Natyashastra- As an Encyclopedia for Indian Arts (Sangeet Natak LII, Numbers 1-4, 2018)

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The usage of these in dance can be learnt either from canonical literature or by observation of tradition or due to the benevolent grace of the Guru and not through any other means The above concluding verse of Nandikeshwara's 4Minaya Darpanam a treatise of the 11" century AD, is perhaps one of the most befitting illustration of the indubitable relation between Theory-Shastra and Technique-Sampradayu.

Exploring this linkage, especially by veteran practitioners of the arts, makes for a dynamic conversation which touches upon the process of rediscovering and reconstructing these ancient treatises so as to hold relevance and applicability in the present practice and the contemporary era, With the reorganisation and codification of Natya into the eight Indian classical dance styles in accordance with the various vrime and pruritis, it is important to recognize and document the efforts of senior Gurus in unearthing and establishing the foundations of practice from various treatises.

However, in the past whilst scholars and dancers worked in isolated segments, without consulting with each other, there was Lakshana Lakshyu Firuddham that is the discrepancy that anses between scholars who only write the theory and practitioners who merely teach the practice It is a matter of gratitude that owing to the great efforts of the scholars, we have intelligible translations of various manuscripts and texts, and due to the aesthetic applications by the Gurus we have available to us practical usages of these texts. This discrepancy was put to rest when in the early 20 century, practitioners like Acharya Parvatikumar, Dr Padma Subrahmanyam and scholars like Dr Kapila Vatyayan, Dr. V. Raghavan, A.K. Coomaraswamy to name a few, worked towards decoding the dormant Shastras and giving them new life in the manner in which they were meant to be treated, ie, as Prayoga Shastra.

Despite this, when a dispute arises between the texts and the technique, one recalls Panina's vene from the Akta Shastarth radhiye baliyan which means that Shastra must code to the conventional practice that has been followed as tradition. This gives due importance to the guru-shakya parampara, the oral tradition of transmission of holistic knowledge from the Guru to the shishya.

**Contents and Sample Pages**