Kalā

Kalā means performing art in Sanskrit.

64 Kalas

It is believed that lord Krishna possesses 64 kinds of arts called "chatushashti Kalas". They are as follows:
(1) Geet vidya—art of singing.
(2) Vadya vidya—art of playing on musical instruments.
(3) Nritya vidya—art of dancing.
(4) Natya vidya—art of theatricals.
(5) alekhya vidya—art of painting.
(6) viseshakacchedya vidya—art of painting the face and body with color
(7) tandula-kusuma-bali-vikara—art of preparing offerings from rice and flowers.
(8) pushpastarana—art of making a covering of flowers for a bed.
(9) dasana-vasananga-raga—art of applying preparations for cleansing the teeth, cloths and painting the body.
(10) mani-bhumika-karma—art of making the groundwork of jewels.
(11) sayya-racana—art of covering the bed.
(12) udaka-vadya—art of playing on music in water.
(13) udaka-ghata—art of splashing with water.
(14) citra-yoga—art of practically applying an admixture of colors.
(15) malya-grathana-vikalpa—art of designing a preparation of wreaths.
(16) sekharapida-yojana—art of practically setting the coronet on the head.
(17) nepathya-yoga—art of practically dressing in the tiring room.
(18) karnapatra-bhanga—art of decorating the tragus of the ear.
(19) sugandha-yukti—art of practical application of aromatics.
(20) bhushana-yojana—art of applying or setting ornaments.
(21) aindra-jala—art of juggling.
(22) kaucumara—a kind of art.
(23) hasta-laghava—art of sleight of hand.
(24) citra-sakapupa-bhakshya-vikara-kriya—art of preparing varieties of delicious food.
(25) panaka-rasa-ragasava-yojana—art of practically preparing palatable drinks and tinging draughts with red color.
(26) suci-vaya-karma—art of needleworks and weaving.
(27) sutra-krida—art of playing with thread.
(28) vina-damuraka-vadya—art of playing on lute and small drum.
(29) prahelika—art of making and solving riddles.
(30) durvacaka-yoga—art of practicing language difficult to be answered by others.
(31) pustaka-vacana—art of reciting books.
(32) natikakhyayika-darsana—art of enacting short plays and anecdotes.
(33) kavya-samasya-purana—art of solving enigmatic verses.
(34) pattika-vetra-bana-vikalpa—art of designing preparation of shield, cane and arrows.
(35) tarku-karma—art of spinning by spindle.
(36) takshana—art of carpentry.
(37) vastu-vidya—art of engineering.
(38) raupya-ratna-pariksha—art of testing silver and jewels.
(39) dhatu-vada—art of metallurgy.
(40) mani-raga jnana—art of tinging jewels.
(41) akara jnana—art of mineralogy.
(42) vrikshayur-veda-yoga—art of practicing medicine or medical treatment, by herbs.
(43) mesha-kukkuta-lavaka-yuddha-vidhi—art of knowing the mode of fighting of lambs, cocks and birds.
(44) suka-sarika-prapalana (pralapana) -- art of maintaining or knowing conversation between male and female cockatoos.
(45) utsadana—art of healing or cleaning a person with perfumes.
(46) kesa-marjana-kausala—art of combing hair.
(47) akshara-mushtika-kathana—art of talking with fingers.
(48)dharana-matrika—art of the use of amulets.
(49) desa-bhasha-jnana—art of knowing provincial dialects.
(50)nirmiti-jnana—art of knowing prediction by heavenly voice
(51) yantra-matrika—art of mechanics.
(52)mlecchita-kutarka-vikalpa—art of fabricating barbarous or foreign sophistry .
(53) samvacya—art of conversation.
(54) manasi kavya-kriya—art of composing verse mentally.
(55) kriya-vikalpa—art of designing a literary work or a medical remedy.
(56) chalitaka-yoga—art of practicing as a builder of shrines called after him.
(57) abhidhana-kosha-cchando-jnana—art of the use of lexicography and meters.
(58) vastra-gopana—art of concealment of cloths.
(59) dyuta-visesha—art of knowing specific gambling.
(60) akarsha-krida—art of playing with dice or magnet.
(61) balaka-kridanaka—art of using children's toys.
(62) vainayiki vidya—art of enforcing discipline.
(63) vaijayiki vidya—art of gaining victory.
(64) vaitaliki vidya—art of awakening master with music at dawn.

English translation

• A. TOILET
  • 1. Make-up, toilet and use of beautifying agents
  • 2. Painting the body, and colouring the nails, hair, etc.
  • 3. Decoration of the forehead.
• B. DRESSING
  • 4. Art of hair dressing.
  • 5. Art of dressing.
  • 6. Proper matching of decorations and jewellery.
• C. MUSIC AND DANCING
  • 7. Singing.
  • 8. Playing on musical instruments.
  • 9. Playing on musical glasses filled with water.
  • 10. Acting.
  • 11. Dancing.
• D. GENERAL EDUCATION
  • 12. Good manners and etiquette
  • 13. Knowledge of different languages and dialects.
  • 14. Knowledge of vocabularies.
  • 15. Knowledge of Rhetoric or Figures of Speech.
  • 16. Reading.
  • 17. Reciting poems.
  • 18. Criticism of poems.
  • 19. Criticism of dramas and analysis of stories.
  • 20. Filling up the missing line of a poem.
  • 21. Composing poems to order.
  • 22. Reply in verse (when one person recites a poem, another gives the reply in verse).
  • 23. The art of speaking by changing the forms of words.
  • 24. Art of knowing the character of a man from his features.
  • 25. Art of attracting others (bewitching).
• E. DOMESTIC SCIENCE.
  • 26. Art of cooking.
  • 27. Preparation of different beverages, sweet and acid drinks, chutneys, etc.
  • 28. Sewing and needle work.
  • 29. Making of different beds for different purposes and for different seasons.
• F. PHYSICAL CULTURE.
  • 30. Physical culture.
  • 31. Skill in youthful sports.
  • 32. Swimming and water-sports. Games.
  • 33. Games of dice, chess, etc.
  • 34. Games of chance.
  • 35. Puzzles and their solution.
  • 36. Arithmetical games.
• G. ART OF ENTERTAINING.
  • 37. Magic: art of creating illusions.
  • 38. Trick of hand.
  • 39. Mimicry or imitation (of voice or sounds).
  • 40. Art of disguise.
• H. FINE ARTS.
  • 41. Painting in colours.
  • 42. Stringing flowers into garlands and other ornaments for decorating the body, such as crowns, clapnets, etc.
  • 43. Floral decorations of carriages.
  • 44. Making of artificial flowers.
  • 45. Preparation of ear-rings of shell, ivory, etc.
  • 46. Making birds, flowers, etc., of thread or yarn.
  • 47. Clay-modelling: making figures and images.
  • 48. The art of changing the appearance of things such as making to appear as silk.
• I. PET ANIMALS.
  • 49. Training parrots and other birds to talk.
  • 50. Training rams and cocks and other birds for mock fight.
• J. PROFESSIONAL TRAINING.
  • 51. Gardening and agriculture.
  • 52. Preparation of perfumery.
  • 53. Making furniture from canes and reeds.
  • 54. Wood-engraving.
  • 55. Carpentry.
  • 56. Knowledge of machinery.
  • 57. Construction of building (Architecture).
  • 58. Floor decoration with coloured stones.
  • 59. Knowledge of metals.
  • 60. Knowledge of gems and jewels.
  • 61. Colouring precious stones.
  • 62. Art of war.
  • 63. Knowledge of code words.
  • 64. Signals for conveying messages.

See also

Hindu art

External links

• http://www.pudhucherry.com/pages/kalai.html
• http://www.chennaiiq.com/general_knowledge/tamil/aaya_kalaigal_64_art.asp