Odissi

By the early 20th century, this dance had nearly disappeared. A handful of gurus rebuilt it from temple sculptures and oral memory. This article covers Odissi: its temple origins, its near-extinction, and its 20th-century revival.

Rebuilt from Stone and Memory

ArtnCulture0090

c. 200 BCE

Earliest Textual Trace

The Natya Shastra names Odisha‘s “Odra” style of dance

12th c.

Mahari Tradition Formalised

Chodaganga Deva establishes temple dancers at Puri’s Jagannath Temple

Colonial Era

Near-Extinction

The Anti-Nautch movement stigmatises temple dance, patronage collapses

Late 1950s

Revival and Recognition

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and others rebuild it; Sangeet Natak Akademi recognises it

The long arc: Odissi nearly vanished entirely under colonial rule. Its revival depended on reconstructing a living dance from stone, manuscripts, and the memory of surviving practitioners.

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Timeline

• c. 200 BCE: The Natya Shastra names an “Odra” style of dance, referring to Odisha’s own tradition.
• 12th century: King Chodaganga Deva establishes the Mahari tradition of temple dancers at the Jagannath Temple, Puri.
• British colonial era: The Anti-Nautch movement stigmatises temple dance, bringing Odissi to near-extinction.
• Late 1950s: Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and other gurus revive and codify Odissi. The Sangeet Natak Akademi formally recognises it as a classical dance.

Must Know

• Odissi originated in the temples of Odisha. It is among India’s oldest surviving classical dance forms.
• Its signature posture is the Tribhangi, a three-part bend of the body across the head, torso, and hips.
• The Mahari tradition was performed by female temple dancers dedicated to Lord Jagannath, at the Jagannath Temple in Puri.
• A parallel tradition, Gotipua, features young boys dressed as women, performing in praise of Jagannath.
• Odissi nearly went extinct under British rule, due to the Anti-Nautch movement, which stigmatised temple dancers.

Good to Know

• Odissi’s revival in the 1950s and 60s drew on temple sculptures, old manuscripts, and the surviving memory of Mahari and Gotipua practitioners.
• Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, himself trained as a Gotipua dancer, played the central role in rebuilding and codifying Odissi.
• Other key revivalist gurus included Pankaj Charan Das, Deba Prasad Das, and Mayadhar Raut.
• Temple sculptures from the 10th to 14th centuries, including at Konark and Puri, provided physical evidence of Odissi’s historic postures and movements.
• Institutions like Kala Vikash Kendra in Cuttack helped formalise Odissi training after its revival.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. Odissi’s signature body posture, involving a three-part bend of the body, is called what?

Tribhangi

Ardhamandali

Samabhanga

Chowk

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Great to Know

• Odissi’s revival was closer to reconstruction than continuity. Unlike some classical arts that were merely marginalised, Odissi’s living performance tradition had nearly broken entirely, forcing a rebuild from indirect evidence.
• Kelucharan Mohapatra’s own background in Gotipua meant the revival blended two related but distinct traditions. This shaped the classical form that eventually got Sangeet Natak Akademi recognition.
• Odissi’s story is a reminder that “ancient” classical arts can still have a modern institutional history. Its formal classical status is barely 70 years old, even though its roots run back over two millennia.
• For Kathak, a classical dance form of North India, see ArtnCulture0087 — Kathak.
• For Kuchipudi, another classical dance form with shared stylistic roots, see ArtnCulture0094 — Kuchipudi.

Odissi is one of eight classical dance forms recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. See ArtnCulture0006 — Classical and Folk Dances of India for the full list. Two related forms covered on this site are Bharatanatyam, Tamil Nadu’s temple tradition, and Kathak, the North Indian storytelling tradition shaped by Mughal courts.