The Natya Shastra or Nātyaśāstra is the principal work of dramatic theory in the Sanskrit drama of classical India. It is a set of precepts on the writing and performance of dance, music and theatre.

Text and title

The Natya Shastra was written by the sage Bharata Muni who, it is claimed, was directly inspired by the god Brahma. It is believed to have been written during the period between 400 BC and 200 AD. Some scholars believe it was written by various authors at different times.

The text is written in the Sanskrit language, and consists of 6,000 sutras, or verse stanzas, incorporated in 36 chapters. There are some passages that are composed in a prose form.

The name can be loosely translated as The Textbook on Drama. Natya, or nataka means drama, and in contemporary usage does not include dance. However, nataka originally derives from the word

Theory

The Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope. It consists of minutely detailed precepts for both playwrights and actors.

Bharata describes ten types of drama ranging from one to ten acts. In addition, he lays down principles for stage design, makeup, costume, dance (various movements and gestures), a theory of aesthetics (rasas and bhavas), acting, directing and music, each in individual chapters.

Bharata sets out a detailed theory of drama comparable to the Poetics of Aristotle. He refers to bhavas, the imitations of emotions that the actors perform, and the rasas (emotional responses) that they inspire in the audience. He argues that there are eight principal rasas: love, pity, anger, disgust, heroism, awe, terror and comedy, and that plays should mix different rasas but be dominated by one.