Nāṭya-śāstra
Nāṭya-śāstra is an ancient Indian treatise that serves as the foundational text on poetic and dramatic expression. Attributed to the legendary figure Bharata Muni, it is considered a divinely inspired work that encompasses a wide range of artistic disciplines, including dance, drama, music, and poetics. The text is said to have originated from a gift given by Brahmā, the Creator, to humanity, with contributions from deities like Śiva and Viṣṇu enhancing its teachings.
Comprising thirty-six sections, Nāṭya-śāstra details various aspects of performance, such as acting techniques, costumes, gestures (mudras), facial expressions, and the overall structure of plays, including characters and settings. It also explores crucial concepts like sentiments (rasa), music (rāgas), and the aesthetics of performance. Notably, it is accessible to individuals from various castes, including those traditionally excluded from Vedic rituals. The principles outlined in Nāṭya-śāstra have significantly influenced classical Indian dance forms, such as Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, and Kuchipudi, and its impact extends beyond India to regions like Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. This text remains a vital resource for understanding the rich tradition of Indian performing arts.
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Nāṭya-śāstra
Related civilizations: India.
Date: between 200 and 300 c.e.
Locale: India
Authorship: Ascribed to Bharata Muni
Nāṭya-śāstra
Nāṭya-śāstra (NAWT-yah SHAWS-trah; The Nāṭyaśāstra, 1950) the oldest treatise on poetic and dramatic expression, is also referred to as Bharata Nāṭya-śāstra and is attributed to Bharata Muni, a rhetorician and mythical inventor of drama. It has been hailed as a divinely inspired exhaustive work on Sanskrit dramaturgy. According to legend, Brahmā presented a fifth Veda to all society explaining the nature of dance, drama, music, and poetics (nāṭya). Śiva and Pārvatī contributed the dance and Vishnu (Viṣṇu) the four dramatic styles.
It is a prescriptive law book (śāstra) expounding rules and regulations on dramaturgy open even to the Śūdra (laborer) caste, which was excluded from Vedic rituals. The encyclopedic work contains thirty-six sections, probably compiled over several centuries, covering acting techniques, costumes and equipment, gestures (mudras), facial expressions, bodily postures and cadences (karanas), plot, characters and scenery, audience participation, language forms, poetics, meter and sentiments (rasa), music and melodies (rāgas), elocution, aesthetics, rhetoric and grammar. Dance forms such as bhāratanāṭyam of Tamil Nādu, kathakali of Kerala, and kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh closely follow its principles. Its influence went beyond north India to Dravidian south India and throughout ancient Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
Bibliography
Bharata Muni. The Natya Saastra of Bharata Muni. Delhi, India: Sri Satguru Publications, 1996.
Ghosh, Manomohan, trans. The Natyashastra: A Treatise on Hindu Dramaturgy and Histrionics by Bharata-Muni. Calcutta, India: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1950.
Keith, A. Berriedale. A History of Sanskrit Literature. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.