Abstract

The source of the Indian theory of drama is the N tya stra of the sage Bharata an encyclopedic treatise on all the aspects of dramaturgy Bharata the instaurator and codifier of the Indian tradition of drama postulates theories of drama music dance and poetry construction of stage the concept of rasa and the mimetic role of drama etc While neither Aristotle nor Plato applies to any form of Western dance style in India everyone goes back to N tya stra to find the source of various styles of Indian classical and regional dances and music Metaphysically the Indian theory of drama is based on Karma unlike the Greek theory of drama based on fate At the outset the present paper shall explore and discuss the origin of the N tya stra and will analyze some of its most significant aspects