Synopsis This book discusses the history and origins of the term and form Sangitaka of the post Bharata period. It examines the suitability of the term ‘opera’ to define the Sangitaka and establishes a distinction between the opera in the west and Sangitanatakam of South India. The work deals not only with traditional theatres and operas of South India but also of North India. The book is the first work to deal with the music contents of the traditional theatres of South India exhaustively. “Dr. Durga has made an exhaustive and systematic study of source material and has covered very wide ground. This books is a great contribution to the literature on the subject and well documented. It contains a large collection of interesting data, it would serve as good guide to stimulate further research in this fascinating field of study”.