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History of Classical Sanskrit Literature c40: Chapter XXVI. Sangīta (Music and Dancing)

History of Classical Sanskrit Literature c40

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English

Chapter XXVI. Sangīta (Music and Dancing)

c40.1

Sangīta

c40.3

**973. Sangīta** comprehends Gīta, Nāṭya aad Nart na. So says Catura-Dāmodara :

c40.4

गीतं वाद्यं नर्तनं च त्रयं सङ्गीतमुच्यते ।
मार्गदेशीविभागेन सङ्गीतं द्विविधं स्मृतम् ।
यत्पुरा ब्रह्मणोद्दिष्टं प्रयुक्तं भरतादिभिः ।
महादेवस्य पुरतस्तन्मार्गाख्यं विदुर्बुधाः ।
तत्तद्देशस्थया रीत्या यत्स्याल्लोकानुरञ्जनम् ।
देशे देशे तु सङ्गीतं यत्तद्देशीति गीयते ॥

c40.5

Śṛṅgāraśekhara thus explains¹ भरत

c40.6

¹ Tanj, XVI. 7247.

c40.7

भकारो भावनैर्युक्तोरेफो रागेण मिश्रितः ।
तकारन्तालमित्याहुर्भरतार्थविचक्षणाः ॥

c40.8

The divine origin of Saṅgīta is often referred to with veneration by several authors. In Bharatalakṣaṇa of unknown authorship, it is said :²

c40.9

² Tanj, XVI. 7245.

c40.10

आङ्गिकं भुवनं यस्य वाचिकं सर्ववाङ्मयम् ।
आहार्यं चन्द्रतारादि तन्नुमः सात्त्विकं शिवम् ॥
वागीशो भरताय नाट्यनिगमं संदिष्टवान्प्रेमतौ
गन्धर्वैः सममीश्वरस्य पुरतो नाट्यं ततानाशु सः ।
स्मृत्वा तण्डुमजिग्रहत्तदखिलं शम्भुर्मुनिभ्यः पुनः
सन्दिष्टं भरताय तेन भुवने प्रख्यापितं तैरिदम् ॥

c40.11

Kohala in Tālalakṣaṇa says :³

c40.12

³ DC, XXII. 8726.

c40.13

तकारश्शङ्करः प्रोक्तो लकारश्शक्तिरुच्यते ।
शिवशक्तिसमायोगात्तालनामाभिधीयते ॥

c40.14

In dealing with different kinds of Rāgas, forms and attributes, Rāgasāgara records a discourse between Dattila and Nārada giving Ṛṣi, Chandas and Dhyāna of each rāga and predicating that Sangītaśāstra conduces to bliss temporal and eternal :¹

c40.15

¹ *DC*, XXII. 8743.

c40.16

एतानि सर्वरागाणां ध्यानानि मुनिभिः पुरा ।
कथ्यन्ते सर्वशास्त्रेषु निश्चितानीति सर्वदा ।
एतत् सङ्गीतशास्त्रन्तु सर्वकामफलप्रदम् ॥
अनन्तरूपारूपाख्यां रागभासिताम् ।
तदाख्या(ख्या)यनमात्रेण भुक्तिमुक्तिफलं लभेत् ॥
पुत्रपौत्रकरं नृणां राज्ञां राज्यप्रदायकम् ।
एतच्छास्त्रं सदा विष्णूहरयोः प्रीतिदं भवेत् ॥

c40.17

974. ŚĀRṄGADEVA commences his work thus :

c40.18

ब्रह्मग्रन्थिरुतानुगतेना चित्तेन हृत्पङ्कजे
सूरीणामनुरञ्जकं श्रुतिपदं योऽयं स्वयं राजते ।
यस्माद्ग्रामविभागवर्णरचनालंकारजातिक्रमो
वन्दे नादतनुं तमुद्धुरजगद्गीतं मुदे शंकरम् ॥

c40.19

In his commentary on Saṅgītaraṭnākara Gaṅgārāma thus describes Sītā :

c40.20

जीयाद्राघवसुन्दरी कुलपतिर्या नादभूमीश्वरी
या सादिस्वरनूपुरारणिर्तयुक्ता नोभूवालापकी: (?) ।
ग्रामादित्रिकसप्तकत्वधिमयी मूर्छासमुच्छ्रायगा
सा श्रीचक्रमयीशितुः श्रुतिगुणीभूता विदेहात्मजा ॥

c40.21

975. God Śiva in his well-known aspect of Naṭarāja is pre-eminently the Lord of Dances.² Tradition attributes Nāṭyaśāstra in its earliest from to his divine authorship. It was the rattle of the drum (Ḍhakkā) played at the end of Śiva's dance that once gave out 9 plus 5 sounds, which constituted the Māheśvarasūtras forming the basis of Pāṇini's gramatical aphorisms.

c40.22

² Definitions and particulars of varieties of Śiva's dances are given in T. A. Gopinatha Rao's *Elements of Hindu Iconography*.

c40.23

The Aphorisms¹ are:

c40.24

| i | अइउ ण् | viii | झभ ञ् |
| ii | ऋऌ क् | ix | घढध ष् |
| iii | एओ ङ् | x | जबगडद श् |
| iv | ऐऔ च् | xi | खफछठथचटत व् |
| v | हयवर ट् | xii | कप य् |
| iv | ल ण् | xiii | शषस र् |
| vii | ञमङणन म् | xiv | हल् |

c40.25

नृत्तावसाने नटराजराजो ननाद ढक्कां नवपञ्चवारम् ।
उद्धर्तुकामस्सनकादिसिद्धानेतद्विमर्शे शिवसूत्रजालम् ॥

c40.26

Thus Naṇḍikeśvara begins his Kārikas of 27 Ślokas on Māheśvara-sūtras, and expounds their mystical singificance. Nāgeśa extracts this first verse in his Śabḍeṇḍuśekhara as from *Naṇḍikeśvarakārikā*. There are some commentaries on the Kārikas, one of which is by Abhimanyu.¹

c40.27

Thus Śiva is the father of all that relates to *nāḍa* or sound, and so of the sciences of grammar and music. In Ruḍra-ḍamarūḍbhava-sūtra-vivaraṇa,¹ there is an elaboration of this tradition that those sounds are the origin of music. The Nepal Library has another work Bharaṭanāma-ḍīpakanāḍa-sāstra.²

c40.28

¹ On the linguistic aspect of these aphorisms, see Introduction.

c40.29

¹ *CC*, I, 277; *BTC*, 41; *Oudh*, XIX, 54.

c40.30

¹ *Bik*, 519.

c40.31

² *Nepal*, 281.

c40.32

"The dance represents Siva's five activities (*Panchakriya*), namely, *Srishti* (creation), *Sthiti* (preservation), *Samhara* (destruction), *Tirobhava* (illusion) and *Anugraha* (salvation), symbolished in the iconographic equivalents of the sounding drum, the hand of hope, the hand holding fire, the foot trampling on the demon Muyalaga, and the uplifted left foot. Its deepest significance is felt when it is realised that this dance takes place within the heart and the self. Everywhere is God and Everywhere is the heart. The essential significance of Siva's Dance is threefold: first, it is the image of Rhythmic Activity as the Source of all movement within the Cosmos which is represented by the Arch (or the *prabhamandala*); secondly, the purpose of his dance is to release the countless souls of men from the snare of illusion; thirdly, the place of the Dance, Chidambaram, the centre of the Universe, is within the heart. Of all the impressions which the pilgrims to the sacred shrines along the Western Ghats carried home with them, the most vivid must have been the gorgeous spectacle of the sun in its descent towards the ocean, illuminating tier after tier of the rocky precipices and the forest-clad ravines with its slanting rays of crimson and burnished gold, until at the time of evening prayer (*sandhyā*) it touched the far off sea-horizon and began the sacred Dance in response to the ceaseless time-beat of the waves—the Dance of the Cosmic Rhythm which all the Rishis and all the Devas knew. In fair weather, it was only a gentle swaying moment like the fluttering of the falling leaves in the forest on a still autumn evening, for Siva then only manifested his benign aspect. But even the setting sun flashed fierce red rays through banks of purple cloud and Siva’s mighty drum began its thundering beat along the shore, while the long snake-like rollers sowed their glittering teeth, the Great God revealed himself in his tremendous world-shaking dance, the *Tāndavam* which sumed up the threefold processes of Nature, creation, preservation and destruction; and woe betide the the unhappy mariner who was whirled within the ambit of that awful Dance. The corpses strewn along the shore next day increased the unrelenting toll, which the Lord of Death always demands from his worshippers. Such was the constant mental stimulus which the brahman at his evening meditation on the Western Ghats received from the wonderful nature he saw around him; until the Sacred Dance of the Cedic ritual with which he responded to the prompting of his spiritual self became interwoven with his philosophy and took a permanent place among the temple icons of the Deccan and Southern India, the natural imagery being translated into metaphysical concepts, for the brahman like the Platonic philosopher, used the beauties of earth as steps by which he climbed upwards to the higher planes of thought.”²

c40.33

² E. Havell’s *Monograph on The Hymalayas in Indian Art.*

c40.34

**976.** MṚDAṄGALAKṢAṆA, an anonymous work in Purāṇic style, thus gives a legendary origin to the musical drum, *muraja*;

c40.35

पुरा मुरासुरो नाम देवानामान्तको बली ।
वृत्रासुरस्तु बलवानितावु (भावु) तबलो तथा ॥
सत्रयागप्रवृत्ते तं गङ्गातीरे मनोहरे ।
हिमवत्प्रान्तकान्तारे मुनिभिः कलिते पले ॥

c40.36

¹ A. K. Coomaraswami’s article in Siddhāntadīpikā quoted by T. A. Gopinatha Rao, *l. c.* II. 231.

c40.37

पुरोडाशनिमित्तेषु देवेस्साकं नियोज्यतः ।
तत्काले तु महाविष्णुस्सर्वलोकैक‌रक्षकः ॥

c40.38

मुरासुरं प्रगृह्याशु हृत्वपादौ (हृत्वा पादौ) (तथा शिरः) ॥
चर्मणा तच्छिरस्थेन वामपार्श्वद्वये मिथः ॥

c40.39

तत्पादचर्मणो बध्य चतुर्विंशतिसङ्ख्यया ।
तत्कुक्षिस्येन पिण्डेन

c40.40

मुरस्य देहं हे नन्दिन् द्विमुखे कण्ठविष्टरे ।
मुखध्वनिर्महानासात् पृष्ठे धिमिधिमा इति ॥

c40.41

एवं कृतं मया चाथ तकादत्तं महारवम् ।

c40.42

\* \* \*

c40.43

तन्यतां भरतोक्तेन शास्त्रमार्गेण सद्ध्वनिः ।
महाप्रलयकालस्य ताण्डवस्य च सन्निधौ ।
मृदङ्गं वादयामास महानन्दी लयानुगम् ॥

c40.44

977. Vedas are eternal and at the beginning of every cycle of creation after a deluge are only revealed. Such is the belief of the Hindu. Vedās are self-contained in any branch of knowledge and to Vedas therefore the Hindu looks to the original source of any science or art.¹

c40.45

¹ "Music is eternal. In Greece, Pythogoras is said to have brought music under arithmetical rule and found that the seven planets were ever related to one another as the seven notes and as such, produced in their movements "the Music of the Spheres" which in India, the Siva's Dance or rather the mystic dance of Nataraja was perhaps intended to symbolise. One thing is certain that in both, Greece and India, music has come down from the beginning of the world and is deemed to be as eternal as God. Indeed in India music is ever associated with Saraswati." Extract from *Hindu* (19--9--1922) of lecture by M. S. Ramaswamia Aiyar.

c40.46

"The first public use of music by every nation has been in religious rites and ceremonies. The ancient Egyptians celebrated their festival with hymns. The classic Greeks used music in rhapsodising the Iliad. The Chinese, the Tartars and even the Negroes solemnised their worship with songs and dances. The reason is obvious. By music alone such rites and ceremonies and such worship could be amplified and prolonged : and by music alone some state of feeling could be raised and sustained in a great crowd of people. Even in Italy, music—when it revived in 33 A.D.—was used only in connection with the church. The Aryans of India did not form an exception to the rule but chanted Vedas—Ṛik, Yajur and Sāma, on all occasions of festivals.”

c40.47

978. The literature of the Vedas reveals a good knowledge of music and musical instruments. Besides Sāmaveda, of which the mode of expression is musical chant, we have in the rituals of the Yajus and Brāhmaṇas and Sūtras following Vedas mention of occasions in all sacrifices and many household ceremonies (such as Seemantoṇnayanam)¹ when Vīṇāgānam, and particular tunes too, are prescribed. Passages in Yajus indicate the existence of professional singers and it is stated in one place that women are enamoured of musicians:—

c40.48

¹ Apastamba prescribes in the ceremony of Simantam गायतमिति वीणागाथिनौ संशास्ति—*Gṛhyasūtra*, 14—4.

c40.49

i. तैत्तिरीयब्राह्मणे, iii—9.
> अपवा एतस्मच्छ्री,राष्ट्रं क्रामति ।
> योश्वमेधेन यजते ब्राह्मणौ वीणागाथिनौ गायदतः।
> श्रिया वा एतद्रूपम् । यद्वीणा ।
> श्रियमेवास्मिन् तद्धत्तः ।
> यदा खलु वै पुरुषः श्रियमश्नुते ।
> वीणास्मै वाद्यते ।
> तदाहुः, यदुभौ ब्राह्मणौ गायेताम् ।
> प्रभगं शुकास्माच्छ्रीस्स्यात् ।
> न वै ब्राह्मणे श्रीरमत इति । ब्राह्मणोन्यो गायेत् । राजन्योन्यः
> ब्रह्म वै ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रम राजन्यः ॥

c40.50

ii. यजुस्संहितायां, vii—5.
> उदकुंभानधिनिधाय दास्यो मार्जालीयं परिनृत्यन्ति पदो निध्नतीरिदं मधु गायत्योम॒धु वै देवानां परममन्नाद्यं परममेवान्नाद्यमवरुंध पथोनिन्रन्ति महीयामेवैषु दधति ॥

c40.51

iii. यजुस्संहितायां, vi—1.
> अगायन्देवास्स देवाग् गायत उपावर्तत तस्माद्गायन्तम् स्त्रियः कामयन्ते कामुका एनग्ग्-स्त्रियो भवन्ति ॥

c40.52

979. “The Vedic Index shows a very wide variety of musical instruments in use in Vedic times. Instruments of percussion are represented by the *dundubhi*, an ordinary drum; the *ādambara*, another kind of drum; *Bhumi-dundubhi*, an earthdrum made by digging a hole in the ground and covering it with hide; *vanaspati*, a wooden drum; *aghati*, a cymbal used to accompany dancing. Stringed instruments are represented by the *kanda-vina*, a kind of lute; *vana*, a lute of 100 strings; and the *vina*, the present instrument of that name in India. This one instrument alone is sufficient evidence of the development to which the art had attained even in those early days. There are also a number of wind instruments of the flute variety, such as the *tunava*, a wooden flute; the *nadi*, a reed fluute; *bakurt*, whose exact shape is unknown."¹

c40.53

¹ Popley, *Indian Music*, 8.

c40.54

**980.** "THE SAMAN CHANT pivoted on two notes called *udātta*—'raised'—the higher one and the *anudatta*—'not raised'—the lower tone. In course of time the interval between these was established as a fourth. Then, later, the notes of this tetrachord received distinct names. The highest was *prathama*—'first'—then *dvitiya*, *tritiya*, *chaturtha*, down the scale. These names are found first in the *Rikpratisakhya*. Later, a note called *svarita* is also mentioned, this seems to be graded *udatta*, thus indicating a note higher than the *prathama*. Later still we find this note definitely established and called *krushta*—'high' (*Taittriya-pratisakhya*, 400). About the same time two other notes lower than *chaturtha* appear. These are called *mandra*—'low,' and *atisvara*—'extremity.' This last was an extra note and was usually sung only in the cadence of the Saman chant. So we find the whole series of the seven notes, or *svaras* as they were called, of the octave."²

c40.55

² "Sama was the really musical portion of the Vedas and was indeed a mere melody for which words were found in the Rik or Yajur. It was mainly vocal and its scale—like its Greek prototype—was conceived downwards as a descending series, namely, G. R. S. N. Indeed this scale was a primal tetrachord* of Samagamanam to the notes whereof the following names were respectively appended in those days, viz., Prathama, Dwithiya, Thrithiya and Chathurthi. Later on, a higher note M was added to which name of Krushta was given and two lower notes D and P called Mandra and Athisvara completed the scale of Samagamanam. Rikprathisakya however makes mention of three voice Registers or Sthayees as we call them; the Ramayana of Jathis and the Mahabharata of Gandharagrama." \* Tetrachord means group of four notes.

c40.56

**981.** Naraḍīyāśikṣā thus connects the seven svaras of Sāmagāna with the seven svaras of classical music:

c40.57

यस्सामगानां प्रथमस्स वेणोर्मध्यमस्स्मृतः।
योऽसौ द्वितीयो गान्धारस्तृतीयस्त्वृषभस्स्मृतः।
चतुर्थष्षड्ज इत्याहुः पञ्चमो धैवतो भवेत्।
षष्ठो निषादो विज्ञेयस्सप्तमः पञ्चमस्स्मृतः॥

c40.58

| *Sāman.* | *Classical.* |
| Swara 1 | Madhyama (म) |
| ,, 2 | Gāndhāra (ग) |
| ,, 3 | Ṛṣabha (रि) |
| ,, 4 | Sadja (स) |
| ,, 5 | Dhaivata (ध) |
| ,, 6 | Niṣāda (नि) |
| ,, 7 | Pancama (प) |

c40.59

Thus the first hymn of Sāmasamhitā may be sung thus :

c40.60

ओग्न इ । आयाहि इवो इतो या आयि । तोया आ इ ।
सासास । गागागरिम(ममामागाग । सासागाग ॥

c40.61

Nāradīyaśikṣa thus describes the svaras:

c40.62

षड्जं मयूरो वदति गावो रम्भन्ति वर्षभम् ।
अजाविके तु गान्धारं क्रौञ्चो वदति मध्यमम् ॥
पुष्पसाधारणे काले कोकिलो वक्ति पञ्चमम् ।
अश्वस्तु धैवतं वक्ति निषादं वक्ति कुञ्जरः ॥

c40.63

Pāṇinīyaśikṣā thus describes the sources of svaras :

c40.64

उदात्तश्चानुदात्तश्च स्वरितश्च स्वरास्त्रयः ।
ह्रस्वो दीर्घः प्लुत इति कालतो नियमा अचि ।
उदात्ते निषादगान्धारावनुदात्त ऋषभधैवतौ ।
स्वरितप्रभवा ह्येते षड्जमध्यमपञ्चमाः ॥

c40.65

**982.** "The velocity of slowness of sound" observed Sir W. Jones, "must depend, in a certain ratio, upon the rarification and condensation of the air, so that their motion must be quicker in summer than in spring or autumn and much quicker than in winter Hence the primary Ragas of the Hindus were arranged according to the number of Indian seasons. This restriction of the six Ragas to the six seasons, added on to the fact that the subject-matter of the songs sung therein were nothing else than that of the Vedas, kept the running water of music crystal and pure. It was however, when the Raginis and Puthras were introduced, that foreign elements, for the first time, mixed themselves into the original system and the strict discipline of the Indian music became not a little relaxed, just as the Italian music deteriorated immediately after the introduction of Madrigals into it. Thenceforward the Indian music carried with it a fatal tendency which for a time threatened to vitiate or destroy the whole system, viz., the tendency of developing the ‘secular,’ as opposed to the ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ phase of music and of thus leading men and women astray to the baser side of human nature. The great Manu himself became afraid of it and wrote ‘A student of Vedas must avoid ointments, collyrium, lust, anger, greed, dancing and (mark !) music.’ The Bhakthi revival was expected to overhaul the whole system and bring it back to run in the proper groove. But, unfortunately, Buddhism and Jainism began to counteract the force of the Bhakthi revival. The former looked askance on music, while the latter gave it a positive set-back. The reason is that both Buddhism and Jainism developed an extremely perverted view on the philosophy of Desire. One of their chief tenets, it is well-known, was the extinction of desire. They worked up this tenet a little too much and argued in a vicious circle thus: ‘the rose is good but the thorn is bad; since they persist in growing together, both of them must alike be destroyed.’ The idea of plucking the rose and chucking the thorn was not within their purview. Hence, together with thn thorn of its baser side, the very rose of music was attempted to be destroyed. Thank God that the Guardians of Humanity deported Buddhism to East Asia and interned Jainism in Mount Abu. With the disappearance of these two enemies of music, sangītham began to flourish again in India. To save it from slipping again into the hands of the dregs of society, high-minded sages like Bharatha took it up, enhanced its dignity and gave it a more and more scientific aspect.”

c40.66

983\. The creator formulated the four Upavedas—Āyus, Dhanus, Gāndharva and Artha—from the four Vedas. These are the sciences of medicine, war, music and wealth. Gāndhava the fourth, embraces a wide sphere, singing, acting, dancing etc.

c40.67

Bharata says:

c40.68

जग्राह पाठ्यं ऋग्वेदात्सामभ्यो गीतमव च ।
यजुर्वेदादभिनयं रसानाधर्वणादपि ॥

c40.69

Gāndharva treats of songs, dances and instruments. Early literature on the subject which appears to have been very extensive is lost and its vastness is seen from the description preserved in some Tantras.

c40.70

984\. Tantras are of Purāṇic antiquity and were composed when the sectarian forms of worship came into prominence. Music and dancing are to this day a particular feature in the daily worship of deities and to this ritual must be referred the institution of Devadāsis, that is, unmarried damsels devoted to the service of God. During these worships the gods are invoked, particularly the guardians of the quarters, the Dikpālas, and during such invocation the times and tunes adopted are those dedicated to or liked by the particular God. Among the instruments used in these festivals are the pipes and drums and all available genius is displayed at the closing ceremonial of the day, when the deity retires to rest. It is in these Tantras that much of the old musical literature is preserved. Among them Yāmalāṣṭakaṭanṭras is valuable for the purpose of literary history. It is as it were an elaborate index of contents of Sanskrit works on all branches of knowledge.

c40.71

Of the 32 Yāmalaṭanṭras, some treat of music and the passages are worth quotation. Among the Śākṭeyaṭanṭras, Uddīśāmahoḍayam is valuable and in it we find a succinct description of 16 musical instruments. These ṭanṭrams mention the names of various early views of Umāmaheśvara, Bharaṭa, Nanḍi, Vāsuki, Nāraḍa, Vyāsa, Durgā, Yāṣṭika, Daṭṭila and this mention conclusively determines the age of those writers as of a very remote antiquity.

c40.72

Yāmalāṣṭakaṭanṭra says:

c40.73

गान्धर्ववेदः षट्‌त्रिंशत्सहस्रग्रन्थसम्मितः।
यत्र सप्तस्वरोत्पत्तिकथनं परिकीर्त्यते।
वीणातन्त्रं कलातन्त्रं रागतन्त्रं मनुत्तमम्।
मिश्रतन्त्रं तालतन्त्रं गीतिकातन्त्रमेव च।
लासिकोल्लासिकातन्त्रं मेळतन्त्रं महत्तरम्।
जातिमल्हलयस्थानं मार्गाङ्गप्रक्रिया किया।
कालज्ञानं वाद्यवल्लीत्रिभिन्नाध्याय एव च।
तुरङ्गगतिसारङ्गसिंहलीलाविजृम्भणम्।
अङ्गहारप्रतिषेधाध्यायस्संक्षोभणाक्रियाः।
एवमादीनि गान्धर्ववेदे सन्ति सहस्रशः॥

c40.74

Of the 32 Yāmalaṭanṭras, the 9th, Kalāṭanṭra, treats of Rasa, Bhāva, Nāṭya and Kāmasāsṭra, and the 19th, Vīnāṭanṭra, embraces the whole field of music:

c40.75

एकोनविंशं वीणाख्यतन्त्रं लक्षप्रमाणकम्।
नादब्रह्मानन्दसिद्धियेन सिद्धयति वै नृणाम्।
निषादादिस्वरोत्पत्तिर्गत्युत्पत्तेर्हि लक्षणम्।
रागाणां भेदकथनं रागकालानुकीर्तनम्।

c40.76

ध्वनिप्रभेदकथनं मिश्रामिश्राववर्हणम् ।
तालश्रुतिलयादीनामुद्भवश्वोपवर्णनम् ।
चतुर्विधानां वीणानां लक्षणं तन्त्रिलक्षणम् ।
किन्नरस्वरयन्त्रादिलक्षणं मेळलक्षणम् ।
षड्गीतादिप्रकथनमुत्पत्तिस्थानवर्णनम् ।
एवमादीनि कीर्त्यन्ते यस्मिन् तन्त्रे सहस्रशः ॥

c40.77

Trōṭālatantra, the 28th, deals with Tāla :

c40.78

त्रोताळनामकं तन्त्रमष्टाविंशं सलक्षकम् ।
यस्मिन् भरतसर्वस्वं साक्षाच्छिवमुखोद्गतम् ।
लक्षणं ताळभेदाना मङ्गुळोन्मानलक्षणम् ।
मार्गक्रियाङ्गजातीनां कलाग्रहालयोद्भवः ।
चादिसप्तताळानां तद्भेदानां च लक्षणम् ।
वैनाथिकानामेशानां वाग्भवानां च लक्षणम् ।
अन्येषां ताळकोटीनां शिवागमसुवां तथा ।
विधातृभिन्नलीलानां यस्मिन् तन्त्रे प्रकीर्त्यते ॥

c40.79

**985. Uddīsamahamantrodaya**¹ appears to have been a work devoted to the rituals of worship of Śiva under the name of Uddīsa. As usual with such works there are chapters in it, dealing elaborately with musical instruments, 16 in number in 16 separate chapters. The verse is fine and is in various metres.²

c40.80

¹ *TC*, III. 3987. The name Tālavidhāna there given does not seem to be correct.

c40.81

² The instruments are all named; Tālavilayam, Sallarī, Paṭana, Maḍḍala, Bherīvigna, Himiḷa, Thuṭhuka, Mithakkatha, Ḍamaru, Murava, Angulisphoṭa, Vīṇa, Ālamani, Rāvaṇahastaka, Udyanta, Ghoṣavatī, Brahmaka and each instrument has different kinds.

c40.82

Kāśyapaṭanṭra has similar chapters on the subject.

c40.83

**986. Indian and Western Music.** Popley sums up the main differences thus :

c40.84

1. "The dominant factor in Indian music is melody, while that of western music is harmony. In the one case notes are related to definite notes of a *rage*, and in the other case to varying chords. Indian melody is produced by the regulated succession of concordant notes, while western harmony arises from the agreeable concord of various related notes. As a result of this differentiation, Indian music has developed solely along the lines of melody, while the greatest development of western music has taken place in the region of harmony. Does the fact that western music has developed a second dimension, so to speak, make it more advanced than Indian music? Can we call Indian Music has taken one line of development, that of melody, and in order to add to its charm and variety, has developed every phase of it, including time measure in ways that have never occured to the western mind. These are two lines of development, and perhaps one has travelled as far along its line, as the other upon its line.

c40.85

2. Then again, Indian melody is cast in one definite mood throughout, and both time and tune are wrought into one homogeneous whole. Variations are not allowed to alter that mood, which persists with the *rage*. The balance of the music is obtained partly by time variations and partly by grace. In western music mood is used to articulate the balance of the whole piece. The particular times for singing the different *ragas*, the *rage* pictures and the emotions associated with them all fit into this idea to the Indian melody.

c40.86

3. Then again and perhaps most important of all, in Indian music the salient notes are fixed by long association and tradition, and any alteration of such saliency is not as a rule possible in a melody. The relation of the individual notes to one another is settled by ancient tradition. In western music, on the other hand, the salient notes are made by the momentary impulse of the harmony or of the counterpoint, and it is the cluster of notes rather than the individual note which has special value.

c40.87

4. Further in Indian composition the melody is dependent upon the relation to certain fixed notes which vary according to the *rage*. It sets no store by any progress through notes which suggest harmony, whereas western melodies tend to circle round the notes which are harmonically related to the tonic. As a result imitation at different levels, so common in western music, is very rarely found in Indian music, and the two tetrachords are seldom identical in the character of their constituents.

c40.88

5. Indian music lays great stress on grace, gamaka—'curves of sound.' These are not mere accidental ornaments as in western music, but essential parts of the melodic structure.

c40.89

6. The use of microtones in Indian music and the general absence of the tempered scale gives a very distinct flavour to it. To those whose ears have always been tuned to certain fixed intervals, this occurance of quite different intervals, some of them most strange to Western ears, alters the whole feeling of the music. Mrs. Mann says 'Western music is music without microtones, as Indian music is music without harmony.'

c40.90

7. Another difference, that has a great deal to do with our appreciation or otherwise of music, is the matter of emphasis upon certain external qualities. Western music rightly has come to lay very great emphasis upon tone and timbre, whereas Indian music passes these by on the other side and gives all attention to execution and accuracy. The melody is not determined by canons of charm or pleasure, but by adherence to certain fixed standards; and the quality of tone in which the melody is sung or played does not have the importance it does in the west.

c40.91

987.

c40.92

RABINDRANATH TAGORE goes down to the fundamental causes of the difference between music of East and West :

c40.93

"It seems to me that Indian music concerns itself more with human experience as interpreted by religion, than with experience in an everyday sense. For us, music has above all a transcendental significance. It disengages the spiritual from the happenings of life ; it sings of the relationship of the human soul with the soul of things beyond. The world by day is like European music a flowing concourse of vast harmony, composed of concord and discord and many disconnected fragments. And the night world is our Indian music ; one pure, deep and tender *rāga*. They both stir us, yet the two are contradictory in spirit. But that cannot be helped. At the very root nature is divided into two, day and night, unity and variety, finite and infinite. We men of India live in the realm of night ; we are overpowered by the sense of the One and Infinite. Our music draws the listener away beyond the limits of everyday human joys and sorrows, and takes us to that lonely region of renunciation which lies at the root of the universe, while European music leads us a variegated dance through the endless rise and fall of human grief and joy."

c40.94

988.

c40.95

In the earliest literature on Gāndharva there were several schools of thought propounded by Nandikeśvara, Umāmaheśvara, Vāsuki, Sarasvatī, Nārada, Agastya and Vyāsa etc., Sāradātanaya mentions thus the names :

c40.96

सदाशिवः शिवा ब्रह्मा भरतः काश्यपो मुनिः ।
मतङ्गो याष्टिको दुर्गा शक्तिः शार्दूलकोहलौ ॥

c40.97

विशाखिलो दन्तिलश्च कम्बलोऽश्वतरस्तथा ।
वायुर्विश्वावसु रम्भाजुनौ नारदतुम्बुरू ।।
आंजनेयो मातृगुप्तो रावणो नन्दिकेश्वरः ।
स्वातिर्गुणो देवराजः क्षेत्रराजश्च राहलः ।।
रुद्र(रुद्र)टोऽनग्निभूपालो भोजभूवल्लभस्तथा ।
परमर्दी च सोमेशो जगदेकमहीपतिः ।।
व्याख्यातारो भारतीये लोल्लटोद्भटशङ्कुकाः ।
भट्टोऽभिनवगुप्तश्च श्रीमत्कीर्तिधरोऽपरः ।।
अन्ये च बहवः पूर्वे ये संगीतविशारदाः ।
अगाधं बोधमन्थेन तेषां मतपयोनिधिम् ।
निर्मथ्य श्रीशार्ङ्गदेवः सारोद्धारमिमं व्यधात् ।।

c40.98

In Saṅgītamuktāvali Devendra sums up the names of earlier writers on music:

c40.99

दुर्गाशक्तिदशास्यदन्तिलयुतः श्रीकाश्यपो याष्टिकं
प्रोक्तं कंबलकोहलावपि मुनिः श्रीमातृगुप्ताजुनौ ।
देवः क्षत्रसमाहनावपि च तौ राजा तथा राहलः
प्रोक्तः सोऽपि विशाखिलश्च मुनयः सङ्गीतविद्येश्वराः ।।
भोजराजो रुद्रसेनः प्राज्ञः सोमेश्वरोऽपि च ।
सङ्गीतविद्याकर्त्तारः कीर्तिताः सन्ति चापरे ।।
व्याख्यातार इमे... शङ्कुकोद्भरलोल्लटाः ।
भट्ठाभिनवगुप्तश्च प्रोक्तः कीर्त्तिधरोऽपि च ।।

c40.100

989. Nandīśvarasaṃhitā was available about 350 years ago, but we now have the bare mention of it by King Raghunātha of Tanjore in his Saṅgītasudhā.¹ Yāṣka's views are found summarised in 200 vereses. Nāradasaṃhitā is not available, but Nāraḍa's views are found in Bṛhannāradīyapurāṇa and Nāradopaniṣat. Rāgasāgara is in the form of a dialogue between Dattila and Nāraḍa.²

c40.101

¹ See para 968 *supra*.

c40.102

समीक्ष्य नन्दीश्वरसंहितां तामालोक्य शास्त्रं भरतप्रणीतम्
ग्रन्थं बृहद्देश्यभिधं मतङ्गमनिप्रणीतं निपुणं विलोक्य ।
विचार्य तां याष्टिक्संहितां च ज्ञात्वाजनानन्दनसंहितां च
उमापतेराधुनिकस्य तन्त्रमुद्बीक्ष्य नन्दीशमतानुसारि ॥

c40.103

990. **Aumapatam** is an ancient but incomplete treatise on music, time, dancing and musical instruments, treated under 38 chapters. It purports to be a narration of Śiva to Pārvatī, and begins ² with the origin of sounds (*nāda*) and the development of sounds into musical harmony. It differs in every respect from the works of Bharata, Mataṅga and Kohala.³ That it was a modern epitome of Nandīśvara Saṁhitā is mentioned by Raghunātha in his Saṅgītasudhā.⁴ It was probably composed by Umāpatiśivārya of Cidambaram, the well-known writer on the Saivite worship, who must have flourished earlier than the 12th century A.D.⁴

c40.104

² > प्रणिपत्य महेशानी शम्भुमासीनमन्तिके ।

c40.105

³ For instance he gives 126 minor divisions of svaras while Mataṅga mentions only 66 and Bharata 22.

c40.106

⁴ The whole of the 5th chapter is quoted by Caturakallinātha (p. 228) in his commentary on Saṅgītaratnākara who lived in the days of king Devarāya II of Vijianagar (1423-1446 A.D.)

c40.107

991. **Bharata's** work is the most renowned. Having learnt the science from the Creator, Bharata wrote two works, one the bigger in 12,000 verses and the other small in 6,000 verses. Thus says Śāradātanaya :⁵

c40.108

⁵ See S. Clement's *Introduction to the Study of Indian Music*, London. Here is an extract from a review of it in *JRAS*, (1914). "An important chapter is that on the interpretation of the ancient textbooks, that is, the translation of relevant passages from the *Nāṭyāstra* of Bharata and the *Saṅgītaratnākara* of Sārrṅgadeva, with the author's comments. It embraces conclusions as to the ancient system of tuning, propounds the theory that the ancient system required twenty-five *śrutis* (not twenty-two as the textbooks say), and offers a theory as to the origin of the Indian scales. In the commentary on v. 25 of Bharata's ch. xxviii an interesting experiment is described, showing the relation of the *śrutis* by taking two *vīṇās* tuned in unison, and re-tuning one of them in successive stages. The experiment works out on the theory that the *śrutis* are equal. As Mr. Clements says, they are not so, and the experiment is probably a merely theoretical one. But it has been the subject of great misinterpretation, and it would have been interesting to know the author's views on it. Unfortunately he breaks off his translation at this point. He has even been reproved by a critic for saying that Bharata thought the *śrutis* were equal in size, and the critic adduced this passage to prove that Bharata taught the very opposite. The text, it is true, is slightly corrupt, but it is in such a case where an interpreter, or at least a sound translator, is most wanted."

c40.109

नाट्यवेदाच्च भरतारसारमुद्धृत्य सर्वतः ।
सङ्ग्रहं संप्रयोगाहं मनुना प्रार्थितं व्यधुः ।
एकं द्वादशसाहस्रैश्श्लोकैरेकं तदर्धतः ॥

c40.110

¹ *TC*, III. 3515. The treatment of dancing is incomplete.

c40.111

पप्रच्छ तत्त्वतो ब्रूहि नादांस्तद्रूपसंभवान् ॥

c40.112

षड्भिश्श्लोकसहस्रैर्यो नाट्यवेदस्य सम्भवः।
भरतैर्नामतस्तेषां प्रख्यातो भरताह्वयः॥

c40.113

"Bharata attached more importance to rhythm than to time and devoted only 3 out of 27 chapters to music. He recognised the existence of 7 notes, of the four kinds thereof according to the number of sruthis between them and made mention of Grāmas, Mūrchanas and Jāthis. But it was significantly silent on those aspects, which had prior in its time degraded music, viz., the Raginis and the Puthras."

c40.114

**992. Sanmukha**, also mentioned as Guha was an old writer on music, but the original work of Saṇmukha is lost. Sangrahacūdāmaṇi¹ is said to form part of Skandapurāṇa, composed by Saṇmukha. In three chapters, it deals with the origin of music, and musical tones. There are verses in it referring to Sadānanda and Śārṅgadeva,² clearly showing that it must have been written far later than 14th century A.D. and could not have formed part of Skandapurāṇa. At best this must be a reproduction of the lost views of Saṇmukha.

c40.115

¹ The manuscript is found in Andhra Sahitya Parishat Library (Madras). Udayana is mentioned as a writer on music.

c40.116

² मनःकल्पितमार्गेण शास्त्रमुत्सृज्य दूरतः। गायन्ति शार्ङ्गदेवाद्याः।

c40.117

Saṅgītacintāmaṇi is written in the Purāṇic style, as taught by Śiva to Pārvatī, Nārada and others and apparently deals with the principles of Sāman chant.³

c40.118

³ *Tanj*, XVI. 7265.

c40.119

**993. Arjunabharatam** is the name borne by several works. The name indicates that the author was Arjuna. A work of that name composed by Nāgārjuna⁴ is now available only in fragments and treats of music only. Nāgārjuna⁵ was a Buddhist priest and lived in the reign of king So-to-po-ha-na. So says I Tsing.

c40.120

⁴ *Tanj*, XVI, 7229.

c40.121

⁵ Virabhadra Row (*Andhrula Caritam* I. 152) gives date 134-200 A.D. Tarana, tha (*Annals of Tibet*) assigns him to 180-220 A. D. See his *History of Buddhism*.

c40.122

**994. Arjunadimatasāram** is an epitome on music by Madabhūṣhi Veṅkaṭācārya, son of Anantācārya of Naidhruvakaśyapagotra. He lived at Samalkot in East Godavari Dist. about 1880 A.D. He also wrote an allegorical play, Śuddhasatvam, after which name he was known later.⁶

c40.123

⁶ Or. Ms. Library, Madras.

c40.124

**995.** Vālmīki has a fierce metaphor on Vīṇa play with Rāvaṇa's prowess thus :

c40.125

मम चापमयीं वीणां शरकोणैः प्रवादितम् ।
ज्याशब्दतुमुलां घोरामातर्भीतमहास्वनाम् ॥
नाराचतलसन्नादां तां समाहितवाहिनीम् ।
अवगाह्य महारङ्गं वादयिष्याम्यहं रणे ॥

c40.126

In Śyāmilaka's Pādatāḍitaka, there is a fine reference to Vīṇa play :

c40.127

इयमनुनयति प्रियं कुद्धमेषा प्रियेणानूनीता प्रसीदत्यसौ ।
सप्ततन्त्रीर्नखैर्घट्टयन्ती कलं काकलीपञ्चमप्रायमुत्कण्ठिता वल्गु गीतापदेशेन विक्रोशति ॥
(Mad. Edn.) IV. 24, 43-44.

c40.128

**996. Rudra** or Rudrācārya is the author of a musical treatise, engraved on a rock at Kudimiyāmalai in Pudukkota State. His identity with Rudraṭa, the rhetorical writer is not probable. Mataṅga mentions a Rudraṭa as a writer on music and Kallinātha says so :¹

c40.129

¹ *EI*, XII. 231; Pudukkota State Inscriptions, No. 9. It is not established that he was the priest of King Mahendravikrama, author of Mattavilāsa.

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"यथा यावत् षड्जमेव तारगतिः मध्यमस्याप्यत्र संवादित्वात् अनाशित्वात् तारगती रुद्रटेन कृता मध्यमस्येति मतंगोक्तम् ।"

c40.131

So does Śārṅgadeva :

c40.132

रुद्रटो नान्यभूपालो भोजभूवल्लभस्तथा ।

c40.133

Abhinavagupta probably criticises Rudraṭa as having misunderstood Bharata :

c40.134

रुद्रटादिभिस्तु एतमर्थमबुध्यमानैः उक्तानां श्लोकपाठविप्रलब्धैः सर्वत्रैव अष्टकलस्य उक्तः (?)

c40.135

It is quite likely that this Rudra was a far earlier writer and lived at the beginning of the Christian era.²

c40.136

² Can he be the same as Medhāvi Rudra ?

c40.137

"The tradition is that his full name was Rudrabhaṭṭa, and that on one occasion the King extorted from the poet the promise that he should remove the letter *bha* from his name and should be known as Rudraṭa, his famous namesake and predecessor."

c40.138

In an inscription dated Śāka 1151 (*JBRAS*, XXIX 260) the following Canarese verse refers to Rudraṭa :

c40.139

Adarol nija namekshara vide sasira
Ponge kottadan Bidipanitu dinam
Padedam Rudratanembi padematam
Rudrabhattanurvijanadim.

c40.140

This shows that among the letters of his name he pledged one *bha* for a thousand gold coins; so the world called him by the awkward name of Rudraṭa.

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**997. Madanapala** was the son of Candraḍeva and king of Kanouj (whose inscriptions are dated 1104-1109 A.D.)¹ of Gahadavala dynasty. He was a patron of letters and after his name go a lexicon and a work on Dharmaśāstra. His Ānandasañjīvana² is a work on music.

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¹ *IA*, XVIII. 11; *EI*, V. App. 18.

c40.143

² *Bik.* 509. The manuscript is dated Sam. 1585.

c40.144

Vīrabhaṭṭaḍeśika lived in the court of Kākātīya king Rudraḍeva and wrote Nāṭyaśekhara in 1160 A.D.

c40.145

**998. Jayadeva's Gītagovinda** has been noticed. It is akin to the Song of Songs of Solomon in the Old Testament and has been translated with inimitable grace by Sir Edwin Arnold.

c40.146

"It was only a lyrical composition to celebrate the triumph of true love between Radha and Krishna. It is true that Jayadeva assigned a definite Raga and a definite Thala to cach of his 24 songs or prabandhas. Jayadeva's Ragas were Malava, Gurjari, Vasantha, Ramakari, Malavagowda, Karnata, Desakya, Desivaradi, Gowdakari, Bhairavi and Vibhasa; and his Thalas were : Yathi, Roopaka, Eka, Nissara and Ashta. But can any one of the modern singers, either in North or South India, sing at least one of the 24 prabandhas in the Raga and Thala assigned by him? There was neither the notation to record the songs and transmit them to successive generations nor any scientific treatment in it whereby to teach or suggest the methods of singing them."

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Besides commentaries already noted, there are others by Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍita, Rūpāḍeva and one anonymous.³ 999. Kṛṣṇadatta (Maithila) interprets Gītagovinda as referring to Śiva instead of Viṣṇu and compares his feat with the work of Madhusūdana who wrested Mahimnastuti to the service of Viṣṇu.

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³ *Tanj.* XVI. 7386-40. See para 296 *supra*.

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विशदितशिवपक्षां गीतगोविन्दटीकां रचयति शशिलेखां मैथिलः कृष्णदत्तः।
इह न विविधटीकाव्यञ्जितः कृष्णपक्षो विवृत उभयपक्षैकाभिधेयं पदं वा॥
शैवं नाद्रियते सुधीरपि मतं प्रायोऽधुना वैष्णवः
शैवो नैव च वैष्णवं निजनिजासद्वासनावासितः।
मत्वेत्थं मधुसूदनोऽपि मुरजित्पक्षे महिम्नस्तुतिं
व्याचख्यौ जयदेवसूक्तिमपि तां शैवे नयाम्यध्वनि॥

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1000. Viśvanāthasiṁha, Chief of Rewah, of the Vāghela race (1833-1854 A.D.) wrote a poem Rāmācandrāhnika in praise of Rāma on the style of Gītagovinda with commentary on it and under his patronage Priyaḍāsa, a poet of his Court, wrote a similar work Saṅgītā-Raghunandana in 16 cantos. The latter work has also been by courtesy attributed to Viśvanāthasiṁha.¹

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¹ *HPR*, Cat. Nos. 5055, 5259. Viśvanāthasiṁha's ancestor was Bhavasiṁha (1660-1690 A.D.) Bhavasiṁha brought a copy of Somadeva's Kathāsaritsāgara from Kashmir, had it revised and transcribed by pandits of his Court. Among these pandits was one Rupanimiśra who added 99 verses describing the genealogy of Bhavasiṁha and mentioning therein the names of the learned men of his Court, Balakṛṣṇa, Kiśora, Govardhana Vājapeyin, Lālamaṇi, Vallabha, Kamalanayana and Lakṣmaṇabhaṭṭa. "The Vaghela Rajaputs trace their descent from Vīradhavala's son Vyaghradeva who migrated to Northern India from Gujarat in about 1233-4 A.D. His son Kama-deva got the fort of Bandhogarh from his father-in-law and Bandhogarh became the capital of the Vaghela Rulers. After its destruction by Akbar in 1597 the town of Rewah was established at the capital (Rewah State Gazette, Vol. IV, Lucknow, 1907). Since then the State is known by the name of Rewah State." — See Dr. Har Datt Sarma's article on "*Some Vaghela Rulers and the Sanskrit poets patronised by them*" — published in Dr. Krishnaswam Aiyangar's Comm. Volume.

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1001. Candraśekhara Sarasvatī the 63rd Ācārya of Kāma-koṭipīṭha of Kānñcī (1729-1789 A.D.) wrote Śivagītimālikā in 12 cantos.² Cīna Bommabhūpāla wrote Saṅgīta-Rāghava in 6 cantos on the story of Rāmāyaṇa.³

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² *Tanj*. XVI. 7343-5.

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³ *Tanj*. XVI. 7288.

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Besides works mentioned in para 298 supra there are the following works are in the style of Gītagovinda: Sāhajivilāsagītam by Dhundhirāja, Sāharājastapadī, Saṅgītasundara by Sadāśiva Dīkṣita,⁴

c40.156

⁴ *Tanj*. XVI. 7339-49.

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Gīta-Gaṅgādhara by Nanjarājasekhara,¹ Kṛṣṇagīta by Mānaveda,² [Kṛṣṇalīlavilāsa, Rāmāṣṭapadī, Śaṅkarasaṅgīta of Jayanārāyaṇa,³ Saṅkaragīti of Śārṅgadeva, Saṅgīta-Raghunandana of Viśvanātha,⁴ Gīta-śaṅkara of Anantanārāyaṇa, son of Mṛtyunjaya.⁵

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¹ He was Nanjarāja, brother of Dalavoy Devarāja and son of Kalave Vīrarāja See para 938 *supra* and summary of *Papers read at 8th Indian Oriental Conference*, Mysore (p. 30), that by A. N. Narasimha.

c40.159

² *Trav*, 84.

c40.160

³ Printed JSSP, Calcutta.

c40.161

⁴ *Adyar*, II. 45: *Oudh*, V

c40.162

⁵ He was also called Patañjalikavi, see para 153 *supra*.

c40.163

Nārāyaṇatīrtha's Kṛṣṇalīlātaraṅgiṇī has been noticed. Vijayagopāla was almost his contemporary and composed many stray songs of devotion. Bhadrādrivāsas' name is found in his Kīrtanas, but his real name is not known; his songs are simple and touching and are very popular. These are included and printed in Bhajanoṭsavakaumudī published in Kumbakonam.

c40.164

**1002. Nanyadeva** (or Rājanārāyaṇa) was a king of Tirhaut (Mithila). He was subjugated by Vijayasena of Bengal in 1160 A.D. and probably (according to Levi) ruled in 1097-1147 A.D. He founded the Karnāṭaka dynasty in the valley of Nepal. Besides a commentary on Bhavabhūṭi's Malatīmādhavam, he wrote a Bhāṣya on Bharatanāṭyaśāstra, also called Bharātavārtika, Sarasvatī-hṛdaya-bhūṣaṇa or SARASVATI-HRDAYA-ALANKARA-HARA, in 17 chapters of about 10,000 granthas. The manuscript is in the library of Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, Poona.

c40.165

"Every step in the advancement of music was closely traced to the rites of the Vēdic Epoch, and every instrument was brought face to face with that used in the sacrificial rites by sacred *Rshis*. He gives full information on every subject except on flute, where he is eclipsed by a voracious royal scholar, Kumbhakarna. Some chapters treat of *sapta-gītis*, *deśi-gītis* and the ancient *tāla* system which are now obsolete. The first of these topics was elaborately dealt with by Bharata, while the *deśi-gītis* the source of later *prabandhas* took a prominent place in the grand work of Matanga. Dattila and Abhinava seem to have bestowed greater attention upon the *sapta-gītis*, knowledge of which was indispensible to the right understanding of the Vēdic rites in *Aśvamēdha* and *Rājasuya*. Those seven sacred chants were first sung by Dakshabrahmā to propitiate gods. *Ekatantrī*, *Pinākī* and *Kinnarī viņas* were introduced to produce all the graces of the seven songs when sung by

c40.166

the *ṛṣhis*. Nānyadeva gives details for about 140 *rāgas*. He is always careful to quote his authorities and thus on *rāgas* his chief masters are Kāśyapa and Mataṅga. Śārṅgadēva covered a wider range of 260 *rāgas*, many of which were abandoned long before his day. Nandin also discussed about the same number. But Śārṅgadēva was not much indebted to Nandin for his materials which were directly taken from Nānyadēva for *rāgas* and from Abhinava for all critical matter, though he never mentions his creditors anywhere. A close comparison of Śārṅga's work with the production of Abhinava will reveal the astonishing insight with which he studied the psychology of the great philosopher Abhivava."¹

c40.167

¹ He quotes two sages Āstīka and Chatra not mentioned elsewhere. M R. Kavi, " *Literary Gleanings*" *AHQ*, III. See R. C. Majumdar, *IHQ*. VII. 679; K. P. Jayaswal, *JBORS*, IX. 310, X. 87.

c40.168

**1003. Sarngadeva** (Svastigḥṛi) belonged to an affluent family of Kāṣmir. His grand-father Bhāskara migrated to the Dėccan. By the worship of Bhillama his father Soddhala attained fame and established the sovereignty of King Siṅghaṇa of the Yādava dynasty of Daulatabad (Deogiri) who ruled between 1132 and 1169 A.D.² Sārṅgadēva was the Auditor-General under that king. He was great not merely in music, but in medicine and philosophy. His literary attainments were of a high order and in him, he says, Sarasvatī had sought repose.³ He calls himself often as "Niśśaṅka" and under that name he invented a Vīṇa.

c40.169

² See Bhandarkar's *Early History of the Deccan*; Wilson, *Theatre*, gives the date between 9th and 12th centuries A.D.

c40.170

³ So he writes:

c40.171

His SANGITARATNAKARA is a well-known treatise on music which embraces in it the views of all ancient writers, and has by its comprehensive treatment attained almost the first place in musical literature. It

c40.172

नानास्थानेषु संभ्रान्ता परिश्रान्ता सरस्वती ।
सहवासप्रिया शश्वद्विश्राम्यति यदालये ॥
स विनोदैकसिको योग्यवैदग्ध्यभाजनम् ।
धनदानेन विप्राणामार्तीः संहृत्य शाश्वतीः ॥
जिज्ञासूनां च विद्याभिर्गदार्तानां रसायनैः ।
अधुनाखिललोकानां तापत्रयजिहीर्षया ॥
शाश्वताय च धर्माय कीर्तिनिः श्रेयसाप्तये ।
आविष्करोति संगीतरत्नाकरमुदारधीः ॥

c40.173

is not a mere epitome of the older works, but proceeds on an original definition and discussion. But the lapse of centuries since Śārṅgadēva's time has wrought a change in the modes and practices of singing, so that his description of Rāgas and Tālas differs from the actualities of this century. Śārṅgadēva recorded the art of his time and therefore gives us a glimpse of the progress of music in India.

c40.174

1004. Saṅgītāratnākara is in seven parts and each part is divided into Prakaraṇas. The first, Swarādhyāya, treats of musical notes, scales etc. The second, Rāgādhyāya, contains definitions and examples of the different classes of melodies etc. The third called, Prakīrṇādhyāya explains some technical terms etc. The fourth, Prabandhādhyāya, furnishes rules of composition etc. The fifth, Tālādhyāya, treats of measures of time. The sixth, Vādyādhyāya, deals with musical instruments and their use. The seventh, Nṛtyādhyāya, explains dancing and acting.

c40.175

There are commentaries on it by Simhabhūpāla,¹ Keśava,² Kallinātha,³ Hamsabhūpāla, and Kumbhakarṇa and one anonymous.⁴ Gaṅgārāma has written an elaborate commentary in Hindī.⁵

c40.176

¹ Ed. by Kalivara Vedantavagisa, Calcutta (Swarādhyāya only). He is not the same as the author of the Rasārṇavasudhākara.

c40.177

² The commentary is called Kaustubha (Oriental Mans. Library). This and the commentary of Kallināṭha are said not be satisfactory by Raghunāṭha.

c40.178

³ Tanj, XVI. 7270. Ed. (Ānandāśrama series) by M. R. Telang, Bombay.

c40.179

⁴ Named Candrikā.

c40.180

⁵ Tanj, XVI. 7279.

c40.181

1005. Jagadekamalla Pratāpacakravartin was a Cālukya king of Kalyāṇ (1138-1150 A.D ).⁶ Śārṅgadēva mentions him with respect. He was a follower of Abhinavagupta. In five chapters, he composed SANGĪTACŪDĀMAṆI⁷ on music and dancing.

c40.182

⁶ See para 89 note..

c40.183

⁷ The manuscript is in Andhra Sahitya Parishat Library (Madras).

c40.184

1006. Someśvara or Bhūlokamalla, who ruled in 1116-1127 A.D.⁸ devoted his entire attention to song and dance, so much so that models of South Indian music took the appellation of *Karṇāṭa*, the land over which he ruled.⁹ He even condescended to get down from his throne to teach a certain grace in posture in a dance called Kuṇḍalī to a Mahratta dancer and henceforward it was called *goṇḍinī*.

c40.185

⁸ *Mys. Ins.* Nos. 34, 84, 42, 44; *JBRAS*, XI, 258, dated 1044 to 1149 A.D. See *IA*, VII. app. 42; XII. 212.

c40.186

⁹ Henceforward South Indian music began to develop into distinct schools in the Karnāṭa and Andhra countries and became often blended almost unconsciously by vernacular adoption. Thus says Veṅkaṭanātha in Haṁsasaṁdeśa (of the 13th century A.D) :

c40.187

कल्याणकटके पूर्वं भृतमातृमहोत्सवे ।
सोमेशः कौतुकी कांचिद् भिल्लवेषमुपेयुषी ।
नृत्यन्तीमथ गायन्तीं स्वयं पेष्य मनोहरम् ।
प्रीतो निर्मितवान् चित्रगौण्डिलीविधिमित्ययम् ।
सतोभिल्ही महाराष्ट्रीगौण्डिलीत्यभिधीयते ।

c40.188

Prabandhas of pleasing combinations were productions of his Court. In his Mānasollāsa¹ he has devoted 2500 verses to music and instruments and touched on new phases of music specially Prabandhas.”

c40.189

¹ Ed. GOS, Baroda.

c40.190

One Someśvara is mentioned by Śārṅgadeva and Śāradātanaya along with Bhoja. The identity of this Someśvara is uncertain.

c40.191

Saṅgītaratnāvalī² described in the catalogues as Somarājadeva’s may not be the work of the king Someśvara. Probably he is “a Pratīhārī of the Cālukya king Ajayapāla of Gujarat (1174-1177 A.D.)”³

c40.192

² See list of authors on music in Saṅgītamakaranda, GOS, Baroda, p. 56.

c40.193

³ On this, see Int. to Bhāvaprakāśa, GOS, Baroda, pp. 72-5.

c40.194

1007. **Naṭāṅkuśam**⁴ contains an able discussion of *rasa* and *abhinaya* and their mutual relations. It deplores the misapplication of abhinaya in its days and illustrates the criticism by instancing a verse from Śaktibhadra’s Āścaryacūḍāmaṇi.⁵ From a word Mahima in the first verse, it has been suggested that Mahimabhatta was probably its author and in any view it cannot be assigned to a date later than 14th century A.D. It refers to the drama Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa and to the heroine Kuraṅgī (of the play Avimāraka) and the incident of Yaugandharāyaṇa’s fictitious self-immolation in fire (described in Vīṇāvāsavadattā).

c40.195

⁴ Oriental Manuscript Library, Madras.

c40.196

⁵ Here the author refers to the tradition that Āścaryacūḍāmaṇi was the work of Śaṅkara.

c40.197

इक्षुच्छा ये किसलयमयं तल्पमातस्थुषां
सद्यःप्रस्तैर्मुदितमनसां शालिसंरक्षिकाणाम् ।
कर्णाटाम्ध्रव्यतिकरभिदाकर्बुरे गीतिभेदे
मुद्यन्तीनां मदनकलुषं मौग्ध्यमास्वादयेथाः ॥

c40.198

1008. **Jayasenapati** wrote Nṛttaratnāvali in eight chapters, and deals with *mārga* and *deśi* kinds of music. In the former he followed Bharaṭa and in the latter, chiefly Someśvara, but all the latest improvements in dancing were also incorporated. It was composed in the year Ānanda, 1254 A.D.¹ Jāyasenapaṭi was the commander of elephant forces under Kākatīya Gaṇapaṭi, king of Warrangal (1200-1265 A.D.).²

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¹ *Tanj.* XVI. 7236.

c40.200

² For Jāyasenapaṭi’s inscriptions, dated Saka 1135, 1153, 1157, see *EI*, III. 84; V. 143; VI. 39. For Gaṇapaṭi's inscription, see *IA*, XXI. 200, and some unpublished ones from Vaddamānu in Nizam's dominions are with M. Ramakrishnakavi, Madras.

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1009. **Ragasagaram** is a work in 3 chapters in Purāṇic style narrated in a dialogue between Nāraḍa and Dattila on the different kinds of rāgas, their forms and attributes. Seeing that later theories are adopted in it, and Sārnagadeva is mentioned by name, it could not be earlier than 14th century A.D.³

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Cites (94)