A Ćari is a type of gait or manner in which the body can move. Taken from the root word 'ćar' to move in sanskrit, it represents a movement through space. The ćaris of the Abhinaya Darpana are very different from the ćaris of the Nātyaśaśtra

These types of gaits are used primarily to communicate types of characters, but could also perhaps be used in nritta in some cases. Please refer to the Shloka below for pronunciation. Please note that the separate ćaris when put together in a Shloka form 'Sandhis', or compound words in the Sanskrit language. Words like 'ca', 'thatha', mean "and", "also". The separate words for each movement are also given below the shloka.

अथात्र चारिभेदानां लक्षणं कथ्यते मया
आदौ तु चलनं प्रोक्तं पश्चागांक्रमणं तथा
सरणं वेगिनी चैव कुट्टणम् च ततः परम्
लुठितम् लोलितं चैव ततो विषमसन्चारः
चारिभेदा अमी अष्टौ प्रोक्ता भरतवेदिभिः

ādautu ćalanam proktam pashćath sankramanam tatha
saranam veginey ćaiva kuthanam ća thatha param
lutitam lolitham ćaiva thatho vishrama sanćaraha
ćari bedha ami ashtau prokthā bharathavedibhihi

1. Calana (walking) – advancing foot from its natural position
2. Cankramana (making a leap) – a gait made by two feet carefully raised up and thrown sideways alternatively
3. Sarana (moving) – moving like a leech, by joining one heel with another at each step and holding Pataka hastas at hip level
4. Vegini (running) – running swiftly on heels or toes or entire sole, holding Alapadma and Tripataka hastas alternatively
5. Kuttana (pounding) – striking the earth with heel or fore-part of a foot or entire sole
6. Luthita (rolling) – performing Kuttana from the Svastika posture
7. Lolita (trembling) – slowly moving a foot which has not touched the earth after performing Kuttana
8. Vishama (rough) – stepping the left foot to the right side of right foot and right foot to the left one alternatively at the time of walking