A History of Sanskrit Literature c16.5

c16.5

The words for actor (*naṭa*) and play (*nāṭaka*) are derived from the verb *naṭ*, the Prākrit or vernacular form of the Sanskrit *nṛt*, "to dance." The name is familiar to English ears in the form of *nautch*, the Indian dancing of the present day. The latter, indeed, probably represents the beginnings of the Indian drama. It must at first have consisted only of rude pantomime, in which the dancing movements of the body were accompanied by mute mimicking gestures of hand and face. Songs, doubtless, also early formed an ingredient in such performances. Thus Bharata, the name of the mythical inventor of the drama, which in Sanskrit also means "actor," in several of the vernaculars signifies "singer," as in the Gujaratī *Bharot*. The addition of dialogue was the last step in the development, which was thus much the same in India and in Greece. This primitive stage is represented by the Bengal *yātrās* and the *Gītagovinda*. These form the transition to the fully-developed Sanskrit play in which lyrics and dialogue are blended.