Much work has been done on Indian literature in English on the basis of analysis through the tools of Western critical methods. The “classical Indian tradition” is very rich and consists of perception and intuition which constitute the best alternative to Western critical theories; but due to the colonial after-effects we fail to appreciate and recognize our centuries-old classical tradition of critical theories. Sanskrit criticism with its beginnings in the Vedic period, kept surprisingly alive until the 17th century, presents a remarkable picture of continuity despite its diverse currents. Diversity itself is part of its spectacular richness, depth and complexity. A body of criticism that offered vitally important theories such as rasa, alamkara, riti, dhvani, vakrokti and auchitya cannot be allowed to become obsolete and antiquarian. Aiming to provide an example of how efficiently an Indian critical theory can analyze and bring out the beauty of poetic expression, the present study is an application of Kuntaka's Vakrokti Siddhānta to Girish Karnad's play Naga-mandala. poetic expression at six levels: phonetic, lexical, grammatical, sentence, episodic and compositional as a whole. These six levels as defined by Kuntaka in Vakrotijivitam are: varna vinyāsa- vakratā (phonetic obliquity), pada -purvarddha- vakratā (lexical obliquity), pada-paraddha- vakratā (grammatical obliquity), vakya- vakratā (sentential obliquity), prakarana- vakratā (episodic obliquity) and prabandha-vakratā (compositional obliquity). Let's first analyze the work from the point of view of phonetic obliquity. In phonetic obliquity, similar or identical phonemes are artistically arranged so as to c...... in the center of the paper ......to make an evaluation of literature written in English. It is notable to note that these theories are more important than their counterparts i.e. Western theories. Works Cited1Girish Karnad, Three Plays: Naga-Mandala, Hayavadana, Tughlaq (NewDelhi: Oxford University Press, 2000), 45. The verbatim citation to be in the text of the document will be given below.2 bhinnayorlinga yoryasyam samanadhikaranyatah / kapi sobhabhyudeyatyosa lingavaicitrayavakrata /sati lingantareyatra strilinga caprayujyate/ sobhanisapattaye yasamannameiva stritipessalam/visistam yojyate lingamanyasamin samabhavatyapi/ yatravichittaye sanya vacyau cittàanusararatah/(VJ II, 24-25)3supa-tin-sambandhais tatha karakasaktibhin / krt-taddhita-samasaisca dyotya laks yakramah kvacit / oa sabdannipatoparargakaladibhih Prayeruktairabhivyafyamano /Dhanyaloka. and. Acarya Visveswara, 271.