Yakshagana - dance drama in Karnataka

Yakshagana is the famous dance drama form of Coastal Karnataka with a tradition going to the 16th Century. There is mention of this style is Kannada Literature of the Tenth and the Twelfth century. In the 16th Century, the poet Ratnakar Varni speaks of their form in his composition "Bharateshavaibhava".

There into hundred Yakshagana opera plays written since the 16th Century. The plays are fantasies dealing with heroes gods and demons from our myths and legends. The medium of music dance and literature is fully exploited in this form.