A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c19.s1.44

c19.s1.44

From very early times South India held an important place in the evolution of Indian music. Even the early writer Bharata mentions a melody-mould known as Āndhri-jāti and details of other early southern modes are recorded by later writers like Matanga and Śārngadeva. The large place of choric singing in the religious revival of the seventh and eighth centuries is well-known. The great musician and composer Gopāla Nāyaka was invited to Northern India by Ala-ud-din Khilji at the instance of Amir Khusru. Kallinātha cites a composition of Gopāla Nāyaka called Rāga Kadamba, and Venkatamakhi states that he claimed to be the promulgator of Caturdaṇḍi, that is, a fourfold delineation of Rāga forms in Gita, Prabandha, Thāya, and Ālāpa. The Vaishnava saint Purandara Dāsa was the author of numerous compositions which had a great influence in shaping the tradition of Karnatic music. The four generations of Tallapākkam composers who produced many *kīrtanas* on Lord Venkateśa of Tirupati and a short treatise on the nature and features of *kīrtana* called *Samkīrtana Lakṣaṇa* and the celebrated composer Kṣetrajña of Maruvāpuri (Guntur district) are famous musicians who flourished towards the close of our period.