The Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India and the Deccan c6.22

c6.22

The exact definition of what constituted a s'ruti is difficult to determine, but it is thus vaguely given by the Sangíta Ratnâvali:—"A s'ruti is formed by the smallest intervals of sound, and is perceivable by the ear; it is of twenty-two kinds" (i.e., as shown above); also "every distinct audible sound is a s'ruti; it is a s'ruti because it is to be heard by the ear."