Bharata (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

: भरत) was a '' muni'' (sage) of

ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...

. He is traditionally attributed authorship of the influential

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

treatise '' Natya Shastra'', which covers ancient Indian dance, poetics, dramaturgy, and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

Identity

He is thought to have lived between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE.

''Nāṭya Śāstra''

Bharata is known only as being traditionally attributed authorship of the treatise '' Natya Shastra''. All other early

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

treatises were similarly attributed to mythical sages. The text draws on his authority, as existing in the public imagination. The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' is notable as an ancient encyclopedic treatise on the

, which has influenced dance, music and literary traditions in India. It is also notable for its aesthetic "Rasa" theory, which asserts that entertainment is the desired effect of performance arts but not the primary goal and that the primary goal is to transport the individual in the audience into another parallel reality, full of wonder, where he experiences the essence of his own consciousness and reflects on spiritual and moral questions.

Identity

''Nāṭya Śāstra''

References

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Further reading