Sabhā

For the district of Libya, see Sabha District.

A sabhā or sabhaa in Ancient India was an assembly, congregation, or council. Personified as a deity, Sabhā is also the name of a daughter of Prajāpati in the Atharvaveda. In Epic Sanskrit, the term refers also to an assembly hall or council-chamber, and to a hostel, eating-house, or gambling-house. While the term Jansabhā refers to large public gathering.

The Mahābhārata, Book 2, has a Sabhā Parva or Sabhā episode, which describes the sabhā under King Yudhishthira. The word sabha originates from Sanskrit, meaning "assembly," "gathering," or "council". It also refers to the hall where such meetings take place and is found in modern Hindi and other Indian languages through a Sanskrit root.

A sabhā in south India, particularly in Tamil Nādu, popularly refers to a body or organization (goṣṭhi) involved in the promotion of fine arts such as Carnatic music, Bhāratanāṭyam, Drama among numerous other arts. These Sabhās are concentrated mostly in and around Mylapore in Chennai and are instrumental in ensuring that connoisseurs (known as Rasikās) from all parts of the world are treated with variety during the Music and Dance Season of Mārgazhi (December / January mostly).

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