• The Sacred Inauguration of the Naṭyasastra Gurukulaṃ at Shree Subramania Seva Samaj Navi Mumbai. Know about the Founding Vision, the event, Mission and Vision, Reflections and Menaka’s Story-A Mirror for Society. The programme included consecratory rites, Vedaghosa, dance offerings.

Pratiṣṭhā Samāroham: A Sacred Inauguration of the Nāṭyaśāstra Gurukulaṃ 

A vision sanctified in sabhā

Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra- November 23, 2025

The Pratiṣṭhā Samāroham of the Nāṭyaśāstra Gurukulaṃ was held at Shree Subramania Seva Samaj, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai. The ceremony consecrated a Gurukulaṃ dedicated to restoring the pedagogic, philosophical, and spiritual essence of Nāṭyaśāstra in contemporary life.

Founding Vision

Conceived by Rohit Viswanath, the Gurukulam responds to the needs of modern society — where tradition must meet emotional resonance, and śāstra must speak to lived experience. Rohit serves as its Yajamāna and Yojaka — roles named by Padma Bhushan Dr. Mrityunjay Athreya — weaving together pedagogy, poetic inquiry, and institutional rhythm with humility and vision.

The Gurukulaṃ is mentored by Dr. M.B. Athreya, whose guidance has shaped its Dhārmic foundations. It receives expert direction from Dr. Padmaja Suresh, Senior Dancer and Director of Aatmalaya, Bengaluru, whose lifelong commitment to Nāṭya Sevā informs its aesthetic and spiritual ethos. The Gurukulaṃ is also blessed by the guidance of Śrī K. V. Subrahmonyan, resident Guru at Śrī Ramanāśramam, Tiruvannamalai — anchoring its journey in silence, surrender, and śāstraic depth.

The Sabhā

The sabhā was graced by Ācārya Śrī K. Ramasubramanian, Institute Chair Professor at IIT Bombay and one of India’s foremost scholars in Sanskrit scientific and Vedantic heritage, as the mukhyātithi. He was received with Pūrṇa Kumbha and Vedic chanting. The programme included consecratory rites, Vedaghosa, dance offerings, pedagogic reflections, and a panel discussion featuring senior practitioners and scholars.

Reflections

In her address, Dr. Padmaja Suresh shared her personal journey through the five roles of Śiṣya, Sādhaka, Śikṣaka, Sevaka, and Śodhaka — each a facet of her lifelong commitment to Nāṭya as a path of Dharma. She paid homage to her father, the celebrated late Chakyar Rajan, who instilled in her the spirit of Nāṭya Sevā, and to her Guru, Śrī Kalyanasundaram, whose offering of free śikṣā exemplified the sacred transmission of art. She reminded the sabhā that the objective of the Veda is the same in kāvya, but expressed sweetly — like a beloved Kānta Saṃhitā.

In his Anugraha Bhāṣaṇam, Ācārya ji emphasised humility in learning, reverence for knowledge holders, and the need to resist commercialisation of sacred wisdom. He also highlighted the challenges that arise in the pursuit of knowledge, and how they may be navigated with clarity and grace. 

The sabhā concluded with dīpārādhana to the temple deities and a musical invocation to the Goddess, leaving participants with a sense of sanctity and continuity.

Vision and Mission of the Gurukulaṃ

The Nāṭyaśāstra Gurukulaṃ is envisioned as a sanctuary for Dhārmic renewal through the arts — where pedagogy becomes transformational, not transactional. Rooted in śāstraic tradition and responsive to contemporary needs, it seeks to:

1. Reclaim rasa-dhvani as a living method of teaching and reflection, restoring aesthetic sensitivity as a foundation for ethical life. 

2. Train students in śāstra, sādhanā, and samvāda, cultivating humility, discipline, and dialogic engagement. 

3. Offer emotionally attuned, spiritually anchored mentorship, nurturing learners as whole beings rather than performers alone. 

4. Create literary and ceremonial offerings that serve as mirrors for personal and collective reflection, inspiring Dhārmic consciousness. 

5. Build bridges between traditional practitioners, scholars, and modern audiences, ensuring continuity and inclusivity. 

6. Promote Dharma and the shaping of a Dhārmic society, where art becomes a vehicle for social reform, ethical responsibility, and communal harmony. 

7. Invoke the vision of Rāma Rājya — an ideal society fashioned through art, where justice, compassion, and Dharma guide public life. 

8. Foster aesthetic leadership development, cultivating artists and teachers who embody responsibility, vision, and the ability to anchor communities in rasa, rhythm, and Dharma.

Menaka’s Story: A Mirror for Society

This vision was embodied during the Samāroham through the story of Menaka, a dancer whose journey mirrors the Gurukulaṃ’s ethos. Through her art, Menaka fashions the ideal society — Rāma Rājya. Once celebrated for her brilliance but estranged from deeper purpose, she reorients her practice — not for applause, but for anugraha; not as performance, but as sādhanā. Narrated in full during the Samāroham and captured concisely in the brochure released by the lotus hands of Ācārya Śrī K. Ramasubramanian, Menaka’s story invited the sabhā to reflect on Nāṭya as a path of Dharma, social renewal, and aesthetic leadership.

Menaka’s story is a collaborative work of Dr. Padmaja Suresh and Rohit Viswanath, developed nearly seven years ago as part of the Tattvāloka campaign Onward March to Rāma Rājya, mentored by Padma Bhushan Dr. Mrityunjay Athreya. The same team — now guided once again by Dr. Athreya — has come together to develop the Nāṭyaśāstra Gurukulaṃ. It is not a new beginning, but a sacred continuity of that original sañkalpa.

The Gurukulaṃ is not merely an institution — it is a vow to restore the sanctity of learning, the rhythm of tradition, and the rasa of relationship. The Pratiṣṭhā Samāroham was its first invocation, received with grace and goodwill. 

We thank all speakers and performing artists for their presence and participation, and look forward to continued collaboration in the Dhārmic unfolding ahead.

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To read article by Ācārya Śrī K. Ramasubramanian