kīrtan known as Dhrupad Hari

Saṅkīrtan, which was later called Bangdesh Pālā. 79

Although Charairongba and his family were initiated into Vaiṣṇavism, there is no evidence that he implemented the religious practices of the new religion on a large scale. Even after his acceptance of the sacred thread, he did not attempt to enforce

Vaiṣṇavism as the state religion, nor did he neglect the worship of the traditional lai. The old gods continued to be worshipped and temples in their honor were still erected. For example, the CK records the inauguration of a three-storied Meitei temple in Kangla in

1708 CE.80 Hence, this was the first instance of a Manipuri king who had embraced

Vaiṣṇavism but

During Charairongba’s reign there were transformations in the religious field that became internalized as the habitus of Manipuris in later years. Migration to Manipur especially of Brahmins, brought new players to compete with the indigenous

Maiba/Maibi institution. The Vaiṣṇava Brahmins had sufficient religious capital to take up positions in the religious field to influence the political elite, especially the royal family, to receive initiation from them. As they moved up the hierarchy in the religious field, these

Brahmins were able to introduce new practices. These included temple worship of

Vaiṣṇava gods alongside the lais, naming conventions that combined Meitei and Indian names, and the use of Indian musical instruments and songs to worship Hindu gods.

Thus, Charairongba’s early unquestioned disposition to support and engage in religious

79 K. Mahaveda Singh, "Different Forms of Sankirtan in India and Their Status: A Historical Perspective," 65.

80 NB.CK, 80 (1708): ”the 3 super-structurd temple of Lai Kangla was inaugurated on Sunday the 14th.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 119 (1709): “14 Sunday, the building with a three-tiered roof for the lai in Kangla was introduced.”

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rituals in honor of the lais was changed when he came into contact with religious elites from Assam, Odisha and other parts of India. The records in the CK indicate that state- supported exchanges with other kingdoms could have played a part in modifying

Charairongba’s religious tastes, as he interacted with those holding homologous positions in political fields in these other states. Bourdieu in Distinction wrote that members of homologous positions in society tend to share similar tastes. However,

Charairongba continued to worship the lais in accordance with his own habitus and those of the Meiteis. The harmonization of both traditions set up new structures of religious practice in Manipur. During the reign of his successor, Garibniwaz, the structural position of the Maibas and the worship of the lais would change further in relation to Brahmins and the worship of Hindu gods in the religious field of Manipur.

Garibniwaz

It was Charairongba’s son and successor to the throne, Pamheiba (r. 1709 −

1744) who established Vaiṣṇavism as a state religion in Manipur. He was bestowed the name, Garibniwaz, meaning “saviour of the poor,” by his guru Śanta Dās Gosāi, because of his practice of personally distributing paddy to the poor, as recorded many times in the CK. I will refer to him by this name since that is how he is popularly called.

Garibniwaz was reputed for reigning over a glorious period for the Ningthouja dynasty and Manipur because of his successful military expeditions. He extended the boundary of Manipur to include parts of land that had belonged to Myanmar after wars with

Burmese kings in 1724, 1737, and 1738.81 He also fought wars with Tripura and

81 From the 9th century, Burmese had moved moved toward the course of the Irrawady River. Their close proximity to Manipur induced periods of conflict between the two kingdoms. (R.K. Jhalajit Singh, "Socio- Poliitcal Conditions of Late 16th and Early 17th Century Manipur," in Bonfire of Books: Cataclysmic Rupture in the Early 18th Century Manipur, ed. Aheibam Koireng Singh and Sanasam Amal Singh (New

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Cachar. He quelled many rebellions and conducted over twenty-seven military expeditions in the hills of Manipur.82 Thus, Manipur became a dominant military power in the region. Garibniwaz’s military conquests increased his political capital over his subjects because he was able to afford them material protection. His military expeditions could have been inspired by his religious zeal, as records in the CK show that his guru often participated in military quests. In addition, military campaigns became more frequent after his conversion to Vaiṣṇavism.

However, the CK shows that during the first twenty-five years of his life, he rigidly observed Meitei rituals and was not influenced by his father’s Vaiṣṇava initiation. In fact, after Charairongba’s death in 1709, Garibniwaz observed Meitei funeral rites by preserving his father’s head in a mound, a Meitei practice,83 instead of following Hindu rites of cremation. He also consecrated a number of places of worship for the lais. The

CK shows that in 1710, he had consecrated a stone in honor of the lai Wahaiba, 84 in

1711, he built a temple for the lai Kangla,85 and in 1715 he built a pond for Wahaiba.86 In

Delhi: Essential Books, 2014).

82 Raj Kumar Somorjit Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs (from 1666 Ce to 1850 CE) (Imphal: Waikom Ananda Meetei, 2010).

83 NB.CK, 81 (1709): “The King performed a religious ceremony of keeping the head of his late father, King Charairongba inside a mound on Friday, the 21st.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 121: “21 Friday, a memorial mound was erected for Ningthem Charairongba.”

84 NB.CK, 82 (1710): “A stone was erected at Leishangkhong in honour of Lai Warhaiba (Sanamahi).” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 121 (1710): “A stone was placed for a monument at Leisangkhong for Laiwa Haipa.”

85 NB.CK, 82 (1711): “...and the construction of the temple of Lai Kangla commenced from that day and it was inaugurated on Friday, the 22nd.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 121 (1710): “On that day they began to build Lai Kangla’s shrine.”

86 NB.CK, 84 (1715): “He (the king) with his wife consecrated a new pond at Leishangkhon to Lai Wahaiba (Sanamahi) on Wednesday, the 21st …” SP.CK, 124 (1717): “21 Thursday, Ningthem and Sicha went to Leisangkhong to dedicate a pool to Laiwa Haipa.”

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1712, he patronized Maibas to stop the effects of a solar eclipse.87 In fact, from 1709 to

1715, there is no mention of Vaiṣṇava or other Hindu forms of worship, indicating he may have even contested his father’s patronization of the incoming religion.

In 1715, the CK reports that “the guru of the King of Tekhao (Assam)” arrived with

39 “beiragis” or mendicants.88 Five months later, construction for a temple for the Hindu goddess Kālikā began.89 The Sanamahi Laikan (SL) informs us that a Hindu missionary referred to as “Bhamon (Brahmin) Gangadhar” initiated Garibniwaz to a Śākta.90 Later in

October 1717, the King accepted Vaiṣṇava initiation from Guru Gopal Dās.91 The SL says that Guru Gopal Dās was from the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sect.92 However, even after his Vaiṣṇava initiation, Meitei burial customs continued to be observed and temples of the lais Pakhra and Wahaiba were renovated in 1719.93 Moreover, in 1721, the King

87 NB.CK, 82 (1712): “It was predicted for occurring of a solar eclipse on the new moon day of Wakching (January) but it was stopped by Maiba Hanba Nambonba.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 122 (1712): “In the month of Wakching (December/January), it was said that there would be a solar eclipse that month. But the chief of the maipas, the one who was a hunchback, stopped it and it did not take place.”

88 NB.CK, 84.

89 NB.CK, 84 (1715): “The Kyong of Goddess Kalika was built on the 1st day of Wakching (January), Thursday.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 124 (1715): “On that day they began to build the temple for Kalika.”

90 SL 1961, 48-49. noṅgcuplā paṅgbabramagi lākanba bāmon leṅgnā tinbālktagi brahmacārya lamchatnabā) pramana banamāli athouheibanā śākta dharma… louge (will cultivate) …bāmon Gangadhar kaubada… “From the western direction, a Brahmin from the same place of brahmacāri Banamāli arrived. He, who was named Gangadhar, initiated the king into the śākta school.”

91 NB.CK, 85 (1717): “The King and party performed a religious ceremony of receiving spiritual instruction (Hinduism) from Guru Gopal Das in the beginning of the month.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 126 (1717): Towards the beginning of the month Ningthem and some others accepted the Hindu religion from guru Gopal Das.”

92 SL 1961, 48. Śākta ācāra lamchat hapna asum leiringaida haure noṅgcuplā meitengguna Śrī Gopal Das Beiragi haure athouheibanā lairel meitengguna Śrī Gaurāṅga ahenba Caitanya Mahāprabhu ahoibagi Gaudiya maramchat achikpabu pukneng langpam thoina…”When the king was following the Śākta tradition, a great misssonary from the Gauḍīya lineage of the excellent Caitanya Mahāprabhu arrived from the West, and initiated the dragon king.”

93 NB.CK, 87 (1719): “The upper and lower portion of Lai Pakhra’s temple was renovated.,.the temple of Lai Wahaiba was reconstructed.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 129 (1719): “They completed (the building) for lai Prakhrapa…they began to build the royal building for Laiwa Haipa.”

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personally laid down a foundation for temple of Lai Wahaiba.94 In other words, like his father and predecessor, Garbiniwaz began to articulate a hybrid regime of religious practice, worshipping gods of both traditions simultaneously. In turn, this mixture gave rise to bodily dispositions and ways of relating to the divine that underlie the rāslīlās.

There were at least three Vaiṣṇava sects in Manipur at that time - Gauḍīya,

Nimbārka and Rāmānandī. Eventually, it was the Rāmānandī sect had the greatest influence on Garibniwaz. The Rāmānandī sect made its presence felt after Śanta Dās

Gosāi, a devotee of Rāma came from Sylhet around 1720.95 According to the SL, Śanta

Dās Gosāi convinced the king to renounce Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism by telling him that only those who were able to control their anger and lust could practise the Gauḍīya religion, and that Rāmānandī was more appropriate for the warriors, and the state of Manipur which was at war with Burma.96 Besides, the Rāmānandī’s principal deity being Rāma, a warrior-king, (as opposed to that of the Gauḍīyas’ being Krishna, a cowherd), the practices that the Rāmānandīs engaged in to discipline the body could have also convinced Garibniwaz to accept their order. Although there are different disciplines within the Rāmānandī tradition, Peter van der Veer showed that all of them focus on acquiring supernatural power (shakti) through ascetic practices, especially celibacy,

94 NB.CK, 88 (1721): “The foundation for a hump-back temple of God Lai-Wahaiba was laid down by Ningthem as Leishangkhong on Friday, the 17th.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 130 (1721): “17 Friday, Ningthem went down to Leisangkhong to lay the foundations of a building with a domed rood for Laiwa Haipa.”

95 NB.CK, 88 (1720): “A Goshai arrived with ten followers.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 129 (1720): “In that month eleven people led by a Vaishnava guru arrived in the country.” Goshai was used to refer to Śanta Dās Gosāi.

96 SL 48: laining mahaya pāllareiye silet mapungyaibu indankhire I …he beisnab athoiba! Hairei nongpakla pangbaramgi poirei sana ipungyaibu indanse I wangma leibāk ngaklanba hindu acara lamcat hapna kṣetribangsa sakhe lepnabā sanglau thourangluse hayna asuma paukaurabawagi Śanta Dās mahant athouibansung thouiyam maythangi Silet namda hunna…"

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which can be used for a variety of purposes.97 Particularly, the disciplines of one of the suborders, the nagas, provide their performers with supernatural military power. They were “fighting ascetics devoted to wrestling and military training and organized into armies (ani) and regiments (akhara)”.98 While there is no information if Śanta Dās belonged to this order, there are records in the CK showing that he personally participated in warfare alongside his disciple, Garibniwaz in at least two instances in

1726 and 1727. It is clear that the new bodily discipline of the Rāmānandīs dovetailed with the interests and military logic of the state, which was to make effective warriors.

It is noteworthy the Garbiniwaz’s’s earlier preceptor, Guru Gopal Dās returned to his own country about a month later.99 The circumstances which led to the departure of

Gopal Dās are not explicitly written in the CK, but it could be that he lost the favor of the king after the arrival of Śanta Dās, and left Manipur disappointed. In 1728, Śanta Dās initiated Garibniwaz into Rāmānandī Vaiṣṇavism. The CK records that he accepted the sacred thread again in 1737,100 and that in 1738 and 1739, many people accepted the sacred thread, including those who were prohibited to wear them,101 probably in

97 Peter van der Veer, "The Power of Detachment: Disciplines of Body and Mind in the Ramanandi Order," American Ethnologist 16, no. 3 (1989).

98 Van der Veer, Ibid.

99 NB.CK, 88 (1729): “The first day of the month of Thawan (August) was Monday.Gopal Das left for his country on Wednesday, the 25th.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 129 (1720): “20 Wednesday, Gopalo Das left.”

100 NB.CK, 99 (1737): “The King performed an initiation ceremony and accepted the holy thread along with 300 followers from his Guru on Thursday.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 147 (1737): Full moon Thursday, the Maharaj and others, a total of 300 people, took the sacred thread.”

101 NB.CK, 100 (1738): “A lot of people accepted Nagun (holy thread) on Sunday the 5th in a religious ceremony.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 148 (1738): “5 Sunday, most of the people in the country were made to take the sacred thread.” NB.CK, 100 (1739): “Ibungo Thangkashai and others accepted the holy threads in a religious ceremony held on Saturday, the 5th along with those who were prohibited to wear them.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 149 (1739): “5 Saturday, Yipungo Thangka Sai and others took the sacred thread. Also many who were told not to take the sacred thread did take it.”

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reference to the general populace of the Meiteis. These were unlikely to be initiations from different gurus but were probably mass initiation ceremonies or occasions to commemorate the renewal of the sacred thread. According to Bandopadhyay, from this time the common people wore sectarian markings on their forehead or tilak, thus carrying a mark of religious distinction, which signaled a change in status.102

Subsequent entries in the CK refer to Śanta Dās Gosāi as mahānta guru (the great guru) or simply “the guru” in singular,103 indicating that he had a special influence over Manipur and Garibniwaz. In contrast, when other gurus are mentioned, they are mentioned by their name. That Śanta Dās had a close relationship with the king can also be inferred from records that show he regularly joined the king and queen in excursions to eat mangoes and other fruits, and was part of several military expeditions against Tripura, Maring, and Shairem.104 Moreover, the king’s advisor on the indigenous religion, Louremnam Khongnangthaba who protested Śanta Dās’ reforms, was withdrawn from his position and was barred from participating in public affairs.105

Diverse religious agents from the indigenous and imported religious traditions competed for Garbiniwaz’s patronage. Eventually, Śanta Dās Gosāi’s message of a

102 Bandopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications, 57. She does not provide any original references for this claim.

103 NB.CK, 89, 92.

104 NB.CK, 92 (1727): “The Guru, Ningthem and Shija went to Nunngei to eat mangoes on Wednesday, the 19th.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 126 (1727): “19 Wednesday, the guru, Ningthem and the Sicha went to Nungkei to feast on mangoes.” NB.CK, 93 (1728): “The Guru, Ningthem (King) and Ibungo Wangkheirakpa went to attack Shairem on Wednesday, the 17th.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 137 (1728): “17 Wednesday, the guru, Ningthem and Yipungo the Lakpa (chief) of Wangkhei left to attack Sairem.”

105 Lokendra Arambam, "Historical Evaluation of Puya Meithaba: Indianization and Its Predicaments, a Contemporary Re-Interpretation," in Bonfire of Books: Cataclysmic Rupture in the Early 18th Century Manipur, ed. Aheibam Koireng Singh and Sanasam Amal Singh (New Delhi: Essential Books, 2014).

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religion that resonated with his military disposition persuaded him to favor the

Rāmānandī sect over others. Besides the martial advantages that the sect offered,

Garibniwaz may have felt that the diverse, expanding ethnic and tribal groups that he ruled over required theaterical public ceremonies to impress upon them the image of a hegemonic religio-political authority that they should submit to, and could be unified under. As stated by Manipuri scholar Arambam, “control over population, and not on possession of land was rather the principal focus of the ethno-state, and the relationship with people and populations could only be secured through control over the rituals and rites.”106 Garibniwaz’s religious reforms including the rites and regulations of the

Rāmānandī sect enhanced the symbolic power and personal authority of the

Lainingthou (god-king) mentioned in Chapter 2. The above mentioned mass initiation rites, the adorning of sectarian symbols on the body, and the promotion of a singular guru, Śanta Dās, over all other religious agents served to bring about a semblance of unification. Śanta Dās was able to exert a dominant position in Manipur’s religious field because of his religious capital and influence over Garibniwaz.

The structure of the relations between the religious field and the political field strongly shapes the configuration of the structure of the relations within the religious field.107 As expressed by Bourdieu, social agents are “bearers of capitals and, depending on their trajectory and on the position they occupy in the field by virtue of their endowment (volume and structure) in capital, they have a propensity to orient themselves actively either towards the conservation of the distribution of capital or

106 Ibid.

107 Bourdieu, "Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field," 31.

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towards the subversion of that distribution.”108 Śanta Dās Gosāi and Garibniwaz used their mutually beneficial relationship and capital to implement sweeping reforms in

Manipur’s religious and political fields. These reforms were conducted under the guidance of Śanta Dās. Some of them are as follows.

First, the title used to address the Manipuri king was altered. In 1724, Garibnawz adopted the Indian title of “Maharāja” (great king).109 All subsequent Manipuri kings followed this practice. Other titles he adopted included “Mekleṣwar” (lord of Mekhala)

“Manipureṣwar” (lord of Manipur),110 confirming that from that time, the state came to be known as Manipur. These names, as well as “Jai Śrī Rām” (victory to Rām) were inscribed on coins issued by his government.111 Thus, the institution of the guru contributed to the maintenance of political order, and to “sacralization,” that is, the symbolic reinforcement of this order, by mobilizing the symbolic capital of the guru’s person and office. Later, the centralization of power in the institution of gurus enabled the formation of a habitus which supported a hierarchical relationship between the gurus of the rāslīlās, and other performers.

Following the influence of his gurus, especially the Rāmānandī sect, Garibniwaz embarked on a number of temple construction projects. According to the CK, in 1722,

Garibniwaz inaugurated a new temple of Krishna and distributed a large quantity of gifts

108 Pierre Bourdieu and Loic J. D. Wacquant, An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).

109 NB.CK, 91 (1724): “The title of ‘Maharaja’ was given to the Ningthem from that time...” SP.CK, Vol.1, 133 (1724): “Addressing Ningthem as Maharaja also began at this time.”

110 Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs, 60.

111 P. Gunindro Singh, "Coins of Manipur." 5.

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to all who attended.112 He built a temple near a lake in Ningthem Pukri city and oversaw the consecration of the mūrtis of Rāma, his brothers (Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata, and

Śatrughna) and wife Sītā.113 He also installed a mūrti of Rāma in a large tank in 1727.114

Hanumān was also introduced to Manipur, as a stone mūrti was sculpted and inaugurated in 1729.115 Some Hindu deities were also given Meitei names: Laphupat

Kālikā (for Kālikā) and Thinungei Ramji Ningthou (for Rāma).116 Later, some of the

Umang lais were identified with Hindu gods and goddesses. Dr. Suresh, a researcher on the indigenous Meitei religion noted117:

Over time, Panthoibi was identified to be Goddess Durga and her lover, Nongpok Ningthou was associated with Śiva, even though their stories bear little resemblance to one another. Today, on Koubrou Hill, people go there to worship a stone which is believed to be an icon representing Śiva. Previously, it was probably a place dedicated to the Meitei gods.

The association of Umang lais with Hindu gods produced a habitus which blurred the boundaries between the two religious traditions. The fluid religious boundaries in turn enabled Meitei rituals to be incorporated in the rāslīlās.

Besides temple construction, Hindu texts like the itihāsas and purāṇas were circulated in Manipur for the first time with the aim of propagating Vaiṣṇavism on a large

112 NB.CK, 89 (1722): “The King inaugurated the new temple of Shri Krishna on Wednesday, the 22nd. All the noblemen and the braves, the skilled and unskilled, Bamons and Konoks without leaving any one, were given gifts.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 131(1722): “22 Wednesday, the temple for Krasna was inaugurated. Gifts were distributed to all the noble and the brave, skilled and the unskilled.”

113 SP.CK, Vol.1, 144 (1734): “Ningthem went to the area where Ram and Lokhon were housed and worshipped them.”

114 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 61.

115 NB.CK, 93-94 (1729): “The temple of Hanuman was inaugurated on Wednesday, the 11th.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 138 (1729): “11 Wednesday, the temple for Hanuman was inaugurated.”

116 Laisram, Early Meitei History - Religion, Society and the Manipur Puyas, 78.

117 Recorded interview, February 12, 2016. Imphal, Manipur.

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scale. According to Nilakanta Singh118 and Kaoba Singh,119 between 1717 to 1737, a poet by the name of Angom Gopi who was fluent in Meiteilon, Sanskrit and Bengali, translated some of the chapters of the Mahābhārata and Bengali Kṛttivāsa Rāmāyaṇa

(between 1727 to 1748) into Manipuri language. From this period, these were regularly recited in Manipur.120 In the early 18th century, copies of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (BhP), which was the most influential text for the rāslīlās were imported to Manipur from

Tripura. The BhP had become the most popular literature in Assam due to the influence of Vaiṣṇava missionaries like Śaṅkardev (1449-1568).121 When the rulers of Tripura procured a copy of the BhP from Assam, and were delivering it back to their country, the

Manipuris attacked the convoy and stole it from them.122 Jhalajit Singh opined that

Tripura invaded Manipur in 1723 to avenge this raid.123 Manipur under the leadership of

Garibniwaz repelled the attack.

New Hindu ritual practices that are still followed today were introduced during his reign. Hindu cremation practices replaced Meitei burial rites. The CK reports that in

118 E. Nilakanta Singh, "Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Bengal," in Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur, Assam and Bengal, ed. H. Ranbir Singh (Imphal: Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, 1986), 79.

119 Kaoba Singh, "Social Dynamism of Hinduism in Pre Pamheiba’s Period," 10.

120 Jhalajit Singh, "Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Assam," in Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Bengal, ed. H. Ranbir Singh (Imphal: Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, 1986), 43.

121 Śaṅkardev had written a number of treatises on bhakti, and translated the BhP and Rāmāyaṇa. He also composed numerous dramas and songs. See Hugh Urban, "Assam and the Eastern Stattes," in Brill’s Encylcopedia of Hinduism, ed. Knut A. Jacobsen, et al. (2011) and Neog, Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam, 156-157.

122 Jhalajit Singh, "Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Assam," 33

123 Ibid. According to Jhalajit Singh, in a text called the Takhel Ngamba (Conquest of Tripura), it is written that Tripura waged a war on Manipur in 1723. I was not able to access the text.

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1724, Garibniwaz dug out the graves of his ancestors, collected their heads and skeletons, and performed cremation ceremonies on the bank of the Ningthi River.124

This was sixteen years after he had buried his father in accordance with Meitei rites.

Around this time, Garibniwaz imposed dietary prohibitions on the people of Manipur. In

September of 1722, people of seven sageis were arrested and beaten for eating beef.125

Vaiṣṇava elements were incorporated into Meitei festivals. In the Meitei festival,

Kwak Jatra (crow festival), gunshots were fired to startle crows into flying, the direction of which was used to make predictions about the welfare of society. Since the festival took place around the same time as Dusshera, the festival that celebrates Rāma’s slaying of Rāvaṇa (September or October), Garibniwaz, replaced the shooting of crows with the shooting of an effigy of Rāvaṇa in 1726-27.126 Another example is the old Meitei ritual of dedicating the house to a lai, known as sangaba.127 The CK reported that in

1609, “King Khagemba’s house was dedicated.”128 According to Parratt, during this ritual, a symbol of the lai consisting of a small image, or a stone wrapped in cloth was ceremonially carried into the house.129 During the reign of Garibniwaz, the same term, sangaba, was used, although the ritual now included the presence of the king’s guru. In

124 NB.CK, 91 (1724): “Ningthem dug out all the graves of his ancestors, collected the heads and skeletons and performed cremation ceremonies on the bank of the Ningthi river (Chindwin) on Sunday the 20th.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 133 (1724): “20 Sunday, Ningthem, after having exhumed the bones of most his male ancestors, left for Ningthi river (Chindwin) to cremate them completely by the river.”

125 NB.CK, 89 (1722): “Punishment was given to the people of 7 Sageis of Keiroi for eating beef by arresting and beating them at public places.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 131 (1722): “Seven Sageis (extended family) of the Keiroi who ate flesh of cattle were all arrested, beaten and made a public spectacle.”

126 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 61.

127 McCulloch, An Account of the Valley of Munnipore and the Hill Tribes, 23.

128 NB.CK, 23.

129 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 149.

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the CK, it is written that in 1730, “in the month of Mera (September-October), on the

19th, Monday, the guru and the king dedicated the house at Yairipok”.130 Parratt observed that a dedication of this kind is now carried out by a Brahmin who sounds a bell, similar to that rung by the Maibis at the Lai Haraoba, to announce the approach of a Vaiṣṇava deity.131 The substitution of a lai with a Vaiṣṇava deity could have taken place during Garibniwaz’s reign because of the presence of the king’s guru.132 Similarly, in other indigenous festivals, elements from Vaiṣṇava traditions were added. It cannot be said exactly when these changes were made, but they followed the patterns of sanskritization initiated by Garibniwaz. For example, Ayang Yoiren Iruppa, an annual bathing ceremony held at Lilong Sahanpur during December and January was changed to snāna yatra (bathing ceremony for the deity of Jagannātha, worshipped by

Vaiṣṇavas) and an archery festival called Waira Tenkap was replaced by a kīrtan

(devotional singing) to Rāma.133 In the following chapters, I will show how these changes gradually changed the Manipuri habitus, the logic of what counted as legitimate religious behavior.

It was also during Garibniwaz’s reign that Meitei society was reorganized to resemble, in some form, the Indian varna (caste) structure. Indian migrants and Meiteis were divided into caste grouping as brāhmaṇas and ḳsatriyas. Many of the Indian migrants, and the Meitei families they married into were classified as Brahmin even

130 NB.CK, 79.

131 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 149.

132 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 149.

133 Tejbanta, "Politics of Religion: A Study from Bhagyachandra to Chandrakirti", 178.

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though at least some of them were not Brahmins.134 The CK entry for 1732, described the beginning of the construction of genealogies for the Meiteis according to their salais and the destruction of the Meitei leima, old manuscripts on genealogy.135 Migrants from a particular region were given a specific title. For example, descendants of those considered Brahmins from Shantipur amd Krishnanagar were known as

Labuktongbams and Gurumayums respectively. Migrants who were considered

ḳsatriyas were called Ḳsetrimayums. Most of the Meiteis were classified as ḳsatriya.

Some time later, at an unknown date, Manipuri Brahmins would have the suffix

“Sharma” and Ḳsatriyas “Singh”136 added to their names. In the following chapters, I will elaborate on the impact of this reorganization of Manipuri society, particularly on the rāslīlās. I will show how varna distinctions were expressed and reproduced in these dances.

In terms of language, Sanskrit and Bengali were introduced through kīrtans and texts. The circulation of Sanskrit texts meant that Manipuri Brahmins were expected to be familiar with the language. A few decades later, Bengali became the medium of language for international communication between Manipur, its neighboring states and the British.137 The knowledge of these languages was a source of religious capital for the

134 The Kangleipak Historical and Cultural Research Center, 2015 (anonymous author) using the BK argued that even descendants of migrants who worked as washermen and fishermen were designated as Brahmins by Śanta Dās Gosāi.

135 NB.CK, 96 (1732): “Haobamcha Pukhranba and all the countrymen started writing the genealogy according to their clans.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 141 (1732): “Haopam Cha the Pukhranpa and others began to record the genealogy of all the land according to their clans.”

136 The practice of using ‘Singh’ could have been incorporated from Assam, whose kings were suffixed as ‘Singha’ from the 15th Century on. Eg: The Koch King Naranārāyaṇa Singha (1540-1584) (Hugh Urban, "Assam and the Eastern States."

137 Jyotirmoy Roy, History of Manipur (Calcutta: K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1958).

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religious elite. They were able to attain monopoly over religiously valuable goods, the

Sanskrit texts, which only they had the training to interpret and implement into doxic practices, which included rituals and performances like the rāslīlās.

Garibniwaz’s reign also saw further developments in performing arts that would directly impact the rāslīlās. Institutions known as loisangs, were established to institutionalize artistic and cultural productions. These were centralized authorities formed to create legitimate cultural goods that were approved by the religious and political elites. They included the Ishei (music), Jagoi (dance), Pandit (scholars), Lairik

Yengba (scribes) and Pena (the name is derived from the stringed instrument veena) loisangs138 that would be utilized to construct the rāslīlās. The singing of kīrtan was also popularized at this time. Apparently, many of the songs written at that time reflected the influence of Rāmāyana.139 Although there is no detailed information regarding these developments, scholars have claimed that a style of kīrtan known as Bangdesh or Ariba

(old) pālā was introduced.140 According to the CK, kīrtan was performed during

Garibniwaz’s shradda (funeral rites) ceremony in 1753.141 This is the first mention of kīrtan being performed during Manipuri life passage rituals. It is a practice that has

138 NB.CK, 94 (1729): “He established the two offices of ishei (song and music) and pena (a stringed musical instrument/harp).” SP.CK, 138 (1729): “Professional singing and the Institute of Pena (playing) were established at that period.”

139 Bandopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications, 58

140 E. Nilakanta Singh, Manipuri Dance, 5.

141 NB.CK, 114 (1752): “On Wednesday, the 5th of Inga (June) Ibungshi Anantashai went to Tomphang Hiden to bring the head (frontal bone) of his late father Mayang Ngamba (Garibniwaz) and performed the shrada ceremony with singing of religious song of kirtan and returned on Saturday, the 22nd.” SP.CK, 170 (1752): “5 Yinga (May/June), Yipungsi Aananda Sai left for Tomphang watering place, to collect the head of his royal father, Mayang Ngampa (alias Mayampa alias Garibniwaz). With the singing of Hindu religious songs in a Kirtan, he also performed a sratha ceremony.”

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continued in funeral rites and marriage ceremonies of present day Manipuri society. The

Ariba pālā kīrtan is still performed at the Govindaji temple.

Garibniwaz stands out from previous and future monarchs in Manipur for his oppression of the indigenous religion. According to Kabui, on the advice of his guru,

Garibniwaz is reported to have burnt over 123 manuscripts of puyas around 1725.142

This incident is not recorded in the CK, and other scholars like J. Roy doubt it took place. 143 Nevertheless, in the 20th century, individuals who claimed their ancestors had hidden the puyas reproduced them to the state archives. The burning of the puyas has been utilized by current Meitei revivalists as one of the central sources of agitation against Manipur’s “Hindu” past.

To the consternation of Maibas and Maibis, Garibniwaz also ordered the destruction of temples and images of Umang lais in 1723.144 In 1726, seven images of the lais including Lainingthou, Panthoibi, and Sanamahi were destroyed and coins were made out of the broken pieces.145 Following the destruction of lais in 1723, Garibniwaz appointed Brahmins to initiate the worship of four other lai including Nongshaba, and

Yumthai Lai.146 Thus, he tried to bring some of the old gods under the ritual control of

142 Kabui, History of Manipur, 253.

143 Roy, History of Manipur, 13.

144 NB.CK, 90 (1723): “As per order of the King, the temples of the Umang lais and two Lammabis were demolished as they were not to be treated as lais.” SP.CK, 132 (1723): “It was declared that nine Umang lais, two Lammapi lais were not to be regarded as lais and all their shrines were demolished.

145 NB.CK, 92 (1726): “Seven idols of Laiyingthou, Panthoibi, Lai Wahaiba, two Lammabis, Shoraren, Hoiton Pokpi were broken on Monday, the 23rd and round Sels were made out of them.” SP.CK, Vol.1, 135 (1726): “23 Monday, Laiyingthou, Panthoipi, Laiwa Haipa and two Lammapis, Soraren, Hoiton Pokpi, these seven (representations of the) lais were smashed.

146 NB.CK, 90 (1723): “Bamons were entrusted to render service to Laiyingthou Nongshaba, Yumthei Lai, Panthoibi, Taibang Khaiba and to conduct appropriate rituals on Friday, the full moon day.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 131 (1723): “Friday full moon, Pamons were made to attend Laiyingthou Nongsapa, Yimthei Lai, Panthoipi and Taipang Khaipa, for these four Lais the Pamons were allowed to conduct the appeasement

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the Brahmins, with the objective of reducing the importance of the Maibas and Maibis in the hierarchy of the religious field, while at the same time avoiding complete destruction of the greater lai.147 He attempted to impose a new doxa, by establishing orthodoxy through the work of new religious elites. Overall, during Garibniwaz’s reign, there was not only widepread hybridization but suppression and exclusion in the formation of the new Manipuri habitus.

Parratt suggested the changing status of the lais could reflect the diminishing status of traditional priests and priestesses, who in their role as representatives of the ancient faith, would come into conflict with Vaiṣṇava religious elites as competitors.148

The Brahmins having been conferred positions by Garibniwaz had more access to religious capital than the institution of Maibas and Maibis. This led to changes in the structure and distribution of capital in the religious field. Bourdieu identified strategy and trajectory as two important elements related to change in a field. Strategy is a product of habitus. Scholars have described how, in other parts of India, Vaiṣṇava traditions have had a habitus of absorbing indigenous religions.149 In describing its interaction with Vedic religious practices, Gerard Colas, for instance wrote that “without being anti-Vedic or

Tantric in character, it tends to subordinate Vedic rituals to its own renunciative ideology which upholds non-injury (ahiṁsā) and rites without animal sacrifice.”150 Strategy also

rites.”

147 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 157.

148 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 156.

149 Some scholars have used the term “Sanskritization” to describe how indigenous religious traditions were absorbed into the purāṇic fold. For an overview of the different definitions and modifications of the term, see J. F. Staal, "Sanskrit and Sanskritization," Journal of Asian Studies 22 (1963): 261-75.

150 Colas, "History of Vaiṣṇava Traditions: An Esquisse."

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depends on the position the agent occupies in the field and the issue or questions related to the confrontation between competing groups. Trajectory describes the “series of positions successively occupied” by the agent in successive states of the cultural field.151 The trajectory of the positions of Brahmins from the 16th to 18th century moved from migrants, to ritual specialists, to initiators of the king, and finally as the religious elite of Manipur, surpassing the earlier, religious institutions.

According to Bourdieu, in any given field, agents occupying diverse available positions engage in competition for control of resources that are specific to the field.152 In particular, in the religious field, discourse must be linked with the religious interests of those who produce, reproduce, conserve, diffuse, and receive religious knowledge. This is because religion is a symbolic medium based on a condition of the “possible consensus on the meanings of signs and meanings of the world they construct.”153 As competing religious beliefs and practices are systematized and institutionalized by the hegemonic group, they become “transfigured expressions of the strategies of different categories of specialists competing for monopoly over the administration of the goods of salvation and of the different classes interested in their services”.154 Competition between the institution of Maibas/Maibis and Brahmins over the patronage of political authorities and general people, and the monopoly over the religious field led to a Hindu-

Vaiṣṇava discourse that involved appropriating Meitei gods and festivals, replacing

151 Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, 18.

152 Ibid., 6.

153 Bourdieu, Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field, 2.

154 Ibid., 4.

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Meitei texts with Vaiṣṇava ones, re-organizing the structure of society into one that favored Brahmins, and relegating Maibas/Maibis to subordinate positions in the hierarchy of religious authority. Further, since religion is a symbolic system predisposed to fulfill a function of distinction, or association, and disassociation, to legitimize one’s own religious tradition, it is common to designate a competing one as magic, primitive, or an inferior religion.155 This act serves to restructure the distribution of religious capital.

While we do not have any textual evidence that Meitei religion was overly labelled in this fashion, the destruction of the lais and the burning of the puyas imply a strong prejudice against it.

Not surprisingly, the Vaiṣṇava practices and efforts to suppress Meitei religion introduced by Garibniwaz faced opposition.156 The king met with opposition mainly from members of the royal family who were patrons of the Maibas.157 In one instance, the queen disregarded dietary restrictions to partake of wine and meat. The CK described that wine she offered to Sanamahi on three successive occasions. One of these which took place in 1746 reads, “the Queen with all royal ladies wearing their best attire offered Yu (wine) to Sanamahi in the market and they enjoyed a drinking party on

Sunday the 26th.”158 According to Parratt, the practice of offering wine to Sanamahi was

“nowhere before mentioned and neither is it the present custom to drink wine to

155 Ibid.,12.

156 This was noted by Jhalajit Singh, A Short History of Manipur, 138 and Hodson, The Meitheis, 95.

157 Bhagyachandra Singh, A Critical Study of the Religious Philosophy of the Meeteis before the Advent of Vaisnavism in Manipur, 5.

158 NB.CK, 111.

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Sanamahi.”159 In other words, this was an explicit and public protest against Vaiṣṇava restrictions and the King’s neglect of the lai.160 Moreover, Manipur’s opposition to the king’s guru, Śanta Dās Gosāi is still depicted today in a Rāma temple that he attributably built with Garibniwaz. There is a curious image of Śanta Dās Gosāi with

Garibniwaz below the mūrtis of the gods. See Fig. 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3. The image of

Śanta Dās is depicted as being handcuffed with chains while still being worshipped on the altar. The exact date of the making of the images is not known, but it is clear that, at some point, Śanta Dās was both revered and reviled for his role in the religious affairs of Manipur.

The resistance to Garibniwaz’s dietary prohibitions and other efforts to Hinduize

Manipur is further evidenced by the following curious narrative in the Sakak Lamlen

Ahanba Puya,161 which was probably constructed after the reign of Garibniwaz.

According to this story, a Pangal guru (probably a corruption of “Bengal” and hence referring to a Brahman guru coming from that region) came to the land of the Meiteis during the reign of King Naophangba (452-518 AD). He tried to change the traditional customs of the Meiteis by persuading the king to order his subjects to replace their cremation customs with burial of the dead, to forbid the eating of beef, and to build a palace in the royal capital of Kangla, upon the sacred site wherein the Meiteis believe that the first King Pakhangba lies underground in the form of a coiled snake.162 In the

159 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 160.

160 Ibid.

161 Laisram, Early Meitei History - Religion, Society and the Manipur Puyas, 21.

162 Meiteis believe that if the body of Pakhangba is hurt and blood oozes out of the hole, it signifies the destruction of the kingdom.

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myth, the Meitei god Atiya reincarnates in the form of a man known as Laiba and persuades the king to disregard the advice of the Pangal guru. According to Travis

Smith, rather than viewing the purāṇas as imperfect preservations of history, which have been embellished with myth, they should be understood to be “actively articulating particular versions of the past with specific intent.”163 Using the same interpretation of the puyas, it is likely that supporters of the Meitei religion constructed this myth as a counter-narrative to Garibniwaz’s acts.

The closer the correspondence between habitus and the objective rules of the field, the more likely there is for enduring and binding patterns of action to emerge.

Conversely, the less congruence there is, the less the agents manage to “fall into line with the rules that are made against them.”164 Although, as we have seen, there were significant points of contact between Hindu and Meitei religious worldviews, the changes to the religious field, especially those involving the taken-for-granted hierarchies of religious goods and agents, and the new rules imposed by Garibniwaz did not correspond with the standing and modus operandi of Maibas/Maibis and the royal family who patronized them. As stated by Bourdieu, “the undertakings of collective mobilization cannot succeed without a minimum of concordance between the habitus of the mobilizing agents (prophet, leader, etc.) and the dispositions of those who recognize themselves in their practices or words.”165 The dietary restrictions and the purging of the lais did not resonate well with the adherents of the Meitei religion. When the

163 Travis L. Smith, "Re-Newing the Ancient: The Kasikhanda and Saiva Varanasi," Acta Orientalia Vilnensia 8, no. I (2007): 84.

164 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 298.

165 Ibid., 59.

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environment that a habitus encounters is too different from the one that they are objectively adjusted to, the habitus is negatively sanctioned, that is, it has to be reconstructed and reestablished along differing logics. Such a reconstruction and internalization of the new doxa takes place under conditions of struggle. 166 Bourdieu refers to this as “hysteresis of habitus.”167

It should be noted, however, that the king remained the head of the old religion. It was, therefore, unlikely that he tried to repudiate it entirely, and evidence suggests that he did not so. The lais were sometimes destroyed; yet at other times they were reappropriated, reinterpreted, and reinstated (in different positions). An entry in 1729, says that the king recognized Lai Wahaiba or Sanamahi as god, and installed an image of him,168 and in 1730, a temple of Wayenbamcha Nongthongba was inaugurated.169 In the absence of Śanta Dās, who had temporarily left the capital, a number of temples for

Wahaiba were inaugurated in 1732,170 and in 1733, an image of Laiyingthou Fallou

Khomba, which had been previously destroyed, was recast and installed again.171 In the

166 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 63 and Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice.

167 Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice, 83. Bourdieu borrows the term “hysteresis” from the Greek word that simultaneously indicates a gap or empty space (womb), which is generative, in this case, of new logics of practice, and a deficiency or lag (given the gender hierarchies in which the term originated and evolved) – Communication with Manuel Vasquez. April 22, 2018.

168 NB.CK, 94 (1729): “The idol of Lai Wahaiba was installed on Friday, the 11th.” SP.CL, Vol. 1,138 (1729) “2 Thursday, as the king agreed to acknowledge Laiyningthou Wahaipa as a divinity, he also agreed to acknowledge the area of Yimthei as a sacred ground…Friday, an idol was inaugurated in the shrine of Laiwa Haipa.”

169 NB.CK, 94

170 NB.CK, 95 (1731): “The temple of Lai Wahaiba was inaugurated at Leishangkhong on Wednesday the 18th with a stone erected there.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 140 (1731): “18 Wednesday, the shrine for Laiwa Haipa at Laisangkhong was inaugurated and a stone was also erected.”

171 NB.CK, 96 (1733): “The image of Laiyingthou Fallou Khomba once destroyed was recast and installed.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 142 (1733): Lainingthou Phalloukhompa (the divinity), which was made unclean, was ordered to be established once again (and worshipped).”

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last two or three years of his reign, there are more references in the chronicles to the traditional lai. This suggests that Garibniwaz relaxed in his attitude to the lai as a response to the opposition in some circles to his policies. To appease his detractors, he tried to make some compromises.

In 1744, Śanta Dās was killed during a war with Myanmar.172 In 1749, Garibniwaz abdicated the throne, and went on pilgrimage to Ramnagar in Uttarakhand.173 The following year, Garibniwaz’s younger son Chit Sai ascended to the throne and drove his father out from Manipur to Myanmar. In 1751, on his way back from Myanmar,

Garibniwaz and his attendants were ambushed and killed by Chit Sai. 174 The reason for

Chit Sai’s censuring of his own father is unknown, but it could very well be reflective of the feelings that some, including the Maibas and members of the royal family, had towards Garibniwaz’s religious reforms. One of Chit Sai’s first actions as king, was to fine those who were following Vaiṣṇavism.175 Chit Sai, however, had a very short reign and his attempts to revive the Meitei tradition were short-lived. In 1752, Chit Sai was quickly ousted, for Garibniwaz was still a popular king amongst the people of Manipur

172 NB.CK, 107 (1744): “Mahapurush died on Tuesday, the 27th in Ava.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 159 (1744): “Mahapurus died in Aawa.”

173 NB.CK, 113 (1748): “Garibniwaz handed over the throne to his son Chitshai (Sanahal) on Wednesday the 10th of Kalen (May).” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 167 (1748): “10 Kalen (April/May), Maharaja Garibniwaz abdicated the throne in favour of his son Yipungo Chit Sai...in the month of Yinga (May/June) the Katwan of Moirang built a place for Ningthem Mayampa in Ramnagar”

174 NB.CK, 114 (1751): “On Sunday the 26th of Poinu, Ningthem Chitshai carried away Garibniwaz and his sons…to a place called Tomphang Hiden situated on the bank of the Brahmaputra (Ningthi or Chindwin) river where he killed all of them including Garibniwaz Maharaja and an earthquake occurred forthwith.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 169 (1751): “26 Poinu (November/December), Garibniwaz Maharaja along with his eldest royal son …., all these men were killed at Tomphang watering place by the bank of the Brahmaputra (river).’

175 NB.CK, 113 (1748): “All the devotees of Gouriya were fined.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 168 (1748): “All those who were following the Gouriya way of life were fined.”

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for his achievements. His brother, Bharat Sai (r. 1752 - 1753) ascended to the throne after driving him out of Manipur.176

The eventful reign of Garibniwaz laid the foundations for subsequent flourishing

Vaiṣṇava kingdoms in Manipur that would last for another two hundred years. The usage of Bengali script, worship of Vaiṣṇava deities, the introduction of the

Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa and Bhāgavata Purāṇa, and the sanskritization of Meitei festivals and sageis laid the groundwork for the construction and popularization of the

Manipuri rāslīlās. The responses from the Meiteis who opposed Garibniwaz’s suppression of Meitei religious practices would also result in a particular form of

Vaiṣṇavism unique to Manipur. This will be evident in the next section when I discuss the reign of Bhāgyacandra.

Early migration, trade, and matrimonial alliances from other parts of India facilitated an exchange of religious ideas and myths in Manipur that resonated with later

Indian contact from the 16th century. Gradually, Vaiṣṇava rituals and ideas were introduced through Kyamba’s sponsoring the worship of a Viṣṇu mūrti, the introduction of the BhP during Khagemba’s reign, Charairongba’s Vaiṣṇava initiation and the establishment of Hindu temples and saṅkīrtan. These paved the way for new options in the religious field. When there is a change in the “universe of options” that are offered for producers and consumers to choose from, there is a change in position-takings.177

176 NB.CK, 114 (1751): “Shangoitaba Bharat Shai ascended the throne on Saturday, the full moon day of Kalen (May). The King with the assistance of all the countrymen had driven out Ningthem Menkhomba (Chitshai), his son Debshai and younger brother…to Pong.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 169 (1751): “15 Kalen (April/May), Sangkoitapa Bharath Sai became king. The king and all the people of the land came together and chased out Ningthem Menkhompa (alias Chit Sai), his son Deb Sai….out to Pong.”

177 Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, 30.

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Every position-taking is defined in relation to the space of possibles. A change in the space of options in turn, is the result of change in the power relations that constitute the space of positions.178 Through long-term migration and contact, Brahmins and other

Indians who settled in Manipur and inter-married with Meiteis eventually enhanced their power in the religious field vis-à-vis the Maiba/Maibis. Garibniwaz, by his association with gurus from Hindu traditions, especially Śanta Dās Gosāi, sought a drastic re- alignment of position-takings in favor of them. The relations between Garibniwaz and

Śanta Dās Gosāi resulted in the institution of Brahmins relegating the Maibas/Maibis, and their religion. The previously dominant Meitei religious practices, therefore, lost their status, coming to be seen as heterodoxy, as outmoded and even primitive. But because the changes did not resonate with the habitus of other members of the royal family,

Garibniwaz was eventually assassinated. Internal struggles in the religious field depend for their outcome on the correspondence they may have with the external struggles in the field of power, and on the reinforcement which one group or another may derive from them, through homology and synchronism.179 Consequently, the death of

Garibniwaz ended the influence of the Rāmānandī tradition in Manipur. However, the new practices he structured in the religious field generated practices that would eventually produce the rāslīlās.

178 Ibid., 32.

179 Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, 57.

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Figure 3-1. Mūrtis of Sitā-Rāma in a Manipuri temple. Photographed by author with permission.

Figure 3-2. Mūrti of Garibniwaz. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 3-3. Śanta Dās Gosāi in handcuffs. Photographed by author with permission.

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CHAPTER 4 EMERGENCE OF THE RĀSLĪLĀ

Bhāgyacandra

In Chapters 2 and 3, I reviewed the various institutions and structures of practice that were established in Manipur and played a major role in the construction of the rāslīlās. These include the emergence of Brahmins as the religious elite and the prominent place of the king in the religious field. The rise of a hierarchy of religious specialists was accompanied by the introduction of temple worship and the establishment of institutions (loisangs) dedicated to the production of religious goods, including music and dance. More specifically, these religious goods ranged from Hindu texts that began to circulate widely and specific patterns of clothing and musical instruments from Bengal, to Bengali and Sanskrit languages and the practice of dedicating saṅkīrtans to deities during temple and life passage rituals.

I also discussed specific dispositions of the Meiteis such as the prominent role of women in public religious rituals and in economic life, the tendency to harmonize diverse religious traditions, body metaphor, the appetite for love stories between their gods, and the importance of ritual dances in their socio-religious lives. In this chapter, I discuss the sociopolitical contexts that constructed a hybrid Manipuri Vaiṣṇava habitus that produced the first three rāslīlās. A major portion of this chapter focuses on the story of King Bhāgyacandra (also known as Chingthangkhomba, Karta and Jai Singh), who is credited with producing them.

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I reproduce his story based on my research of the CK, BP, and its re-telling of the story accounts by prominent Manipuri scholars Dwijendra Narayan Goswami,1

Gangmumei Kabui,2 Tombi Singh,3 Dwijasekhar Sharma,4 R. K. Sana,5 and Jamini

Devi.6 They drew their information primarily from the BK vol. 2 which was originally written in Bengali. Since I do not know Bengali, I drew from their free translations. I also refer to the Assamese chronicle, Tungkhungia Buranji (TB).7 I use materials from the first part of the chronicle, the compilation of which began in 1804 by Srinath Duara

Barbarua, who had served in high posts with the Ahom kingdom such as military commander and chief justice.8 He wrote about events from 1751 to 1806. The manuscript was translated by S.K. Bhuyan from the Historical and Antiquarian Studies,

Assam into English in 1933.9 While, it is not possible to verify historically all the parts of the story, it is nevertheless an important story because of its power in sanctifying the

1 Dwijendra Narayan Goswami, Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra (Agartala, Tripura: Akhar Publications, 2002)

2 Gangmumei Kamei, "Bhagyachandra," in An Encounter with M.C. Arun's Rajarshi Bhagychandra, ed. Nongthombam Jiten (Imphal: Meinam Lakhon Trust, 2007).

3 Ningthoukhongjam Tombi Singh, "Rajarshi Bhagyachandra," in An Encounter with M.C. Arun's Rajarshi Bhagyachandra, ed. Nongthombam Jiten (Manipur: Meinam Lakhon Trust, 2007).

4 H. Dwijasekhar Sharma, "Rajarshi Bhagyachandra," in An Encounter with M.C. Arun's Rajarshi Bhagychandra, ed. Nongthombam Jiten (Imphal: Meinam Lakhon Trust, 2007).

5 Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs.

6 Jamini Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Mahars (New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2010).

7 TB, "Tungkhungia Buranji or History of Assam 1681 - 1826 CE.," ed. S.K. Bhuyan (Calcutta: Oxford University Press, 1933).

8 TB, preface

9 Ibid.

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Manipuri rāslīlās as divinely inspired. Besides his story, I will discuss how agents in the religious field used their capital and position to produce the rāslīlās.

In 1753, after a short period of political instability, two grandsons of Garibniwaz inherited the throne of Manipur. The first, Gaura Shyam, also known as Maramba, ruled

Manipur from 1753-1759.10 Gaura Shyam was crippled and, due to his disability, shared the throne with his younger brother, Bhāgyacandra. This was a turbulent period in

Manipur’s history, as it had been subjected to frequent invasions from neighboring states, especially from the Burmese who were led by the illustrious King Alaungpaya of the Konbaung dynasty (r. 1752-1760). In 1754, Alaungpaya raided Manipur and captured two of Bhāgyacandra’s sons, Labanyanachandra and Modhuchandra.11 Then, in December 1758, Alaungpaya returned to Manipur and sacked the capital, this time, with the help of Gaur Shyam’s uncle Khelempa who revolted against his nephews for not granting him more power.12 For nine days, the Burmese plundered Manipur and took more than a thousand captives back to Burma.13

In 1759, Gaura Shyam abdicated the throne for his brother Bhāgyacandra to take complete control. One of the first things that Bhāgyacandra did when he became king was to destroy a temple constructed by the Burmese in the village of Mawan to commemorate their victory over the Meiteis.14 The Burmese continued the raids,

10 NB.CK, 114.

11 Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs, 136.

12 BP, Vol. 2, 29-38.

13 NB.CK, 115 (1758): “The Ava took possession of the country and stayed for 9 days and settled in the country of the Meiteis.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 172 (1758): “The Aawas stayed nine days (in the country) and the Aawa armies who were both in the hills and the plain established themselves in the Land of the Meeteis.”

14 NB.CK, 115 (1759): “He also destroyed the temple constructed by Ava to commemorate their victory over the Meiteis and Ningthem returned.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 172 (1759): “They also destroyed the temple

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attacking Manipur no less than three times during Bhāgyacandra’s reign. N. N. Acharya estimated that around 300,000 Meiteis were killed or captured during these invasions.15

The Burmese were successful because they had superior firepower from guns that were acquired from their contact with the French and the Portuguese.16 To counter the

Burmese alliance with the French, and to regain dispossessed land, Bhāgyacandra sought an alliance with the British. The British accepted his request because they saw it as a way to pressure Burma into providing reparations for the “repeated ill-treatment” of their workers in a factory at Negrain.17 In 1762, a treaty of mutual trade and defense was negotiated between Henry Verelst, Chief of the East India Company at Chittagong, and

Haridas Gossain, the Bengali negotiator on behalf of Bhāgyacandra.18 The British sent six companies of sepoys to assist Manipur but, due to rain and an outbreak of disease, they did not reach their destination.19

which was built by the people of Aawa to commemorate their victory over the Meeteis.” The CK, does not mention what kind of temple it was, but presumably it was a Buddhist temple.

15 N. N. Acharya, "Manipur in the Eye of Foreign Historians," in Manipur: Past and Present, ed. N. Sanajaoba (1988).

16 Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs, 140.

17 General letter to England, dd. Fort William, 30th October 1972, in J. Talboys Wheeler, Early Records of British India : A History of the English Settlements in India (London: Trubner and Company, 1878), 291- 92. The “ill-treatment” refers to the destruction of a British factory in Burma and the killing of employees of the British under the order of the Burmese king Alaungpaya, as described in p. 280.

18 Leishangthem Chandramani Singh, The Boundaries of Manipur (Manipur: Pan Manipuri Youth League, 1970), 8.

19 Horace Hayman WIlson, Narrative of the Burmese War in 1824-26, as Originally Compiled from Official Documents (London: Wm. H. Allen, and Co., 1852), 19-20. He recounted this incident as follows:

“In his distress the Rāja had recourse to Bengal, and in 1762 a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, was concluded between him and Mr. Verelst, in consequence of which six companies of sipahis (sic) were dispatched to his assistance, with the declared purpose of not only clearing Manipur of the enemy, but of subjugating the kingdom of the Burmas. The advance of the division was etarded by heavy rains, and its numbers were so much reduced by sickness, that it was recalled long before it had traversed Kachar (sic).”

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In 1762, Bhāgyacandra stepped down from the throne as atonement because a

Brahmin was murdered by one of his servants, and Gaura Shyam took over again.20

This showed Bhāgyacandra’s high regard for Brahmins, and the entwinement of religious and political hierarchies. But Gaura Shyam died the following year, and

Bhāgyacandra became king again. In 1764, the Burmese King Hsinbyushin (r. 1763-

1776), invaded Manipur with a large and well-equipped army and defeated the troops led by Bhāgyacandra, laying siege to his palace.21 The Burmese installed Khelempa as a puppet king and Bhāgyacandra fled to Cachar.

Bhāgyacandra’s period of exile would prove to be crucial to his own and

Manipur’s religious future. This liminal period allowed for the emergence of a narrative that sanctified both him and the origin of the rāslīlās. It is not possible to discern the historical parts of the story, but it is important to summarize it here because it legitimized the rāslīlās as having divine origins in the consciousness of Manipuris. My research shows that there is little variation from the versions that I read or heard from the everyday speech of Manipuris through my interviews or depictions of paintings displayed on temple walls. The main content is more or less consistently reproduced, and it varies only in minor details in different sources, indicating a high-level of doxa.

20 NB.CK, 116 (1762). “One Brahmachari was murdered by his slave at Tangkhan as a result of which Meidingu Chingthangkhomba abdicated the throne and Meidingu Maramba ascended the throne for a second time.” SP.CK, Vol. 1, 172 (1759): “As it was reported that one Brahmacari was killed by his servant at Tangkham, Meetingu Chingthangkhompa abdicated the throne.”

21 G. E. Harvey, History of Burma - from the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824, the Beginning of the English Conquest (New Delhi, Madras: Asian Educational Services, 1925; repr., 2000), 257. Also, it is written in SP.CK, Vol. 2, 3 (1764): “They barricaded themselves behind (bales of straw) and they fought against Aawa. But they could not defeat (the enemy) and retreated. Chingthangkhompa fled to the land of Mayang and reached Tekhao.”

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In Victor Turner’s terms, the story is a part of a social drama enacted during periods of conflict or anti-structure. Turner identified four main phases of social drama:

1) breach of regular, norm-governed social relations 2) mounting crisis, a period with liminal characteristics 3) redressive action, where pragmatic techniques and symbolic action reach their fullest expression and 4) reintegration.22 With reference to Manipur, the first stage, breach of normal social relations took place with the Burmese invasions, and the appointment of a puppet king. This ushered in a period of chaos, with the breakdown of traditional structures. The second stage, the liminal period comprised of

Bhāgyacandra period of exile. It resonates with Turner’s description of the actor-pilgrim in pilgrimage who is “confronted by sequences of sacred objects and participates in symbolic activities which he believes are efficacious in changing his inner and…outer condition from sin to grace, or sickness to health.”23

While in Cachar, Bhāgyacandra visited the ancestral home of Caitanya in Dacca

Dakshin, Sylhet, now a part of Bangladesh. There, he engaged in symbolic activities of transformation during the period of crisis in Turner’s second stage. He met Rām

Nārāyaṇ Siromani, a descendant of Upendra Mishra who was the grandfather of

Caitanya and received Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava initiation from him.24 According to Sana and

Goswami, based on oral traditions in Manipur, Bhāgyacandra received initiation from Sri

Rūpa Paramānanda, a disciple of Rām Gopal Mahasaya, whose ancestors migrated to

22 Victor Turner, Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors : Symbolic Action in Human Society (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1974), 33-34.

23 Turner, Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society, 197.

24 Roy, "Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Bengal." 56.

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Manipur during the reign of King Mungyamba (r. 1562 - 1597).25 According to Sana,

Rām Gopal Mahāsaya was the guru who had initiated Garibniwaz into Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇavism.26 Traditional narratives claim that they are from the lineage of disciples of

Ganganarayan Chakraborty and his predecessor Narottama-dāsa Thakur (16th century), both famous in the Gauḍīya lineage for their missionary achievements in Bengal and

Orissa.27 Melville Kennedy, a Christian missionary who was based in Kolkata wrote in

1925 that Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism was introduced in Manipur through the disciples of

Narottama (16th century – 17th century):

From Kheturi, Narottama’s disciples in their proselytizing went up to the eastern borders of Bengal, to Tipperah (Tripura) and Manipur, where the ruling chiefs now accepted the Chaitanya cult.”28

Narottama is credited with being one of the main proponents of Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇavism in Bengal and Orissa, composing several devotional poems, and establishing the practice of singing Gaura-candrikā padas. Gaura-candrikās are an invocation to Caitanya sung as an introduction to a genre of Vaiṣṇava devotional lyrics called pādās. In his study of the use of Gaura-candrikā, Edward Dimock suggested that they were sung because “purification of the minds and hearts of both singer and listener is necessary,” since some of the padas, particularly those on the theme of love between

Rādhā and Krishna could be sensual.29 The invocation of Caitanya then was meant to

25 Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs, 182; Goswami, Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra, 18.

26 Sana (The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs, 182) opined that he was the same guru who had initiated Garibniwaz, but then left Manipur after the arrival of Śanta Dās. I could not find any primary sources that confirmed this.

27 Saktinath Jha, "Gamvila Sripat and Manipur," in Pilgrimage: From Manipur to Gambhilapat, Murshidabad, ed. Debasri Das (Murshidabad: Sripat Singh College, 2016).

28 Kennedy, The Chaitanya Movement: A Study of the Vaishnavism of Bengal, 73.

29 Edward C. Dimock, "The Place of Gauracandrikā in Bengali Vaiṣṇava Lyrics," Journal of the American

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prepare the mind to “receive such padas in a purer way.”30 The lyrics of the kīrtans and rāslīlās in Manipur begin with a Gaura-candrikā, most likely due to the influence of this practice in Narottama’s lineage.

Having been initiated a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava, between 1764 to 1765,

Bhāgyacandra then proceeded to Assam where he was received by King Rajeshwar

Singha. According to the Tungkhungia Buranji (TB), the royal chronicle of Assam,

Rajeshwar Singha’s minister Kritichandra Barbarua advised him to assist Bhāgyacandra because of the latter’s mythical ancestral relations to Babruvāhana, borne out of the marriage between Arjuna and the Manipui princess Citrāṅgadā from the Mahābhārata

(referred to in Chapter 3 in the discussion on how Manipur got its name) :

The Manipuri Rāja was descended of old from Babrubahan. He is a Kshatriya and there is no doubt about it. I hope, Your Majesty will marry the princess (Kuranganayani)31…This chief of Manipur has taken refuge with Your Majesty being driven from his kingdom by the Burman king. The Sastras have said that a fugitive should not be denied protection; so, if Your Majesty can contrive to reinstate the Manipuri Rāja to his kingdom, that act will bring in to Your majesty both fame and piety. 32

Thus, religion served to legitimize the effort to restore Bhāgyacandra’s royal status.

Popular narratives describe the following incident, which is crucial to framing the traditional origins attributed to the rāslīlā. Bhāgyacandra’s estranged uncle Khelempa informed Rajeshwar Singha via a letter that Bhāgyacandra was an imposter posing as

Oriental Society 7, no. 3 (1958).

30 Dimock, “The Place of Gauracandrikā in Bengali Vaiṣṇava Lyrics,” 157.

31 Princess Kuranganayani (aka Sija Phongta Lokpi) is Bhāgyacandra’s brother’s daughter, whom he later gifted in marriage to King Rajeshwar Singha.

32 "Tungkhungia Buranji: A Chronicle of the Tungkhungia Kings of Assam,” ed. S. K. Bhuyan (Assam: Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, 1933), 55-56.

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the king of Manipur.33 Consequently, Rajeshwar Singha felt doubtful of the identity of his guest, and wanted to test if he was indeed the true king of Manipur.34 Singha put

Bhāgyacandra to a test by asking him to tame a wild elephant because he heard that

Manipuri kings were gifted with great strength and special powers.35 While

Bhāgyacandra accepted the challenge, he was apparently overwhelmed by it, and later in the night he fell on his knees and pleaded to his deity Krishna to save him. On hearing his prayer, Krishna appeared in his dream and assured the king of victory, not only against the elephant but that he would be reinstated as Manipur’s king.

Bhāgyacandra responded by requesting Krishna to be the king of Manipur and accept him as a servant. Krishna then instructed Bhāgyacandra to install an image of him carved out of a specific theibong (jackfruit) tree found on Kaina hill in Manipur and dedicate a rāslīlā performance to him. Krishna then revealed his rāslīlā dance to the king. Upon waking, the king summoned a member of his counsel, Pandit Gopīram

Singh Patchahanba, and related his dream to him. He then requested Patchahanba to paint what he saw in his dream.

The next day, the test for Bhāgyacandra was arranged and a notorious wild elephant was brought to the arena. Bhāgyacandra tamed the elephant without difficulty.36 Rajeshwar Singha congratulated him and bestowed upon him the title “Jai

33 Goswami, Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra, 28.

34 Ningthoukhongjam Tombi Singh, Rajarshi Bhagyachandra, 26.

35 Goswami, Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra, 18.

36 Ningthoukhongjam Tombi Singh, "Rajarshi Bhagyachandra,” 38. Traditional accounts say that only Bhāgyacandra could see Krishna riding on top of the elephant and taming it like a mahout. By the time the charging elephant approached the king, it bowed down for him to mount it.

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Singh.”37 Figure 4-1 shows a statue of Bhāgyacandra mounting the elephant at the crossroads of Manipur’s busiest business district, near the Paona Bazzar in Imphal.

As a result of Bhāgyacandra’s legendary victory, thousands of people volunteered to help him in his quest to regain his throne.38 After an initial failed expedition due to the troops getting lost,39 in 1767, a military force of 80,000 Assamese soldiers armed with guns, swords and spears were sent to Manipur assist

Bhāgyacandra.40 It succeeded in restoring Bhāgyacandra back to the throne, and his triumphant return to Manipur is recorded in the CK.41 Bhāgyacandra was then recognized as the supreme ruler of Manipur, both by the people of the valley and the various tribes of the hill.42 The episode of Bhāgyacandra’s reinstatement constitutes

Turner’s third stage, redressive action.

The good relations established between Assam and Manipur during the warring period with Burma would continue over the next two decades, and would play a role in the fourth stage, reintegration. Later, in 1789, when rebel forces attacked the next Ahom

37 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur: Sija Laiobi and the Maharas, 23. Later non-Brahmin Meitei men would have ‘Singh’ suffixed to their name. Bhāgyacandra’s legendary story is still celebrated in Manipur today

38 Ningthoukhongjam Tombi Singh, "Rajarshi Bhagyachandra,” 39.

39 TB, 59 – 60.

40 Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs, 145.

41 NB.CK, 117 (1767): “On hearing the news that Chingthangkhomba Maharaja started from Tekhao (Assam) with 80, 000 troops to regain his kingdom of Manipur, Bhabananda, his uncle Senapati, Khwairakpa and Moirang Masemba, etc. left for Sangaithem to receive the Maharaja…Chingthangkhomba Maharaja arrived at Sangaithen on Thursday, the 6th.” SP.CK, Vol.2, 4 (1767): “The royal maternal uncle, the Senapati,...and the majority of the people of the land went out from Moirang as far as Sangaithen to meet the Maharaj, taking with them most of the royal regalia, when they heard the news that the king had marched from Tekhao with an eighty thousand strong army…6 Thursday, Maharaj Chingthangkhompa arrived at Sangaithen.”

42 Ningthoukhongjam Tombi Singh, "Rajarshi Bhagyachandra,” 42.

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king, son of the brother of Rajeshwar Singha, Gaurinath Singha, he sent 64 messengers and eight monks to Manipur to request Bhāgyacandra’s help.43

Bhāgyacandra promptly responded by sending a force of 700 soldiers to his aid.44

Nilakanta Singh pointed out that since Bhāgyacandra had stayed for a long time in the court of the Ahom King, he might have seen the Aṅkīyā nāṭ dance of Assam, which is attributed to Śaṅkardev45 and was performed in monasteries called sattras.46

This is corroborated by the Assamese chronicle Tungkhungia Buranji, wherein it is described that during Rajeshwar Singha’s wedding to the Manipuri princess

Kuranganayani, a drama known as Rāvaṇa-vadha-bhāonā was performed by 700 musicians and actors for the Manipuri and Cachari kings.47 Nilakanta Singh described how the Manipuri rāga (musical framework) has considerable similarity with the rāgas in the Sattriya music performed in those dances.48 This point is further supported by

Maheswar Neog’s anecdote that describes how in a lecture organized by the Sattriya

Sanskriti Samarakshan Aru Parisad, prominent Manipuri dance guru Bipin Singh demonstrated the “common roots of tala (beat) structures in Sattriya and Manipuri

43 NB.CK, 135 (1788): “64 persons of Assam (Tekhao) duly negotiated for battle and 8 Sanyasis arrived on Friday, the second.” SP.CK, Vol.2, 31 (1788): “Sixty-four Tekhaos who had been hired to fight in the battle arrived. Eight monks also arrived.”

44 Jhalajit Singh, “Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Assam,” 36.

45 Śaṅkardev (1449-1568) and his disciple Madhavadeva (1489-1596) had propagated a neo-Vaiṣṇava movement in Assam through music, dance, and dramas, which they wrote and choregraphed. See Birendranath Datta, “Śaṅkardev,” Ananda Lal, ed. The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004) and Maheswar Neog, Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1985), 246-247.

46 Śaṅkardev utilized dance dramas and poetry to propagate Vaiṣṇava in Assam in the 16th century. See E. Nilakanta Singh, Aspects of Indian Culture, 71.

47 TB 94.

48 E. Nilakanta Singh, Aspects of Indian Culture, 70.

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dance” and specifically pointed out that the “rupak taal in Manipuri dance is referred to as Tekhao (a reference to Assam used by Manipuris) Rupak”, acknowledging that

Manipuri dance appropriated from Sattriya.”49 Jhalajit Singh found that similar instruments are used in both dances.50 The Manipuri drum, pung, and the Assamese drum resemble each other, with the latter just being a little longer than the former.

Moreover, similar terminologies are used in Assamese and Manipuri performances. For example, the word Ojhā, which refers to ‘teacher’ in the Manipuri context, was likely to have been borrowed from Assam, wherein it refers to a Brahmin scholar51 or the leader of the Assamese Ojhā-pali peformances, who narrates the story using dramatic gestures, expressions, and music.52 Another borrowed term is Sutradhārī, which refers to the female lead singers in the Manipuri rāslīlās. In Aṅkīyā nāṭ, the male Sutradhāra, plays a more active role as producer and narrator. He dances, recites the opening verses, introduces the characters, announces their entrance and exit, and delivers religious discourses based on the story of the play.53 Given these similarities,

Bhāgyacandra could have invited Assamese artistes to help choreograph the Manipuri rāslīlās.

The pan-Indian appeal of Vaiṣṇavism was used by Bhāgyacandra to forge political alliances with Assam, and to fortify his claim to the throne over the non-Hindu

49 Maheswar Neog, Aesthetic Continuum: Essays on Assamese Music, Drama, Dance and Paintings (New Delhi: Omsons Publications, 2008, 8).

50 Jhalajit Singh, “Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur and Assam,” 41.

51 Neog, Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam, 95.

52 Archana Bhattacharjee, "Srimanta Sankardev’s Ankiya-Nat," The Criterion 2, no. 3 (2011).

53 Ibid., 2.

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Burmese. Vaiṣṇavism was a potent tool in his quest for political legitimacy, and his adopting it as a personal and state religion made political sense. It served as a crucial ingredient in the process of reintegration, the blending together of personal devotion and the performance of state religion through structured rituals that included the rāslīlās.

In the process, the doxa behind the rāslīlās was formed.

This is not to say that Bhāgyacandra’s support for Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism was solely due to political reasons and not influenced by his personal faith. As I will show later, Bhāgyacandra was a very active and interested participant of Vaiṣṇava rituals during the time his spent in Manipur, and outside of it. In fact, Bhāgyacandra’s efforts in promoting Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism and the traditional stories about his divine vision earned him the title “Rājarṣi” (saintly King) and he is still referred to by that honorific today. His story is still retold in the form of dramas, murals in temples, and festivals. Figure 4-2 shows his mūrti in a temple at his birthplace.

Having been reinstated as king, Bhāgyacandra then sought to repel further

Burmese attacks, consolidate his position and unify his people under a religious framework. Between 1769 and 1776, the CK records that were a few more attacks from

Burma, but these were repelled and political stability returned to Manipur.54

Bhāgyacandra then focused on regaining the lost territories of Manipur and on maintaining law and order, a period of reintegration in Turner’s terms. Later, a peaceful compromise seems to have been made with Burma, as the Burmese released his sons

54 For example, the record for CK 1770 reads: “Yipungsi Nanda marched from Aawa (Burma) with an army of Aawas and after killing Keipram on the street and after appointing his younger brother, Yipungo Kukila Nanda as the protector of the land, he tried to gather up and capture the Meeteis as prisoners. But the Meeteis killed seven hundred of them in that battle.” (SP.CK, Vol. 2, 5 (1770))

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from captivity in 1787.55 Soon, the political situation gradually stabilized, and

Bhāgyacandra reigned over a peaceful kingdom until his death in 1798. This allowed him to focus on other activities such as arts and religion. Hence, reintegration was characterized by a return to structure, buttressed by peformances of moments of communitas, signified by religious rituals and the rāslīlās.

The earlier warring period and resultant political instability created a situation that was favorable for change. Social changes and political upheavals experienced during warfare are periods of social fragmentation in which the established order is suspended.

According to Bourdieu, the prophet, a “man of crisis situations” has more chance of success in crisis periods that affect entire societies.56 Bourdieu built this idea on

Weber’s notion that charismatic authority may be produced in “an object or person through extraordinary means.”57 In an uncertain political climate, there is receptiveness to new ideas and innovative religious practices and beliefs. Thus, crisis situations favor the emergence of prophetic discourses because they throw up old configurations and create conditions of reception that make new discourses available.58 As articulated by

Bourdieu, the successful prophet “realizes in his person and in his discourse, the meeting of a signifying and a signified that predated him, but only in the potential and implicit state, that he can mobilize groups or classes that recognize his language

55 NB.CK, 134 (1787): “Madhuchandra, the son of Ngangbam Chanu arrived from Ava on Monday, the 7th and he met his father, the Maharaja at Naosekpa Lok on Wednesday, the 9th.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 29 (1779): “7 Monday, Yipungsi Mathuchantra whose mother was Yipi, the Ngangpam maiden, arrived from Awa. 9 Wednesday, the royal son Mathuchantra and the Maharaj met at Naosekpalok gorge.”

56 Bourdieu, "Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field," 34. Bourdieu built this idea on Weber’s notion that charismatic authority

57 Weber, M. (1963). The Sociology of Religion (E. Fischoff, Trans. Fourth ed.). Boston: Beacon Press, 2.

58 Hilgers, and Mangez 18.

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because they recognize themselves in him.”59 In other words, the prophet’s discourse resonates with his audience because he is able to anticipate their habitus and introduce a product that corresponds with it. Cultural producers are able to use the power conferred on them, especially in crisis periods, by their capacity to put forward a discourse of the world to mobilize the dominated classes and transform prevailing structures.60 As such, drawing from Vaiṣṇavism to provide divine legitimation to his political authority, Bhāgyacandra was able to rally the Manipuris into a cohesive and settled collective identity, which included both institutions (structures) and incorporated ways of being in the world (habitus). The above-mentioned story of Bhāgyacandra’s hierophany during his period of exile and his victory over the Burmese conferred both political and religious capital on him. Bhāgyacandra’s converted his religious capital to political capital and vice versa to re-establish or transform the structures in the religious field.

Bhāgyacandra’s patronization of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism and his image of a religious and political authority during a time of crisis enabled Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism to become so widespread that it rose to prominence over the other existing Hindu and

Meitei traditions. In fact, Rāmānandī Vaiṣṇavism gradually waned away and was replaced by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism as the state religion of Manipur. This is despite the continued influx of Rāmānandī sannyāsis, as recorded in the CK for 1792 CE.61

59 Bourdieu, "Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field," 35.

60 Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, 44.

61 NB.CK, 129, 142 ”3 monks of Ramanadi also arrived.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 42 (1792): “Three Ramanandi monks also arrived.”

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By the late 1770s, after Bhāgyacandra regained power, one of Bhāgyacandra’s first acts was to reverse the practices that the Burmese introduced. When the Burmese were occupying Manipur, they appointed Chandragya as governor of Manipur.

According to the CK, Chandragya suppressed Hindu practices and forced the Meiteis

Vaiṣṇavas to remove their sacred thread.62 In 1781, Bhāgyacandra organized a ceremony in which he directed the Meiteis who were forced to remove their thread to wear it again.63 In this and other instances, he converted symbolic capital to religious capital, when he played the role usually reserved for a guru. Symbolic capital here refers to the degree of accumulated prestige and consecrated honor as king that

Bhāgyacandra had successfully amassed. Bourdieu theorized how symbolic capital can be converted to material capital in the form of economic capital and power, and vice versa.64 According to him, they are not reducible to each other, and require an interface to mediate the conversion. Similarly, symbolic capital can be converted to religious capital that refers to religious knowledge, competences, or dispositions. The status of

Bhāgyacandra as a Rājarsi, a saint-king, who had encountered the divine, acted as an interface to convert his symbolic capital to religious capital and implement various

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava practices in Manipur.

62 NB.CK, 119 (1774): “The Meiteis took out their holy threads called Nogun and an earthquake occurred on that day.”

63 NB.CK, 125 (1781): “On Monday 5th, a religious ceremony was performed wherein all the people who had thrown away their sacred threads were allowed to use new ones in a prayaschitt (atonement) held at Pukhri and Wangkhei Bindaram was also one of them.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 15 (1781): “All those who had discarded the sacred thread including Bindara from Wangkhei, were made to take the sacred thread at a ceremony held at a pond.”

64 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 118-119

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Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Practices in Manipur

We can then turn to the specific ways in which Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism was structured and propagated in Manipur. Like Rāmānandī Vaiṣṇavism discussed earlier,

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism was initially spread through the missionary activities of people who came from outside of Manipur. Later practices include the recitation of sacred texts like the BhP, consecration of mūrtis worshipped by Vaiṣṇavas in temples, the institution of gurus who performed the role of preceptors, and the performance of saṅkīrtan in various contexts, especially life-passage rituals. The temples, festivals, and other ritual occasions when Manipuris gathered together provided opportunities for the in- corporation and spread of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ideas and beliefs.

From the institutions, religious symbols flowed into economic life during

Bhāgyacandra’s reign, as the state issued gold and silver coins with “Sri Rādhā

Govindaji” inscribed on them.65 As Vaiṣṇavism became more widespread in Manipuri social life, new religious practices that were not previously present during the reign of

Garibniwaz emerged. These include the production of literature in local languages, pilgrimage to places considered to be sacred by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas such as Vraja and

Navadvīpa, the recreation of these sacred geographies in Manipur, and the worship of deities specific to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism like Caitanya, and Nityānanda. Most prominent of these, and the one that would attain global fame was the Manipuri rāslīlā.

The religious fame of Bhāgyacandra attracted large waves of sannyāsis and

Brahmins to Manipur. In the CK and BK, there are records of the arrival of religious travelers, some from faraway places such as Lahore and Vṛndāvan. Some examples

65 Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs, 182

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are as follows: in December 1786, a Jagadishor Thakur, accompanied by four sannyāsis and 17 brahmacaris (celibate students) arrived,66 and both in 178367 and in

1788, it is specifically mentioned that Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas arrived.68 These religious travelers would introduce cultural innovations through rituals and circulate devotional literatures. In 1789, a “Thakur Roma arrived with sixty persons from Tekhao (Assam),

29 horses, and five sections of the BhP.”69 Migrant Brahmins were employed by the state for various religious and social functions, including conducting a sacrifice so that a smallpox epidemic would subside.70 Religious travel also became a two-way process, as more Manipuris travelled to India for pilgrimage. For example, it is reported in the CK that in 1793, Queen Yipemma Yangampi Reimakhupi took her mūrti of Rādhāraman (a name for Krishna) with her and went on pilgrimage to Vṛndāvan.71 Considered by

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas to be the spiritual capital of the Vraja region, Vṛndāvan is the place where the prototype rāslīlās are believed to have been performed. Manipuris went to

66 NB.CK, 131 (1786) (On Thursday 23rd, Jagadishwar Thakur arrived with 4 Sanyasis and 1 Brahmacari of Cachar on Sunday.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 25 (1786): “27 Sunday, four sanyasis and one brahmacari arrived along with Jagatiswar Thakur.”

67 NB.CK, 126 (1783): “Two Gouriya Beisnabs arrived on Tuesday, the 10th.”

68 NB.CK, 135 (1788): “2 Gouriya Beisnabs arrived from Cachar on Saturday, the 3rd.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 31 (1788): “3 Saturday, two Vaishnabs who kept caste arrived from Mayang.”

69 NB.CK, 136 (1789). SP.CK, Vol. 2, 33 “ 7 Sunday, Thakur Roma arrived from Tekhao with sixty Tekhaos, twenty-nine horses, and five section of the Bhagabab (Purana).”

70 NB.CK, 141 (1792): “The Brahmins performed a jajna on Thursday, the 26th to subside the smallpox epidemic.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 40 (1792) “26 Thursday, the Pamons performed Hindu religious rites for the smallpox epidemic at Takhen Chirang.”

71 NB.CK, 143 (1793): “Rani Yangambi Leimakhubi went to Brindaban on Wednesday, the 19th with the idol of Radharaman.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 42 (1793): “19 Wednesday, Yipemma Yangampi the Leimakhupi left for Shri Brandaabon carrying the image of Ratharomon.”

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these places to study philosophy, rituals, and language, and accumulated religious capital that they would exercise in their own state.

Besides religious travels, Hindu sacred texts were collected and circulated in

Manipur. These include the BhP and the Gītagovinda, a 12th century dramatic lyrical poem attributed to the poet Jayadev, themed on the love between Krishna and the

Gopīs (cowherd maidens), especially Rādhā. The Gītagovinda was already very popular in North India by the 16th century for its poetic and religious expression. It was sung during ritual dances in the Jagannātha Puri temple in Orissa, as well as in Nepal and Gujarat.72 In Manipur, the Gītagovinda was sung in a style known as padāvali kīrtan which were associated with Narottama Dāsa, and used Hindustani rāgas.73 Kirti Singh suggested that the popularity of the Gītagovinda is evidenced by the large number of manuscripts in the possession of Brāhmins, Meitei scholars, kīrtan singers, and Lairik

Haiba Thiba (reciters and translators of the text in Manipuri language).74 The many dance classes I observed in Manipur used musical renditions of parts of the Gītagovinda as a lyrical background because they were ideal for short pieces. Besides the BhP and

Gītagovinda, other Sanskrit texts such as the Mahābhārata were translated into

Meiteilon.

The CK records show that the Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, and the BhP were also recited in public and during festivals.75 These public readings of the epics and purāṇas

72 Barbara Stoler Miller, Gītagovinda of Jayadev: Love Song of the Dark Lord, trans. Barbara Stoler Miller (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1977).

73 Kirti Singh, "Impact of Gita-Govinda in Indian Life with Special Reference to Manipur," in Facets of Manipuri Culture, ed. M. Thoiba Singh (2011).

74 Ibid., 25

75 NB.CK, 127 (1783): “In the function, Chamaset read Bhagabat.” NB.CK, 143 (1793): “The Maharaja

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by religious specialists were popular means of transmitting and inculcating religious ideas and dispositions to the illiterate masses. An Assamese Brahmin by the name of

Jiu Ram Sharma had made the narrative style of poetry popular in Manipur.76 While in exile in Assam, Bhāgyacandra had met Jiu Ram Sharma and invited him to Manipur. In

1776 CE, when he arrived in Manipur, Jiu Ram Sharma attained fame for narrating the above-mentioned texts in Manipur. He was called “Tekhao Bhamon Leeba” - the storyteller Brahim from Tekhao (Assam).77 I observed that the reading and explanation of scriptures like BhP and Caitanya Caritāmṛta, which came to be called “Wāri-leeba” is still conducted in Manipuri Vaiṣṇava temples (See Figure 4-3). It is rendered in a dramatic fashion with the speaker reciting verses in the original language of the text and then translating it to Manipuri using song and emotion. In fact, the style of narration bears resemblance to the dialogues, which take place during the rāslīlās.

The most visible form of transmitting Vaiṣṇava beliefs and practices to the masses was through the performance of song and dance. In fact, the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava emphasis on saṅkīrtan as a primary religious practice resonated with the Meiteis who were already accustomed to appeasing their gods through song and dance (See

Chapter 2). According to Donna Wulff, there are two categories of kīrtans in Bengal.78

The first, nāmasankīrtans refers to the singing of the names of Krishna, along with those

invited all the ministers, Sirdars, and noblemen of the country on Tuesday, the 20th to hear the reading of holy book of Sreemad Bhagabat at Kangla.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 42 (1793): “20 Tuesday, Ningthem made all the courtiers of the country listen to the public reading of Shri Bhagavad at Kangla.”

76 Bandopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications, 62.

77 Datta, Historical and Cultural Relations between Manipur, Assam and Bengal, 15.

78 Donna M. Wulff, "The Play of Emotion; Līlākīrtan in Bengal," in The Gods at Play: Līlā in South Asia, ed. William S. Sax (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).

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of Caitanya, and is performed by a kīrtan troupe or sung communally. The second, līlākīrtans, which involves rendering into song one of Krishna’s līlās (activities) is always peformed by a troupe of specially trained singers and drummers in the presence of an audience. Līlākīrtan is also known as rasakīrtan “because it is experienced by its connoisseurs as conducing to the highest aesthetic and spiritual delight (rasa).”79 Both forms are present in Manipur. Although nāmasaṅkīrtan had already been introduced during the reigns of Charairongba and Garibniwaz, Bhāgyacandra introduced a new form of līlākīrtans called “naṭa saṅkīrtan” which employed the narrative dialogue of Wāri- leeba, and physical movements from Manipur’s indigenous martial arts and dance tradition. My martial arts teacher, Ranjeet, demonstrated a few body movements from

Thang-ta which have been incorporated by drummers in naṭa saṅkīrtan performances.

In terms of lyrical content, Manipuri scholar Nongthombam Premchand opined that naṭa saṅkīrtan is an extension of the līlākīrtans of Narottama.80 Both contain the gaurcandrikā segment, which has been attributed to Narottama. Naṭa saṅkīrtan plays an important part in the structure of the Manipuri rāslīlā as it is always performed just before the latter. It serves to invoke bhakti rasa or a devotional feeling, as a foretaste of what the rāslīlā will produce for its devotee-audience and performers. In Chapter 5, I will discuss in detail the nexus between bhaktirasa and rāslīlā.

79 Wulff, The Gods at Play: Līlā in South Asia, 101. Wulff also informs us that līlākīrtan is also known as pālākīrtan (because each performance represents a single episode or a pālā, in the life of Kṛṣṇa or Caitanya) and padāvalī kīrtan (because the songs of which it is composed is based on 15-18th century Vaiṣṇava poems collectively known as padāvalī.

80 Premchand, Nongthombam. Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 103.

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In the CK, there are records of the king traveling to different parts of Manipur to attend saṅkīrtan, indicating that it was performed all over Manipur.81 The significance of saṅkīrtan in Manipur’s religious landscape is underscored by records in the CK and my own observation of the holī festival.82 Groups of singers, numbering more than a hundred, would perform saṅkīrtan at various temples and homes for a week. I found that several Manipuri homes had a courtyard which specifically served the purpose of hosting saṅkīrtan groups. Further, as I mentioned in Chapter 3, beginning from

Garibniwaz’s reign, saṅkīrtan has been performed during life passage rituals such as weddings and funerals. These examples indicate the extent to which the practice of singing had kīrtan become doxa.

The main reason for the popularity of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in Manipur was due to the way in which it was spread. A key question faced by missionaries when propagating their religion in a foreign land is whether they should adopt a stance of cultural accommodation towards local customs and practices, including those shaped by indigenous religions, or whether they should insist on transplanting an unaltered version extant in the country of origin. While Garibniwaz more or less adopted a rigid exclusivist stance that emphasized the exclusive worship of Vaiṣṇava deities, rituals, and texts,

Bhāgyacandra preferred an accommodationist approach and openness to acculturation.

Bhāgyacandra shunned away from dramatic acts of sanskritization espoused by

81 NB.CK, 148 (1796): “The Maharaja went to Lamangdong (Bishnupur) to attend the kirtan of Kalaraja on Sunday, the 25th.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 49 (1796): “25 Sunday, Ningthem attended a kirtan given by the Kalaraja (Bishnupriyas) at Lammangtong.”

82 NB.CK, 141 (1791): “On that day of Holi festival, Palas (singers) of Louremba Krishnachandra quarreled with the Palas of Chourajit resulting in fierce fighting on the 18th, Sunday.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 39 (1791): “On that day it was reported that two male choirs of Chourajit and Lourempa Krishnachandra became involved in a brawl as they went to celebrate the Holi festival.”

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Garibniwaz and displayed greater sensitivity towards the Meitei culture. His ecumenical approach paved the way for people to practice both religions simultaneously. It is possible that Bhāgyacandra realized that indigenous religious traditions could not be completely eradicated based on the reaction to Garibniwaz’s efforts. As we saw,

Garibniwaz occupied a position in the religious and political fields that was in direct competition with those of other members of the royal family and the Maibas/Maibis. To enhance his position, he sought wholesale changes that stood in sharp tension with the logics of local Meitei religious life, generating widespread resistance. In contrast, in

Bhāgyacandra’s own liminality encouraged the development of a more hybrid habitus that, while introducing innovations, was more in line with the worldview of Manipuris.

With the introduction of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in Manipur, new aesthetic sensibilities and horizons opened up. The circulation of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava religious ideas, opened up distinct avenues of spiritual engagement, both in performance and the enjoyment of such performance. On the other hand, in the process of adapting to the indigenous culture and fusing a complex mixture of native and foreign elements and practices, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism underwent significant changes that reflected a distinct

Manipuri predilection. Lokendra Arambam referred to this phenomenon as

“Meeteization (sic) of Hinduism” instead of “Hinduization of Meitei”.83 In fact, in their course of their mutual encounters, Vaiṣṇavism and the Meitei religion were each transformed. This is reflected in the gods, life passage rituals, and public festivals.

The introduction of Vaiṣṇava deities did not replace the lais. There are numerous instances that show that both the Vaiṣṇava gods and the Umang lais were worshipped

83 Recorded interview with Lokendra Arambam, September 10, 2011 at Imphal, Manipur.

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together. It is recorded in the CK that in 1783, Bhāgyacandra’s uncle Anantashai inaugurated a new pond and on that day both the images of Govindaji and Sanamahi, and other gods were bathed in that pond:

On 5th Hiyangei (October-November) Saturday, Ibungsi (the king’s brother’s son) Anantashai Nongthonba started to dedicate the tank. On the same day lai Govinda, Sanamahi and others, all the lai of the land, were made to bathe in the Lamlongei tank. The King, Queen, all the leaders, the Rāmānandī, monks, and Brahmins, the old men, and men of rank - all of them were made to bathe in the tank. 84

According to Parratt, the lais which did not have great significance seemed to have been forgotten, except for the clan or household gods which continued to be worshipped in the usual way.85 Conversely, the more important lais, like Sanamahi and

Leimaren, continued to be worshipped, often side-by-side with Krishna, without the degree of tension that had marked the Garibniwaz period.86 In traditional Meitei homes, the Sanamahi Kachin (Sanamahi corner) is situated at the Southwest corner of the house where a mat and a bamboo is kept for his worship, while another altar is made for Krishna in the courtyard or another prominent place.87 It is common to see both the lais and Vaiṣṇava deities being worshipped in houses, although they may have had different designated areas (See Figure 4-4).

Sanamahi also played an important part in the ritual life of the royal family. His image was erected in 1778 CE88 in the palace and a second image was dedicated

84 NB.CK, 127.

85 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 167- 170.

86 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 169.

87 With modern architectural designs, such houses are less common.

88 NB.CK, 121 (1778): “The image of God Sanamahi was newly moulded on Monday, the 7th.” SP.CK, Vol.2, 11 (1778): “7 Monday, they case an image of (lai) Snamahi.”

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during the rebuilding of the palace the following year. According to the CK, in December

1788, the queen and other royal ladies proceeded to the shrine of Sanamahi to eat fruits,89 and in February 1789, Bhāgyacandra presented an elephant to Sanamahi.90 In the rain-stopping ritual of Manipur both Sanamahi and Krishna were invoked. Col. J.

Shakespeare, British political agent of Manipur from 1905-1908 and 1909-1914, observed that the prayer chanted by the rain-stopper contained the names of both

Hindu and Meitei deities: “Sibo (Śiva) linga, Sri Swar Sanamahi, Sibo linga Sri Swar

Thangjing, Makei Ngakpa Viṣṇu He! Narayan.”91 Unfamiliar with the Manipuris’ habitus of harmonizing diverse religions, he wrote “the mixture of Hindu deities, Śiva, Viṣnu and

Nārāyaṇa, with the Umang Lai is typical of the religious muddle in which the people are.”92

More observations by Shakespeare and others are as follows:

Manipur figures as a Hindu State in the list of Feudatory States of India, and Hinduism is the State religion, but when we have said this we have by no means stated the whole case, for alongside Hinduism we have the worship of the Umang Lais or forest gods and various other distinctly non-Hindu cults, which are practiced by good Hindus as well as by those who have not yet abandoned the faith of the forefather. As a matter of fact even the best Hindus in Manipur, except perhaps a few of the most ancient Brāhmans, cannot be said to have abandoned the ancient faith; rather they accepted the Hindu pantheon in addition to the old gods of their own country.93

So in Manipur, Krishna is devoutly worshipped and Brāhmans are maintained, while at the same time every village has at least one sacred

89 SP.CK, Vol.2, 31 (1788): “5 Thursday, Ningthem (the king), Sija and most of the ladies of the royal household feasted on fruit offered to Sanamahi.”

90 NB.CK, 135 (1788): “The Maharaja presented an elephant to Lai Sanamahi on Monday, the 20th.” SP.CK, Vol.2, 31 (1788): “20 Monday, Ningthem dedicated an elephant to Lai Snamahi.”

91 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 63.

92 Ibid., 63.

93 Ibid., 1.

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grove, the abode of the local God, who has his own priests and priestesses.94

In general, the lais had a complex and subservient relationship with the new

Vaiṣṇava gods and the ritual practices associated with them. Parratt, in her research of

Manipuri religion, found that the lais came to be worshipped according to Hindu ritual prescriptions that included substituting animal sacrifices for bloodless offerings.95

Brahmins, who came from other parts of India, also took on the worship of lais, although they did not replace the Maibas/Maibis. Folklore that combined the deities of both traditions was constructed and spread. The following story shared by Bandhopadhyay illustrates this.

During the reign of Bhāgyacandra, the BhP was not available in Manipur in all its twelve parts. One day, a voice from the sky, which was supposedly from Sanamahi told a Brahmin to make some offering to the deity, upon which the complete BhP set would be available. The Brahmin wanted to verify if the voice was coming from Sanamahi and asked the deity to give him a fruit called Hairit. The Brahmin’s request was granted. Subsequently the Brahmin offered pūjā or worship through Hindu rituals, and in a few days, he found the complete set of the BhP. On the cover of this BhP set was a picture of two lions facing each other. 96

Here Sanamahi is used to affirm the authority of the BhP, by playing a role as a gatekeeper to it. The two lions are symbolic of the Nongsha (lions) statues that stand within the Kangla palace compounds in the place where Meitei kings were coronated and were used in Meitei rituals.

94 Ibid., 1.

95 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 169.

96 I could not find the primary source of this story, and Bandopadhyay (2010, 63) did not provide the reference for it.

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At several life passage rituals, local traditional elements were retained and combined with Vaiṣṇava practices. For example, it is common for Meitei Vaiṣṇava women to worship the household lai with appropriate offerings such as polo stick and ball in the fifth and seventh months of her pregnancy.97 In death rituals, Meitei practices were observed. After cremation, as per Meitei rituals, the frontal bone of the deceased was removed from the ashes and placed in a bamboo tube that is then buried. On the fifth day, it is dug up, tied in a piece of silk cloth, and placed around the neck of a mourning relative, who takes it back to the house and keeps it in a safe place until it can be taken to one of the Vaiṣṇava sacred sites like Vṛndāvan, Navadvīpa, or Jagannātha

Purī.98

Another life passage ritual in which both Vaiṣṇava and Meitei traditions are synthesized and serve as an example of the Meitei habitus of harmonizing different religions are funeral rites which almost always feature a performance of naṭa saṅkīrtan.

In this ritual, Professor Milan Khangamcha, who researches the naṭa saṅkīrtan tradition explained to me that during a funeral ritual called preta-karma, the Maiba aids the dying person by handing over the soul of the deceased to the lead singer (Ishei hanba), who in turn brings the soul to the Mandap Mapu - the chief of the ritual. The Mandap Mapu then places the soul at the feet of Krishna, whose image is aesthetically reconstructed through a ritual called raga-houba. This involves beating the drums with specific rhythms to indicate different body parts of the deity. The mental construction of the deity is a central aspect of naṭa saṅkīrtan. During this time, nobody is permitted to enter the

97 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 77.

98 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 86.

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mandap because it would interrupt the construction of the body. These ideas were adopted from the Lai Haraoba ritual of Hakshang Shaba.

The fusion of Meitei religion and Vaiṣṇavism can also be observed in a number of public festivals. The Indian Holī festival, also known as Yaoshang in Manipur, is one of the most popular, and is celebrated during the full moon of Lamda (February - March). It is also celebrated in conjunction with Caitanya’s birth. On the night before the festival, bonfires are made and, early in the morning, young males abuse each other with obscene words. This practice is a remnant of a Meitei fertility festival called Nonglaba, where a quarrel between the lais Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi is re-enacted.99

Then at dusk, a mūrti of Caitanya is placed in a bamboo hut, and pūjā, a ritual offering of incense, ghee lamp, and other items, is offered. This is followed by saṅkīrtan and the recital of sacred texts. Finally, the mūrti is removed and the hut set alight, while shouts of “Haribol”, a popular Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava chant, are uttered. The burning of the hut is a

Meitei ritual that signifies the destruction of the cold winter.100 Every night, an indigenous dance called Thabal Chongba, meaning dancing by the moonlight, and which signifies the coming of spring is performed. In this dance, boy and girls hold hands and dance in rows of circles. Hence, diverse elements from Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava and Meitei tradition are combined into a unified and harmonious cultural performance.

A final example of Vaiṣṇava elements being incorporated into a Meitei festival is the Heikru-hidongba. Heikru-hidongba is a traditional Meitei festival observed since the time of King Irengba (r. 984 - 1074 CE). From the 16th century, during the reign of King

99 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 433.

100 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 42.

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Khagemba, a boat race was added to the festival and it became an occasion of religious and social significance.101 The day before the race, in the early morning hours, the leaders of each team offer items of silver and gold in a container to the lais. After

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism had become the state religion of Manipur, a mūrti of Krishna consecrated by Bhāgyacandra, called “Vijay Govinda,” became a participant in the festival. Before the race starts, Vijay Govinda is brought on a procession along the sides of the moat on two boats tied together and people make offerings of fruits and flowers, performing pūjā. After the procession carrying Vijay Govinda heads east, the leaders of the two teams come towards the deity with offerings. Then the boats are taken to the bay where the race begins, and the winner receives a garland worn by Vijay Govinda.

The integration of religious festivals was not a one-way process. Meitei practices were also added to Vaiṣṇava festivals. For example, during Janmaṣtami, the festival celebrating Krishna’s birth, traditional Meitei games such as yubi lakpi (a rugby like game, where each player tries to snatch a coconut and runs with it towards goal), and likol sanaba, a game played with cowrie shells, are played.102 During my stay in

Manipur, I witnessed yubi lakpi being played in a field next to the Govindaji temple

(Figure 4-5). A small mūrti of Krishna was brought out to the field in procession. Two teams of players would line up in front of the mūrti and offer their prostrations before and after the game. Mixing religion with entertainment in the form of boat races, martial arts, wrestling, and rugby has been part of the Meitei habitus for centuries. With the

101 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 1

102 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 39

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introduction of Vaiṣṇavism, this carried over to the most famous public festivals of

Manipur, the rāslīlās.

Despite the religious syncretism that pervaded Bhāgyacandra’s reign, Meitei rituals and practices were retained only to the extent that they did not contradict

Vaiṣṇava religious principles. After all, the habitus is locally determined and created within socio-cultural constraints.103 While Bhāgyacandra patronized more indigenous

Meitei rituals and traditions as compared to Garibniwaz, some acts that were perceived to violate Vaiṣṇava norms were punished. For example, the practice of potsem

(sorcery) was punished with exile.104 However, there is no evidence that Bhāgyacandra extended these proscriptions to the hill tribes. Mapping the hierarchy of gods onto the rulership, he allowed existing tribal traditions to continue, and the different tribes continued to be led by their different tribal leaders, as long as they acknowledged the king as their ruler. Emphasizing Bhāgyacandra’s good relations with the people of the hill, historian Dwijendra Narayan Goswami, points out that one of his names,

Chingthangkhomba, literally refers to “hugger of the hills (Ching)”105

In general, it can be said that the same scheme of fusion within limits was applied in diverse ritual and festive domains because the mental structures which construct the world of objects were based on a centuries-old disposition which sought to harmonize and synthesize. The Meitei house, gods, rituals, festivals, and other aspects

I did not discuss in detail, such as language and naming conventions, were restructured

103 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 56.

104 NB.CK, 128 (1784): “Soraisam Potshemba [sorcerer] was transported to Loi village on the first day of Ingen (July) Sunday.” SP.CK, Vol.2, 21 (1784): “Soraisam who practiced sorcery was deported to Loi.”

105 Goswami, Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra, 17.

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with the same socially defined logics. Complete assimilation of Bengali Vaiṣṇava culture did not take place. Rather, Vaiṣṇava thought and practice were absorbed into Meitei structures of practice through fluid cultural boundaries and relatively inclusive hierarchies, modelled after Bhāgyacandra’s understanding of Manipuri identity and his religio-political authority. The following anecdote of Bhāgyacandra, shared by Tombi

Singh, further illustrates this point. Once a proposal was made that the main mūrti of

Krishna in the palace temple, Govindaji, should only be presented with types of food offered in Vṛndāvan. Bhāgyacandra rejected it and declared that the deity should be given the best of what Manipur has to offer, not only in terms of food, but architecture, dress, and rituals of worship.106 Regardless of the historicity of this episode, this attitude was conveyed in the creation of the naṭa saṅkīrtan and the rāslīlās.

Before I finally discuss the creation of the rāslīlās, I wish to turn to the traditional story of the construction of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava temples because they are closely linked.

The rāslīlās were performed in the sacred spaces provided by these temples. In fact, the story of the inauguration of the most prominent temple, the Govindaji palace temple, is a story that weaves the creation of sacred spaces, sounds, images, and movements with the performance of naṭa saṅkīrtan and the rāslīlās. Like the earlier episode of

Bhāgyacandra’s exile, the historical veracity of this story cannot be determined, as it contains mystical elements such as divine visions and hierophanies. Nevertheless, it is widely accepted as history by most Manipuri Vaiṣṇavas and holds an important place in the Manipuri psyche.

106 Ningthoukhongjam Tombi Singh, "Rajarshi Bhagyachandra," 58.

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The story of the installation of the image of Krishna as Govindaji began in 1775, after Bhāgyacandra had regained the throne by repelling the final Burmese invasion.

The CK reports that the king went to Kaina and located the jackfruit tree that he saw in his dream while he was in Assam.107 The tree was then transported along the Iril River to the palace, and the image of Govindaji was carved out of it. In November 1776 CE,

Govindaji was installed in the palace.108 Dwijasekhar Sharma suggested that

Bhāgyacandra chose the name “Govindaji” (protector of the cows), a popular name of

Krishna, because the cow is the most popular domesticated animal in Manipur and plays a very important role in the economic and cultural life of Manipuris.109 If this is indeed true, it shows the extent to which Bhāgyacandra was engaged with the Meitei habitus to popularize Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. Further, according to Lokendra Arambam, a close motif of the serpent-dragon Pakhangba was carved into the navel of Govindaji.110

According to Ibungohal Singh and N. Khelchandra Singh’s version of the

Cheitharol Kumbaba, three years later, in 1779, during the Manipuri month of Hiyanggei

(November - December), the first rāslīlā was dedicated to Govindaji in the rās mandal

107 This incident is recorded in the CK as follows. NB.CK, 120 (1775): “He…went to visit the jackfruit tree at Kaina and was pleased to relieve the lallup for the family of the Panganbam as they helped him locate the jackfruit tree which was seen in his dream.” SP.CK, Vol.2, 8 (1775): “On that day (they) went down to Kaina to inspect jack fruit trees. The Pangganpam family of Kaina was exempted from the compulsory service to the state as it was regarded as the paternal home of Gobinda.”

108 NB.CK, 120 (1776): “The first day of the month of Hiyyangei (Novemeber) was Thursday. The idol of Shri Govinda installed in the morning of Friday, the 12th.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 9 (1776): “The month of Hiyangkei (October/November) began on Thursday. 12 Friday, after the dawn yuthak at about one pung hour which was reckoned as the Mahendra hour of the following Monday, Shri Govinda was installed.”

109 Sharma, "Rajarshi Bhagyachandra," 113.

110 Arambam Lokendra, "Ras

Lila," in The Oxford Companaion to Indian Theatre, ed. Ananda Lal (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004).

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(courtyard where dance is performed) at Bhāgyacandra‘s new capital Langthabal, which he named as Canchipur.111 The entry reads as follows:

Friday, the 11th, the mūrti of Śrī Govinda was ritually bathed in the rāsmandal of the Canchipur. Rās was dedicated for five consecutive days.112

This place is currently located near the campus of the University of Manipur, in

Imphal West district. Bhāgyacandra also dedicated himself and his throne to Govindaji and declared that he would carry out his royal duties by considering himself as the servant of his lord.113 Thereafter, the same decorum and ritual fanfare given to kings was offered to Govindaji. This occasion was described fifty-eight years later in the British periodical, the Chinese repository114 as follows:

It was the command and example of a prince of Manipur, which first introduced Hinduism into the country. About the year 1780, an image of Govinda was publicly consecrated with much ceremony in Manipur, by the grandfather of the present Rajah (Chandrakirti). This was the first national profession of that faith, though its votaries had previously been resident there. At the same time, a proclamation was issued by the Rajah stating that, in order to avert the recurrence of such calamities as then oppressed them (the invasion of the Burmans). He wholly made over his country to his celestial proprietor, henceforward holding the government in his name. Near the same time, an inferior image was consecrated, to whom was entrusted the presumptive heirship, and the Raja positively enjoined that no descendant of his, without the possession of these images, should ever be raised to the royal dignity. Hence, the possession of them was a fruitful

111 Ibungohal Singh, L., and N. Khelchandra Singh. Cheitharol Kumbaba (Bengali Transliteration). 2nd ed. Imphal 1989, 133. Curiously, this is incident is not recorded in the NB.CK or SP.CK. However, it is mentioned in Sana’s translation of Ibungohal Singh and N. Khelchandra Singh, Cheitharol Kumbaba as follows.

112 11ni irāida Canchipuragi rāsmandalda Śrī Govinda abhiṣek toue I Numit manngani rās sārei II

113 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Maharas, 32.

114 The Chinese repository is a periodical published between May 1832 and 1851 for Protestant missionaries working in Asia. It contained news about current events, and the history and culture of China. This account was from vol V, from May 1836 to April 1837, 214-215. Available at https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101048166969. Original from Princeton University, digitized by Google.

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source of dissension between his sons, up to the accession of Gambhir Singh, in 1824.

There were six temples that were built for the other mūrtis supposedly carved out of the jackfruit tree. According the Tombi Singh, after the initial carving was completed,

Bhāgyacandra felt that something was amiss in the image.115 While it was beautiful, the figure did not exactly correspond what he saw in his vision. He called for the carving of another image and named this one “Vijay Govinda” (See Figure 4-6). Vijay Govinda was handed over to his uncle and senior minister, Anantasai, to worship. The temple of Vijay

Govinda also features prominently in Manipuri religious life. For example, during a boat race festival, Vijay Govinda is brought out to preside over the sporting activities. Other temples supposedly built for mūrtis carved out of the same tree include Śrī Nityananda

Prabhu at Arambam Leikei in 1795,116 Śrī Madan Mohan at Oinam Thingel, Śrī

Anuprabhu in Navadvīpa, Bengal in 1795, Śrī Gopīnath at Ningthoukhong, and Śrī

Advaita Prabhu at Lamangdong in 1793.117 Apart from the Govindaji palace temple, they also served to host the ritual worship of the mūrtis, and host devotional performances like the rāslīlās.

However, according to the people I interviewed, the rāslīlās must first be offered at the Govindaji palace temple, and only then could they be performed in other venues.

Even today, every year, the three rāslīlās are first performed in the Govindaji temple

115 Ningthoukhongjam Tombi Singh, "Rajarshi Bhagyachandra," 58.

116 NB.CK, 146 (1795): “Jibanas (restoration of life) to Nityai Prabhu was held on Sunday the 13th.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, (1795): “13 Sunday, Nityaiprabhu was deified.”

117 NB.CK, 142 (1792): “A religious ceremony for the restoration of life to Adbeita Prabhu was performed on Tuesday, the 7th.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 42 (1795): “7 Tuesday, they deified the carving of Apteita (Advaita) Pravu.”

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before they are performed in other village temples. From my oral interviews, I heard that even the dresses for the mūrtis in other temples are color-coordinated with that of

Govindaji’s, especially on special days. Thus, the Govindaji temple serves as an axis mundi, the location for the inaugural hierophany from which the first rāslīlā was performed, and to which all other temples and mūrtis are subordinated. The centralized sacrality of the Govindaji temple is further substantiated by the creation of Vṛndāvan in the temple premises in the form of a mound of rocks to represent Govardhana Hill, and two ponds to represent Rādhā kuṇḍa and Shyama kuṇḍa (sacred ponds in Vṛndāvan) .

All three are central aspects of Vṛndāvan’s sacred geography that were reconstructed in the Govindaji temple. In Chapter 2, I discussed the Meitei habitus of re-enacting creation stories through drama, most saliently by embodying them in the Lai Haraoba. I suggest that the same religious logic was followed when these physical features were emplaced in the Govindaji temple as aesthetic embellishments to the performance of ritual worship and the rāslīlās.

Manuel Vasquez, in a discussion on emplacement, contrasted the views of

Eliade and J.Z. Smith on sacred spaces. He noted that Eliade attributed ontogenic agency to sacred spaces, or the “power to give rise to reality, to space and time, and, thus, to make possible the emergence of the social.”118 J.Z. Smith, on the other hand, argued that a sacred center is “preeminently political and only secondarily cosmological.

It is a vocabulary that stems, primarily, from archaic ideologies of kingship and royal function.”119 As cited by Vasquez, “a temple is built at a central place, the place where a

118 Manuel Vasquez, More Than Belief (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011).

119 J.Z. Smith, To Take Place: Toward a Theory in Ritual (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).

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king or god happens to have decided to take up residence. Perhaps this is because temple here is a royal function.”120 Thus, Smith emphasized human agency, power, and dimensions of practice. In Manipur, the tripartite relationship between Vṛndāvan, the

Govindaji temple, and other temples invokes the agentic power of Vṛndāvan to give rise to its replica in Manipur, as well as Smith’s focus on functions of positions of power through the construction of the Govindaji palace temple, and its satellite temples.

Further, the consecration of Govindaji (and other mūrtis) in the rās mandal, shows that the rāslīlās became a part of the process of place-making. This is a part of the structured structuring that the rāslīlās perform. In that sense, the rāslīlās are

“territorialized” and territorializing, deeply tied to Manipur's landscape, even if they have become globalized today.

Bhāgyacandra assigned the care and worship of the other mūrtis to his relatives.

In this way, the temple worship of Rādhā and Krishna spread to various parts of

Manipur. Public temple worship served to command sustained and cohesive loyalty from the laypeople, producing a religious doxa. The mūrtis not only represent Rādhā and Krishna but are Rādhā and Krishna themselves. It also influenced and transformed private ritual practices, as Meitei households incorporated Vaiṣṇava deities such as

Rādhā-Krishna, Krishna-Balarāma, and Gaura-Nityānanda. The mūrtis in Manipur had physical features that were different from those worshipped in other parts of India like

Vṛndāvan or West Bengal. The features, attires, and decorations were derived from

Meitei sensibilities and art forms, once again demonstrating the emergence of a hybridized religious field and habitus. See Figure 4-6.

120 Smith, To Take Place: Toward a Theory in Ritual, 22.

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John Hawley121 and David Mason122 have discussed the relationship mūrtis in the temple have with rāslīlās in Vraja. According to Hawley, “temple worship of Krishna and the rāslīlā performance in the rāsa mandap are two arenas of a single dramatic activity.”123 In Chapter 6, I will show that Hawley’s point was augmented in Manipur, not only through similar ritual practices in different venues, but because the same mūrtis were employed in both temple worship and rāslīlās as they were transferred between the temple sanctum and rāsa mandal between performances. Mason suggested that the worship of the Krishna mūrti in the temple trained people in Vraja from their childhood to see the image as both “an art object and manifestation of divinity at the same time.”124

Similarly, through temple worship, Manipuris derived meaningful training in changing their habitus towards developing a devotional attitude to Govindaji’s mūrti. In turn, this enabled audiences at rāslīlās to see both Krishna and the actor performing his role, in the same time and space.

The daily schedule of temple worship is structured in accordance with the waking, eating, resting, sleeping of the deities dwelling there. At times, they are taken out to witness sporting events, and holī play. The fixed schedule that governs ritual activity that is followed by temples is imitated to some extent in homes, making the devotee a participant in Krishna’s activities. According to Whitney Sanford, the devotee

121 Hawley, At Play with Krishna - Pilgrimage Dramas from Brindavan, 16.

122 Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan, 3.

123 Hawley, At Play with Krishna - Pilgrimage Dramas from Brindavan, 16.

124 Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan, 3.

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in Vraja “not only participates in Krishna’s activities but also patterns his or her daily life on this model.”125

The First Rāslīlās

After the consecration of Govindaji at Langthabal in 1779, the first rāslīlā, later called the Mahārās was dedicated for five consecutive nights, starting from the full moon night of Kārtik (October-November). Manipuri scholar R. K. Danisana said that over the five days, only the segment known today as Bhaṅgi pareng Achouba was performed, while other movements were added later.126 In Chapter 6, I will describe the

Bhaṅgi pareng Achouba in more detail. Most of the lyrics and dialogues were taken from the rāsa panchādhyāyīi, the five chapters in the tenth book of the BhP dedicated to the rāslīlā. The lyrics are mainly in Sanskrit and Brajabuli. Currently, when they are performed in other venues besides the Govindaji palace, the lyrics are often sung in

Meiteilon.

The story of the Mahārās follows that of rāslīlā in the BhP quite closely and is as follows. On seeing the beauty of the full moon night, Krishna begins to play his flute, while standing on the banks of the Yamuna River in Vṛndāvan. On hearing the magical sound of his flute, the Gopīs are captivated. They leave behind all their household duties and rush to meet him. Krishna persuades them to go back but they protest.

Then, they dance with him in rapture. However, pride enters the hearts of the Gopīs and

Krishna vanishes from their sight taking Rādhā with him. Later, he disappears from

Rādhā as well. As soon as the Gopīs express their remorse and their acute feelings of

125 A. Whitney Sanford, "The Emotive Body in the Astayāmalīlā Festival," Arc, no. 25 (1997).

126 R. K. Danisana, "Manipuri Mahārāsgi Nungi Echel Amadi Ngaksenbagi Tangaiphadaba," in Sri Sri Govinda Raseswari Pala (2007).

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separation, Krishna reappears, and they dance again. This time Krishna replicates himself so that every Gopī has her own Krishna to dance with. In Chapter 6, I will provide a more detailed description of the structure of the Mahārās.

According to traditional narratives, Bhāgyacandra himself participated in the naṭa saṅkīrtan and Mahārās by composing songs, singing, and playing the pung (a Manipuri drum).127 Other members of the royal family were also involved in various roles.

Bhāgyacandra’s uncles Ngoubram Shai and Dhar Shai were the lead singers.128 The ladies of the royal family participated in various roles as Gopīs. No actor performed the role of Krishna. He was represented by the mūrti of Govindaji. Significantly, the traditional narrative says that an image of Rādhā, Krishna’s principal consort, had not been constructed in time for the Mahārās. Therefore, his young daughter Bimbavati

(also known as Sija Laiobi) played the role of Rādhā.

Jamini Devi’s research on the descriptions of the preparation for the Mahārās revealed that during their training period, the dancers including Bimbavati, only ate

Govindaji’s prasād (remnants of offerings to the deity) as food.129 Even fish, which was a staple part of Manipuri diet was prohibited. The dancers were also taught the religious ideas and practices of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism so that they would be able to enact their roles with devotion to Krishna. Taking into account that the carving of the jackfruit tree

127 Ibochaoba Singh, The Pre-World War-II Form of Ras Leela, 33, for example, claims that he was the lead drummer.

128 Khangembam Khoni, "The Making of Manipuri Classical Dance the Maha Raas: The Sacred and Secret Art of the Bhangi Pareng Achouba," (Manipur: Manipur University Department of Dance & Music, 2018), 2.

129 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Maharas, 52. She did not provide her original sources.

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for the mūrti began in 1776, it took about three years for the entire preparation and training.

In Chapter 2, I described a Meitei practice of women, especially the Maibiss being offered in marriage to the lais. This practice was replicated as Bimbavati was later married to the mūrti of Govindaji. She is still venerated in Manipur for her devotion to the deity. Traditional narratives say that later, as the process of carving Rādhā’s image began, the efforts of the sculptors were met with repeated failures.130 Then,

Bhāgyacandra organized a meeting with Brahmins and officials of the royal court to resolve the problem. They suggested that since Bimbavati had already played the role of Rādhā and dedicated her heart and soul to Govinda, no image could perfectly replace her. Therefore, they concluded the mūrti of Rādhā would be made in her image.

They also suggested that nail clippings from her fingers and toes, and a strand of her hair be cast into metal and used in the mūrti of Rādhā.131 This mūrti was named

Rāseṣwari and is still worshipped alongside Govindaji (Figure 4-7).

The ritual of casting Bimbavati’s hair and nails raises questions regarding Hindu notions on purity and pollution. Hair and nails are traditionally considered polluting in many Hindu communities, and yet here, Bimbavati’s hair and nails were cast into the mūrti of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas’ most revered goddess, Rādhā. This could possibly be a derivation of a Meitei sacrifice. As I mentioned in Chapter 2, there was a Meitei ritual that survived into the late 19th century, in which the hair and nails of lai manai (slave of the lai) were extracted and offered to the lai, and then buried in the laipham (courtyard

130 Ibid.

131 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Maharas, 18. She did not provide the source of her information. It may have been from oral traditions.

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of the lai).132 The lai manai served as a form of sacrifice for the king. Similarly,

Bimbavati’s hair and nails could have been perceived as a form of sacrifice. In my interview with him, Manipuri historian, Lokendra Arambam, said:

The rāslīlā was not just a dance event. It was a political event of the crowning of Bhagyachandra’s lord as the king of this land... There is a Meitei coronation ritual that when the king is crowned, his wife has to sleep with him for five days in the bridal chamber. The institution of royal marriage was a ritual process to allow energy from the ancestors to flow to their sexual organs. Through that, they will be given powers to do good for humanity by producing offspring.133

Arambam was suggesting that Bimbavati’s playing the role of Rādhā had a symbolic meaning during the consecration of Govindaji. It was performed as part of the ritual to enthrone Govindaji and to connect the royal family to their new deity for the welfare of the state. Thus, there were layers of meaning in the consecration ritual and it was a coordinated performance that involved various agents, who were specialists in different fields.

The body metaphor in religious expressions of the Meiteis which I discussed in

Chapter 2, were creatively transposed in the rāslīlā in the form of dancing bodies by none other than members of the royal family. Consequently, this infused the Mahārās with a layer of power and authority as a bona fide religious expression in Manipur. This empowerment not only enabled the introduction of a new form of religious expression but also established a template to structure other rāslīlās which I will discuss later.

Although traditional narratives attributed the dance to Bhāgyacandra, some scholars surmise that Guru Swarupananda was its actual creator because the king was

132 Shakespeare, Lt. Col. John Shakespeare's Collected Papers on Manipur, 443f.

133 Recorded interview with Lokendra Arambam, September 10, 2011 at Imphal, Manipur.

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not literate.134 It is likely that the pattern of the sequence of movements, as well as costumes were conceived with the help of loisangs (departments) that comprised of dance gurus and religious scholars at the royal court.135 The institution of loisangs began by Garibniwaz was expanded by Bhāgyacandra. They were committees assigned with various responsibilities to serve the state. The most influential of these was the

Brāhman Sabhā, the authority responsible for religious issues. The primary function of members of the loisangs related to the arts was to serve as figure-heads of authority in the fields of dance and music, resolving disputes concerning village temple performances, and to act as advisers to the king, who, as the head of the committee, passed final judgment on these matters.136

Some of the prominent loisangs were assigned to especial roles. The Pālā loisang was responsible for composing music and song for naṭa saṅkīrtan and rāslīlās.

Two sub-groups that belonged to this loisang were the Bangadesh Pālā/Ariba pālā that focused on the form of saṅkīrtan during the Garibniwaz era, and the nata sankīrtan pālā, which was established during Bhāgyacandra’s era.137 The Jagoisabi loisang was responsible for dance, while Laishangba oversaw the ornaments and ceremonial robes.138 Phiribi loisang, which was exclusively made up of women, was responsible for the production of potlois, (the skirts worn by the Gopīs), sewing and washing clothes

134 Khoni, "The Making of Manipuri Classical Dance the Maha Raas: The Sacred and Secret Art of the Bhangi Pareng Achouba," 7.

135 E. Nilakanta Singh, Manipuri Dance, 10.

136 Surachand Sharma, "Genealogy - the Venerable Masters," in Dances of Manipur - the Classical Tradition, ed. Saryu Doshi (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1989), 105.

137 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Maharas, 34.

138 Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur, 247.

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worn by the mūrtis in the temples.139 The Karigar loisang was comprised of artistes and craftsmen who built aesthetic structures in the temple and the rās mandal.140 Besides these, there were many other loisangs related to the daily ritual worship of Govindaji.

The loisangs were engaged in a coordinated effort in selecting and codify artistic and cultural elements of indigenous dances and linking them with themes from the BhP. In

Chapter 6, I will show how the costumes, gestures, melodies and other aesthetic aspects of the rāslīlās also reflect this combination.

Bimbavati, Bhāgyacandra’s daughter played an influential role in the loisangs involved with music and dance. She organized an all-woman saṅkīrtan group called nupi pālā. Before this initiative, women were not allowed to lead in saṅkīrtan performances. When Bimbavati put her request before the royal court, the scholars and pandits in attendance deemed that since she had taken the role of Rādhā in the

Mahārās, her wishes should be considered as coming from Rādhā herself.141 The nupi pālā was sanctioned and named Rāśeṣvari pālā, after the mūrti of Rādhā. In the first women-only saṅkīrtan party that was offered to Govindaji, Bimbavati was the lead singer (or Isei hanba) and other women of the royal family also participated.142

Besides the influence of the royal family, the dynamics and structures of the loisangs were controlled by clan affiliations, ritual behavior, and skill sets. Membership in loisangs was linked to the Meitei clans, or sageis.143 The clans provided

139 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Maharas, 37.

140 Ibid., 38.

141 Ibid., 71.

142 Ibid., 72.

143 See Chapter 2, 36 for a list of the major clans.

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representatives to specific loisangs, which were limited by numbers. For example, the

Pālā Loishang, which was further divided to the Bangdesh pālā and Naṭa saṅkīrtan pālā, had sixty-four members each during Bhāgyacandra’s reign.144 Later, during

Churachand’s reign, the number was reduced to forty-five. Various clans were eligible for different services. The Duhon Loishang, which was responsible for cooking and preparing articles such as garlands for worshipping Govindaji, was delegated to

Nganbam, Koijam, Yumnam, Lourembam, Chongtham, Thokchom, Wahengbam, and

Yumlembam sageis.145 The Sambhasa Loishang, which was responsible for performing saṅkīrtan and various religious rituals, and organizing seating arrangements during the rāslīlās, was occupied by people from the Wangkheimayum, Lourembam, Haobam,

Chongtham, and Khetrimayum sageis.146 They were required to adhere to strict moral conduct, and maintain ritual purity, for instance, by not getting married to a widow.147 The

Brāhman Sabhā had to ensure that they had the required skills to perform their services of reading sacred texts such as the Bhagavad-gītā and to undertake rituals on festive occasions such as the king’s birthday.148 It seems that the loisangs wore physical signifiers to set them apart. They were marked by different dress codes: the Pandit loisang wore white dhotīs and chaddars (shawls), the Pālā loisang wore different symbols to mark their subdivisions, and other loisangs wore different colored kokyets

(turbans).

144 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Maharas, 35.

145 Ibid., 37.

146 Ibid., 39.

147 Ibid., 39.

148 Ibid., 38-39.

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According to Bourdieu, the product of the work of agents involved in the religious field, is inseparable from the structural positions of a “determinate quantity of specific capital (e.g. religious knowledge)” and by occupation of a determinate position in the structure of distribution of the capital.149 Thus, specialists in the loisangs produced the rāslīlās based on the capital they acquired, and their dominant positions in the field that controlled the distribution of the capital. The structure of the distribution of religious knowledge or artistic competence corresponds to the distance between the opposing poles of objective relations to religious goods or competencies. On the lower side of the pole is the lived world sustained by doxa, that is, the mastery of a body of schemes of thinking and acting, commonly acquired by all members of the field in the implicit state by simple familiarization through attending festivals and religious discourses.150 This background knowledge includes acceptance of Krishna as the supreme deity, whom all other previous gods are subordinated to. In terms of the rāslīlās, this general and taken- for-granted knowledge is held not only by the performers but by members of the audience or the consumers. On the higher end of the pole, is the mastery of a corpus of knowledge “systematized by specialists belonging to an institution socially mandated to reproduce religious capital by an expressly pedagogic action.”151 These specialists accumulate capital, by monopolizing the society’s symbolic resources in religion, art, philosophy, and by monopolizing the instruments required for acquiring these resources

149 Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, 30.

150 Bourdieu, Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field, 10.

151 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 130.

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such as writing and reading.152 Thus, durable systems of domination are set up in various areas of practice in the religious field.

The dominant agents in the field comprising of the members of royal family, the loisangs, and Brāhman Sabhā acquired and controlled religious capital and power because of their expertise and positions in the field. They produced a sophisticated religious product, the rāslīlās with its intricate movements, Sanskrit lyrics, complex rituals, and rāgas. The subordinate agents -- the general masses -- were sufficiently familiar with these religious ideas to consume the products produced by the dominant religious and ritual specialists. From my informal conversations with members of the audience, I realized that most of them were unaware of the lyrics, or the exact meaning of the hand gestures. Once, when I was attending the Mahārās, I asked one of the

Manipuris next to me, who has been attending the festival every year to explain exactly what was sung and expressed through hand gestures. His reply to me was, “That I don’t know. I came here to pay respects and take darshan (to see and be seen by the deity).

That is the most important thing.” At other times, when I persistenly inquired from my friends to explain what was going on at particular segments of the dance dramas, I was often met with blank looks or non-specific answers. Such detailed cognizance of the performance was not important to them. They qualified such responses through theological perspectives. A few of them said “in Manipur, we do not say “rās yengba” which means watch the rās. We say “rās irrukpa”, worship the rās.” To the general audience, just to be there, and witness the rāslīlās was sufficient. It did not matter that they did not understand what was being spoken; devotional merit or piety is acquired

152 Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice, 187.

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just by being present. Thus, a durable system of domination made up of elite producers, and mass consumers was set up. This system enabled the continued performance and production of temple rāslīlās.

Scholars and the general Manipuri public often say that Bhāgyacandra dedicated two more rāslīlās to Govindaji. They are the Kunjarās (bower rās) and Vasantarās

(Spring rās). However, the CK records during Bhāgyacandra’s reign do not mention the names of these rāslīlās. Thus, it is not clear exactly in which year they were dedicated.

The Kunjarās is performed during the month of Mera (full moon night between

September-October) in the autumn season. The Kunjarās is based on the Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇava texts Govindalīlāmṛta by Krishnadāsa Kavirāja (16th century) and the Sarartha

Darshini by Viśvanātha Cakravartī (17th century).153 The story of the Kunjarās revolves around the meeting of Krishna with Rādhā in a kunja or grove. This is accomplished with the help of the sakhis, the girlfriends of Rādhā. Unlike Mahārās, it does not consist of Krishna’s disappearance or reappearance and is relatively short in comparison to other rāslīlās.

Vasantarās is performed on Vasanta Purnima, or the full moon night during the month of Sajibu (between March-April) in the spring. Some gurus I interviewed claimed that it could be performed for the whole month of the spring season, indicating a sense of flexibility. In other temples, performance of this Vasantarās continues for another one to two months.154 Manipuri choreographer Shyamchand Sharma informed me that the

Vasantarās draws its storyline from the Govindalīlāmṛta and the Gītagovinda of Jayadev

153 Hemantakumari Devi, "Raasleela of Manipur: An Outline," Jawaharal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy2008, 69.

154 Ibid., 69.

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(12th century). It depicts the holī-khel, Krishna and the Gopīs playing by throwing color at one another. Krishna is seen to be showing special attention to Candrāvali, a rival of

Rādhā’s, thus earning Rādhā’s wrath. Eventually, Krishna falls at Rādhā’s feet asking for forgiveness and they are reconciled.155 The scene of Krishna falling at Rādhā’s feet and the ensuing rāsa dance is described in the Gītagovinda.156 According to Singhajit

Singh, the lyrics were taken from Bengali Vaiṣṇava poetry, such as Pādakalpataru and

Sangeet Mādhav among others.157 The dramatic contents of the Vasantarās made it a favorite item for stage performances, more so than the Mahārās that is rather cumbersome, since it requires multiple Krishnas and Gopīs. Moreover, the holī-khel segment is a popular item which lends itself to creative choreography. According to

Bandhopadhyay,158 gurus also have the liberty to choose the songs and tālas (musical beats) of their choice in the Vasantarās.

As mentioned earlier, several Manipuri scholars have attributed the origin of

Vasantarās to Bhāgyacandra. Singhajit Singh wrote:

The main feature of Vasantarās is the appearance of a rival of Rādhā through the figure of Candravāli. It was also created by Bhāgyacandra. It is said that Rājarṣi Bhāgyacandra saddened to see Rādhā’s suffering when Krishna disappeared in Mahārās, wished to avenge this and wanted to give Krishna a taste of his own medicine and thus composed the Vasantarās.159

155 Singh, Manipuri; Singhajit Singh, Manipuri, ed. Alka Raghuvanshi, Dances of India (New Delhi: Wisdom Tree, 2004).

156 Miller, Gītagovinda of Jayadev: Love Song of the Dark Lord, 122-125.

157 Singhajit Singh, Manipuri, 46.

158 Bandhopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Presentation, 196

159 Singhajit Singh, Manipuri, 50.

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However, it is not possibly to say conclusively when Vasantarās was first performed because of a lack of data in the chronicles. Bhāgyacandra’s role in the

Vasantarās is further questioned when we consider that the structure of the Vasantarās differs from the previous two rāslīlās. While the Mahārās, has a serious, theological mood, the Vasantarās has a more lighthearted note, and has less ritual and philosophical content in its lyrics. It contains more dramatic elements such as the holī play and its focus is on an entertaining story, borrowed largely from the Gītagovinda.

Moreover, Bandopadhyay noted that the more frequent use of Bengali lyrics together with popular stanzas from the Gītagovinda made the Vasantarās more comprehensible because Manipuris had already been accustomed to Bengali from the time of

Garibniwaz.160 These structural differences suggest that the Vasantarās may have been a later composition. Finally, the difference between the earlier two rāslīlās, which emphasized more on religious ritual and philosophy from the BhP, and the later

Vasantarās, which leaned towards entertainment and drama, is consistent with the larger trend that culminated in the mid-20th century with making the Manipuri rāslīlās primarily entertaining stage performances.

In 1797, Bhāgyacandra, accompanied by his family members went on pilgrimage to the Ganges and delegated his duties to his son, Labanyachandra.161 Along the way,

160 Bandhopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Presentation, 196.

161NB.CK, 149 (1797): “The Maharaja and Maharani with royal family members went for a holy bath in the Ganges on Monday, the 20th.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 52 (1797): “20 Monday, the Maharaj, Maharani and many ladies from the royal household left for a pilgrimage to the Ganges.” NB.CK, 150 (1798): “During the absence of Maharaja (Cingthangkhomba) on pilgrimage, Ibungshi Jubaraja Wangkheirakpa Labanyachandra was in charge of the administration of Meitei Leipak…” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 53 (1798): “After Ningthem had left for his pilgrimage and while the Jubraj Yipungsi Labeinyachandra (Labanyachandra) the Lakpa of Wangkhei was in charge of defending the country (and acting on behalf of the king)…”

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he established Vaiṣṇava temples in places.162 He visited Tripura, where he gave his daughter, Harisesvari, in marriage to the King of Tripura, Rajdhar Manikya.163 In

Tripura, Hariseswari installed and worshipped her household mūrti, Rādhāmadhava, which was gifted to her by her father, and the consecration was followed by a performance of a rāslīlā.164 During his stay in Navadvīpa, Bhāgyacandra established a temple of Caitanya called, Srī Anu Prabhu, which was worshipped by his other daughter, Bimbavati, until her death.165 Manipuri rāslīlās are still performed in this temple. During my visit to the temple of Srī Anu Prabhu, a temple resident informed me that during the month of Karttik (October-November), all five rāslīlās and other dance dramas are performed. I was advised to come back during that time because that is the only place where I would find so many varieties of Manipuri performing arts displayed over three days.

It is hard to overstate the role that Bhāgyacandra played in shaping the Manipuri religious field and habitus, providing the rich terrain out of which the rāslīlās emerged.

He promoted the inculcation of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ideas and Assamese Vaiṣṇava performances, which he internalized during the period of his exile. At the same time, the memories of Meitei religious practices, especially the indigenous dances were not abandoned. In particular, the Meitei disposition towards harmonizing (but within a

162 Gangmumei Kamei, "Bhagyachandra." In An Encounter with M.C. Arun's Rajarshi Bhagychandra, edited by Nongthombam Jiten, 1-23 (Imphal: Meinam Lakhon Trust, 2007), 22.

163 Sana, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs, 189

164 Kirti Singh, “Impact of Gita-Govinda in Indian Life with Special Reference to Manipur,” 10.

165 Kamei, “Bhagyachandra”, 22.

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hierarchical order) religions was invoked. He activated the institutions at his disposal to construct performances that resonated with the general populace.

As I mentioned in Chapter 1, the relationship between field and habitus is the interaction of a history of objectified things located in structures in the form of a field, and an embodied history, that of habitus, a practice-generating system structured by internalization.166 The closer the correspondence between the habitus and the structures of the various social fields (including the religious field), the stronger the probability of producing and maintaining a common sense world, a world in which the agents’ experiences are harmonized and reinforced in and through collective practices like dances and festivals.167 The successful prophet is one who is able to successfully anticipate the future through the capital available to him or her and work with the objective social conditions that surround her/him to harmonize the habitus of individual followers with the logics of the institutions and fields in which they are embedded.168

This harmonization is what lends legitimacy and effectiveness to the prophet’s charisma, to his/her authority and power to move the group.

Due to the successful correspondence between the agency of Bhāgyacandra and the structures of Manipur’s religious field, especially the loisangs, the Manipuri rāslīlās performances, which were one of the valuable religious goods that emerge from that correspondence, gained popularity and became a central feature of Manipur’s landscape. Manipuri rāslīlās also inspired other religious performances. Indeed,

166 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 91.

167 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 58 & Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice, 80.

168 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 64.

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Bhāgyacandra is also credited for producing another genre of dance dramas, called

Goṣthalīlās which depicts Krishna’s games with his childhood cowherd boyfriends and the killing of demons. Goṣthalīlās are still popular today.169

In September 1798, Bhāgyacandra died while still on pilgrimage.170 For seven continuous days, saṅkīrtan was performed at the Govindaji palace temple in his honor.171 Bhāgyacandra’s son Labanyachandra was entrusted with the throne. The CK says that “with the advice of his uncle Maha Singh Katwan (son of Anantashai), in 1798 he rebuilt temples, the palace, and re-molded ancestral deities demolished during the last thirty-five years.”172 Parratt opined that this means that Labanyachandra attempted to rid Manipur of Vaiṣṇavism and “reestablish those deities that had been made unclean.”173 However, it is unlikely that Labanyachandra persecuted Vaiṣṇavism because during his reign coins with the words “Srimad Rādhā Govinda Padāravinda

Makaranda Madhukarasya” on the back were issued.174 Labanyachandra, did however actively patronize the Meitei religion by supporting the making of an image of

169 Premchand, Ritual and Performances – Studies in Traditional Theatre of Manipur, 94.

170 NB.CK, 150 (1798): “Shri Maharaja Chingthangkhomba died on Friday, the 3rd at Shripat Kshetra after reigning for 40 years and during the period, Meitei Leipak was devastated 3 times.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 53 (1798): “3 Friday, Shri Maharaj Chingthangkhomba expired at Shri Batkhetra. He reigned on the throne for forty years and during his reign the country was devastated three times.”

171 NB.CK, 151 (1798): “The sad news of the death of Maharaja Bhagyachandra was received on Tuesday, the 17th, and kirtan of the Maharaj was performed in the palace for 7 days starting from the new moon day.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 54 (1798): “17 Tuesday, the news concerning Ningthem (his death) was received. From new moon Sunday there was the singing of kirtan for seven whole days.”

172 NB.CK, 151(1798). SP.CK, Vol. 2, 55 (1798): “…the king was determined that the Sna Leipak [one of the earlier names of the country] should exist again, and most of the sacred places and lais’ groves which had been neglected, destroyed and removed earlier, were searched out throughout the land under the leadership of his royal maternal uncle Maha Sing the Katwan and they were established once again.”

173 Parratt, The Religion of Manipur, 167.

174 Thangjam Chinky Devi, "Structure of the Coins of Manipur from Bhagyachandra to Kulachandra" (paper presented at the Proceedings of the Manipur Historical Society, Standard College, Kongba, 2015).

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Pakhangba and worshipping the lais.175 His reign was short-lived because he was assassinated in 1800. By that time, the two religious traditions co-existed in a syncretic harmonized structure. This continued until the mid-20th century. There was no further attempt to eradicate Vaiṣṇavism or the indigenous Meitei religion. In fact, later kings supported both religious traditions, even though Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism was the state religion. The effects of the hybridization will be more apparent in Chapters 5 and 6, as I discuss the philosophy and structure of the Mahārās.

175 NB.CK, 152 (1799): “The image of God Pakhangba was moulded on the first day of the month of Ingen (July). SP.CK, Vol. 2, 56 (1799): “An image of Pakhangba had been made.” NB.CK, 153 (1800): “The Maharaj went to Lalsolbi for a prayer on Friday, the 8th.” SP.CK, Vol. 2, 58 (1800): “8 Friday, Ningthem left for Lansonbi to worship the lai.”

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Figure 4-1. A statue of Bhāgyacandra mounting the elephant during his test in Assam located under a highway at a busy marketplace. Photographed by author.

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Figure 4-2. A mūrti of Bhāgyacandra worshipped in a temple at his birthplace. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 4-3. Wāri-leeba, a religious discourse on CC takes place in a temple hall. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 4-4. A shrine for a lai is built in a specific place in a household which also worships Hindu deities. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 4-5. Yubi lakpi (rugby) teams pay their respects to a mūrti of Krishna before the game. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 4-6. Worship at the Vijay Govinda temple. Mūrtis of Rādhā-Krishna and Caitanya. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 4-7. Murti of Govindaji and Rāseṣwari in the Govindaji palace. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 4-8. Vasantarās. The drama involves the playing of holī-khel, as shown by the colors on the floor. Photographed by author with permission.

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CHAPTER 5 BHAKTI RASA IN THE MANIPURI RĀSLĪLĀ

Introduction

In Chapter 2, I discussed the various elements of the Meitei religion that contributed to the aesthetics of the rāslīlā. In Chapters 3 and 4, I showed how Hindu contact with Manipur from the 17th century culminated in the performance of the first three rāslīlās during the reign of Bhāgyacandra in the late 18th century. I argued that political alliances with Assam had a large role to play in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism becoming the most widespread religion in Manipur, and that specific Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava practices were introduced in ways that resonated with the Meitei habitus. I also discussed the formation of authority on the structure of rāslīlās (the Brāhman Sabhā and loisangs), the role of agency (kings including Garibniwaz, Bhāgyacandra and their gurus), and the state-sponsored change of habitus that enabled the production of the rāslīlās.

In this chapter, I summarize aspects of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology that circulated amongst the religious elites in Manipur, especially in relation to dance dramas. I expand on the materials from previous chapters to argue that Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇava theology was selectively pieced together with specific aesthetic elements and practices that were already embedded in the Meitei habitus, and reproduced in a way that was soteriologically efficacious. In particular, I will show that Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology demands that the Manipuri rāslīlā’s ritual efficacy be measured by the devotional feelings it is able to produce for its actors and audience. This chapter, then, serves as precursor to Chapter 6, which will demonstrate how the Meitei habitus of harmonizing religious traditions, the Meitei religious logic of the body metaphor, and

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specific indigenous rituals are blended with the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava aim of producing bhakti rasa, a devotional feeling, through the Manipuri rāslīlā.

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Theology of Bhakti Rasa

The ability of religious cultural performances to produce devotional feelings have been discussed by modern Western scholars. Thomas Csordas argued that Catholīc ritual healing performances have the power to transform both experience and social relations.1 Similarly, ethnomusicologist John Blacking showed that "as a metaphor of feeling, [music] can both reflect and generate a special kind of social experience".2

James Newell opined that the combination of music, dance, and lyrics enables the devotee-audience to experience powerful personal religious feelings through the linkage of the symbolic cultural self with the sacred other.3 According to him, central to the aesthetics of religious performance is the ability of the performer to evoke in the participant-audience a longing for a profound experience of communion with the divine.4

Milton Singer argued that it is not through evocation of isolated and random emotions that a performance affects, but by creation of a specific mood, the constancy and intensity of which becomes a devotee’s main concern.5 It is implicit that the inculcation of a habitus is essential to the efficacious assemblage of that mood. Building on

1 Thomas J. Csordas, "Imaginal Performance and Memory in Ritual Healing," in The Performance of Healing, ed. Carol Laderman and Marina Roseman (New York, London: Routledge, 1996), 92.

2 John Blacking, "The Study of Man the Musicmaker," in The Performing Arts: Music and Dance, ed. J. Blacking and J. Kealiinohomoku (NewYork: Mouton, 1979), 8.

3 James R. Newell, "Unseen Power: Aesthetic Dimensions of Symbolic Healing in Qawwālī," Muslim World 97, no. 4 (2007): 646.

4 Ibid.

5 Milton Singer, When a Great Tradition Modernizes: An Anthropological Approach to Modern Civilization (New York, Washington, London: Praeger Publishers, 1972), 201.

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Singer’s views, it should be noted that the religious dance dramas of India, and particularly the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition have a soteriological dimension in their use of aesthetics and act as vehicles of salvation.

The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sect developed in the eastern province of Bengal under the inspiration of Caitanya (1486−1533), who displayed an ecstatic devotional fervor to

Lord Krishna, and whom he worshipped as his beloved. By the end of the 16th century

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism spread throughout the greater part of Eastern Bengal, Orissa and

Mathurā.6 Caitanya’s teachings were systemized by the writings of his followers, primarily Sanātana (c.1465-1554), Rūpa (c. 1470-1555), Jīva (c.1517–1608), and

Gopālabhaṭṭa (c. 1500-1587) Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvan. Through their works, they established a detailed theology of the school, which I will briefly discuss.

The Caitanya tradition regards the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (BhP) as “holiest of all scriptures.”7 Jīva Gosvāmī one of the earliest and most prominent of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theologians considered the BhP to be “unauthored, eternal words of the Lord.”8

Specifically, in his commentary on the BhP, the Tattvasandarbha, he established on the basis of scriptural analysis that the Bhāgavata is the “emperor among all instruments of knowledge (sarva pramāṇānāṃ cakra varti-bhūtam) (18)” and the “highest śruti

(knowledge that is revealed to humanity) (26).” 9

6 Edward C. Dimock, "Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal," History of Religions 3, no. 1 (1963): 5.

7 David Buchta and Graham Schweig, "Rasa Theory," in Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism, ed. Knut A. Jacobsen (Leiden, and Boston: Brill, 2010), 628.

8 Jonathan Edelmann and Satyanarayana Dasa, "When Stones Float and Mud Speaks: Scriptural Authority and Personal Experience in Sarvasaṃvādinī," The Journal of Hindu Studies 7, no. 1 (2014): 74.

9 According to Edelmann and Dasa (Ibid., 75) these quotations are from text 18 and 26 of Tattvasandarbha-sarvasaṃvādinī, which is an “auto-commentary” on the Tattvasandarbha.

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It is certain that those who were responsible for choreographing the rāslīlās in

Manipur were already familiar with the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. In Chapter 3 and 4, I had shown that it had already been introduced to Manipur by the mid 17th or early 18th century and was regularly recited in temples by the 18th century. These were ceremonial recitations.10 It is also likely that Manipuri religious elite were also familiar with the writings of the Gosvāmīs. My assumption is based on Guru Bipin Singh’s 1989 inventory of texts circulating in Manipur that deal with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, dance, and music.11 According to one of Bipin Singh’s students, Ranjana Jhaveri, in the late 20th century, he had conducted extensive research on Vaiṣṇava texts in Manipur to correct “slight discrepancies” in Manipuri dance and music which occurred due to their being passed down through oral tradition.12 His list included the Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu,

Padyāvalī and Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi by Rūpa Gosvāmī, Gopāla Campū and Krama Sandarba by Jīva Gosvāmī (16th century), Caitanya Caritāmṛta (CC) and Govindalīlāmṛta by

Krishnadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī (16th century), and Krishnabhāvanāmṛta Mahākāvya by

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura (fl. 1679-1709).13

It is not clear exactly when each of these texts became available in Manipur.

Moreover, I am unable to say how Manipuri Vaiṣṇavas in the 18th century interpreted these texts. Despite my best efforts, I was not able to find any Vaiṣṇava theological

10 For example, in NB.CK, 340 (1885) it is recorded that “all the chiefs of the various tribes in Manipur gathered in the Govindaji temple to hear the recitation of the BhP by 108 Brahmins.”

11 Guru Bipin Singh. "Theory: The Textual Tradition." In Dances of Manipur, edited by Saryu Doshi, 99- 116. Bombay: Marg Publishers, 1989.

12 Ranjana Jhaveri, in In Appreciation of Guru Bipin Singh, ed. Susheel Jhaveri (Bombay: Manipuri Nartanalaya, 1989), 19-22.

13 Guru Bipin Singh, “Theory: The Textual Tradition,” 100.

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works written by Manipuris that may have provided information on this.14 This could have been in part due to an incident in 2005, when Meitei revivalists, in a protest act to have the Meitei Mayek script replace the Bengali script in the state, destroyed nearly

145 000 books in an arson attack on Manipur’s Central Library.15 These books were written in Bengali script and many of them were likely to have had Manipuri Vaiṣṇava content. Nevertheless, following my assumption based on Bipin Singh’s list and my observation of texts that are staple to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas like the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and Caitanya Caritāmṛta (CC) being recited in temples, I present a summary of Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇava theology as it relates to the rāslīlā.

The Gauḍīya perspective of the divine is based on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s threefold gradations of absolute reality, namely Brahman (the formless, all-pervading),

Paramātman (the in-dwelling spirit of all beings), and Bhagavān (the Supreme

Person).16 Of these, Bhagavān is the highest and the fullest manifestation, and is represented by Krishna.17 In contrast to the monistic Advaita philosophical system, which claims that impersonal, formless, non-dualistic Brahman is the highest reality,

Bhagavān is conceived of as a person possessing infinite qualities and energies

(śaktis). These divine śaktis are of three main categories: svarūpa-śakti (intimate power), jīva-śakti (living beings or jīvas), and māyā-śakti (which relates to a covering

14 This included searching in archives and libraries, and asking people I interviewed.

15 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4443565.stm Accessed on July 9, 2018.

16 Dimock, "Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal," 114-15. According to BhP 1.2.11 (vadanti tat tattvavidastattvaṃ yaj jñānam advayam I brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate II), the eternal truth is experienced as Brahman, Paramātman and Bhagavān by the learned sage.

17 BhP 1.3.28 (ete cāṃśakalāḥ puṃsaḥ kṛṣṇastu bhagavān svayam I indrārivyākulaṃ lokaṃ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge II).

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power that keeps the jīvas entrapped in the material world).18 Although the jīva is a part of Bhagavān, and shares some of Bhagavān’s infinite qualities, it can never be equal to

Bhagavān. Being bound in this world, the jīva is covered by māyā and experiences material pleasures and pains as it transmigrates in various lifeforms in accordance with its desires and karma. As long as māyā-śakti covers the jīva, it is unable to perceive its relationship with Bhagavān. If however, the jīva can gain liberation from the māyā-śakti, it can realize its true eternal blissful (ānanda) relationship with Bhagavān.

This release can only be gained by bhakti, or devotion to Bhagavān. Bhakti, in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava context is selfless love and dedicated devotional service to the

Bhagavān. While bhakti brings release from māyā-śakti, in its purest form, it cannot be motivated by such desire for release. Gauḍīya theologians stress that other methods like the path of good works or rituals (karma) leads only to a temporary position in the lower heavens situated within this world and the path of knowledge or ascetism leads only to the lesser absolute reality, Brahman, and not to the abode of the Bhagavān. The

Bhāgavata Purāṇa and Gauḍīya texts emphasizes the power of bhakti alone to free the bhakta or the devotee from the troubles and temptations of the world and infuses her/him with ecstatic bliss.

Of all the qualities of Bhagavān, the greatest is his attractiveness (privatvā).19

Therefore, the jīva is drawn towards him, especially as it becomes increasingly free of the clutches of māyā-śakti. Unlike the temporary and imperfect earthly love, the love

18 Jr. Edward C. Dimock, "Caitanya-Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja - a Translation and Commentary by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. With an Introduction by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. And Tony Stewart," in Harvard Oriental Series, ed. Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1999).

19 Ibid., 205.

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between Bhagavān and his devotee is wholly and eternally satisfying to both. The bliss that they derive is bestowed by the hlādinī-śakti, an aspect of the svarūpa-śakti of

Bhagavān is. As articulated by S. K. De, “in the Krishna-Bhagavat (god) there is the fullest display of all the divine Saktis [attributes of power], but what is prominent is the highest expression of the hlādinī-śakti or the attribute of bliss which absorbs and supersedes all other aspects,” including his “aspect of divine might.”20

As mentioned earlier, the complete manifestation of Bhagavān is Krishna, specifically the form of Krishna in Vraja and hlādinī-śakti is personified by Rādhā as mentioned in the CC (“Rādhā is the highest development of love for Kṛṣṇa; she is his svarūpa-śakti, called hlādinī.”)21 While Krishna knows his own beauty and sweetness, he cannot experience it himself “unless it is objectified in another person toward whom he can direct his love.”22 Therefore, he manifests his hlādinī-śakti, the bliss giving power as

Rādhā, who in turn manifests as multiple Gopīs or cowherd maidens. Norvin Hein described her as a “polar principle within, and not different from, himself [Krishna].”23

Krishnadāsa Kavirāja in the CC wrote:

īśvarera śakti haya e-tina prakāra I eka lakṣmī-gaṇa, pure mahiṣī-gaṇa āra II (CC 1.1.40) vraje gopī-gaṇa āra sabhāte pradhāna I vrajendra-nandana yā’te svayaṁ bhagavān II (CC 1.1.41) The [highest] śaktis of Īśvara (God) are of three kinds. One is [like] the lakṣmīs (goddesses of fortune), the second the mahiṣīs in Pura (wives of

20 Sushil Kumar De, Early History of the Vaisnava Faith and Movement in Bengal : From Sanskrit and Bengali Sources, [2d ed. (Calcutta: Firma K.L. Mukhopadhya, 1961), 113.

21 rādhikā hayena kṛṣṇera praṇaya-vikāra I svarūpa-śakti — ‘hlādinī’ nāma yāṅhāra II (CC1.4.52). Translation by Edward C. Dimock, "Caitanya-Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja - a Translation and Commentary by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. With an Introduction by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. And Tony Stewart," 192.

22 Ibid., 205.

23 Norvin Hein, The Miracle Plays of Mathura (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972), 9.

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Krishna in Dvārakā), and foremost among them all, the third, the gopīs in Vraja.24

Thus, Rādhā and the Gopīs, as his highest form of his personal śaktis, are meant to engage in romantic exchanges with himself.

Further, in Gauḍīya theology, Caitanya is believed to be a combined form of

Rādhā and Krishna, or more specifically Krishna appearing in the mood of Rādhā to taste the devotion that Rādhā has for him and the pleasure she derives from serving him. As S. K. De expressed it, “One of the most fundamental doctrines of Caitanyaism is that Krishna as the supreme personal god of the cult is not an avatāra but the divine being himself in his essential character.”25 Caitanya’s connection with Rādhā and

Krishna is declared by Krishnadāsa Kavirāja in the CC as follows:

rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād ekātmānāv api bhuvi purā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptaṁ rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam. (CC 1.1.5)

Rādhā is the manifested form of pure love for Kṛṣṇa; she is his hlādinī-śakti. Because of this they had previously assumed different bodies on earth, although really one, but now they have become manifest under the name of Caitanya in order to attain to non-duality and oneness: I praise the true form of Kṛṣṇa enveloped in the radiance of the bhāva of Rādhā. 26

rādhā-kṛṣṇa eka ātmā, dui deha dhari’ anyonye vilase rasa āsvādana kari’ II (C.C 1.4.48) sei dui eka ebe caitanya gosāñi rasa āsvādite doṅhe hailā eka-ṭhāṅi II (C.C 1.4.49)

24 Edward C. Dimock, "Caitanya-Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja - a Translation and Commentary by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. With an Introduction by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. And Tony Stewart," 161.

25 De, Sushil Kumar. 1961. Early History of the Vaiṣṇava Faith and Movement in Bengal. Calcutta: Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 143.

26 Edward C. Dimock, "Caitanya-Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja - a Translation and Commentary by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. With an Introduction by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. And Tony Stewart," 151.

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Thus, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa were one soul, but contained in two bodies; in their play with one another, they taste rasa. These two become one – Caitanya Gosvāmī. In order to taste rasa [more fully], the two become one.27

The CC narrates that he organized collective singing of kīrtan and dancing processions to promulgate Krishna bhakti, as a way for his followers to emulate his own devotion.

saṅkīrtana-pravartaka śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya saṅkīrtana-yajñe tāṅre bhaje, sei dhanya II (CC 1.3.62) sei ta’ sumedhā, āra kubuddhi saṁsāra sarva-yajña haite kṛṣṇa-nāma-yajña sāra II (CC 1.3.63)

The spreader of saṃkīrtana is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, and he is blessed who worships [him] with the sacrficie of saṃkīrtana. That one is wise. Other worldly concerns are foolish. Of all sacrifices, the sacrifice of Kṛṣṇa-name is best.28

sabā lañā gelā prabhu jagannāthālaya kīrtana ārambha tathā kaila mahāśaya II (CC 2.11.197) sandhyā-dhūpa dekhi’ ārambhilā saṅkīrtana paḍichā āsi’ sabāre dila mālya-candana II (CC 2.11.198) cāri-dike cāri sampradāya karena kīrtana madhye nṛtya kare prabhu śacīra nandana II (CC 2.11.199) aṣṭa mṛdaṅga bāje, batriśa karatāla hari-dhvani kare sabe, bale — bhāla, bhāla II (CC 2.11.200)

Then Prabhu (referring to Caitanya) went, with all of them, to the temple of Jagannātha, and there began kīrtana. Seeing the sandhya-dhūpa (ārati just in the beginning of the evening), they began saṃkīrtana, and the temple servant brought and gave garlands and sandalwood to them all. Four groups sang saṃkīrtana on all four sides while Prabhu Śacīnandana (Caitanya, the son of Śacī) danced in the center. Eight mṛdanga drums played, and thirty-two cymbals; the sound of “Hari!” arose, and the Vaiṣṇavas said, “Excellent!”.29

27 Ibid., 192.

28 Ibid., 184.

29 Ibid., 505.

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Drawing from verses in the BhP and other Hindu texts, Caitanya and his followers propagated the view that the aspiring devotee (bhakta) should engage in different processes of bhakti which include śravaṇaṁ (listening to the stories and praises of Krishna), kīrtan (singing the names and praises of Krishna), smaraṇaṁ

(thinking constantly of the name, form and activities of Krishna)30 to achieve pure devotion. These could be expressed through dramatic performances of Krishna’s stories, which the BhP explicitly encourages through the mouth of Krishna himself:

śraddhālur mat-kathāḥ śṛṇvan su-bhadrā loka-pāvanīḥ I gāyann anusmaran karma janma cābhinayan muhuḥ II BhP 11.11.23 mad-arthe dharma-kāmārthān ācaran mad-apāśrayaḥ I labhate niścalāṁ bhaktiṁ mayy uddhava sanātane II BhP 11.11.24

My dear Uddhava, a faithful person, hearing narrations about me which are auspicious and world-purifying, singing and remembering my acts and birth through repeated dramatic performances, dedicating for my pleasure his religious, sensual and occupational activities and taking refuge in me, he obtains unflinching devotion to me for eternity.31

The stories or līlas in the BhP and other Indian texts are recited or enacted in

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava temples. Līla refers to “the divine play of Krishna with his beloved

Rādhā and their close associates, both in the earthly place called Vraja and in the cosmic realm in which all their actions go on simultaneously for all eternity.”32 In

Northern India, dramatic performances staged by humans as re-enactments of those stories are also called līla. As stated by Narayanan, līla can refer to “the creation of the

30 śravaṇaṃ kīrtanaṃ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṃ pādasevanam II arcanaṃ vandanaṃ dāsyaṃ sakhyamātmanivedanam II Listening to the stories and praises of Viṣṇu, singing his names and praises, remembering him, serving his feet, worshipping his mūrti, becoming his servant, treating him as friend, and offering one’s very soul to him… (BhP 7.5.23).

31 My translation.

32 Wulff, "The Play of Emotion; Līlākīrtan in Bengal."

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universe… his descent into the world, especially in leading the idyllic life of

Vṛndāvan…and finally the extravagant ritual dramas of northern India in which episodes from the epics are enacted.”33 In the last context, līlas “involve the living presence of gods upon the stage, who temporarily inhabit the bodies of the ‘actors’ who ‘play’ their parts, so that going to see a līla often involves a heightened religious experience.”34 In this way, the bhakti tradition, particularly Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, makes materiality, embodiment, and aesthetics central to the religious experience.

Further, William Sax opined that it was the Krishna tradition that carried the concept of līla as sacred dramas “to its most advanced development.”35 By this he refers to the extent that the “notion of divine sportiveness became a major concept.”36

Devotional dramas depicting Krishna līlas have long been significant as avenues of worship and devotion in India. The Aṅkīyā nāṭs performed in the monasteries of

Assam,37 the Kuchipuḍi dance dramas in Andhra Pradesh,38 Kūṭiyāttam and Kathakali of

Kerala,39 and the rāslīlās of Vraja are examples of popular regional dance dramas themed on devotion to Krishna or the love between Rādhā and Krishna. These performances are usually aimed towards producing a divine experience, with an

33 Vasudha Narayanan, "The Realm of Play and the Sacred Stage," in The Gods at Play: Līla in South Asia, ed. William S. Sax (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 177.

34 William S. Sax, ed. The Gods at Play: Līlā in South Asia (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 4.

35 Ibid.,14.

36 Ibid.,14.

37 Bhattacharjee, "Srimanta Sankardev’s Ankiya-Nat."

38 Anuradha Jonnalagadda, "Tradition and Innovations in Kuchipudi Dance" (University of Hyderabad, 2014).

39 Betty True Jones, "Kathakali Dance-Drama: A Historical Perspective," Asian Music 18, no. 2 (1987).

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atmosphere surcharged with devotion or bhakti. According to Wulf, “what these dramas have in common is the power to awaken profound religious emotions in devotees who witness them, not only during a single performance but through the course of a devotee’s lifetime through repeated performance.”40 A shared emotional participation in the līlās of Krishna lies at the heart of the performance.41 Often during such dance- dramas, the devotees watching are “visibly affected, expressing their emotional participation in the events being depicted or enacted by laughing, shouting formulae of praise, thrusting their right arms upwards in moments of joy, or weeping openly during scenes of separation.”42 The dramas serve as what Clifford Geertz termed as

“sentimental education” - the way people learn the ethos, values and passions of their own culture in a collective context.43

The rāslīlā, particularly has been retold and performed by poets, artistes, musicians, and dramatists from a variety of Indian institutions through poetry, paintings, sculpture, and dance. It is poetically described in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and in later works like the famous Gīta Govinda, by the 12th-century poet Jayadev. The rāslīlā is

“India’s classical sacred love story about the young maidens of Vraja, uniting with their ideal beloved Lord, Krishna, to perform the ‘wondrous circle dance of Love’ or rāsa.”44

40 Donna M. Wulff, Drama as a Mode of Religious Realization (Chico, California: Scholars Press, 1984), 23. In Bourdieu’s terms, Wulf’s emphasis on a "repeated performance," describes how the habitus is inculcated and rendered as doxa.

41 Ibid., 23.

42 Ibid., 20.

43 Geertz, "Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight," 449.

44 Graham M. Schweig, Dance of Divine Love : The RāSa LīLā of Krishna from the BhāGavata PurāṆa, India's Classic Sacred Love Story (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2005), 1.

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The circle of the rāslīlā dance explicitly culminates in the final moment of the Gopīs’

“supernal night when Krishna danced with each of the girls equally and individually, and they were all singularly engaged with their lord at the time. The rāslīlā is also believed to represent the jiva’s longing for the divine supreme deity, played out in a dramatic format.”45 The episode is supposed to take place in a sacred realm, Gokula, the highest heaven for the Gaudiya Vaiṣṇavas.46 This sacred realm is replicated in this world as a rural area in Vraja, about eighty miles south of Delhi.

Emphasizing the purity of the ontological relationship between Krishna and the

Gopīs, the Gauḍīya tradition distinguishes the eroticism depicted in the rāslīlā from worldly lust. For example, the following verse in the CC distances the Gopīs’ love from lust:

kāma-gandha-hīna svābhāvika gopī-prema nirmala, ujjvala, śuddha yena dagdha hema (CC 1.4.173)

The prema of the gopīs is natural and without a hint of kāma – it is stainless, glittering, pure as molten gold.47

The Bhāgavata itself declares that a person who hears or recites the rāslīlā is freed from lust:

vikrīḍitaṃ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṃ ca viṣṇoḥ śraddhānvito 'nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ I bhaktiṃ parāṃ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṃ hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ II (BhP 10.33.40)

45 Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan, 30.

46 sarvopari śrī-gokula — vrajaloka-dhāma I śrī-goloka, śvetadvīpa, vṛndāvana nāma II (CC 1.5.14).The highest place of all is Śrī Gokula, or the lokadhāma of Vraja; and its names are Śrī Goloka, Śvetadvīpa, and Vṛndāvana (Edward C. Dimock, "Caitanya-Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja - a Translation and Commentary by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. With an Introduction by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. And Tony Stewart," 212.)

47 Ibid., 205.

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This is the divine play of Vishnu with the fair maidens of Vraja. One who is filled with faith, who hears or describes this play, having regained the highest devotion for the Beloved Lord, has lust, the disease of the heart, quickly removed without delay – such a person is peaceful and wise.48

Further, the tradition says only a lack of purity in the heart blocks one from seeing the rāslīlā as a divine play and mistaking it for a material affair. Graham Schweig cited the

CC’s use of the phrase prema-netre or the “eye of pure love” has been the prerequisite for witnessing the līlās of Vraja:49

prema-netre dekhe tāra svarūpa-prakāśa gopa-gopī-saṅge yāṅhā kṛṣṇera vilāsa (CC 1.5.18)

…but with the eyes of prema its true form becomes apparent – as the place of the joys of Kṛṣṇa, with his gopa (cowherd boyfriends) and gopī companions.50

Specifically, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, like the broader Hindu tradition, presents devotional dance dramas as sādhana, a ritual practice to achieve perfection. As stated by David Haberman,51 staged dramas are a “favorite means of making the world of the

Vraja līlā (Krishna’s play in Vraja, where he spent his childhood) objectively available to the interested community. Here the bhakta (devotee) as spectator is presented with a vivid expression of the ultimate world of Vraja, which can provide an aesthetic foretaste of and powerful incentive for further pursuit of that world.” David Mason argued that these dance dramas provides devotees “not only a religious experience equivalent to

48 Schweig, Dance of Divine Love : The Rāsa Līlā of Krishna from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, India's Classic Sacred Love Story, 77.

49 Ibid., 4.

50 Edward C. Dimock, "Caitanya-Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja - a Translation and Commentary by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. With an Introduction by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. And Tony Stewart," 213.

51 David Haberman, Acting as a Way of Salvation - a Study of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), 66.

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temple worship, but temporary access to the ultimate goal of their devotion, and thus, something equivalent to salvation.” 52 Mason further noted that devotees attending the performance regard the rāslīlā performance, not as an embodied appearance of the divine by the way of trance or symbolic meaning, but as a literal manifestation.53 Thus, the rāslīlā dramas functions as a form of salvation for its audience.

From the 15th century, rāslīlā performances were popular in Bengal54 and Vraja.

John Stratton Hawley described the Vraja version as “a type of musical drama in which

Brahman boys local to the Vraja country, of which Brindavan is nowadays the spiritual capital, depict incidents involving Krishna, Rādhā, and other participants in the charmed, pastoral world inhabited by these two.”55 By the end of the 16th century, they were performed in Assam and were known as Sattriya dances. As I discussed in

Chapter 4, by the late 18th century, due to contact with Assam, they were performed in

Manipur, and became the most prominent form of religious expression. The thematic influence of the Manipuri rāslīlās originated from migrants from other parts of India from the 17th century, the conversion of kings, the establishment of temples related to Hindu traditions, the setting up of social structures that elevated a religious elite connected to

Vaiṣṇava traditions, the sanskritization of Meitei festivals, and the circulation of sacred texts like the BhP. The rāslīlās were also based on a repertoire of gestures, rituals and aesthetics that were drawn from the indigenous Meitei habitus. Like the rāslīlās in the

52 Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan, 26.

53 Ibid., 2.

54 Wulff, Drama as a Mode of Religious Realization, 100.

55 John Stratton Hawley, "Every Play a Play within a Play," in The Gods at Play, ed. William S. Sax (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 115.

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other regions, the Manipuri versions are supposed to bring about a divine experience in an atmosphere surcharged with bhakti or devotion; specifically, they are supposed to be instruments to experience the Gauḍīya concept of bhakti rasa.

In the 16th century, the disciples of Caitanya, Rūpa Gosvāmī and his nephew,

Jīva Gosvāmī reformulated classical notions of rasa from Sanskrit treatises on dramaturgy into a religious framework.56 Rasa in these earlier Indian aesthetic literatures57 referred to the aesthetic, relishable effects felt by the audience and/or actors58 through a combination of different elements in a dramatic performance.59 The earliest classical text the Nāṭyaśāstra (4th - 6th centures CE) listed eight rasas: śṛṅgāra

(romance or passion), hāsya (comedy), karuṇa (compassion), raudra (fury), vīra

(heroism), bhayānaka (horror), bībhatsā (revulsion), and adbhuta (amazement).60 These rasas are produced through a combination of various components. A foundational statement about rasa in the Nāṭyaśāstra reads “by arranging the vibhāvas (catalysts of emotion), anubhāvas (emotional reactions), and vyabhicāribhavas (transient emotions)

56 Sheldon Pollock, A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics (New York: Columbia University Press, 2016), 301.

57 The earliest known source of a developed theory of rasa is the Nāṭyaśāstra (4th - 6th centures CE), attributed to Bharatamuni.

58 There were differing opinions on whether rasa is felt by the audience or actors. For example, Abhinavagupta, a 10-11th century Kashmir Śaiva claimed that only the audience and experience rasa, and not the actor because the actor is too involved. Bhaṭṭa Lollaṭā (9th century) was of the opinion that actors can also experience rasa (Buchta and Schweig, "Rasa Theory," 625.)

59 Zubko, Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam. translated the elements that produce rasa as a “ combination of vibhāvas (determinants), anubhāvas (consequents), and vyabhicāribhāvas (complementary emotional states), to create sthāyibhāvas (permanent emotional states) that are then experienced by the sahṛdaya as rasas (aesthetic moods).” Zubko, Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam, 14.

60 The translations for the names of the rasas are from David Buchta and Graham Schweig (“Rasa Theory”, 623-624).

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in proper combination, rasa arises.”61 This implies that in order for rasa to be experienced, “all the various components of play, from the props and costumes to the actor’s ability to cry or laugh in just the right manner, must work together harmoniously.”62 I will not discuss further details of classical rasa theories because it is beyond the scope of this study.

Rūpa Gosvāmī63 applied this secular framework of rasa theory to categorize the

BhP’s līlās of Krishna and his associates. He promulgated the theology of bhakti rasa64 -

“the soul’s particular relationship with divinity in devotional love”65 expressed in the līlā of

Krishna. Sheldon Pollock expressed that Rūpa Gosvāmī broadened the boundaries of who could experience rasa to “not only those who appear in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as devotees of Krishna but also the real-world devotees, theologically reenvisioned as

‘characters’ (and at the same time actors) in the drama that is God’s pageant on earth, who have the same attitudes toward Krishna as those primeval characters…”66

Rūpa Gosvāmī asserted bhakti to be the absolute rasa, which is the foundation of five main types of rasas.67 In ascending order of intimacy formulated by Rūpa, the

61 Nāṭyaśāstra 6.32. Buchta and Schweig’s (“Rasa Theory”, 624) translation.

62 Buchta and Schweig (“Rasa Theory”, 624).

63 Buchta and Schweig (“Rasa Theory”).

64 Zubko (Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam, 2) has argued that from the 1980s, dancers and audience participants use the term bhakti rasa to refer to a particular devotional “flavor” or mood that is created by the dancer and “tasted” by the audience and the dancer through stagecraft.

65 Schweig, Dance of Divine Love : The Rāsa Līlā of Krishna from the Bhāgavata PurāṆa, India's Classic Sacred Love Story, 98.

66 Pollock, A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics, 23.

67 Rūpa listed twelve rasas in his taxonomy, by adding four to the classical eight rasas. These include “the peaceful, the affectionate, the friendly, and the servile” (Pollock, A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics, 23). Together with the erotic, they constitute five primary rasas, with the remaining taking on a

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five main bhakti rasas that the devotee has with Krishna are: śānta (peacefulness), dāsya (subservient), sākhya (mutual), vatsālya (parental), and śṛṅgāra (romantic or passion).68 Of the five, śṛṅgāra rasa is the most intimate and intense and is experienced primarily by the Vraja Gopīs or the cowherd maidens of Vraja. In fact, the Gopīs are considered to have attained the highest perfection of devotion and surpassed the results of asceticism or the study of the scriptures through their spontaneous love for

Krishna. As mentioned earlier, this love is not to be confused with worldly lust and is supposed to be of a divine nature.

Dimock’s description of the connection between devotion or bhāva and bhakti rasa sheds more light on the concept of bhakti rasa, “Bhāva is the worshipful attitude which the bhakta assumes toward Krishna, and rasa is the experience of the pure bliss of the love relationship between the two.”69 Jīva Gosvāmī further elaborated Rūpa

Gosvāmī’s point by arguing that Krishna “can be a foundational factor in and of himself, without the mediation of poetry; and the viewer/reader - that is, the devotee - most certainly has a capacity for experiencing such a rasa.”70 Thus, the devotee takes on the role of servant or friend or lover in the divine drama of Krishna, in their everyday lives.

Although the bhakti rasa concept articulated by the Gosvāmīs did not require literary or dramatic compositions to experience rasa, Rūpa Gosvāmī recognizing the aesthetic values of dramas, wrote a number of plays and poems that depicted Krishna’s

secondary or supportive status to the former. They are all considered to be diverse aspects of bhakti rasa.

68 Rūpa explains this in the Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu (translated as “Ambrosial River of the Rasa of Devotion” by Pollock, A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics, xxi.)

69 Dimock, "Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal," 115.

70 Pollock, A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics, 303.

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līlās.71 Donna Wulff’s work on the religious significance of drama in the Gauḍīya tradition, and the plays written by Rūpa Gosvami tells us that his dramas were conceived not just as literature, but as a“vehicle of religious truth.”72 They were used as means to experience rasa, which in turn was employed for soteriological purposes. To

Rūpa Gosvāmī the experience of rasa was available to the audience, actors, poets and playwrights, and most definitely the characters in Krishna’s līlās. In Pollock’s translation of the verses Rūpa’s Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu (BhRAS) (2.5.79–85), a link between devotion and aesthetics is made clear:

ratir dvidhāpi kṛṣṇādyaiḥ śrutair avagataiḥ smṛtaiḥ | tair vibhāvāditāṃ yadbhis tad-bhakteṣu raso bhavet || BhRAS 2.5.79 yathā dadhy-ādikaṃ dravyaṃ śarkarā-maricādibhiḥ | saṃyojana-viśeṣeṇa rasālākhyo raso bhavet || BhRAS 2.5.80 tad atra sarvathā sākṣāt kṛṣṇādy-anubhavādbhutaḥ | prauḍhānanda-camatkāro bhaktaiḥ ko 'py anurasyate || BhRAS 2.5.81 sa raty-ādi-vibhāvādyair ekībhāva-mayo 'pi san | jñapta-tat-tad-viśeṣaś ca tat-tad-udbhedato bhavet || BhRAS 2.5.82 yathā coktam pratīyamānāḥ prathamaṃ vibhāvādyās tu bhāgaśaḥ | gacchanto rasa-rūpatvaṃ militā yānty akhaṇḍatām || BhRAS 2.5.83 yathā marica-khaṇḍāder ekībhāve prapānake | udbhāsaḥ kasyacit kvāpi vibhāvādes tathā rase || BhRAS 2.5.84 rate kāraṇa-bhūtā ye kṛṣṇa-kṛṣṇa-priyādayaḥ | stambhādyāḥ kāra-bhūtāś ca nirvedādyāḥ sahāyakāḥ || BhRAS 2.5.85

This desire, in either literal or figurative form, becomes rasa in devotees when Krishna and the others become aesthetic elements as a result of being brought to consciousness in poetry recitation or grasped through dramatic acting. Just as a substance such as yogurt becomes the taste known as lassi by the specific admixture of sugar, pepper, and the like, so here too devotees come to taste the full rapture of bliss, the fantastic rasa of experiencing Krishna and the others as if right before their eyes.73

71 These include the Vidagdha-mādhava, a drama describing the development of love between Rādhā and Krishna and the Lālita-mādhava, a sequel to their amorous activities.

72 Wulff, Drama as a Mode of Religious Realization, 5.

73 Pollock, A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics, 26.

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Rūpa Gosvāmī also restricted the discourse of rasa to theology. He argued that the earlier usage of rasa in secular literature was not really capable of producing rasa74 because they are mundane, and cannot produce the experience of the true bliss of devotional rasa:

kiṃ ca-- ratiḥ sthitānukāryeṣu laukikatvādi-hetubhiḥ | rasaḥ syān neti nāṭya-jñā yad āhur yuktam eva tat || BhRAS 2.5.107 alaukikī tv iyaṃ kṛṣṇa-ratiḥ sarvādbhutādbhutā | yoge rasa-viśeṣatvaṃ gacchanty eva hari-priye || BhRAS 2.5.108

The knowers of drama are of the opinion that love (the Foundational Emotion) situated in the original characters by ordinary causes cannot become Rasa. What they say is correct. However, the extraordinary love for Kṛṣṇa (Kṛṣṇa-rati), which is the wonder of all wonders, does proceed to a special Rasa in the beloved ones of Hari in union with Him.

According to Rūpa, when poetry and drama relating to Krishna produces rasa, it is due to devotion:

eteṣāṃ tu tathā-bhāve bhagavat-kāvya-nāṭyayoḥ | sevām āhuḥ paraṃ hetuṃ kecit tat-pakṣa-rāgiṇaḥ || BhRAS 2.5.90 kintu tatra sudustarka-mādhuryādbhuta-sampadaḥ | rater asyāḥ prabhāvo 'yaṃ bhavet kāraṇam uttamam || BhRAS 2.5.91

Some scholars partial to poetry and drama are of the opinion that the involvement in poetry and drama about the Lord is the primary cause of the aforementioned aesthetic components. However, the ultimate cause of the aesthetic components is the power of love itself, which is the wonderful perfection of a sweetness (mādhurya) that is beyond reason.75

Rūpa Gosvāmī’s exegesis on rasa implies that it takes a particular set of dispositions and forms of appreciation to enjoy the performance and viewing of the rāslīlās, and to experience religious transcendence through them. In Manipur, this

74 Pollock, A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics, 23.

75 David Haberman, The Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu of Rūpa Gosvāmīn, trans. David Haberman (New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2003), 377.

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habitus was develped historically, through the encounter of indigenous practices and beliefs and those coming the Vaiṣṇava traditions coming from elsewhere in India, i.e.,

Assam, Bengal, etc.

Bhakti in Manipuri rāslīlās

Traditional Vaiṣṇava gurus in Manipur, influenced by the works of Gauḍīya theologians like Rūpa Gosvāmī, have extolled the virtues of the rāslīlā. Atombapu

Sharma, a prominent court Brahmin and writer in the early 20th century wrote “the līlā enjoyed by Krishna with the Gopīs at Vṛndāvan is full of ras (flavor). Such a play of Sri

Krishna along with the Vrajagopīs, when explained by the Gosvāmī pādas (literature), shows that the rāslīlā is the foremost and important līlā enjoyed by Sri Krishna, and, as such, it is called sarvalīlā samput siromani (crest jewel of all the līlās).”76 Another

Manipuri Vaiṣṇava guru I interviewed, Gunamani Sharma said, “the rāslīlās enable those who are acting and watching to experience the highest rasa or love that the Gopīs have for Krishna.”77 In fact, several Manipuri dancers and dance gurus I interviewed conveyed a similar idea; that the rāslīlās are a medium for the human soul to experience a sense of “uniting with Krishna.”78 They also function as vehicles of salvation, as articulated by Gunilal, a member of the audience and a self-professed connoisseur of the Manipuri rāslīlās, “After death, we want to enter Krishna's rās in Vṛndāvana. By attending and meditating on the rās here, we can go there.” Thus, the rāslīlās are a

76 Cited by P. Milan Khangamcha, "Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism: A Religon of Aesthetico Devotional Performance," Sandhān XIV, no. 1 (2014): 83. Original reference not provided.

77 Recorded interview, May 30th 2018, Imphal, Manipur.

78 By this they do not mean merging with God in the Advaitic or non-dual monistic sense, but a relational contact.

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prominent way in which corporeal aspects of Manipuri religious practices are linked to

Vaiṣṇava theology.

The Manipuri rāslīlās were constructed to produce bhakti rasa through their aesthetic-ritual structures. The ritual efficacy of the dance dramas is dependent on their ability to evoke the desired devotional sentiment in the devotee-audience watching the performance. According to Manipuri scholar, Milan Khangamcha, “the audience are not mere spectators but are bhakti rasikas, the relishers of the devotional emotions of bhakti rasa.”79 When I attended rāslīlā performances in temples in Manipur, I frequently observed members of the audience crying, and overcome with devotion, offering spontaneous prostrations to the actors at different instances. Moreover, the lyrics during the performance are sung in very expressive tones with singers’ voices sometimes choking. In the terminology of rasa theory, these are forms of anubhāvas (emotional reactions) or sāttvikabhāvas (involuntary bodily states)80 that arise from devotion.

Devotional feelings are not restricted to the audience. In my interview with Dr.

Sruti Bandhopadhyay, she emphasized the importance of actors studying Rūpa

Gosvami’s rasa theory, especially the sixty types of śṛṅgāra in his treatise, the Ujjvala- nīlamaṇi. She added, “there are changes that take place within you when you think you are a devotee or Rādhā if you are learning it properly, and not just imitating the dance moves. The devotional aspect is there…if I am teaching, first thing is I prepare them from inside.” She went on to explain how she would relate specific lyrics in the songs to the character of the person being depicted in the Vaiṣṇava scriptures like the Bhāgavata

79 Khangamcha, "Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism: A Religon of Aesthetico Devotional Performance," 83.

80 Nāṭyaśāstra lists eight types of involuntary states under the category of sāttvikabhāvas. These include crying, fainting, having one’s voice altered (Buchta and Schweig, “Rasa Theory”, 624).

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Purāṇa, so that the dancers’ expressions do not simply reflect the lyrics but are true to their character mentioned in the religious texts. For Bandhopadhyay, the habitus she inculcates is not simply deterministic, mechanical repetition, but an expression of creativity within structure.81

However, I found from my fieldwork that not all dance gurus educate their students in these texts. Baisali Sarkar, a dance guru based in Kolkata lamented that there is no fixed syllabus in teaching the Manipuri rāslīlā. She said, “In Manipuri there is no such syllabus fixed by the gurus. The gurus must make a syllabus so that the students know what we need to learn, and as teachers we should know what we are going to teach. I teach certain items, certain ideas, another teacher is teaching something [else].”82 Nevertheless, although she was not taught the books of the

Gosvāmīs, she revealed that she felt devotional experiences when performing,

I am not a Vaiṣṇava by religion (she considered herself a non-sectarian Hindu). But I have alot of faith in Lord Krishna…I feel solace of mind when performing in the rāslīlā…whenever I perform that item I really feel that something sacred is happening on stage. I feel that from within. And I generally enact the role of Krishna. So finally when the dance ends, and the āratīk (ritual worship) takes place, I feel possessed by the spiritual thing (sic). I feel possessed by the spirit for one minute or maybe half a minute, but that feeling has always been with me…the dance is total devotion. When you learn this dance and start performing, automatically devotion comes within you.

The performance-oriented nature of Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism and, specifically, the aesthetic space of the rāslīlā provides a context which can produce a shared bhakti rasa amongst the audience and the actors. As articulated by Khangamcha, “the physical

81 See Bourdieu (The Logic of Practice, 55) for a discussion of creativity within constraints and limits in a social structure.

82 Audio-recorded interview with Baisali Sarkar, February 25, 2016, Kolkata.

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space of dance, the rāsmandal, the bodies of dancers and the spectator-bhaktas (the bhakti rasikās) all assume the religious emotion they embody.”83 This is made possible by aesthetic configurations, and preparation of the performers and audience through the inculcated modes of appreciation. This process of familiarization is the construction of a doxa, a shared, taken-for-granted life-world.

The audience is prepared through their familiarization with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, by reading or hearing the texts of the tradition, or by participating in temple worship. During my fieldwork, I observed the recitation of texts which are staple for

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas such as the CC. These are dramatic readings, during which both the readers and audience sometimes shed tears. During temple worship, they regularly bow, sing hymns, and offer gifts to the mūrtis of Rādhā and Govindaji. They also organize festivals in which the mūrtis are portrayed as playing with colored water (holī khel). Often, when greeting the mūrtis, devotees perform hand gestures that mimic those of the dancers in the rāslīlās. In these ways the audience accumulate both the theology and the body knowledge required for an appreciation of rāslīlās.

Moreover, relational interactions amongst devotees that are performed during communal temple activities are reproduced during the rāslīlās. These are evident during rituals such as discourses on the sacred texts when the speaker, a Brahmin is offered a raised seat and offered respects, highlighting the importance and sacrality of the texts as well as the speaker. In Manipuri temples, the devotee-audience also bow to the speaker and offer gifts of money or cloth while the discourse is going on, just as they do to the actors during the rāslīlā performances.

83 Khangamcha, "Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism: A Religion of Aesthetico Devotional Performance," 75.

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The dancer is prepared by undergoing consecration ceremonies and ritual purification such as various forms of fasting and restricting her diet to vegetarian food.

She is also required to observe other rituals such as vows of silence and hearing the

Bhāgavata Purāṇa. The training includes infusing the actor psychologically with the rāslīlā character she will be portraying by setting her apart from the family in her own space and worshipping her through rituals. A few days before the rāslīlā takes place, her guru and parents worship her so that she can perceived her body as a purified vessel for the divine to enter, just as Maibis do when they use their bodies as vessels for the lais when performing oracles. Thus, a particular Manipuri habitus developed in a historical and socio-political context is trained and deployed as part of the process of building a sacred body that makes possible the efficacious performance of the Manipuri rāslīlās.

The actor learns aspect of her role, such as the lyrics she is supposed to sing, the techniques of singing, the dance movements, and expressions by rote. These are instilled in the child actor's career at an early age. As observed by Shakespeare in the early 1900s, “children are especially trained to dance these sacred measures correctly, and as each festival approaches, the juvenile performers may be seen hard at work rehearsing under the supervision of professional teachers.”84 Many of the renowned artistes and dance gurus I interviewed were sent to learn dance or martial arts as early as age five. Even at that age, they perform in dance dramas related to Krishna’s or

Caitanya’s childhood play.

84 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 7.

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I noticed that the actors are not trained in dance for temple performances with the same degree of precision as for proscenium performances. In fact, temple performers get their steps wrong, or stumble with little regard for the artistry of the execution of their movements. But the temple atmosphere, devotional singing, and the presence of the mūrtis overshadow these shortcomings. This goes to show that the whole assemblage of participants and mis-en-scene, including the devotee-audience, is at work in making and pulling off the performance.

The final preparatory ritual to develop an appreciation of the rāslīlās occurs just minutes prior, through naṭa saṅkīrtan. This serves as a preview to the rāslīlās. Both actors and audience are supposed to be mentally transported to the world of Caitanya and his associates in 16th century Navadvīpa during naṭa saṅkīrtan. This is done by constructing mental worlds through song, music, dance, and aesthetics. For example, the lead-singer (iseihanba) is identified to be Srīvās, the next singer Mukunda, the lead- drummer, Advaita, the section of the audience sitting in the South represents

Nityānanda, and the one occupying the Western side of the mandap represents

Mādhavendra Puri.85 They are all associates of Caitanya. Moreover, the eight pillars surrounding the mandap or temple courtyard also represent his associates, and the pillar at the center represents Caitanya. A second level of transformation takes place when the rāslīlā begins. This time the mandap transforms into the world of Krishna and his associates in Vṛndāvan. The eight pillars represent the eight main Gopīs - Lalitā,

Visākha, Sudevi, Indulekha, Rangadevi, Citra, Campakalata, and Tungavidya. The ninth

85 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 107.

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pillar, called Jatra, is the central pillar and represents Rādhā and Krishna. Thus, different constituent elements is transmutted by the performance.

Further, the sounds of the pung’s drumbeats also have symbolic meanings and affective force. The sound tang represents Krishna, gin represents Rādhā, tak is identified with Caitanya and tal with his associate, Advaita. The instruments also have symbolic representations. The golden color of the brass cymbals represents the golden complexion of Rādhā, and the knotted cotton thread used as handle stands for her hair, while the sound that they make represents her voice. The pung itself represents the tears of Rādhā. These and many more symbolic meanings are integral to the theme of bhakti rasa.

The aesthetic ritual processes discussed above enables the actor to mentally construct a divine body and experience bhakti rasa. In turn, the actors’ performances and accompanying aesthetics enable the rasikā-bhaktas or the like-minded and informed audience to also experience bhakti rasa. Thematically, the religious conception of bhakti rasa was retained from its Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sources. However, Manipuri

Vaiṣṇavism departs from its Bengali origins in that it is an indigenized aesthetic form with local elements as its basic structure. In Chapter 6, I will show how indigenous aesthetics from performances such as the Lai Haraoba fused with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava themes in the structure of the rāslīlā.

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CHAPTER 6 AESTHETIC STRUCTURE OF THE MANIPURI RĀSLĪLĀS

Introduction

In this chapter, I discuss the various aesthetic elements of the Manipuri rāslīlā that were used to produce bhakti rasa. I will show how Meitei elements were incorporated into the dance drama and layered with thematic influences from Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇavism. This incorporation and layering were mediated by a Manipuri habitus that was crafted as a result of unfolding socio-political and cultural processes in the region.

The effects of interaction between the Meitei and Vaiṣṇava traditions discussed in previous chapters will become apparent here. In my analysis, I will focus on dance movements, emotions, songs and other non-discursive elements such as seating arrangement, costumes, and rituals. They serve to create particular devotional experiences for performers and the audience. Besides discussing aesthetic elements common to all forms of Manipuri rāslīlās, I will provide an in-depth discussion of the lyrics, rituals, and movements of parts of the Mahārās in the Govindaji temple. My overall aim is to provide a closer view on how Meitei and Vaiṣṇava elements have been fused together in the Manipuri rāslīlās.

The data presented here is based on my observations of rāslīlā performances in temples and prosceniums in Manipur, training sessions in dance schools and homes, as well as interviews with dance gurus, dancers, scholars of Manipuri dance, and members of the audience. I am mindful that the Mahārās performances I attended must have changed considerably from the ones presented during the reign of Bhāgyacandra.

However, since there are no written descriptions of the rāslīlās presented during the reign of Bhāgyacandra, the Mahārās presented at the Govindaji temple is the closest

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approximation to the earliest versions. Given that the dance in the Govindaji temple was closely supervised by the institution of the orthodox Brāhman Sabhā, whose office is located on the temple premises, the rāslīlās performed there are defined by a strong drive to preserve tradition and, therefore, are likely to most closely resemble the earlier versions.

There is evidence for this effort to maintain tradition. For example, unlike rāslīlās performed in other temples that now use Meiteilon language, the ones presented in

Govindaji temple still retain their Sanskrit lyrics. Further, unlike the rāslīlās performed in other temples, in the Govindaji temple, no actor performs the role of Krishna. Instead, the Govindaji mūrti represents the presence of Krishna, just as it did during

Bhāgyacandra’s inaugural rāslīlā presentation. Finally, the Brāhman Sabhā’s resistance to change is evident from the fact that until today, the last thematic rāslīlā, the Divarās, produced around 1940, and the only rāslīlā performed in the daytime, is performed in all other temples except the Govindaji temple.1 This is because, in the view of the orthodox

Brāhman Sabhā establishment, the Divarās broke the rule that all Vaiṣṇava performances should first be offered to Govindaji, when it was instead presented in the

Vijaygovinda temple located in a suburban area in Sagolband Salam Leikai.2 The

Divarās’s authenticity was also challenged by the Brāhman Sabhā because it was performed in the daytime, and was constructed by a lay artiste not connected with royal authorities or the Sabhā, Ojhā Akham Tomba.3

1 Khangembam Khoni, Nitya Raas & Divaa Raas (Imphal: Ashangba Communication, 2016), 92.

2 Ibid, 97.

3 Tomba was summoned by King Churachand to explain why the Divarās should be organized during the day and without the consent of the king. According to Khoni (Nitya Raas & Divaa Raas, 96), he provided evidence from Purāṇic literature that Kṛṣṇa performed a rāslīlā in a place called Ambuja Kunja during the

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The orthodox position taken by the Brāhman Sabhā can be understood by

Bourdieu’s explanation of the tendency of those located in dominant positions in the religious field to take a conservative position. Orthodoxy, according to Bourdieu, aims at restoring the state of doxa, and only exists in a relationship in opposition to heterodoxy.4

Well-established agents in the field have a stake in the maintenance of the established order because it enables them to sustain their domination in a struggle among various agents in the field. They maintain this order by conserving the rituals and performances in which they have acquired specialization and over which they have a monopoly. Often this conservation is achieved by claiming a return to an original purity. Conversely, the initiative of change falls on newcomers to the field.5 In the case of the rāslīlās, such change is likely to take place outside the stronghold of the Brāhman Sabhā, and loisangs, that is, outside the precincts of the Govindaji temple.6 Hence, I choose to analyze the sections of the Mahārās, the very first rāslīlā, performed in the Govindaji temple as a platform to discuss how Bhāgyacandra’s commissioned party of specialists might have constructed the rāslīlās.

But first, I will show how Manipuri rāslīlās were constructed by using several framing devices which responded to audience preferences or their habitus. According to

Joyce Flueckiger “a successful folklore performer both continually responds to and manipulates her/his audience and performance context…through language usage,

day. His arguments were eventually accepted by the Brāhman Sabhā, even though they still banned it from the Govindaji temple.

4 Bourdieu, Outline of a Theory of Practice, 169.

5 The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, 58.

6 This does not mean the Brāhman Sabhā does not enact changes at all. Rather, drastic changes and frequent changes are less likely under the collective management of the Brāhman Sabhā.

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length of performance, and adaptation of thematic content. An important way in which the context is manipulated and audience expectations are built is through frames created around the event.”7

Aesthetic Elements of The Manipuri Rāslīlās

In this section, I discuss how frames were drawn to resonate with the Meitei habitus and to produce bhakti rasa through the actors’ rituals, audience behavior, costume, gestures, lyrics, music, and the rāsmandal.

Actors

Boys, usually around five to seven years of age, or young girls play the only male role in the rāslīlās (of Krishna) performed in temples other than the Govindaji palace temple. Thombi Singh a former principal of the JNMDA and the former Vice Chancellor of Manipur University shared with me that he used to play the role of Krishna when he was a just a five-year old boy. It was only later, when he was fourteen, that he received more formal training at JNMDA. He said that Manipuri parents consider it a pious act to send their children to dance in the rāslīlā. From my observation, child actors did not seem emotionally invested in their characters, understandably so because of their lack of understanding about the emotions being conveyed. However, the use of a child actor as opposed to an older male dancing with women performs the function of divesting the performance of erotic imagery.

This conforms to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, which stresses that Krishna’s relationship with the Gopīs is devoid of worldly inebrieties like lust (See Chapter 5). It is

7 Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger, "“He Should Have Worn a Sari”: A “Failed” Performance of a Central Indian Oral Epic," TDR 32, no. 1 (1988): 168.

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also a break away from the indigenous Meitei habitus of mixed dances such as Thabal

Chongba, during which boys and girls hold hands and dance in rows of circles

(mentioned in Chapter 4). This implies that the Vaiṣṇava theology, transmitted through the circulation and recitation of texts by religious elites i.e. the Brahmins and gurus, had sufficiently altered the Manipuri habitus for mixed gender dancing to be excluded in the rāslīlā temple performances.

The emphasis on Vaiṣṇava devotional sensibilities is underscored by the fact that the role of the Gopīs are played by women of various ages, from their teens to their seventies, with little consideration for their youthfulness or physical beauty. In informal conversations with members of the audience, I was told that the older women are valued because they had accumulated a lifetime of associations with Govindaji through temple worship and dancing with/for him. Hence, greater importance is given to being faithful to the tradition’s theology than to being aesthetically entertaining. As argued by

Richard Schechner, at all times a dialectical tension exists between efficacious and entertainment tendencies. 8 Ritual efficacy and entertainment may have different requirements, but they form a binary system, a continuum; both are present in all performances, but in each performance, one or the other is dominant at different times.

That is, either efficacy or entertainment dominates, the two being in a braided relationship to each other. In temple performances of the rāslīlās, it would be accurate to say that efficacy, which is the production of bhakti ras generally dominates.

8 Schechner, Performative Circumstances - from the Avant Garde to Ramlila, 139.

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During the performance, the actors are regarded as the divine incarnations of the roles they play.9 This is similar to the the rāslīlās performed in Vraja, in which, the actors are "not just human beings but svarūps ("very forms") of the divinities concerned.”10

Their bodies become sites of darśan for others attending the performance. Although the divine is embodied in the actors during the performance, the actors also perform for the divine in the form of the mūrtis. The human embodiment of the divine was already a part of the Meitei habitus. As I mentioned in Chapter 2, Maibis embody the lais during trance, as they deliver oracles and act as the latters’ messengers during the lai tongba

(literally the lai rides or sits upon) ritual.

Further, just as Maibis are ritually prepared, the rāslīlā actors are ritually prepared for their role by undertaking fasts and vows of silence, and even being worshipped. Goswami observed that the actors playing the role of Rādhā and Krishna pray to Govindaji the day before the performance by standing in the same posture as the mūrtis, surrounded by those playing the role of the Gopīs. 11 He also added that they worship Sanamahi and the tulasī plant in their own homes by offering betel nuts, fruits, and lamps, demonstrating the hybridization of the two religious traditions even within the frame of the rāslīlās.12 One of my interviewees, Rajkumari Sanathoi, an artiste who teaches at the JNMDA described some of the purificatory rituals that those who play the role of Krishna or the Gopīs undertake before temple performances.13 She herself had

9 Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan, 16.

10 Hawley, "Every Play a Play within a Play," 117.

11 Goswami, Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra, 99.

12 Ibid.

13 Recorded interview with Rajkumari Sanathoi, November 16, 2016 at JNMDA.

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been dancing for Manipuri rāslīlās since she was a child, and she frequently played the role of Krishna. She recalled how, one or two months before the performance, to prepare themselves mentally for the sacred roles they will play, the dancers would only eat food cooked by Brahmins, and sleep separately from the rest of their family members. A week before the dance, a special pūjā (ritual worship) is performed during which they are worshiped by their own gurus. During this time, their parents are not allowed to scold them and are supposed to treat them with great reverence because of the divine roles they will embody. Finally, when it was time for the performance in the temple, Sanathoi revealed that she was sufficiently prepared to think of herself as

Krishna, and not as a mere dancer. Such rituals serve as framing devices for both audience and actors as they are mentally cultivated to believe that they are entering into the domain of the sacred.

Actors assert their emotions they want to convey mainly through dialogue and hand gestures. Their facial expressions are mostly subdued, although this can vary with performers. Several dancers I interviewed downplayed the role of facial expressions and stressed that this was one of the distinguishing features of Manipuri dance as compared to other classical dances of India. However, Darshana Jhaveri disagreed and stressed facial expressions should correspond with the emotions being expressed by the actors. She said “my guru, Bipin Singh taught us that facial expressions are important. Perhaps because they think that facial expressions are not important because they wear veils.”14

14 Recorded interview, December 11, 2016, Juhu Mumbai.

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In general, aspects of praxis involving the actors, which includes their gender, age, ritual preparations, and symbolism point towards the production of bhakti rasa in line with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology. Some of these devices, such as the prominence of women dancers, the accumulation of sanctioned expertise through dance in early childhood, and the ritual preparation of the body as a vessel for the divine, had already existed in the Meitei habitus (see Chapter 2). However, they were transformed and adapted to suit Vaiṣṇava sensibilities.

Audience

The presence of divine beings in form of the actors or in the Govindaji palace, the mūrtis of Rādhā, and Krishna, is taken as a matter-of-fact by the audience. Many of the dance gurus I interviewed said that the term used for attending the rāslīlās, is rās ikupba

(worship the rāslīlā) as opposed to rās yengba (watch the rāslīlā). Members of the audience participate in performances through their devotional feelings. A number of people at the audience I interviewed indicated that a successful rāslīlā is one that would evoke devotional feelings in them. They include Robindro Singh, who said “the rāslīlā is meant to let us experience the same devotion that the Gopīs have for Krishna,” and

Memtombi Devi who revealed “I was crying during the rās. This means that everyone, the singers, dancers, and musician all performed well. Most importantly, Rādhā and

Krishna were present.” In my interview with Darshana Jhaveri, she recollected that when she performed in Manipur in the 1950s, “the audience would be overcome with ecstasy and feel bhakti rasa. They will get up in the middle of the dance and offer prostrations to the artistes in gratitude for giving them the experience.” I had also observed the same during my fieldwork. It was not uncommon to see members of the audience shedding tears and offering prostrations. It all goes to show that they regard

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the characters on stage, not simply as actors, but as incarnations; just as they consider the performance not as a secular drama, but as a sacred presence of the divine to be experienced.

The audience is specifically drawn into the bhakti rasa of the Gopīs during the performance. They imbibe this through prior collective acts of piety, such as hearing discourses on Vaiṣṇava texts and participating in festivals and temple rituals. As expressed by Mason, “the transcendent experience of a devotee at a rāslīlā depends upon his devotion, a relationship with divinity that derives from a faith, which does not arise spontaneously from the performance itself but which the devotee grows from his life of worship."15 The devotion to the deity is the shared habitus that is necessary for the performer to produce meaningful and moving performances for the audience.

Temple worship and numerous festivals like the boat-race, holī, and even rugby was performed in relation to Vaiṣṇava deities. They were introduced by successive kings like Charairongba, Garibniwaz, and Bhāgyacandra who utilized their religious and political capital to make changes to the Meitei habitus (see Chapters 3 and 4). Some of these had already been observed by Meiteis in their indigenous religion but were sanskritized. These changes enabled the audience to build their own sacred bodies and develop an appreciation for the Vaiṣṇava deities embodied by the actors and experience bhakti rasa during the rāslīlā.

Although the audience regards the actors as the divinities they play, they do not forget that they retain their human aspects. They regularly intervene to adjust the actor's dress or offer a seat or provide refreshments. The boundaries between the stage, the

15 Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan, 20.

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actors, and the audience are more blurred in temple performances than on the proscenium which has fixed boundaries between artistes and audience. The audience see themselves as participants in a religious community event rather than just mere spectators of a drama, akin to other religious festivals such as Lai Haraoba, wherein the sing and dance with the Maibis.

Costume

The task of making costumes for the Manipuri rāslīlā was delegated to the Phiribi

Loishang. It was headed by the queen and only women were allowed to be a part of it.16

The colorful costumes are elaborately designed to convey the character of the divine roles to the audience and to set the actors apart from the musicians and audience. The costumes worn by the Gopīs and Krishna were mostly derived from Manipur’s indigenous dresses worn by the women (a wrap-around skirt called phanek), and men

(dhotī like dress called phaijom). Laisram Sharad, who is responsible for preparing the costumes at the JNMDA, and who claimed that he comes from a family of costume- makers, said that over the past two centuries, the costumes have been continually developed by adding new designs and ornamental decor like sequins and necklaces.

He also mentioned that it has become increasingly difficult to make the costumes in

Manipur because of the costs of production: it is more economical to have them made elsewhere and then imported to Manipur.

The Gopīs wear an elaborate costume (See Figure 6-1). The Gopīs’ headdress is known as koktumbi. It consists of a conical veil worn on the hair that is tied high up into a bun and decorated with flowers. A headband embroidered with silver sequins called

16 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Mahars, 66.

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koknam is worn at the top of the head to hold the veil in place. The thin white veil, called maikhum covers the face from the front, and at the back, it hangs down to the waist.

This serves to hide the Gopīs’ face. This was part of the overall structure of the Manipuri rāslīlā, which seems to be designed to minimize sensual attraction. This is probably an aesthetic innovation aimed at being faithful to the Gaudiya Vaiṣṇava tradition’s insistence that Krishna’s rāslīlā was devoid of worldly lust. According to Neog, in the

Assamese dance drama known as dakṣiṇpāt-sattra, the leader of the actors wears a similar transparent veil, possibly indicating some form of appropriation from Assam.17

Moreover, the costume was also based on Manipuri sensibilities of modesty. In my interview with him, Dhanajit Singh said, “the rāslīlā costume is based on traditional dress. In our Manipuri traditional custom, women never showed their face openly to the king. They always cover their face with a veil. They also wore a phanek from the chest down to the ankles even at home.” Besides the veil, the Gopīs also wear ornaments like bangles and bracelets, which apart from decorating the body, covered the limbs. Thus, in building the saced body for the Manipuri rāslīlās, the actors’ bodies are adorned to express religious and social meanings specific to the Manipuri Vaiṣṇava context.

I reproduce names and descriptions of the various parts of the costume based on

Suverna Jhaveri’s work and my own observations and interviews with Manipuri dancers and teachers. The upper portion of the costume comprises of the reshan-phurit and the thabakyet.18 The reshan-phurit is a velvet blouse, dark green for Rādhā and red for the

Gopīs. It has borders made of sequins around the neckline and waist. The thabakyet is

17 Neog, Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam, 272.

18 Suverna Jhaveri, "Costumes: The Raiments and the Adornments," in Dances of Manipur: The Classical Tradition, ed. Saryu Doshi (Bombay: Marg Publlcations, 1989), 89.

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a white cloth wrapped under the shoulders covering the area from chest to waist.

Following the objective of masking sensuality, it is worn to hide the shape of breasts.

Hanging from the left shoulder and worn across the body, is the khaon.19 The khaon is a rectangular flap made of framed mirrors, covered with sequins, and gold and silver threads to evoke a sense of awe from the audience.

Around the waist, there is the poshwan,20 made of white frills and bordered with bits of glasses framed within brass circlets forming wave-like patterns. It is worn over the kummin, the skirt. The poshwan is secured by a belt known as Khwangoi, made of brass-framed mirrors. The kummin is made of satin cloth, green for Rādhā, and red for the Gopīs. A round ankle-length skirt which resembles what Manipuri women wear as their traditional dress, was used earlier (Figure 6-2). It was probably enlarged and made stiffer in the early 20th century. The enlarged portion is called a potloi, which serves to hides the shape of the actor’s body. A circular colorful embroidered border design, called khoi mayek, decorates the potloi. As I mentioned in Chapter 2, it was introduced as early as the 10th century if the CK is taken to be accurate. The same khoi design is also used by athletes participating in traditional sports like wrestling, and by officials at the Lai Haraoba celebrations. It serves to mark the actors as participating in an activity which is set apart from ordinary routine life.

The actor playing the role of Krishna (Figure 6-4) wears an elaborate head-dress decorated with peacock feathers in the front. The head-dress, kajeng lei, is made up of a black velvet cap, nakhun, and a crown called a mukut, made from a conical wooden

19 Ibid., 93.

20 Ibid., 93.

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piece covered with golden paper.21 A garland called lei-pareng is always worn around the neck. The upper portion of Krishna’s costume (reshan-phurit)22 is made of dark green velvet. It has borders of sequins placed around the neck, waist, and sleeves. This is similar to the green velvet top worn by the pena-khongba, the pena player and a dancer in the Lai Haraoba (see Figure 6-3). The lower portion is a yellowish silk dhotī known as phaijom. It has a green border and is also studded with sequins. Two richly decorated flaps (khaons) start from both shoulders, crisscross and hang down from the waists.23 These flaps are supposed to represent the bags that Krishna carries when he goes to tend the cows. Like the Gopīs, Krishna also wears a waist belt known as

Khwangoi.24 Krishna’s wrist, hand, arms, and ankles are decorated with bangles.

Around the ankles, there is a V-shaped strip, nupur, made of silver thread and sequins.

Finally, he holds a flute decorated with flowers, as in popular depictions of Krishna.

Besides the actors, other performers such as the female singers (sutradhārīs), rāsdhari (director), Nupa pala (male musicians) and Moibung Khongba (conch blower) all have their respective attire. Without going into too much detail, all-male participants wear a white phaijom, khudei (shawl) and kokyet (turban). This is similar to the attire worn by the Maibas during the Lai Haraoba. However, in the rāslīlā, they all wear the

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sectarian markings of tilak on their bodies. The sutradhārīs wear a white blouse and thin translucent shawl (innaphi) on the upper body and a phanek

21 Ibid., 95.

22 Ibid., 98.

23 Ibid., 98.

24 Ibid., 98.

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which begins from their chest and ends just above the heels. It is decorated with a traditional Meitei pattern, called Thambai Leikhok.25

In general, the green velvet cloth, khoi design, and potloi were derived from aesthetic components of Meitei ceremonial wear. They serve as framing devices which invoke Meitei symbols of royalty and religiosity. Innovative artistic additions of sequins, glass beads, and intricate embroidery were included over the years. There are also other components, such as the veil, thabakyet and enlarged potloi which serve to minimize sensual attraction towards the dancers. Arguably, this attitude could have been borne out of Vaiṣṇava sensibilities towards the Gopīs articulated in texts such as the CC (see Chapter 5). The costumes therefore reflect a hybrid Manipuri (Meitei-

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava) habitus.

Music

The orchestra, which sits at the northwest corner of the rāsmandal, consists of the drummer (pung player), flutist, conch shell blower, and esraj player. The esraj, a stringed instrument used in West Bengal and the flute were not indigenous instruments.

I do not have information on how and when they were introduced. However, the harmonizing tendency of the Meitei habitus and their inclination to worship through music enabled these instruments to be introduced, learnt and deployed in the rāslīlās.

The drum, referred to as the pung, is double-sided with two equal-sized ends, and covered with a thin white cloth. It is played during traditional Meitei festivals. As mentioned earlier, following the logics of the Meitei body metaphor, the pung is said to represent the tears of Rādhā, and the sound of the hand cymbals played by the singers,

25 Interview with Memtombi Devi, 28 July 2018.

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her voice.26 According to Bandhopadyay, Manipuri Vaiṣṇavas also believe the pung represents Krishna, with the two sides being his two eyes, the black color on the wood being Krishna’s dark complexion, the two rings on the two sides, his bangles, and the red shoulder strap his garland.27 As I discussed in Chapter 2, the concept of musical instruments symbolically representing gods was borrowed from the Meitei habitus. The indigenous pena for example, represented the male and female lais, and the music they produced was symbolic of creation (see Chapter 2). In that sense, building the sacred body in the rāslīlās extends beyond the human bodies of actors and audience to include musical instruments.

Many of the musicians I interviewed like Kirti Singh, Gurumayum Loken and

Basu Sinam revealed that the melodies that were used in the rāslīlā had indigenous roots. I am not able to provide much details about this or verify this information.

However, they described that the different rāslīlā dances use different rāgas (melodic frameworks). It is likely, that over time, with increased contact with other parts of India, several rāgas were incorporated in the Manipuri rāslīlā.

The conch is blown during significant moments in the rāslīlā. According to

Khangamcha, this concept was incorporated from Meitei rituals.28 In the Meitei funeral ritual called Nonggaron, a copper blow-horn is blown to inform the ancestors about the soul of the departed who will be joining them in heaven. In Vaiṣṇava temples in other parts of India, the conch is blown during ritual worship of the mūrtis. It was likely due to

26 Recorded interview with Professor Khangamcha Khangamcha, August 30, 2016, Manipur University, Department of Philosophy.

27 Bandhopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Presentation, 168-169.

28 Khangamcha, "Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism: A Religon of Aesthetico Devotional Performance," 87.

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this influence and the Meitei habitus of using the blowhorn to indicate auspicious moments, that the conch is blown during various segments of the rāslīlā.

The drummer is usually the teacher and leader of the other musicians, and it is the drumbeats or talas that set the tempo of the performance. There are specific talas that are tailored to the emotion that specific verses or songs express. They each have their own names like tāncep, tintālamacā, mel, cāli, and menkup.29 The talas aid in invoking devotional feelings in the audience. When certain climatic episodes, like

Krishna re-joining the dance with the Gopīs are depicted in the rāslīlā, the talas increase their tempo.

The musical instruments that are used in the rāslīlā represent the disposition of

Meiteis to absorb foreign components which relate to their own habitus and make it their own. Concepts such as the personification and body metaphorization of musical instruments and the male-female principle were deployed in the instruments of the rāslīlā. The imported instruments and indigenous concepts combine to assist in the production of bhakti rasa during the performance.

The rāsmandal

The area in the temple where the rāslīlās are performed is called the rāsmandal.30 The rāsmandal is slightly circular and located in the center of the temple courtyard. The layout of the temple courtyard is borrowed from the Meitei laibung, which refers to a place where the lais are worshipped. The eight points of the Meitei laibung

29 Bandhopadhyay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Presentation, 189 – 385.

30 A number of the dance gurus and scholars I interviewed claimed the earliest rāslīlas organized by Bhāgyacandra were performed in natural settings called mandalī. Trees were planted around the mandalī. They are represented by pillars in the contemporary temple setting.

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are quarters guarded by eight lais.31 But in the rāsmandal the eight lais are replaced by eight sakhis (girlfriends of Rādhā)32 who are represented in the form of eight pillars.

Bordering the rāsmandal are twelve pillars, usually covered with white cloth, and covered by a large white canopy overhead. There are twelve of them to represent the twelve forests of Vraja.33 Ornate frills, flowers, green leaves and branches of the peepal tree are sometimes used to decorate the pillars to invoke the natural groves of Vraja.

They combine with other aesthetic elements like the lyrics to transport the actors and audience to Vraja. Thouranisabi Devi, a renowned dancer, and winner of several awards, including India’s Padma Shri award, informed me that the rāslīlā recreates the sacred places related to Krishna.34

The rāsmandals in temples other than the Govindaji temple have four arched doorways made of drapes and decorated with flowers, situated in four directions: north, south, east, and west. In the Govindaji temple, there are four sides. They serve as entry and exit points for the performers. Krishna enters from the south, while Rādhā and the other Gopīs enter from the west. Shyamchand Sharma and Gurumayum Loken informed me that Manipuri Vaiṣṇavas believe that other Hindu gods guard the different directions of the rāsmandal. Ganeṣa guards the Northeastern corner, Keṣava, the

Southwestern corner, Ananta, the Northwestern corner, and Śiva the Southeastern corner. This concept is similar to, and was probably derived from, the guardian deities

31 This was also confirmed in Khangamcha, "Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism: A Religion of Aesthetico Devotional Performance, 89.

32 Khangamcha “Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism: A Religion of Aesthetico Devotional Performance,” 89.

33 Interview with Shyamchand Sharma, Imphal, March 16, 2016.

34 Interview with Thouranisabi Devi, Imphal, June 6, 2016.

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who are believed to be situated on the borders of the area where the Lai Haraoba is performed (See Chapter 2). In fact, during the rāslīlā, the Gopīs who generally face the mūrtis of Rādhā and Krishna, sometimes turn outward clockwise to face the invisible guardians of the directions, and then turn back again, just as the Maibis do during Lai

Haraoba.

In the centre of the rāsmandal in the Govindaji temple, there is a circular rotating platform, called the bhadra chakra. The mūrtis of Govindaji and Rādhā are carried from their altar on palanquins and set on the bhadra chakra before the performance begins.

During the rāslīlā, as the Gopīs circumambulate Govindaji and Rādhā in a counter- clockwise direction, the bhadra chakra is rotated along with them. The bhadra chakra is only used in rāslīlās that take place in the Govindaji temple.

Before the rāslīlā commences, the rāsmandal is consecrated by rituals and naṭa saṅkīrtan which serve to transform the arena into Rādhā’s and Krishna’s heaven. Thus, the rāsmandal is considered to be sacred and not different from the rāsmandal in

Vṛndāvan, which Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava consider to be the actual place where the original rāslīlā was performed. In fact, the rāsmandal is framed as a highly sacred physical zone. If conventional ritual behavior pertainting to the rāsmandal is violated, a sin is considered to have been committed.35 For example, during the rāslīlā, only performers who take on the form of the divinities they enact are allowed to step in to the rāsmandal in the Govindaji temple, that too after undergoing ritual fasts and penances for weeks before performing. However, in other temples, I have seen members of the audience

35 Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur, 165.

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stepping into the rāsmandal to offer monetary gifts or cloth during the performance, indicating that boundaries are fluid depending on the location and the specific act.

The rāsmandal was spatially and conceptually structured based on Meitei practices related to the worship of the lais and the positioning of guardian deities during the Lai Haraoba. They were harmonized with new symbolic meaning associated with the divinities of the rāslīlās like Krishna, the Gopīs, and the broader Hindu deities. This probably occurred over a period of time with greater exposure to Hindu traditions.

Innovative rituals of consecration and props were introduced to recreate Vraja and support the production of bhakti rasa.

Seating structure

There are fixed seating arrangements in temple performances of rāslīlā.

Following the proper seating etiquette is considered to be of great importance in the

Manipuri rāslīlās. Some of the fixed positions in the Govindaji rāsmandal are the 1) moibung khongba (conch blower) on the western side, facing east; 2) rāsdhari (director) and 3) two sutradhārīs (singers) seated at the northern side; 4) the orchestra facing east; 5) mandap mapu, or the presiding chair, in the southwest corner, facing north; 6) seats for kings, and other members of royalty; 7) higher-ranking Brahmins, Nata pala loishang members, Pandit loishang and 8) Maharājmāta (Queen mother). I present the full list and locations of reserved seats in Figure 6-5.36

The seating arrangement serves two apparently contradictory functions. First, it displays a system of classification that reproduces the objective class divisions or

36 I made the layout with the assistance of of Urmika Maibam, a dancer and PhD student researching on the Mahārās. I verified it with my own observations and informal interviews with priests and members of the audience in the Govindaji temple.

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positions connected to the production of religious goods.37 Religious elites from the

Brāhman Sabhā, the king, the Mandap Mapu and nobles sit along the Southern gate, essentially occupying the front-row seats. Other dignitaries like members of the royal family and Brahmin ladies sit nearby on the other sides. This is a reflection of the structures of hierarchy built by Garibniwaz, which elevated Brahmins over

Maibas/Maibis in the religious field (see Chapter 3). Musicians and members of the loisangs sit along the Northern and Western gates. Thus, the rāslīlas contribute to the reproduction of the same power relations of which they are products.

The seating arrangement during the rāslīlās also reproduce the relational interactions amongst devotees and the structure of relative positions in the religious field that are embedded in the Manipuri habitus during communal temple activities.

Prasādam (referring to food or flowers that have been offered to the mūrtis) follow strictly the hierarchical structures that place the oldest or senior-most devotees as the first recipients. Brahmins, who had been accorded a high position as ritual specialists during the reign of Garibniwaz, play a very visible role mediating between the deities and general devotees by cooking, ritually offering the offer food to the mūrtis, and by serving out prasādam to all the devotes. During the holī festival, Brahmins associated with the Brāhman Sabhā in the Govindaji temple perform the function of spraying colors from a syringe onto the mūrtis and hundreds of devotees. While attending ritual ceremonies in Manipuri temples, such as the first head-shaving ceremony for children and feasts in honor of ancestors, I observed that Brahmins would often be employed to

37 Bourdieu (Outline of a Theory of Practice, 164) discussed the relations of power in the production of products in a field.

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give discourses from sacred Vaiṣṇava texts and perform rituals. These roles endowed them with religious capital which sustains their dominant positions in the religious field.

During the rāslīlās, they perform similar rituals based on their established positional structure in the Manipuri habitus. They take charge of all the rituals pertaining to Rādha and Govindaji, such as performing ārati, offering food and distributing prasādam to the devotees. Moreover, during the performance, one of Brahmins seated at the Northern gate would lend his voice to Govindaji by speaking his lines for him.

The second function of the seating arrangement is that it provides a sense of communitas, a deeply-felt collective bond that transcends, even if momentarily, social divisions for those attending the dance drama. Through the rāslīlas, communitas “is recognized beneath all its hierarchical and segmentary differences and oppositions.”38

Female members of the general audience sit on the side opposite to the king at the

Northern gate and the male members sit at the Eastern gate and Western gate (behind the king). Even though they are spatial separated, all groups partake of the rāslīla as a shared, all-encompassing communal event, regardless of their social status. This gives them access to the “sentimental education” of the performance and experience bhakti ras. Even members of the Pandit Loishang, who are the official authorities for Meitei rituals and practices, are reserved a seat. This is illustrative of the hybrid Meitei-

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava habitus that developed after the reign of Bhāgyacandra.

Having characterized the various agents and components such as the actors, audience, costume, music, and the structure of the rāsmandal that go into building

38 Turner, Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors : Symbolic Action in Human Society, 56.

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sacred bodies and making the rāslīlas religiously powerful, I now will discuss how these elements interact with the body in particular dance movements.

Movements and gestures

When the deity that is embodied in the dance is not familiar, body knowledge aided by aesthetics may create a transformation in the religious habitus of the performers and audience. Zubko has argued that “boundaries of religious identities are more permeable when being negotiated through embodied Bharata Natyam practices than they are through discursive mediums.”39 The body is able to “sustain, challenge, and create co-existing ideologies through its own fluid positioning.”40 The introduction of

Govindaji in the 18th century, a fairly new deity in the Manipuri religious landscape, was mediated through the fluid body knowledge of Meiteis in the form of dance which was already a prominent medium of worship for the Meiteis. In the following sections, I will demonstrate how a number of gestures and movements from the indigenous Meitei habitus were transferred to the rāslīlās.

Postures and movements of dancers embody different social and religious realities, 41 which are incorporated into their culturally learned habitus. As described by dance ethnographer Deidre Sklar, “movement embodies socially constructed cultural knowledge in which corporeality, emotion, and abstraction are intertwined.”42 Therefore,

39 Zubko, Dancing Bodies of Devotion: Fluid Gestures in Bharata Natyam, 23.

40 Ibid., 222.

41 Deidre Sklar, "Five Premises for a Culturally Sensitive Approach to Dance," Dance Critics Association NewsSummer 1991, 1.

42 Deidre Sklar,"Can Bodylore Be Brought to Its Senses?," The Journal of American Folklore 107, no. 423 (1994): 12.

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movement must be considered as an embodied expression of cultural knowledge.43

Following this, I examine the gestures of the rāslīlās in terms of the body knowledge within their specific cultural contexts and through the emotions, concepts and values of the hybrid Meitei-Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava habitus.

Gestures in Manipuri dance that are part and parcel of the repertoire of bodily postures of indigenous Manipuri dances and martial arts are transformed in the rāslīlā.

As expressed by Sangeeta Thokchom, a graduate from JNMDA and a dancer of both the Lai Haraoba and rāslīlā, although the vocabulary of gestures and movements were derived from indigenous dances like the Lai Haraoba, in the Vaiṣṇava dance, they were presented in a more controlled and concentrated structure.44 From my observations of both performances, the movements of the indigenous dances are more spontaneous and free-flowing, whereas in the rāslīlās, they are more restrained. This is probably because the movements of the rāslīlās were processed through layers of codification by institutions like the Ishei (song) and Jagoi (dance) loisangs, as well as the Brāhman

Sabhā. As discussed in Chapters 3 and 4, these institutions were set up by Garibniwaz and expanded by Bhāgyacandra, as they sought to consolidate power by establishing a orderly doxa. On the other hand, the movements of Lai Haraoba were only the purview of Maibi/Maiba loisang. Another reason could be that the fertility theme in the Lai

Haraoba was explicit and movements which suggested eroticism could be expressed without much restraint. However, the rāslīlās were under pressure to mask erotic

43 Sklar, “Five Premises for a Culturally Sensitive Approach to Dance”, 1.

44 Recorded interview, November 23rd 2016. Imphal, Manipur.

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expressions with the theology of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, which framed the dance in non-sexual terms.

Take for instance, the intertwined serpent or the figure of eight, which is a primary leitmotif in both dances. In the Lai Haraoba, the Maibis lead the dancers in the lairen mathek chatpa procession. As mentioned in Chapter 2, Dhanajit Singh, informed me that the lairen mathek movement in the Lai Haraoba represents the movement of the air in the body or the movement of the sexual fluids in the body. However, unlike, the Lai Haraoba, the dancers in the rāslīlās circumambulate the rāsmandal in a circular procession and the figure of eight is projected in their bodies. The upper torso and waist move in opposite directions and curve the body to form an ’S’ shape. The arms and wrists move in corresponding semi-circular curves to form a figure of eight in a movement called khujeng leibi. Therefore, the sensual symbolism in the Lai Haraoba appears to have been transferred within the movement of the hands of the rāslīlā dancer, and not overtly expressed in a dance procession.

The movements in the rāslīlās are broadly divided into the feminine nupi-jagoi

(similar to lasya form in Indian classical dance) or the masculine nupa-jagoi (similar to the tāṇḍava form in Indian classical dance). Nupi-jagoi, performed by the actors playing the role of Gopīs is more delicate, soft, and graceful, and the body does not make exaggerated gestures. The feet and knees remain close together and the torso moves more along a vertical plane than a horizontal one, bending only slightly to the side, while the weight of the body shifts from one foot to another. The dancer does not lift her foot above the knee level, and when her foot lands, it touches the ground softly with the toes rather than the whole feet or heel. The arms are not stretched above the head or below

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the knees, rather they are mostly kept in a diagonal position. The eyes follow the movement of the hands, thus synchronizing the movement of the head and neck with the hands. Direct eye contact with audience is prohibited and facial expression is subdued. Exposing the soles of the feet to the audience and standing with the legs apart are forbidden. These restrictions were likely to be borne out of the social etiquette that had to be maintained when the dance was performed infront of the political and religious elite.

In nupa-jagoi, performed by actors playing the role of Krishna, the gestures are more forceful, vigorous and taut. They are extensions of the nupi-jagoi gestures but also involves sitting, jumping, spinning, and leaping movements derived from Manipur’s martial arts tradition. Like the nupi-jagoi, the torso moves mainly upwards and downwards a vertical plane. But in contrast to it, in some sequences, one foot is lifted as high as the knee or even thigh of the other leg.

The movements of the nupa-jagoi and nupi-jagoi are genderized. They mark and enact in religious terms the operation of male and female body habituses among the

Meiteis. Although women in Manipur played an important and visible role in the state’s economy as discussed in Chapter 2, they did not share a socially equal status with men.

As stated previously, women were conservative in terms of their dressing, and according to Dhanajit Singh, they were expected to comply with behavior that treated male figures like their fathers, husbands, and brother-in-laws reverentially. They were mainly involved in agricultural activities and domestic activities like weaving. Meitei men, on the other hand, were frequently involved in wars. Until today, they participate in acitivities that require a high-level of physical prowess, such as martial arts and

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traditional sports, including boat-racing, wrestling, and polo. The differences in their bodily activities percolates into their movements in dance. Women’s dance movements are generally more gentle than the men’s whose movements are derived from their martial arts tradition.

Common dance sequences

Some of the common dance sequences performed in all rāslīlās are the cāli and bhaṅgi pareng. The cāli is one of the most important and basic compositions. It is a composite dance piece that consists of a sequence of twenty-seven steps. Khoni informed me that most of the movements of the cāli come from the Panthoibi dance segment in the Lai Haraoba. The bhaṅgi pareng is considered one of the most significant parts of a rāslīlā performance. It has thirty-two dance sequences that depict the vocabulary of the various gestures performed during the rest of the rāslīlā performance. The term is derived from the Sanskrit word “bhanga” meaning partitioned.”

“Pareng” refers to a string of rows of objects arranged for a purpose. Therefore, it refers to sequence of movements that have been partitioned into thirty-two parts. The words

“Cāli” and “Bhaṅgi” are also used to name genres of Assamese sattra dances. such as

Cāli-nac, Krishna-bhaṅgi, and Gopī- bhaṅgi.45 Hence, these terms were likely to have been appropriated from Assam.

There are three types of bhaṅgi parengs performed in rāslīlās.46 The first is bhaṅgi pareng achouba presented in the Mahārās. Several dance scholars I interviewed claim that it has remained unchanged since Bhagyachandra’s reign, and that it was

45 Neog, Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam, 294-295.

46 Bandopadhay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications, 219.

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handed down from teacher to student.47 The bhaṅgi pareng achouba represents the various dance postures and movements in the rāslīlās. The other bhaṅgi parengs were developed later. Of these, the first two are the Vṛndāvan pareng and khurumba pareng.

Khurumba (praying or offering respects) pareng embodies prayers to Rādhā and

Krishna, and Vṛndāvan pareng refers to a glorification of Vṛndāvan.48

According to Khoni, the bhaṅgi pareng achouba is metaphorized as a garland, which is offered to Govindaji.49 This is because each series of movements represent a cluster of flowers. A specific movement called Uplei, which comprises of the body spinning in two anti-clockwise motions, signifies the tightening of the knot of a cluster of flowers in the garland before the next segment representing the next cluster is performed. The gesture of offering the garland is depicted by Gopīs who crouch with bowed heads at intervals between each series.

The concept of offering specific dance sequences was borrowed from segments in Lai Haraoba such as Yumshaba (construction of the house) and Phisharol (weaving of clothes), in which the completed actions are offered to a specific deity. It can also be traced back to the Meitei habitus of sacrifice involving the human body. Instead of offering bodies of animals or the body parts of an individual (Cheithaba), here a sequence of dance movements is offered to the deity.

47 They include Dhanajit Singh, Sruti Bandhopadyay, Khoni, and Urmika Maibam.

48 Bandhopadhay, Manipuri Dance - an Assessment on History and Publications, 218-219.

49 Khoni, "The Making of Manipuri Classical Dance the Maha Raas: The Sacred and Secret Art of the Bhangi Pareng Achouba," 6.

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In addition, specific gestures were also borrowed from the Lai Haraoba. A prominent dance guru, Shyamchand Sharma, who teaches both Lai Haraoba and rāslīlā from his home said,

The bhaṅgi pareng hand gestures known as champra-okpi and the champra-khaibi were choreographed based on Panthoibi’s dance after the arm movements when she picks flowers to make offerings to Nongpok Ningthou during the Panthoibi dance. The laising-kappi and laising-manbi sequences which are performed during the bhaṅgi pareng were adapted from Laibou dance (part of the Lai Haraoba). Another movements of the bhaṅgi-pareng in which the left hand is placed on the chest while the right hand is extended with fingers making various gestures are derived from the phibul okpi50 …Krishna’s movement of raising one leg up and the other leg resting on the tip of the toes, is an imitation of phisa-okpi (weaving and making of garments) segment of the Lai Haraoba.51

Several gurus I met, told me that while the bhaṅgi pareng is performed the audience is not allowed to stand up or leave and sleeping babies are woken up. They are supposed to concentrate on the dance. As I explained in Chapter 2, this practice has been derived from the hakchangshaba segment of the Lai Haraoba, during which the audience is not allowed to leave until the construction of the body has been completed. It is believed that if these rules are transgressed or if the bhaṅgi pareng is performed incorrectly, calamities may arise in the society. According to Milan, some traditional scholars believe that the bhaṅgi pareng achouba movements depict the construction of the tribhaṅga mūrti of Krishna.52 If this sequence is interrupted, it is believed that the form of the deity established by the bhaṅgi pareng is broken, rendering

50 The phibul okpi is a part of the Lai Haraoba dance (Parratt and Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 128). The Maibis dance with cloths containing flower buds rolled up in the shape of a ball.

51 Interview with Shyamchand Sharma, October 11, 2016, Imphal, Manipur in Manipuri language. Translated into English by me.

52 Khangamcha, "Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism: A Religon of Aesthetico Devotional Performance," 70.

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inauspiciousness. 53 Here, the body metaphor in the Meitei habitus is deployed in the rāslīlās.

Hand gestures in the Lai Haraoba convey diverse meanings expressed in the lyrics. The same gestures used in the Lai Haraoba take on new meanings in the rāslīlās.

Although the dance is generally an interpretation of the sung textual messages, they are not necessarily visual translations of all the verses of the lyrics. The actors do not dance out each and every verse. Rather, the actions of some verses are repeated to emphasize them, and some gestures are used to indicate intervals between the next segments of actions. It is not uncommon for one or two verses to be depicted by four to five phases of gestures. Thus, the rāslīlā movements cannot be strictly viewed as simply derivative of written texts, in the sense that dance sequences cannot be parsed into how they precisely represent the storyline. This will be evident in the next section as I discuss how lyrics and movements in the Mahārās relate to each other.

The Mahārās (The Great Circle Dance)

In this section, I describe selected scenes of the Mahārās. These textured descriptions and the accompanying analysis of lyrics and movements will allow us to see the many small and large ways in which indigenous body patterns intersect with the

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, as well as to give a vivid sense of the hybrid Manipuri habitus at work, producing the rāslīlās, as efficacious performances of devotion that involve dancers, singers, musicians, and the audience. The descriptions are based on my field notes and recorded observations of performances in the Govindaji temple, and other temples as well. I supplement my data with interviews of dance gurus and with in-

53 Haobam Singh, The Pre-World War-Ii Form of Ras Leela, 81, 83-84.

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depth, year-long correspondence through email with scholars on Manipuri rāslīlās who are also dancers and choreographers. These scholars include Sohini Ray, a dance- researcher, choreographer, and anthropologist on Manipuri dance based in the United

States; and Khangenbam Khoni, a dance historian from the Dance Department in

Manipur University and a dancer herself. I also draw heavily from Khoni’s unpublished manuscript on the bhaṅgi pareng, which she kindly shared with me.54 To support my argument that Manipuri agents adopted Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava practices and beliefs, and transformed them in a way that resonated with their Meitei logics, I focus on ways that rituals and gestures of the rāslīlās were coupled with the lyrics to adhere to devotional themes of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. With a view to show how they relate to each other, I provide translations of the lyrics as well as descriptions of the prominent movements and actions that take place when those lyrics are recited or sung.

Up until the 20th century, the lyrics of the songs in the rāslīlā were sung or recited in a combination of old Bengali, Sanskrit and Brajabuli.55 Manipuris believed that these languages were the language of gods.56 It was only in the mid 20th century, that the lyrics were translated and sung in the local Meitei language and have become increasingly popular. However, in the Govindaji temple, the songs are still sung in

Sanskrit and Bengali.

54 Khoni, “The Making of Manipuri Classical Dance the Maha Raas: The Sacred and Secret Art of the Bhangi Pareng Achouba”.

55 Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur, 174. Brajabuli is a hybrid language containing words in Maithili, Bengali, and Sanskrit.

56 Ibid., 174.

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Most of the lyrics are taken verbatim from texts such as the BhP. However, verses are not just sung one after another. At times, some phrases are repeated, with a single line sometimes repeated and elaborated several times. Some of them are sung by the Gopīs, while most of the narrations are sung by the two sutradhārīs. All the lyrics are sung with dramatic emotion. They function in ways similar to the role that oral recitations of the Tamil poem, Tiruvāymoḻi has for the Śrīvaiṣṇava community as articulated by Narayanan: “the rituals were perceived to both articulate the awakening of salivific knowledge in a human being and re-create on earth the passionate devotional experience that was perceived to be available to the liberated soul in heaven.”57

The lyrics I present here were taken from two books published by the JNMDA on the songs and drumbeats used for the Manipuri rāslīlās. 58 JNMDA is considered by many modern experts to be the most authoritative modern institution on Manipuri dance.

However, I noticed that are slight variations of the lyrics in the Mahārās in the different books. It seems that the choreographer has some level of freedom in choosing which verses to include, although most of the verses in common are from the rāsa panchādhyāyī of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

The Mahārās is performed on the full moon night of Kārttik (October-November) in accordance with traditional beliefs about when the actual rāslīlā took place in the lunar calendar.59 About three hours before the festival, mats, and cushions are laid out

57 Narayanan, "The Realm of Play and the Sacred Stage," 182.

58 Sri Ningthoujam Gopal Singh, Srimati Leipaklotpi Devi, and Srimaheisnam Kaminikumar Singh. Manipur Raas (Makhal Mari). Imphal: Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, 2005; and Arambam Tombinou Devi, Sri Sri Govindajigi Maharas Sheirang (Imphal: Angomnigthou Preservation and Documentation Centre, 2013).

59 This day is celebrated as Rās Purnima by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.

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to mark out the reserved seating places in the rāsmandal. As devotees stream into the temple courtyard, they are greeted with flowers and chandan (sandalwood paste) that had been offered to Govindaji. Around seven o’clock, after sandhyā ārati (evening worship), as a continuation of the temple rituals which are mapped according to

Krishna’s aṣṭakāliyā-līla (eightfold division of Krishna’s daily schedule), the mūrtis of

Rādhā and Govindaji are carried out of the main temple sanctum on a palanquin. An entourage carrying a white umbrella, fans and other royal honors accompanies them. I noted that a similar white umbrella is used in transporting the lais during the Lai

Haraoba. A kīrtan party leads the procession by blowing the conch, playing hand cymbals (kartals) and a pung drum. The mūrtis are placed on the bhadra chakra in the center of the rāsmandal facing east. In terms of the paraphernalia that was used, and the musical procession itself, I found that this ritual bears similarity to the laiching jagoi segment of the Lai Haraoba, during which the lais are brought out into the courtyard from their shrines to witness the days’ events along with the same white umbrellas and fans.60

A Brahmin priest offers ārati (worship involving the offering of ritual items) to welcome Rādhā and Govindaji. Then the rāsdhari, sutrādhāri, and flutist offer flowers, and food. The offering of food as part of the welcoming ritual is similar to the Lai

Haraoba ritual of offering of fruits and flowers when the lais are brought to the shrine from the waters (luk thaba or luk katpa).61 In the rāslīlā, an assortment of fruits, vegetables and lighted candles are laid out infront of the mūrtis. There are also circular

60 Parratt and Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 96.

61 Ibid., 70, 92.

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leaves with betel nuts amongst the offerings. This is a common delicacy amongst older

Manipuris. Then, after the musicians worship the mandap mapu (master of ceremonies who is a Brahmin) in a ritual calle boriba, they stand infront of the spectators, and pay them respects by bowing down.

Following the welcoming rituals, naṭa saṅkīrtan is performed for about one and a half hours to sanctify the rāsmandal and invoke a devotional mood. I will briefly describe the naṭa saṅkīrtan only as it relates to the rāslīlā, because I did not undertake an in- depth study of the performance during my fieldwork. As discussed earlier, the naṭa saṅkīrtan is a chorus of devotional songs accompanied by kartalas and the pung. It is performed by the nupa pala (all male choir) and involves the singing of laudatory verses, rhythmic coordinated dance movements, and music led by the playing of the pung. Meitei logics of practice were blended into these kīrtans.

The naṭa saṅkīrtan begins with the theme of purvarāga which refers to the first dawning of love between Rādhā and Krishna. It begins with specific drumbeats to indicate Caitanya’s presence. The pung players play the rāga achouba (great raga), tein-tein-tā-tā tang which corresponds to cai-tan-ya-ne-tai which refers to the name of

Caitanya and his associate Nityānanda.62 It is played in three segments, afterwhich the conch is blown to signify that something important is taking place. Then various beats are played to indicate the construction of Krishna’s body starting from his feet and ending with his head. Every syllable of the beat and the accompanying sound refers to a part of the body. Undoubtedly, this is an adaptation of the hakchangshaba segment of the Lai Haraoba, during which the human body is constructed (see Chapter 2) and the

62 Interview with Brajamani Singh, JNMDA, October 12 , 2016

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broader Meitei body metaphor. After this process, the naṭa saṅkīrtan dancers bow to the center of the rāsmandal, where they believe Krishna’s constructed body is located.

Then they play and sing the beat ta-ri-ta-na-ri-ta-na-ta-na to infuse the soul of Krishna into the body.63 It is translated as ta - chest, ri – navel, ta – waist, na – legs, ri – arms, ta

– head, na – eyes and ears, ta – nose, na – face.64

The purvarāga is followed by gaurachandrika which is an invocation of Caitanya.

As I mentioned in Chapter 4, this is a form of Bengali kīrtan created by Narottam (16th century) and was probably introduced to Manipur by Bhāgyacandra or his gurus. Kirti

Singh and Shyamchand Sharma, who are naṭa saṅkīrtan gurus I interviewed, said that after Caitanya is invoked, verses are sung which describe Caitanya remembering his līla in Vṛndāvan during his previous avatāra as Krishna. This is popularly referred to as bābhi.65 It is out of this remembrance, that the rāslīlā is produced. Thus, the rāslīlā is presented to the Manipuri audience as the graceful revelation of Caitanya. In the Lai

Haraoba, only after the lais are invoked from the waters by the Maibis and then placed in a shrine, is the creation story is enacted. Similarly, in the rāslīlā, Caitanya is first invoked as a framing device and used as a divine instrument to generate the sacred dance. However, the theme of Caitanya recalling the rāslīlā is not an invention by

Manipuri Vaiṣṇavas, and was likely incorporated from the Caitanya Caritāmṛta. The

Caitanya Caritāmṛta describes Caitanya having dreams about the rāslīlā on two occasions:

63 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 111.

64 Ibid., 111.

65 E. Nilakanta Singh, Manipuri Dance, 9.

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eka-dina mahāprabhu kariyāchena śayana kṛṣṇa rāsa-līlā kare, — dekhilā svapana II tribhaṅga-sundara-deha, muralī-vadana pītāmbara, vana-mālā, madana-mohana II maṇḍalī-bandhe gopī-gaṇa karena nartana madhye rādhā-saha nāce vrajendra-nandana II dekhi’ prabhu sei rase āviṣṭa hailā ‘vṛndāvane kṛṣṇa pāinu’ — ei jñāna kailā II (CC 3.14.15-18)

One day Mahāprabhu (Caitanya) was lying down, and he saw in a dream Kṛṣṇa at the rāsa-līla. He was beautiful in the tribhaṅga pose, his flute to his lips, wearing yellow garments, and garlands of forest flowers, the charmer of Madana (god of love). The gopīs were dancing around him in a circle, and in the center Vrajendranandana (son of the king of Vraja) danced with Rādhā. Seeing this, Prabhu became absorbed in this rasa, and he realized ‘I have gained Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana.’66

The second dream also occurs in the third segment of the CC, known as Antya līla. In the middle of the night, Caitanya, in an ecstatic trance wanders away from his associates and falls into the sea, mistaking it for the Yamunā River in Vṛndāvana. After a long search, his close companion Svarūpa Damodar Gosvāmī finally locates him under the care of a fisherman who had found him. Caitanya then explains the reason for his trance, “I saw a dream, Vṛndāvana, and I saw Kṛṣṇa in the rāsa-līla with the gopīs

(CC 1.18. 114).67

Caitanya, the symbolic prototype of devotional practice for the Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇavas was invoked through an aesthetic ritual to bring about what is considered to be the most sacred and intimate līla of Krishna. As an authoritative, staple text of the

Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, the Caitanya Caritāmṛta, lent legitimacy. However, this concept of aesthetically utilizing a divine body to invoke a divine episode also stemmed from the

66 Edward C. Dimock, "Caitanya-Caritāmṛta of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja - a Translation and Commentary by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. With an Introduction by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. And Tony Stewart," 927.

67 Ibid., 979. prabhu kahe, — “svapne dekhi’ gelāṅa vṛndāvane dekhi, — kṛṣṇa rāsa karena gopīgaṇa-sane (CC 1.18.114).

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Meitei habitus in the form of the Maibi invoking the lais before enacting the creation story.

During the naṭa saṅkīrtan there are several points at which the main singer and drummer lead the other singers into a musical and devotional crescendo by increasing the tempo of the pung and expressing emotions through singing. According to

Shyamchand Sharma, like Bengali līlākīrtans, the naṭa saṅkīrtan manifests the emotional states of Rādhā, the Gopīs, and Krishna prior to their meeting. Kirti Singh informed me that the naṭa saṅkīrtan singers specifically take on the mood of the Gopīs through the songs they sing. As articulated by Donna Wulff in her research on līlākīrtans, highlighting the devotion of the Gopīs, "provides guidance and practice in the ideal emotions of Vaiṣṇava devotion" and serves as a segment not only of entertainment but also profound religious experience for the performer and devotee audience.68 Singing about the love between the Gopīs and Krishna in naṭa saṅkīrtan performs a similar function, but, in addition, it serves to prepare the audience to be receptive to the bhakti rasa produced from the upcoming rāslīlā. In the words of Kirti Singh, “without saṅkīrtan, there is no rāslīlā.” In this way, naṭa saṅkīrtan plays a structuring role in the devotional content of the rāslīlās that are to come. However, the body movements and footwork of the dancers were taken from Manipur’s indigenous martial artforms like thang-ta and mukna.69 Further, Premchand wrote that the “style of singing is undeniably close to the

68 Wulff, "The Play of Emotion; Līlākīrtan in Bengal," 105.

69 Premchand, Rituals and Performances - Studies in Traditional Theatres of Manipur, 114.

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reciprocal style adopted by singing khulang-ishei (an indigenous style of singing) and the tune of the song is based on the tonal system of the pena music.”70

The naṭa saṅkīrtan ends with ārati to the Rādhā and Govindaji, and the fruits and other items that were laid out earlier are removed to make way for the dance. While this is happening, the approximately eighty Gopīs who had assembled outside the rāsmandal in two rows are making their final adjustments to their costumes, anticipating their entrance.

Scenes of the rāslīlā

Based on my observation of the Mahārās, it can be divided into nine main scenes. They are 1) Krishna abhisar (entrance of Krishna) 2) Gopī abhisar (entrance of the Gopīs) 3) Mapop Jagoi (the dance of union) 4) disappearance of Krishna 5) Gopīs’ search for Krishna 6) Rādhā’s pangs of separation 7) re-appearance of Krishna 8) Rās dance of Krishna between each Gopī and 9) Ārati. To avoid this chapter from being too voluminious and diverting from the objectives of this dissertation, I will only focus on the translations for selected scenes and their corresponding dance movements that clearly show how the hybrid Manipuri habitus was deployed, produced, and reproduced in the rāslīlās. For translation of lyrics from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, I use Schweig’s translation of the rāsa panchādhyāyīi.71 Other lyrics which were in Bengali were translated with the help of Birmangal Singha from the Manipur Sahitya Academy (National Academy of

Letters) and his associate Rajkumar Shubhajit Singh. I will denote the descriptions of the movements with brackets [ ].

70 Ibid., 114.

71 Schweig, Dance of Divine Love : The Rāsa Līlā of Krishna from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, India's Classic Sacred Love Story, 25-77.

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After the naṭa saṅkīrtan ārati ends, the two female Sutrādhāris indicate the commencement of the rāslīlās by singing a verse known as the māyuri-rāga.

[The Kannar rāga is sung next. It is an evocation of the feelings of the Gopīs who are desiring to meet Krishna, and translates as follows:]

aśōka vr̥ kṣāsya talēniśannyā biẏōgīnī bāsapa kula citakṣi nirbhuṣanāṅgi yatilēbabēśa sā kānāṛa hēmalā taiba tānbi II

The slender bodied one, separated from her lord, and deprived of all ornaments on her body, and hair untied sits under the Aṣoka tree. Her eyes are filled with tears and she resembles a golden creeper.

[Prayers offering respects to the Vaiṣṇava devotees (Vaiṣṇava vaṇdana) that make up the audience are sung next. Then a verse known as Vṛndāvan varnam

(description of the beauty of Vṛndāvan) is sung.]

tarulatā namraḍālē, praphulita phala phulē, hēriẏā madana manalabhā I kōkila pañcama sbarē, nācē śikhi bhr̥ ṅgakulē, parāga bhuṣita kara gāna I hēriẏā madana manalabhā I candrā śēkhara kahē br̥ ndābana śōbhā I ahē rā'i kānhu khēlē sakhīgana II

The beauty of Vṛndāvan has no bounds. There tender branches of trees and creepers are laden with fruits and flowers. The cuckoos sing in the fifth tune and the peacocks dance with the swarms of bees and are thus decorated by pollen. On seeing this, the mind becomes attracted. Rādhā and Krishna sport with their companions in this Vṛndāvan.72

atra sadā birāja māna śrimad rādhā śrila govindaẏa parisara manda pēsmana pradipata dbīpābalī parilanbita śōbhana kalā dhasta s'halē atra śrirādhā kr̥ ṣṇa mahārāsa līlā kīcñata yōjña mārutā mahai atra prasaṅgabaha dōṣa pāri rakṣatu parama bhaktabr̥ nda II

Here Śrimad Rādhā and Śrīla Govinda are eternally present. In the premises of this temple are lighted lamps emanating beauty. It is in this place that Sri Rādhā and Krishna performed Mahārās līlā and consecrated the place. Let the breeze, purified due to contact with this place, protect the exalted devotees.

72 This verse is in Bengali. It was translated with the assistance of Rajkumar Subhajit Singha.

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Ki śōbhā śōbhita br̥ ndābana mē kānanē praphulita malaẏaśamirē I Udita cāndaṇī kiranē jhalamala karē śitala yamunāra jalē mr̥ du mr̥ du taraṅga I Marukara guñjita kōkila kuharata maẏura maẏuri nirtati raṅga II

What beauty there is in Vṛndāvan! Here the gentle breeze blows fragrance of the blossoming flowers. The rising moonshine glitters in gentle ripples of the cool waters of the Yamunā River. The bees make a buzzing sound, the cuckoos coo, and the peacocks dance in delight.73

[I do not have the sources for these verses. However, it is evident that they are framing devices meant to mentally prepare the devotee-audience for what is to come. In some temples, the rāsmandal is decorated with tree branches, leaves, fruits, vines and flowers reflecting a sense of Vṛndāvan.]

Scene 1: Krishna Abhisar

[The conch is blown to denote this scene. Then the Sutrādhāris sing the first three verses of the rāsa panchādhyāyīi section in the tenth book, 29th chapter, of the

BhP. They are followed by a couple of stanzas from Bengali Vaiṣṇava songs while the flute is played. I am unable to trace the sources of these songs, but I provide translations here.]

śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca bhagavān api tā rātṛīḥ śāradotphulla-mallikāḥ I vīkṣya rantuṃ manaś cakre yoga-māyām upāśritaḥ II (BhP 10.29.1)

The illustrious son of Vyāsa spoke: Even the Beloved Lord, seeing those nights in autumn filled with blooming jasmine flowers, turned his mind toward love’s delights, fully taking refuge in Yogamāyā’s illusive powers.74

73 This verse is in Brajabuli. It was translated with the assistance of Rajkumar Subhajit Singha.

74 Yogamāyā according to Schweig (Ibid., 25) is the “divine feminine power or Great Goddess who arranges loving exchanges between God and his devotee.”

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tadoḍurājaḥ kakubhaḥ karair mukhaṃ prācyā vilimpann aruṇena śantamaiḥ sa carṣaṇīnām udagāc chuco mṛjan priyaḥ priyāyā iva dīrgha-darśanaḥ II (BhP 10.29.2)

Then the moon, King among stars, arose, spreading soothing reddish rays over the face of the eastern horizon; dispelling the sorrow from those who looked on, as a lover caresses his beloved’s blushed face, consoling her after long separation.

dṛṣṭvā kumudvantam akhaṇḍa-maṇḍalaṃ I ramānanābhaṃ nava-kuṅkumāruṇam I vanaṃ ca tat-komala-gobhī rañjitaṃ I jagau kalaṃ vāma-dṛśāṃ manoharam II (BhP 10.29.3)

Seeing lotus flowers bloom and the perfect circle of the moon beaming like the face of Ramā75 reddish as fresh kuṅkuma;76 seeing the forest colored by the moon’s gentle rays, he began to make sweet music, melting the hearts of fair maidens with beautiful eyes.

What a beauty is there in the Vrindavana! Here gentle breeze blows in the blossomed flowers of the garden. The risen moon beams glitter here in the soft ripples of the cool waters of the Yamuna River. Here the bees make humming sound, the cuckoos coo and the peacocks dance in delight.

What a beauty is the darling son of Nanda! Wearing a crown with Bakula flowers adorning it, with his forehead smeared with sandalwood paste, and his moon-like beautiful neck, made more attractive by three lines and beautified by a garland made of forest flowers, he attracts the entire world.

[In other temples when the role of Krishna is played by human actors, the

Krishna abhisar or the entrance of Krishna takes place with the Krishna-actor dancing into the rāsmandal with dance steps that include spins and jumping movements. These movements seem to convey a light-hearted and mischievous mood, characteristic of the childhood stories of Krishna. Then the Krishna-actor stands in a tribhaṅga (three-folded bended) posture, and mimics the playing of the flute, a signifying posture of the deity

75 Ibid., 26 Ramā refers to the Goddess Lakṣmī, consort of Viṣṇu.

76 Ibid., 26 “kuṅkuma is vermillion, a deep reddish colored powder.”

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usually represented in mūrtis in temples. In the Govindaji temple, this is omitted because the mūrti of Govindaji has already been placed at the bhadra chakra. At the end of the abhisar, the flutist plays a melodious tune on his flute to represent Krishna’s call for the Gopīs.]

Scene 2: Gopī Abhisar

[After the flute stops, the conch blows. The Sutrādhāris recite verses 4 to 11 below which describe the Gopīs leaving their household chores and hastening to meet

Krishna. About eighty Gopīs enter the rāsmandal through the Western entrance in two rows led by Rādhā and her closest associates, Lalitā and Viśākhā. In the Govindaji temple, there is also a mūrti of Rādhā which is placed next to Govindaji on the bhadra chakra.]

niśamya gītāṃ tad anaṅga-vardhanaṃ vraja-striyaḥ kṛṣṇa-gṛhīta-mānasāḥ I ājagmur anyonyam alakṣitodyamāḥ sa yatra kānto java-lola-kuṇḍalāḥ II (BhP 10.29.4)

Upon hearing that sweet music, their passion for him swelling, the young women of Vraja whose minds were captured by Krishna, unaware of one another, ran off toward the place where their beloved was waiting, with their earrings swinging wildly.

duhantyo 'bhiyayuḥ kāścid dohaṃ hitvā samutsukāḥ I payo 'dhiśritya saṃyāvam anudvāsyāparā yayuḥ II (BhP 10.29.5)

Some left abruptly while milking the cows - due to excitement the milk had ceased. Some left the milk as it boiled over; others departed leaving cakes on the hearth.

pariveṣayantyas tad dhitvā pāyayantyaḥ śiśūn payaḥ I śuśrūṣantyaḥ patīn kāścid aśnantyo 'pāsya bhojanam II (BhP 10.29.6)

Some suddenly stopped dressing themselves; others no longer fed their children milk. Some left their husbands who had not yet been served; others while eating, abandoned their meals.

limpantyaḥ pramṛjantyo 'nyā añjantyaḥ kāśca locane I vyatyasta-vastrābharaṇāḥ kāścit kṛṣṇāntikaṃ yayuḥ II (BhP 10.29.7)

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Some were massaging their bodies with oils or cleansing themselves; others applying ointment to their eyes. Their garments and ornaments in utter disarray, they hastened to be with Krishna.

tā vāryamāṇāḥ patibhiḥ pitṛbhir bhrātṛ-bandhubhiḥ I govindāpahṛtātmāno na nyavartanta mohitāḥ II (BhP 10.29.8)

Their husbands, fathers, brothers - all relatives endeavored to detain them. Since their hearts had been stolen by Govinda, they who were entranced did not turn back.

antar-gṛha-gatāḥ kāścid gopyo 'labdha-vinirgamāḥ I kṛṣṇaṃ tad-bhāvanā-yuktā dadhyur mīlita-locanāḥ II (BhP 10.29.9)

Some Gopīs unable to leave, had gone inside their homes. With eyes closed, fully absorbed in love, they meditated upon Krishna.

duḥsaha-preṣṭha-viraha- tīvra-tāpa-dhutāśubhāḥ I dhyāna-prāptācyutāśleṣa- nirvṛtyā kṣīṇa-maṅgalāḥ II (BhP 10.29.10)

The intense burning of unbearable separation from their dearest beloved disrupted all inauspiciousness; due to the joy of embracing Acyuta77 attained through meditation, even their worldly happiness was lost.

tam eva paramātmānaṃ jāra-buddhyāpi saṅgatāḥ I jahur guṇa-mayaṃ dehaṃ sadyaḥ prakṣīṇa-bandhanāḥ II (BhP 10.29.11)

Certainly, he is the Supreme Soul, though they knew him intimately as their lover. They relinquished their bodies composed of material elements, and any worldly bondage was instantly destroyed.

[Although the above lyrics depict the Gopīs hastening to meet Krishna, the

Manipuri Gopīs move towards Govindaji in slow side-to-side steps. Some of them touch one of the pillars with their hand, and then touch that hand to their forehead as a mark of reverence, indicating that they consider the pillar and the rāsmandal to be sacred.

They keep their hands at the waist-level and slightly apart from their bodies (Figure 6-6).

As they enter the rāsmandal, each individual Gopī makes a motion of turning forty-five

77 Ibid., 28 ”Acyuta: Krishna, the ‘infallible one. “

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degrees to the left and then to the right and repeat this motion. Their feet cross each other as they make their turns. Collectively, they move in a counter-clockwise direction around the rāsmandal. This is similar to the khubak jagoi in the laibou segment of Lai

Haraoba, during which the Maibis lead other dancers around the lais in a counter- clockwise circle around the shrine and clap their hands rejoicing at the work of creation.78 The Gopīs, however, do not clap their hands.

The slow pace of the Manipuri Gopīs and their controlled movements follow the previously discussed restrained body practices and rules of body containment that

Manipuri women follow in public spaces. Here, the dance movements are influenced by local dispositions and social conventions rather than being a literal expression of the lyrics. However, their restrained gestures do not mean that devotional feelings depicted in the lyrics are inhibited. Their downward gaze and slow movement towards Rādhā and

Govindaji seem to suggest a deep inward focus on the deities. I also noticed that the

Gopīs, especially the older ones were absorbed in singing the lines which were being sung by the Sutradhārīs, with their eyes almost closed. They had memorized and internalized the lyrics, even the parts that were being sung by the narrators, underscoring the point that devotion was at the forefront of the performance. The combination of gestures, lyrics and theology in this scene is an example of the Meitei tendency to harmonize in the face of diversity.

After the Gopīs take their places around the circumference of the rāsmandal, they greet Krishna by slightly bowing their heads with folded hands. Then they sit on their knees or squat. Their sitting on their knees or squatting is hidden by the potloi and

78 Parratt and Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 96.

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this action gives them a chance to rest in the midst of the long duration of the dance drama, while at the same time preserving their reverential attitude towards Govindaji through their folded hands and diminished vertical height. Since they sit in a circle facing the mūrtis, for some of them, their backs are facing dignitaries like the king, which goes against social conventions under normal circumstances. Therefore, the rāslīlā and the seating positions in the rāsmandal reflects the hierarchy embedded in the Manipuri consciousness which begins with the Govindaji on the highest level, followed by the king and others. This is consistent with Bhāgyacandra’s enthroning Govindaji as king of

Manipur and himself as the servant of the deity (see Chapter 4).]

śrī-parīkṣid uvāca kṛṣṇaṃ viduḥ paraṃ kāntaṃ na tu brahmatayā mune I guṇa-pravāhoparamas tāsāṃ guṇa-dhiyāṃ katham II (BhP 10.29.12)

The celebrated King Parīkṣit spoke: They knew Krishna, however, as the greatest lover and not as the source of Brahman. O sage, how did the underlying current of natural forces stop affecting their minds controlled by such forces?

śrī-śuka uvāca uktaṃ purastād etat te caidyaḥ siddhiṃ yathā gataḥ I dviṣann api hṛṣīkeśaṃ kim utādhokṣaja-priyāḥ II (BhP 10.29.13)

The sage Śuka spoke: This was explained to you previously: if the king of Cedi could achieve perfection even while despising Hṛṣīkeśa,79 why would not they, so dear to Adhokṣaja,80 be much more likely to do so?

nṛṇāṃ niḥśreyasārthāya vyaktir bhagavato nṛpa I avyayasyāprameyasya nirguṇasya guṇātmanaḥ II (BhP 10.29.14)

79 Schweig (Dance of Divine Love : The Rāsa Līlā of Krishna from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, India's Classic Sacred Love Story, 29), “Hṛṣīkeśa: Krishna, ‘the Lord of the senses.’“

80 Ibid., 29 “Adhokṣaja: the Lord who is beyond the perception of the senses.”

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For the purpose of benefiting all, O king, the Beloved Lord, manifests himself. He is imperishable, immeasurable, unbound by the forces of nature - the Soul from whom such powerful forces arise.

kāmaṃ krodhaṃ bhayaṃ sneham aikyaṃ sauhṛdam eva ca I nityaṃ harau vidadhato yānti tan-mayatāṃ hi te II (BhP 10.29.15)

Desire, anger, fear, and certainly loving attachment, intimacy and affection should always be directed toward Hari,81 by so doing, persons become fully absorbed in God.

na caivaṃ vismayaḥ kāryo bhavatā bhagavaty aje I yogeśvareśvare kṛṣṇe yata etad vimucyate II (BhP 10.29.16)

Surely this should not surprise you; the Beloved Lord exists without birth. He is Krishna, the supreme Lord of yoga; by him this entire world is liberated.

[The above verses are recited by the Sutrādhāris. They function to reinforce the

Krishna’s divine status as a cautionary prelude to the amorous play that is about to unfold.]

tā dṛṣṭvāntikam āyātā bhagavān vraja-yoṣitaḥ I avadad vadatāṃ śreṣṭho vācaḥ peśair vimohayan II (BhP 10.29.17)

Seeing they had arrived nearby, the Beloved Lord then approached the young women of Vraja. He, most eloquent of all speakers, began to converse with them, bewildering them with playful words.

[Following this, a male Brahmin, recites Krishna's lines from BhP verses

Chapters 29, 18 to 23. The voice of the Brahmin being put in Govindaji’s mouth reflects and reproduces the dominance of Brahmins in the religious field.]

śrī-bhagavān uvāca svāgataṃ vo mahā-bhāgāḥ priyaṃ kiṃ karavāṇi vaḥ I vrajasyānāmayaṃ kaccid brūtāgamana-kāraṇam II (BhP 10.29.18)

The Beloved Lord spoke: Welcome, most fortunate ladies! What can I do to please you? Is all going well in Vraja? Please explain the purpose of your arrival.

81 Ibid., 29 “Hari: Krishna, ‘one who steals the heart’ or ‘one who takes away suffering.”

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rajany eṣā ghora-rūpā ghora-sattva-niṣevitā I pratiyāta vrajaṃ neha stheyaṃ strībhiḥ su-madhyamāḥ II (BhP 10.29.19)

Night has a frightening appearance; inhabiting this place are fearsome creatures! Please return to Vraja - women should not remain here, O ones with beautiful waists.

mātaraḥ pitaraḥ putrā bhrātaraḥ patayaś ca vaḥ I vicinvanti hy apaśyanto mā kṛḍhvaṃ bandhu-sādhvasam II (BhP 10.29.20)

Your mothers, fathers, sons, brothers and husbands cannot find you. They are searching for you - do not create anxiety for your families.

dṛṣṭaṃ vanaṃ kusumitaṃ rākeśa-kara-rañjitam I yamunānila-līlaijat taru-pallava-śobhitam II (BhP 10.29.21)

You have seen the forest filled with flowers, glowing with the rays of the full moon; made beautiful by leaves of trees, playfully shimmering from the gentle breeze off the river Yamunā.82

tad yāta mā ciraṃ goṣṭhaṃ śuśrūṣadhvaṃ patīn satīḥ I krandanti vatsā bālāś ca tān pāyayata duhyata II (BhP 10.29.22)

Please go to the village without delay! O chaste ladies attend your husbands. Your calves and children are crying for you - you must go feed and nurse them.)

atha vā mad-abhisnehād bhavatyo yantritāśayāḥ I āgatā hy upapannaṃ vaḥ prīyante mayi jantavaḥ II (BhP 10.29.23)

Or perhaps your hearts are bound out of deep affection for me. Since all living beings are dear to me; you also must have come to be near me.

[After the male Brahmin recites the above verses that depict Krishna persuading the Gopīs to return to their homes, they show their disappointment and sadness in response to his words by standing up from their seated positions and turning slightly with sides towards their Lord. According to Sklar, “different ways of moving generate different kinds of feeling or experiences that are not only somatic, but affective.”83 That

82 Ibid., 31 “Yamunā: the river than runs through Vraja that is dearest to Kṛṣṇa, and therefore most sacred.”

83 Sklar. "Can Bodylore Be Brought to Its Senses?." 11.

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is, ways of moving can generate emotions. The Gopīs’ body movement of turning to their sides and downcast expression transmit their sadness or anger. Their bodies turned sideways display contrasting emotions of eagerness to be with Krishna and sadness in response to his rejection, while the verses below are recited.]

śrī-śuka uvāca iti vipriyam ākarṇya gopyo govinda-bhāṣitam I viṣaṇṇā bhagna-saṅkalpāś cintām āpur duratyayām II (BhP 10.29.28)

The sage Śuka spoke: Having heard these unpleasant words of Govinda, the Gopīs felt great sadness. Their expectations broken, they felt unbearable anxiety too difficult to overcome.

kṛtvā mukhāny ava śucaḥ śvasanena śuṣyad I bimbādharāṇi caraṇena bhuvaḥ likhantyaḥ I asrair upātta-masibhiḥ kuca-kuṅkumāni I tasthur mṛjantya uru-duḥkha-bharāḥ sma tūṣṇīm II (BhP 10.29.29)

Bowing their heads in sorrow, with reddened lips dried by heavy breathing, scratching the ground with their feet, they were burdened with intense distress; with streaming tears washing away the kuṅkuma on their breasts, and kajjala84 running down from their eyes, they stood there in silence.

preṣṭhaṃ priyetaram iva pratibhāṣamāṇaṃ I kṛṣṇaṃ tad-artha-vinivartita-sarva-kāmāḥ I netre vimṛjya ruditopahate sma kiñcit I saṃrambha-gadgada-giro 'bruvatānuraktāḥ II (BhP 10.29.30)

Having discarded all desires for the sake of their most beloved Krishna, who had addressed them as if disinterested in love, wiping their eyes while trying to stop crying, those impassioned ones, choked up, spoke with faltering voices.

[The Sutrādhāris narrate the above verses. To express their feelings of distress at

Krishna's words, some of the leading Gopīs like Lalitā and Viśākhā come up to

Govindaji with folded hands and pleading with him, take turns to recite the verses below.

84 Schweig (Dance of Divine Love : The Rāsa Līlā of Krishna from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, India's Classic Sacred Love Story, 31), “kajjala: a black oinment eyeliner used by Indian women and sometimes men.”

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After each of them recites her particular verse, she walks backwards careful not to turn her backs towards Govindaji. This is a common practice amongst Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas when relating to the mūrtis in temples. Hence, this is likely to be body knowledge learnt after Vaiṣṇavism had become popular in Manipur. The other Gopīs remain in a kneeling or sitting position, with palms joined together in supplication.

As I discussed in Chapter 2, in the story of Panthobi and Nongpok Ningthou the subject of divine lovers facing obstacles to their union is very much a part of the Meitei aesthetic disposition and is depicted in their songs and dramas. Hence, Manipuri agents selected specific themes from the Gauḍīya tradition which they were already familiar with.]

śrī-gopya ūcuḥ maivaṃ vibho 'rhati bhavān gadituṃ nṛ-śaṃsaṃ I santyajya sarva-viṣayāṃs tava pāda-mūlam I bhaktā bhajasva duravagraha mā tyajāsmān I devo yathādi-puruṣo bhajate mumukṣūn II (BhP 10.29.31)

The beautiful Gopīs said: O all-pervading one, you should not speak so cruelly to us! We have fully abandoned all objects of desire for the soles of your feet. O unattainable one, do not reject us - accept as your devotees just as you, the Lord, the original Person, accept those who desire liberation.

yat paty-apatya-suhṛdām anuvṛttir aṅga I strīṇāṃ sva-dharma iti dharma-vidā tvayoktam I astv evam etad upadeśa-pade tvayīśe I preṣṭho bhavāṃs tanu-bhṛtāṃ kila bandhur ātmā II (BhP 10.29.32)

O dear one, as you who knows dharma have stated, the proper duty for is to be loyal to husbands, children and close friends. Let this dharma of ours be for you, O Lord, since you are the true object of such teachings. Truly, you are the dearest beloved of all living beings, the most intimate relation, for you are the supreme Soul.

kurvanti hi tvayi ratiṃ kuśalāḥ sva ātman I nitya-priye pati-sutādibhir ārti-daiḥ kim I tan naḥ prasīda parameśvara mā sma chindyā I āśāṃ dhṛtāṃ tvayi cirād aravinda-netra II (BhP 10.29.33)

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O Soul, the spiritually advanced certainly feel attraction to you as their eternal beloved. With these husbands, children, and others causing much trouble, what is to be done? O supreme Lord, please be merciful unto us. O one with eyes like lotus flowers, do not destroy our hopes that we have held for so long.

[This segment ends with the following verse sung by the Gopī representing

Rādhā. As mentioned earlier Rādhā is represented both in the form of a mūrti and an actor.]

vīkṣyālakāvṛta-mukhaṃ tava kuṇdala-śrī I gaṇḍa-sthalādhara-sudhaṃ hasitāvalokam I dattābhayaṃ ca bhuja-daṇḍa-yugaṃ vilokya I vakṣaḥ śriyaika-ramaṇaṃ ca bhavāma dāsyaḥ II (BhP 10.29.39)

Upon seeing your face encircled by curling locks of hair, your lips of sweet nectar, the earrings on your beautiful cheeks, and your glances and smiles; seeing your strong arms which award fearlessness, and your chest, the only pleasure for Goddess Śrī - we must become your maidservants.

[The Sutrādhāris then sing a heartfelt rendition from a text known as mancāli sajana85 as four Gopīs representing Lalitā, Visākha, Vṛndā and others dance in front of

Govindaji using various hand gestures. They seem to be communicating with the deities through their hand gestures, moving towards Govindaji and then stepping back. The forward-backward motion is repeated and ends with a slight bow of the head and with palms together. While this is going on, other Gopīs adorn their shoulders with shawls.

The shawl is a common gift that is exchanged in Manipuri ceremonial occasions and there is a wide variety of them made from different materials. The conch is blown again as a signifier of the next scene.]

śrī-śuka uvāca iti viklavitaṃ tāsāṃ śrutvā yogeśvareśvaraḥ I prahasya sa-dayaṃ gopīr ātmārāmo 'py arīramat II (BhP 10.29.42)

85 I was not able to locate the source of this text.

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The sage Śuka said: Thus the supreme Lord among masters of yoga heard their despondent words. Laughing, yet with compassion, he, possessing all pleasure within himself, still arranged for the pleasure of the Gopīs.

tābhiḥ sametābhir udāra-ceṣṭitaḥ priyekṣaṇotphulla-mukhībhir acyutaḥ I udāra-hāsa-dvija-kunda-dīdhatir vyarocataiṇāṅka ivoḍubhir vṛtaḥ II(BhP 10.29.43)

Acyuta, whose actions are exalted, whose jasmine-like teeth shone forth from his eloquent smile, joined together with all of them, whose faces were blossoming with loving glances; he was glowing like the full moon surrounded by stars.

Scene 3: Mapop Jagoi

[The next segment, in which Krishna agrees to dance with them in response to their prayers is known as Mapop Jagoi. First, one of the Gopīs, Vṛndā comes forward while the other Gopīs are seated. She dances around Rādhā and Govindaji moving sideways in a counter-clockwise direction, performing various gestures with her hands.

The bhadra chakra is also rotated slowly to indicate that Govindaji is dancing along with her. There are no verses sung at this point and the music is rather upbeat to indicate a vibrant dance.

Vaiṣṇavas believe the Gopī Vṛndā is the personification of the forest of Vṛndāvan.

In fact, she is worshipped in the form of a tulasī (holy basil) plant. In several Manipuri homes I visited, there is a tulasī plant kept at the entrance or in their courtyard. In the house I stayed in, the tulasī plant was worshipped with incense and flowers every morning. This daily ritual practice of Manipuri Vaiṣṇavas inculcates a mode of appreciation for the rāslīlās.

After she completes her dance, the other Gopīs get up to perform their dance.

They adjust their costumes, especially the poshwan (frills), which seems to be a cumbersome piece as they keep bumping into one another in the congested rāsmandal.

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Some of them offer flowers to Govindaji’s feet and the other Gopīs dance around the bhadra chakra in a counter-clockwise direction, which is also rotated slowly to keep pace. They perform various hand gestures in accompaniment to a song praising nature.

At one point a Brahmin encroaches and asks them to move further away from the sitting area in a rather commanding manner. This served to impress upon the audience the authoritative supervisory role that the Vaisnava sanctioned specialists play in the

Mahārās, even when they are not directly involved.

Verses from later chapters of the BhP (from Chapter 30) are sung during this scene. I provide some of them here, so the reader can have a sense of lyrical force of this segment.]

tato gatvā vanoddeśaṃ dṛptā keśavam abravīt I na pāraye 'haṃ calituṃ naya māṃ yatra te manaḥ II (BhP 10.30.37)

Then reaching a certain place in the forest, she became proud and said to Keśava: “I am unable to walk any further-please take me wherever you desire.”

evam uktaḥ priyām āha skandha āruhyatām iti I tataś cāntardadhe kṛṣṇaḥ sā vadhūr anvatapyata II (BhP 10.30.38)

Thus addressed by his beloved, he replied, “Please climb on my shoulder.” Then Krishna suddenly disappeared; the young woman was devastated.

hā nātha ramaṇa preṣṭha kvāsi kvāsi mahā-bhuja I dāsyās te kṛpaṇāyā me sakhe darśaya sannidhim II (BhP 10.30.39)

O my Lord! My pleasure! My dearest! Where are you? Where are you, mighty-armed Lord? O Friend! I am your miserable maidservant - please show me that you are near!

gopya ūcuḥ jayati te 'dhikaṃ janmanā vrajaḥ śrayata indirā śaśvad atra hi I dayita dṛśyatāṃ dikṣu tāvakās tvayi dhṛtāsavas tvāṃ vicinvate II (BhP 10.31.1)

The Gopīs spoke:

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Glorious is Vraja, surpassing all, for it is the land of your birth. Indeed, the Goddess Indirā resides in this place forever. O beloved, please allow your maidservants to see you! Their very life-breath is sustained in you, and they search for you everywhere.

śarad-udāśaye sādhu-jāta-sat- sarasijodara-śrī-muṣā dṛśā I surata-nātha te 'śulka-dāsikā vara-da nighnato neha kiṃ vadhaḥ II (BhP 10.31.2)

With your eyes, you steal the beauty of the center of an exquisite fully bloomed lotus flower, rising out of a serene autumn pond, O Lord of love, and it is killing us, your voluntary maidservants- O bestower of benedictions, in this world, is this not murder?

tava kathāmṛtaṃ tapta-jīvanaṃ kavibhir īḍitaṃ kalmaṣāpaham I śravaṇa-maṅgalaṃ śrīmad ātataṃ bhuvi gṛṇanti ye bhūri-dā janāḥ II (BhP 10.31.9)

Your words of nectar described by sages and poets are life for the suffering, destroy all sins, and are auspicious to hear. Those who extol your praises throughout the world are the most generous persons, bestowing the greatest riches.

prahasitaṃ priya-prema-vīkṣaṇaṃ viharaṇaṃ ca te dhyāna-maṅgalam I rahasi saṃvido yā hṛdi spṛśaḥ kuhaka no manaḥ kṣobhayanti hi II (BhP 10.31.10).

Your smiles, loving glances for your beloved ones, and your intimate playful ways are auspicious meditations; also the promises you made to us in secret - all have touched our hearts. O cunning one, indeed, these things, agitate our minds.

śrī-śuka uvāca iti gopyaḥ pragāyantyaḥ pralapantyaś ca citradhā I ruruduḥ su-svaraṃ rājan kṛṣṇa-darśana-lālasāḥ II (BhP 10.32.1)

The sage Śuka said: Thus after the Gopīs sang out for him, lamenting in these wondrous ways, they burst into tears, O king, longing for the vision of Krishna.

tāsām āvirabhūc chauriḥ smayamāna-mukhāmbujaḥ I pītāmbara-dharaḥ sragvī sākṣān manmatha-manmathaḥ II (BhP 10.32.2)

Then, right before them, the heroic Śauri86 appeared, his face blossoming like a lotus and beaming with a smile. Wearing yellow garments and

86 Schweig (Dance of Divine Love : The Rāsa Līlā of Krishna from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, India’s Classic

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adorned with a flower garland, the supreme God of love stood directly before them, alluring even the love-god who himself charms all others.

[Khoni opined that that since the lyrics from the parts of the rāsa panchādhyāyī after Krishna disappears (scene 4) and his reappearance (scene 7) are currently being sung before he disappears in the Mahārās, a mistake in the placement of lyrics could have taken place over time.87 After, the above verses, more verses from BhP 10.32.3 to

10.32.22 are sung as the Mapop Jagoi continues.]

śrī-śuka uvāca itthaṃ bhagavato gopyaḥ śrutvā vācaḥ su-peśalāḥ I jahur viraha-jaṃ tāpaṃ tad-aṅgopacitāśiṣaḥ II (BhP 10.33.1)

The sage Śuka spoke: Thus, having heard the enchanting words of their Beloved Lord, the Gopīs forgot the agony caused by separation from him; their desires were fulfilled simply by touching his limbs.

tatrārabhata govindo rāsa-krīḍām anuvrataiḥ I strī-ratnair anvitaḥ prītair anyonyābaddha-bāhubhiḥ II (BhP 10.33.2)

Then Govinda commenced the play of the Rāsa dance with his devoted ones; those jewel-like maidens, joined together by love, linked their arms with one another.

rāsotsavaḥ sampravṛtto gopī-maṇḍala-maṇḍitaḥ I yogeśvareṇa kṛṣṇena tāsāṃ madhye dvayor dvayoḥ I praviṣṭena gṛhītānāṃ kaṇṭhe sva-nikaṭaṃ striyaḥ II (BhP 10.33.3)

The festival of the Rāsa dance commenced with a circular formation of the Gopīs. The supreme Lord of yoga, Krishna, entered among them between each pair - each thought she alone was at his side as he placed his arms around the necks of those young women.

Sacred Love Story, 59), “Śauri: Krishna, appearing very powerful as a descendent of the Śura Dynasty.”

87 Khoni, "The Making of Manipuri Classical Dance the Maha Raas: The Sacred and Secret Art of the Bhangi Pareng Achouba," 7.

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yaṃ manyeran nabhas tāvad vimāna-śata-saṅkulam I divaukasāṃ sa-dārāṇām autsukyāpahṛtātmanām II (BhP 10.33.4)

Then hundreds of celestial chariots crowded the sky, carrying the captivated denizens of the heavens along with their wives, their soul anxious to behold that scene.

tato dundubhayo nedur nipetuḥ puṣpa-vṛṣṭayaḥ I jagur gandharva-patayaḥ sa-strīkās tad-yaśo 'malam II (BhP 10.33.5)

Kettledrums resounded while showers of blossoms fell to the ground. The leading Gandharvas and their wives sang about his perfect glory.

valayānāṃ nūpurāṇāṃ kiṅkiṇīnāṃ ca yoṣitām I sa-priyāṇām abhūc chabdas tumulo rāsa-maṇḍale II (BhP 10.33.6)

The bracelets, ankle bells, and bells decorating the waists of those young women, each with her own beloved, created a tumultuous sound in the circle of the Rāsa dance.

tatrātiśuśubhe tābhir bhagavān devakī-sutaḥ I madhye maṇīnāṃ haimānāṃ mahā-marakato yathā II (BhP 10.33.7)

There, glowing brilliantly among them, was the Beloved Lord, son of Devakī - in a setting of golden ornaments, he appeared like a magnificent emerald.

pāda-nyāsair bhuja-vidhutibhiḥ sa-smitair bhrū-vilāsair I bhajyan madhyaiś cala-kuca-paṭaiḥ kuṇḍalair gaṇḍa-lolaiḥ I svidyan-mukhyaḥ kavara-rasanāgranthayaḥ kṛṣṇa-vadhvo I gāyantyas taṃ taḍita iva tā megha-cakre virejuḥ II (BhP 10.33.8)

With their feet stepping to the dance, with gestures of their hands, loving smiles and sporting eyebrows; with waists bending and the rhythmic movements of garments covering their breasts; with earrings swinging on their cheeks; the spiritual wives of Krishna, with moistened faces and braids and belts tied tightly, sang his praises - they appeared like lustrous flashes of radiant lightning engulfed by a ring of dark clouds.

[When the Sutradhārīs recite the above verse, the bhaṅgi pareng achouba, which is a series of thirty-two dance sequences, is performed in a circular movement with

Govindaji situated in the center. This verse above characterized the first nine of the thiry-two sequences. As I mentioned earlier, this segment is considered to be most sacred and the audience observes silence and restricts its movements. This is a ritual

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derived from the sequence of the hakchangshaba segment of the Lai Haraoba, wherein the formation of the body beginning from its development in the womb is depicted (see

Chapter 2). In the Govindaji temple, ten verses from rāsa panchādhyāyī (BhP 10.33.8-

17) are sung to accompany the thirty-two dance sequences.

The first movement of the bhaṅgi pareng involves the Gopīs moving to their right side with their right foot, and then the left foot crossing behind the right, with hands raised and elbows bent to reflect Krishna playing the flute. Then a reverse movement is performed in a shorter and more “feminine” step towards their left side with left foot, with left hand slightly raised in a receiving gesture to indicate Rādhā and the Gopīs. These alternating movements are repeatedly done. According to Khoni, the feminine reverse movement and hand gesture indicates that Rādhā and the Gopīs are “compliant” and receptive to Krishna’s play. The symbolic mixture of male and female deities’ movements resonates with Meitei sensibilities, in this case the union of the male-female principle present in their stories, rituals, and dances (see Chapter 2).]

[In the second sequence of the bhaṅgi pareng, the Gopīs move forward toward the mūrtis in a circle with both feet sliding forward alternately, and with hands spread sideways at the waist level. Their thumbs and index fingers touch each other, and the weight of the body rests on the ball of the foot infront. This hand gesture is similar to the

Lengthokpa (forming the string) movement in the Lai Haraoba dance,88 which signified the Maibis and other dancers forming an ensemble to begin enacting the creation of the cosmos.

88 Ibid., 11.

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The third sequence involves a movement of moving forward with the right leg, spinning anti-clockwise (uplei), landing with a squat on the right knee, and head bowed as a gesture of respect to the mūrtis. It signifies the tightening of a knot on a bunch of flowers in a garland and offering each knot (spin) to Krishna. According to Khoni, this sequence was likely to have been borrowed from Lai Haraoba segments such as the yumsharol or yumshaba (building the house) and phisharol (weaving of cloth), in which each completed act would be offered to the lais in a similar movement.89 A further six sequences of movements are performed with some of them repeated.]

uccair jagur nṛtyamānā rakta-kaṇṭhyo rati-priyāḥ I kṛṣṇābhimarśa-muditā yad-gītenedam āvṛtam II (BhP 10.33.9)

While dancing, they sang out loud and the throats of those so delighted by love became reddened. They were overjoyed by the touch of Krishna, and the whole universe became filled with their song.

[The movement accompanying this verse is as follows. The right foot leads a forward motion while the hands move in an outward and inward flow from the waist and criss- crossing one another, with the extended hand moving outwards with palm open while the other incoming hand withdraws into the navel region. This movement symbolizes the Gopīs singing loudly in unison. There is a gradual increase in the pitch of the song as the verse is sung repeatedly. The hand movements correspond to the increase in pitch with the left hand raised to the level of the shoulder, and half-extended outwards as the fingers gradually spread out. Here the hand gestures are choreographed to correspond to the lyrics. Khoni noted that this movement is similar to the enactment of weaving cotton (lashing kappi) in the Lai Haraoba.90 ]

89 Ibid., 6.

90 Ibid., 14.

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kācit samaṃ mukundena svara-jātīr amiśritāḥ I unninye pūjitā tena prīyatā sādhu sādhv iti I tad eva dhruvam unninye tasyai mānaṃ ca bahv adā II (BhP 10.33.10)

One of them, together with Mukunda, sang out in pure embellished tones, freely improvising on a melody. Pleased by her performance, he honored her, saying “Well done! Well done!” Another one sang out that melody in a stylized rhythmic pattern, and he offered her much praise.

[In some performances, the Gopī representing Viśākhā sings and dances for this verse. In others, all the Gopīs dance together. In this segment, the khujeng leibi (turning of the wrists), a figure-of-eight traced by the movements of the palms joined together is performed. As discussed in Chapter 2, this was derived from Manipur’s martial arts drills. Two other hand gestures called Champra okpi (catching the lemon) and Champra khaibi (slicing the lemon) are also performed. Champra okpi involves extending the hands upwards above the head, with palms open, and fingers spread out as though catching a falling lemon. Champra khaibi involves the right hand moving across the torso with the thumb and index finger connecting near the chest, and then both hands move on vertical plane as though they are slicing a lemon. All three gestures are combined together in a sequence.]

kācid rāsa-pariśrāntā pārśva-sthasya gadā-bhṛtaḥ I jagrāha bāhunā skandhaṃ ślathad-valaya-mallikā II (BhP 10.33.11)

Another, weary from the rāsa dance, stood beside the one who carried a baton; placing her arm around his shoulder, her jasmine flowers and bracelets slackened.

[The exhaustion of the Gopīs is symbolized by moving two steps, and then squatting. This movement is executed thrice. On the third squat, there is a movement called Chakra leibi (turning the wheel), in which the right leg is used to make an anti- clockwise turn. According to Khoni, this movement was drawn from Yumshaba

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(construction of the house) segment of the Lai Haraoba.91 A part of the Yumshaba depicts the making of mud paste, mimed by the Maibis by moving their hands side to side on the floor with turning movements of their legs.92]

tatraikāṃsa-gataṃ bāhuṃ kṛṣṇasyotpala-saurabham I candanāliptam āghrāya hṛṣṭa-romā cucumba ha II (BhP 10.33.12)

Then one of them placed on her shoulder the arm of Krishna, with the fragrance of a blue lotus. Upon smelling this scent, blended with the balm of sandalwood, she became elated with bodily ripplings of bliss and kissed his arm tenderly.

kasyāścin nāṭya-vikṣipta kuṇḍala-tviṣa-maṇḍitam gaṇḍaṃ gaṇḍe sandadhatyāḥ prādāt tāmbūla-carvitam (BhP 10.33.13)

One, decorated with shimmering earrings that swayed to the dance, placed her cheek next to his. With his cheek touching hers, he gave her the betel nut he was chewing.

nṛtyatī gāyatī kācit kūjan nūpura-mekhalā pārśva-sthācyuta-hastābjaṃ śrāntādhāt stanayoḥ śivam II (BhP 10.33.14)

Another, whose ankle bells and bells of her belt were accompanying the singing and dancing, stood by his side. Become weary, she tenderly brought the lotus-like hand of Acyuta to her breasts.

[When the three verses above depicting sensual scenes are sung repeatedly, a repeated movement of the left hand forming a circle and being placed at the center of the heart, while the right hand indicating various gestures with the fingers. Rather than depicting the physical acts of the Gopīs in the verses mentioned above, the movements highlighted their devotional rapture symbolized by the hand in the heart.93 This could be in keeping with the theme of projecting a conservative image of the Gopīs because they

91 Ibid., 14.

92 Parratt and Parratt, The Pleasing of the Gods - Meitei Lai Haraoba, 118.

93 Khoni, "The Making of Manipuri Classical Dance the Maha Raas: The Sacred and Secret Art of the Bhangi Pareng Achouba," 15.

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are performing infront of royalty, the Brahmins and the elderly. They are therefore required to maintan gendered social decorum present in a hierarchical Manipuri society.]

gopyo labdhvācyutaṃ kāntaṃ śriya ekānta-vallabham I gṛhīta-kaṇṭhyas tad-dorbhyāṃ gāyantyas tam vijahrire II (BhP 10.33.15)

The Gopīs had obtained Acyuta, the exclusive beloved of Śrī, as their lover. With their necks embraced by his arms, they delighted in singing about him.

[The Gopīs move sideways, with palms facing upwards, towards the left.

Indicating that the Bhaṅgi pareng is coming to an end, they subtly stamp their feet. As the right foot stamps the floor, the palms face upward, and as the left foot stamps the floor, the palms face downward. This is followed by a step forward and a squat. This sequence is repeated about three times. Then a number of movements described previously are performed again.]

karṇotpalālaka-viṭaṅka-kapola-gharma I vaktra-śriyo valaya-nūpura-ghoṣa-vādyaiḥ I gopyaḥ samaṃ bhagavatā nanṛtuḥ sva-keśa I srasta-srajo bhramara-gāyaka-rāsa-goṣṭhyām II (BhP 10.33.16)

The beauty of their faces was enhanced by droplets of perspiration decorating their cheeks, and by lotus flowers in their hair and behind their ears. With music resounding from their bracelets and ankle bells, and garlands falling from their hair, the Gopīs danced together with their Beloved Lord; bees became a chorus of singers in that assembly of the rāsa dance.

evaṃ pariṣvaṅga-karābhimarśa- snigdhekṣaṇoddāma-vilāsa-hāsaiḥ I reme rameśo vraja-sundarībhir yathārbhakaḥ sva-pratibimba-vibhramaḥ II (BhP 10.33.17)

Thus with his hands touching them in embraces, with broad playful smiles and affectionate glances, the lord of Ramā delighted in the loving fair maidens of Vraja, just as a small child plays with his own reflection.

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[The bhaṅgi pareng ends here with a climactic pause. Then a series of cāli movements are performed along with variation of other movements previously mentioned.]

Remaining scenes

The remaining scenes are summarized as follows. In scene 4, the

“disappearance of Krishna,” the verses from BhP 10.29 are sung. They describe how

Krishna noticing that the Gopīs became proud, disappeared from the scene taking only

Rādhā with him. To signify Krishna’s disappearance, the conch is blown a number of times and the lights in the central area of the rāsmandal are dimmed until there is total darkness. The only light that remains turned on is a circular lamp that represents the full moon. Lights that represents the full moon is a regular prop used in the rāslīlās.

In scene 5, “Gopīs’ search for Krishna,” the verses from BhP 10.30.5-8 and other songs are sung in dark. They express the Gopīs searching for Krishna. In scene 6

“Rādhā’s pangs of separation” the sutradhāri recites BhP 10.30.38 to show Krishna’s disappearing from Rādhā. This is followed by other songs in Bengali that express

Rādhā’s remorse, and the other Gopīs finding her under a tree. Then verses from the

BhP 10.31, which are popularly known as the Gopī-gīta are sung. They express the

Gopīs feelings of separation. These songs are mainly sung by the sutradhārīs in a heartfelt mood of great sorrow. At times, it sounds like they are crying in grief.

This scene is similar to the love story of Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi which is enacted in the Lai Haraoba. As I described in Chapter 2, Panthoibi leaves her husband in search of Nongpok Ningthou. Once, during the Panthoibi festival, I observed that the pena player who was singing songs of Panthoibi’s love story was crying at certain points. I was struck because the same style of singing, punctuated by occasional sobs was performed by the sutradhārīs. It confirmed my view that the theme of

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separated lovers in the Rādhā and Krishna stories resonated with the Meiteis because it already existed in their cultural repertoire.

Scene 7, Krishna’s reappearance is marked by the light being turned on again and the conch resounding. Scene 8, the rās dance of Krishna between each Gopī then begins with Bengali Vaiṣṇava songs describing their dance. The Gopīs form three circular rows and dance around the mūrtis of Rādhā and Krishna at a much faster pace than before in quick spinning movements while the bhadra chakra rotates to signify one

Krishna for every Gopī.

This is followed by puṣpāṅjali (offering of flowers). The Gopīs stand with folded hands infront of Govindaji and distribute shawls amongst one another, which they wear on their shoulders. They distribute flowers that they throw at the feet of Govindaji and

Rādhā. In Jamini Devi’s view, the puṣpāṅjali gesture of walking around in a circle is adapted from the lairen mathek chatpa of the Lai Haraoba.94 This is followed by the

Vṛndāvan bhaṅgi pareng that was introduced during the reign of Chandrakirti (r. 1850 -

1886). It describes the natural beauty of Vṛndāvan, and how the bees, wind, songbirds, six seasons and flowers are serving Rādhā and Krishna. The dance includes moving right to left, spinning and moving back in the other direction.

The final scene is ārati. The Gopīs pass around peacock fans, cāmaras (yak-tail whisk), and betel leaves to offer the mūrtis of Rādhā and Govindaji. In other temples, the actors stand in the same pose as the mūrtis. Four male Brahmin priests come forward and make preparations for ārati. One of them offers the ārati while the Gopīs fan the mūrtis with cāmaras and peacock fans (Figure 6-7). The Sutrādhāris sing the

94 J. Devi, Cultural History of Manipur - Sija Laioibi and the Mahars, 57.

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final song beginning with “Jaya Rādhā Krishna Govinda, jaya jaya Rādhe” (Glories to

Rādhā Krishna Govinda!).

In the final moments, the audience has a chance to rise from their seats and come forward to offer their respects to Rādhā and Govindaji. This segment provides an opportunity for the audience to participate, as they approach Rādhā and Krishna with the same reverence in temple settings. The final ārati is also performed in the other rāslīlās in Vraja and as observed by Mason, "identifies the ritual context the rāslīlā shares with temple worship and the divine identity the actors share with the temple images."95

This ritual marks the end of the Mahārās. The mūrtis are brought back to the temple sanctum on their palanquins as the devotees bow after them. Some devotees rush to collect the dust in the rāsmandal to keep as sacred remnants. It is about

2.30am, and the doors of the temple sanctum are closed until they reopen two hours later for the next morning’s ārati. Food articles that were offered during the ārati to

Rādhā and Govindaji or the actors who play them, is regarded as prasadam or divine mercy, and distributed to devotees, similar to practices of temple worship.

I have discussed at length some key segments of the Mahārās in order to show how indigenized aesthetic forms and framing devices were incorporated into the basic structure of the rāslīlās, in the process of generating and expressing the Meitei religious habitus. Drawing from my findings of the Meitei habitus in the previous chapters and analyzing the aesthetics of the Manipuri rāslīlās, in this chapter, I demonstrated how the aesthetics of the rāslīlās were composed out of a hybrid Manipuri habitus. Specifically,

95 Mason, Theatre and Religion on Krishna’s Stage - Performing in Vrindavan.

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the rituals and experiences of actors and audience, costume, arrangement of the rāsmandal, common dance sequences, and the combination of lyrics and gestures were influenced by elements from the indigenous Lai Haraoba dance, as well as concepts and values in the Meitei habitus, such as the tendency to harmononize, body metaphor, the male-female principle, and romantic stories involving gods. They were combined with Vaiṣṇava theology and enabled by social structures which includes the relations among the agents in the religious field and gender identities.

The ritual and aesthetic components of the performance including the preparation of the actors and audience, temple settings, the rāsmandal’s decorations and symbolic meaning of pillars, the naṭa saṅkīrtan drummers’ symbolic drumbeats, songs praising Rādhā, Krishna and Vṛndāvan, the lyrics of the BhP, the elaborate costumes of the actors and their dance movements and hand gestures all serve to absorb the devotee in bhakti rasa. However, the bhakti rasa is produced from aesthetic framework derived from a hybrid Manipuri habitus developed over the centuries.

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Figure 6-1. Costumes of Krishna and the Gopīs. Photograph provided by Ajit Das. Used with permission.

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Figure 6-2. Early Gopīs’ dress. 96

96 This image was scanned from Hodson, The Meitheis, frontispiece.

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Figure 6-3. Panthoibi dancer. Photograph provided by Ajit Das. Used with permission.

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Figure 6-4. Krishna’s costume. Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 6-5. The rāsmandal.

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Figure 6-6. Gopī Abhisar (Entrance of the Gopīs). Photographed by author with permission.

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Figure 6-7. Final ārati. Photographed by author with permission.

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CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION

In this dissertation, I have explored the origin, development, and structure of the rāslīlās, a popular form of religious and cultural expression, as a window into the hybrid and performative nature of religion in Manipur. I have shown that in Manipur, sacred bodies were built through innovative reformulations of Meitei practices to experience bhakti rasa and provide an indigenous aesthetic framework for Manipuri Vaiṣṇavism.

Drawing from Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice, I have reconstructed the Meitei habitus, which involved a tendency to harmonize in the face of diversity, an appreciation for the dynamic interweaving divine male and female principles, the pervasive use of the body as a metaphor, and the enjoyment of the aesthetic force of costumes, gestures, music, and dance. This habitus interacted and blended with the theological themes, narrative structures, and the poetic rhythm of the BhP and other Vaiṣṇava songs to give rise to new religious and cultural forms, chief among them the rāslīlās.

Summary

The construction of the Manipuri rāslīlās is built upon on religious contact between the Meitei religion and Hindu traditions, and the socio-political background behind this interaction. As I discussed in Chapters 3 and 4, the 18th century political history of Manipur enabled the wide circulation of texts from places like Bengal and

Assam into the region, as well as exchange among local and translocal religious and political elites. In the 18th century, Manipuri kings, Garibniwaz and Bhāgyacandra, in order protect the region against political threats and consolidate their power, sought to transform the Meitei religious habitus to absorb Vaiṣṇava beliefs and practices so as to produce a new doxa, a new taken-for-granted way of experiencing the sacred.

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Garibniwaz, who aligned himself with the Rāmānandī tradition, met with opposition from his own family members, and the Maiba/Maibi institution for suppressing the Meitei religion. However, Bhāgyacandra, who was initiated in the Gauḍīya sect, combined body knowledge from the indigenous Meitei religion with discursive forms of knowledge from the former tradition and built on the Hindu religious institutions set up by previous kings to construct the rāslīlā. The rāslīlā, then, became a primary vehicle for transmission of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, eventually making it the state religion.

The rāslīlā was a cultural innovation creatively constructed through a selective piecing together of Meitei rituals and gestures with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology and practices by agents. The elements that were brought together in Manipur’s cultural crucible were discussed from Chapters 2 to 5. In Chapter 2, I discussed the logics and body knowledge of Meitei religious habitus. These include the tendency to harmonize diverse religious traditions, to see the world as populated by a myriad of deities overseeing natural phenomena and the different directions, to worship these deities through dance and music, to appeal to a male-female fertility principle, and to operate within a hierarchical religious field headed by the institution of Maibas/Maibis and the king, while, at the same time, giving women a dominant role in religious rituals and dances. In Chapter 3, I discussed increasing Vaiṣṇava influences from the 12th to the

18th centuries. These included matrimonial alliances, migration, trade, initiation of kings, temple worship of Vaiṣṇava gods, issuing coins with Krishna’s name on them, and elevating Brahmins to high positions in the religious field as advisors to the king.

Significantly, in the 18th century, Garibniwaz accepted initiation into the Rāmānandī sect because he saw it as an effective way to increase his military prowess. He

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introduced new practices such as the Bengali writing system, sanskritization of Meitei festivals, substituting the lais with Vaiṣṇava deities in official ceremonies, and uplifting the position of Brahmins in the religious field. He also suppressed the Meitei religion by imposing restrictions pertaining to meat and alcohol, reducing the importance of Maibas and Maibis, and burning some of their puyas.

In Chapter 4, I discussed Bhāgyacandra’s reign and the events that led up to the construction of the rāslīlās. I described how, prompted by a military threat posed by the

Burmese and by Bhāgyacandra’s personal conversion to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, new additions to the Meitei religious landscape were introduced. These included the performance of saṅkīrtana in life-passage rituals, public recitation of Hindu texts, the borrowing of musical instruments and terminologies used in Assamese dances, pilgrimage to places held sacred by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, the creation of sacred geographies in Manipur, and the formation of a doxa for the rāslīlās. I argued that

Bhāgyacandra chose aspects of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism that were already familiar with

Meiteis, such as temple worship and dance dramas to create a cultural product, the rāslīlās that would resonate with Manipuris. Bhāgyacandra’s religious specialists looked for some significant parallel patterns that were already available, finding them in rituals like hakchangshaba of the Lai Haraoba. References to aesthetics and religious logics that had been already internalized in the Meitei habitus made it less likely that Manipuris would resist the new religion’s rituals.

In Chapter 5, I summarized aspects of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology that dovetail with the affective form and content of the dance dramas and showed that the main objective of such performances is the production of devotional feelings or bhakti rasa for

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its audience and actors. While the rāslīlās had to be ritually efficacious for its Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇava objectives, they also had to resonate with the Meitei habitus to make themselves a widely accepted artform. In Chapter 6, through a description of the structure of the Manipuri rāslīlā, I illustrated some of the specific ways in which Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇava theology and practices combined with Meitei rituals and aesthetics. I showed how sacred bodies were built through the bodies of actors, audiences, costume, musical instruments, body movements, specific rituals, and lyrics. The building of these bodies involved innovation as well as derivations from previous dispositions, concepts, and aesthetic experiences found in the Meitei religion. The creative interplay of innovation and tradition took place within power-laden political, social, cultural, and religious fields.

This complexity is precisely what the concepts of hybridity and syncretism are meant to highlight.

Throughout my fieldwork there were two main challenges that I faced. One was that I had to learn the language during my fieldwork. Since Manipuri language is not taught anywhere outside of Manipur, I had to wait til I got there to learn it. Consequently,

I had to wait near the end of my yearlong fieldwork before I had sufficient skills to talk to gurus and dancers who only knew how to speak Manipuri. Prior to this, I confined myself to interviewing those who could speak English and Hindi. I believe I would have been able to collect more rich information had I interviewed some of the older gurus and dancers who were not literate in English. My future research would involve an effort to gather more of their voices as well. The second challenge that I faced was that I was not a Manipuri dancer. Hence, I had to rely on other dancers to interpret the gestures

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and movements. I would have probably been able to make better connections between the dances had I known the Lai Haraoba and rāslīlā.

However, my being a non-native of Manipur allowed me to see things that

Manipuris take for granted in their habitus. As an outsider, I was able to construct and analyse what I observed to be specific characteristics of the Meitei-Vaiṣṇava habitus. At the same time, my being a Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava enabled me to build a rapport with the people I interacted with and interviewed. Particularly, wearing a dhotī and the sectarian head marks of a Vaiṣṇava allowed me easy access to temples, festivals and people without attracting undue attention.

Future Research: Effects of the Early Rāslīlās

The success of the early rāslīlās can be assessed by their impact on the religious field. According to Bourdieu, the interaction between field and habitus form a dialectic of

“social structures and structured, structuring dispositions through which schemes of thought are formed and transformed.”1 These schemes are inculcated by a system of symbolic sanctions associated with a particular position in the structure.2 The dominant agents in the Manipuri religious field were the kings, the Brāhman Sabhā, and the loisangs. These agents constructed and sanctioned particular performances that blended indigenous and foreign influences, mixing tradition with enough innovation.

Through these performances, Manipuris incorporated systematic durable schemes of thought expressed through Vaiṣṇava - Meitei combinatory practices. Thus, these agents operated as cross-cultural mediators in a variegated socio-religious background.

1 Bourdieu, The Logic of Practice, 41.

2 Ibid., 41.

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Whereas I have focused mainly on the process of combination that gave rise to the rāslīlās, in my future study I intend to focus on the transformational effects the establishment of the rāslīlās, especially in their early forms, had on the Meitei religious habitus. Just as for the rise of the first rāslīlās, these transformations have been closely connected with social, political, and cultural dynamics in Manipur and India as a whole.

New dance dramas

Preliminary research shows that the rāslīlās introduced during Bhāgyacandra’s reign became new generative structures of practice in the religious field, spurring further innovation. Subsequent religious elites of Manipur, influenced by the first three rāslīlās, contributed to further developments in religious artforms. For example, it is recorded in

CK that in 1869, another dance drama called Shajenba (or Goṣthalīlā, as it is now called), based on stories of Kṛishna playing with his cowherd boyfriends and killing demons was performed.3 It is still performed in Manipur today, especially during

Janmaṣtami, the annual celebration of Krishna’s birth. Another play, which also continues to be performed today, Kalīyā Dhaman, or the punishing of the Kalīyā snake was performed during King Chandrakirti’s presence in the village of Langthabal.4 In the early 20th century, Shakespeare made the following observations of the dramas he witnessed,

Boy actors playing the part of Kṛishna, Balarām, and their cowherd companions, in gorgeous costumes, march out into open space where the images of Kṛishna and Rādhā have been placed on a stage before which

3 NB.CK, 277 (1869): “On Thursday the 8th, the Maharaja witnessed the festival of Shajenba held at the pologround.”

4 CK 304.

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the boys dance and play at ball as their prototypes are said to have done in days long gone by in the jungles of Vṛndāvana.5

I also witnessed dance dramas which depict the stories of Caitanya’s childhood and youth (Gauralīlās) in village temples. The first recorded instance of Gauralīlās in the

CK was in 1919 during Churachand’s reign (r.1891-1941).6

Besides new dance dramas, other festivals observed by Vaiṣṇava and Hindus such as ratha yatras (chariot festival), holī (festival of playing with colors), and jhulan yatras (swing festival) began to be organized annually.7 During my fieldwork, I had witnessed a festival called jalakeli pala (water play) in the Govindaji palace temple. In this festival, the mūrtis of Rāseṣwari and Govindaji are brought out into the courtyard of the temple, wrapped in white cloth and placed in a tank. They are ritually worshipped and made to face each other, and a fountain is placed between them. Then naṭa saṅkīrtan is performed by various groups, including the women’s palas. During the holī festival, over a hundred saṅkīrtan groups travel around Manipur and meet at the

Govindaji temple. I joined one of the saṅkīrtan groups. We went to over forty houses during a period of five days and I observed that each house had a courtyard in which they kept a tulsī plant, which is worshipped by Vaiṣṇavas. The courtyard was used to host saṅkīrtan. These were symbols of the transformation in the Meitei habitus that had begun in the 18th century. It is also noteworthy that after Bhāgyacandra had inaugurated

5 Shakespeare, "The Religion of Manipur,” 6.

6 NB.CK, 433 (1919): “On Wednesday the 3rd, the Maharaja sang in Manipuri language in the play of Gour lila staged at the mandap of Shri Govindaji.”

7 For example NB.CK, 238 (1854): “On Tuesday the 2nd, the rath car of Lord Jaganath was dragged,” and NB.CK, 272 (1868): “On Wednesday the 10th, people witnessed the festival of Jhulon held in the mandap of Shree Govindajee.”

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the first rāslīlā, Govindaji’s importance in the social and religious life of Manipur increased. In the 19th century, when new bridges, markets, and roads were built, they were consecrated to Govindaji or Vijay Govinda.8 The mūrtis of Rādhā and Govindaji also functioned as rainmakers as they were beseeched to bring about rain by moving them to the open field in the polo-ground, offering gifts, milk and performing naṭa saṅkīrtan.9

In the early 20th century, two other thematic rāslīlās were created. The first is the

Nityarās, created in 1904, and which can be performed at any time of the year. In contrast to the earlier rāslīlās that were inaugurated at the Govindaji temple, the

Nityarās was first performed at the British Governor’s Residence.10 There was a significant difference between the Nityarās and other rāslīlās in terms of the costume.

The koktumbi (headdress with a veil) and thabak (white strap of cloth wrapped around their blouse) used in other rāslīlās were done away with, and a whitish thin shawl called the innaphi replaced the thabak. This is likely to be because it was organized by a lady,

Princess Sanatombi, who may have sought to liberalize the Gopīs’ conservative costume, on a stage free from the control of the Brāhman Sabhā. The second rāslīlā is the divarās, created in the 1940,11 and which is the only one performed during the day.

8 For example, NB.CK, 241 (1854): “On Wednesday the 10th, the pucca bridge of Khwairamband Keithel (market) was completed and consecrated to Shri Govindajee by the Maharaja in the presence of the public…”

9 It is described in several instances from 1881 to 1924 that milk from 108 cows was offered to Govindaji to invoke rain. Example NB.CK 252 (1860): “On Monday the 22nd, Shri Radha and Krishna moved out to polo-ground, hymns and prayers were sung with a prospect for rains.”,

10 Khoni, Nitya Raas & Divaa Raas, 21 and NB.CK, 399 (1904): “On Wednesday, the 15th, there was a huge gathering infront of the Bungalow of the Bar Sahib, for the Nityarās festival headed by Sanatombi. Lots of people witnessed it.”

11 Khoni, Nitya Raas & Divaa Raas, 91.

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The divarās was created by an artiste from a middle-class family, Ojhā Akham Tomba, and is the only one to be choreographed by a member of society not affiliated to the royalty. This is because the process of democratization of Manipur’s political and religious field had begun at that time, and the rāslīlā was no longer confined to the royal nobles and religious elite. The Brāhman Sabhā resisted recognizing the legitimacy of both these rāslīlās,12 and until today they are not performed in the Govindaji temple, although other village temples host them. According to Bourdieu, the initiative for change falls almost by definition on newcomers to the field.13 Newcomers have an interest in describing their innovations as an advance in the field of production as a whole.14 The new positions they take up may challenge those occupied by dominant groups, who, in turn, may respond by resisting such change.15

Outside Manipur

In 1919, there was a significant development that increased the popularity of the rāslīlā outside of Manipur. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore was fascinated by the

Manipuri rāslīlā dance he saw in Sylhet (now in Bangladesh),16 and in 1926, he introduced it as a course at his school in Shantiniketan. It was taught by teachers from

Tripura and and Manipur.17 Soon after, centers of Manipuri dance were established in

12 Ibid., 96.

13 Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, 58.

14 Ibid., 59.

15 Ibid., 58.

16 Kapila Vatsyayan, "Introduction," in Dances of Manipur - the Classical Tradition, ed. Saryu Doshi (Bombay: Marg Publications, 1989), 8.

17 M. Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur, 191.

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Ahmedabad, Calcutta and Shillong. In 1952, the National Academy of Music, Dance, and Drama (Saṅgīt Nāṭak Akāḍemī) recognized Manipuri rāslīlās as one of the classical dances of India. Thus, national prestige was conferred on the dance. In that sense, the rāslīlās became entwined with the process of imagining the nation, undergoing themselves a dynamic of nationalization, which has had consequences for how they are taught and performed.

Three years later, in 1955, the modern dance college, the JMNDA was established in Imphal, Manipur. This marked a shift in the way that Manipuri arts was taught; from the homes of gurus to public institutes.18 Soon other academy-style modern institutions teaching Manipuri rāslīlā were established. These include the Imphal

Art School (estd. 1974), Manipuri Nartalaya (Bombay, Imphal, and Kolkata), Parimal

Academy (Bombay), Manipur State Kala Akademi.19 Since Manipuri dances are mainly taught in academies and dance schools, the institution of loisangs has more or less been eroded. However, as Manipuri teachers trained and certified in the newly formed academies began to be hired in other parts of India to teach and perform, the performing arts became a major contributor to the economy of their state. Dance became an important source through which Manipuris could find economic and cultural recognition in India.

Rāslīlās in proscenium stages

Finally, another major change was that from the mid-20th century, the dance began to be performed in the prosceniums in India and around the world, alongside its

18 During my fieldwork, I observed that some gurus still teach the dance from their homes. However, students are required to attend JNMDA if they want to be officially certified as an artiste.

19 M. Kirti Singh, Religion and Culture of Manipur, 253.

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temple venues.20 This was mainly due to exposure to Western theatre forms and other

Indian classical dances performed in similar venues. In response to the globalization of the rāslīlā, dance choreographers made stage adaptations with edited versions and new compositions, rendering new meanings to the dance. Some of the changes include shortened durations, the omission of segments like the bhangi phareng because of its rigid rituals, the use of stage lights, and shifting the position of dancers so that they are facing the audience instead of being in a closed circle. Solo dances and new dance sequences were choreographed to cater to its new non-Meitei audience and match its

“classical” Indian counterparts. A number of privately-owned dance troupes both from

Manipur and from other parts of India regularly perform the rāslīlā and nāta sankirtan in international arts festivals and other major events. Sometimes, state organizations sponsor these international performances. Outside of Manipur, these troupes act as ambassador of the state’s—and by extension India’s—cultural arts. Moreover, increasingly, non-Manipuris are performing Manipuri dances, and acting as representatives of the artform to the world.

In 2016, I had travelled to Singapore with a dance troupe from Manipur known as

Ranganiketan for a week during the Hindu Deepavali festival. They performed in five different venues and I served as the MC for them, introducing Manipur’s culture and performing arts to audiences in Singapore. That experience revealed a wide range of decisions that a travelling troupe has to make for foreign audiences. These include what items to perform, what props to use, how to meet varying time restrictions and stage limitations. For example, in one of these events, Manipuri dances such as Lai Haraoba,

20 Sohini Ray, "The Language of Hand-Gestures in Indian Dance: Semantics and Politics," (2010): 9.

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rāslīlā, and nāta sankirtan were supposed to be performed with Bollywood dances for a university crowd. It was decided at the last moment that the rāslīlā would be cancelled because it was not appropriate for the boisterous crowd.

Overall, it can be said that at a local level, the Manipuri rāslīlās still have a primarily religious function, but have to survive amidst a background of internal strife as various ethnic groups in Manipur are engaged in struggles for political space. 21 At a national level, the dance was promoted as one of India’s classical dances and became more of a national and less of a religious symbol. At a global level, its aesthetic aspects were emphasized as it was performed in various international arts festivals for expanded audiences using new technologies. The year that I spent in Manipur revealed that much work remains to be done in studying the development of the Manipuri rāslīlās and its effects on other artforms. I intend to explore these issues and the construction of the new artforms discussed above in lieu of social and political processes from the 19th to 20th century.

The early rāslīlās, although influenced by Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, were also a response to sociopolitical situations and were adapted to local cultural aesthetics and religious norms. Having gained legitimacy as an authentic and authorized form of religious expression, due to the innovative agency of political and religious elites, the rāslīlās produced a rich array of cultural products, well into the late 20th century. The story of the Manipuri rāslīlās is a story of the meeting point of a wide variety of religious

21 For a detailed exposition of contemporary political strife in Manipur, see Parratt, Wounded Land: Politics and Identity in Modern Manipur.

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themes, rituals, gods, and practices, and a number of agents from the religious and political fields collaborating and contending to impose order on the variety.

The study of religious phenomena like the Manipuri rāslīlās contributes to the decolonization of the study of religion and to focus on how religious knowledge is transmitted through performance. It has brought to the fore, key issues like vernacular forms of embodiment, practice, materiality, and emplacement. It illuminates how religion interacts with socio-political dynamics like translocal exchanges, nation-formation, and globalization. This dissertation has also contributed to historical studies of Gauḍīya

Vaiṣṇavism in particular, which has been dominated by textual analysis. It suggests bodily ways of knowing as an important discourse in the study of the tradition.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Rodney Sebastian is a native of Singapore. He graduated from the National

University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the South Asian Studies

Program and Curtin University of Technology, Australia with a 1st class honors from the

Anthropology Deparment. He completed a Master of Arts degree in the National

University of Singapore, Department of Sociology and worked as a Research Associate at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida, Religion Department in the spring of

2019.

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