The Natya Shastra, the foundational text of Indian classical dance and drama, is attributed to which author?
- A.Nandikeshvara
- B.Bharata Muni
- C.Abhinavagupta
- D.Jayadeva
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Bharata Muni. The Natya Shastra is the Sanskrit treatise that lays down the grammar every classical form follows, dividing performance into nritta, nritya and natya, naming the four kinds of abhinaya, and describing the rasas. It is called the fifth Veda because it is said to take speech from the Rigveda, song from the Samaveda, gesture from the Yajurveda and emotion from the Atharvaveda.
Option A, Nandikeshvara, wrote the Abhinaya Darpana, the later manual that catalogues the hand gestures or mudras, so it is the second text and not the first. Option C, Abhinavagupta, was the Kashmiri scholar who wrote the celebrated commentary on the Natya Shastra, the Abhinavabharati, not the treatise itself. Option D, Jayadeva, composed the Gita Govinda, the lyric poem on Radha and Krishna that supplies Odissi with its favourite themes.
Read the full article: Classical Dances of India: Eight Forms, States and Gurus
Practice Questions
View allBharatanatyam is the classical dance form of which Indian state?
- A.Kerala
- B.Tamil Nadu
- C.Karnataka
- D.Andhra Pradesh
Show answer
Bharatanatyam grew in the temples of Tamil Nadu, where it was performed by devadasis under the older name sadir or dasiattam, and it was brought to the concert stage in the twentieth century by E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale, who founded Kalakshetra at Madras in 1936.
Read the full explanation →Which classical dance form of Kerala is a dance-drama performed with elaborately painted faces and towering headgear?
- A.Mohiniyattam
- B.Kathakali
- C.Kuchipudi
- D.Odissi
Show answer
The name means story-play, and the form stages episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Its characters are identified by make-up types, chiefly pacha for noble heroes, kathi for proud anti-heroes such as Ravana, thadi for fierce figures, kari for demonesses and minukku for gentle women and sages.
Read the full explanation →In which year was Sattriya recognised as a classical dance form by the Sangeet Natak Akademi?
- A.1958
- B.1980
- C.2000
- D.2010
Show answer
Sattriya of Assam was the eighth and last form to enter the Akademi list, and that single date is the fact papers ask most often about it.
Read the full explanation →The tarangam, in which the dancer performs on the rim of a brass plate, is an item of which classical dance?
- A.Odissi
- B.Kuchipudi
- C.Manipuri
- D.Kathak
Show answer
In the tarangam the dancer balances on the raised rim of a brass plate and moves it in rhythm, often with a pot of water carried on the head, which demonstrates the control over balance for which the Andhra form is famous.
Read the full explanation →Which classical dance developed under both temple and Mughal court patronage and is known for its rapid chakkars?
- A.Kathak
- B.Odissi
- C.Sattriya
- D.Bharatanatyam
Show answer
It began with the kathakars, the story-tellers who narrated the epics in north Indian temples, and under Mughal patronage it moved into the court, took on Persian costume and turned towards abstract rhythm.
Read the full explanation →