NATYASHASTRA BY:- KAVITA

Introduction of natyashastra The Nātya Shastra (Nātyaśāstra नाट्यशास्त्र) of Bharata is the principal work of dramatic theory, encompassing dance and music, in classical India. It is attributed to the muni(sage) Bharata and is believed to have been written during the period between 200 B.C.E.and 200 C.E.  The Natya Shastra is the outcome of several centuries of theatrical practice by hereditary actors, who passed their tradition orally from generation to generation. It is in the form of a loose dialog between Bharata and a number of munis who approach him, asking about nāṭyaveda (lit. nāṭya= drama, performance; veda= knowledge).

Date and authorship The document is difficult to date and Bharata's historicity has also been doubted, some authors suggesting that it may be the work of several persons. However, Kapila Vatsyayan, a leading scholar of Indian classical dance, has argued that based on the unity of the text, and the many instances of coherent references to later chapters in the earlier text, the composition is likely that of a single person. 

Title and Setting Written in Sanskrit, the text consists of 6,000 sutras, or verse stanzas, organized in 35 or 36 chapters. Some passages that are composed in a prose form. The title, ‘‘Natya Shastra’’, can be loosely translated as A compendium of Theater or a A Manual of Dramatic Arts. Nātya, or nāṭakameans “dramatic arts.” In contemporary usage, this word does not include dance or music, but etymologically the root naṭ refers to "dance."  no more associated with religion or piousness. 

Rasa Performance Art Theory Classical Indian dance: the inheritor of the ‘‘Natya Shastra’’ The Natya Shastra discusses a wide range of topics, from issues of literary construction, to the structure of the stage or mandapa, to a detailed analysis of musical scales and movements (murchhanas), to an analysis of dance forms that considers several categories of body movements, and their effect on the viewer.   Rasa enunciated the eight Rasas in the Nātyasāstra, The Natya Shastramentions six rasa in one section, but in the dedicated section on rasa it states and discusses eight primary rasa.[ The Natya Shastramentions six rasa in one section, but in the dedicated section on rasa it states and discusses eight primary rasa.[ Related to love, eros (Śṛngāra, शृङ्गार) Humorous, comic (Hāsya, हास्य) Pathetic, disgust (Bībhatsa, बीभत्स) Fury, anger (Raudra, रौद्र) Compassion, sympathy (Kāruṇya, कारुण्य) Heroic (Vīra, वीर) Terrible, horrifying (Bhayānaka, भयानक) Marvellous, amazing (Adbhuta, अद्भुत

Impact ‘‘Natya Shastra’’ remained an important text in the fine arts for many centuries, and defined much of the terminology and structure of Indian classical music and Indian classical dance. Many commentaries have expanded the scope of the ‘‘Natya Shastra,’’ including Matanga's Brihaddesi (fifth to seventh century); Abhinavagupta's Abhinavabharati(which unifies some of the divergent structures that had emerged in the intervening years, and outlines a theory of artistic analysis); and Sharngadeva's Sangita Ratnakara (thirteen-century work that unifies the raga structure in music). The analysis of body forms and movements also influenced sculpture and the other arts in subsequent centuries.  The structures of music outlined in the ‘‘Natya Shastra’’ retain their influence even today, as seen in the seminal work Hindustani Sangeetha Padhathi,by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, written in the early twentieth century.