Special Aspects of Natya Sastra

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Dr. P.S.R. Appa Rao was born on 21-07-1923 in Kovvur, Andhra Pradesh. He obtained M.A. degree in Telugu literaturer and Ph. D. in Origin of Telugu Drama in 1961. He served as Lecturer, Asst. Professor in Presidency College, Madras, and as Principal of Govt. Degree College, Khairatabad, Hyderabad. After serving in various administrative posts, for 24 years, he retired as Director of Cultural Affairs, Govt., Of Andhra Pradesh, in 1963. Dr. Appa Rao is a recipient of Central Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961 for his well-known Nätyasästramu in Telugu. Other Awards are Best College Teacher Award, 1979, Rajalakhsmi Literary Award, 1994, and the title of Srikalaprapurna from Sonti Renaissance International, Houston, U.S.A. 1996. Malaysia, Singapore, London, Prague and Vienna are among his wide travels abroad in various capacities assigned by the State.

and Central Governments of India. Dr. Appa Rao is credited with the authorship of over 42 books mainly on traditional, classical and folk performing arts, literature, art and literary histories. Among all of his works, Natyaśāstramu and Abinayadarpunamu are voluminous products with critical commentaries.

The Translator, Mr. H.V. Sharma, was born and educated in Hyderabed. Provident with strong propensity for fine arts, he obtained eight diplomas, including one in dramatic arts form the National School I of Drama. Of the fine arts he learnt, painting, sculpture and music turned out to be his forte. Mr. Sharma studied subjects like psychology art and religious philosophy. His articles on topis of Child Developmental Psychology as well as theatre have appeared in various concerned magazines.

In spite of his varied interests, his principal occupation has been teaching. He served as Associate professor at the National School of Drama where he taught Theatre Architecture. Mr. Sharma had been a regular visitor to the Departments of Drama of various Colleges and Universities of the country as Professor of subjects on art and crafts of the theatre. He continued to paint, sculpt, sing, teach and work for the stage as designer of sets, costumes and masks throughout his life.

In spite of being very ancient and an exhaustive treatise on Indian dramaturgy and theatre practice, quite often, Natya Šästra has been said by scholars to be heavily interpolated, vague, ambiguous, confusing, insufficient and even some parts as superfluous. Such findings may be true to a negligible or a recognizable extent. It is therefore necessary to delve deep into thes the subject matter provided I i in the treatise with an objective attitude in order to effect rectifications or to find positive justifications so that the content is rightly understood. Some scholars did undertake to comment independently and interpret the various issues of the Natya Śāstra that seemed to need explanation or rectification. Among such scholars was Abhinavagupta, an acclaimed tantric scholar and philosopher, who wrote an exhaustive commentary on Bharata's Natya Šästra and named it Abhinavabhārati. Besides this work, valuable contributions of contextual interpretations, in the form of arguments, also poured in from critics, rhetoricians, and philosophers from time to time.