Origin of Natyashastra

In the origin of Indian theatre, Natyashastra the performing arts is attributed by sage Bharat Muni dated between in 200BC with the origin of drama. In very olden days people were uncivilized and ruled by lust, greed, and anger and jealous with demons. Seeing this scenario, Indra and other gods went to Brahma to ask a solution for people to be in peace .Brahma explained that Vedas introduced by him were neglected by people and hence the commotion. Indra explained that people were unaware of the goodness of Vedas and the Sudras were not allowed to learn Vedas. He requested for a toy, kridanikya to people to divert them from evil approaches. In these circumstances Brahma extracted the elements from all four Vedas and created ‘Natyaveda’.  The elements were ‘recitation’ from Rigveda, ‘songs’ from Samveda, ‘Acting’ from Yajurveda and ‘Sentiments’ from Atharvana veda. It was heavy  and tough to understand. Then Indra took it, read it out to other gods and concluded that the gods were unable to understand to put it into practice.  Indra decided that it cannot be followed by people. He went back to Brahma, explained the same and proposed to Brahma to find a sage who can simplify it. Thus Bharata Muni was asked to simplify the Natyaveda which can be useful for the mortals and secondly, he was asked to produce a play. Bharatha Muni solved the problem and staged a play. This performance presented the story of the defeat of the demons by gods. The occasion was the festival in honor of Lord Indra. The demons disliked it and created trouble. The nature of the ‘Natyaveda’ or ‘Natyashastra’ was explained by Brahma to pacify the demons. The Natyashastra treats both the good and the evil. Showing that the good is rewarded and the evil is punished. The Natya represents the life of gods, demons, kings, great sages and everyone alike. This Natyashastra was later developed to the present day dance and dance dramas which is a very important performing art of interest.