Religious Festivals and Performing Arts Ramlila, Raslila, Yakshagana, and Kathakali as Devotional Theatre

Abstract

This study explores the intimate relationship between religious festivals and performing arts in India, focusing on Ramlila, Raslila, Yakshagana, and Kathakali as exemplary forms of devotional theatre. Each of these traditions, rooted in mythological narratives and spiritual practices, demonstrates how performance transcends entertainment to become an act of worship, community participation, and cultural preservation. Ramlila dramatizes the life of Lord Rama during Navaratri and Dussehra, while Raslila enacts the divine love of Krishna in the Braj region, embodying the aesthetics of bhakti and rasa. Yakshagana in Karnataka combines folk dance, music, and drama to narrate epic tales, whereas Kathakali in Kerala offers a highly stylized classical expression of mythological storytelling through gesture and costume. Together, these art forms exemplify the fusion of ritual, narrative, and spectacle, sustaining collective religious consciousness while adapting to contemporary cultural contexts. The research underscores their enduring significance as living traditions of devotional theatre.