Natakas as means of Dharmasadhana

Nātakas are based on the tradition of Bharata’s Nātyaśāstra at the heart of which we have Navarasas1. The rasas evoke the emotional state of the manas and, in turn, bring about changes in the individual. This is not a hypothesis but a fact established through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology. Professor Adam Zeman, a cognitive neurologist from the University of Exeter Medical School did a study to compare brain response to poetry versus prose and found evidence that poetry activates brain areas, such as the posterior cingulate cortex and medial temporal lobes, which are linked to introspection (Featured Psychology). Therefore the specific rules that Bharata Muni uses in terms of rasa usage, description in scenes, etc are not arbitrary. They are a process in building the necessary environment to provoke the right response from the brain. The idea of “introspection” is very important because the final goal of a Nātaka is to propagate the Dharmic values and ethics and this can happen only when the introspection area is activated. This would mean that ātma too must take a very active role so that the self awareness as pect is what can lead to introspection as a function reflected in the brain. Even though this is the final goal, it is very important for the audience to be entertained in the beginning, then they must cross the basic sensory stage and move on to the self awareness or consciousness related stage where the subjectivity of the person is activated and then finally they introspect the true value or meaning of the Nātaka which will result in cognition in the Vedāntic sense.