SRI GANESHAYA NAMAHA
PARAMPARA
The Guru & Shishya lineage
Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwaraha
Guru Sakshat Param Brahma Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha.
​​
​​​The Guru is the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer.
The Guru is the absolute reality, I bow to that revered Guru.​​
This ancient prayer captures the profound spiritual reverence at the heart of the Guru-Shishya Parampara—the sacred, unbroken lineage of teacher and disciple. This means that one's dance lineage can be traced through previous generations of one's teachers, much like a family tree.
​
Bharatanatyam is not simply taught; it is entrusted from one generation to the next.
This relationship, based on the genuineness of the guru and the respect, commitment, devotion, and obedience of the student, is the best way for subtle or advanced knowledge to be conveyed. The student eventually masters the knowledge that the guru embodies, through knowledge passed down from gurus before.
Tonight's Arangetram gives us an opportunity to witness the continuation of lineage as Smt. Saipriya Rahulan passes this living legacy to her disciple, Nirupama.