Natyashstra and Abhinayadarpana

Natyashastra, or the Science of Arts, is a treatise on dramaturgy. It was compiled by Bharata Muni sometime between 200 BC and 200 AD. It devotes itself mainly to the 3 aspects of performing arts - music, dance, and theater (also encompasses other forms of arts - painting and sculpture).

Bharata, in Natyashastra traces the origin of dance or Natya to Lord Brahma. The story goes as such.

Once the entire Jambudvipa was full of Rakshas (demons), Yakshas (half-god half-demon), and the serpent class. The Asthta-dikpalakas (rulers of the 8 directions) found it very difficult to control things and lead the universe properly. Life was going astray. On seeing this, Lord Indra along with the other gods approached Lord Brahma. They appealed to him and asked him to create a fifth Veda, which will appeal to the masses through sound and visual means. Lord Brahma, after going through the 4 existing Vedas created the fifth Veda and named it Natya Veda. This Veda included various elements of the 4 Vedas - aspects of acting from Yajurveda, aspects of recitation from Rigveda, songs from Samaveda, and the aspects of sentiment and emotion from Atharvaveda. After codifying the Natyaveda he taught it to Sage Bharata. The sage inturn taught it to his descendents and the Apsaras. To impart the knowledge he used the 4 Vrittis (expressions): Bharathi (vocal), Sattvati (emotional), Arabhati (forceful), and Kaisiki (delicate). The last vritti was to be presented by female characters.

Natyashastra is the theoretical foundation to all the artforms in India and in particular to dance. It contains the core concepts of Rasa (emotion) and Abhinaya (expression).

Abhinayadarpana, written by Nandikeshwara is another ancient tome that talks about the evolution of symbolism and gesture. It was written around 3rd century AD and has 324 slokas in a single chapter (all available manuscripts are in Telugu). Where the Natyashastra explains aspects of theater and dance that includes expression, movements, music, theater construction, and costumes, the Abhinayadarpana concentrates on abhinaya or expression - including facial movements and hand gestures. The Abhinayadarpana is a standard text on dance or Nrtya, which is followed by many schools of classical Indian dance.