Introduction to Bharathanatyam

The earliest known work of Literature detailing early Indian dance is Bharatha’s Natya Shasthra. In fact, it is considered to be the earliest known surviving text on stagecraft in the world. It was written over a period of around 400 years, possibly by multiple authors, but is attributed largely to a sage named Bharatha. Consisting of around 36 chapters, the Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope. It covers stage-design, music, dance, makeup, and virtually every aspect of stagecraft. Natya means theatrical art or art of drama, which includes dance, music and mind or emotion. Hence the name of the Natya Shastra, meaning ‘Science of Drama’ is apposite.

After Bharatha’s period, authorities classified Theatrical art into Natya, Nritya, and Nritta. The origin of these words is in the Sanskrit root word, ‘Nat’, which means ‘to move’ or ‘to act’.

• Natya is that type of theatrical art that is accomplished with the help of a story, settings, along with people to take part in their respective roles, and nothing is left to imagination.
• Nritya is Dance, or Narthana, and requires both physical as well as emotional aspects. Bhava, which produces emotion, is an essential component of Nritya.
• Nritta is similar to Nritya in that physical dance is involved. However, Nritta is devoid of emotion, dance without Bhava. Nritta is generally used in such pieces as the Jathiswaram where dance is performed and appreciated for the beauty of the movement alone. Nritya is the medium ground where elements of both Natya and Nritta are seen.

A typical dance program may consist of different combinations of the three (Natya, Nritya and Nritta). In some dance programs all the items are interlinked by some underlying meaning which is reinforced by the three. This type of dance program is known as ‘Ekartha’. Otherwise, if the items are not interlinked in any particular way, the type of dance program is called ‘Prathagartha’. Nowadays Prathagartha is the more common type followed in solo performances, while Ekartha is common in dance dramas and productions.

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