Svarup

(“own-form”) In popular devotional dramas such as the Ram Lila, which is
based on the story of the Ramayana,
svarup is the name for the child-actors
(most often brahmin boys) playing the
parts of the gods and goddesses.
Viewing these performances is not simply entertainment but also an act of religious devotion, since such dramas are
considered to be ways in which the gods
reveal themselves to their devotees
(bhakta). When the actors are in makeup and in character—or wearing
crowns, as in the case of the Krishna
lilas in the town of Brindavan—they are
actually considered to be forms of the
deity, revealed within the context of the
lila. As one sign of this status, a regular
feature of such performances is time set
aside for darshan, in which the actors sit
perfectly still for the viewers to view
them as an act of worship, in the same
way that people would interact with an
image in a temple.