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India
has a longest and richest tradition in theatre. Origin of Indian
theatre is closely related to the ancient rituals and seasonal
festivities of the country. The traditional account in Natya
Shastra gives a divine origin to Indian Theatre
According
to legend, when the world passed from the Golden Age to Silver
Age, and people became addicted to sensual pleasures, and jealousy
, anger, desire and greed filled their hearts. God Indra, with
the rest of the gods, approached Brahma, the Creator of the
Universe, and begged for a mode of recreation accessible to
all classes of society. Brahma acceded to this request and decided
to compose a fifth Veda on Natya. From the four Vedas he extracted
the four elements of speech, song, mime and sentiment and thus
created Natyaveda, the holy book of dramaturgy. He asked
Indra to pass the book to those of the Gods who are skillful,
learned, free from stage fright and given to hard work. As Indra
pleaded the gods' inability to enact the play, Brahma looked
to Bharata and revealed the fifth Veda to him by God Brahma
himself. Thus, when the dramatic art was well comprehended,
the first drama was enacted on the auspicious occasion of Indra's
Banner Day.
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