Ragas and Raginis: A Pictorial and Iconographic Study of Indian Musical Modes Based on Original Sources c9.25

c9.25

It is not possible to indicate, in the present state of our knowledge, when the iconography of the rāgas was first evolved and the prayer-verses formulated. All the Sanskrit verses surviving to-day, appear to be very late compositions. The existing body of dhyāna texts show that they were composed at the time when all the three schools of Brahmā, Nārada and Hanumāna were known and practised. For we have different verse-formulas for all the rāgas according to the three schools. Where the conception of a particular rāga in any two schools is identical,—a similar or closely analogous iconographic formula is used. The verses relating to the original six classic rāgas and 36 rāgiṇīs may be very old,—but as new rāgas came into vogue, Sanskrit verses indicating their character were composed at very late times. For instance, the Turuṣka-Gauḍa—which is very well known to have been introduced after Āmīr Khusrau (14th century)