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Landscape in the Nāṭyaśāstra and clues to its spatial origin: A study in 2019

Abstract: "What does the landscape described in the Nāṭyaśāstra look like? How does it compare with the landscape described in, for instance, the Mahābhārata? Can a reading of Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra in 2019 still yield clues about its spatial origin? Answers to these questions form the crux of this paper which also looks to a) address one of the many questions listed by scholar Kapila Vatsyayan (in her foreword to the 2016 book 'NĀṬYAŚĀSTRA—Revisited' which contains her essay ‘NĀṬYAŚĀSTRA—A history of criticism’) and b) to take one small step in a research area identified by another scholar Bharat Gupt (in his essay in 'NĀṬYAŚĀSTRA—Revisited'). In answering the questions specified above, this paper looks to contribute to ‘the critical analysis on the journey of the text of Nāṭyaśāstra’ (sub-theme 2 of the conference) and to foreground insights, from studying what seems like lesser-researched aspects of the text, insights, that would be relevant in the pursuit of the framework for a new critical edition of the Nāṭyaśāstra."