Announcement for Online Workshop on

Nāṭyaśāstra

(Jointly Organized by Gokul Jan Kalyan Samiti, Bhopal and Dhruvaa – the Sanskrit Band, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh)

Nāṭyaśāstra, ascribed to Bharata or Bharatamuni is the oldest and the most voluminous treatise on nāṭya (Drama and Theatre). Compiled around the second century BC, the Nāṭyaśāstra is a work of truly encyclopedic nature, and it also deals with various allied disciplines and a wide range of subjects like music and musicology, aesthetics and architecture etc. It is composed in verse-form and comprises around 6,000 stanzas in 37 chapters. The discovery of the manuscripts of the Nāṭyaśāstra and the subsequent publication of the text during the nineteenth century has been one of the most important events in the history of aesthetics and theatre.

The Nāṭyaśāstra has served as an authentic source book for the traditions of performing and literary arts and aesthetic theories in India for the past two millennia. With a pluralistic approach that has offered scope for multiple interpretations, it also gave rise to a dynamic process of interplay between theory and practice, and to an interaction between diverse streams of Indian theatre. The text has also initiated a unique process of continuity and change in traditional Indian forms of theatre and has helped in the sustenance of regional theatric traditions not only in India, but in the theatric traditions of other Asian countries as well. On the other hand, the interaction between the Nāṭyaśāstra and regional theatres of India has not simply been a one way affair. The regional theatric traditions have also contributed to text of the Nāṭyaśāstra.

Abhinavabhāratī, the only ancient commentary available on the Nāṭyaśāstra provides a gate way to understand the system of theatre and the philosophy that underlies Bharata’s text. With a view to provide a first-hand exposure of the text of the Nāṭyaśāstra and to understand its philosophy in the light of Abhinavabhāratī of Abhinavagipta, it is proposed to organize a ten day online workshop on the Nāṭyaśāstra from 5th October 2020 to 14th October 2020.

 

Method

The workshop will cover all the chapters of Nāṭyaśāstra (except chapters 29th, 31st and 34th) along with relevant portions from the Abhinavabhāratī. The text will be explained through Power Points including figures/ graphics/charts wherever necessary. The soft copy Nāṭyaṥāstra Reader comprised of selections from all the 37chapters of the Nāṭyaṥāstra (Sanskrit texts only) will be given to the participants and the lectures in the workshop will be based on the text selected in this Reader. The Workshop will be conducted by Prof. Radhavallabh Tripathi. Dr. Sanjay Dwivedi will be responsible for overall management.

Course dates: October 5th to 14th 2020
Time: 7 pm to 10 pm daily.