The Mirror of Gesture: Being the Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikeśvara
Translated by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Gopala Kristnayya Duggirala
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The opening
THE MIRROR OF GESTURE DECLARED BY NANDIKE^VARA
The movement of whose body is the world, whose speech the sum of all language, Whose jewels are the moon and stars — to that pure Siva I bow!
Indra. — I bow to Nandikesvara, who dwells on Kailasa’s mount, the ocean of the essence of compassion, who reveals the meaning of the Laws of Dancing.
Nandikesvara. — Welcome to the King of the Suras! Is it well with the dwellers in heaven? What is the cause that brings you here before me?
Indra. — This devotee of thine, this dancer, head of the dancing-hall thy patronage adorns, has come to ask a favour.
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About this edition
- The words
- Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Gopala Kristnayya Duggirala's English translation, copied word for word.
- Copied from
- Left out
- Page numbers and running heads from the printed pages, in 5 places
- Cornell University Library's bookplate and archive.org's notice on the scanned copy (8 blocks)
- The title page and opening pages before chapter 1
- The copyright line (Harvard University Press, 1917)
- Notes about a stage production
- The list of plates (pictures are left out) (16 blocks)
- Notes and pages added by translators, editors or publishers, in 24 places
- Pictures and their captions