Dasharupakam (Daśarūpakam) is a treatise on the structure and rules (Lakshana or Prakarana grantha) for popular theatre and drama presentations of the time, written by Dhananjaya in the 10th century.
He however in his own words says that he has attempted to present the same in an ordered and concise fashion in his book, so it can be consumed by common folk.
The Dasharupakam comprises four chapters,[2] each termed as Prakaasha, and has about 300 karikaas (verses) in total, as opposed to the 6000 of the Natya Shastra.
In the field of Sanskrit literature it is tradition to use unique word to refer to each chapter in a book.
The author treats Nrutyam,Nruttham as components of a rupakam' only (play); The first chapter describes the rules for rupakam, they key elements of Drama (Vastu-the plot, Netaa(the protagonist), and Rasa (the emotive aspect)).