Yakṣagāna is one of the theatre forms of Karnataka-generally described as folk but possessing a strong classical connection. Although the name signifies the music of celestial beings, Yakṣagāna is an amalgam of the sky with the earth. There is both mystery and robustness about this form in which singing and drumming merge with dancing and words with gestural interpretation, and players clad in costumes of striking colour and contours.

The author was the foremost authority on Yakṣagāna and had been working on all its aspects, namely dance, music and literature, since 1930. He spent decades travelling to remote villages within Karnataka to inspect and study every
Yakṣagāna manuscript, the earliest going back to CE 1651. With his fine literary judgement and aesthetic sensibility, he has traced the changing trends in the performance of Yakṣagāna. He has put together his findings in this work in English. The present volume is a revised edition of his earlier book, with additional material and illustrations.