ABSTRACT
Nāṭya (Sanskrit नाट्य)—“ritual drama”—deals with changing perceptions and practices of ritual sacrifice. The ritual performance of nāṭya sets an uncompromising demand of sensory perception, interaction and experience of local gods in this world among mortals. This “ritual drama” equals impersonation of the gods by performing artists who are trained and ritually dedicated to do so. Their performance is “for real.” This is in contrast to yajña (Sanskrit यज्ञ, fire sacrifices) that transport offerings through recitation of sacred verses to remote gods who reside in their divine, far-off heavens.
