Dasharupaka 1.4

1.4

uddhṛtyoddhṛtya sāraṃ yamakhilanigamān nāṭyavedaṃ viriñciś
cakre yasya prayogaṃ munirapi bharatastāṇḍavaṃ nīlakaṇṭhaḥ /
śarvāṇī lāsyamasya pratipadamaparaṃ lakṣma kaḥ kartumīṣṭe
nāṭyānāṃ kintu kiñcit praguṇaracanayā lakṣaṇaṃ saṅkṣipāmi //

‘Who, pray, is able to make a new detailed nomenclature (pratipadaṃ lakṣma) of dramatic science, which Viriñci [i. e. Brahma] created after repeatedly extracting the essence from the entire sacred writ—[that dramatic science] of which Bharata, though a seer, gave an exhibition, Nīlakaṇṭha [i. e. Śiva] performing the wild dance (tāṇḍava) and Śarvāṇī [i. e. Pārvatī] performing the gentle dance (lāsya)? Yet I shall give concisely, in orderly arrangement, some sort of description of dramatic representations.’