Bharata’s Natyashastra and the Performance of Food in Cultural Myth-Making

The Indian philosopher, Bharata’s Natyashastra, the ancient Indian treatise on performing arts, offers a profound lens through which to understand Arup K. Chatterjee’s concept of gastromythology—the study of how myths shape food cultures and consumption patterns. While Natyashastra primarily concerns drama, music, and performance, its foundational theory of rasa (aesthetic experience) can be extended to food, revealing the deeply performative and psychosocial nature of eating.

The Natyashastra describes nine rasas—such as shringara (romantic), veera (heroic), and bhayanaka (fearful)—which evoke specific emotional responses in audiences. Chatterjee’s notion of gastromythology operates similarly by showing how food is not merely consumed for sustenance but is deeply intertwined with cultural emotions, storytelling, and identity.

For instance, shringara rasa, associated with beauty and love, finds expression in saffron-infused sweets, rich dairy products, and aphrodisiacs, reinforcing the association between romance and indulgence. Meanwhile, bhayanaka rasa, linked to fear, manifests in fasting rituals, food taboos, and mythic tales of divine retribution. Just as Bharata describes drama as a total art form (natya) integrating dance, music, and gesture, gastromythology posits that food consumption is also a performative act. Feasts, fasts, and temple offerings are choreographed rituals that communicate cultural values and historical memory.

In many cultures, the preparation, consecration, and distribution of sacred consumables follow an elaborate ritual, similar to a dramatic performance that reenacts sacred narratives. Feasting and fasting can therefore be seen as narrative events. Natyashastra and gastromythology both reveal that human experiences—whether through drama or dining—are mythically charged, emotionally structured, and socially regulated. Food is not just eaten; it is enacted. The very act of consumption becomes a narrative event, embedding individuals in historical and cultural mythologies. In this light, Chatterjee’s concept of gastromythology underscores Natyashastra’s aesthetic principles into the realm of food, highlighting the deep connections between what we eat and the stories we live by.