Historical Development of Indian Music: A Critical Study c8.18

c8.18

The ancient authors on music conceived and deified the primal sound, *Nāda*, as a symbol of the goddess Sarasvatī, nay, they personified the unmanifested causal sound (*anāhata Nāda*) as Sarasvatī, with a dynamic spirit and eternal energy. They say that the manifested musical sound (*āhata Nāda*) is surcharged with that divine energy and soothes the aching hearts of worldly men and animals with its manifold manifestations as notes, semitones, colours, pitches, graces, harmony and melody.