SSC
The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?
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Answer: Option A — Bharata Muni's Natyashastra
Detailed Solution
The correct answer is Bharata Muni's Natyashastra. The Natyashastra is the oldest surviving Indian treatise on the performing arts. It is usually dated to somewhere between 200 BCE and 200 CE and is traditionally credited to the sage Bharata Muni. It covers drama, dance, music, stagecraft, costume and make-up, and it is the source from which almost all Indian classical dance forms draw their theory.
Rasa and Bhava are two of its central ideas. Bhava is the emotion or mood that the performer expresses, and Rasa is the aesthetic experience or "flavour" that the audience feels in response. The Natyashastra describes eight rasas: Shringara (love), Hasya (laughter), Karuna (compassion), Raudra (anger), Veera (heroism), Bhayanaka (fear), Bibhatsa (disgust) and Adbhuta (wonder). Later scholars, most notably Abhinavagupta, added a ninth rasa, Shanta (peace), which gives us the familiar term navarasa. The text also explains how bhavas are created through the four types of abhinaya (expression): angika (body), vachika (speech and song), aharya (costume and make-up) and sattvika (inner emotion).
About the other options:
Abhinaya Darpana, written by Nandikeshvara, is an important later text on gesture and expression, and it is widely used in Bharatanatyam training. However, the ideas of Rasa and Bhava come from the earlier Natyashastra.
Sangita Ratnakara, written by Sarngadeva in the 13th century, is mainly a treatise on music, although it also has a chapter on dance.
Gita Govinda is a 12th century Sanskrit poem by Jayadeva about Radha and Krishna. It is performed in Odissi and other dance forms, but it is a poem, not a theoretical text on dance.
💡 Exam tip
Whenever a question asks about the "origin" or "theoretical foundation" of Indian classical dance, the answer is almost always the Natyashastra of Bharata Muni, which is sometimes called the "fifth Veda".💬 Discussions on this question
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Ask a doubtMore Indian Dance Forms Questions
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Indian Dance Forms — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Indian Dance Forms, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
Indian dance forms are one of the most frequently tested areas of static GK. This topic covers the eight classical dances recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam and Sattriya), the folk and tribal dances of every state, and related terms such as mudra, abhinaya, lasya and tandava. Most questions ask which state a dance belongs to, which community performs it, or which feature identifies a classical style. Learn the classical dances with their state and one signature feature each, such as the face make-up of Kathakali or the brass plate of Kuchipudi. For folk dances, group them state by state, since exams often list three or four dances and ask for the common state. Watch for dances shared by more than one state, such as Chhau, which has three styles. Practise the Indian dance forms questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.