The Structure of a Sanskrit Drama

Sanskrit drama is divided in to two types ? R?pakas (drama proper) and upar?pakas (forms of dance ? drama). Both of them embody the three concepts which suggest the three most importance aspect of drama I. N??ya II. R?pa III. R?paka The term N??ya represents the view point of the actor, because it is the actor who represents the states of the hero's personality on the stage. From the view point of the audience the N??ya is called R?pa as it becomes an object of perceptual experience. It is termed as R?paka from the view point of the dramatist, because it is he who through his art establishes the identification of the actors with the character in this real life. The R?pakas are at first divided into two main types I. Full of different forms of action, complete in all their aspects (P?r?avrutti Vrutyang?) II. Having one or two forms of action incomplete in some of their aspects (Vruttiny?na) N??aka and Prakarana belong to the former type and the remaining eight forms of dramatic composition belong to the latter