Did Indian theatre come from Greek drama?
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Some 19th-century European scholars argued that Sanskrit drama copied Greek plays staged in Indo-Greek courts. Most scholars now see Indian theatre as a home-grown tradition.
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Indian claim
Sanskrit drama and its theory, set out in Bharata's Natyashastra, grew from Indian roots: Vedic dialogue hymns, epic recitation, dance and ritual.
Evidence for the Indian claim
- Britannica notes that Panini already mentions aphorisms for actors and the Arthashastra mentions actors and theatre companies, so theatre existed in India before the Natyashastra.
- Sanskrit plays break the Greek rules: they ignore the unities of time and place, mix serious and comic scenes, and almost never end in tragedy.
- Greek theatre had no front curtain, so the curtain's name more likely refers to the imported cloth it was made from.
Commonly credited to
Albrecht Weber and Ernst Windisch (1882), among others, argued that Indian drama was inspired by Greek plays performed for Greek rulers in north-west India; they pointed to the stage curtain's name, yavanika ('Greek thing').
Evidence for the other claim
- Greek rulers did govern parts of north-west India from the 2nd century BCE, and some Greek plays were known in the region.
- A few shared features (such as avoiding deaths on stage) have been noted by scholars who still argue for some Hellenistic influence, perhaps from Euripides.
What historians and scientists say
Most scholars today see Sanskrit drama as an independent Indian tradition. Some limited contact with Greek theatre is possible but not shown to be the origin.