Rupaka

Rupaka, from Sanskrit रूपक, is a term with several related uses in South Asian culture. In classical Indian aesthetics, rupaka denotes a form of literary composition that is dramatized or represented in performance. In this sense, rupaka is often contrasted with kavya, which refers to poetry that is not primarily staged as drama. Rupaka is closely associated with the theory of dramaturgy in the Natya Shastra attributed to Bharata Muni; in that tradition rupaka encompasses plays and dramatic narratives performed by actors with dialogue, gesture, and music, designed to evoke rasa, or aesthetic flavor, in the audience. The term rupaka also carries a broader sense of form or appearance and is sometimes used to denote a “poem” or a scene that is depicted in performance.

In literary history, rupaka is one of the early theoretical categories in Indian poetics that informed later developments in dramaturgic and poetics schools. The concept has been influential in the study of classical Sanskrit drama, as well as in regional theatrical traditions in South Asia.

Outside of literary theory, Rupaka also appears as a place name and surname in parts of India and neighboring regions, reflecting its roots as a common Sanskrit word for form or beauty.