Three Forms of Abhinaya

Natya, Nritta and Nritya are the three forms of Abhinaya

   (a)    Natya or dance drama contains dialogue, interpretation of moods and mime, music and decor. It covers all the four planes and cause a blend of aesthetic and physical appeal. Only when the subconscious participation in the drama has been evoked can natya be said to fulfill its rightful purpose.

  (b)    Nritta belongs to the realm of angik abhinaya alone and is thus on the divine plane. It is a rigid stylization consisting of pure dance movements evoking neither mood nor sentiment.

  (c)    Nritya is a combination of both rasa or sentiment and bhava or mood. It is that which produces aesthetic delight in dance drama. It embraces the sattwik, angik and to a lesser extent the aharya abhinaya on the astral, divine and visual planes. The three chief features of nritya are the Sattwik abhinaya, the Angik abhinaya and the Aharya abhinaya.