Historical Development of Indian Music: A Critical Study c8.17

c8.17

The sun-worship was prevalent in the remote antiquity. The sky (*ākāśa*) was conceived as *Varuṇa-devatā* in the early Vedic society and the sun as *Mitra* or *Mithra*, the friend of the universe. Again the sun and the sky were known as the twin god, *Mitra-Varuṇa*. The sky was often looked upon as the ocean of milk or *kṣiroda-samudra* and the sun as the celestial god. The fire-worship gradually evolved as the prototype (*pratinidhi*) of the sun-worship and fire was regarded as the sacred symbol of the sun, nay, the god of the nether world. Different rites and sacrifices (*satra* and *yajña*) evolved. The butter was poured into the sacrificial fire as sacred offering and it was believed that the gods and deities received their oblations through the medium of the flames of the sacrificial fire. They thought that the flames were no other than the tongues of the gods : ‘*viṣṇu-jihvā*’. The *Viṣṇu* was the representative of the sun and the fire. In the mytho-historical literature, *Devī Sarasvatī*, the presiding deity of learning and all arts, was described as the tongue of the sacrificial fire : ‘*agni-jihvā Sarasvatī*’. Along with sacrificial offerings—lays and songs were sung in rhythm, and music was considered as part and parcel of the rites and sacrifices. The songs were accompanied with various musical instruments and the cadences of dancing added to the serenity and beauty of music.