About Lesson
iv. Reasons for the decline of Sanskrit Theatre
- Lyrical compositions started to take precedence over dramatic works as Sanskrit dramatists turned more of their attention to poetry.
- Young playwrights had to turn to other genres because of the strict orthodoxy of the Sanskrit theatre.
- As Sanskrit got more and more adorned, its popularity decreased. As languages like Pali and Prakrit replaced them, their use was more constrained to the religious community and among Brahmins.
- Sanskrit theatre was put on the back burner as Muslim rulers came into power in favor of dance and music and thus started the deterioration of this classical form of Indian Theatre.