A History of Indian Literature v3.c35.s2.2

v3.c35.s2.2

Usually it is assumed that poetics is preserved in its oldest form in the Bhāratīya-Nāṭyaśāstra², a text book on dramaturgy by Muni Bharata¹. Critics appear first to have felt the necessity of writing manuals for mimes for the purpose of giving the players necessary guidance in dramatic performances and in representations of dramatic poetry. From brief rules or a primer for actors (naṭasūtra)² might have developed more voluminous text books on dramaturgy (nāṭyaśāstra), in which not only mimicry, dance, music and song, but also dramatic songs would be dealt with. Then from it must have, first of all, issued individual manuals on the art of poetry or poetics. In this way we can at least explain the supposition that the theory on the art of poetry, in its oldest form, is found in the Bhāratīya-Nāṭyaśāstra. But our misfortune is that this Bhāratīya-Nāṭyaśāstra has not come down to us in its original form and is available in fragments only, wherein mostly half the text is found in a very bad condition.