The Sanskrit Drama in its Origin, Development, Theory & Practice c7.s3.26

c7.s3.26

To him and his spouse are ascribed the invention of the Tāṇḍava¹ and the Lāsya, the violent and the tender and seductive dances, which are so important an element in the representation of a play. Nor is it surprising that a god who in the Vedic period itself is hailed as the patron of men of every profession and occupation should be regarded as the special patron of the artists. But it is probable that this importance in the drama is later than that of Kṛṣṇa, and it is not without significance that Bhāsa, who is older than any of the other classical dramatists, unlike them, celebrates in full Kṛṣṇa, and is a Vaiṣṇava, while Ṣūdraka, Kālidāsa, Harṣa, and Bhavabhūti alike are adorers of Ṣiva in their prefaces. The *Mālavikāgnimitra* of Kālidāsa introduces a dancing-master who speaks of the creation of the dance by the god and its close connexion with the drama. The sect of the Pāṣupatas, adorers of Ṣiva as lord of creatures, include in their ritual the song and the dance, the latter consisting in expressing the sentiments of the devotees by means of corporeal movement in accord with the rules of the *Nāṭyaṣāstra*. In the decadent ceremonial of the Tantras the ritual includes the representation of Ṣiva by men, and of his spouse as Ṣakti, female energy, by women.