Natya Shastra is the classic Indian text of theater, acting, dance, music, and gesture. It was written by Bharata Muni in about 400 BC, and is the bible of the contemporary classical Indian dance styles.

Natya Veda as originally composed by Brahma consisted of 36000 shlokas , or verses. Its abridged version by Adibharata contained 12000 verses. There are more than 5000 verses in Natya Shastra, which is a concise version of Natya Veda .

The reason for creation of Natya Veda was, as Brahma explains, due to the fact that the Vedic discussion and practice cannot be done by Shudras, so there was a need to create another Veda common to all the four Varnas (castes).