Prahasana is a form of Sanskrit theatre. It can also be explained as 'farce'. It represented reprobates invented by the dramatist, drawn from life, and mostly incorporated wit, humour, and satire. Prakarana, bhana, and. prahasana formed a class in themselves, very often reflecting the social reality of their time and sometimes critiquing it through laughter. Prahasana resembled bhana in the number of sandhis i.e. 'junctures' of plot and lasyanga i.e. feminine components of dance. But the elements essential in vithi were not obligatory. Its principal rasa was hasya or comic.

When the hero was an impudent ascetic, medicant, or Brahman, it created 'pure' prahasana, in one act. Bodhayana's Bhagavadajjukiya i.e. 'The Sage and the Courtesan' and Mahendravikrama's Mattavilasa i.e. 'Intoxicated Delights', both sometimes ascribed to Mahendravikrama in the seventh or eighth century, best exemplify this variety. When a multitude of reprobates was represented, it became a 'mixed' prahasana in several acts.

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