Paper short abstract:

Critical assessment of the relation between rituals and performing traditions as expressed in the literary source― the Nāṭyaśāstra (Theoretical treatise on the craft of Dramaturgy, roughly dated to 2nd century CE, ascribed to 'Bharata').

Paper long abstract:

"Towards the end of the rite, the nāṭyācārya should break a pot in which sanctified water is kept at the centre. He should also hold high a lighted torch in which incenses should be sprinkled to blaze the sky. From the omens, one can decide whether the worship has got the desired effect." The Nāṭyaśāstra.

The rituals in the Nāṭyaśāstra were roughly separated on account of those that were to be carried out behind the curtain and others that were to be initiated after the curtain was raised and in front of the audiences. From the selection of a 'site' for staging a performance to exclusion of certain social figures (like the 'heretics', 'recluses', forest dwellers and even people with physical handicaps) on account of being inauspicious when the foundation for the construction of a play house was being laid; rituals formed an integral part in the various stages associated with performing arts in the text. What was the intention behind introduction of such elaborate rituals within the performing tradition? What are the ways and instances in which rituals have been introduced and discussed in the context of performative tradition? This paper hopes to problematize the very introduction of rituals within a performance as well as to delineate the mutual relations between the two.