Earliest Estimated Date for the Natyashastra

A Sanskrit text on dramaturgy, poetics and aesthetics, the Natyashastra is the earliest known treatise on performative arts in South Asia. Composed in verse sometime between the second century BCE and fourth century CE by the aesthetician and sage Bharata, the Natyashastra describes key elements and structures of performance, which are later extended to apply to literature, music and the visual arts. Crucially, the Natyashastra includes theories of bhava and rasa, roughly translating to ‘emotion’ and its aesthetic presentation, respectively. The subject matter of the text will be expanded and altered multiple times, and the text will continue to be a cornerstone of traditional Indian art and performance to the present day.