Ragas and Raginis: A Pictorial and Iconographic Study of Indian Musical Modes Based on Original Sources c6.326

c6.326

for the history of the rāgas. By adopting the data offered by nearly all the earlier texts, the author gives an historical view of the rāgas, and their various classifications as gleaned from the preceding theorists, beginning from Yāṣṭika. In the first text, the author gives various prayer-formulas from earlier authors whose original texts are not otherwise available. In the second text, the author cites variegated forms of 18 different melodies, e.g., 16 forms of Naṭa; 14 forms of Karṇāṭa; 16 forms of Velāvalī; nine forms of Toḍī; and so on; He catalogues 37 varieties of grāma-rāgas with their respective derivatives (vibhāṣās &c.). He gives a very interesting history how the first group of six major-rāgas came to be recognized at first. ‘The ancient authorities had given the status of major rāgas to the following (four): (i) Naṭṭanārāyaṇa, (ii) Megha, (iii) Bhairava, (iv) Śrī-rāga. To this, the grāma-rāga called ‘Pañcama’ was added, and also the rāgāṅga ‘Vasanta’ (thus making a group of six).’¹ Then the author cites four other different groups of six-rāgas, including that of the Rāgārṇava, with their respective rāgiṇīs for each of the five systems. Next, he gives the name of 20 melas: Toḍī, Gauḍī, Varāṭī, Kedāra, Śuddha-nāṭa, Mālava-kaisika, Śrī-rāga, Hammira, Ahirī, Kalyāna, Deśākṣī, Deśīkār, Sāraṅga, Karṇāta, Hijeja, Nādarāmkriyā, Hindola, Mukhārī, and Soma. This is followed by full descriptions of numerous important melodies, mostly accompanied by prayer-formulas. In the third text Anūpa-saṅgītāṅkuśa, the author confines himself to the system of Hanumāna, with slight variations, viz., Sāveri, substituted for Āsāvarī (See Appendix 33). Descriptions of the note-structures of the melodies are borrowed from various earlier authorities. It is obvious that Bhava-bhaṭṭa does not record any new developments, but follows current and prevailing practices. Similarly, the Saṅgīta-dāmodara by Śubhaṅkara (c. 1690) is mostly based on Saṅgīta-darpaṇa and does not offer any new materials or data for the history of rāgas.