Nāṭyaśāstra, ascribed to Bharata or Bharatamuni is the oldest and the Most voluminous treatise on nāṭya (Dramaturgy and Theatre). Compiled around the second century BC, the Nāṭyaśāstra is a work of truly encyclopedic nature, and it also deals with various allied disciplines and a wide range of subjects like music and musicology, aesthetics, architecture etc. It is composed in verse-form and comprises around 6,000 stanzas in 37 chapters. The discovery of the manuscripts of the Nāṭyaśāstra and the subsequent publication of the text during the nineteenth century has been one of the most important events in the history of aesthetics and theatre.

The Nāṭyaśāstra has served as an authentic source book for the traditions of performing and literary arts and aesthetic theories in India for the past two millennia. With a pluralistic approach that has offered scope for multiple interpretations, it also gave rise to a dynamic process of interplay between theory and practice, and to interaction between diverse streams of Indian theatre. The text has also initiated a unique process of continuity and change in traditional Indian forms of theatre and has helped in the sustenance of regional theatric traditions not only in India, but in the theatric traditions of other Asian countries as well. On the other hand, the interaction between the Nāṭyaśāstra and regional theatres of India has not simply been a one way affair. The regional theatric traditions, it is very likely, have contributed considerably towards restructuring of the text of the Nāṭyaśāstra.

With a view to providing a first-hand exposure of the text of the Nāṭyaśāstra to professionals and students in the fields of Theatre, Drama, and allied arts, and to discover its contemporary relevance, Rajasthan kala evam Sanskriti Vibhag. Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Academy and Rajasthan Sanskrit Academy is organizing a workshop on Natyasastra for 5 days from 13 to 17 December 2021