1. Ragas And Raginis Pictorial & iconographic Study of Indian Musical Modes Gangoly O.C

DELHI UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

RAGAS & RAGINIS

NALANDA BOOKS ON ASIAN ART

By PROF. O. C. GANGOLY

Indian Painting: A Bird's Eye View

Moghul Paintings

Rajput Painting

Southern Indian Bronzes

By DR. A. U. POPE

Persian Art

Other titles in preparation.

RAGINI DESA-VARATI

A melody-mate grouped under the male raga Hindola

[ Jaipur School. ]

From a private collection

RĀGAS & RĀGINĪS

A PICTORIAL & ICONOGRAPHIC STUDY

OF INDIAN MUSICAL MODES

based on

ORIGINAL SOURCES.

O. C. GANGOLY,

Fellow. of the Asiatic Society of Bengal;

Hon. Correspondent, Archæological Survey of India;

Author of ‘Masterpieces of Rajput Painting,’ etc.

VOLUME I : TEXT :

HISTORY OF RAGAS, ICONOGRAPHY,

RAGMALA TEXTS AND CRITICISM.

NALANDA PUBLICATIONS

BOMBAY 1.

FIRST PUBLISHED IN A LIMITED EDITION OF THIRTY-SIX COPIES IN 1935.

REPRINTED 1948

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TO

MR. V. N. BHATKHANDE, B.A., LL.B.

OF BOMBAY

The Greatest Living Authority on Indian Music

THIS MONOGRAPH IS RESPECTFULLY

DEDICATED

1935

O. C. GANGOLY

PREFACE

In this volume, an humble, though a pioneer attempt has been made to trace the beginnings and the later evolution of the rāga-system of Indian Music—from authoritative sources, many of which are still buried in unpublished and rare manuscripts. Orthodox music practitioners, opposing any manner of new developments and innovations—on the belief that Indian Music is a stereotyped system hidebound by strict rules and conventions proscribed by ancient musical Sages, to depart from which is to assail the individuality of Indian Musical thought—and, therefore, a musical crime, may find in this Volume much material which will contradict such a belief. Indeed, the history of the rāgas, of which a bare outline, is, here presented demonstrates that in all periods of its development—Indian Music has grown and progressed by assimilating new ideas from non-Aryan and aboriginal musical practices—and that the Classical Rāga-System is firmly based on and is heavily indebted to Primitive Folk-music, having never disdained from borrowing and assimilating new data from alien or foreign sources. Yet the Indian Rāga-System—has a structure of peculiar form—having fundamental rules and conventons of its own—which must be understood-- in its essential character—before any innovation or a new development can be initiated. In the coming new order of things, Indian Music is destined to play a great part in vitalizing national culture. It is hoped that the free liberalizing rôle of music should not be restricted and subordinated by being harnessed to political propaganda. Both the necessity of saving Indian Music from such slavery and of extending its rôle—in a larger expansion of national life—in forms of new applications to newer needs—it is necessary for all kinds of votaries,—the Practitioners, the Connoisseurs, the Innovators, the Reformers, and the Students—to have a thorough know-

vii

ledge of the basics of Indian Music, its grammer and conven-

tions, the secrets of its peculiar charm, and its power of

intense emotional expressiveness--both in its thematic and

abstract applications. It is believed that from this point of

view--this monograph may offer valuable educational data.

In many of the Indian Schools of Music--the syllabus in-

cludes not only a knowledge of the practice of the Rāgas--

and their differentiations--but also of some rudiments of the

theories on which they are based. But very often

authoritative data is not readily available to the average

teacher--who has no time to undertake independent re-

searches to dig out the facts bearing on the history of Indian

Music-theories. It is humbly claimed--the data put forward

in this Volume may go in some way to provide this essential

materials for the study of Indian Music. The Political Life

--and the freedom to coin our new political destiny--may

be imitated in the sphere of Music. As the history of Indian

Music demonstrates--our musical authorities have never

opposed innovations--but have welcomed fresh ideas--and

have assimilated them according to the fundamental prin-

ciples of Indian Music. In this conception, it is useful to

recall the remark of Plato in his Republic: "The introduction

uf a new kind of music must be shunned as imperilling the

whole State; since styles of music are never disturbed with-

out affecting the most important political institutions."

This work has been respectfully dedicated to the great

musical Savant the late Pandit V. N. Bhatkhande--whose

services to Indian Music are invaluable. Unfortunately, the

work could not be placed in his hands--until a short time

before his death, when he was laid up with paralysis. It is

reported that when the book was placed in his hands he sat

up with great curiosity and enthusiasm and as he turned

over the pages--in speechless silence--tears tracked down

his cheeks--in affectionate appreciation of a tribute to the

study of a subject of which he was a lifelong devotee, and

an indefatigable exponent blessed with inexhaustible

erudition.

Owing to circumstances beyond the control of the Author

the work had to be published--in an extremely limited edi-

tion of only thirty-six copies which were subscribed for, two

years before the actual date of publication,--so that the

viii

work was out of print and was un-available from the date of

its birth, not only to the general reader but to an everwiden-

ing circle of friends of Indian Music and Specialists. This

was a crime which has been crying for atonement ever since

1935-the original date of its publication. The Author is

therefore grateful to Nalanda Publication for coming forward

to rescuc the work from practical oblivion.

It is to be regretted that it has not been possible to re-

vise and improve the text, and it is sent out in its original

form with all its imperfections and blemishes-for a wider

circulation which was not possible to secure in its first edi-

tion. This is not, therefore, a new edition;-but a cheap

re-issue. The only addition made-is the Supplementary

Bibliography setting out a list of public:ations and articles

which have appeared since the year 1935.

1st December, 1947. O. C. GANGOLY.

2, Ashutosh Mukherjee Road,

Elgin Road Post Office,

Calcutta, India.

ix

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Characteristics of Indian Melodies--Definitions

1-8

HISTORY OF THE RĀGAS

Vedic traditions,—Rāmāyaṇa,—Bharata: Nātya-śāstra—Hari-vaṁśa,—Kudumiyamālai Inscription,—Pañca-tantra,—Mataṅga: Brhadeśi,—Abhilāsārthacintāmaṇi,—Saṅgīta-makaranda,—Paṅcama sāra-saṁhitā,—Nāṭya-locana,—old Bengali Buddhist songs,— Kālikā-purāṇa,—Sarasvatī-Hṛdayā-lamkāra,—Śāranga-deva:Saṅgīta-Ratnākara,—Saṅgīta-Samayasāra,—Rāgārṇava,—Subhaṅkara: Saṅgīta-saṅgara,—Jyotiriśvara: Varṇaratnākara,—Amir Khusrau,—Śāraṅgadhara-paddhati,—Locana Kavi: Rāga-taraṅgiṇī, — Nārada: Pancamasāra-saṁhitā, — Kṛṣṇa-Kīrtana by Caṇḍīdās,—Rāgī Kumbha: Saṅgīta-rāja,—Kṣema Karṇa: Rāga-Mālā,—Māṅkutūhala,—Svara-mela-Kalā-nidhi—Tan Sena - Puṇḍarīk Viṭṭhala: Sadrāga-Cardrodaya,—Rāgamālā, — Rāgamañjarī,—Cattvāriṁśaccata-rāganirūpaṇam,—Somanātha: Rāga-vivodha,—Dāmodara Miśra: Saṅgīta-darpana,—Govinda Dīkṣit: Saṅgīta-sudhā,—Hṛdaya Nārāyaṇa: Hṛdaya-Kautuka, — Veṅkaṭamakhi: Caturdaṇḍī-prakāśikā, — Ahobala: Saṅgīta-Pārijāta, — Bhāvabhaṭṭa: Anūpa-saṅgīta-vilāsa, — Anūpa-saṅgīta-ratnākara - Anūpa-saṅgītāṅkuśa, -- Saṅgīta-Nārāyaṇa by. Puruṣottam Miśra,— Saṅgīta-Śīrāmṛtod-dhāro by Tulāji,—Saṅgītasāra by Mahārāja Pratīpa Siṅha,—Nagamat-e-Asaphi by Muhammad Rezza Khan,—Saṅgīta-rāga-Kalpadruma by Krishnānanda Vyāsa, — Saṅgītasāra-Saṅgraha by Sir S. M. Tagore,— Śrimat-Lakṣa-Saṅgītam and Abhinava-rāga-mañjarī by Pandit Bhāt-Khande,—Dr. Rabindranath Tagore

9-69

RĀGAS AND RĀGĪNĪ

Nomenclature of Melodies

70-79

TIME-THEORY

Time-Table—Classification of Rāgas

80-95

DEIFICATION & VISUALIZATION OF MELODIES

Iconography of Rāgas--History of the Iconography of Melodies 96-104

RĀGĀMĀLĀ TEXTS

SANSKRIT TEXTS: Sanskrit Rāgamālā texts,—Kohala,—Rīga-Mālā by Mcsa-Karna, — Nrpa, — Rīgamālā by Vīthhala, — Cattyārimśac-chata-rīga-nirūpanam, — Rāga-vivoda, — Sangīta-Darpana, — Bhāvabhaṭṭa, — Sangīta-mālā, — Rāga-Kal-padruma, — Tagore's Sangīta-sāra-samgraha

HINDI TEXTS: Hindi Rāgamālā Text, — Harivallabha, -- Earlier Hindi Texts, —. Lachiman, -- Deo-Kavi, — Anonymous Text, British Museum -- Lāl Kavi, -- Peary, Raṅgalāl,—Vrajanāth, --Paidā, — Anonymous text†, — Rāga Kutūhala by Kavi Radha Krisha, — Gaṅgādhara, — Saṅgīta-sār, — Diwan Lachiram's Bhuddi-prakāś-Darpan, — Saṅgīta-sudarśana, --Chunni Lālji's Nād-vinod, —Bhānu Kavi

PERSIAN TEXTS: Persian Rīgamāli Album, — Rāgamālā with Persian Inscriptions

BENGALI TEXT: Rādhāmohun Sen's Saṅgīta-Taraṅga .. 105-150

PICTORIAL MOTIFS:

Skeleton Drawings,—Sources of Pictorial Motifs,—Visualization of Music in Europe .. .. 151-156

CRITICISM .. .. .. .. 157-161

LIST OF MUSICAL TEXTS .. .. .. 162-165

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY .. .. .. .. 167-174

APPENDICES .. .. .. .. .. 175-222

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. RĀGINĪ DESA-BARATI

(Private collections) .. .. Colour Frontispiece

2. KAKUBHĀ RĀGINĪ .. .. opposite 5

(Private collection)

3. RĀGINĪ SARANGĪ .. .. " 24

4. RĀGINĪ SAVIRI .. .. " 40

(Collection Metropolitan Museum of Art New York)

5. PUHUPĀ RĀGINĪ .. .. " 58

(Private collections)

6. TODI RAGINI .. .. .. " 73

(Collection Govt. Art College, Calcutta)

7. MĀLAVA-GAUDI RĀGINĪ .. .. " 84

8. RAGAMALA TEXTS .. .. .. " 105

9. TODI RĀGINĪ .. .. .. " 121

Note:

The references to Illustratiye Plates in Roman Numerals spread out throughout the Text of this Volume are Illustrations cited in Volume of Ragas and Raginis (Original Edition of 1935).

"रागा: षड्‍य रागिष्य: षट्‌-त्रिंशत् चाद-चित्रषा: ।

जागता ब्रह्म-सदसि ब्रह्मानाम् समुपासते" ॥

नारदौ-यं चम- सार-सं चितायाम् ।

"The six major melodies (Rāgas) and the thirty-six Minor Melodies (Rāginis)—with their beautiful bodies—emanated from the Abode of Brāmha—the Transcendental being—and sing hymns in honour of Brāmha Himself."

PANCHAM SARA SAMHITA—NARADA

INTRODUCTION

The concept of Rāgas is one of the basic principles

of the system of Indian Music. A rāga (Vulgo Rāg) is gene-

rally mis-translated as a tune, air, or key. It is, in fact, a

peculiar concept, having no exact parallel in any other

system of music. Literally, rāga is something that colours,

or tinges the mind with some definite feeling,—a wave of

passion, or emotion.1 In a special sense, a rāga is a sonal

composition of musical notes (svaras) having a sequence,

form, or structure of a peculiar significance. Some of its

component notes stand in a significant relationship to one

another to give a character to the rāga, e.g., the starting, or

initial note (graha svara), the predominant or expressive

note (amśa svara), and the terminating, or the final note

(nyāsa svara), has each a peculiar significance in the com-

position of a rāga.

The starting note (graha) and the terminating note

(nyāsa) have now almost lost their significance. But the

amśa (predominant note) is of great importance. It is also

called the vādi (lit. the speaker, or announcer) i.e. the note

which indicates, manifests, or expresses the peculiar charac-

ter of the rāga, and receives the greatest emphasis in the

structure of the rāga. It is also called the jīva, or the soul

of the rāga. Just as the vādi note determines the general

character of a rāga, the vivādi, or the dissonant note, dis-

tinguishes and differentiates it from other forms of rāgas,

by avoidance of the vivādi note. For, this dissonant note

destroys the character of the melody. The vivādi note gives

the negative element, and, the other three, the positive

determining elements of a rāga.2 Every rāga has its special

(1) ‘Rañjayati iti rāgah’ = ‘that which colours, is a rāga.’

(2) In the Sanskrit text-books on music (conveniently sum-

marised by Sir S. M. Tagore in his Saṅgītasaṅgraha, p. 27), very

types of a serial of notes for ascent (āroha) and descent (avaroha) which determines its structure or thāṭ. The degree of insistence or importance of particular notes lends flesh, blood, colour, and life to the scale and creates a Rāga.

Some definitions are given of the nature of rāga by ancient authorities. The earliest is that of Mataṅga (circa 5th century)—a fairly ancient authority, later than Bharata, but much earlier than Śārṅgadeva. His definition is repeated by all later authors. According to Mataṅga, ‘A rāga is called by the learned, that kind of sound composition, which is adorned with musical notes, in some peculiarly stationary, or ascending, or descending, or moving values (varṇa), which have the effect of colouring the hearts of men’1. In this definition a technical word varṇa (value) is used. Varṇas (values) are of four kinds: ‘values of duration’

picturesque definitions and descriptions are given of the characteristic composing notes of a rāga, viz. vādī, samvādī, anuvādī, and vivādī (sonant, consonant, assonant, dissonant) notes: “sa vādī kathyate pracuro yaḥ prayogeṣu vakti rāgādiniścayam”=‘That note is called a vādī, by the abundant use of which a rāga is clearly differentiated.’

“Samaśrutísca samvādī pañcamasya samaḥ kvasit”=‘The samvādī note has similar quarter-tones (śruti) as the vādī note, or according to some, is equal to the fifth note.’ ‘Vivādī is a note situated at a distance of two Srutis from the vādī note, e.g. gān-1 dhāra (c) and nikhāda. (c). The other notes are anuvādī.

The following verses summarise the relationship:

“Vādī rājā svarastasya samvādī syād amātyavat| Satrur vivādī tasya suād anuvādī ca bhrtyavat|| [Ibid., p., 28]

‘Of the notes, vādī is the king, sāṃvādī is the minister, vivādī is the enemy, anuvādī is in the position of a vassal.’ The vādī note is translated by some as the ‘regnal’ note.

(1) “Svara-varṇa-viśeṣeṇa dhvani-bhedena vā punaḥ| Rajyate yena kaścit sa rāgaḥ sammatāḥ satāṃ|| 290 Athavā: Yo’sau dhvani-viśeṣastu svara-varṇavibhūṣitaḥ| Rañjako jana-cittānāṃ sa rāga udāhṛtaḥ||291 Ityevaṃ rāgā-śabdasya vyutpattir-abhidhīyate| Rañjanājjāyate rāgo vyutpattịḥ smudāhṛtā|| 293 Mataṅga-muni : ‘Bṛhaddesí’ (Trivandrum edition, p. 81)

(sthāyī); ‘values of ascent’ (ārohaṇa); ‘values of descent’ (avarohana); and ‘values of movement’ (sañcārī). This definition of rāga may be paraphrased as a note-composition having a peculiar musical significance, in their values of duration, ascent, descent, or movement, capable of affecting the human mind with peculiar feelings.

A secod definition ascribed to Bharata and quoted in the Sañgīta Nārāyaṇa (circa 1750) is somewhat more subjective and vague.

“ Those are called rāgas by Bharata and other sages by which the hearts of all the beings in the three worlds are coloured and pleased.”1

A third version is also a paraphrase of the last two. ‘By which all people are coloured, or elated as soon as they hear it, and by reason of giving pleasure to all, that is known as rāga.’2 In all the three definitions, the word rāga is derived from the root ‘rañja’, “to colour,” “to tinge.”

Rāgas are usually said to have descended from a certain parent stock which is technically known as a ṭhāṭ (lit. an ‘array’, or a ‘setting’). These ṭhāṭs represent modes, or types of some group of notes, from which distinct forms, or modes of somewhat similar texture can be derived. The difference between a ṭhāṭ and a rāga consists in the absence of any aesthetic value in the former which is only the ascent and the descent without the distinctive assonant, and consonant notes (vādī, anuvādī, or samvādī) and without the capacity of conveying any emotion. Ṭhāṭ is technically used in the instrumental music system of Northern India to denote the frets of string instruments (Sitar, Vīnā, Sur-bahār) for the purpose of playing a given pattern of modes, for, one setting will serve for several modes of the same type,—e.g. Bhairavī ṭhāṭ, Kāfī ṭhāṭ. Thus ṭhāṭ is used in a classifying sense, the corresponding Southern or the Karnatic word is mela-kartā—the ‘union-maker,’ that is to say, the group-maker which groups together several allied rāgas.

(1) Yaistu cetāmsi rajyante jagattritayavartinām|

Te rāgā iti kathyante munibhir Bharātādibhih||

(2) Yasya śravaṇa-mātrena rajyante sakalāḥ prajāḥ|

Sarvānurañjanād dhetos tena rāga iti smṛtaḥ||

3

A rāga may, therefore, be, more correctly, rendered as a "melody-mould," a "melody-type," or a "musical pattern." "Except for the primary condition that certain notes are to come in a certain way, there is no other restriction imposed on the singing of a particular rāga" (R. Śrīnivāsa).

As Fox Strangways observes: "A Rāga gets its special flavour not so much from its being just what it is, as from its not being something else, closely allied to it, which is present all the time in the musician's consciousness."1 [The italics are ours.] It is, however, the distinct individuality of the rāga which makes for the consciousness of the difference and not the difference which creates the individuality which seems to be suggested by the italicised expression. And it sometimes requires long education and trained connoisseurship to distinguish between two apparently identical, but subtly distinguished, rāgas, which the less trained ears of the uneducated frequently confuse.

S. G. Kanhere2 observes: "In the language of music the arrangement of notes which colour or affect certain emotion of the mind is called rāga. The definition of rāga given in Sanskrit books is "that a particular combination or relation of several notes which is pleasing to the ear is called Rāga." Many conflicting explanations of rāga given by different scholars converge to the same centre, i.e., "the pleasant effect of the arrangements of notes."

Clements in his excellent study of the fundamentals of type,—e.g. Bhairavī thāt, Indian Music thus describes the rāga:3 "The name of the Rāga connotes a scale bearing a fixed relationship to the drone, with its harmonic structure determined by a Vādī and Samvādī, a chief note ("amśa svara") occurring more frequently than others, a lower limit described in terms of the Mürchanā, occasionally an upper limit also, certain characteristic turns of melody, recurring with frequency, certain rules regarding the employment of embellishments,

(1) Fox Strangways : The Music of Hindostan, p. 170.

(2) S. G. Kanhere : "Some remarks on Indian Music," Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, vol. IV, pp. 105-120.

(3) E. Clements : 'Introduction to the Sttudy of Indian Music', London 1913, pp. 3-4.

4

and a stated time of the day for its performance. It is a common practice, after singing an air in a Rāga, to improvise a series of free fantasia passages each returning in due course to a characteristic snatch of the melody, only to wander off again in still more elaborate variations. The whole performance must be "within the Rāga," that is, without transgression of the elaborate rules governing its structure."

Philippe Stern ("La Musique Hindloue", La Revue Musicale, Mai 1923, p. 31, 55-6) thus defines a rāga:-"It is the deepening of the idea of mode . . . . . . . that which gives not only the mode but also the choice of principal notes, the degrees to be avoided, the difference of the descending and ascending movements, the prescribed sequences, the movement, this ambient, this coloration, this peculiar physiognomy, this personality constitutes the rāga (lit. the taint). A rāga, when transcribed in notes, should include the rise, fall and often the prescribed sequences. It can be taken for a melody. Often however an actual melody is given as an example and we have there the appearance of a skeleton on account of the fact that the Indian notation does not generally indicate the ornaments. We are simply told that-it is that rāga. Indeed, but quite a different melody might also be that rāga and give that ambient. The Indian musician is in a situation which is analogcus to that of the sculptor of the Middle Ages, who being a prisoner of the canons of religious iconography, tried there to specialise thoroughly in certain types, marked his personality with details so very striking for the initiated that these types remained enclosed within a limit, and he following the same rules created either a mediocre work, or a masterpiece."

In a recent article, the same author has made another attempt to translate the idea of a nāga: "What is a rāga? It is an atmosphere, a musical colouring. This colouring is associated with a mood of feeling, a sentiment. It is often, also, associated with the time of the day, and it is quite obvious that the musical colouring should differ for dawn or dusk, for heat or for middle of the night . . . . . . How is this musical colouring attained? How is the rāga to be defined in musical terms? . . . . . . The rāga belongs to the realm of modes and of different scales. In modes, Indian

music is extremely rich, but the rāga is not only the scale. The various explanations of the rāga have often been misleading, because they stop short or go too far. It has been sometimes said that the rāga is a mode; but the rāga is far more precise and much richer than a mode. On the same mode there are several rāgas. The rāga is therefore in that direction, but goes further. The rāga has been also likened to a skeleton of melody which is to be clothed with varied ornaments. But this goes too far; the rāga is much less fixed and much richer than a musical outline given; several melodies, all different, can be composed on the same rāga; so that the definition as regards melody is beyond the truth. The rāga is more fixed than the mode, and less fixed than the melody, beyond the mode and short of the melody, and richer both than a given mode or a given melody. It is a mode with added multiple specialities."1

Mr. Fox Strangways defines rāga as "an arbitrary series of notes characterized, as far as possible as individuals, by proximity to or remoteness from the note which marks the tessitura (general level of the melody), by a special order in which they are usually taken, by the frequency or the reverse with which they occur, by grace or the absence of it, and by relation to a tonic usually reinforced by a drone." Mr. Popley paraphrases this definition in a simplified form: "Rāgas are different series of notes within the octave, which form the basis of all Indian melodies, and are differentiated from each other by the prominence of certain fixed notes and by the sequence of particular notes. We may perhaps find in the term 'melody-type' the best way to transcribe rāga in English."2

In rendering or interpreting a rāga, it is not necessary to reproduce, or repeat slavishly, or mechanically, its component notes in a given sequence. If one keeps to the main features, or outlines of the pattern, considerable latitude is allowed by way of improvizations. Indeed no rendering of the same rāga, even by the same interpreter need be, identical.

(1) Philippe Stern : "The Music of India and the Theory of the Rāga" (Indian Art and Letters, New series, vol. VII, no. 1 1933, p. 1-9).

(2) Herbert A. Popley : 'The Music of India,' 1921, p. 39.

tically alike,—like ‘copies’ of a stereotype, or the repetitions of a gramophone. The actual form varies, according to the mood, or skill of the singer, or the response of the audience, though adhering to the main outline of the types, —so as not to call up the mental picture (tasbīr) of any other rāga, however, closely related. In order to keep to this identity of pattern, or mould, it is necessary to avoid notes, which will alter the individuality of the ‘picture,’ the peculiarity of the physiognomy, or in other words, will introduce dissonance, or a jarring feeling. This dissonant note to be avoided, is, as we know, the vivādī (the inimical note). Samvādī is, on the other hand, the consonant note. While the anuvādī (assonant, or subservient) note stands for all other notes which are not vādī, samvādī, or vivādī.1

According to the number of notes composing them rāgas are classified as odava (pentatonic) using five notes, ṣādava or khādava (hextatonic) using six notes, and sampūrṇa (heptatonic) using all the seven notes. With less than five notes, no rāga can be composed.2

According to Mataṅga, an ancient authority on Music, ‘no classical melody (mārga) can be composed from four notes and less; melodies with notes of less than five are used by tribes such as Śavaras, Pulindas, Kāmbojas, Vaiṅgas, Kirātas, Vālhīkas, Andhras, Draviḍas, and foresters.’3 An exception is made in the case of a class of stage songs known as dhruvās, which though regarded as classical melodies,

(1) It is sometimes believed that a vivādī note is to be avoided, and is absent in a rāga. This is not correct. A vivādī note is occasionally introduced to demonstrate its dissonant character in the scheme of a particular melody.

(2) According to some authorities, the Mālava-śrī rāgiṇi is a melody of less than five notes.

(3) “Catuḥ-svarāt prabhrti na mārgaḥ śavara-pulinda-kāmboja-vaṅga-kīrāta-vālhīkāndhra-draviḍa-vanādisu prayujyate|Tathācāha Bharataḥ:—‘sat-svarasya prayogo’sti tathā panca-svarasyaca| catuḥ-svara-proyage’pi hyavakrṣṭa-dhruvāsvapi”||Bhaḍdeśi by Mataṅga-Muni (Trivandram Sanskrit Series, 1928, no. VI, p. 59).

7

are found to be composed of four notes.

If the combinations, growing out of the component members or elements (svaras) of a rāga-composition, have any significant qualities, or functions, the ensemble of the rāga-form must spell and express some particular states of feelings and emotions. Indeed, they are believed to represent particular moods, association, or atmosphere of the human mind, or of nature—and to be able to call up and invoke a distinctive kind of feeling answering to the state of the mind,—or its physical environment, for the time being. Rāgas have, therefore, the power of producing certain mental effects and each is supposed to have an emotional value, or signification which may be called the ethos of the rāga. Rāgas may be said to stand for the language of the soul, expressing itself variously, under the stress of sorrow, or the inspiration of joy, under the storm of passion, or the thrills of the expectation, under the throes of love-longing, the pangs of separation, or the joys of union.

8

RĀGINĪ KAKUBHĀ

HISTORY OF THE RAGAS

By legend and tradition Indian music is supposed to be derived from, and have its roots in, the Vedas.1 Let us see if the music of the Vedic age offer any materials for the rāgas. The Sāman chants appear to be melodies of three notes (tetrachord?) known as udātta (raised), anudātta (not raised) and svarita (sounded, graced). This seems to be borne out by the sūtras of Pāṇini (5th century B.C.) who defines the svarita note as an adjustment or amalgamation of the two notes udātta and anudātta.2 If the Vedic chants were music confined to three notes, they were not melodies or rāgas in our sense, for a rāga must at least have five notes (pentatonic). The śikṣās (branches of the Prāti-śākhyas) seem to give a different interpretation to the three Vedic notes. According to this later definition, udātta stands for niṣāda and gāndhāra, anudātta for ṛṣabha and dhaivata, and svarita for ṣadja, madhyama and pañcama.3 According to the tonic values of the notes, ṣadja[and madh-yama are made of 4 śrutis which is made to equate with the Vedic notes known as 'svarita.' The notes ṛṣabha and dhaivata are made of 3 śrutis and answer to anudātta notes, while niṣāda and gāndhāra, made of 2 śrutis, correspond to udātta. The seven notes therefore are implied in the three udātta.

(1) "Jagrāha pāṭhyam ṛgvedād sāmabhya gītam eva ca.|"

Nāṭyaśāstra, Ch. I, Verse 17.

"Sāma-vedād daṃ gītam samjagrāha pitāmah |

Tadgitam Nāradāyaiva tena lokeṣu varṇitam ||"

Sangītamakaranda, I, 18.

(2) Pāṇini, IV. 2, 29, 30, 31 & 32:

"Uccairudāttaḥ nicairanudāttaḥ samāhāraḥ svaritaḥ.||"

(3) "Udāttau niṣāda-gāndhārau, anudāttau ṛṣabha-dhaivatāu |

Svarita-prabhavāhy ete ṣadja-madhyama-pañcahāḥ ||"

notes of the Vedic melodies.

There is a long standing tradition, still surviving in current musical practices, that after Vālmīki had composed his Rāmāyana, it was set to music by Bharata himself1 and sung by Lava and Kuśa, who were fortunate in finding as their auditor Rāma himself. We have no means of knowing the character of the melodies to which the Rāmāyana was sung.

It may be remarked that a greater part of what now passes under the name of classical music, at one time or other, belonged to the world of deśī, or folk music, and which being refined and affiliated to the rules and system of the traditional classic music have contributed to its growth and development. Materials are very scanty for tracing the processes by which rāgas evolved in their present forms, characters and classifications. It is certainly difficult to contend that the rāgas as understood to-day, had evolved and were recognized as such, at the time2 when the Nātyaśāstra attributed to Bharata3 was compiled;3 though there would be nothing improbable in the supposition that

(1) Rāmāyana: “Tam sa śuśrāva kākutsthaḥ pūrvācārya--vinirmitam” which a commentator explains: ‘gāthakānām gāna?siddhaye pūrvvācāryyeṇa Bharateṇa nirmmitam.’

(2) According to Keith: “The date of that text (Nātyaśāstra) is uncertain, but we cannot with any certainty place it before the third century A.D.” (The Sanskrit Drama, Oxford, 1924, p. 13.)

(3) The remarks of J. Grosset (Contribution á l’étude La Musique Hindou, 1888, p. 88) are very pertinent in this connexion: “We believe that the introduction of the theory of rāga is of relatively recent date, Bharata in his Nātyaśāstra no-where gives it a definition. He does not devote any adhyāya to the exposition of this musical element which had subsequently such an important development. Therefore in spite of the definition of rāga being attributed to our authority by W. Jones, Mohun Tagore etc., in spite of the quotations that they give as emanating from him (Bharata) and some commentators of dramas, we are of opinion that in the period of the composition of the Nātyaśāstra, the rāgas did not constitute one of the elements of the musical theory but that they were gradually substituted for the jātis which, however, they resembled, and, it seems, permitted a double use.”

10

they may have evolved, though not known and recognized by definite names or associated with any cult, season, or particular areas of culture. In the musical data of the Nāṭyāśāstra (chapter 38) we have definite evidence of the theory of the consonance of notes (samavāditya) in the terminology used viz., vādī, samvādī, anuvādī, vivādī,—

for, they occur in the Mahābhārata (XIV, 14, 19), which is believed to have taken their present form some time between 400 B.C. and 200 A.D. In the Nāṭyaśāstra (ch. 38, śloka 23) we have not only a recognition of the relationship between the consonant, assonant, dissonant notes, but also an allusion to a theory of the relative values of initial and terminal notes graha, nyāsa and apanyāsa (ch. 28, ślokas 80, 81).

But these data appear to be forestalled by Dattila, a musical authority (Sangītacārya), who seems to be earlier than Bharata.1

According to the text attributed to Dattila,2 vādi, anu-vādi and vivādi notes are recognised and defined.

The text of Dattila also refers, in a summary way, to the 18 jātiś, or species of melodies, of which seven take their names after the seven notes. The remaining eleven are also named and described according to their component parts. Of these, seven belong to the ṣadja scale (grāma) and the

(1) According to an old tradition, Dattila is supposed to be one of the five Bharatas (Nandi, Kohala, Dattila, Bharata and Mataṅga) who made the science of music and dramaturgy current in the world. Dattila is sometimes associated with Kohala, and they were supposed to have collaborated in a work known as Dattila-Kohalyam. Kohala being undoubtedly an earlier authority than Bharata, who quotes Kohala, it follows that Dattila is earlier than Bharata. This view is supported by two scholars who have recently investigated into the relative positions of the early authorities on music: |i) V. V. Narasimhachary “The Early Writers on Music” (The Journal of the Music Academy, Madras, October, 1930, p. 259) and (ii) V. Raghavan: “Some names in early Saṅgīta Literature” (Ibid., Vol. III, 1932, No. 1 & 2, p. 12): “The present text (of Bharata) is later than Kohala and even Dattila”.

(2) Published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series. No. CII.

11

rest to the madhyama scale.

We have also, a classification of melody-types according to the number of notes used, into three classes known as pentatonic (odava), sextatonic (khādava) and septatonic (sampūrṇā). Both Dattila and Bharata, therefore, give us all the ingredients or materials for the structure of a melody.

In fact Bharata, following Dattila, classifies the melodies under the name of jātis (species). These he classifies under two modes or scales (grāmas), the ṣadja-grāma and madhyama-grāma. Under these two modes (grāmas) Bharata enumerates the 18 jātis of melodies, the same as given by Dattila (See Anppendix 1 and 2).

According to Mataṅga (an authority who comes next after Bharata), the jātis generate the grāma-rāgas with the use of the tonic-initial the predominating or amśa note.1

Mataṅga gives the following definition of jāti: "The jātis are born out of the initial notes and śrutis (microtones). Hence they are called jātis, from which is born (that is to say, from which begins) the consciousness of flavour that is jāti. In the alternative, by reason of the birth of all kinds of melodies, jātis are so-called."2 The same author expounds the 18 jātis enumerated by Bharata, with somewhat greater elaboration.

In the next chapter (29), Bharata indicates the rasa (passion) and bhāvas (sentiments) of each of the jātis and what jātis should be employed to interpret a particular sentiment.

Bharata's jātis, therefore, for all practical purposes provide the genus out of which the rāgas have been derived although Bharata does not actually use the term rāga. In fact Mataṅga asserts that "he is including in his work informations on such subjects as "courses of rāgas" with their marks and characteristics,—matters which have not been dealt with by Bharata and other sages",3.

That the rāgas, associated with the modes (grāma) urivamsa.

(1) Brhaddeśī (T. S. S. No. XCIV, p. 65).

(2) Ibid., p. 55-56.

(3) "Rāgā-mārgasya yad rūpam yan noktam Bharatādibhir | Nirūpyate tadasmābhir lakṣaṇa-samyutam" || Br̥haddeśī (p. 81).

12

were in existence already before Bharata summarised them

in his sections devoted to music, is proved by sifinificant

allusions in the Harivamśa, (which is regarded as a supple-

ment to the Mahābharata) and is ascribed to about 300

A.D.1

In more than one passages, grāma-rāgas are referred to

and it is very likely, these grāma-rāgas were of the types

indicated by Bharata. In the 89th chapter of the Viṣṇu-

parva in connection with a water carnival, various musical

and dramatic representations are described in the Hari-

vamśa. The women of the descendants of Bhīma sang

various songs.

"O king! the skill required to perform a fraction of the

forms of the different varieties of the six grāma-rāgas

(modal melodies), in their fine and subtle classifications

(jātis), can only be attempted by human beings with great

difficulty" [ch. 89, 82].

According to a different reading, the first passage in

the quotation would refer to eleven varieties (ekādaśa

avayava) of modal melodies answering to the eleven com-

posite modes referred to in Dattila [Appendix 1].

(Chapter 93, verses 23, 24):

"Thereafter, the women of the Bhīma tribe sang Chā-

likya songs in the melody of Devagāndhāra,2 sweet to the

ear like nectar, and pleasant to the ear and a delight to the

mind."

"Then they sang songs beautifully, having for their

subject the Descent of Gaṅgā in the grāma-rāgas which

(1) The date 200 A.D. has been assigned to the Harivamśa on

the ground of the occurrence of the word dīmāra. See Hopkins,

Great Epic of India, p. 387; Winternitz, A History of Indian Litera-

ture (Cal. Ed. Vol. I, 1927, p. 464) remarks "We may assume that

it did not come into existence very long before the 4th century A.D."

R. G. Bhandarkar (Vaiṣṇavism, p. 36) assigns it to "about the third

century of the Christian era."

(2) It is surprising to find, here, a reference to the well-known

melody of Deva-Gāndhāra (Deo-Gāndhā). [See Notes on Plate

XLII]. It is a derivative of the archaic grāma-rāga known as

Bhinna-ṣadja.

went up to Gāndhāra (grāma), with the grandeur of beautiful notes, pierced (viddham) and elaborated (āsāritam)".

"The grāma rāgas referred to above, it may be assumed, were identical with the grāma-rāgas described in the Nātyaśāstra. Only the latter describes the grāma-rāgas appertaining to two grāmas viz. ṣadja and madhyama, while the passage of the Harivaṃśa alludes to rāgas belonging to the gāndhāra-grāma. As some ancient authorities have explained, the last named grāma (scale) was obsolete amongst men and were current in celestial practices. In fact, one text suggests that according to Nārada, the ṣadja-grāma has grown out of the terrestrial regions, the madhyama-grāma from the ethereal regions, and the gāndhara-grāma from the celestial regions, and not from anywhere else.

Anyhow, the grāma-rāgas of Bharata are referred to and described in the Nāradīyā Śikṣā,1 under the names of "Niṣāda-Khāḍava", "Pañcama", "Madhyama-grāma", "Ṣadja-grāma", "Sādhāritam", "Kaiśikam", and "Kaiśikamadhyama". The two last named melodies are described as follows:

"After expressing the Kaiśika (V) in the presence of

(1) Nāradīyā Śikṣā (Sāma-vedīya) edited by Satyavrata Sāmaśramī, Calcutta, 1890. Popley (The Music of India, page 14) suggests that it was "probably composed between the tenth and twelfth century". Considering that its rāga system corresponds very nearly to that of the Kudumiyamālai inscription, the data, if not the text of the Narādīya Śikṣā, must be earlier than the 7th century and considering the fact that it only refers to seven melodies, while the Pañcatantra refers to thirty-six, the former must be earlier than the Pañcatantra.. Kielhorn suggests that some of the Śikṣās are not earlier than the date of Patañjali (2nd century B. C.) "That the Śikṣās in verse were in existence when Patañjali composed his great commentary on Kātyāyana's "Vārtikas" seems to me very probable. The Indian Antiquary, May 1876, p. 143., footnote.

M. Rama Krishna Kavi ('Literature on Music,' Journal, Andhra Historical Research Society, Vol. III, 1928-29, pp. 20-29)) believes that the Nāradīyā Śikṣā, or, at least, the view of Nārada, the traditional author of the Śikṣā, is quoted by Bharata in Chapter 34. He is therefore inclined to place the musical data of the Nāradīyā Śikṣā earlier than Bharata.

14

all the notes, where (the melody) terminates in the madh-yama, there arises “Kaiśika-madhyama” (VI) where the Kākalī (?sharp Nikhāda) is seen and the pañcama predominates. Kaśyapa calls it “Kaiśika”, born of the “Madhyama grāma” (VII), (11th śloka).

The next available evidence of the currency of the grāma-rāgas is furnished by the inscription of Kuḍumiyamālai1 in the Pudukkottai State (Southern India), written in characters of the seventh century. Though not designated as such, seven different varieties of melodies are given in the form of notations namely: (i) Madhyama-grāma (ii) Saḍja-grāma (iii) Sāḍava (iv) Sādhārita (v) Pañcama (vi) Kaiśika-madhyama (vii) Kaiśika, which seem to correspond to the grāma rāgas given in the Nāradīyā Śikṣā the text of which should, therefore, be considered as earlier than the seventh century.

In editing this inscription P. R. Bhandarkar1 remarks: “It is clear that the seven rāgas of this inscription did not exist in the time of Bharati̇ya Nāṭya-śāstra. When they came into existence is not known, the present inscription being the earliest record.” There is no doubt that these seven rāgas, even if they existed at the time, are not indicated in the Nāṭya-śāstra. But a glance at the seven melodies will show that they are identical with the seven melodies described in the Nāradīyā Śikṣā, quoted and translated above. In the last named text their compositional forms are verbally described, while in the inscription their “skeleton notes are given for the benefit of students” (śisya-hitārthāya kṛ̣taḥ svarāgamaḥ). Excepting two viz. ‘Pān-cama’ and ‘Kaiśika’, none of the others in their names, seem to suggest any of the rāgas known in later texts. There is no doubt that here we have the rāgas in their nascent stage, crudely described with reference to their salient notes, long before they came to be associatd with any season, region, or cult, and assumed proper names.

It will be convenient to consider here, a curious reference to the so-called thirty-six rāgas in the Pañcatantra (dated about the fifth century, being anterior to A.D. 570).

(1) P. R. Bhandarkar: “Kudimiyamālai Inscription of Music”, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XII, 1914, p. 266.

In the tale of "Ass as Singer",1 the ass inspired by the beauty of the night expresses a desire to sing, and, being exhorted by his friend the jackal not to sing, boasts of his knowledge of the musical science as will appear from the following extract:

"O! sister's daughter! Look here. It is a very clear beautiful night. I am, therefore, going to sing. Well then, in what melody (rāga) must I sing? * * * * What? Don't I know how to sing? Listen, I will tell you of the theory. It is thus. There are seven notes, three scales, twenty-one grace modes, forty-nine melodic improvisations, three units of time, three voice-registers, six ways of singing, nine emotions, thirty-six variations of the melody (varṇa); and forty minor melodies are known. Thus, the mode of singing will embrace all the 185 parts of song, pure as gold."

The word actually used in the last passage is varṇa which cannot be taken as equivalent to rāgas. On the other hand, in the first passage, the term rāga is actually used in the sense of a song being set to a particular melody. This would certainly suggest that more than one rāga, in the sense we understand to-day, had come into existence and were current in practice. Whether they were still in the stage of grāmarāgas, or had been recognized and labelled by proper names it is impossible to say from the data of this allusion to the science of music in the Pañcatantra (5th century). From the above reference it is difficult to say,—if the six rāgas and thirty-six rāginīs, popular in North India, had been evolved by that time. The passage refers to thirty-six classes altogether.

rhad-deśl

by

Matanga-muni.

We now come to an important text, recently come to light, and known as Bṛhad-deśī by Mataṅga-muni,2 which, though fragmentary, throws a flood of light on the history of the rāgas. As its name implies it is a comprehensive (Bṛhat) treatise on deśī or folk-music, current on the earth, as distinguished from the mārga or celestial music, cur-

(1) Book V, Tale, Vol. II, Harvard Edition, by J. Hertel, 1908 p. 271-72.

(2) Published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series (Vol. XCIV., 1928.)

16

rent in the heavens.

After devoting a chapter to the Jātis, Mataṅga devotes

a special chapter to the rāgas. Indeed, it is in this chapter

of the Bṛhad-deśī that we first come across the word

"rāgas" as understood in all later literature on Indian

music. In the history of the rāgas, Bṛhad-deśī is, therefore,

a very important landmark. Chronologically, the work

stands between the Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata, and the Saṅgita-

makaranda of Nārada, that is to say, some time between the

4th and the 7th century.1

Mataṅga regards rāgas as one of the seven classes of

songs (gītis) current in his time. He cites Yāṣṭika, an ear-

lier authority, according to whom the gītis were of five

classes: śuddha, bhinna, vesara, gauḍa, and sādhārita. At

the time of Mataṅga, the gītis were of seven varieties.2 (1)

śuddha (2) bhinñaka (3) gauḍika (4) rāga-gīti (5) sādhā-

raṇī (6) bhāṣā-gīti (7) vibhāṣā-gītis. The raga-gītis are

fourth in Mataṅga's list (rāga-gītis-caturthikā). He defines

the various classes of gītis, and describes rāga-gītis as fol-

lows: "Attractive note compositions, with beautiful and

illuminating graces are known as rāga-gītis. Where the

four varṇas (probably the four characters of values of

duration, ascent, descent, and movement) are met with in

(1) According to V. Raghavan, Mataṅga cannot be earlier

than the 9th century, while Ram Chandra Kavi seems to assign to

him an earlier date, on the basis of an alleged reference by Mataṅga

to Rudraṭa, who is not the great rhetorician of the 9th century.

According to a quotation given by Kallinātha who cites Mataṅga as

quoting Rudraṭa ) Saṅgīta-Ratnākara, p. 82), V. Raghavan is of opi-

nion that Mataṅga's Bṛhaddeśī cannot be earlier than the 9th

century. Ram Chandra Kavi ("Literary Gleanings", Journal,

Andhra Historical Research Society, Vol. III, 1929, nos. 2, 3, 4 at

pages 200-206 takes Rudraṭa cited by Mataṅga, as Rudrācārya, the

protégé of the kind Mahendra Vikrama, referred to in the Kudu-

miyamālai music inscription (7th century). (See the discussion

of the date in V. Raghavan's paper "Some names in early Saṅgīta

Literature", Journal of the Music Academy, Madras, Vol. II No. 1

& 2, 1932, p. 19, 25-26). Having regard to the archaic nature of the

(2) Published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series (Vol. XCIV,

1928).

3 17

data relating to rāgas cited in Bṛhaddeśī, it is difficult to assign it to a period as late as the 9th century.

a graceful combination that is known as rāga.

Of the seven classes of gītis, sub-divisions are enumerated. Thus 'śuddha' (cokṣa), and 'bhinnala' have each five varieties, 'gauḍas' three varieties; 'rāgas' are of eight varieties and 'sādhāraṇas,' of seven varieties; 'bhāṣās are of sixteen kinds and 'vibhāṣās, of twelve kinds. The eight varieties of rāgas went by the name of (1) Takka, or Taku (2) Sauvīra (3) Mālava-pañcama (4) Khāḍava (5) Voṭṭa-rāga (6) Hindolaka (7) Takka-Kaiśika.

Here then we have the first enumeration of eight of the earliest rāgas known by name. Some of them may have been derived from the 18 jātiṣ described by Bharata.

That the 'bhāṣā', 'vibhāṣā' and sādhāraṇa gītis,' were later related to and amalgamated with the rāga system appears to be suggested by the names given to these gītis.

Thus the 'sādhāraṇa gītis' bear six names (1) Śaka (2) Kakubha (3) Harmaṇa-pañcama (4) Rūpa-sādhārita (5) Gāndhāra-pañcama (6) Ṣaḍja-kaiśika. (Appendix 3).

Even from the time of Bharata, the melodies were used and they naturally developed in association with the different sections of the body of a drama. Thus, in a passage of Bharata quoted by Mataṅga (Bṛhad-deśī, p. 87), it is laid down that the madhyama-grāma melodies should be used in the mukha (opening of the drama), the ṣaḍja-grāma melodies in the pratimukha stages (progression), the sādhārita melodies in the garbha (development) stages, and the pañcama-jāti melodies for the vimarśa (pauses) and so on.

It is from this point of view that the 18 jātiṣ of melodies are assigned by Bharata (Ch. 29, 1-4 verses) their rasa

(1) "Taku-rāgaśca Sauvīrastathā Mālava-pañcamaḥ| Khādavo Voṭṭa-rāgaśca tathā Hindolakah parah|| 314 Taka-kaiśikca ityuktastathā Mālava-Kaiśikāḥ| Ete rāgāḥ samākhyātā nāmato muni-puṅgavaiḥ"|| 315, Bṛhad-deśī, p. 85.

(2) Bṛhaddeśī, p. 87.

This passage cannot be traced in the published text of the Nāṭya-śāstra.

18

values, that is to say, their appropriateness for particular passion, sentiment, or atmosphere of feeling, with reference to particular situations in the plot of a drama ("tat pravṛtte rase kāyaṁ gānamgeye prayoktrbhih," Ch. 29, verse 11.) This is made clear by the more elaborate descriptions of jāti melodies or gītis given by Mataṅga who, while describing the component notes of each gīti, mentions the rasa, or the flavour of sentiment appropriate to each, and the place in the body of the drama where a gīti can be appropriately introduced. And it is very probable that the rāga-gītis, were first distinguished from other classes of gītis (e.g. Śuddha, Bhinna, Gauḍī), on account of the rasa—quality, the power of evoking emphatic and clearly differentiated sentiments, or qualities of feeling.

The only other comment which the text of Mataṅga calls for is that it represents a very early stage in the development of the rāgas, when Kakubha, destined to be pushed to a subordinate position as a rāgiṇī, later on, figures as a major melody, to which several minor melodies (bhāṣās) are affiliated. At this stage, Bhairava, which was later derived from Bhinna-ṣaḍja,1 an ancient jāti-rāga, had not yet come into existence. Unfortunately the successive developments are not supported by documents as there is a considerable gap between the text of Mataṅga and the next landmark.

In the well-known encyclopædia known as Mānasollāsa or Abhilāṣārtha-cintāmaṇi,2 by Someśvara which we owe to a royal author, there are two chapters devoted to music and music data. The work was composed in 1131 A.D. by king Somesvara, son of Vikramaditya of the Western Calukya dynasty, who had their capital city at Kalyāṇī (Kalyān).

(1) Saṅgīta-ratnākara, Vol. 1, p. 191: "Iti Bhinna-ṣaḍjah| Bhairava-stat-samudbhavah Dhāmśo mānto ripa-tyuktah prārthanāyām samasvarah"|| 81.

(2) Portions of Abhilāṣārtha Cintāmaṇi have been printed and published in the Mysore Oriental Publication Series, 69, 1926, and in Gaekwad's Oriental Series No. 28, Vol. 1, 1925. But the published portions do not include the chapters on music. The informations here cited are borrowed from a Ms. in the collection of the Bhandarkar Research Institute, Poona.

19

As an authority on music, the Prince is mentioned by

Śāraṅgadeva in his work.1 He was also the author of a

special treatise on music entitled Saṅgīta-ratnāvalī which

is known only by references in other works.2 The discus-

sion of rāgas is confined only to the first 80 verses in the

chapter in the encyclopædia devoted to music, but the

chapter does not contain any reference to the system of rāga-

classification, which is attributed to Someśvara in the Rāga-

darpana, (Appendix 8) and other works; probably, the

system was set out in the Saṅgīta-ratnāvalī.. The topic is

introduced by tracing the rāgas indirectly from the Sāma-

veda. 'From the jātis the rāgas were ascertained. From

the rāgas came the bhāṣās, and then the vibhāṣās, and the

antara-bhāṣikās.3 According to the author, Deśī-rāgas

derived from the names of regions, have been current in

his time, in popular and beautiful forms.4 “The rāga deve-

lops by hearing, and the mind is always pleased and elated

by it, therefore they are called rāgas; I am proceeding to

recite them by names.'5 Then, the author gives a catalogue

of the different classes or types of rāgas, apparently current

in his time. Thus, the five śuddha rāgas are stated to be:

(1) Śuddha-ṣāḍava, (2) Śuddha-pañcama, (3) Śuddha-

(1) "Rudrajo Nānya-bhūpālo Bhoja-bhū-vallabhastathā||

Paramārdī ca Someśo jagadeka-mahīpatih'"|| Saṅgīta-

ratnākara.

(2) See discussion in the editor's Introduction to Bhāva-

prakāśana (G.O.S., Vol. XLV, 1930, pp. 73-74). A

work called Saṅgīta-ratnāvalī by Soma-rāja-pratihāra

was announced for publication in the Gaekwad's Ori-

ental Series, years ago.

(3) "Sāma-vedāt svarā jātiḥ svarebhyo grāmosambhavah|

Grāmebhyo jāatayo jāatā jāatibhyo rāga-nirṇayah||1||

Rāgebhyaśca tathābhāṣā vibhāṣāśc āpi sañjātastathaivā

antara-bhāṣikā||2||

Abhilāṣārtha-cintāmaṇi

(4) "Deśī-rāga***deśa-nāma-samudbhavāḥ|

Pravartante vinodeṣu sāmpratam sumaharāḥ"||3|| Ibid.

(5) Rāgaḥ pravardhate śrutyā rajyate mānasaṃ sadā|

Tena rāgāḥ samākhyātā nāmatastān vravimyaham||4|| Ibid.

20

sādhārita, (4) Śuddha-kaiśika-madhyama, (5) Śuddha-kaiśika. The names of the five Bhinna-rāgas are: (1) Bhinna-ṣadja (2) Bhinna-tāna(?) (3) Bhinna-kaiśika-madhyama (4) Bhinna-pañcama (5) Bhinna-kaiśika. The three Gauḍas are: (1) Gauḍa-pañcama, (2) Gauḍa-kaiśika-madhyama, (3) Gauḍa-kaiśika. The rāgas proper are said to be eight in number : (1) Śādava, (2) Voḍda-rāga, (3) Mālava-pañcama (4) Takka-kaiśika, (5) Sauvīra, (6) Mālava-kaiśika, (7) Hindola, (8) Taka.1 Of Sādhāraṇa melodies, seven names are given: (1) Narta, (2) Śaka, (3) Kakubha, (4) Harmaṇa-pañcama, (5) Rūpa-sāḍhārita, (6) Gāndhāra-pañcama, (7) Ṣadja-kauśika.

The author then gives a series of verses describing the structure of the following melodies : Śrī-rāga, Soma-rāga, Mālava-kauśika, Harṣa-purī(?) Hindola, Deśī-Hindola, Bhairivī, Mahlāra, Sāverī, Valitī (? Vahuli), Vaingāla, Kar-nāta-Vaingāla, Gurjarī, Saurāṣṭrī, Pun-nāta, Kaiśiki, Śuddha-varāṭī, Karnāṭa-varāṭī, Drāviḍa-varāṭī, Śuddha-maṭī, Megha-rāga, Ahīrī, Chāyāṇī, Toḍī, (?), Dullī-Toḍī, Vahlāna, Vā-hurī, Velā-ullī, Chāyā-velā-ullī, Cundyī, Hamṣa, Kham-bhārī, Kāmoda, Simhalī-Kāmoda, Deśānaka (? Deśākhya), Danthibhi(?), Kolāhala, Saindhavī, Dāmva-kṛti, Rāmakṛti, and Nuṇḍa-(? Tuṇḍa)-kṛti. This is an interesting list and helps us to realise that many of the melodies had come into existence a century before Śārangadeva wrote his treatise. The different varieties of Ṭoḍīs are of interest. The original form of the name Velā-ullī, apparently an aboriginal melody, later sanskritized into Velāvalī, also deserves notice.

Unfortunately, the successive developments are not supported by documents, as there is a considerable gap between the text of Mataṅga and the next landmark.

The text of Sangīta-makaranda, the next available record of the history of the rāgas, though bearing testimony to the considerable development that has taken place bet-

Sangīta-makaran by Nārac

(1) Śādavo Voda-rāgaca tathā mālava-pañcamah||9|| Taka-kauśika-sauvīra Tathā mālava-kauśika||10|| Hindola-taka-rāgasca ityastau rāgā-bhavantyasu (? ami)||10||. If we compare this list with the 8 rāgās catalogued by Mataṅga (ślokas 314-315, at pp. 84-85), we find that they are identical.

ween the fifth and the eleventh century,1 is very poor in

actual musical data. Beyond giving some important lists

of names of rāgas the text does not offer any descriptions

of the melodies mentioned. Nārada, the author of this work,

(not the mythical sage associated with the early legends of

Hindu music), for the first time, perhaps, gives us an elabo-

rate enumeration and classification of rāgas as known to

the Northern system at the time of its composition. The

author in fact gives two stages in the development of the

classification. (Appendix 4).

But the most important data, furnished by this text,

is the origin of the distinction between rāgas and rāginīs.

Here, we have for the first time a classification of the melo-

dies into masculine and feminine groups, thus initiating the

differentiation between rāgas and rāginīs. In fact, Nārada

gives three classifications, viz., Masculine melodies (puṃ-

linga-rāgāh), Feminine melodies (śtrī-rāgāh) and Neuter

melodies (napuṃsaka-rāgāh). The principle of classifica-

tion is according to the character of the feeling (rasa)

(1) On the basis of a reference to Mātrgupta, a contemporary

of Śilāditya partāpśila of Mālava (A. D. 550-600), Mr. M. R. Telang

the Editor of Saṅgīta-Makaranda by Nārada (Gaekwad's Oriental

Series, No. XVI), ascribes this text to a period between seventh

and the eleventh centuries. Mr. Telang in discussing the date omits

to consider the bearing of the word Turuṣka, as the melody Turuṣka-

tundī (=Turuṣka-Toḍī?) is twice mentioned (p. 16, 18), suggesting

a contact with Mussulman music which is believed to have taken

place about the time of Āmir Khusru, the court-poet of Sultan

Alau'd din Khiljīi (1290-1360). The connotation of the word

Turṣka as such would not necessarily imply the Moslem invaders

of the eleventh century. For, Kalhaṇa (11th century) in his Rāja-

taraṅginī uses the word to refer to the Kuṣāna Kings who came from

Central Asia (Turkestan=Turuṣka-deśa). It is doubtful if the

word could have been applied to the Hunas, the nomad hordes,

from Central Asia which poured into India in 455 A. D. 'The land

of the Turuṣkas' is actually referred to in seventh century. (Bāna's

Harṣa-carita, Cowell & Thomas' Translation, London, 1897, p. 290).

So that the name Turuṣka-Toḍī, would not, necessarily, imply a

contact with the Mussulmans, and may stand for a Kuṣāna melody

like the Saka-rāga.

evoked by the melodies. Thus it is laid down that in interpreting feelings or sentiments of passion, admiration or heroism, the masculine melodies should be employed. In interpreting feelings of love, humour, and sorrow, the feminine melodies should be employed. In interpreting feelings of terror, abhorrence, and peace, the neuter melodies should be employed.1 Mataṅga, as we have seen, indicated the emotive values of the major melodies described by him. Unfortunately, none of these figures in the list given in the Saṅgīta-makaranda, and we have no materials to compare the rasa values of melodies prevailing during the respective periods represented by Mataṅga and Nārada. The latter prefaces his list of the three sets of rāgas, with the remark that the names given by him represent the principal melodies whose numbers are incalculable and vary in different regions.2 So that we cannot take his enumerations as exhaustive. He gives a list of 20 masculine rāgas, 24 feminine rāgas, and 13 neuter rāgas.

Whatever may have been the basis of the subsequent development, the six rāgas enumerated in the Saṅgīta-makaranda formed the earliest group and was made the foundation of the earliest mythology of the melodies. The earliest legends ascribe to Śiva, or Naṭarāja, the origin of the science of music and dramaturgy. Śiva the cosmic dancer, is known as the arch-dramatist, and the whole of the Nāṭya-śāstra (embracing singing, dancing, and dramatic representations) is derived by ancient legend from this great-god (Mahā-deva). According to this legend, the rāgas are said to have been derived from the union of Śiva and Śakti (female energy),—Pārvatī, or Giri-jāyā. From the five faces of Śiva at the beginning of his dance (narttā-rambhe) came out the five rāgas:—Śrī-rāga, Vasanta, Bhairava, Pañcama, and Megha, while the sixth rāga, Naṭa-

(1) 'Raudre' dbhute tathā vīre pum-rāgaih parigīyate| Sṛṅgāra-hāsya-karuṇa strī-rāgaiśca pragīyate||62|| Bhayānake ca vībhatse śānte gāyannapun̄msake| Saṅgīta-makaranda, p. 19.

(2) Evam pradhāna-rāgāh syur laksanoktam yathā-kramam||50|| Anantāḥ santi sandarbhāḥ nānā-deśyāḥ prakīrtitāḥ| Ibid. p. 18.

nārāyaṇa came out of the mouth of Pārvatī (Giri-jāyā), the daughter of the Himālaya when she performed the elegant lāsya dance.1

One is inclined, not without some diffidence, to place the text of the Pañcama-sāra-samhitā,2 attributed to Nārada, after the Sangīta-makaranda. It has some archaic features, particularly in the peculiar absence of the Bhairava rāga.3

On the other hand, the allusions to names of some rāgas which distinctly bear the impress of later times (e.g. Koḍā, Kānoḍā, Sindhuḍā, Āsāvarī, Māhārāṭi etc.) tend to pull the date of the text towards a period, centuries later than the Sangīta-makaranda. This apparent contradiction may, perhapss, be explained by the fact that the melodies mentioned in this text were current, as suggested by the author, in an area embracing some parts of Rajputana, Guzerat, Cutch and the regions near the sea,4 that is to say, surviving in a small area, long after other developments had overtaken other musical centres of Northern India. The text evidently relates to musical theories prevalent in the North, at the time, and belongs to a period, when out of the large mass of floating melodies, six had been selected as major melodies

(1) Śiva-śakti-samāyogād rāgāṇām saṃbhavo bhavet| Pañcāsyāt pañca rāgāḥ syuh saṣṭhastu Girijāmukhāt||9|| Sadyo vaktattu Srīrāgo vāmadevād vasantakh| 10 Aghorād bhairavo ‘bhūt tatpuruṣāt pañcamo’ ‘bhavat||10|| Īśānākhyād megha-rāgo nātyārambhe Śivādahūt| Girijāyā-mukāllāsye naṭṭa-nārāyaṇo’ bhavat||11|| Sangīta-darpana, Calcutta Edition, p. 72.

(2) There are several Mss. of this work. The quotations here given are based on a Bengali Ms. (No. 716), in the collection of the Bangīya Sāhitya Parisad, Calcutta. The copy of this text, made by one Vaiṣṇava Vairāgī, is dated 1700 Śakāvda=1778 A. D.

(3) This state of the melodies, namely Bhairava omitted, while Bhairavī is included, also occurs in the rāga data furnished by the Nāṭya-locana.

(4) “Meroruttarataḥ pūrvve paścime dakṣ̣ine tathā| Samudra-kacchape deśās tatrāmiṣ̣ām pracāraṇā|| Bhārate yaśca-bhū-bhāgaḥ pāramparyyopadeśataḥ| Rāgāḥ saḍ atha rāgiṇyaḥ saṭ-triṃśat khyātimāgatāḥ| Pañcama-sāra-saṃhitā, Ch. III, Rāga-nirṇaya.”

24

RAGINI SARANG

to each of which five or six minor melodies are related and assigned. According to this text, the major melodies, or rāgas proper, come in the following order: “First comes Mālava, the king of the rāgas, then comes Mallāra, and after it comes Śrī-rāga and then Vasanta, Hindola and Karnāṭa coming next,—these are the rāgas known by fame, and they are dressed as males.”1 We have, here, for the first time, the minor, or the derivative melodies designated as the 'wives of the rāgas' (rāga-yoṣita) and the word 'rāginī' is used in the text, for the first time. They are assigned to their appropriate rāgas in a scheme given in Appendix 13.

This would be a convenient and appropriate place to notice the rāga data offered by the unpublished manuscript of the Nāṭya-locana, a compendium of dramaturgy of some-what uncertain date, not earlier than the ninth century and not later than the thirteenth.” The rāgas enumerated in this text, offer some peculiar features, which suggest an early stage. They belong to a time, when the distinction between 'male' or 'female' rāgas had not come into existence. It purports to cite 44 rāgas, of which eight are stated to be śuddha rāgas, sixteen of the sālamka class (chāyā laga), and twenty-two are said to be sandhi rāgas.3 In the muti-

Nāṭya-locana:

(1) Ādau Mālava rāgendrastato mallāra-samjñakah| Śrī-rāgastasya paścāttu vasantastadanantaram.| Hindolaśāthakarnāṭa ete rāgāḥ prakīrttitāḥ| Puruṣa vastrā-bhūṣādhyā rāgāḥ sat Mālavādayah.|| Ibid.

(2) The work seems to survive in a single Ms. in the collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal No. III, E. 158. As it quotes Anargha-rāghava (c. 850) the upper limit of the date cannot be earlier than the ninth century. Its lower limit can only be inferred from the list of rāgas which it enumerates and which include some very archaic names, e.g. pañcama-mālava, śuddha-nāṭa, sālamka, mādhavāri, sāveri, vicitrā and himakīrīka. It does not mention Bhairava the absence of which suggests an early date.

(3) It is not clear what class sandhī rāgas represent. It may mean miśra or sañkīrṇa (mixed type). Perhaps it corresponds to the jāti-sādhāraṇa of Bharata who calls it 'sandhi' or 'twilight of the rāgas'. (See Fox-Strangways' Music of Hindusthan, p. 138-139). Alternately, sandhī-rāgas may mean rāgas suitable for singing at

4

25

lated text available, some of the names cannot be read and

accurately deciphered. The first group of eight consists

of:–Pañcama-mālava, Mādhavāri, Hindola, Mālasikā, Velā-

vali, Toḍi, Gāndhāra, and Naṭa. The second group consists

of: Lalitā, Bhairavī, Bhāṣa, Vasanṭa, Gurjarī, Koḍā-Deśākh

Deśa-Varāṭī, Vicitrā, Gaunḍa-kirī, Varāḍī, Mānavati, Vāṇ-

gāla, Karnāṭa, Rāma-Kirī, Sālamka, Navanāṭa, Deśākh,

Nṛpa-mālava. The third group consists of:–Mallāra, Patha-

mañjarī, Dhanāśikā, Karnāḷī, Hemakirīkā, Savarī, Dīvāḍī,

Khamvāvati, Takka, Kāmoda, Devakirī, Laungirāṭī (?),

Moṭaki, Bhallāṭa, Vāheḍī, Gunakirī, Kokīrikā, Madhukarī,

Gaudī and Anunī(?) (Appendix 6).

The list undoubtedly includes many archaic and obso-

lete melodies which did not survive in later times. The

absence of Bhairava provides an additional archaic feature,

while the presence of Bhairavī in the list suggests that the

Bhairava came into existence later and was related to Bhai-

ravī, already in existence.

tengali

hist

s

We have a very interesting corroboration of the exist-

ence of some of these melodies at last some time prior to

the tenth century in the archaic Bengali songs of the Bud-

dhist mystic of the Sahajiyā sect, by name Siddhācārya

Luipā, whom Haraprasad Sastri, associating with Dīpam-

kara Śri-jñāna, places in the tenth century,1 while Benoy-

tosh Bhattacharya believes Luipā lived about 669 A.D.2

Each of these songs collected under the name of Caryācarya-

viniścaya, bears on the heading of each song, the name of

the melody in which it is required to be sung. The follow-

ing names of rāgas are indicated: Paṭamañjarī, Gauḍā,

Gavaḍā (Gauḍa), Arū, Guñjarī (? Guḷjarī), Devā-kri,

Deśākh, Bhairavi, Kāmod, Dhanasī, Varāḍī, Valāddī, Mal-

lārī, Mālaśī, Mālasī-Gavuḍā (Mālava-Gauḍa), Kahnu-

Guñjari, Vaṅgāla, Śīvarī Śavarī (Sāverī). Nearly all of

the five sandhīs, 'intervals' of the five portions of a drama, cp. "Vini-

yukto garbha-sandhau śuddha-sādharitobudhaiḥ". (Saṅgīta-ratnā-

kara, part i, p. 157).

(1) Hara Prasad Sastri: Bauddha Gān O Dohā, Calcutta, 1323,

Introduction, p. 15-16.

(2) Benoytosh Bhattacharya: An Introduction to Buddhist

Esoterism, 1932, p. 69.

these melodies are cited in the Saṅgīta-makaranda.

A very interesting reference to the uses of melodies in connection with rituals is furnished by the rules as to the consecration of the Nava-patrikā ('a new plantain shoot', symbolizing the great goddess) laid down in the Kālikā-purāṇa in connection with the initiatory ceremonies of the Durgā-cult, the great autumnal festival (śāradīyā-pūjā) still current in Bengal. The rules and the formulas for the consecration are not set out in the printed edition of the Purāṇa, and have been borrowed, here, from a manuscript in the possession of a professional priest. The ritual consists of bathing and consecrating the 'new shoot' by waters from eight different sources collected in eight different jars. As each jar of water is poured over the shoot, it has to be accompanied by singing a particular rāga, with specified manner of drum accompaniment, together with the recitation of mantram invoking the auspicious influences of eight different gods and celestial beings:

"The Lustration of the New Shoot: It should be placed in the court-yard of the house and then consecrated by bathing with waters from the eight jars.

"After singing the Mālava-rāga, with drum accompaniment of 'victory', pouring from the jar filled with water from the (river) Ganges, (the following words to be recited): 'Oṃ! Let the Gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara sprinkle Thee with this first jar filled with water from the celestial Ganges'||1||

"After singing the Lalita-rāga, with accompaniment of the drum dundubhī, pouring from the jar filled with rain-water, (the following words to be recited): 'Oṃ! Let the devoted celestial Winds (Marutah) sprinkle Thee, O! Thou goddess of the Gods! with this second jar, filled with water from the Clouds'||2||

"After singing the Vibhāṣa-rāga, with accompaniment of the drum dundhubī, pouring from the jar filled with water from the river Sarasvatī, (the following words to be recited): 'Oṃ! Let the Vidyādharas sprinkle Thee, O! Thou the Best of the gods! with this third jar, filled with water from the Sarasvati'||3||

"After singing the Bhairava-rāga, with drum accompaniment in the 'Bhima-measure,' pouring from the jar

filled with water from the Sea, (the following words to be recited): 'Oṃ! Let Śukra and the other Lokapālas descend and sprinkle Thee with this fourth jar, filled with water from the sea'||4||

"After singing the Kedāra-rāga, with drum accompaniment proper for the lustration of Indra, pouring from the jar filled with water mingled with pollens of lotuses, (the following words to be recited): 'Oṁ! Let the Nāgas (the snake-gods) sprinkle Thee with this fifth jar, filled with water fragrant with pollens from lotuses'||5||

"After singing the Varāḷī-rāga, with accompaniment of the blowing of the conch-shell pouring from the jar filled with waters from the water-falls, (the following words to be recited): 'Let the Himavat (Himālaya), the Hemakūṭa and other Mountains sprinkle Thee with this sixth jar filled with water from the Cascades'||6||

"After singing the Vasantā-rāga, with accompaniment of the 'Five Sounds,'1 pouring from the jars filled with waters from all the sacred pools, (the following words to be recited): 'Oṃ! Let the Seven Sages (Ṛṣis) sprinkle Thee O! Thou Goddess of the Gods, with this seventh jar filled with waters from all the sacred pools of the Holy places'||7||

"After singing the Dhanāśī (Dhanā-śrī)-rāga, with drum accompaniment of 'victory,' pouring water from the jars filled with pure consecrated water, (the following words to be recited): 'Oṃ! Let the Vasus sprinkle Thee with water from this eighth jar. I adore Thee! Goddess Durgā, with accessions of eight sacred and auspicious influences!'||8||

[Ritual for the Worship of Durgā, as enjoined in the Kalikā-Purāṇa].

(1) 'The Five Sounds' (pañca śabda) is probably the same as the 'Five Great Sounds' (Pañcamahā-śabda) which an Imperial Sovereign is entitled to use as the Royal insignia of his office. According to a text cited in the Prabandha cintāmaṇi (Tawney's translation, p. 214), they represent five kinds of music emanating from metal, throat, drum, vīṇā, and bugle. The matter is discussed by Grouse (Indian Antiquary, Vol. V, p. 534), Pathak (Ibid, Vol. XII, p. 96) and recently in the Journal of the Bombay Royal Asiatic Society 1933.

28

The reading of the text suggests that words are to be preceded by singing of the rāgas. Very probably, what is intended is that the priest should sing the words of the eight invocations in the melodies prescribed for each, with the specified accompaniment in each case. The Kālikā-purāṇa, one of the minor purāṇas, is of uncertain date, but must belong to a period prior to the currency of the Durgā-pūjā as an established cult in Bengal about the tenth, or eleventh century, to which date this text may be approximately assigned.

The next important text is that attributed to king Nānyadeva who is supposed to be a prince of a later branch of the Rāṣṭra-kūṭa (Karṇāṭa) dynasty and who, according to Jaysawal1, reigned in Mithilā between 1097 and 1133 A.D. His capital was at Simaramapur (modern Simraon) now lying within the border of Nepal. Professedly written as a commentary (bhāṣya) on Bharata’s Nāṭya-śāstra, his work Sarasvatī-hṛdayālaṃkāra2 is in a way an independent

Sarasvatī-Hṛdayā-lamkāra Nānyadev

(1) Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol. IX, pp. 200-310; Vol. X, pp. 31-46. Mr. R. C. Mazumdar in his article ‘Nānya Deva of Mithila,’ (Indian Historial Quarterly, Vol. VII, 1931, p. 679), discusses his date. Following Sylvain Lévi, Mazumdar accepts 1037 A. D. as the date of his accession, and suggests that Nānya Deva must have died before 1154 A. D. Manmohan Chakravartty in his ‘History of Mithila during the Pre-Mughal Period (Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XI, 1915, pp. 407-433) discusses the position of general culture during the period. The other outstanding musical composition of the time is Jagaddhara’s Sangīta-Sarvasva and the chapters dealing with music in Jyotiriśvara’s Maithil Encyclopædia, Varṇa-ratnākara.

(2) The work survives in a unique Ms. of 221 folios in the Collection of the Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, Poona, No. 111, 1869-70, catalogued under the title Bharatabhāṣya. It is an incomplete Ms. with the 16th and 17th chapters missing. Each chapter ends with a Colophon. The terminating Colophon runs as follows: “Iti mahā sūmantādhipati dharmāvalaukā Śri-man-Nānyapati-viracite Sarasvatī-Hṛdayālaṃkāra Bharata-vārtike vācikāṃśo saṣṭho kadhyāya samāptaḥ.” We are indebted to Ramchandra Kavi who discovered the work and drew our attention to it. By the courtesy of the

treatise as he has introduced much new matters not touched by earlier authorities, the grāma and jāti rāgas being very fully treated. The treatise stands between the Bṛhad-deśī and Saṅgīta-ratnākara, the date of which are anticipated in this work. Nānyadeva derives most of his materials from Nārada, Yāṣṭika, Kaśyapa,1 and Mataṅga, the last two of whom are profusely quoted as important authorities. He remarks: “How could people of lesser intelligence succeed in swimming across the ocean of melodies which such early exponents of rāgas as Mataṅga and others failed to cross,”2 meaning thereby that it is impossible to describe the melodies exhaustively. Yet he devotes two long chapters (sixth and seventh) in describing the lakṣaṇa (structure), the ālāpaka (improvisation), and the rūpaka (notation) of numerous melodies current during his time. In each case, the definitions of Kaśyapa and Mataṅga are given followed by the notation for each melody. Following Mataṅga, he gives the various classifications of melodies (Appendix 6). He divides gītis under five instead of under the seven groups given by Mataṅga (Appendix 3). He uses the word root-rāgas (mūla-rāga) for the major melodies (mukhyā) which are so called “because of their extremely soothing qualities.”3 He uses a new term called ‘Svarākhya rāgas’, i.e., melodies which take their names according to the notes (svara) e.g. the grāma rāgas such as Ṣaḍjī, Āṛṣabhī, Dhaivatī, etc. A similar term used in Deśākhya rāgas, i.e., melodies which borrow their names from the country, province, or region of their origins.4 They are five in number and, are classed as Upa-rāgas: Dākṣiṇātyā, Saurāṣṭrī, Gūrj-

Bhandarkar Institute the original Ms. was lent to the writer for the purpose of study.

(1) He quotes from two musical authorities of the same name of Kaśyapa, one of whom he describes as Bṛhat-Kaśyapa the Senior” (in describing the melody ‘Gandharvamodana’ at folio 111).

(2) “Yo na tirno Mataṅgādyaiḥ rāga-dvaiḥ rāga-sāgarah| Svalpa-buddhyā pūrveṇeha sanataritumaśakyate katham||

(3) “Rañjanādatisayatvena tāstu mukhyāḥ prakīrtitāḥ|

(4) “Deśākhyā Dākṣiṇātyāca Saurāṣṭrī Gūrjarītathā| Vāṅgālī Saiṅdhavaī co(?)he pancārtu tettupagrajāḥ||

jarī, Vaṅgālī, and Saindavī.1 Of various melodies described by their note structures and notations we come across some new names such as 'Stambha-patrikā' and 'Tumburu-priya'.2 An interesting information is cited by the author as to the authorship of the well-known rāga known as 'Reva-gupta.' It is said that a person called Saṃgrāma Gupta was the creator of this melody.3 It is tempting to believe that he may have been a music expert associated with the Gupta dynasty. Nānyadeva devotes a small section of his work in indicating the presiding deity of the principal melodies. Some indications are also given as to the appropriate hours and seasons for the melodies.

The most elaborate and authoritative exposition of Indian musical theories and practices is furnished by the magnum opus, known as Saṅgīta-Ratnākara, which we owe to Śāraṅgadeva, who is justly regarded as the greatest authority of the mediæval period. He lived in the first half of the 13th century (A.D. 1210-1247) and was associated with the Court of the Yādava dynasty of the Deccan which had its capital at Devagiri (Daulatabad) which was a centre of intellectual activity having contact with both the north-

Sāranga-deva's Sangīta-Ratnākara:

(1) Ṣadjāṃśa-dhṛta-sadjā sampūrṇo nysta-dhaivata Dhaivani-kāriti-pā-īkhyakā gamaka-yutā Kakubhokta Stambha-patrikā-bhihitā: Tathā ca Brahaddeśyām| Ṣadjāṃśa dhaivatānyāsa sampurno saptabhiḥ svaraih| Kavibhiḥ Kakubho-tthā(?) ca kathyate Stambha-patrikā||

(2) "Gāndharāṃśo madhyamā nyāso ni-dhi-na su sapaam-dhanikah| Dhaivata-sadjo peta-rāgaḥ syāt Tumburu-priyah|| Tathāca-Kaśyapaḥ: Gāndharāṃśo niṣādāṃto madhyama nyāsa samyutaḥ| Ṣadja dhaivata ni-mukto vijneyas Tumburu-priyah||

(3) Vira-roudrādhbhūta-rase tāna jīvana saṃjnake Abhi ṣadja tāyāṃ mūrccha-grayaṃ (?) madhyama śruto Āṛṣadhyāṃ ṛsaba amśa nyāsayoh|| Ṣadja-varjita-jita-saṃgrāma-gupten Reva-gupta prakīrttitah| Tathāca Kaśyapaḥ: Āṛṣbhi-jāti sambhūto ṛṣabhāmta staddāmtakah| Sampūrṇo Reva-gupta stu vidvadbhiḥ ṣadja-śādvah||

Folio 68.

ern and southern streams of art and culture. Śāraṅgadeva's

work undoubtedly bears signs of this contact with the music

of the Northern and as well as the Southern School. "It is .

possible," as Popeley has suggested, "that he (Śāraṅgadeva)

is endeavouring to give the common theory which underlies

both systems." After considering the texts of Bharata,

Dattila, Mataṅga, and Nārada, one can have no doubt that

Śāraṅgadeva gives an elaborate résumé of the general sys-

tem of Indian music in theory and practice as had been

developed in the centuries previous to the thirteenth. He

gives detailed exposition of th jātis, and the grāma-rāgas,

accompanied by actual notations. He devotes a large sec-

tion of his chapter on melodies (rāga-vivekādhyāya) to the

deśī melodies famous in ancient times (prāk-prasiddha-

deśī-rāgāh). He gives an historical survey of rāgas accord-

ing to Yāṣṭīka and Mataṅga. He then gives a preliminary

list of 8 uparāgas : Tilaka, Śaka, Takka-saindhava, Kokila,

Pañcama, Revagupta, and Pañcama-ṣāḍava. Next he gives

a general list of 20 rāgas namely: Bhāvanā-pañcama, Nāga-

gāndhāra, Nāga-pañcama, Śrī-rāga, Naṭṭa, Vaiṅgāla, Bhāsa,

Madhyama-ṣāḍava, Raktahaṃsa, Kollahāsa, Prasava, Bhai-

rava-dhvani, Megha-rāga, Somarāga, Kāmoda, Ābhra-paṅ-

cama, Kandarpa-deśākhyā, Kakubha, Kaiśika, Naṭṭa-nārāyaṇa

(Appendix 9).

We notice here several melodies of the bhāṣā class

accepted as major rāgas. He then enumerates, on the autho-

rity of Yāṣṭīka, fifteen melodies—which are asserted as

generic rāgas from which the minor melodies bhāṣās

(rāgiṇīs) are derived.1 These are: Sauvīra, Kakubha,

Ṭakka, Pañcama, Bhinna-pañcama, Ṭakka-Kaiśika, Hindo-

laka, Vhoṭṭa, Mālava-kaiśika, Gāndhāra-pañcama, Bhinna-

ṣaḍja, Vesara-ṣāḍava, Mālava-pañcama,2 Tāna, Pañcama-

ṣaḍava.

The list of so-called major or generic rāgas improves on

the list of the eight generic rāgas given by Mataṅga, by

incorporating some melodies of the Bhinṇaka and Sādhārita

(1) "Bhāṣānām Janakāh pañca-daśaite Yāṣṭikoditāh," Saṅgīta-

ratnākara, p. 152.

(2) "Mālava pañcamāntaḥ," probably stands for 'Mālava-

pañcama'.

32

types. Then he proceeds to enumerate the different bhāṣās or derivative melodies affiliated to these rāgas. In the next section he describes the further subdivisions of the melodies into rāgāñgas, bhāṣāñgas and kriyāñgas on the authority of Kaśyapa, son of Sodhala1 and enumerates 34 melodies. “These 34 rāgas are said to have been famous in early times.”2 “Now,” says Sāraṅgadeva, “I am proceeding to enumerate those which are famous in modern times.”3 These are famous in modern times” “The aggregate numbers of these rāgas amount to 264,” so says Sāraṅgadeva.4 Kalli-nātha, commenting on this list, explains Deśavāl as equivalent to Kedāragauda, and Tauruṣka as equivalent to Mālava-gauḍa.

But the most valuable information that this text conveys to us is as to the ancestry of several of the rāgas, whose names occur for the first time in the Saṅgīta-makaranda and which rāgas must have acquired those names some time before the last named text, say about the eighth century. The text of Sāraṅgadeva affords the only evidences as to the sources from which these well-known rāgas derive their character and existence.

Very instructive examples are offered as to the melody-bases from which some of the rāgas famous in later times, derive their character, though no clue is available as to their proper names. Thus, we are informed by Sāraṅgadeva for the first time, that the rāga Bhairava is derived from the archaic melody, Bhinna-ṣaḍja. “It has ‘dha’ for its tonic note, ‘ma’ for its finale, and it avoids the notes ‘ri’ and ‘pa’; it is a melody of equivalent values for prayers.”

(1) Rañjanādrāgatā bhāsā rāgāṅgāderapiṣyate| Deśī-rāgatayā proktam rāgāṅgādi catuṣṭayam.|| 2 Prasiddhā-grāma-rāgādyā keciddeśī tyapiritāḥ| Tatra pūrva-prasiddhānāmuddeśaḥ kriyate’ dhunā.|| 3 || Ibid, p. 155.

(2) Catus-trimśadime rāgāḥ prāk-prasiddhāḥ prakīrtitāḥ. 8. Ibid, p. 155.

(3) Athādhunā prasiddhānāmuddeśaḥ pratipādyate.|| 9

(4) Ete’dhunā prasiddhāḥ syur dvāpañcaśatmdnoramāḥ| 18 Saraveṣām iti rāgāṇām militānām śata-dvayam| Catuḥ-ṣaṣṭya-dhikam vrūte sāraṅgi śrī-karnāgranī.|| 19 ||

5 33

Sangita-Samayasāra by Pārśva-deva:

After Śārṅgadeva, the musical authority that claims our attention is Pārśvadeva. Born of Brahmin parents he was a convert to Jainism. He wrote a work entitled Saṅgīta-Samayasāra,1 devoted to music and dancing. Very probably he was a contemporary of Śāraṅgadeva, or lived shortly after him,2 say, about the middle of the thirteenth century. Most probably he belonged to the group of musical authorities of Northern India, as he quotes Mātrgupta king of Kashmir, king Bhoja Pāramāra of Malva, king Someśvara of the Cālukya dynasty of Anhilwara (Gujerat), and king Pramārdi of the Candela dynasty. Pārśvadeva, who calls himself as a 'Mine of music' (Sangītākara), devotes a short chapter of 75 verses to the rāgas. He does not state what are the major rāgas, and he principally deals with the minor melodies under rāgāṅgas, bhāṣāṅgas, upāṅgas and kriyāṅgas which he defines as follows: 'Rāgāṅgas are so-called by the learned as they imitate the appearances (shadows) of rāgas. Similarly bhāṣāṅgas are imitators of the visages (shadows) of bhāṣās. The upāṅgas are so-called by the learned by reason of imitating the visages of aṅgas.'3 The author then proceeds to enumerate the rāgāṅgas, bhāṣāṅgas, upāṅgas and kriyāṅga-rāgas under the three

(1) Edited by T. Ganapati Sastri from a single Ms. and published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, No. LXXXVII, 1925.

A second Ms. of this work is in the Madras Oriental Library, No. 13028.

(2) He is not mentioned by Śāraṅgadeva. He quotes King Bhoja, (1010-1055 A.D.), King Someśvara (C. 1330 A.D.) and King Paramardi (C. 1165-1203 A.D.). He is quoted by Singha Bhūpāla (C. 1330 A.D.), he must therefore have lived some time between 1200 and 1300 A.D. V. Raghavan, who discusses his date ('Some names in early Saṅgīta Literature,' Journal Music Academy of Madras, Vol. III, Nos. 1 and 2, 1932, at p. 30), suggests that his date falls between 1165 and 1330 A.D.

(3) Rāga-cchāyā-nukāritvād rāgāṅgāni vidurabudhāḥ| Bhāṣāṅgāni tathaiva syuhr-bhāṣā-chāyā-nukāratāḥ|| 1 || Aṅga-cchāyā-nukāritvādupāṅgam kathyate budhaiḥ.| Tān-nānām karanam tantryāḥ kriyābhedena kathayate.|| 2 || Kriyāyād bhavedaṅgam kriyāṅgam tadudāhṛtam."

Saṅgīta-samaya-sāra (T.S.S. Vol. 87, 1925, p. 15).

groups of sampūrṇa, ṣāḍava, and oḍava.

It is curious that Pārśvadeva does not mention which of the 101 melodies cited by him he considers as rāgas proper, or major melodies, except that the early major rāgas (e.g. Takka, Mālava, Pañcama etc.) are mentioned incidentally as the sources of the derivative melodies described by him. Out of his list, he gives the characteristics of 43 rāgas which he says are popular in practice.1 (Appendix 10)

A typical example of his descriptions may be cited in the description of Varāṭī, "Varāṭikā is the vibhāṣā (i.e. rāginī) of Pañcama, the king of the melodies. It has 'dha' as its tonic note, 'sa' for its initial and final notes, 'dha' in the high scale and the madhyama in the soft tone. It is a fully toned melody applicable to sentiments of passion, according to Yāṣṭika".2 It appears that at the time of Pārśvadeva, Pañcama occupied the place of honour among the melodies.

After the Sangīta-samaya-sāra, one is inclined to place the work Rāgārṇava which we owe to an unknown author. The exact date of the upper limit cannot be definitely fixed, but the lower limit is furnished by Sāraṅgadhara-paddhati, an encyclopædia in Sanskrit, compiled in 1363 A.D. As the latter work derives all its musical materials from Rāgārṇava, it may be reasonably accepted that the last named work must have been composed at least about half a century before. The fact that Sāraṅgadhara borrows some of his materials from Rāgārṇava, seems to place this work in the the thirteenth century, in Northern India.

Its rāga-system deserves notice, and, compared with an analogous system referred to in the Sangīta-makaranda, indicates changes in the 'system' of the major-melodies. Confin-

(1) Ityekottara-sata-samkhyā-parigaṇita-rāga-madhye, loka-vyavahāra-siddhānām keṣācid rāgāṇām lakṣaṇam vakṣye." Sangīta-samaya-sāra, p. 16.

(2) "Vibhāṣā rāga-rājāsya pañcamasya varāṭikā.|| 23 || Dhāṃśā sadja-graha-nyāsā dha-tārā mandra-madhyamā| Sama-śleṣa-svarā-pūrṇā śṛṅgāre yāṣṭikoditā.|| 24 || Ibid, p. 18.

35

ing itself to the system of thirty-six melodies, Rāgārnava, accepts the following six as the generic melodies : Bhairava, Pañcama, Nāṭa, Mallāra, Gauḍa-Mālava, and Deśākha. The list is somewhat nearer to the one given in Sangīta-maka-randa,1 with the peculiar difference that Megha, Śrī-rāga and Vasanta are replaced by Mallāra, Gauḍa-Mālava, and Deśākha as major melodies. The derivative rāgas ascribed to the major rāgas are, however, quite different from those given in the Sangīta-makaranda as will appear from the scheme set out in Appendix 4. It should be noted that these derivative melodies are designated as rāgas and not yet as rāginīs. The new names of derivative melodies offered are Sālāga (? Sālaṅka), Trigunā, Dhānī, Haripāla, and Dhoranī.

Subham-kara: Samgāna-sīgara

To the beginning of the fourteenth century, belongs a very curious text called Samgāna-Sāgara which we owe to Śubhamkara, who lived in Nepal, during the reign of Mahā-rājā Bhūmalla Deva. The work survives in a very much mutilated palm-leaf Ms. written in Newāri character with Colophon which gives the date 428 Newāri samvat equivalent to 1308 A.D.2 The author enumerates the eighteen jātis, and mentions and describes 34 rāgas. He seems to give the same system which we find elaborated in the Sangīta-ratnā-kara. He mentions such rāgas as Madhyamādi and Śaṅkarā-bharana.3 He also quotes the opinion of Someśvara. Owing to the mutilated condition of the Ms., it is not possible to obtain detailed information as to the state of the melodies prevalent at the time of the author.

Joytirīs-vara: Varna-ratnākara.

Belonging to the first quarter of the fourteenth century, there is an interesting document hailing from Mithilā which was, for several centuries, a seat of Hindu culture, particularly, of music and poetry. This work which is an encyclopædia in old Maithilī language, known as "Varna-clopædia"

(1) Sangīta-makaranda (G. O. S. m XVI), page 20, verse 74.

(2) Colophon: "Śroyastu sāṃvāt 428 Phālgun Kriṣā Kritipadyāyāmtithou śanivāsare likhitamiti Mahārājādhi rāja-śri-mat-Bhūmalladevasya vijaya-rājye 'Iti gitādhyāya samāptah. Subhamkara viracita samgāna-sāgara." Ms. Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta.

(3) "Śṛṅgāre prastute nityam madh yamādi-rihocyate"...... "Chāyāntarina kryate śaṅkarābharansthā." Ibid.

Ratnākara"1 we owe to a learned scholar and connoisseur of music named Joytirīśvara. He was a high official attached to the court of king Harisimha Deva of the Karnāṭa dynasty, who ruled in Mithilā some time between 1300 and 1324 A.D., having his capital at Simraon. In the seventh section of this encyclopædia entitled Bhaṭṭādi-varṇana (folio 60b. ff.) there are references to poetry, music, and dancing. In this connexion the qualification of a Vidyāvanta that is to say, a professional singer and music-master, a person now commonly known as Kalāvanta or Kalāwāt is described. This leads to an enumeration of the śrutis (semi-tones) and the rāgas. Unfortunately, the list is a mere string of names without any order and without any indication of the system of the rāgas, or principles of classification known at the time: "Madhyamādi, Mālava-Kaiśaka, Mallāra Megha,Mālasī, Muddhaki, Malāri, Desākhī, Dīpaka, Desī, Devakiri (Deva-kriyā, Devagiri), Vasanta, Vangāla, Vegha-ravani, Valāra (? Bhallāra, Bhallārī) Varāṭi, Vicitra, Karkka, Toki-Kauha (? Takka-Kaiśika), Kāmada, Karnāṭa, Kambhuda (? Kam-bhātī),2 Bhairava, Bhairavī, Paṭamañjarī, Trāna, Ganugara, Gunagari (Gunakriyā=Gunakali), Gāndhāra, Guñjari (? Gujjarī), Gaula (? Gauḍa), Larita (? Lalita), Pañcama, Hindola, Vati, Rāmakari (Rāmakelī), Andhāri, Dhanacchi (Dhannāsī), Naṭa, Cokhasara (? Cokṣa), Khambhāvatī, Śrī-Rāga, Sakabja (Sakañja), Savari (Sāverī), Saṃkarābharina ādi aneka rāgaka gāyan."

As the last four words "and various other melodies are sung" indicate, the list is not exhaustive and merely enumerates.

(1) The work survives in a single palm-leaf Ms. in the Government Collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal No. 48134, with a Colophon dated 388 of Lakṣmansamvat corresponding to 1507 A.D. The Ms. is analysed and described by Prof. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee in the Proceedings and Transactions of the Fourth Oriental Conference, Vo. II, Allahabad, 1928, pp. 553-621, in an article entitled "The Varṇa-Ratnākara of Joytiriśvara Kaviśekharācārya." The general dynastic history and culture of Mithilā of this period is very ably described by Manmohan Chakravarti in an article published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1915, at pp. 407-433.

(2) Kambhātī, or Kambhātikā is described in "Sañgīta-samaya-sāra" (T.S.S. No. LXXXVII, 1925) p. 21, verse 58.

merates the principal popular melodies current at the time.

The beginning of the fourteenth century marks the most significant stage in the development of Indian music. The differentiation in the classification of the rāgas had already marked a cleavage between the Northern and the Southern systems, two centuries before. But the new contact with Persian melodies in the fourteenth century further accentuated the differences, so that while the Southern system remained immune from the contact of Persian music, the Northern system received the new-comers with open arms, and absorbed and assimilated many new melodies imported from Persia, and incorporated them in the indigenous rāga-system, giving them their places in the classified lists, according to their structural affinities. Indeed, this was not the first time, that Western Asiatic melodies were adopted by Indian musicians. As we have seen, the Śaka rāga and the Turuṣka-Toḍī indicate that in earlier times, melodies from Chinese Turkestan had already established contacts with Indian music. The comparative era of peace established by the Khiliji dynasty afforded opportunities for cultural developments. And the new contacts with Persian music was an interesting phase of this cultural revival. The great pioneer of this contact was Hazarat 'Āmīr Khusrau, the great Persian poet, musician, and administrator who was associated with the reign of Sultan Alauddin Khiliji (1296-1315 A.D.). To 'Āmīr Khusrau, a liberal-minded connoisseur, we owe the first pioneer effort of foreigners to approach Indian culture and to understand and appreciate the principles of Indian music. The later royal patronage of the art under Akbar seems to be anticipated by this cultured poet and administrator. The part that 'Āmīr Khusrau took in developing the growth of the Indian melodies is indeed valuable. By a judicious combination of Persian airs (muqqams) and Indian rāgas, 'Āmīr Khusrau introduced many derivative melodies, hitherto unknown to the Indian rāga-system. Having acquired sufficient proficiency in Indian musical science, 'Āmīr Khusrau made very interesting innovations by producing a number of mixed melodies (saṅkīrṇa rāgas), in which Indian rāgas were crossed with Persian airs.

In the life of 'Āmīr Khusrau by Shibli, known as Shir-u'l-'Ajam (Lit. 'verses from Persia'), a chapter is devot-

38

ed to Music, from which we have a list of the hybrid melodies invented by the Persian exponent under the Indian rāga-

system. We quote below a free English translation of the chapter:1 “Music: 'Āmīr's versatile genius turned to this

delicate and fine art too, and raised it to such a degree of excellence that he has remained unrivalled during the long

period of six hundred years. Naik Gopal who was acknow-

ledged as a master all over India was the famous world-

renowned ustād (master) of his time. He had twelve

hundred disciples who used to carry his Simhāsan that is,

throne, upon their shoulders, like palanquin-bearers. The

fame of his perfection and consummate skill (in music)

reached the ears of Sultan (Alauddin Khiliji), who called him

to his durbār (court). 'Āmīr Khusrau made the submission

(to His Majesty) that he would conceal himself under the

throne, and that Naik Gopal be commanded to sing. Naik

displayed his perfect skill in six different assemblies. On

the seventh occasion 'Āmīr, too, came to the durbār, along

with his disciples. Gopāl too had heard of his fame, and

asked him to sing. Āmīr said ‘I am a Moghul. I have just

a smattering knowledge of Hindustāni songs. You please

let us hear something first, and then I, too shall sing a little.’

Gopal commenced to sing. 'Āmīr said, ‘I set this rāga

(melody) long ago, and then he rendered it himself. Gopal

commenced another rāga, Āmīr rendered that too, and said

that he had rendered it long ago. In short, 'Āmīr continued

to prove every rāg rāginī, and sur, (tune, scale) rendered by

Gopal to be his own invention. In the end he (Khusrau)

said: ‘These were all hackneyed, vulgar (am bazāri) rāgas.

Now I shall let you hear my own special inventions.’ Then

he started singing and Gopal became mute with astonish-

ment.”

As Āmīr Khusrau was conversant with Persian rāgas

along with Hindu ones, he compounded the two music, and

created a new world, or chapter of musical practice. Thus

the rāgas invented by him are as follows:

(1) We are indebted for this translation to Mr. A. Alim, one

of the translators of High Court, Calcutta.

MAJIR .. .. Ghar and one Persian rāg.

SAZAGARI .. .. Pūrvi, Gorā, Kānglī and one Persian rāg.

IMAN .. .. Hindol and Nairez.

USHA-SHAQ .. Sārang, and Basant and Nawa.

MUWAFIQ .. .. Tori, and Mālvi, and Dogah and Hosainī.

GHANAM .. .. A slight modification of Pūrvi.

ZILF .. .. Shāhnāz mixed with Khat rāg.

FARGHANA .. Ferghana mixed with Kāngli and Gorā.

SARPARDĀ .. Sārang, Patawal and Rast compounded together.

BAKHARĀR .. One Persian rāg mixed with Deskār.

PHIRDOST .. Kānrhā, Gaudi, Pūrvi, and one Persian rāg.

MANAM .. .. One Persian rāg added to Kalyān.

"It is mentioned in the Rāga-Darpana that out of these rāgas, he has shown the perfection of music in Sazgari, Bakharār Ushashaq, and Muwafiq. In the remaining rāgas he has made some alterations and given them new names: Qawl, Tarana, Khyal, Naqsh, Nigar, Baseat, Talana, Suhla-all these, as well, are 'Āmīr Khusrau's inventions. Some of these are specially his own inventions. The names of some others existed previously in Hindu music. 'Āmīr made some modifications in them and changed their names." (Shir-u'l-'Ajam, by Shibli, p. 135).

The invention or adoption of new melodies and affiliation thereof to Indian Rāga-system was no new innovation in the 14th century. As we have seen, the process has been going on throughout the long career of the development of music.

Śaka and Pulinda rāgas were apparently non-aryan melodies accepted by the Hindu musicians in early times. Turuska-Todī a new version of Todī was apparently composed in contact with some airs from Turkestan. The power of receiving new-comers and assimilating them in the forms of rāgas, bespeaks the strong vitality and living quality of the growth and development of Indian music. This interesting contact of Indian rāgas with Persian melodies at the time

RĀGIṆĪ ŚHĀVIRĪ

of 'Āmīr Khusrau has been somewhat misinterpreted as a

record of the dominating influence of Persian music on Indian

music. Indeed, Indian music quite held its own against the

tide of Persian culture, and by adopting new rāgas tinged

with Persian airs, did not sacrifice one iota of the principles

of its rāga-composition, or the basic foundations of Indian

musical science. The sympathetic interest and patronage

that was extended to Indian music under the influence of

such an able connosseur, lent an impetus to the indigenous

art which had no parallel, before the age of the Moghuls.

The rāgas current in the North about the middle of the

fourteenth century, can be gleaned from the well-known

Sanskrit anthology, already referred to, Śāraṅgadhara-

paddhati. It was composed in the year 1363 A.D. In

chapter 81, under the heading 'gāndharva śāstram' (verses

1942-2081), the author summarises the current musical

data1: He gives a list of 36 generic (pravarataka) rāgas, on

the basis of the Rūgārṇava.1 We have already cited these

rāgas, (ante p. 19). After reciting the 36 rāgas, the author

states that there are various melodies prevailing in particular

localities or areas such as Mārū etc. which are regarded as

local melodies. So that the enumeration of Śāraṅgadhara

is not at all exhaustive. In fact he says that 'there is no

end of 'rāgas' or 'tālas', they are to be sung by the learned

for the pleasure of Śiva.'2

It would be convenient to notice here the text of Rāga-

taraṅgiṇī by Locana Kavi, of uncertain date.3 The author

(1) Atha sat-trimśat-pravartaka-rāgā ucyante:

2052: "Bhairavah, pañcamo nāṭo mallāro gauḍa-mālavah|

Deśakhaśca śrīrāgah procyante loka-viśrutāḥ"|| 111

(1) 2054: "Matā rāgārṇave rāgāḥ pañcaite

pañcamāśrayāḥ"|| 113

(2) 2059: "An ye ca bahavo rāgā jātā deśa-viśeṣatah|

Mārū prabhritayo loke te ca taddeśikāḥ smṛtāḥ|| 118

2060: "Na rāgānām na tālānām antah kuṭrāpi vidyate|

Samtoṣaya śivasyait ge yā vudha-janaih sadā|| 119

(3) Edition of D. K. Joshi, printed at Arya Bhusana Press,

Poona City, 1918.

According to the date given in the colophon, Locana Paṇḍita's

Rāgatarangiṇī comes in chronological sequence before the

Sāranga-

dharapaddhati:

Locana

Kavi's

Rāgata-

raṅginī:

asserts that the ancient masters of the melodies sang twelve melodies on which all the other melodies are based.1 He enumerates the following twelve melodies as the basic rāgas:—Bhairavī, Ṭoḍī, Gaurī, Karnāṭa, Kedāra, Iman, Sāraṅga, Megha-rāga, Dhanāśrī, Pūravī, Mukhārī and Dīpaka. The author describes these 12 melodies with their characteristics.

On the authority of this text it may be asserted that by this time, the Pañcama melody had been dethroned, and that at this time the Megharāga was now on the throne, occupying the place of honour amongst the melodies. Curiously, the Dīpaka rāga is not described and it is euphemistically suggested that the structure of this melody should be settled by an assembly of musicians which suggests that Dīpaka had lost its place in current practice.2 The author gives a list of derivative melodies (janya rāgas) which are said to be

Sañgīta-Ratnākara, but the reference to the new Indo-Persian melody of the name of Phirodast which is supposed to have been invented by Āmīr Khusrau, makes it incumbent on students to push the date of Rāga-taraṅgiṇī to a period after Āmir Khusrau (c. 1375-1400). The colophon runs as follows:

Bhuja-vasu-daśamita-śāke śrimad-vallāla-sena-rājyādau Varṣailca-ṣaṣṭi-bhoge munayastvāsan viśikhāyām.

This chronogram yields the date of 1082 śeka (i.e. 1160 A.D.). But if the poet Vidyāpati referred to in the work is the great Maithili poet (1395-1440 A.D.) of the same name, patronized by Śiva-Simha, then Rāga-taraṅgiṇī cannot be earlier than the fifteenth century.

The melody Phirodast is referred to in the following passage:-

Dhanāśrīḥ Kāndarāyogāt vāgīśvaryākhya-rāgiṇī| Phirodastastu pūravī-gaurī śyāmābhireva ca|| Varādī-vaṅga-pālābhyām vibhāsa-milanā api| Aḍānā-rāgiṇī proktā, phirodastāt dhanena ca Rāga-taraṅgiṇī, p. 9.

(1) Tāstu samsthitayaḥ prācyo rāgānāṃ dvādaśa smṛtāḥ| Yābhī-rāgāḥ pragīyante prācīnā rāga-pāragaiḥ|| Eteṣām eva samsthāne sarve rāgā vyavasthitāḥ|| Rāga-taraṅgiṇī, p. 3.

(2) Dīpakāḥ sarvair militvā dīpako'pi lekhyah.|| Rāga-taraṅgiṇī, p. 6.

42

founded on each of the twelve major melodies cited by him.

The list set out in Appendix 16 indeed is very curious and does not give any clue to the principle of the system.

In this list, we come across, for the first time, many new rāginīs, which became very common in the Northern system e.g.

Khamāicī. Probably, Khamāicī is the well-known melody familiar to us under the name of Kammāj (Khamvāj), and which is distinguished from ‘Khamyāvatī’ which is ascribed to the group of Karnāṭa.

A short but important treatise, bearing on the iconography of rāgas, Pañcama-sārasaṃhitā (sometimes called Pañcama-Saṃhitā) composed by an author called Nārada deserves notice.

It survives in two Mss., one1 in the collection of the Baṅgīya Sāhitya Pariṣad (the copy bearing a date 1700 Śaka=1778 A.D.).

The second Ms. belongs to the Asiatic Society of Bengal2 with a Colophon dated 1440 A.D. (1362 Śaka).

It is the most important document for the history of the Northern rāga-system.

It must have existed in earlier recensions, and appears to have undergone changes and modifications by later hands.

In its chapter on Rāgas, it suggests that the melodies treated by the author have been current in the region to the north of the Vindhyā mountains and its immediate vicinities, including the region of Cutch

(1) Ms. No. 716 in the collection of Sanskrit Mss. in the Vaṅgīya Sāhitya Pariṣad, Calcutta entitled: ‘Nārada-kṛta Pañcama-sāra-saṃhitā:

"Meroruttaratah pūrvve paścime dakṣiṇe tathā|

Samudra-Kaccchāpe ye deśāh taträmiṣāṃ pracāranā|

Bhārate yaśca bhū-bhāgāḥ parama-paryopadeśataḥ|

Rāgāḥ sat atha rāginyaḥ tṛṃśat khyātimāgatā||

Colophon: "Iti śrī-Nārada-kṛta Pañcama-sāra-saṃhitāyāṃ caturtho' dhyāyah|

Likhitam śrī Vaiṣṇava Vairāgī| Śakābda 1700."

(2) Ms. No. 5040, in the collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

The colophon runs as follows: "Iti Nārada-kṛta Pañcama saṃhitāyāṃ rāga-nirṇayo nāma tritīyo 'dhyāyah||

Yuga-tṛṣat-candramite śāke notha (?) prayatnataḥ saṅgita-mālā bahubhī rātrau vārau raver api|| Śrī Hariḥ|| Śrī Curave namaḥ||

This chronogram yields two alternative dates: 1632 or 1932.

bordering on the sea. Its rāga-system consits of the six

rāgas : Mālava, Mallāra, Śrī-rāga, Vasanta, Hindola and

Karnāṭa. This seems to point to an early time, as in this

list, Mālava rāga is described as the ‘King of the Melodies’1

and Bhairava which came to occupy the throne, later, has

no place in this group, the rāginī Bhairavī being assigned to

Mālava-rāga. The six rāginīs attributed to each of the rāgas,

according to this system is set out in Appendix 13. The

names of some of the rāginīs are curious, and seem to indi-

cate later interpolations. The list includes Pūravī, Koḍā,

Gadā, and Mārhāṭī. The late form of the last-named rāginī

militates against the suggestion of an early date for this work.

At the same time, the inclusion of some early rāginīs e.g.

Māyurī, and Dīpikā suggests an early date. It is quite

possible that the system was confined to a particular region,

and its earlier system had undergone modifications, from

time to time, by the affiliation of later melodies. But the

most important feature of the work is the citation of contem-

porary verses for the dhyāna formula of the melodies giving

the iconographic pictures of the six rāgas and thirty-six

rāginīs belonging to the system. The citations of these

prayer-formulas are preceded by a significant assertion that

‘the beautiful images of the six rāgas and the thirty-six

rāginīs have emanated from the ‘Abode of Brahmā,’ the

Supreme Being, and they love to offer their prayer to the

same Supreme Deity’.2 The descriptive verses visualizing

the melodies, cited in this work, have been frequently quoted

by later text-writers from this work, and the work and its

author are referred to by names.

It is well-known that the advent of Chaitanya, the great

Vaiṣṇavaite preacher (1486–1533 A.D.), flooded Bengal with

torrents of devotional songs and music. But it is seldom

recognized that the age preceding this new religious wave

was rich in mystic Vaiṣṇavaite lyrics and songs, of which

the central figure was the great poet Caṇḍīdās (c. 1400 A.D.),

(1) “Ādau Mālava-rāgendra-stato Mallāra samjñakah”

(2) We owe the discovery of this work to V. Raghavan. The work

Āgatā Brahma-sadasi Brahmāṇam samupāsate”

Asiatic Society of Bengal Ms., Folio 2.

the Chaucer of Bengali literature. His early poems “Kṛṣṇa Kīrtana” (‘songs of Kṛṣṇa’), of which more than one early Mss. have now come to light, is a collection of songs, which were set to music and musical accompaniments. In two old Mss. (one of them dated 1237 śāl=1830 A.D.) recently discovered in the collection of the University of Calcutta.1 Scholars have agreed to date this work in the second half of the fifteenth century.2 In these lyrical composition by Caṇḍī-dās, each song is set to a rāga (melody) and tāla (time-measure) and the name of the melody and of the time-measure3 in which each song is to be sung are indicated at the top of each. The names of these rāgas are very interesting, as they introduce to us many new names not previously known Vāgaśrī, Rāginī Maṅgala, Rāginī Dīmpanāśrī, Rāginī Pāhiḍā, Rāga Vasanata, Rāga Vāḍārī, Rāg Ṣui (? Yui), Rāginī Dhānaśī, Rāginī Rāmagirī (? Rām·Kirī=Rāmakelī). The most surprising name in the list is the melody named ‘Ṣui’ and ‘Dhimpaṇāśī’, which has not, so far, been cited in any of the texts. It is quite possible that they were local Bengali melodies adopted in the pantheon of the rāgas.4

To about the middle of the fifteenth century belongs an important musical text by a royal author, recently brought to Sangītarāja by Rānā-

(1) These Mss. are described by Manindra Mohan Basu in the Sāhitya Parisad Patrikā (Bengali) Vol. 39, No. 3, 1339, pp. 176-194, in an article: “Śrī Kṛṣṇa Kirtaner Navāviṣkrta Puthi.”

(2) On philological data, Prof. Radha Govinda Basak and Prof. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee have assigned “Śri-Kṛṣṇa-Kīrtan” to the second half of the fifteenth century, vide “Comments on the Ms.” by Prof. S. K. Chatterjee, Ibid, p. 198.

(3) The authority for the tālas used is borrowed from 18 tālas described in the text of Nārada from which a quotation is cited in the manuscript. Unfortunately, the authority for the rāgas indicated is not cited.

(4) Harekrishna Mookerjee in a paper published in the Sāhitya Parisad Patrikā, vol. 38, 2nd part, has conjectured that the songs of the Kṛṣṇa Kirtana were originally sung in ,popular folk-melodies known as “jhumur” which never attained the dignity of classical music, or were used for devotional songs.

Kumbha-karna Mahilmendra: light. It is the Saṅgīta-rāga1 composed by Rāṇā Kumbha-karna of Mewar (c. 1419-1460 A.D.). It is an important contribution to Indian music. The author extends a graceful invitation to those interested in music to listen to him, i.e. to study his work. 'If you have curiosity in songs, if you have skill in music, then listen, oh! connoisseurs and learned men! to Kumbha-karna' ("Yadi kautikino gāne saṅgīte cāturī yadi rasika Kumbha-karnasya śṛṇvantu budha-sattamah" quoted in Rasika-priyā). In the preliminary sections, he gives the mythical history of music and then proceeds to provide definitions of the various technical terms. The author does not cite any other ancient authorities save and except Yāṣṭika, 'according to whom the bhāṣā gītis are thirty in number.'2 His definition of rāga is a revised para-phrase of those of older authorities : 'A pleasant composition of notes, (initiative notes and others), distinguished by descents, ascents, and movements, and also by decorative graces, is called a rāga.'3 A distinction between 'gīta' and 'rāga' appears to be indicated. All gītas (songs) are not rāgas, but only those which have the ten characteristics

(1) We owe the discovery of this work to V. Raghavan. The work is extensively quoted by the author himself in his commentary on 'Gito-Govinda, called Rasika-priyā, published by the Nirnaysagar Press, Bombay, 1913, under the editorship of Telang and Pansikar. The work survives in a single Ms. in the collection of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, No. 365, 1879-80. Unfortunately, the Ms. is a fragment and contains the introductory portions and definitions, but the portions bearing on the rāgas are missing in the Ms. The data on rāgas have, therefore, been cited, here, from the the Poona Ms. the work is also described as Pādya-ratna-kośa. Each section has a colophon which runs as follows: "Iti śrī rājādhirāja śrī Kumbha-karna viracite saṅgita-rāje pāḍya-ratna-kośe parikṣaṇaṃ nāma dvitīyaṃ samāptam."

(2) "Bhāṣādhya gitaya-śitro Yāṣṭiken-orari-kṛtāḥ| Tatra bhāṣā samākhyātā mukhyān anyopajīvinī|| 38 | Saṅgīta-rāja

(3) "Vicitra-varnālamkāro vīśeṣo yo dhanir iha (?)| Grahādi svara-sandarbho rañjako rāga ucyate"|| 34 || Ibid.

(Nāṭya-śāstra ch. 26, verse 16-46).7

In the available fragments of the work, no principle of

classification of the rāgas is indicated. The author, however,

cites two different lists, or catalogues of important rāgas,

eighteen, according to one view, and, seventeen, according to

another. The lists are as follows:

A. (1) Madhyamādi, (2) Lalita, (3) Vasanta, (4) Gur-

jarī, (5) Dhanāśī, (6) Bhairava, (7) Gauṇḍa-Krti, (8) Deśā-

kṣikā, (9) Mālava-śrī, (10) Kedāra, (11) Mālavī, (12) Ādi-

Gauṇḍaka (?) (Ādi-Gauḍa), (13) Sthāna-Gauṇḍa (Gauḍa),

(14) Śrī-rāga, (15) Mahlāra, (16) Varāṭikā, (17) Megha-

rāga, (18) Dhorana.

B. (1) Naṭṭa, (2) Kedāra, (3) Śrī-rāga, (4) Sthāna-

Gauḍaka, (5) Dhorani, (6) Mālavī, (7) Varāṭī, (8) Megha-

rāga, (9) Mālava-śrī, (10) Deva-śākha, (11) Gauṇḍa-kṛt

(12) Bhairavī, (13) Dhannāsikā, (14) Vasanta, (15) Gur-

jarī, (16) Mahlāra, (17) Lalita.

Of the citations of rāgas, given in short sections (pra-

bandhas), two typical examples are quoted below.2 The

(1) "Prabandho rūpakam vastu nibanddham gītam-ucyate|

Nibaddhāvayava dhātur-dharādhiśasyea sammatakah"|| 57 ||

Ibid.

"Rāgo 'bhidhīyate gīta daśa-lakṣaṇa lakṣitah"|

Lakṣaṇāni ca tatrāṃśa-nyāsau sāḍava mau puna (?)" || 55 ||

Ibid.

(2) "Tathā ca saṅgīta-rāje| Mālavīyāḥ smṛto gauḍo

rāgastālo'dda-tālakah|

Śṛṅgāro vipralambhākhyo raso devādi-varṇaṇam|

Pada santattitas-tenāḥ pāṭhāḥ svara-samuccayah||

Tatah padyāni yatra syur-laya-madhya-mānataḥ||

Sa prabandha-varo jñeyo dhanya-vaikuṇṭha-kuṅkumah||

Iti dhanya-vaikuṇṭha-kuṅkumā-nāma-

dvādaśah praban-dhah||" Saṅgīta-rāja.

According to this authority, Mālava-gauḍa rāga is appropriate

in anecdotes of 'love in separation,' and for descriptions of gods.

"Tathā ca saṅgīta-rāje| Rāgaḥ syāt Sthāna-

gauḍākhyas-tālo varṇayati rasaḥ|

Śṛṅgāro vipralambhākhyah pramadā madanākulā||

Pakṣaṇāmāvaleh pāṭhā-gumphitā yatra gītake|

Snigdha Madhu-Sūdano'yam rāsa-valaya_nāmakah||

47

author does not describe their structures, but indicate their

rasa-values, or emotional flavours, that is to say, their signi-

ficance in arousing particular flavours of emotion. As will

appear from the examples of the sections quoted, that very

picturesque names are given to each section.

But the most important contribution of Rānā-Kumbha-

is the view which appears to be propounded in this work,

namely, that each rāga has its appropriate time-measure

(tāla) which brings out the genius of the rāga in its charac-

teristic qualities.1 As the author seems to suggest that it is

the time-measure which gives the true interpretation of a

rāga (“tālo varṇayati rāsaḥ”), it is the time-measure which

reveals its real flavour (“tālo varṇayati rasaḥ”). It does

not follow that a rāga can only be interpreted in a fixed time-

measure, but what is intended to be suggested is that parti-

cular rāgas receive the happiest interpretation and expres-

sion in particular time-measures.

A very interesting text called Rāga-mālā,2 available in

Prabandhah prthivī-bhartā prabaddha prītaye Hareḥ||

Iti snigdha-Madhu-sūdana-rāsa-valaya-nāmā pravandhas-

trayodaśaḥ|| Sangīta-rāja.

According to this authority, songs which are set to the ‘Sthāna-

gauda’ rāga make the lady-lovers in separation, stricken with the

shafts of Cupid.

(1) “Yatra syāt-Gurjarī-rāgas-tālo jhampeti bhāgaśaḥ”|

“Śrī rāgo yatra_rāgaḥ syāt tālastu ḍruta-manthakaḥ”|

Sangīta-rāja.

(2) Asiatic Society of Bengal, Ms. No. 1195 (211) Govt. Collec-

tion. The colophon which gives the date of the copy of the Ms., not

of its composition, is as follows: “Iti śrī-rāga-mālā samāptā|| Samvat

1833|| Subhaṃ bhūyāt|| Grantha saṅkhyā ślokas 275||

The first few ślokas seem to contain a reference to the king in whose reign it was

composed:

“Manuja-danuja-devairvanditaṃ mama-devam dhṛta-śaśi-

dhara-maulīḥ kṣemakarṇaṃ praṇaṃy|

Apahata muru-daityam sundaram rāga-mālām racayati

sukha sidhyai Jativā bhūpateśaḥ”||

It is difficult to identify the king referred to under the name of

“Jativā bhupateśaḥ.”

Three verses about the end of the manuscript furnish (folio 13)

two manuscripts, one with a colophon dated Samvat 1431 (1509 A.D.), deserves to be noted here. It comes from Rewa and is the work of Kṣema Karṇa (Meṣa Karṇa) son of Maheś Pāṭhak, the family priest of a chief named Jāṭalendra, reigning in the Fort of Rewa. This work follows a scheme of classification on the basis of six major rāgas,1 viz. Bhairava,

further informations relating to the author of the work and the prince who patronized him.

The verses seem to describe the fort of Rewa at the foot of which the city lay washd by a river. There ruled a line of chiefs of whom three names are given in succession viz. Surava, Virajit, and Jāṭalendra (=Jaṭivā), the last of whom was the patron of the author who was, in fact, the priest of the royal patron. The author's name, twice stated as Meṣa-Karṇa, probably the dignified form of the vulgarised Khem Karan, a name very common in the North and Rajputana.

A Ms. copy of this work (No. 1125-15165) with a similar colophon is in the India Office (Eggeling: Catalogue, p.). The name of the author is given as Kṣemakarṇa Pāṭhaka.

The Colophon runs as follows: “Iti Maheśa-Pāṭhakātmaja-śri-Kṣema - karṇa - Pāthaka - Jātiava - bhūpatisukhārtha-viracitā Rāga-mālā samāptā śubhamastu Srī-mad-Akbara-rājye samvat 1867 jaiṣṭha vadi 8 vāra Bhṛgu-vāsare li(khitam) śiva_vālaka Brahmanamidam pustakam samāptaṃ||

As pointed out by Eggeling, ‘The copyist's allusion to Akbar (1556-1605 A.D.) seems to have come either from the author's own Ms. or from an early copy’. As a matter of fact that Asiatic Society Ms. proves that the work is earlier than Akbar.

The name of the work is called Rāgamālā, but the author also seems to suggest that it is not an original work, and that probably its materials are derived from an earlier work called Saṅgīta-ratnākara (Iti Saṅgīta-ratnākara-sāroddhārah, folio 13, line 9). This must be a treatise quite different from the famous work of Sārṅgadeva.

A work called Rāgamālā, attributed to Kshem Karana and said to be dated 1570 A.D. is referred to by Fox Strangways (The Music of Hindustan, p. 105).

(1) “Rāgādau bhairavākhyastadanu nigadito'mālakauśir-dvitīyo|| Hindolo dīpaka śrīriha vivudha-janair-amudākhyah kramena|

Mālava-Kauśika, Hindola, Dīpaka, Śrī and Megha (Amvuda), each having five wives and eight sons, set out in Appendix 15. The list offers many new names of rāginīs, and melodies with similar names are differentiated and separately described. Thus Velāvalī and Velāval are treated as two different melodies, which are justified by different descriptive verses and also by distinct pictorial conceptions. Similarly Vangālī, and Vangālī are sought to be distinguished as two different melodies. Illustrative pictures corresponding to them may be taken to be represented by Plates VIII, IX & X.

Mān-kutūhala: The next stage in the development of the rāgas is represented by the contributions made by Rājā Mān Simha Tomar of Gwalior (not to be confused with Rājā Mānsiingh of Amber). Rājā Mān, who succeeded Kalyāṇa Malla in 1486, died in 1517 A.D. According to Cunningham,1 Rājā Mān was a "proficient composer, as well as a munificent patron, and many of his compositions still survive to justify the esteem in which they are held by his contemporaries. He was specially fond of the sañkīrṇa rāgas, or mixed modes of which no less than four specimens are named after his favourite Gujarni (Guzerati) queen, Mrga-nenā (Mrga-nayanā), or the "fawn-eyed." These are Gujari, Bahul-Gujari, Māl-Gujari, and Mangal Gujari." Gunningham thinks that the lady had a hand in their composition. Rājā Mān's love of mixed rāgas is particularly noteworthy. Rājā Mān's valuable contribution to Indian music is represented by a Hindi treatise known as "Mān-Kutūhala" (Curiosities of Mān).2 It is said to contain the records of the proceedings of a great conference of musical experts assembled under the order of the Rājā. This seems to be corroborated by Abdul Fazl (Gladwin, Āīn-i-Akbarī, p. 730) who states that three

Ekaikasyāṣṭa-putrāḥ sulalita-nayanāḥ pañca-bhāryyāḥ prasiddhāḥ|

Sve sve kāle śadete nijakula-sahitāḥ sampadam vodiṣan-antu"|| 3 || Rāgamālā (A. S. B. Ms.)

(1) Archaeological Survey of India Reports, Vol. II, 1862, pages 387-388.

(2) A Ms. of this work is in the possession of H. H. the Nawab Saheb of Rampur.

of Rājā Mān's musicians, Naik, Mukshoo, and Bhanau formed a collection of songs suited to the tastes of every class of

people." According to Sir W. Ouseley (Anecdotes of Indian

Music)1 Rājā Mān Simha's work was translated into Persian

by Fakur Ullah. Three of these masters patronized by Rājā

Mān, viz. Bikshoo, Dhondee and Charjoo, contributed a new

type of Mallāra, to the stock of Indian melodies, called after

them, "Mukshoo-ki-mallār," "Dhonḍia Mallār," and "Char-

joo-ki-mallār." Bukshoo's name is also associated with a

new variety of Velāval, and the melody 'Bāhādurī-Ṭoḍī.'

These artists subsequently passed into the service of Sultan

Bāhādur of Gujerat.

Before we proceed to consider the development of the

rāgas during the sixteenth century in the North, it is neces-

sary to notice the changes and development in the old Indian

system as preserved in Southern practices and theories.

After Śāraṅga-deva (c. 1210-1247), the great landmark in

the South is provided by a short but an eminently scientific

treatise entitled Svarā-mela-kalānidhi1, the composition of

which we owe to Rāmāmātya (1550), said to be a minister

(amātya) of the Vijayanagara prince, Rāma-rāja, and a des-

cendent of the famous commentator Kallinātha.

The most important contribution of Rāmāmāitya was in

the formulation of a scientific principle of classification of

the rāgas, on the basis of the common elements of their

characteristic note structures. This was certainly a great

improvement on the system of classification recorded in

Sañgīta-ratnākara, which Mr. Aiyar characterises as nothing

more than a mere catalogue. Śāraṅgadeva's classification,

though not exactly an enumeration of a catalogue, was more

an historical presentation of the older and current systems

of classification, rather than an attempt to classify the melo-

dies on a new system on any empirical basis. Following the

(1) Reprinted in Captain N. A. Williard's A Treatise on the

Music of Hindustan, 1882, p. 167.

(2) This text is available in two editions, one published with

a commentary in Mahāratti by Bharadvāja Sarma (Pandit V. N.

Bhat-khande) san 1910, and the other published by the Annamalai

University (1932) and edited with an excellent çritical introduction

and translation by M. S. Ramaswami Aiyar.

Rāmā-mātya's

Svaramela-kalānidhi:

precedent of Yāṣṭika, whom he cites, he merely enumerates the fifteen major melodies, but he also indicates that these fifteen melodies are the father (janaka), that is to say, the genus of the minor melodies (bhāṣās).1 This old janya-janaka system (corresponding to the rāga-rāginī-putra system of the North) is replaced by Rāmāmātya by an independent analysis of the melodies and by a scientific classification based on a study of the common elements of the note com-

positions of the different varieties of melodies, unified (mela) by a recognition of their basic structural unity of the groups tabulated under a common genus. As Mr. Aiyar concedes, "doubtless the germ of the idea of the genus-species system may be found long before Rāmāmātya." But "he was the first to introduce a chapter on mela called Mela-prakaraṇa." In this chapter, he enumerates, the melakas (unifiers) and then explains their characteristics. As Pandit Bhatkhande has pointed out, the mela corresponds to what is called in the North, the thāṭ, (the array or moulds of particular types under which a group of minor melodies can be classified on the basis of their unity). Following an older precedent, Rāmāmātya takes the Mukhārī mela, as the śuddha scale and gives it the place of precedence.2 "Of all the melas Mukhārī is the first. Other melas are as follows: Mālava-gaula, Śrī-rāga, Śāranga-nāṭa, Hindola, Śuddha-rāma-kriyā, Deśākṣī, Kannaḍa-gaula, Śuddha-nāṭa, Ahīrī, Nāda-rāma-kriyā, Śud-dha-varāli, Rīti-gaula, Vasanṭa-Bhairavī Kedāra-Gauḍa, Hejujjī, Śāma-varālī, Reva-gupta, Sāmaṇṭa, Kāmbhojī. Thus there are twenty melas." (Appendix 17).

Tān Sen With the advent of Akbar (1542-1605), the most enthusiastic patron of Indian culture in all its branches, North Indian music approaches the most glorious period of its his-

(1) "Bhāṣānāṃ janakāḥ pañca-daśaite Yāṣṭikoditāh| 20 | Saṅgīta-ratnākara, Vol. I, p. 152.

(2) Although he accepts Mukhārī, as the Śuddha scale, following the older practice, he was inclined to take Mālava-gaula as his model for the Śuddha scale: "Rāgo Mālava-gaulaśca**rāgānāmutta-mottamah|| (Svara-mela-kalānidhi, p. xxxi). As Mr. Aiyar remarks: "Evidently he did not come to deduce his twenty melas form any kind of principles but perhaps recorded such of the melas as were in vogue during his time."

tory. At the head of the new development under Akbar was the famous singer Mīyān Tān Sen, who was a close associate of Sūr Dās, the great poet-saint, and who received his musical education at Gwalior under the discipleship of a great musician Rām Dās Svāmī. It is generally believed in conservative musical circles, that Tān Sen was principally responsible for abjuring many old traditions and for introducing innovations and questionable novelties which lead to the deterioration of the old Hindu system. "He is said to have falsified the rāgas and it is stated that two, Hindola and Megha, of the original six have disappeared since his time."1 There is no doubt that Tān Sen introduced new rāgas and new versions, or unconventional variations of old forms. It is well-known that Tān Sen was the first to introduce the E-Flat (Komala gāndhāra) and both varieties of Niṣāda (B flat and sharp) into the rāga mallār which came to be known as "Mīyān-ki-mallār." Similarly, he is the inventor of a new type of Toḍī known as Mīyān-ki-Toḍī. The modified forms of Kānarā known as Darbarī Kānarā are attributed to him. Nevertheless, our innovator was not tardy in paying his respects to the rāgas of hoary antiquity. In a Hindi treatise on music, called Rāg-mālā,2 he accepts the six rāgas (ṣaṭ-rāg) enumerated by the school of Hanumān and analyses them into their component parts. He claims to have examined the schools (mats) of Siva, Bharata, and Hanumāna and describes his own views, set forth in the work as the School of Tān Sen' (Tānseni mat),3 based on the authorities of Mataṅgamuni and Bharata. The author claims to analyse the six principal rāgas and to give their component

(1) Rāg-mālā, prasiddha Mīyān Tān Sen racita, Lahiri Press, Kasi (Benares), 1907.. Pandit Bhatkhande believes that this is a spurious work compiled by some later authors and fathered on Tān Sen to lend a halo of authority to the work. The fact that the name of Tān Sen is introduced somewhat aggressively in almost every alternate line throws ample doubts on the authenticity of the attribution.

(2) Dekhyou Siva-mat Bharat-mat, Hanumān-mat joyi| Kahai saṅgit vicāri kai, Tānseni mat soyi.|| 2 || Rāg-mālā.

(3) Francis Gladwin: Ayeen Akbery, 1800, London, Vol. II, pp. 456-464.

elements, an analysis of which would apparently suggest that these rāgas are mixed melodies (saikirṇa) compounded of other independent melodies. What is really meant is that the so-called component melodies, are affiliated to and, hence, can be derived from these major rāgas considered as genus.

Like Āmīr Khusrau, Akbar himself is credited with the introduction of many Persian melodies to the India rāgas of his time. According to the Akbarnāmā (Beveridge, Vol. I, p. 50), His Imperial Majesty had “composed over 200 of the old Khwarizmite tunes, especially the tunes of Jalasahi, Mahamir, Karat, and Nauroj, which were the delight of the young and the old.” We have no records of their musical characters, but the melody Nauroj, later sanskritized as “Navarocikā” still survives in current practice. The author of the Āīn-i-Akbarī devotes a chapter under heading Sun-geet1 where he cites certain data collected from some contemporary treatises. He mentions six rāgas or 'musical modes': Sree Rāg, Bussunt, Behrowng, Punchem, Megh, and Nutnārain. Under each rāga, he cites rāginīs, which he describes not as rāginīs, but as “Variations” of the rāgas. He refers to the two classes of songs marug (mārga) and deyse (deśī). And under the former he cites seven out of the melodies then current in the Deccan: sūrya-prakāś, pañca-tal-eśvara, sarvato-bhadra, candra-prakāśa, and rāga-kadamba.

undarik iththal: adrāga-androdaya:

But the most important contribution to the developments of the Akbar period we owe to a great scholar, named Puṇḍarīk Vittal, who came from some part of the Deccan.2 He was the author of four remarkable treatises in Sanskrit2 in which the theories and the musical practices of his time are systematised. Although he cites the Southern Mukhārī or Kanakāngi scale, the music that he treats of is without doubt Northern music. Our author wrote his works under the aus-

(1) As indicated in the concluding portion of the “Sadrāga-candrodaya1”, he came from a village called Sātanūrvā (?) near Śiva-gaṅgā in Karnāṭa (Kanarese District).

(2) Three of his treatises have been published by Prof. V. N. Bhatkhande and the data available has been very lucidly discussed by him in his article in Saṅgeeta (Vol. I, No. 4) under the title: A comparative study of some of the leading music systems of the 15th, 16th, and 18th centuries.

54

pices of three succesive royal patrons. The first one Sadrāga-candrodaya was written some time between 1562 and 1599 under the service of the Faroqi Prince Burhan Khan of Khandesh which was incorporated in the Moghal empire after the seige of Asirgarh in 1599.1 In this work he deals with both the Southern and Northern systems of rāgas and classifies them under nineteen thāts or parent-scale, viz.: Mukhārī, Mālava-gauda, Śrī, Śuddha-natta, Deśākṣī, Karnāṭā-gauḍa, Kedāra, Hijeja, Hamir, Kamode, Toḍī, Ābhīrī, Śuddha-varāṭī, Śuddha-rāmakrī, Devakrī, Śāraṅga, Kalyāṇa, Hindola and Nāda-Rāmakri. Out of these nineteen original (mela) rāgas, he attributes to five of them their respective derivative forms (janya-rāga). (See Appendix 18). As Prof. Bhatkhande remarks, "the Hindusthāni musician will find this classification very interesting. He will find many of his own rāgas in the list. Some of these latter seem to have retained their original svaras (notes) to this day." The work, is, therefore, of great significance for the data provided for the history of the rāgas. It is noteworthy, that when the author composed his works, the recognized melodies in the north far exceeded the limits of an cxhaustive enumeration as is evident from the author's remark: "Owing to the rāgas being innumerable it is impossible to describe each individual ones, I am reciting, here, some of them, following a particular school."2

In his next treatise Rāgamālā, written probably under the patronage of the Jaipur princes, Mādho Singh and Mān Singh Kacchwas,3 Puṇḍarīk Viṭṭhal classifies the melodies

(1) "Tajjah śrī-burahāna-khāna_caturah kāmānukārī varah Saṅgītādi-kalā-prapūrṇa-vimalah sāhitya-tejomayah|| 5 Sadrāga-candrodayah, p. 7.

(2) Anantavāttu rāgānām pratyekam vaktumakṣamah| Keṣāñcin-matam-āśritya kati rāgān vadāmyaham|| Rāga-mālā, p. 12.

(3) The colophon to a Ms. of Rāga-mālā in the Collection of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (Ms. No. 1026 of 1884-87) runs as follows: "Śake vasvambaka-vedābja ka pariganite dhātr-samvatsare'smin| Āsādhe kṛṣṇa- pakṣe-śaṣa-dhara-sudine pañcamī revatibhe| Nāgāmvā dharma-sūnur-dvijavara-tilako Viṭṭhalo'sti?

under six male rāgas, and attributes to each, five 'spouses' (bhāryyās) and five 'sons' which may be conveniently set forth in a table in Appendix 18.

In this list of 66 melodies, we miss some of the rāgas cited in the first treatise, given above. The 66 rāgas tabulated in the list probably represented the current melodies as Puṇḍarīk Viṭṭhal found them in Northern India when he sat down to compose his work. But the Rāgamālā, from our point of view, is the most important document, as it is in this work that we come across for the first time descriptive verses, actually giving the visual pictures, along with the component notes of the melodies, and also an indication of the time allocated to the singing of the rāgas.

The third treatise, Rāgamañjarī, was probably composed by the author under the patronage of Rājā Mānsiingh Ka'chwa and after he was introduced to the Imperial Court at Delhi. In this work, he cites twenty melodies as parents of the derivatives. They are as follows : Mukhārī, Soma-rāga, Ṭoḍī, Gauḍī, Varāṭī, Kedāra, Śuddha-nāṭa, Deśākśī, Deśī-kāra, Sāraṅga, Āherī, Kalyāṇa, Kāmoda, Hijeja, Rāma-krī, Hindola, Karṇāṭa, Hamīra, Mālava-kaisika, and Śri-rāga.

But the most important feature of this work is the recognition of the place of as many as sixteen Persian melodies and relating them to the Indian melodies by their nearest equivalents. Most probably these imported melodies had already obtained a place in current Indian music of the North and the author only confirmed the practice by including them in his work and by indicating their characters by assigning them to their places in relation to the Indian models. As Professor Bhatkhande remarks that the use of the locative case termination of the Indian rāgas named "is intended to show that the Persian melody is not exactly the same as the Indian but that the two are founded on the same scale." He accepts them as part of the Hindusthānī system though he

vidvān| Teneyam rāga-mālā rasika-jana-gale bhūṣanārtham krtā hi"||

This chronogram yields the date śaka 498 i.e. '1576 A.D. See discussion in 'Notes on Indian Chronology XI. Date of Rāga-mālā of Puṇḍarīk Viṭṭhal, Annals of the Bhandarkar Research Institute, Vol. XIII, 1931-32, pp. 337-346.

56

PUHUPA RāGINI

characterized them as “Persian” and recognized that they are

“the gift from others” (parada). They are sixteen in num-

ber and are known as: Rahāyī, Niśāvar, Māhura, Jaṅgula,

Māhaṅg(?), Vārā, Sunhath, Irāya, Husenī, Yaman, Sar-

pharadā, Vākhreja, Hiejaka, and Muśak.

It is significant that Turuṣka Ṭoḍī, which must have re-

ceived an earlier affiliation is not mentioned in this list. On the other hand, Sarpardā, which is ascribed by tradition to

Āmīr Khusrau, is here enumerated as a new-comer.1

By this time, the melodies had too far exceeded in num-

ber to be confined within the limits of the six rāgas and their

wives. In this connection, two texts of uncertain date (and

perhaps dateable about the second quarter of the 16th cen-

tury), deserve to be noticed here.

The first text bears the name Cattvārimśacchata-rāga-

nirūpaṇam, attributed to Nārada.2 Whoever may be this

author, who wrote under the cover of a name revered in

musical history, he must have belonged to the sixteenth cen-

tury when the melodies could not be conveniently grouped

under the two categories of male and female rāgas, and a

third category was a severe necessity. And the device of

classifying the new-comers as ‘sons’ (kumāra) of the known

rāgas and rāginīs was resorted to. More than one author

adopted this device.3 But this author appears to be the ear-

(1) “An ye'pi Pārasīkeyā rāgāḥ parada-nāmakāḥ|

Sampūrnāḥ sarva-gamakāḥ kākalyan taritāḥ sadā||

Rahāyi Devagāndhāre (1) Kānare ca niśāvarah 2|

Sāraṅge māhuro nāma (3) Jaṅgūlo' tha vaṅgālake (4)||

Deśyā-māhaṅgako nāma (5) vārā malhāra-rāgake (6)|

Kedāre'pi ca sūhnātha (7) Dhanāśyāṁ ca irāyakā (8)||

Jijāvantyāṁ ca hausenī (9) Mālave musalīkakah (10)|

Kalyāne yamano gāyet (11) Sarpardo' tha vilāvale (12)||

Deśikāre vākharejah (13) Āsāvaryyāṁ Hiejakah (14)

Devāgaryyāṁ muśakākhyah (15) evamanye'pi yojaye”||

Rāga-manjarī, p. 19.

(2) It survives in various Mss., one of which is in the Tanjore

Palace Library (No. 6651). It has been published by M. S.

Sukthankar (Arya Bhusan Press, Bombay, 1914).

(3) It is generally asserted that this fanciful system of classi-

fication of dividing the melodies into groups of ‘families’, consisting

Cattvārim

sacchata-

rāga-nirū

panam:

8

57

liest to adopt this mode of classification. For, he builds his

rāga-system on the earlier phase of ten major melodies, des-

cribed as ten masculine rāgas: Śrī-rāga, Vasanta,, Pañcama,

Bhairava, Kauśika, Megha-rāga, Nata-Nārāyana, Hindola,

Dīpaka, and Hamsaka. This classification he attributes to

Nārada.1 The author proceeds to give the contemplative

verses (dhyāna) the verbal image of each masculine rāga,

and then enumerates five wives for each, and four sons for

each couple. (See Appendix 19).

Somanatha:

Rāga-vivo

dha:

To the early part of the reign of Jahāngir (1605-1627

A.D.) belongs an important music text, specially treating of

the melodies. It is the Rāga-vivodha by Somanāth, son of

Mudgala, composed in 1609 A.D. (1531 śaka) as indicated

in the colophon.2 The author has added to the text a com-

mentary of his own which is of great assistance in interpret-

ing the text. It is difficult to say if the author wrote his

of 'husbands,' 'wives' and 'sons' is an essentially Northern and un-

scientific method, is not authorized by the ancient texts, and has not

been followed in the Southern School. This is generally true. But

the germ of the idea is certainly derived from Saṅgīta-ratnākara.

At page 152, (part 1) Śārṅgadeva describes 15 major rāgas as

"janakas" (fathers) of the minor melodies (bhāsās). Then he des-

cribes (p. 238) a few rāgas, which he could not group under any

class and assign to any family, as melodies of unknown parentage

(anukta-janakā).

(1) This must mean the author himself, and not the author of

Saṅgita-makaranda, (p. 18) who enumerates the masculine rāgas as

twenty in number. The author of Cattvārimśacchata-rāga-nirūpa-

ṇam, represents a time, when in Northern India, the major melodies

(puruṣa-rāga) were growing less and less in number, and approach-

ing towards the stage of being limited to six rāgas. It is quite pos-

sible that our author, though living in a later epoch, was adhering

to the older and conservative school.

(2) "Kudahana-tithi-gaṇita śake saumyāvdasyeṣa-māsi śuci-

pakṣe."

The work is available in the edition of Puruşottama Gharpure

printed at Poona, 1895, and also in a recent edition by M. S. Aiyar,

with an elaborate Introduction and Translation, Triplicane, Madras,

work in the North, or in the South.1 He classifies the melodies by selecting 23 melodies as major melodies (pravartaka-rāga) and Mela-kartās ('unifiers', or genuses), taking the Mukhārī as the Śuddha scale,2 and derives the other melodies, by classifying them under one, or other of these 23 types or classes. He does not, however, give any exhaustive enumeration of all the melodies which he remarks are innumerable according to the various ancient schools (mata)"

and incidentally cites Mataṅga, Niśaḥka, and Rāgārṇava, in his commentary (Ch. IV, pp. 1-3). He also cites the classification into six major rāgas, with five rāginīs each, making up a system of 36 rāgas, and also cites the classification of six rāgas, with five wives, and five sons each, making up a total of 66 melodies.3 He however follows the Carnatic system by devising a scheme of generic rāgas (melas), giving a system of 23 Mela-rāgas from which he derives the other melodies. (See Appendix 20).

This scheme differs from that of the 20 melas of Rāmā-mātva's Svarakalānidhi not only in the additional five melas, Bhairava, Mallāra, Kalyāṇa, Śuddha-vasanta and Hammira, but we also miss in Somanāth's list—the rāgas Hindola, and Hejujji. Bhairava is sometimes accepted in place of Mālava-gauḍa.4

To the reign of Shāh Jahān belongs, the short but pupular treatise known as the "Sangītadarpana" (the Mirror of Music) written by Dāmodara Miśra about 1625 A.D.5 It is more a compilation than an original work, and the author freely quotes from various authorities. His definition of 'Saṅgīta' (song and music) evidently borrowed from some

Dāmodara Misra's Sangita-darpara:

(1) Pandit Bhatkhande takes him to be an authority of the Northern School.

(2) "Santi mukhāri-mele śuddhāh sadjādayah svarāh sapta"|| Rāga-vivodha, Chapter 3, 32.

(3) "Rāgāh ṣat-puruṣāsteṣām pañca pañca tu yoṣitah| Sūnavah pañca pañcaiva ṣat-ṣaṣṭiriti te'khilāh"|| Rāga-vivodha, Ch. 4, 2, commentary.

(4) See Aiyar's Edition of Svarakalānidhi, Intro. XLVI.

(5) It is available in the edition of Raja Sir S. M. Tagore who published it with his own commentary and notes (Stanhope Press, Calcutta, 1881).

earlier text-writer is worth quoting: "The quality of pleasing

is the common factor underlying the art of singing songs,

accompaniments, and dance. Therefore that which fails to

give pleasure cannot deserve the name of music (Sangīta).1

In his chapter on rāgas, he gives a list of twenty major

rāgas :—Śrī-rāga, Naṭṭa, Vañgāla, Bhāṣa, Madhyama, Ṣādava,

Rakta-haṃsa, Kohlāsa, Prabhava, Bhairava, Dhvani, Megha-

rāga, Soma-rāga, Kāmoda, Āmra-pañcama, Kandarpa, Deśā-

khya, Kakubha, Kaiśika, Naṭṭa-nārāyaṇa.

This list is quite distinct from the system of six rāgas

and thirty-six rāginīs. The author cites two different systems

of ‘six-rāgas’, one according to the school of Hanumān, and

the other according to the view of Rāgarnava. He also cites

the view of Someśvara on the time-theory of the melodies.

The chapter ends with a series of descriptions of the six rāgas,

and thirty rāginīs, according to the school of Hanumān, to-

gether with prayer-formulas (dhyānas) for each of the melo-

dies described. The prayer-formulas of some of the upa-

rāginīs,not given elsewhere, are cited by the author.

The next available text belongs to the South and the

Govinda

Dīkṣit's

Sangīta-

sudhā:

Karnatic system. Sangīta-sūdhā, composed by Govinda Dīk-

ṣit, the minister at the Court of Prince Raghunath Naik

(1614-1640 A.D.) of Tanjore, was ascribed by the author to

his royal patron.2 It is an elaborate treatise, and treats of

the melodies very fully. The descriptions of the jāti-rāgas,

including the composite jāti-melodies, are illustrated with

actual songs, with notations. The author gives to the

Śuddha-jātis a picturesque name, viz., Kapālinī (skulls),

associating their origin with Śiva, as he went about in his

begging role (vikṣāṭana veśa) with the skull as his begging

bowl.3 Improving on Mataṅga (Appendix 3) the author

classifies melodies under ten divisions: (1) Grāma-rāga, (2)

(1) Gīta-vāditra-nṛtyānāṃ raktịḥ sādhāraṇo guṇaḥ|

Ato-rakti-vihīnaṃ yanna tat saṅgītamucyate|| 6 || Saṅgīta-

darpanam.

(2) The text together with a free translation is being published

in a series of articles, in the Journal of the Music Academy, Madras,

Vol. 1, Nos. 1-2, p. 57, 1930, 1932, 1933, by P. S. Sundaram Ayyar,

and Subramanya Sastri.

(3) Journal Music Academy, Vol. II, No. 3, p. 166.

60

Uparāga, (3) Śuddha-rāga, (4) Bhāṣā, (5) Vibhāṣā, (6) Antara-bhāṣā, (7) Rāgānga, (8) Bhāṣānga, (9) Kriyānga, (10) Upānga. He cites and describes 30 Grāma-rāgas, 8 Upa-rāgas, 20 Śuddha-rāgas (nearly the same as given in Sangīta-darpana, ante p. 32) and the ‘derivative melodies’ (janya-bhāṣā-rāga).

While Svarakala-nidhi cites 20 melas, (generic melodies which unify the derivatives under a genus-species system), Rāga-vivodha cites 23 mela-kartā rāgas; by the time of Govinda Dīkṣit, 72 melas had been evolved. Though the system of Melakartās had been in existence before, Dīkṣit gives it an emphatic status, and appears to have codified it, and given it a proper name, calling it, after the name of his patron, as ‘Raghunātha-mela’. The author is said to have introduced some new rāgas, e.g., Jayanta-sena and others.

The two following texts, Hrdaya-kautuka and Hrdaya-prakāśa, come from the North. The author of both is Hrdaya Nārāyana Deva who ruled in Gadā deśa about 1724 Samvat (=1646 or 1660 A.D.). In the first work, the author borrows his 12 parent scales (samsthānas or thāts) from Rāga-taranginī. He, however, invents a new melody called Hrdaya-rāma, in which two peculiar notes are used, e.g., tri-śruti ‘ma’ and tri-śruti ‘ni’, and on the basis thereof lays down an additional thirteenth thāt. His derivative rāgas are very fully described with their complete note-compositions. In his Hrdaya-prakāśa, the author confines himself to 12 types of melas or thāts, commenting that ‘there are innumerable melas in the ocean of music, but only 12 of these are useful here.’ He defines mela as ‘a collection of notes capable of producing rāgas.’ He emphasises on an important point. ‘The use of two, three, or four notes may produce pleasing improvisations (tānas) but not rāgas.’ The Śuddha scale of Hrdaya-prakāśa seems to correspond to the Kāfi

(1) “You have codified the new Melā, Raghunath Melā by name” (65). “You have sung the new Rāgas Jayantasena and others” (64). Ibid. Vol. I, No. 2, 1930, p. 120.

(2) Both these texts have been edited by D. K. Joshi and published by B. S. Sukthankar, Arya Bhushan Press, Poona, San 1918.

61

ṭhāṭ of the modern Hindustani musicians.

Venkata-makhi's Caturdandi-prakāśikā

Passing over Harivallabha's Hindi treatise (1653 A.D.) interesting only for its iconographic data, we come to the most important text of the South, the Caturdandi prakāśikā by Veṅkaṭamakhi the son of Govinda Dikṣit. The work was composed about 1660 A.D., and offers a very pungent criticism of the Svaramelakalānidhi. The author develops the melas into as many as 72 different types. These 72 melas, the author considered as final, and exhaustive. He had asserted that 'even Śiva could not add to the 72 melas'. This challenge has however been taken up by a later theorist the nameless author of Melādhikāra-lakṣaṇa. Many musicians hold that 72 melas are not possible. Veṅkaṭamakhi's system is based on the following 12 svara sthānas: (1) Ṣaḍja, (2) Śuddha-ṛṣabha, (3) Catu-śruti ṛṣabha=Śuddha-gāndhāra, (4) Ṣaṭ-śruti-ṛṣabha=Sādhāraṇa gāndhāra, (5) Antara-gān-dhāra, (6) Śuddha-madhyama, (7) Pratimadhyama, (8) Pañ-cama, (9) Śuddha-dhaivata, (10) Catuśruti-dhaivata=Śuddha-niṣāda, (11) Ṣaṭ-śruti-dhaivata=Kaiśika-niṣāda, (12) Kākalī-niṣāda. "The point to be noticed about this scheme is that with these twelve sthānas alloting two for Ri, Ga, Ma, Dha, and Ni, we can have only 32 melas in all, and in fact that position has been taken by some of the musicians of the present day. But Veṅkaṭamakhi intended to provide for both the Ris, or Gas, or Dhas, or Nis, occurring in the same mela, and so he classified the same sthāna both as Ri, Ga, Ga; and as Dha, or Ni. Thus we get Śuddha-gāndhāra, Ṣaṭ-śruti-ṛṣabha, Śuddha-niṣāda, Catuḥ-śruti-dhaivata. Thus the seventy-two melas are made up". (T. L. Venkatarama Iyer, in Journal Music Academy, Madras, Vol. I, No. 1, p. 42). He sets out a table of 19 melas (Appendix 24) which were current when he came into the field.

(1) Available in two editions: (1) published by Joshi and Sukthankar, Arya Bhusan Press, Poona, 1918 San, (2) published by the Music Academy, Madras.

(2) "Dvi-saptati melakānām nirmātā veṅkateśvara."

(3) "Nahi tat-kalpane bhāla-locano'pi pragalbhate."

(4) "Itthaṃ pradarśitā melā lakṣya-lakṣaṇa-saṅgatāḥ| Ekona-viśadasmābhiḥ samprati pracaranti ye||" Ch. IV. 174|| Catur-daṇḍi-prakāśikā.

62

Veṅkaṭamakhi classifies the rāgas into six kinds of Mārga-rāgas and four kinds of Deśi-rāgas.

A text datable about 1665 A.D., and which became very popular in the North is the Saṅgīta-Pārijāta by Ahovala Pandita1 having been translated into Persian by Pandit Dīna-nāth in 1724 A.D. The translation bearing the seal of the librarian of Emperor Mohamed Shah (1719-1724) is still in the collection of the Rampur State Library. The most important feature of this work is the fixing of the exact places of the śuddha and vikṛta notes in terms of the lengths of the sounding string of the vīṇā, in the same manner as that of Hrdaya-kautuka. Ahovala does not appeal to give any classification of the rāgas under any types of parent-scale (thāṭ) or otherwise, although he claims to describe the rāgas according to the characteristics laid down by Hanumān.2 But occasional references to thāṭas seem to indicate, that in his time, classification of rāgas under thāṭas had become current in the North. He gives a list of 122 rāgas, which he describes with accurate notations.3 He groups them according to the time and watches (prahara) assigned to their appropriate periods for singing, dividing them into three groups, for the first, second or third watches, while a string of 19 rāgas are grouped together as suitable for all hours (“sarvadī ca.sukha-pradā”).

Ahovala's Saṅgīta-Pārijāta:

Passing over the short Hindī treatise of Deo-kavi (c. 1673 A.D.), mostly of iconographic interest, we come to a very interesting group of texts: Anūpa-saṅgīta-vilāsa, Anūpa-saṅgīta-ratnākara and Anūpa-saṅgī-tāṅkuśa, all composed by Bhavabhaṭṭa under the patronage of Raja Anup Singh (1674-1701 A.D.) of Bikanir. This group of texts4 is of great interest

Bhavahatta's Anūpa-saṅgīta-vilāsa, Anūpa-saṅgīta-ratnākara, Anūpa-saṅgī-tāṅkusa:

(1) It was edited and published by Jīvānanda Vidyāsāgara, Sarasvatī Press, Calcutta, 1884.

(2) "Lakṣaṇāni vruve teṣāṁ sammatyā ca Hanūmataḥ"|| 333 || Saṅgīta-Pārijāta.

(3) "Dvāvimśatyā śatam te ca proktā loka-sukhāya ca"|| 488 || Ibid.

(4) The three texts have been printed and published by Joshi and Sukthankar, Arya Bhusan Press, Poona, San 1921, in one volume.

63

for the history of the rāgas. By adopting the data offered by nearly all the earlier texts, the author gives an historical view of the rāgas, and their various classifications as gleaned from the preceding theorists, beginning from Yāṣṭika. In the first text, the author gives various prayer-formulas from earlier authors whose original texts are not otherwise available. In the second text, the author cites variegated forms of 18 different melodies, e.g., 16 forms of Nata; 14 forms of Karnāṭa; 16 forms of Velāvalī; nine forms of Ṭoḍī; and so on; He catalogues 37 varieties of grāma-rāgas with their respective derivatives (vibhāṣās &c.). He gives a very interesting history how the first group of six major-rāgas came to be recognized at first. 'The ancient authorities had given the status of major rāgas to the following (four): (i) Naṭṭa-nārāyaṇa, (ii) Megha, (iii) Bhairava, (iv) Śrī-rāga. To this, the grāma-rāga called 'Pañcama' was added, and also the rāgāṅga 'Vasanṭa' (thus making a group of six).'1 Then the author cites four other different groups of six-rāgas, including that of the Rāgāṅgava, with their respective rāginīs for each of the five systems. Next, he gives the name of 20 melas: Ṭoḍī, Gauḍī, Varāṭī, Kedāra, Buddha-nāṭa, Mālava-kaiśika, Śrī-rāga, Hammira, Ahirī, Kalyāṇa, Deśākṣī, Deśī-kār, Sāraṅga, Karnāṭa, Hijeja, Nādarāmkriyā, Hindola, Mukhārī, and Soma. This is followed by full descriptions of numerous important melodies, mostly accompanied by prayer-formulas. In the third text Anūpa-saṅgītānkuśa, the author confines himself to the system of Hanumāna, with slight variations, viz., Sāverī, substituted for Āśāvarī (See Appendix 33). Descriptions of the note-structures of the melodies are borrowed from various earlier authorities. It is obvious that Bhava-bhaṭṭa does not record any new developments, but follows current and prevailing practices. Similarly, the Saṅgīta-dāmodara by Śubhaṅkara (c. 1690) is mostly based on Saṅgīta-darpana and does not offer any new materials or data for the history of rāgas.

During the eighteenth century the available texts have

Sangita-nārāyana by Puru-sottama Misra:

(1) Naṭṭa-nārāyanasyāpi Meghasya Bhairavasya ca| Śrī-rāgāsya ca samproktam rāgatvan pūrva-sūribhih|| 142 || Pañcamo grāma-rāgah syādrāgāṅgagan ca Vasantakah||

Anūpa-saṅgīta-ratnākara, p. 28.

64

very little to record by way of new developments. Thus the treatise called Saṅgīta-nārāyaṇa1 composed by Puruṣottama Miśra under the patronage of Nārāyaṇa Deva of Parlakimedi of the Southern Gajapati dynasty about the years 1730-1750 freely uses the earlier texts.2 The most interesting of the citations in this work are the verses from Nārada's Pañcama-sāra-saṃhitā, and Matamaṭā-carya's Saṅgīta-ratnamālā, the original text of the latter being not yet traceable. The principal feature of the work is contributed by the descriptive prayer-formulas from various earlier authors. The author follows the six-rāga system with the following major rāgas: Bhairava, Vasanta, Mālava-kauśika, Śri-rāga, Megha-rāga, and Naṭṭa-nārāyaṇa.

To the closing years of the eighteenth century belongs a short but interesting text, Saṅgīta-sārāmrtoddhāra3 attributed to a royal author, King Tulājī of Tanjore (1763-1787) A.D.). Though a late work, it has some interesting features. He refers to a musician (gāyaka) named Sautika4 and cites pithy definitions of the clasification of rāgas into rāgāṅga, bhāṣāṅga etc. He cites Mataṅga, Viṭṭhala, and the Caturdandī-prakāśikā. He cites the melodies as current in his time ("samprati pracaranti ye," verse 14). He attributes to Someśvaradeva,

Sangīta Sārāmrtod-dhāra by Tulājī:

(1) The text is available in an unpublished Ms. in Bengali, in the collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal No. 2513-69-E4. The colophon runs as follows: "Iti śrī-man-nikhilānvayottuīya-garva-śāva-stasyākhyla-guna-sadma-padma-nābha-bhūmi-pati-tanū-janmano-mahārājasyā-sāhitya-saṅgītārṇava-karṇadhāra(kara)kamalergajapati-vīra-śrī-Nārāyaṇa-devasya-kṛtau Saṅgīta-Nārāyaṇe śuddha-prabandho-dhāraṇam nāma caturthah paricchedah * * * Śrī-Kaviratna Purusottama-Miśra-Krta Saṅgīta-Nārāyaṇonāma granthah."

(2) A chief called Nārāyaṇa Deva of Parlakimedi, is referred to in R. D. Banerjee's History of Orissa, Vol. II, p. 120ff. See also Ramachandra Kavi : "Literary Gleanings," Journal Andhra Historical Research Society, Vol. III, 2, 3, 4, p. 206.

(3) The work is represented by two imperfect Mss. in the Collection of the Tanjore Palace State Library, Nos. 6629, and 6632 (Burnell's Catalogue, p. 60). It has been published in an edition now out of print, printed in Bombay by Bhāḷa Chandra Sarmā.

(4) "Bhāṣāṅgastena Kathyaṃte gāyakaiḥ Soutikādibhih," Verse 12.

9 65

the well-known verses describing the origin of the six major rāgas from the mouth of Śiva and Pārvatī, already cited here (ante p. 13, foot-note 1). As a characteristic Southern text, it classifies the melodies under the system of melas. As compared with the Caturdandi-prakāśikā, the text offers several peculiarities. If we compare the mela and janya-rāgas—as given in the Appendices 24 and 2 and we find that the Mukhārī mela, popular in the earlier period, has given up its position of honour to Śrī-rāga.1 Suddha-rāma-kriyā, and Sindhu-rāma-kriyā are cited as two independent major rāgas, and a new major rāga (melaka) is cited under the name of Vega-vāhinī. The Saindhavī rāga, an evening melody, is described as giving victory in times of war.2 The melody Madhyamādi is said to be very moving and stimulating when played on a flute.3 The melody Kannada-gauḍa, an Upāñga-rāga, is said to be very popular in Orissa ("Utkalā-nāmatipriyali"). Among the list of derivative melodies the following new names are cited: Mādhava-manoharī, Śrī-rañ-janī, Jayanta-sena, Mani-rāñgā, Udaya-ravi-candrikā, Ārdra-deśī, Meca-vauli, Pūrṇa-pañcama, Nārāyanī, Pūrṇa-candrikā, Sura-sindhu, Chhāyā-tarañginī, Julāvu (Sanskrit form of Jilaf?), and Manoha. Some interesting varieties of older and familiar melodies are cited, e.g., Yadu-kula-kāmboji, Nārāyanī-deśakṣī, Naṭa-kurañjī, Mohana-kalyāñī, Indu-ghaṇṭā-rava. The new names appear to prove that music was still a living science, growing by the development of new melodies.

Sangīta-sāra by Ma-hārāja Pra-tāpa Simha: The Hindi text Sangīta-sāra4 compiled by Mahārāja Sawai Pratāpa Simha Deo of Jaipur (1779-1804 A.D.) offers

(1) "Ātra sarvveṣu rāgeṣu Śrī-rāgaścottamottamāḥ"|| 74|| "Śrī-rāga rāga-rajo' yam sarvva-sampat-pradāyakakah! Itucyate tatra lakṣmya Tulājendra dhīmatā|| 85 || Sangīta-sārāmrtoddharā.

(2) "Śrī-rāga-mela-sambhūtaḥ Saindhavī-rāga īritaḥ| Samgrāma-karmmaṇi jaya-pradaḥ sāyam pragīyate Sampūrṇa-svara-samyuktaḥ śadja-nyāsa-grahāṃśakah"|| Ibid.

(3) "Raktiretasya rāgasya muralyāṃ dṛśyate'dhikā"|| Ibid.

(4) Published by Poona Gayan Samaj, Printed at Arya Bhusan Press, 7 parts, 1910-12.

no data bearing of the history of the rāgas. He however

describes several new rāgas e.g. Laikā-dahana, Līlāvati.

The work is of more interest for the materials offered for

musical iconography. The work is the result of a conference

of experts and musical practitioners called at Jaipur for the

purpose of compiling a standard work on Hindusthani music.

In the work the standard of Śuddha scale accepted is that of

Vilāval.

The eighteenth century has very little to record in the

history of the development of Indian music, in theory, or

science–though eminent practical exponents continued to

carry on the brilliant traditions of the Moghul periods as late

as the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748 A.D.).

During the early part of the nineteenth century an im-

portant Persian text offers a new development in the classi-

fication of rāgas. This is a Persian text compiled in 1813 A.D.

by Muhammad Rezza,.a Prince of Patna. It is known as

Nagmat-e-Asaphi and appears to survive in manuscripts.

This eminent connoisseur of music had the courage to call

into question the classification of the northern system, based

on a picturesque divisions of the melodies into 'wives' and

'sons' of rāgas. He devised a new system based on a study

of the structural similarities of the rāgas. He based his

classification by accepting the Vilāval scale as the standard

of Śuddha scale. He built up his system after consulting the

best practising artists of his time.

A pretentious treatise compiled during the early part

of the 19th century, and printed in 1842 we owe to a musical

expert Kṛishṇānanda Vyāsa, a Gauḍa Brahmin from a village

in Udaipur. It is an encyclopædia in Sanskrit of songs col-

lected from different parts of India and published under the

title Saṅgīta-rāga-kalpadruma.1 It also deals with dancing

and drumming and rhythm. It is hardly an original contri-

bution to music and merely summarises the works of pre-

vious text-writers. In the section on rāgas the author follows

(1) The work has been printed twice, the first edition during

1842-49, and the second edition in two volumes in 1916 by the

Baṅgīya Sāhitya Parisad, Calcutta, vide O. C. Gangoly's note on

'Date of the Samgīta-rāga-kalpa-drumh' in the Annals of the Bhan-

darkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. XV, Parts 1-11, 1934. p. 117.

67

Nagamat-e-Asaphi by Muhammad Rezza Khan:

Sangīta-rāga-kalpadruma by Krish-nānanda Vyāsa:

the Sangīta-darpana basing his classification on the School

of Hanumān. He describes the 36 melodies and quotes the

prayer-formulas as cited in the Sangīta-darpana. As an

anthology of old songs, both in Hindi and Persian, which

are collected under different melodies, the work is of great

value, the materials having been collected during a period

of 32 years, from a wide field of researches.

The compilation of Raja Sir Sourindra Mohun Tagore,

(one of the greatest connoisseurs and patrons of Indian

Music) under the title of Sangīta-sāra-samgraha1 and pub-

lished in Samvat 1932 (1875 A.D.) offers the latest study on

the old Sanskrit musical texts. His chief sources are the

text of Sangīta-ratnākara, Sangīta-dāmodara, and Sangīta-

darpana. His work is of great interest for the collection of

prayer formulas (dhyānas) of rāgas according to the three

schools.

A more original contribution to the science of the rāgas

is furnished by Śrī-mal-lakṣa-sangītam and Abhinava-rāga-

mañjarī2 two short Sanskrit treatises composed in 1921 by

Pandit Bhat-Khande (under the pseudonym of Viṣṇu Śarmā)

an eminent scholar and one of the foremost living connois-

seurs of Indian music to whom this volume is dedicated.

The author adopts the system of unifiers (melakas) and deri-

vatives (janya). Accepting the Velāvala as the fundamental

scale,3 he divides the rāgas into 10 groups (melakas=group-

makers): Kalyāṇa, Kammāj, Bhairava, Pauravī, Māravā,

Kāphī, Āśāvarī, Bhairavī and Toḍikā. 'The derivative rāginīs

coming under each group are set out in the table given in

Appendix 35).

This hasty, summary, and bird's eye-view of the deve-

lopment of the rāgas will be imperfect, without reference to

the recent innovations introduced by Dr. Rabindra Nath

Tagore. His experiments are chiefly interesting for their

harmonious combinations of apparently inconsistent, or

(1) Printed by I. C. Bose & Co., Stanhope Press, Calcutta,

(2) Printed at the Arya Bhusan Press, Poona, and published

by Bhalchandra S. Sukthankar, 1921 (Saka 1843), Bombay.

(3) “Ādimah sarva-melānām velāvalī-su-melakah”, verse 89,

Abhinava-rāga-mañjari, p. 3.

68

temperamentally divergent, or structurally incompatible rāgas—into happy and melodious compositions. As we have seen (ante p. 27-28), numerous old masters of Indian music had changed the current forms of rāgas in new and attractive versions, and novel forms of interpretations. “Knowing the old rāgas perfectly well, he (Tagore) too had the right to use and change them as his own inspiration told him to do.”1

(1) A. A. Bake : ‘Rabindranath Tagore's music', The Golden Book of Tagore. 1931, pp. 273-276.

RAGAS AND RAGINIS

The differentiation of rāginīs from rāgas is a topic of some complication. The evolution of the rāginīs as a class of melodies to be distinguished from rāgas properly so-called is a matter of later history. The word rāginī does not occur in the works of Dattila, Bharata, or in the Bṛhaddeśī. Rāginīs are believed to be graceful, minor, diminutive, or abbreviated forms of rāgas. At an earlier stage, such as we find in the Bṛhaddeśī, they were looked upon as the derivatives of the root-rāgas, and as reflecting the character of the rāgas' (Chāyā-mātrānuga). They are then designated as bhāṣās, and vibhāṣās, and antara-bhāṣās. And each of the several earliest grāma-rāgas, or rāga-gītis (see Appendix 3) had particular bhāṣā-gītis assigned to them. According to the definition of Mataṅga, 'the bhāṣās were derived from the grāma-rāgas, the vibhāṣās spring from the bhāṣās, and the antara-bhāṣās were born of the vibhāṣās.'1 In the nomenclature of this definition, and in the feminine endings given to these early derivatives of the root-rāgas, we have the seeds for the later classifications of rāgas and rāginīs, picturesquely called as the wives of the rāgas, and the classification of rāgas and their derivatives picturesquely called as the sons (putras) of the rāgas. The three types of derivative rāgas, mentioned by Mataṅga, have names with feminine endings (strī-pratyaya).

According to an ingenious suggestion by a modern scholar of music,2 it is the placing of the emphasis on the cadential notes (nyāsa, vinyāsa, apanyāsa, sannyāsa) on the stronger or the weaker pulses of the rhythm of a melody that determines its sex. And that when the musical phrases or

(1) "Grāma-rāgodbhavā bhāṣā bhāṣbhyāśca vibhāṣikāḥ| Vibhāṣābhyāśca sañjātā tathā cāntara-bhāṣikāḥ||" Mataṅga, Bṛhad-deśī, p. 105.

(2) Paṇḍit Kṛṣṇa Chandra Ghoṣe Vedanta-Cintāmaṇi.

70

structure of a melody have an upward or ascending tendency (ārohaṇa) with the cadential notes resting on the stronger pulses-then it is called a rāga (a masculine melody). And when the phrases and structure have a downward or descending tendency (avarohana) with the cadential notes resting on the weaker impulses,-it is characterized as a rāgiṇī (a feminine melody).

The conception of rāgiṇī, as a graceful, or a diminutive phase of a rāga, and designated with a feminine ending appears to be a peculiarity of the Northern system. Śāranga-deva does not recognize rāgiṇīs, but only bhāṣās, vibhāṣā and antarabhāṣās. The differentiation of female melodies is first come across in the Saṅgīta-makaranda of Nārada, who gives three classes of melodies under the headings of (i) male rāgas (puṃliṅga-rāga), (ii) female rāgas (strī-rāgas), and (ii) neuter rāgas (napuṃsaka-rāgas). This classification is ascribed to Brahmā, and the three groups are allocated to three different types of emotive values. The male melodies are assigned to the sentiments of Wonder, Courage, or Anger, the female melodies are assigned to the sentiments of Love, Laughter, and Sorrow, while the neuter melodies are assigned to the sentiments of Terror, Fear, Disgust, and Peace.1

It should be noted that Nārada does not actually use the word rāgiṇī, but uses the term strī, or 'yosit' (wife) of a rāga. If Matamaṭa (8th century) is the author of Saṅgīta-ratna-mālā, then the earliest reference to rāgiṇīs is to be found in this text; it has been freely utilized by the author of Saṅgīta-nārāyana and various later authors. But this is somewhat problematic, as Nānyadeva, (12th century) an authority of the Northern School does not mention rāgiṇīs, so the term does not appear to have been used very much before the date of the Rāgārṇava (c. 14th century), though the recognition of a female rāga must be fairly old in the Northern system.

Gurjarī, Saindhavī, Gāndhārī, Ābhirī, are some of the earliest feminine melodies designated by Mataṅga under the

(1) "Raudre'dbhūte tathā vīre puṃ-rāgaiḥ parigīyate| Sṛṅgāra-hāsya-karuṇām (?) strī-rāgaiśca pragīyate|| 65 || Bhayānake ca vibhatse śānte gāyannapumsake|| Saṅgīta-makaranda, (G. O. S. Vol. XVI, p. 19).

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name of bhāṣā. According to the terminology of the mythology of the tantras, the minor melodies have been born of the union of the male and the female phases of the melodies.

As Nārada has remarked, 'curious, indeed, are the names of Rāgas'.1 If we study their names we find three distinct phases. At the first stage, about the time of the Nāṭya-Śāstra the melodies took their names from the dominant or significant note prevailing in their compositions.

Thus, one of the grāma-rāgas is called Ṣadji, from the note Ṣadja; Ārṣabhī, from the note Rṣabha, Gāndhārī, from the note Gāndhāra, and so on. The last-named melody still survives in current practice. The name 'Madhyamlādi' (now regarded as a rāginī of Bhairava) is so-called as it begins with the note 'Madhyama' (F). Vibhāṣā, originally a generic name for a class of derivative melodies (a sub-division of bhāṣās) now survives as a proper name for a rāginī.

In the second stage, the melodies derived their names from the ancient tribes inhabiting various parts of India. Thus the Śakas, the Pulindas, the Ābhiras, the Savaras, and the Bhairavas2 appear to have lent their names to the following rāgas: Śaka-rāga (with variants called Śaka-tilaka, Śaka-miśrita), Pulindī-rāga, Ābhīrī, Sāverikā (Sāvirī) and Bhairava-rāga.

Three of the earliest rāgas, (a) Mālava (with its derivatives Mālavikā, Mālavaśrī, Mālava-pañcama, Mālava-vesara, Mālava-kaiśika,3 vulgarized into Mālkausa), (b) Āndhrī, and (c) Gūrjarī, may have come from the ancient tribes known as the Mālavas, the Andhras, and the Gurjaras respectively.

As is well-known, the Mālavas

(1) "Nāradeṇa vicitreṇa sānti namani vakṣyate"|| Saṅgīta-makaranda, p. 18, 56.

(2) The Bhīravas were an aboriginal sect mentioned along with the Śakāras, Ābhīras, Chandālas, Pulindas and Savaras in Sāradātanaya's Bhāva-prakāśana (Gaekwad's O. S. Vol. XLV, 1930. Introduction, p. 61).

(3) According to Mataṅga (Brhaddesī, T. S. S. p. 98) Mālava-Kaiśika is so called because it is derived from the Kaiśikī-jāti melody' ("Kaiśikī-jāti-sambhūtīh rāgo Mālava-kaiśikah"|| (346).

The term 'Kaiśikī' (literally—'hair breadth') is derived from the theory of Srutis (microtones). Thus, 'Kaiśikī nī' is nikhāda (B) less by one Sruti.

TODI RĀGINĪ

were ancient martial tribes (āyudhaj-jīvi-samghas), mentioned by Patañjali, and who were formerly settled in the Punjab where they offered resistance to Alexander, and latterly settled in the North-west part of Central India, to which they gave the name the Mālwā.1 The Andhras, a Dravidian sect, played a more important part in the political and cultural history of India, and founded ruling dynasties occupying various parts of Central, Eastern, and Southern India at different periods.2 Similarly the Gurjara clans, probably foreign immigrants associated with the White Huns, formerly settled near Mount Abu, and, later, occupying the peninsula known as Guzerat,—played important parts in developing Indian culture and religious history. They are also associated with an important ruling dynasty known as the Gurjjara-pratihāra dynasty.3 The aboriginal races of India appear to have contributed many shining and colourful threads to the rich and variegated texture of Indian musical tapestry.

Other names of rāgas are derived from geographical place names and regions. The most typical example is Vañgāla, 'the celestial form of which', Matañga points out, 'is derived from the Vañgāla country'.4 Cognate examples are (a) Saindhavī, from Sindhūdeśa, modern Sind, (b) Sauvīra (with its derivative, Sauvīraka, Sauvīrī) from the ancient region in the South-west,5 (c) Takka (sometimes called

(1) "The Mālavas" by Adrish Ch. Banerji, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, Vol. XIII, 1931-32, pp. 218-229.

(2) "Andhra History & Coinage" by Vincent Smith (Z. D. M. G., 1902, 1903).

(3) D. R. Bhandarkar : 'Foreign Elements in the Hindu Population' (Indian Antiquary, Vol. XL, 1931, pp. 7-37. C. V. Vaidya: 'History of Medieval Hindu India, Vol. I, p. 84. J. C. Ghosh: 'Padihār's (Indian Antiquary, Vol. LX, 1931, pp. 239-246).

(4) "Vañgāla-deśa-sambhūta vañgālī divya-rūpinī," Brhad-deśī, p. 127.

(5) 'The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa assigns Sindhu-Sauvīra to the South-west' (Cunningham's 'Ancient Geography of India, S. Majumdar's Edition, 1924, p. 7).

'Taku', later vulgarized as 'Tañka', from Takka-deśā (d) Saurāṣṭrī (vulgarized in forms, such as Sauraṭhī, Suraṭ, Suraṭ-mallār) from the Saurāṣṭra-deśa and (e) Karnāṭa (Karnāṭī), from regions of same names. Similarly, the rāginī Kāmbhojī (still surviving in the South in the popular variety known as Hari-Kāmbhojī) is derived from Kām-bhoja-deśa, and the rāginī Vairāṭī may have come from Berar, or Virāṭa kingdom, figuring in the epic anecdotes of Mahā-bhārata. Bhoṭṭa, a very early melody, may have come from the region of Thibet (Bhoṭṭa), just as Gauḍa (Eastern Bengal), to be distinguished from Vangāla, and Gauḍī must have been melodies imported from the Eastern part of Bengal. Likewise, the melody Pauravikā (Pūravī, Pūrvī), literally meaning 'eastern', may have come from that region. It is quite possible that the melody known as Kakubhā derives its name from an ancient village, famous in Gupta history, as a culture-centre, 'a very jewel amongst villages, sanctified by the habitations of sages.' The village Kakubhā still survives under the name of Kahayūn, five miles to the west of the chief town of Salampur-Majhauli in the district of Gorakhpur. The rāginī Khamvāvatī, an ancient melody, probably derives its name from the city of the name of Cambay; the site of the ancient city is three miles away from the modern city. The Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, in the thirteenth century, calls it 'Cambat.' According to Col. Todd, the proper Hindu name of the city, was Khambavatī, 'the city of the pillars.' 'The inhabitants write it Kambayat. It is spoken of as a flourishing city by Mas'udi who visited it in 915 A.D.' Ibn Batuta (14th century) speaks of it as a very fine city, remarkable for the elegance and solidity of the mosques and houses built by wealthy foreign merchants.

(1) The melody may have 'come from an ancient aboriginal tribe known as the Takkas (Tāks, or Tauks of later times) who occupied portions of the Panjab in early times and who are believed to have given the name to the ancient city of Takṣa-śilā (Taxila) and of Attak (Attoc). See 'Early Turanians: 'Takkas' (Cunningham, A. S. Reports, Vol. II, 1862-65, Simla, 1871, pp. 6-11).

(2) 'Khyāte'smin grāma-ratne kakubha iti janaiḥ sādhusaṃsarga-pūte' (Fleet's Gupta Inscriptions, No. 15, p. 67).

(3) Marco Polo, Yule's edition, 1875, Vol. II, p. 389.

The melody does not appear to find its place in the Saṅgīta-makaranda, nor in the Saṅgīta-ratnakara, nor even in the Saṅgīta-samaya-sāra, and is mentioned for the first time in Locana Kavi's Rāga-taraṅginī (c. 14th century).

The rāginī Hijeja [Hejujji], an imported melody, now affiliated with Indian rāgas, is also believed to have been so called after the name of a city in Persia.1

Of other examples of the Sanskritization of names of non-Indian or non-Aryan melodies, the most important is Velāvalī. In its original form, which we find twice mentioned in the Abhilāṣārtha-cintāmaṇi (Ch. 66, 67), it is vela-īlī, apparently a Dravidian word. Toḍi, sanskritized as Tuḍikā (Toḍikā), is originally derived from Tuḍiḷī. Āśāvarī, and Dhannāsikā (Dhanāśrī), meaningless as Sanskrit terms, probably conceal within their modern forms, their original non-Aryan names. Similarly, 'Bhāvanā-paṅcama' mentioned as an upa-rāga in Saṅgīta-ratnākara, is a respectable form of Khammāj rāginī), to be distinguished from 'Khamvāvatī', (see notes on Plate CXIV ) is first described by Sāranga-deva as 'Khambhā-iti' (Vol. I, p. 212) and, then under the respectable name of 'Staṃbha-tīrthikā' 'the sanctified water from the pillar.2 Names which had no chance to put on respectable garbs of Sanskrit names, are exemplified in Chevāṭī,

(1) In Persia, * * * "the modes are chiefly denominated like those of the Greeks and Hindoos, from different regions or towns; as among the pardahs (maquams=rāgas), we see Hijāz, Irāk, Isfahán and among the shōbahs, or secondary modes, Zabul, Nishapur, and the like. In a Sanskrit book, which shall soon be particularly mentioned, I find the scale of a mode, named Hijeja, specified in the following verse:—Māṃsagraha sa nyāso'c'hilo hījejastu sāyāhne. The name of this mode is not Indian; and if I am right in believing it a corruption of Hijāz, which could hardly be written otherwise in the Nagari letters, we must conclude that it was imported from Persia."

On the Musical Modes of the Hindoos' by Sir William Jones, (S. M. Tagore's Reprint, 1882, pp. 134-135).

(2) The familiar rāginī known under the popular name of Jhīnjhoṭī (jhijhit) has for its Sanskrit equivalents: 'Jījāvanta' 'Jhinja-vatī. Likewise, Māru, a prākṛta.word has Māravikā as its Sanskrit form.

Gollī1 Kaccōli, Geranjī and various other non-Aryan names, which should provide, for our philologists, new and rich fields of research.

Some of the names are derived from their associations with the season, and seasonal rites, or saturnālias. To this class belong the Megha-rāga, the melody of the rains, Vasanta, the melody of the spring, the Hindola, associated with the Swing Festival, and the Śrī-rāga, associated with the harvesting season. The text of Sangīta-Sudhā (early 17th century) alludes to the traditional association of this melody with Lakṣmī, the goddess of Fortune. ‘As it is known to all, it brings fortunes.’2 Prathama-mañjarī (lit. ‘the first shoots’) probably borrows its name from its association with early spring. Other melodies associated with the spring and the summer are, Cūta-mañjarī, (lit. ‘the Mango-blossom’), Āmra-pañcama (‘the mango with the fifth note’).

The ancient sub-divisions of the rāgas into a sub-group of Kriyānga rāgas, have left their traces on some of the melodies—e.g. Gunakriyā—Gunakirī (Guṇa-kelī); Rāma kriyā =Rāma-kirī, Rāma-kri (Rāma-kelī); Nāda-rāma-kriyā= Nāda-rāma-ki; Devakriyā=Devakri; Śiva-kriyā=Śiva-kri.3 When music, and rāga-gītis, originally associated with the stage and the drama, derived assistance and prestige from the cults and cult-worships, the melodies borrowed some more new names. Thus, Bhairava, and Bhairavī (probably associated generally with the Bhīrava clans) became the medium of singing solemn hymns to Śiva. Kedāra (a name of Śiva), Śaṅkarābharana (‘the ornament of Śaṅkara’) and Hara-Śṛṅgāra (‘the passion of Śiva’), are apparently names given by devout Saiva worshippers. Ghanta-rava, (lit. ‘the voice of the bell’) is apparently associated with the worship

(1) Gollī is sometimes met with in the form Gaulī from which the transition to the Sanskrit name Gaurī (to be distinguished from Gauḍī) is easy.

(2) “Atha Suddha-rāgāḥ Śrī-rāgāḥ: 1: *** Vire rase'sau vini-yojanīyo Lakṣmī-pradah sarva-jana-prasiddhaḥ”: 130. Saṅgīta-Sudhā, Journal, The Music Academy, Vol. III, Nos. 1, 2, 1932, p. 37. Śrī-kanthī, now obsolete, is another melody associated with Lakṣmī.

(3) In an intermediate stage, the names of Kriyāṅga melodies take the forms of Guṇa-kṛti, Rāma-kṛti, Deva-kṛti, and so on.

in the temple. Kānadā came to be associated with the cult of Kṛṣna (Kānar, the Hindī-prākṛta form of Kṛṣna). The more significant example of a melody associated with Vaiṣṇava worship is the Naṭṭa-Nārāyaṇa (the ‘Dancing Viṣṇu’).

Many a flower appear to have lent their names to old melodies:—Kusuma(flower), Kamala (lotus), Nilotpalī(blue lotus), Utpalī (lotus), Kumuda (lily), Kaumadakī (appertaining to the lily), Kuraṅga-mālikā (the deer-flower), Mālatī (jesamine).

Various rāgiṇīs have borrowed names from birds and animals: Kokila (cuckoo), Māyurī (pea-cock), Nāga-dhvani (the voice of the snake), Hamsa-dhvani (the voice of the swan), Vada-hamsī (the big swan), Kurañjī-Kuraṅgī, (antelope), Vihagadā=Vihangadā (the bird).

Sometimes, individual musicians, princes, chiefs, kings and patrons of music, have recorded their names in melodies created by them, or varieties and innovations introduced by them. The earliest example is the name of the melody Bhāṭiyārī, (‘Bhartṛharikā’, according to the text of Saṅgīta-Sudhä [early 17th century]). It is traditionally derived from Bhartṛhari, the famous prince-poet, the author of the Śatakas, who is believed to have lived in the middle of the seventh century.

Of master musicians naming melodies after their own names, the typical example is that of the three masters patronised by Raja Mān Thomar of Gwalior, each of whom contributed one variety of mallār, called after them, Bukshoo-ki-mallār," "Charjoo-ki-mallār," and "Dhondee-ki-mallār." The "Bāhādurī-Toḍī" is named after Sultan Bāz Bahadur of Mālwā, (1556-1570) who became their later patron.

The Sharqī kings of Jaunpur (1394-1479 A.D.) were patrons of art and architecture. The popular melody still current under the name of ‘Jaunpuri Toḍī’, originated from that area.

With the name of Miyān, Tānsen, the famous Court-musician of Akbar, are associated two melodies: ‘Miyān-ki-‘ mallār’ and ‘Darbāri’. Likewise ‘Vilāskhānī-Toḍī’ has been ascribed to Vilās Khan who has been identified as one of the sons of Tānsen.

The Sanskrit names and their prākṛta and Hindi vari-

ations as well as their vulgarized forms have led to some confusion as to the identity of the names of the melodies and their proper designations. These variations have been given, as far as possible, in the descriptive notes on the Plates. But some of the parallel names may be cited here by way of illustrations: Bhairava=Bhairon; Varāṭī=Varāḍī; Deśākhyā=Desākh; Deśī=Deś; Āśāvarī=Āswāri; Mallārikā=Malhār, Malār; Gūrijarī=Gujri; Deva-Gāndhāra =Deo-gāndhār; Travanā=Trapanā, Trivanī; Trivenī Hām-virī=Hāmmīr; Aḍḍānā=Ādāna.

Bungling copyists have contributed their share to the confusion of names. Thus Paṭa-mañjarī, before it emerged in its present form, passed through the following stages, Prathama-mañjarī (Sangīta-makaranda, p. 19), Phala-mañ-jarī, Prati-mañjarī (Rāgārṇava).

An example of deliberate transformation is offered in the name Madhuma-vatī (Rāga-sāgara) which subsequently figures as Madhu-mādhavī, associated with Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava).

The study of the names, as we have seen, yields important data for the origin and the history of the rāgas. But, they have also their practical uses in correctly apprehending the identity and rasa-values of fundamentally different rāginīs, current under similar or analogous names, and liable to be confused by novices and untrained musicians. We have in current practices a group of identical or analogous names which under misleading designations stand different and generically distinct melodies, different in structure, and in emotional significance, which must be carefully distinguished from each other. Under misleading similarity of names, pairs, or groups of melodies embody different personalities, with widely different rasa-values.

In the illustrations, and in the descriptive plates, these pairs of “opposites”, masquerading under similar names have been juxtaposed, and their different pictorial portraits have been exemplified. It will be sufficient to cite here the groups of the analogous names: thus Toḍī (Plate XV) and Tuḍi (Plate XXI) represent differing conceptions Kānoḍā, wife of Dīpaka (Plate L) is different from Kānoḍā, wife of Mallāra (Plate LI): Rāmakirī, wife of Bhairo (Plate XXXII) differs in conception from Rāmakirī, wife of Mālava (Plate XXXIII,

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Fig. A), and also from Rāmakelī, wife of Karnāṭa (Plate XXXIII, Fig. B): Deśākkh (Plate XXXIV), Deśī (Plate XLIII) and Deśakāri (Plate LXXV) represent different melodies; two different melodies are indicated under the analogous names of Lalita (Plate XXXVI) and Lalitā (Plate XXXVII, Fig. D); the verses and pictures illustrating Kedārikā (Plate XLVI) and Kedārī (Plate XLVII) offer divergent portraits; Nata (Plate XLIV), Natikā, Nāṭa (Plate XLV) and Naṭṭa-nārāyaṇa (Plate LXXIX) embody divergent personifications, and differing emotive values; Sāvirī (Plate LXLVI) and Sāverikā (Plate LXLVII) under analogous names conceal different identities.1

(1) In a series of articles published by the author in the Bengali journal Saṅgīta Vijñāna-Praveśikā, (Vaiśākh Āṣāḍh, Srāvaṇa 1341) Çalcutta, the topic has been elaborately discussed.

TIME THEORY

One of the characteristic peculiarities of Indian melodies is their traditional association with particular seasons of the year, and with particular hours (watches) of the day and night. According to the Indian theory, there is some inherent quality in some rāgas which allocate them to particular season, and attune them to the peculiar atmosphere of nature prevailing during a given season, the melody interpreting the spirit of the season, and the seasonal atmosphere echoing sympathetically to the character and essence of that melody. Very antagonistic views have been held by Indian musicians and theorists as to the validity or scientific basis of the so-called relationship between the spirit of a season and its appropriate melodic interpretation, but the theory has been handed down from a period of respectable antiquity. Curiously the earliest texts throw no light on the subject. The works of Dattila, Bharata, and Matanga offer no clue for this tradition. And it is not until we come to Nārada’s Sangīta-makaranda (a Northern text, probably datable about the 8th-9th centuries) that we come across written authority for this traditional association of melodies with particular seasons and hours of the day. It is quite possible that the assignation of rāgas to particular seasons may be older than the Sangīta-makaranda. The seasonal festivities are of great antiquity. The Spring Festival (with its variations for festivals assigned to special flowers e.g. Kaumudīmahotsava—the great festival of the Kumuda flower) is, as we know from ancient dramatic literature, very ancient and was accompanied by gambols at the swing (hindola), very picturesquely described by Rājaśekhara (circa 9th century) in his Karpūra-mañjarī (ii. 30). It is quite possible that the Vasanta and the Hindola rāgas were melodies specially associated with the spring festivals. The Hindola is the earlier melody, from

80

which the Vasanta has been derived.1 Some of the texts identify the two melodies as one.2 The Solstice-feasts had their appropriate rituals and festivals, with appropriate music, lute-playing, the dramatic appearance of loose women, and the turn of the sun dramatized by discus-play and by mounting of the swing. "Each of the two solstice-festivities had its proper divinity and melody, and the melody of the summer solstice was accompanied by drums, to imitate thunder, while that of the shortest day was accompanied by the rattle of war-cars, representing an attack on the evil spirits of winter. The dancing girls round fire, with full water-jugs, and their singing ('a joyous song') were additional popular elements."3 In this way, the Megha-rāga may have become the 'proper melody' of the rainy season, the Vasanta probably became the 'proper melody' of spring. Hindola, which, literally, means 'the swing', was, probably, associated with, the primæval non-Aryan 'Festival of Swing', and, was, later, appropriated by, and affiliated with, the 'Dolotsava', or 'Dola-yātrā', or the Jhūlana festival of the Krṣṇa-Rādhā cult, one of the most popular religious festivals in the North-west. Bhairava (Bhairoṇ) was, probably, related to some festival connected with the worship of Śiva, formerly held in the month of Āśvina (September-October) but now amalgamated with the worship of Durgā (Śāradīyā Pūijā, literally the Autumnal Festival). Śrī-rāga (lit. meaning Lakṣmī, beauty, riches, the presiding deity of the harvest) may easily be connected with the harvesting season in the winter when the crop is cut, raised, and garnered. In most places in Northern India, the worship of Lakṣmī (Śrī) is timed to synchronise with the collection of the harvest in early winter. Śrī-rāga may, therefore, have been the 'proper melody' associated with the harvest festivals in winter. The melodies Bhairava, Hindola, Vasanta and Śrī-rāga must have

(1) "Iti Hindolah|| Vasantāstat-samudbhavah|| Pūrṇastallakṣaṇo deśī-hindolo'pya kathyate|| 96 || SaṅgītaRatnākara, Vol. 1, p. 197.

(2) Hindolah: "Ayameva Vasantākhyah prokto rāga-vicakṣaṇaih"| Saṅgīta-Samaya-sāra, p. 17.

(3) 'Hindu Festivals and Fasts,' Hastings' Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. p. 868b.

been the oldest primary rāgas, originally borrowed from the

season festivals. The relation of Mālava-Kaiśika (Mālkous)

to a particular season is difficult to explain. Pañcama was

originally associated with Autumn and was later replaced by

Mālava-Kaiśika. Someśvara is the earliest authority to

codify the tradition of allocating the six rāgas to the six sea-

sons. According to this authority, quoted in Sangīta-

darpana (1) Śrī-rāga is the melody of the Winter (2) Vasanta

of the Spring season (3) Bhairava of the Summer season

(4) Pañcama of the Autumn (5) Megha of the Rainy season

and (6) Nata-nārāyana of the early Winter.1

The allocation of the six rāgas to the six seasons was

never perhaps an invariable injunction and the practice must

have varied time to time throughout the ages. Thus, accord-

ing to the Sangīta-kaumudī, Vasanta is to be sung during the

period between the festival of Śrī-Pañcamī (now identified

with the festival of the worship of the goddess Saraswatī)

and the great festival of Durgā, and Mālava belongs to the

months between the festival of Indra up to the time of the

worship 'of the Regents of the Four Quarters. Various

authorities have given varying suggestions for the seasons for

the melodies, certain practices are proper to certain regions,

and the singers should honour local or regional practices.2

(1) "Śrī-rāgo rāginī-yuktah śiśire gīyate vudhaiḥ|

Vasanta sa-sahāyastu vasantarttou pragīyate|| 27 ||

Bhairavaḥ sa-sahāyastu ṛtou grīṣme pragīyate|

Pañcamastu tathā geyo rāginyā saha śārdhe|| 28||

Megha-rāgo rāgini-bhir-yukto varṣāsu gīyate|

Naṭṭa-nārāyaṇo rāgo rāginyā saha hemake|| 29 ||

Yathecchayā vā gātavyā sarvvarttusu sukha-pradāḥ|| 30

Yathecchayā vā gātavyā sarvvarttusu sukha-pradāḥ|| 30

Iti rāgānām ṛtu-nirnayaḥ| Iti Someśvara-mataṃ"

Quoted in Sangīta-darpanaṃ, Calcutta Edition, p. 75.

Although the six rāgas are assigned to six different seasons,

there is no immutable rule, or prohibition to singing any of them in

seasons not assigned to it. As the last line suggests, 'singers have

the option to sing any of the rāgas in all seasons, for the sake of

pleasure.'

(2) "Śrī-Pañcamīṃ samārabhya yāvat-Durgā-mahotsavam|

Tāvad Vasanto gīyata prabhāte Bhairavādikāḥ||

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Whilst associated, on the one hand, with the seasons, the rāgas are also related to specific hours of the day, or night. Each rāga is connected with a special mood, or passion, and it is therefore fitting that each melody should also have a special time appropriate to it. Considerable mystic significance is ascribed to the singing of a particular rāga in its appropriate hour and some music scholars have recently discovered some physiological basis in the structure of the rāgas which seem to offer some rational explanation for assigning particular melodies to particular hours.

It is in the Saṅgīta-makaranda that we find, for the first time, a classification of melodies according to their proper hours for singing. In this text, melodies are divided into solar or daytime rāgas, and lunar (candramlāmśja) or nocturnal rāgas. According to this text (Ch. III, 10-23), the time-table of the melodies is indicated below:

Morning melodies: Gāndhāra, Deva-gāndhāra, Dhan-nāsī, Saindhavī, Nārāyanī, Gurjarī, Vangāla, Paṭamañjarī, Lālita, Āndola-srī, Saurāṣṭreya, Jaya-sākṣikā, Mālhārā, Sāma-vedī, Vasanta, Śuddha-Bhairava, Velāvalī, Bhūpāla, Soma-rāga.

Noon-day melodies: Śankarābharana, Pūrva (?), Valahaṃsa, Deśī, Manoharī, Sāverī, Dombulī Kāmbhojī; Gopī-kāṃbhojī, Kaiśikī, Madhu-mādhavī, Vāhuli (two varieties), Mukhārī, Maṅgala-kauśika.

Madhyāhne tu Varāṭyādeḥ sāyaṃ Karnāṭa-nāṭayoh| Srī-rāga-mālavādestu gāne doṣo na vidyate iti|| Indra-pūjām samāsādya yāvad-dik-devatārccanam| Tāvad eva samuddiṣṭaṃ gānaṃ vai Mālavāśryaṃ|| Evamtu vahudhā-cāryyair-gāna-kālaḥ samīritah| Yasmin deśe yathā siṣṭar-gītam-vijñās-tathācaret|| Saṅgīta-Kaumudī (quoted in S. M. Tagore's Saṅgīta-sāra-samgraha p. 112).

The following version is offered in Locana Kavi's Rāga-taraṅ-gini, on the authority of Tumburu: Śrī-Pañcamīm samārabhya yāvatsyāt śayanam Hareḥ| Tāvad-Vasanta-rāgasya gānamuktam maniṣibhiḥ|| Indūtthānam samārabhya yāvad-Durgā-mahotsavam| Prātar-geyastu Deśākho Lalitaḥ Paṭa-mañjarī|| Poona Edition, p. 12.

After-noon melodies: Gauḍa and the derivatives therefrom.

Noctural melodies: Śuddha-nāṭa, Salaṅga, Naṭī, Śud-dha-varāṭikā, Goula, Mālava-gauḍa, Śrī-rāga, Aharī, Rāma-kṛti, Rañjī, Chāyā, Sarva-varāṭikā, Dravatikā, Deśī, Nāga-varāṭikā, Karnāṭa, Haya-gauḍī.

Singing melodies in hours not appropriate to them are discouraged and this text asserts that, ‘melodies are liable to be killed if sung during in-appropriate hours, and whoever listens to them (at wrong hours) courts poverty and shortens his span of life.’ Exceptions are made on the following occasions viz., marriages, gifts, and hymns to deities when, singing unassigned melodies, excepting Bhairavī, does not amount to an offence.1

In the Saṅgīta-ratnākara, the theory of assigning times, or hours to the melodies is not alluded to, or discussed. Nevertheless, the hour and the season for singing most of the grāma-rāgas, and some of the Deśī rāgas are casually indicated. Curiously, although the Megha-rāga is described, its appropriate season, or hour is not indicated. The following time-table is derived from the text of Śāranga-deva:

First watch of the day (Winter) .. Kaiśika. Bhinna-day (Winter) .. Kaiśika.

First watch of the day (Summer) .. Bhinna-Pañcama, Madhyama-grāma-rāga, and Śuddha-pañcama.

First watch of the Noon-time melody (Rains) .. Ṣadja-grāma-rāga.

(1) “Rāga-velā-pragānena rāgānām himsako bhavet| Yaḥ śṛṇoti sa dāridry āyur-naśyati sarvadā|| 24 || Vivāha-samaye dāna-devatā-stuti-samyute| Avelā-rāga-mākarṇya na doso Bhairaviṃ vinā”|| 26 Saṅgīta-makaranda. (G.O.S. XVI, p. 15).

According to Saṅgīta-mālā, attributed to Mammata, Vasanta, Rāmakirī, Gujjarī and Surasā can be sung at all times without any offence :

“Vasanto Rāma kirica Gujjarī, Surasāpica| Sarvasmin giyate kāle naiva doso’ bhijāyate”|| cited in Tagore’s Saṅgīta-Sāra Samgraha, p 113.

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First watch of the day (Autumn .. .. Bhinna-sadja.

Early part of the day .. Suddha-sadava, Bhinna-kai-sika-madhyama.

Second watch of the day .. Gauda-kaisika-madhyama.

During the noon .. Gauda-pancama (summer), Gauda-kaisika (winter) Hin-dola (spring) and Takka-Kai-sika.

During the afternoon .. Vesara-sadava, Malava-pain-cama, Souvira and Takka (Rains).

Last watch of the day .. Bhotta, Malava-kaisika (winter), Travani.

First watch of the evening .. Bhinna-tana, Suddha-kaisika-madhyama.

The day and night are divided into 8 parts or watches (praharas, or yama), each of the duration of three hours each.

Locana Kavi (1375-1400 A.D.) in his Raga-tarangini cites two different traditions, one ancient, based on the authority of Tumburu, another of later times (arvācīna) probably based on the practices current in his time.

Morning melodies .. Desakha, Lalita, Palamanjari Vibhasa, Bhairavi, Kamoda, Gundakari.

Morning-time melody .. .. Varadi.

Evening melodies .. Karnata, Malava, and Nata.

The remaining melodies can be sung at any time, except that the melodies Nata, Gaudi, Varadi, Gurjari, Desi are forbidden during the early part of the day, and that Bhairavi and Lalita should not be sung in the afternoon. Further exceptions are offered during the night after the tenth watch.

Lastly, it is asserted that on the stage, and under royal command, singing a melody at inappropriate hours does not amount to an offence.1 The author sums up the authority

(1) "Dasa-dandat-param ratrou sarvesam ganamiritam|

Ranga-bhimmau nrpajnayam kala-doso na vidyate'||

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of Tumburu by suggesting that the melodies appear pleasant and attractive when sung in appropriate hours, and that the rules have been framed on the basis of the structure of the notes.1

II. Bhairava belongs to the hour before dawn (brāmhe muhūrte); Rāmakirī to the time of the first flush of the dawn; Velāvalī, to the early morning. Then comes Subhagā (?). After the early morning come Ṭoḍī, Saṃkarā, and Varāḍī. To the third watch of the day belongs Āśāvarī. To the noon belong Kāphī and Sāraṅga. Naṭa and Mālava are to be sung during the afternoon. The evening is the time for Gaurī. At the beginning of the night, Kalyāṇa should be sung, and Kedāra should be sung late at night. Karṇāṭa belongs to the second watch of the night, while, Ādanā belongs to the third watch. Sourāṣṭra is assigned to the afternoon, Pañcama to the morning, while Mallāra belongs to the hours of the cloudy sky.

Pundarīka Viṭṭhala, does not treat the topic separately. But in his Rāgamālā, and Sad-rāga-candrodaya, he indicates, -the appropriate time for each of the rāgas described by him, and from these indications the following time-table has been derived:

Early Morning Melodies .. Śuddha-vaṅgāla, Karnāṭa-vangāla, Mallāra, Vasanṭa, Madhu-mādhavī, Kāmbhojī, Suhavī.

Sunrise Melodies .. Śaṅkarābaraṇa, Turuṣka-Ṭoḍī.

Morning Melodies .. Ṭoḍī, Lalita, Bhairava, Bhairavī, Tuḍikā, Vibhāṣā, Gurjarī, Pañcama, Gouṇḍakriti, Dhannāsī, Deśākṣī, Nārāyaṇa-Gouḍa, Velāvalī, Madhyamādi, Bhupālī (?), Sāverī, Hindola, Sāmanṭa, Vahulī.

Noon-tide Melodies .. Śuddha-nāṭa, Sālaṅga-nāṭa, Deva-kriti,

(1) "Yathā kāle samārabdhaṃ gītaṃ bhavati rañjakam|Ataḥ svarasya niyamād rāge'pi niyamah kṛtah||

Rāga-taraṅgiṇī, p. 13.

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Deśikāra.

Afternoon Melodies .. Vāhulī, Sāranga, Jayata-śrī.

Sunset Melodies .. Gaudī, Revaguptī, Śrī-rāga, Kāmod, Ābhirī, Travanī, Kalyāṇa, Śuddha-Gauda, Devakri, Sālanga-nāṭa (?), Karnāṭa.

Evening Melodies .. Kalyāṇa, Śrī-rāga, Guṇa-karī, Kāmbhojī, Gauḍa, Drāviḍa- Sāmanta, Pāḍī, Nāda-rāma-

kriyā, Varālī, Ravana, Jijā- vanta (Jhijhint), Hamira- nāṭa, Sāverī, Vihāgaḍa Kedāra.

Nocturnal Melodies suitable for all hours1 .. Mukhārī, Kuranjī, Rāma-kri, Vañgāla, ĀŚāvarī (?), Prathama-manjarī, Deva-gān-

dharā, Mālava-śrī, Bhairavī, Saindhavī, Naṭṭa-nārāyaṇa, Hijeja, Śuddha-varāṭī, Deśī, Paraja-Vaṅgāla, Śyāma, Ṭak- ka, Mālaśrī.

The Śuddha-nāṭa offers some difficulties. In the Sadrāga-candrodaya (p. 18) it is assigned to the middle of the day2 while in the Rāgamālā (p. 22), it is assigned to the evening.3 Likewise, Bhūpālī, considered as an evening melody in cur- rent practice is assigned in the Sadrāga-candrodaya to the morning.4 Similarly, Bhairavī regarded as a morning melody (prabhāte) in the Rāgamālā is assigned to all hours in the Sadrāga-candrodaya.5

(1) ‘Sadā,’ ‘satatam,’ ‘nityam,’ śāśvad, ‘sadāhar-niśim,’ ‘divā- niśam,’ ‘anavarata-nāda’.

(2) "Syāt śuddha-nāṭo'hani tūrya-yāme"|| Sadrāga-candrodaya, p. 18.

(3) "Sandhyāyām tuja-mārge sāradi hayagati rājate śuddha- nāṭah'",| Rāga-mālā.

(4) "Bhūpālikā prātarasou vigeyā"|| Sadrāga-candrodaya, p. 19.

(5) "Sadā Bhairavikā geyā"|| Ibid.

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Rāmāmatya, without commenting on the topic, indicates the appropriate hours for some of the melodies in his Svarakalā-nidhi (Ch. V) from which the following time-table has been derived:

Early morning: Mallārī, Velāvalī, Sāverī. Morning: Lalita, Dhannyāsī, Nārāyanī, Karnāṭa-Vamgāla, Vasanta-Bhairavī, Bhūpalī.

Former part of the day (pūrva-yāme): Deśākṣī, Baulī Gauṇdakriyā. Sudda-rāma-kriyā.

Afternoon:

Latter part of the day (paścime-yāme): Naṭī, Sāranga-naṭa, Bhairavī, Karnāṭa-gauḷa, Hejujji Madhyamādi, Revaguptī.

Fourth or last part of the day (carame-yāme): Sāmanta, Śuddha-Vasanta, Kedāra-Gauḷa, Nāda-rāma-kriyā, Pāḍī.

Evening: Mālava-Gauḷa, Srī-rāga, Kam-bhojī, Rīti-Gauḍa, Saurāṣṭra,

Sung at all hours (sarva-yāme): Varālī, Mukhārī Mālava-Srī, Hindola, Samavarālī, Nāga-dvani, Soma-rāga, Ghaṇṭā-rava, Bhinna-ṣadja.

A peculiar suggestion is that Bhairavī should be sung during the latter part of the day, which seems to mean, the afternoon.1

Somanātha (1609 A.D.) in his Rāga-vivodha (Ch. V) devotes ten verses to the time-theory which we cite here from the translation given in Mr. M. S. R. Aiyar's Edition (Madras, 1933 p. 27):-“The Timings of the Rāgas.”

“7-10. The Rāgas beginning with Sankarābharana should be sung at daybreak; the Rāgas beginning with Jaithaśrī, in the morning; the Rāgas beginning with Ṭoḍi, in the dawn; the Rāgas beginning with Goṇḍa, in the noon;

(1) "Sampūrṇo Bhairavī-rāgah sanyāsaḥ sāmsako mataḥ|| Sadja-grahas tathā geyo yāme'hnaḥ paścime ca sah"|| 25 || Svarā-kalā-nidhi, Aiyar's edition, p. 35.

88

MĀLAVI (MALAV RĀGINI

the Rāgas beginning with Bahulī, in the afternoon; the Rāgas beginning with Saurāṣṭra, in the evening; the Rāgas beginning with Suddha-nāṭa, in the dusk, and the Rāgas beginning with Karnāṭa, in the night. And finally the following Rāgas may be sung always:—Mālā-śrī, Dhavala, Mukhārī, Rāma-kriyī, Pāvakā, Saindhavī, Āsāvarī, Gāndhāra, Māravī and Paraja. The above-mentioned Rāgas deserve to be sung successively in their respectively appointed times."

In verses (37-166) further indications are given as to rāgas to be sung at different parts of the day, or night.

In the Saṅgīta-darpaṇa (c. 1625 A.D.), the following time-table of the melodies is indicated:

Morning (3 hours from day-break)1:

Madhu­mādhavī, Desākhya, Bhūpālī, Bhairavī, Velāvalī, Mallārī, Vallārī (? Vaṅgālī), Soma Gurjjarī, Dhanāśrī, Mā­lavaśrī, Megha-rāga, Pañcama, Deśakārī, Bhairava, Lalita, Vasanta.

Morning (after the first watch):

Gurjjarī, Kauśika, Sāveri, Paṭa-mañjarī, Revā Guṇakirī, Bhairavī, Rāmakirī, Saurāṭī.

Day-time (after the third watch):

(Gauḍī), Trivanā, Naṭṭa­kalyāṇa, Sāranga, Natta, Naṭas (all varieties), Karnāṭī Ābhi­rikā, Vada-hamsī, Pāhāḍī.

None of the melodies is specially assigned to the evening hours, but it is generally asserted that 'these melodies (that is to say, the last group assigned to the hours after the third watch) are pleasant to hear up till mid-night.'2 'The melodies are to be sung at appropriate hours, following ancient traditions, except that in performances under royal com-

(1) "Prātarārabhya praharam yāvadityarthah" (S. M. Tagore's note, in his edition of Saṅgīta-darpaṇa, p. 73).

(2) "Ardha-rātrāvadhi-jñeyā ete rāgaḥ sukhapradāḥ"

(Ibid, p. 74).

mand, time is of no consideration.1

In an excellent paper2 read before the Fourth All-India Music Conference at Lucknow (1925), Pandit V. N. Bhat- khande, expounding the time theory of rāgas, has pointed out the two-fold division of the rāgas into (i) Pūrva rāgas i.e. rāgas fit to be sung .between mid-day and mid-night and (ii) Uttara rāgas i.e., rāgas fit to be sung between mid-night and mid-day. The significance of this classification with reference to the time theory is thus explained by him: “Now it will be observed that in the case of rāgas falling under the first division (Pūrva rāgas) the vādi note will be one of the following notes: sa, ri, ga, ma, invariably, and that in the case of the rāgas falling under the second division (Uttara rāgas), the vādi note will be one of the following notes: ma, pa, dha, ni, sa. The whole scale for this purpose is supposed to be made up of two “Añgas,” (parts), namely, the Pūr- vañga, and the Uttarānga. The Pūrvañga extends from ‘Sa’ to ‘Pa’, and the Uttarānga from ‘Ma’ to ‘Sa’. In other words, then, in the case of the Pūrva rāgas, the vādi note always falls within the Pūrvañga and in the case of the Uttara rāgas, the vādi note always falls within the Uttarānga. From this you will see, that the proper location of the vādi note will enable you to determine whether a particular rāga is to be sung between mid-day and mid-night, or between mid-night and mid-day.”3 The relation of the time to be assigned to the Pūrvañga rāgas inter se is determined on another principle deduced from the structure of the rāgas. For this purpose rāgas can be divided into three groups: (i) Group taking sharp-ri, -ga, and -dha. (ii) Group taking flat-ri, and sharp- ga and -ni. (iii) Group taking flat -ga and -ni.4

(1) “Yathokta-kāla evaite geyāḥ pūrṇa_vidhānataḥ| Rājajñayā sadā geyā na tu kalaṃ vicārayet”|| 26 || (Ibid, p. 74).

(2) ‘The Modern Hindusthānī Rāga system and the simplest method of studying the same’ published in the Report of the Fourth All-India Music Conference, Lucknow, Vol. II, 1895, pp. 114-147.

(3) Ibid, p. 134.

(4) “Ri-ga-dha-tīvrakā rāgā varge’ grime vyavasthitāḥ| Sandhi-prkāśanāmānāḥ kṣiptā varge dvitīyake|| Tṛtiye nihitāḥ sarve ga-ni-komala-maṇḍitāḥ||”

It will be seen that the rāgas belonging to the first group,

are sung between 7 P.M. up to mid-night, and between 7 A.M.

and mid-day. While the rāgas of the second group are sung

between the 4 P.M. and 7 P.M. and 4 A.M. and 7 A.M. These

correspond to Pūrva-rāgas to be sung in the evening, the

Uttara-rāgas to be sung in the morning. They are designat-

ed ‘Sandhi-prakāśa’ rāgas (i.e. melodies which unify the

two other groups). For the rāgas, belonging to the third

group, come between the first and the second group.1

Thus, the vādi note will determine whether a rāga be-

longs to the Pūrva, or Uttara group, and an analysis of the

note-structure will determine during what quarter of the day

or night, a particular rāga is fit to be sung. Another deter-

minant element is offered by the use of the note sharpened

‘ma’ (tīvra madhyama). “Most of the rāgas taking a tīvra

ma in their construction are rāgas assigned to the period bet-

ween sunset and sunrise. The note Madhyama (f), therefore

is looked upon as an ‘Adva-darsika’ or guiding note.2 This

function of the note ‘ma’ (f) is very picturesquely illustrated

by Vyankatamakhi in his Catur-dandi-prakāsikā: ‘Just as

by a drop of curd, a jar of sweet milk is converted to the

quality of curd, so by the introduction of the note ‘ma’, a

Pūrva rāga melody is turned into an Uttara-rāga melody.’3

Pandit Bhatkhande cites Pūrvī and Bhairava; Kalyāṇa and

Bilāwala as practical illustrations of this principle. Thus, the

[Report of the Fourth All-India Music Conference,

1925, Vol. II, p. 134.]

(1) According to an anonymous writer, (Leader, October,

1925), some ancient authority (not cited) the use of the notes Ri

(d) and Pa (g) are forbidden early in the morning. According to

him, the prolonged use of Ri at that time produces fatal results and

that of Pa damages the teeth.

(2) “Madhyamenānurūpeṇa yato’ sādhva-darśakah||”

[Report, Fourth Music Conference, Vol. II, p. 131.]

(3) “Katāha-sambhrtạṃ kṣīram

kevalạṃ dadhi-vindunā|

Yathā sạṃ-yojyamānạṃ tu dadhi-bhāvạṃ prapadyate|| 65

Tathaiva pūrva-melāste madhyamena mi-sạṃjnikāḥ|

Kevalenāpi sạṃ-yuktā bhajantyuttara-melatām”|| 65

Catur-dandi-prakāsikā, Poona Edition, p. 24.

91

Bhairava ṭhāṭ can be changed into the Pūrvī ṭhāṭ by the substitution of tīvra madhyama for Śuddha-madhyama. So,

we find that the melodies of the Bhairava group e.g. Bhairava, Yogīyā, Vībāsā, Gunakarī etc., take the Śuddha-madhyama

and are sung in the morning; while those belonging to the Pūrvī group, viz., Śrī, Gaurī, Jeta-Śrī, Puriyā-Dhānesvarī,

Mālavī, Travanī, use the tīvra madhyama and are sung in the evening. The Sandhī-prakāśa rāgas, assigned to the

period of time which represents the junction (Sandhī) of the day and night, use both the madhyamas; one group is sung

just before sunrise (e.g. Lalita, Pañcama, Bhāṭiyārī, Rāma-keli etc.) while the other group, (Pūrvī and its cognates) are

sung just after sunset.

It follows, therefore, as a result of the analysis of the note-structure of the rāgas, that "Rāgs taking both Ri and

Dha komala, Rāgs with both Ri and Dha Tīvra, or Ga and Ni Tīvra, and Rāgs containing both Ga and Ni Komal, will

succeed, one after the other, in order of time."1

Classification of Rāgas:

Since, rāgas connote different and differentiated states of feelings, or emotive flavours (rasas), Indian theorists lay

great stress on their relative difference in note-structures, corresponding to their relative emotive significances. A

correct apprehension of the form of an individual rāga, therefore, involves an accurate understanding of its differ-

ences from cognate and other forms of related rāgas. The grouping and classification of rāgas, according to some

principles or other, have, therefore, provided important chapters in all ancient text-books. These principles have

varied from time to time, and have led to a bewildering variety of catalogues, groups, and classifications. For the

purpose of convenient comparisons, we have set out a large variety of groups, or classifications in tabulated forms,

arranged as far as practicable in a chronological sequence in the Appendices, (a list of which is summarised on the page

opposite). It is not always possible, without accurate informations as to the note-structures of rāgas current at different

periods of evolution, to discover the principles on which rāgas have been grouped, or classified. Various principles of

(1) S. N. Karnad: "Time Theory," Report of the Fourth All-India Music Conference, Lucknow, 1925, Vol. II, pp. 202-08, at p. 205.

grouping have been evolved and followed during a long course of evolution which can be usefully studied in the Appendices.

The earliest classification of the rāgas has been based on the number of notes used in their structures, according to which they fall under (1) Oḍava (five-notes), (2) Ḵhāḍava (six-notes), and (3) Sampūrṇa (seven-notes) classes, or types.

Dattila, the earliest musical authority of some reasonable authenticity, gives another principle of classification (later followed by several text-writers).

He catalogues the melodies under 18 jātis (species) of which seven are named after the seven notes and the remaining eleven according to their component notes.

This is followed by Bharata, who basing the classification under jātis, evolve from the jātis, a group called grāma-rāgas, which are generic rāgas themselves, derived from the jāti-rāgas.

As the two groups of rāgas are classed under two grāmas (scales), seven under ṣadja-grāma, and eleven under Madhyama-grāma, they came to be designated as grāma rāgas.

As has been pointed out, “Songs (gītis) have been sung long before the rāgas as such were formulated” (Fox-Strangways).

By the time of Mataṅga, the songs, or melodies (gītis) were grouped under seven classes of which the fifth, viz. the rāga-gīti was the most significant, the group of melodies being recognised by the name of ‘rāgas’.

They were seven in number, some having proper names derived from the names of early tribes, or from ancient culture areas.

As new melodies were discovered or accepted they were affiliated to one or other of these seven rāga-gītis, which were regarded as root-rāgas, and the new melodies were accepted as bhaṣas or derivatives of the root-rāgas, or major melodies.

As other new melodies were discovered, or evolved,—they were accepted as bibhāṣās (derivatives of bhāṣās) and as bhāṣāṅgas, kriyāṅgas, and rāgāṅgas.

The relation of rāgas and bhāṣās and bibhāṣās are akin to the later classification of rāgas and rāgiṇīs.

We have another system of classification, into śuddha and vikṛta jātis (species) according to the use made of śuddha (pure, natural, normal) notes, or vikṛta (chromatic) notes.

This is referred to both in Bharata (Kāvya-mālā edition, p. 308) and in the Saṅgīta-ratnākara (Poona edition

p. 74-76).

Somewhat akin to this classification,—is another classification of rāgas into 'Śuddha', 'Sālañka' and 'Sañkīrṇa'. A Śuddha rāga was understood to represent a melody which follows its own individual structural form, without carrying the suggestion of any other melodies. Sālañka sometimes called Chāyā-laga, carrying the 'shadows', or reflections of other melodies) rāgas are those compounded of two distinct rāgas. It is a 'mixed' melody, a compound, or an amalgam of two rāgas, a 'hybrid'. In Rāga-tarañginī, a chapter is devoted to describing the component modes of hybrid melodies. Some masters e.g. those in the course of Mān Thomar, specialised in evolving new types of hybrid melodies by combining well-known modes. This combination of melodies is technically called 'crossing of modes' (rāga-sañkara). Hence, a mode derived by crossing more than two melodies can to be known as sankīrṇas (cross-breeds). This principle of classification survives in the Nātya-locana, which cites 44 melodies of the Śuddha type, 16 of the Sālañka type, and 22 of the 'Sandhi' (probably an equivalent of Sankīrṇa) types.

Then followed the principle of classifying the rāgas according to structural affinity, or resemblance of note-structure. This sometimes involves grouping of similar melodies under one group, or genus, a group of rāgas. The Northern and Southern systems followed different methods, if not, different principles of classification.

When we come to Nārada's Saṅgīta Makaranda, we have the beginning of the Northern system, in which the major rāgas are treated as 'masculine' melodies and minor meloüies are treated as 'feminine' melodies, affianced, or affiliated to the major melodies. Thus Nārada gives two different schemes, in the first of which he enumerates eight major melodies with three minor melodies assigned to each, and in the second, he enumerates six major melodies with six minor melodies (female rāgas) assigned to each, the earliest enumeration of the traditional 'thirty-six rāginīs.'

The Northern and the Southern systems of classification, originaly, involved no fundamental difference of principles. In the Southern system, the derivative melodies were called 'janyas' or derivatives of the major melodies

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which were called janakas or 'fathers' (later called melakas, or unifiers). In the Northern system, the minor melodies were picturesquely called 'wives' of the major melodies, and the later derivatives, designated as sons (putras), just as in the Southern system the 'janyas' are in the position of the sons of the 'janakas' (the fathers).

The Northern system is followed in the following texts: (1) Saṅgīta Makaranda (Appendix 4), (2) Saṅgīta-ratnamālā (Appendix 5), (3) Mānasollāsa (Appendix 8), (4) Rāgārṇava (Appendix 12), (5) Rāga-sāgara (Appendix 11).

The Southern, or the Carnatic system is followed in the following texts: (1) Saṅgīta-ratnakara (Appendix 9), (2) Saṅgīta-taraṅginī (Appendix 16), (3) Svaramela-kalā-nidhi (Appendix 17). (4) Rāga-Vivodha (Appendix 20), (5) Caturdaṇḍi-prakāśikā (Appendix 24), (6) Saṅgīta-sudhā.

In the Southern system, the secondary, or minor melodies (janyas) are formed, principally, by using in a new combination five or more of the notes used in the primary, or major rāgas (janaka), variations being obtained from the primary rāgas, by omitting certain notes in the ascent, or descent.

DEIFICATION AND VISUALIZATION OF MELODIES

There is a doctrine inherent in the Indian theory of melodies which helps one to understand the fundamental psychic values of rāgas, and to apply them to requirements of particular emotional situations; or interpretations. It is believed that each rāga, or rāginī has its peculiar psychic form, corresponding to its sonal body over which the former presides as the nymph, deity, or the devatā (presiding genius, or god) of that particular melody. This deity, or image-formed dwells in the super-terrestrial regions, —the world of musical symphonies,—from which it can be invoked and induced to descend to earth through the prayers of the musical performer with the aid of a definite symphonic formula peculiar to each melody. This idea is, evidently, coloured with the doctrine of image-worship as known in the Hindu-Brahmanical religious thought. By the earnest prayers and spiritual exercises (sādhanā) of the worshipper (sādhaka), the divinity comes down and incarnates in the form of the image for the benefit of the worshipper. Each image has its definite means of approach, the vīja-mantra, a method of prayer through the ‘seed-formula’, and the deity only answers to prayers couched in the mystic words, or letters prescribed for each, each letter-formula having the mysterious power,—the inherent quality of invoking a particular deity. The application to the theory of Indian music, this doctrine of image-worship, i.e. the idea of invoking the presiding deity, or the spirit of the divinity by means of a dhyāna-formula,—an evocative scheme of prayers for contemplation,—has led to the conception of the forms of rāgas and rāginīs in dual aspects viz., as audible Sound-Forms, and as visible Image-Forms—nāda-maya rūpa and devatā-maya rūpa. This doctrine, inherent in the theory of rāgas, is casually alluded to in the earlier texts, but is not clearly

96

enunciated in any text before the Rāga-vivodha (Pañcama viveka), where, after indicating the appropriate hours of melodies, the author describes the two-fold forms (rūpa) of melodies1:-“That is called rūpa which by being embellished with sweet flourishes of svaras (notes) brings a rāga vividly before one's mind. It is of two kinds—Nādātma (one whose soul or essence is sound), and Devamaya (=devatā-deha-mayam, one whose soul, or essence is an image incarnating the deity), of which the former has many phases, and the latter has only one” (M. S. R. Aiyar's translation; the words in bracket have been added for elucidation). The author then describes his symbols (sañketa) for his notations, and describes the melodies in terms thereof, and thereafter remarks:2 “Having (already) expounded the many sound-forms of those rāgas, we will now proceed to relate in proper sequence, the image-forms of each and every one of them.”

According to one text3 ‘the images (vigraha) of the melodies emanate from the Supreme Deity (Brahma) and their function is to worship the Supreme Deity.’

According to the doctrine, it is believed that the presiding deity,—the spirit, or ethos of a rāga or rāginī can be induced to come down and incarnate (‘avatīrṇa’—lit. ‘made to descend’) in its physical sound-form (nāda-maya-rūpa). If the presiding spirit cannot be induced ‘to descend’, the rendering, or interpreting of that particular melody cannot be pronounced to have been successfully achieved. A successful interpreter of a particular melody is complimented with the phrase that he has succeeded in persuading the deity of the rāga or rāginī to descend (avatīrṇa) and to reveal its visual image or picture (tasvīr), and to live in his vocal song, or his instrument of performance. No amount of

(1) "Su-svara-varṇa-viseṣam rūpam rāgasya vodhakam dvedhā| Nādātmam deva-mayam tatkramato'-nekamekam ca"|| 11 Rāga-vivodha, Pañcamo Vivekah.

(2) "Uktam rūpamanekam tattadrāgāsya nāda-mayamevam| Atha devatā mayamiha kramatah kathaye tadaikam"|| 168 Ibid.

(3) "Rāgāḥ ṣaḍatha rāginyāḥ ṣattrimśaccāru-vigrahāḥ| Āgatā Brahma-sadanāt Brahmāṇam samūpāte"|| Saṅgīta-Dāmodara [quoting Pañcama-samhitā].

mechanical reproduction of its symphonic structure can put life into the melody and make it alive. And unless it is alive in the song, or instrument, it does not fulfil its purpose. A rāga or rāginī is something more than its physical form,—its symphonic structure,—its 'body'. It has a 'soul' which comes to dwell and inhabit in the 'body'. In the language of Indian poetics, this 'soul'—this principle is known as the rasa, flavour, sentiment, impassioned feeling, or simply, passion, or aesthetic emotion. It is this emotive principle, the presiding sentiment, or passion, which is evoked by the peculiar combination of the notes, the svaras. For, according to the Indian theory, each svara, or note has a peculiar emotive value, symbolised by its presiding deity (svarānām devatā), and has its interpretive seer, sage, or expounder (ṛṣi).1 Particular notes (svaras) have peculiar quality of interpreting particular emotions. Thus, the notes 'sā' and 'ri' (c and d) are said to be appropriate for interpreting the emotions of heroism, wonder, and resentment; the note 'dha' (a) is suitable for emotions of disgust, and terror; the notes 'ga' and 'ni' (e and b) are suitable for emotions of sorrow, and the notes 'ma' and 'pa' (f and g) are suitable for emotions of humour and love.2 And it is the vādī-svara, the speaking or the dominant note which determines the character of the rasa, or the flavour or the emotion of the melody. The devatā or the image-form is the svarūpa, or the incarnation of the rasa of the rāga. A successful performer (sādhaka) must be familiar with the image-form as well as the sound-form. The one is the means to the achievement of the other. And educated interpreter makes the spirit of the melodies live, while an untrained one is

(1) “Dakṣo'triḥ Kapilaścaiva Vasiṣṭho Bhārgavastathā| Nāradas Tumburuścaiva ṣadjādīnām ṛṣisvarāḥ|| 37 || Vahnir-Brahmā Sāradā ca Sarva-Srī-nātha-Bhāskarāḥ| Gaṇeśvarādayo devāḥ ṣadjādīnām tu devatāḥ||38|| Nārada's: Saṅgīta-makaranda (G. O. S. p. 4). Another version of this enumeration of svara-devatās and ṛṣis is given in Saṅgīta-darpana (Calcutta Edition, p. 381, verses 88-89). (2) Sa-rī vīre'dh-bhūte raudre dho-vībhatse bhayānake| Kāryyaugā-nī tu karuṇe hāsya-ṛṅgārayor-ma-pau”|| 91 || Saṅgīta-darpaṇa, p. 38.

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supposed to kill, or slaughter it. A perfect mastery of the technique is necessary to call up the picture in all its characteristic outlines, features, and limbs, its shades, and colour-schemes. An indifferent technician is apt to distort the features and limbs of the deities of the melodies. This is well illustrated in the legend of Nārada, the great mythic interpreter of Indian music. During his early practices of the science, when Kṛṣṇa wished to convince him that the former's musical practices had not yet given him the necessary technical perfection, Nārada was taken to a celestial region where he found several wounded nymphs and angels, weeping in great misery, for, their limbs had been distorted and mangled. When Nārada enquired of the reason of the pitiable plight of the nymphs,—he was informed that they were the melodies (rāgas and rāginīs) whose limbs have been broken by Nārada's unskilful attempt to render their true and accurate forms, in the course of his clumsy practices. The suggestion was that if one desires to invoke the spirit of the rāginīs to descend from their celestial abode and live in their physical sound-forms, the latter must be delineated with loving tenderness, scrupulous care, reverence, and devotion,—with all the accuracy of technical performance, as well as of spiritual vision. As the Kinnara (fairy) in one of the old tales of the Jātakas says: "To sing ill is a crime."

It has already been indicated that the sound-form of a rāga is the medium—its kernel, or, body, so to speak, through which the spirit of the rāga manifests itself. The objective of the rāga is the rasa—the aesthetic emotion, the theme, the subject-matter,—the motif of the melody. As the soul must inhabit a body, so every rasa is incarnated in the rūpa (form) of particular rāga or rāginī. To invoke the rasa, one must mediate upon the rūpa. Each particular form of rāga—is suitable for the expression of a particular type of rasa, that is to say, each rāga is associated with and is the medium of a particular sentiment, or emotion—its characteristic and definite ethos. A musician should, therefore, have a knowledge of the relation of the rāgas to their associated rasas—the form of a rāga being a perfected vocabulary, or phrase to express in a significant and an impressive manner a particular class of emotion. From very early times, a knowledge of this form and its contents,

was considered a a sine quo non of musical education. It is necessary to realise what the Devatā, or the image of the deity of a rāga stands for. Unlike the conception of the innumerable divinities in the Hindu Brahminic or Buddhist-tantric (Mahāyānist) pantheons, the musical divinities—the presiding genuises of the rāgas are not conceived and symbolised in individual image-forms or icons. The devatās, no doubt, stand as the symbols or the personifications of the essential rasa—the theme, or objective of each rāga. But their plastic representation invariably takes a dramatic rather than an iconic form, a dynamic as opposed to a static visualisation. In the iconography of images, it was necessary to distinguish the bewildering conceptions of Brahmanic gods—by devising differentiating features of heads, arms, weapons (āyudha), vehicles (vāhanas), and poses (mudrās). In describing, or symbolising the character of a rasa, it was possible to suggest the same by an individual icon, or image. Rasa is a state of the mind—its expression can only be effective and adequate in a dramatic form,—it lives in an environment and in relation to other realities,—in moods and in phenomena. The rasa of the presiding principle of a rāga is rendered through actions—rather than in images through symbolised icons. The Devatās of the world of music—have also their dhyānas—contemplative prayer-formulas,—but they usually take a dramatic pattern,—rather than the static iconic phrase—of the religious images. They are the picturization of emotions in a concrete and plastic form answering to, rather than symbolising, the abstract states of the mind. They are depicted in an appropriate dramatic and emotional setting—the surrounding circumstances which give rise to the various emotion. In a general sense, music is the universal language of emotions. Music of all races and countries is made the vehicle of human feeling. The Indian system cannot claim a special feature in this respect. All systems of music have evolved, according to each racial temperament, different melodies connoting joyous, sad, or heroic feelings. All phases of Western music have airs or "tunes" answering to various moods of the mind. The Indian melodies have similar connotations. The Vasantha rāga is the human reaction to the joy of life in Spring, Megha-rāga, to the advent of the rains,—with all the exu-

100

berance of desire and opportunity for enjoyment. Puravī,

—the evening melody, is the lamentation of nature for the

parting day. Āsāvarī is the melancholy pleading of a griev-

ance for a just redress. Bhairavī—is the melody of love

and devotion. Madhumādhavī bespeaks the peace of love

and contentment. Lalita stands for unsatiated love, and

the sorrow of separation at day-break. Toḍī—is the surren-

der of animal life to the magic and enchantment of the

beauty of nature. Naṭa—is the symbol of the heroic or

martial spirit in man. And so on. We have a complete

vocabulary in terms of significant melodies—to express the

whole gamut of human feeling in all shades and varieties of

moods, skilfully woven with the moods of nature. The

special feature of the Indian system of melodies arises from

the fact that while in Western music—there is room for more

than one moods in the same composition,—each Indian

melody has for its theme one definite mood—which must not

be departed from, or variegated, or tinctured by the shade,

or colour of any other feeling. Each melody is, as it were,

—dedicated to its own theme,—its ethos, its presiding genius,

—its devatā. And it is by the prayer of the musician,—the

singer, or the interpreter,—who has to immerse and identify

himself in the theme,—that the devatā—the spirit of the

melody is made visible (mūrtimanta) in the symphonic

form,—the nādamaya rūpa. Before he can call up the

devatā of any rāga—by his prayers,—the interpreter

(the worshipper of the rāga) has to visualise the image in

his mind. For this purpose,—the dhyānas for contempla-

tions appear to have been formulated.

These dhyāna-formulas in the shape of Sanskrit verses

and quatrains represent the devatā-maya-rūpa, the image-

forms of the rāgas and rāginīs. They are the sources and

the bases of all pictorial representations of the Indian

melodies—the well-known ‘Rāga-mālā’ pictures. In these

verbal descriptions—the essential character,—the spirit,—

the rasa,—the emotional objective of each rāga, or rāginī is

indicated. Very often symbolistic details of the colour of

the dress,1 the nature of the complexion of the dramatis

Iconography

of Rāgas:

(1) It was at one time believed that the scheme of colours—

in the distinct varieties of the colour-notes of the different parts of

101

personae of each representation are significantly indicated. In many of these personifications,—particularly those which have the many phrases of human love for their theme,—the principles of old Indian love-lore, and erotics, (rasa-śāstra) have been applied—and the personages have been conceived in terms of the classic conventions of 'love-heroes' and 'love-heroines' (nāyakas and nāyikās)—in all the rich variety of their moods and types. The introduction of these poetical ideas has not only enriched the significance of the musical expressions,—but has, also, helped to achieve a happy and a subtle unification of literary and musical ideas. It is a profoundly expressed truth—that music begins where the language of words fails. It is equally true that in some sense, music is a much more definite language than the language of words. And very properly, music has jealously guarded the frontier of its kingdom from the attack, or intrusion of the language of words. There is an interminable controversy—as to what extent the words of a song embarrass the expression of pure musical values. The intrusion of literary ideas in the world of music cannot but be disastrous to musical expression, and, as is well-known, the literary criticism of music is one of the most tragic things of life. The imageries and ideas borrowed from Indian poetics and love-lore and incorporated in the contemplative verses (dhyānas) describing the Indian rāgas, stand, however, on a very different footing. They are, by no means, a description of the musical values but an indication of the rasa—the nature of the emotions for which the melodies stand. They are not, strictly speaking, literary explanations but a co-relation and a paralellism with imageries which arose out of the experiences of life common to musicians and poets. It is really in the pictorial versions

a rāginī picture had a significant correspondence to the distinctive notes which made up the structure of the particular melody, the seven colours answering to the seven notes of the musical scale. The theory is very tempting, particularly with reference to the limited palettes of the early rāginī 'primitives', but it is impossible to demonstrate that the artists of the rāginī pictures were guided in their choice of particular colours used by any consideration of the structural, or sonal composition of the melodies they illustrated.

102

that an attempt has been made to interpret the presiding

rasa of every rāga in elaborate forms in appropriate environ-

ment and atmosphere, with illuminating vision and sympa-

thetic intuition. To those educated in the language of

music—and the significance of a musical vocabulary,—these

literary, or plastic aids might appear redundant, or useless.

At any rate, these dhyānas and their pictorial illustrations

must be taken to date from a period later than that in which

the melodies were discovered, or revealed and were under-

stood by contemporary culture in their fullest significance

through the medium of the musical language itself without

any adventitious aids from other languages. They may

have become necessary for the purpose of keeping in tact—

without any risk of confusion—the individual entity of each

rāga, and for the purpose of systematising them in a graphic

form for educational purposes. It is a notorious fact that

from the time musical practitioners neglected the rasa or

emotive aspect of melodies,—indicated in the iconology and

the pictorial illustrations, there has been considerable con-

fusion in interpreting the peculiar genius of each rāga—in

terms of its characteristic symphonic values. The psycho-

logy of rāgas—being the very basic of Indian music, an

understanding of the emotive significance of each rāga was

an essential part of the education of an Indian musician,

from very early times.

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 com-

posed 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 analog-

ous iconographic formula is used. The verses relating to the

original six classic rāgas and 36 rāginīs 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-Gauda—which is very well known to

have been introduced after Āmīr Khusrau (14th century)

has been honoured by a contemplative verse in Sanskrit.1

The fashion of composing these verse-formulas appears to

have survived much later.

There is no doubt that the two phases of a melody, the

sound-form, and its corresponding image-form, were recog-

nised from early times, though we have not yet come across

any reference to this dual aspect in the texts earlier than the

Rāga-vivodha. The devatā, the presiding genius of each

rāga is, indeed, referred to in many of the old legends, and

also indicated in earlier texts, though the images, or pictures

of the melodies are not described in any of the earlier texts.

(1) "Vīre ca raudre ca Turuṣka-Gauḍo

Niṣāda-jāṃśo ri-pa-varjitaśca|

mūrtistu nivandhāntare|

Turusk-Gauḍa āruhya haya-prṣṭhe runa-dyutih|

Sankha_kanṭhopanītaśca soṣṇīṣah kavacā-vritah||

S. N. Tagore, "Saṅgīta-sāra-samgraha," p. 106.

Translation:

Turuṣka-Gauḍa is employed in heroic and martial sentiments.

The expressive note is ni, and the antiphonic notes are ri & pa.

The image is thus described:

"Turuṣka-Gauḍa has a complexion rosy as the dawn,

He is mounted on a horse, clad in armour and carries a turban.'

The corresponding Hindī verse furnished by Harivallabha does

not agree with the above in iconographic conception: [Turuṣka-

Gauḍa is a melody different from Turuṣka-Toḍī]:

"Aṅga lasai bhukhana vasana Turakhāneki rīt|

Kahe Turaka-Toḍi hai pive surā kari prīt"||

Translation:

'Bedecked with jewelleries and dressed in Turkish modes (he)

drinks with great zest. Such, it is said, is 'Turaka-Toḍī.'

History of

the Icono-

graphy of

melodies.

104

आविदार्जुनसखः सखीमतिसखा नित्यं मन्मथसखा

Hindi Text inscribed on the back of an illustration of Sri-Raga

collection of Mr. Ajit Ghose Calcutta.

Hindi Text. inscribed on the back of an illustration of Lalita

collection of Mr. Ajit Ghose. Calcutta.

सखीवृन्दैरभिनवकुसुमान्यन्वहं हारयन्‍‌ता

मन्दारद्रुमकुसुमितमृदुलस्फारसौरभभरैः

मुग्धेव राधा हरति हरिरिव मन्थरम्‍‌

Hindi Text. inscribed on the back of an illustration of Vasanta

कान्तारे वासन्तिकविविधविलासैरभिलसितैः

रागाद्‌ रागं जनयति हरिरेवं मनसिजः

स्मेरासौ राधा हरति हरिरिव प्रांशुरपि

Hindi Text. inscribed on the back of an illustration of Megha-

Mallara Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York.

योगवीराच्चन्द्रगुप्तपालितराज्यमेन

परिकल्पकेहि क्षोभं जगजागामिनेसौ।

हितोदरराजामलहि कोसककापिसाहिलवा जनस

हरिगिरौ त आबक तरानराधित हुँदि हुँचिड हुँ

जुगवरजात तिहुअणतिलक जसारचिउ

Hindi Text. inscribed on the back of an illustration of Lalita

collection of Mr. Ajit Ghore, Calcutta.

RAGAMALA TEXTS

In connection with the various archaic melodies (grāma-rāgas, rāga-gītis) described in the Bṛhad-deśī, the rasa-value, and their applications (viniyoga) with reference to a situation in a drama, are indicated for each melody described. Unfortunately, the presiding deities for the melodies are not indicated by Matanga, though he cites the presiding deity for each musical note (svara-devatā). In the present state of our knowledge of the earlier texts, it is impossible to date the time when the presiding principles of melodies were first revealed, discovered, or recognised. In some of the contemplative verses of prayer-formulas (dhyānas) for the melodies, Kohala, (an ancient authority earlier than Matanga and Dattila) is cited as an authority for images, or pictures of particular rāgas.1 But unless the actual texts of Kohala are discovered and investigated, it is impossible to attach any evidentiary value to this ascription.

The earliest avail-

Kohala:

(1) Thus the verse describing the 'picture of Gaudī ends by saying 'Gaudī is thus spoken of by Kohala ("Gaudīyamuktakila Kohalena"). This may be an irresponsible or apocryphal ascription for the purpose of lending a spurious halo by invoking the name of an ancient authority.

The verse describing Gaudī is cited in three places, with various readings, in the Saṅgīta-darpana (Tagore's Edition, p. 83) in the Anūp-saṅgīta-vilāsa (p. 160), and in the Saṅgīta-sāra Samgraha (p. '1.). In the last version—the last line reads "Gauriyamuktāti-Kutūhalena" (see Plate XXIII).

"Niveśayanti Sravane' vatamsam| Āmrāñkurarm kokila-nāda-ramyam| Syāmā madhusyandi-su-sūkṣa-nādā| Gauriyamuktā kila kohalena"|| Saṅgīta-darpanam, p. 83.

able indication as to the presiding deity of each melody is in

the text of the Sangita-ratnākara (13th century). The jāti-

rāgas are not assigned to any presiding spirits, but the rāga-

gītis described in the rāga-vivekādhyāya are invariably

assigned to its protective divinity. Thus the Suddha-sādhā-

rita melody has for its god, the sun (ravi-daivatā), the

ṣadja-grāma rāga has for its god, Bṛhaspati (guru-daivatā),

Suddha-kaiśika, has for its lord, the Earth (bhauma-

vallabha): Mālava-kaiśika is to be sung for the pleasure of

Keśava (Keśava-prītyaye) its protective deity. Bhinna-

ṣadja, has for its deity the four-faced god Brahmā (caturā-

nana daivatā). Takka (Taṅka) rāga is sung for the pleasure

of Rudra (mude rudrasyā). Hindola has for its lord the

god Makara-dhvaja, the Indian Cupid, the dolphin-bannered

god (makara-dhvaja-vallabha). Kakubha is assigned to the

god of Death (Yama-daivatāḥ); and so on. Though

the protective deities are indicated, their pic-

tures, or images are not described in the text of Sārangadeva

in any prayer-formulas in the shape of descriptive verses

(dhyānas) such as we find in the later texts.

Raga-

Kutūhala: Thus, the Bhinna-ṣadja, an archaic melody, is described

in a prayer-formula in the text of Rāga-kutūhala,

which from the point of view of musical iconography, must

be regarded as one of earlier texts.1 As Rāga-kutūhala

quotes the opinion of Saṅgīta-ratnākara, it must be later

than the 13th century. (“Rāga kutūhala: Caturdhā: Gurja-

rikā Ratnākara-mate,” Anūpa-saṅgīta-vilāsa. P. 124).

But the earliest available text dealing with the icono-

graphy of rāgas is the one known as Rāga-Sāgara, the colo-

phon of which describes it as a dialogue between Nārada

(1) Krpāṇa-sambhinna-riputtamāṅgaḥ

Krta-prahāro’pi muhur-muhusca|

Pino raṇe bhāti gavasti-sūraḥ

Sa Bhinna-ṣadjah kathito munindraiḥ|| 180 ||

(Rāga-Kutūhala, cited in Bhavabhatta’s Anūpa-saṅgīta-Vilāsa,

Joshi’s edition, p. 112. Similarly another archaic rāga, Pañcama-

ṣādava is described in a verse from Rāga-Kutūhala, cited in the same

text at page 122, and Takka-Kaiśika, at page 139. Another ancient

melody Chevāṭī is described in the same text in the following verse:

and Dattila.1 It is not possible to assign the development of

the iconography of rāgas to the time of Dattila, whose name

is apparently invoked here for lending an air of antiquity to

these dhyāna-formulas given in this text, under the chapter

rāga-dhyāna-vidhānam. Whether Dattila is the author of

this text or not, there is no doubt, from the raga-system given

in the text and the classification of the melodies into eight

major rāgas with 3 derivative rāginīs for each (See Appen-

dix 11), that the text indicates quite an early stage in the

classification of the rāgas. This system is certainly earlier

than all the systems with six major rāgas, with five, or six

rāginīs each.

The dhyānas given in this text are simple in conception,

diction and style, and appears to be earlier than all the

known anthologies. This will be apparent if we compare

some of the dhyānas in this text, quoted below, with those

collected in the Sangīta-sāra-saṃgraha2 and which are cited

on the descriptive texts attached to the plates in this work.

"Contemplation of Bhairava: The sea of notes and

microtones, with the nectar of all varieties of rhythms and

time-measures, the fulfilment of the desire of the worship of

Śiva, with the body always besmeared with ashes, decked

with matted locks, with the shine of the young moon on the

Padmābh padma-patrākṣī saṅketa-sthāna-māśritā|

Kāntena tanvatī hāsam Chevāṭī parikīrtitā|| 445 ||

Ibid, p. 158.

'With the complexion of lotus, eyes like lotus-petals, awaiting

at the place of tryst for her beloved, delicate and smiling, such is

Chevāṭī known by reputation'.

(1) We owe the discovery of this text to V. Raghavan who gives

a short notice of it in his paper ‘Some names in Early Sangita Lite-

rature’ (Journal, Music Association, Madras, Vol. III, Nos. 1-2,

1932, p. 18). The text is available in two copies in the Madras

Oriental Mss. Library, Catalogue Vol. XXII, No. 13014, 13015.

(2) Though the Sangīta-sāra-saṃgraha by Sir S. M. Tagore is

a very late anthology, its collection is based on numerous autho-

ritative texts, e.g. Pañcama Samhitā (Nārada), Sangīta-ratnamālā,

Sangīta-Dāmodara, Sangīta-Kaumudī, Sangīta - Nārāyaṇa, Sangīta

Pārijāta. And most of these texts are not readily available some

being in Mss. S. M. Tagore's anthology has been used in this work

and cited on the descriptive plates.

head, with skulls as decorations, I adore Bhairava, the skilful

Dancer."1 (Compare the texts cited on Plates I-III).

"Contemplation of Bhūpāla: Seated on his throne,

fanned with fly-whisks by fawn-eyed (damsels), I always

adore, in my heart, Bhūpāla, along with his group of associ-

ated (melodies".2 [This melody—though akin to the pic-

ture of Varāṭī (Vide Plate XI) seems to be different from the

melody known as Bhūpālī described on Plate LXXVI.]

"Contemplation of Phaṭa-manjarī: Shining in the bower

of vine-plant, decked with a crown and armlets set with

sapphires, I always adore the melody Phaṭa-manjarī, attend-

ed with a couple of damsels on either side."3

"Contemplation of Mālava-rāga: With his hands on the

two breasts of a beautiful damsel, with his beautiful cheeks

shining with swinging ear-pendants, kissing fervently the

faces of the young damsel, I am (thus) contemplating in

my heart—the melody of Mālava."4

(Compare the texts and the illustrations cited on Plate

XIV).

"Contemplation of Rāma-Kriyā: Seated in heroic

posture, holding a bow and arrows, golden in complexion, I

(1) "Śruti-svara-manhodahim sakala-tāla mānāmṛtam

Sivārcana-manorathaṃ bhāsita-lepitāṅgaṃ sadā|

Jaṭā-mukuṭa-bhāsuraṃ śaśi

śiśu-prabhā-maulinam

Kapālā-bharaṇaṃ bhaje naṭana-kausalam bhairavam"

Rāga-Sāgara, tritīya taranga, Madras Ms.

(2) Simhāsana-madhi-vasitaṃ cāmara-lasitaṃ kuraṅga-nayanā-

bhyāṃ Parivara-vala sāmetāṃ manasā dhyāyāmi satataṃ

Bhūpālaṃ"|| Ibid.

(3) 'Drāksā-latāgāra_nivāsa-bhāsuram

Mānikya-keyura-kiriṭa-śobhitam

Nārī-yugenā-śrita-pārśva-yugmam

Dhyāyāmi rāgaṃ Phaṭa-manjarī sadā|| Ibid

(4) "Sundarī-yuga-kucāñcita-hastam kuṇḍal-ollisata-cāru-kapo-

laṃ

Gāḍha-cumvita-nitamvinī-vaktraṃ bhāvayāmi hṛdi Mālava-

rāgaṃ||

Rāga Sāgara (Madras Ms.).

108

always adore the goddess Rāma-kriyā."1

(Compare the text and the illustration cited on Plate XXXII-A).

"Contemplation of Ghurjarī: Covered with a white mantle (armour) playing with her companions with balls in her hands, swaying in a dance (?) I worship, in the region of my heart, Ghurjarī".2

(Ghurjarī appears to be a different melody from Gurjarī cited on Plates LXXII, LXXII).

"Contemplation of Toḍī: With a glass cup filled with the wine called kādamvarī, with her beautiful face supported by her left and with her right-hand carrying a portion of the silken scarf of her lover, I also think of Toḍī, in my heart."3

(Compare with this the illustration of Turuska-Toḍī cited on Plate XXK).

"Contemplation of Madhumāvatī: Holding a cup of honey, accompanied by her confidentès, rosy like the javā flower, wearing a pure bright yellow garment (welcoming the gathering clouds), caressing, by the other hand, pecocks (?) I always recall in my heart the proud Madhumāvatī Madhu-mādhavī".4

(Compare with this the texts and illustrations cited on Plates LXXX, to LXXXIII).

Apparently, Madhumā-vatī is the earlier form of the name of Madhumādhavī and this may be another indication

(1) "Virasāne nivasantām śara-kodanda-dhāriṇim| Jamvu-phala-nibhām devim dhyāye Rāma-kriyām sadā"|| Ibid.

(2) "Sveta-kavacā-vṛtāngi kanduka-hastam sakhi-janen khelantim| Samvara-dimvaka-lalam mānasa-deśe ca Ghurjarim bha-jāmi|| Ibid.

(3) "Kādamvarī-rasa-vi-pūrita-kāca-pātram Vinyasta-vāma-kara śobhita-cāru-vaktram| Savyena nāyaka-paṭāgra-daśām (?) vahantim Toḍi sadā manasi me paricintayāmi|| Ibid.

(4) "Grhita-madhu-pāntrikām paṭa-sanātha-nāthālikām Javā-kusuma samārunām vimala cāru-pītāmvarām| Dvitīya karasādrita (?) prakaṭa samvāra damvarām Smarāmi Madhumāvatim manasi me sadā mānininim|| Ibid.

109

of the early date of this text.

As compared with the Sangīta-ratna-mālā (which according to the citation in the Sangīta-mārāyana is attributed

to Mammatacārya, the famous rhetorician of the 9th century), the text of the Rāga-sāgara appears to be earlier. This

may be seen by comparing the two contemplative verses (dhyāna) , describing the melody Deśī:

"Contemplation of Deśī: Living in a hut of Uśīra grass,

holding a wreath of flower in her hand, of a very fair complexion, clad in attractive robes, I contemplate on the youthful Deśī.1

The visual picture of the melody.is thus given in Ratna-mālā: "With the slow movement of a king of elephant, with

eyes like that of a fawn, with a complexion like the lotus,

with heavy hips, with her plaits dangling like a serpent,

with a frame quivering like a delicate creeper, this comes into view, the rāginī Deśī, sweetly smiling. This is Deśī.2

Pancama-sāra-Samhitā: The practice of composing rāga-mālā verses, descriptive

of the images of rāgas, and suggesting their emotive atmosphere and values must have been current long before the

middle of the 15th century. In a Ms., dated 1440 A.D. of the

Pancama-sāra-samhitā by Nārada, a complete series of descriptive verses are given of six rāgas and thirty-six rāginīs.

(See ante P. 24).

It is difficult to suggest if pictorial illustrations, answering to these descriptive word pictures, had been painted

very much before the sixteenth century, the estimated date

of the earliest rāga-mālā pictures. Although no pictorial

versions as early as the fifteenth century have yet come to

light, there is nothing improbable in such pictures having

been painted contemporaneously with the written verses.

(1) "Usīrā-gāra nivāsām kusuma-mālānca karām sugaurāṅgīm|

Rucirāmvarāvrtām tām Deśīm dhyāyāmi yuvati-kara-susaṅ-gim|| Ibid.

(2) "Murtiṣṭu Ratna-mālāyām|

Gajapati-gati-reni-locanendi varāṅgā

Prthula-tara nitamva-lambī-venī-bhujangā|

Tanutara tanu-valli vita kauśambha-rāgā

Iyamudayati Deśī rāginī cāru-hāsā||" Iti Deśī| (Cited in

S. M. Tāgore's Saṅgīta-saṃgraha, p. 95).

110

The earliest landmark during the Moghul period is the work called Rāga-mālā by Meṣakarṇa, composed in 1509 A.D. (1431 śaka). It belongs to the period before the revival of Indian music under Akbar. A typical verse from this text describing Bhairava-rāga is translated below:

Rāga-mālā by Mesakarna:

'White in complexion, clad in white, carrying the crescent, and the horn and wearing a garland, Bhairava is born from the mouth of Śiva, and carries the poison on his neck and his eyes are red. He (also) carries the trident, the skull, and the lotus, and wears jewelled pendants on his two-ears and matted locks. This (melody) is sung by the gods in the morning in autumn.1 A name of a musical iconographer is alluded to in a single verse. In the Saṅgīta Mahodadhi, itself a treatise of uncertain date, the verse describing the rāginī Mallārikā (See plate LXVIII) contains a passage: "She is Mallārikā called by Nrpa" (Mallārikeyam Kathitā Nrpeṇa"). This seems to suggest that there was a musical authority named Nrpa who had provided outlines for the portraits, or images for visualising some of the melodies. No other reference to Nrpa has been traced, and it is impossible to say anything about this iconographer, on the basis of this single allusion.

Nrpa:

The next important text on the iconography of rāgas in the Raga-mālā by Pundrika Viṭṭhala composed in 1576 A.D. during the reign of Akbar, if not under royal auspices. An instructive comparison may be made by considering the verses describing the melody Śuddha-Bhairava, with the verse cited above:

Rāga-mālā by Vitthali

"Born of the first face of Śiva, with 'ga' and 'ni' in vikrta forms, using three phases of the note 'sa', carrying matted locks, clad in white, besmeared with ashes, with three red eyes, with a horn to his lips, pendants on the two ears, with the crescent on the locks, Śuddha-Bhairava, the protector of

(1) Subhrāṅga subhra-vāsa śirasi śasi-dhara śṛṅga-vādyasca hārī Sambhar vakrājāto dhrta-gala-garalo Bhairava raktanetrah| Dhatte śūlam kapālam jalajam mani-maye kundale karana-yugme Tāram jūṭam jaṭānām śāradi sura-ganair-giyate prataresaḥ||

Meṣkarṇa's Rāga-mālā, Asiatic Society of Bengal. Ms.

111

the bull is playful in the morning, in the winter."

Verses from this text are quoted in describing Praja (Plate CVII) and Devakri (Plate CIII). Images of some melodies not described elsewhere, are given in this text e.g. Vāhulī, Suhavi, Jijāvanta (jhijhit ?) and Takka. The last melody is visualised as follows:—‘Addicted to dancing, patient (?), with the notes ‘ga’ and ‘ni’ in vikrta or sharpened forms, with two additional śrutis,1 a full-toned melody, having the note ‘sa’ as its initial, medial, and terminating notes. Dressed in patterned robes, wearing a be-jewelled string on his breast, and a fine crown on his head, Takka is a passionate person, of white complexion, and his body besmeared with sandal-paste, carrying flower globes in his hand, like a clever messenger of love, he roams (i.e. sung) at all times.’

Some of the melodies described have very curious designations. Vāhulī is said to be a Maharāṭṭa lady (? Mara-haṭṭa-vanitā), and Deśī is said to be a grand-daughter of Ahaṅga (? Ahaṅgasya ‘papautrī’).2 Puṇḍarīk Viṭṭhal’s descriptive verses are more iconological, and hieratic, and very rarely indicate the emotive significance of the melodies in dramatic conceptions such as met with in the verses of Nārada and others.

The text Catvāriṃśatchata-rāga-nirūpaṇam attributed to Nārada belongs to about the same time. The author adopts the descriptive verses given in earlier texts, but also provides verbal visualizations for many minor melodies not cited elsewhere. Thus Vaulikā, and Ārabhī, wives of Śrī-rāga, are thus described:

“Carrying peacock’s feather, fond of sweets, dark in complexion and having an attractive figure, Vaulikā shines.”

“Always attended by her lover, covered with nava-

(1) According to the technical meaning of the word ‘gati’ used by Puṇḍarīka, it refers to a note which moves from its normal and natural ‘śuddha’ position to a vikrta or sharpened form by adding śrutis to its normal form. As Mr. Bhaṭkhande has pointed out, “Each ‘gati’ will be measured by a śruti; for instance ‘gāndhāra’ rising one śruti will be called ‘trigatikā’; when it rises two śrutis, it will be supposed to have gone up to two ‘gatis’ and so on.”

(2) Āhaṅga may be the prākṛta form of Ābhaṅga.

112

mālikā flowers and engaged in drinking, sweet-speaking Ārabhī is thus describēd."

Other verses from this text are cited on Plates.

(LXXXIII, LXXXIV, XLIV, XLVII, LXLVIII, CI, CIII-F, CX).

Like Puṇḍarīk Viṭṭhala, Somanātha, offers in his Rāga-vivodha a series of original verses, describing 52 melodies.

His descriptions are very terse, and sometimes enigmatic and unintelligible, but for the annotations that he himself provides on these texts.

That the verses are not adequately descriptive is proved by the fact that in many cases the author has to indicate in his commentary—the name of the nāyikā, to suggest the emotive essences of the melodies described.

Of the melodies visualised in the dhyāna-formulas, some are of peculiar interest, such as, the Pāvaka rāga, and the Mukhārī.

'Dressed as a cow-herd, playing on the flute, and always in a playful mood, and his body decorated with patterns, Pāvaka rāga is beautiful in bluish complexion.'1

'Blue in complexion, under the grip of passion, being unable to bear any separation from her beloved, Mukhārī is a very clever lady, having jewelled covers for her breasts, and carrying a lute in her hand.'2

Other verses from this text are cited on Plates LXL, LXLI, LXII, LXIV, LXVIII, CII, CV, CVII, CX, CXIII.

Dāmodara Miśra, follows the School of Hanumāna in his Saṅgīta-darpana, which is a compilation rather than an original treatise.

He cites descriptive verses for 36 melodies according to the system of Hanumāna.

The dhyāna formulas are identical with those given in the Nārada-Saṃhitā and other texts.

Two of the works of Bhāva-bhaṭṭa (1674-1701 A.D.) namely: Anūpa-saṅgīta-vilāsa and Anūpa-saṅgīta-ratnākara

(1) "Gopāla-veṣa eṣah kvanayan-veṇum sadā mudā kridan| Citrāṅga-rāgo-bhāvah Pāvaka-rāga'sito lālitaḥ"|| 214 ||

(2) "Syāmā kāmākrāntā kānta-viyogā-sahā Mukhārīyam| Maṇi-maya-sukucavaraṇā vinā-pāṇih pravinoccaih"||212|| Rāga-vivodha, (Poona edition, p. 105-106).

15

Saṅgīta-darpana:

Bhāva-bhaṭṭa:

113

(both of them compilations, which liberally quote earlier authorities), contain quotations from earlier rāga-mālā texts. Of these, Rāga-kutūhala, and Viṭhal's Rāga-mālā, have already been discussed. He however cites some anonymous verses, giving the dhyāna formula of three of the early grāma-rāgas, two of which are of interest, as will appear from the examples cited below:

"Śuddha Khādava: 'Seated at the foot of a tree, with his mind under control, (yet) smiling in company with his beloved, his head covered by a coronet, Śuddha Khādava is thus described.'"1

"Gāndhāra-pañcama: 'Of golden complexion, having golden (pendants) on his ears, and smiling in company with his beloved, Gāndhāra-pañcama is under the protection of the shade of a deodāra tree.'"2

Some of the early Rāga-gītis and Bhinna-gītis (a group of melodies as old as Kaśyapa) are visualised by anonymous descriptive verses in this text. Of these the typical examples are those describing Takka-Kaiśika, Souvīra, Souvīrī, and Bhinna-pañcama:

Takka-Kaiśika: "A youth of bluish complexion, with his body besmeared with saffron, awaiting at the trysting-place, at the bidding of his beloved, smitten with desire, such is Takka-Kaiśika."3

(1) "Taru-mūle sthita-cetāḥ priyayā saha samhasan| Vrto-ttamānga-mukuṭaḥ śuddha-śādava īritaḥ"|| 288 || Anūpa-saṅgīta-vilāsaḥ, p. 130.

(2) "Svarṇa-varṇa-karṇaḥ priyayā saha samhasan| Deva-pādapa-śuṣkāyām (? su-cchāyām) śrito Gāndhāra-pañcamaḥ" || 331 || Ibid, p. 137.

The verse for Madhyama-śādava is a fragment: "Sūrah khadgam dadhat-savye kare vāme sucarmakam *** ṣadavo madhyamādikah"|| Ibid, p. 179.

(3) "Syāmo yuvā kumkuma-lipta-dehaḥ| saṅketa-mākhyāya-krta-pratīkṣaḥ| Priyā-janasya smara-piḍitasya| Takko' yamuktaḥ kila kaiśikākhyah"|| 345|| Anūpa-saṅgīta-vilāsa, page 139.

114

Sauvīra-rāga: “Seated on pure petals of flowers (?), he is an anchorite of great power, in a mood of peace, very thin and delicate in his body, known by the name of Sauvīra-rāga.”1

Sauvīrī (bhāṣā): “With eyes like lotuses, with her desires fulfilled, but again bent on desires, in a mood of peace, and having the effulgence of the lotus, such is Sauvīrī known by reputation.”2

Bhinna-pañcama: “Of yellow complexion, with hairs of russet hue, he strikes great terror in his enemies in battles, taller than the tallest, he carries strings of skulls on his breast, incessantly loud and terrific laughters emanate from his throat to resound in the skies,—Bhinna-pañcama has thus been indicated by the learned.”3

The picture of Turuṣka Toḍī (described by Puṇḍarīk as Yāvanī Toḍikā) cited by Bhāvabhaṭṭa, is worth quoting:

‘Very much current in the country of the Turks, carrying white and other coloured flowers, draped in brilliant red costume, Turuṣka Toḍī is thus spoken of by the sages.’4

The latest datable treatise to contain rāgamālā texts in Sanskrit, visualising the melodies is that represented by Sangīta-mālā by an anonymous author; it is represented by

(1) “Nirmala-kamala-dalāntah śantodāttah tapasvitāpannah| Kṣiṇah kṣiṇatarair-nāmnā dhīrah Sauvira-rāgo’ yam”|| 356 || Ibid, p. 141.

(2) “Bhogonmanāḥ punah prāyo bhuktā rājiva-locanā| Santa padma-dyutiḥ seyam Sauvīrī parikīrtitā”|| 359 || Ibid, p. 141.

(3) “Pītah piṅgala-mūrdhajah krta-mahā-śaṅkā raṇe vidviṣām| Stavdhāntaḥ paramonnataḥ paramataḥ vakṣaḥ-kapālāvālī|| Kaṇṭhe vibhraddabhra-bhīti-jananimuccocca-hāsaṃ muhuḥ| Kurvannesa mirūpito budha-janair-Bhinnādimah Pañca-mah”|| 366 || Ibid, p. 142.

(4) “Turuṣka-deśa-pracura-pracārā| Sitā’sitā puṣpa-varam da-dhānā| Surakta-vastrena vibhūṣitāṅgi| ‘Turuṣka-Toḍī Kathitā munindraih”||298|| Ibid, p. 132.

115

a single MS. dated 1778, so that the work may be a few years earlier, say about the 1750 A.D. The work follows a system of six rāgas with five rāginīs each. (See Appendix 3). The descriptive verses are elaborate and not only give a visualized picture of each melody but also its note-structure, and an indication of its appropriate hour of singing. Each verse is followed by a note in Hindī under the title of Sāhitya gūdhārtha (i.e. implicit rhetorical significance of each melody) in which the nāyikā (the heroine), the nāyaka (the hero) and the rasa (emotive flavour) of each melody are specified, and is accompanied by two or three examples of old songs in which each melody has been appropriately sung.

Some typical examples from this text are quoted below with paraphrases in English.

'Gauḍī Rāginī: The fair damsel has defeated the cuckoo by the flourish of her word surpassing nectar; she had decked her ears with new sprays of mango-blossoms, having a complexion like the beautiful blue cloud, her handsome body is robed in white silk; her lotus-face subdues the pride of the Moon, (for) the creator used all his skill and art in creating her form with great care; her grace and beauty are attractive alike to the eyes and the mind; (its structure is) Sa ri ga ma pa dhā ni, with ṣadja as its initial note. Gauḍikā is sung at the end of the day 'in autumn.'

'Rhetorical interpretation: The heroine is a married spouse of the middling type, she is in the fullness of her youth, and (for the time being), separated from her lord who has gone abroad. The hero is a tender-hearted young man. The prevailing emotive flavour is unsatisfied love-longing. This melody should be applied to emotions of this quality.'1

(1) "Sudhādhika vacacchatā vijita kokilā sundari| Navāmra-dala-śobhinā vilasitā'sukarṇe nica|| Sunīla-jalada-tviṣā su-vapusā vaśanāmiśkam| Sitam ca śasī darpa-ham vadana-pañkajam vibhartī|| 27 || Prayatna-parinirmitā vividha sādhanair-brahmanā| Mano nayana-hāri sad-viha dhatī hi lāvaṇyakam|| Sari-gama-pa-dhā-nikā bhavati ṣadja|

116

Dīpaka-rāga: 'Born from the eyes of the sun; by the effulgence of his complexion scolding the flower of the pomegranate; ravishingly graceful as he rides on a rutted elephant; accompanied by female attendants, carrying round his neck an incomparable necklace of pearls. The melody is centred on the note ṣadja, it is sung at noon-tide in summer season.

'Rhetorical interpretation: The hero is a wily and faithless person. The heroine is a married spouse of the middling type,1 in the fullness of her youth. The prevailing emotive flavour is enjoyment of love-passion. 'This melody should be applied to emotions of this quality.'2

Other examples from this text are quoted in the descriptions of Vasanta (Plate LXI), of Bhūpālī (Plate LXXVI) and of Taṅka (Plate LXXVII).

The encyclopædic anthology, Rāga-kalpadruma (c. 1843 A.D.) does not claim to be any original presentation of the topics treated in the volumes. The rāga-mālā texts cited in this work are borrowed from Saṅgīta-mahodadhi, Saṅgīta-nārāyaṇa and sundry other texts, and principally from the

Rāga-kalpadruma:

Śārade-ntime divasa-yāmake subhaga-gīyate Gaudikā|| 28 || Sāhitya-gādhārtha: Nāyikā-svīyā-madhyā-prārudha-yauvanā-prāyudha-yavanā-proṣita-bharṭikāhai| Nāyak iskā dhīra-lalita.|

Ras: Vipra-lambha sṛṅgāra | isī raskī cije isme gānī cāhiye"|

Text published in Kannoomall's Sāhitya-sangita-nirūpaṇa, Delhi, 1917, p. 55).

(1) The word in the text is 'svīyā, which is probably used as an antonym to 'parakīyā' (another's wife).

(2) "Raver-netrod-bhūtaḥ sva-tanu-mahimā dādimva-kusumam Tīras-karvan-matta-dvirada-madhi-rūdho'ti-lalitah|| Yutaḥ stribhi muktā-phala gaṇāñcita-hāra-matulam Dadhat-kanṭhe sadje sthita iha dinārdhe tapa ṛtau|| 47 || Sāhitya gūḍhārtha: Nāyak:—Satha| Nāyikā:—iskī svīyā-madhyā prarāḍha jāuvanā hai|

Ras-isme sambhoga śṛṅgāra| Isme isī ras samvandhī cije gānī cāhiye"| Ibid, p. 72.

Tagore's

Sangīta-

sāra-

samgraha:

Sañgīta-darpaṇa.

S. M. Tagore's Saṅgīta-sāra-samgraha,—which has been

largely used in citing the texts quoted on the descriptions of

the Plates of the present work, is also a compilation, which

gives a large variety of rāga-mālā texts according to the three

schools.

The descriptive verses cited are quoted from

Nārada-saṃhitā, Rāgārṇava, Saṅgīta-ratnamālā, Saṅgīta-

darpana, and Saṅgīta-nārāyaṇa.

Hindi

Rāgmālā

Texts:

Having taken a bird's eye-view of the available texts of

rāga-mālās in Sanskrit, we will proceed to make a show sur-

vey of Hindī texts, with the data so far available.

It must

have been realised from very early times in the practice of

the rāgas, that the Sanskrit texts of the rāga-mālā could only

be accessible to a very few of the practising musicians learn-

ed in Sanskrit literature, who could study the theory of the

musical science from the original texts.

The necessity of

translating the Sanskrit texts into a popular vernacular must

have been felt, with the growing popularity of music during

the period immediately preceding the advent of the Moghuls.

The Hindī Language had already lent itself to a complete vul-

garization of the classical 'Sanskrit' culture in terms of a

popular folk-psychology, accessible to the general public to

whom the academic classical culture was a terra incognita.

With the development of a wide-spread interest in musical

culture and development, a group of Hindī poets devoted

themselves to unlock the key to the Sanskrit musical texts

and to render them in easily accessible popular versions in

Hindī quatrains and couplets (copai and dohās).

In this

way, short popular recensions in Hindī verses opened to all

and sundry the secrets of musical theory and sciences hither-

to locked up in learned treatises in Sanskrit.

This duty of

popularising the academic knowledge and culture for popular

apprehension was undertaken by well-known and talented

poets, and also by lesser luminaries.

One would expect

Tānṣen, (c. 1520–1589 A.D.) the great exponent of Indian

music, and a Hindī poet of some distinction (who composed

several Dhrupada songs in old Braja bhāṣā), should have

been the first composer of rāga-mālā texts in Hindī as

foundations for pictorial illustrations.

Unfortunately, his

hand as an iconographer has not been discovered in any

Hindī compositions visualising the melodies.

Of poets of

118

distinction who condescended to write these popular guide-books on music, the most famous name is that of Deo-Kavi, a bright luminary in Hindī Literature. But he seems to be forestalled by another poet, of considerable talent, but whose name and fame was not hitherto known to the history of Hindī Literature. This was the poet Harivallabha, the author of an elaborate treatise on Indian music. His work introduces a new name in Hindī literature, as he is totally ignored in all known anthologies and histories of literature.

This musical poet is represented by an elaborate treatise which he himself describes as a vernacular version of Saṅgīta Darpana, written in an obscure form of old Hindī. The work survives in four manuscripts, the earliest, in the collection of the British Museum1 and bearing a dated colophon: 'Finished vernacular version of Saṅgīta darpana by Harivallabha Saṃvat (1710 (=1643 A.D.), the second day of the black fortnight of Phālgun (February-March) written by copyist Sāranga'.2 The second manuscript written by Khemankar Miśra at Shāhjahānāvād (Delhi) is in the collection of the Sarasvatī-bhavan Library, Benares, and bears a colophon which purports to bear date Vaiśāikh Sudi 7, Saṃvat year 1748 (=1691 A.D.)3 The third manuscript, undated, is in the collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.4 The fourth manuscript is a magnificent editio princeps, finally written and illustrated with numerous pictures of the rāgas, now in the collection of Mr. P. C. Nahar, Calcutta. It contains a dated colophon which runs as follows: 'Finished

(1) Add. 26, 540 (Blumhardt's Catalogue, 1899, p. 20, (30).

(2) "Iti bhāṣā saṅgīt-darpaṇ-ka|| kṛtā Harivallabhena|| Saṃvat Varṣe phālgun vadi duni dine sāraṅga lekhakena likhitaṃ"||

(3) Ms. No. 3 of 23. "Saṃvat satrahasau varṣa vīte aṭha tālīs|| mādhava sudi tithi saptamī vāra varani vāgīs|| Gaud Hariyānyā jagad vidita misra Kṣemaṅkara nām|| Sāhijāhānā vādme likhavāī sukha kām"|| In this Ms. the rāgādhyāya is missing.

(4) No. 791 (7) Hindī Ms. No. 1.

Hari-vallabha (C. 1625-1643)

119

chapter on dancing,—the vernacular version of the essence of music by Harivallabha Samvat 1855 (=1798 A.D.) first Śrāvan (July-August), black fortnight, the auspicious twelfth moon, Thursday, written by Brāhman Giridhāri for the benefit of Babu Meghraj in the District of Murshidabad at Azimgunge near the bank of the Ganges, copy finished.'1 The work is in five sections, or chapters: (i) Musical notes (ii) Melodies (iii) Compound melodies (iv) Musical measures and (v) Dancing. The chapter on melodies (rāgā-dhyāya) appears to be based partially on the Sanskrit text Sangīta-darpana by Dāmodara Miśra (described above pp. 32, 62) and which seems to lend its name to the Hindi work, which appears to have borrowed its materials freely from other and older texts.2 As the colophon at the end of each section suggests, Harivallabha gave in a vernacular version the substance of musical data abstracted from authoritative treatises.3 Any how, the date of the work cannot be earlier than 1625 A.D., when Dāmodar Miśra's work was composed.

Confining ourselves to the chapter of rāgādhyāya, we find Harivallabha, following Hanumāna, describing six rāgas and thirty rāginīs. He first indicates the note-structure of the melodies and then gives a visual picture of the same in very rhythmic and mellifluous verses of Kavittas, generally

(1) "Iti srī Harivallabha kṛta vākhā prakaraṇa saṅgīta-sāra nṛttyā-dhyaya samāpta| Samvat 1855 ādīka sāvan māsa kṛṣṇa pakṣa puṇya tithou dvādasī guru vāsara likhitam Giridhāri Brāhman ciraṇjiv Bābu Beghrāj-ji hetārthaṃ Moksudāvād-nikata Gaṅgā-tīre Azimgunj madhye likhi sampūrṇam."

(2) The printed text of Saṅgīta-Darpaṇa (Tagore's Edition, Calcutta 1881) only gives the text up to the rāgādhyāya, and does not give the complete text which must have included the chapters on Measures and Dancing.

(3) "Harivallabha bhākhā raceyo sava saṅgīta ke sār| Tāme sampūrṇa bhayo nrtya vicār apār"|| 'Harivallabha has composed in vernacular the essence of the principles of music, of which the incomparable dissertation on dancing forms the final, or terminating portion.'

TODI RĀGINĪ

containing in its last line (bhanitā) the name of the poet.

As will appear from the descriptive verses quoted on the

plates in the second volume from the text of Harivallabha

(with variant readings according to the Asiatic Society and

the Nahar Mss.), the poet does not slavishly follow the

original Sanskrit verses, but gives an amplified and original

version of the 'picture' of each rāga, though following the

main outlines of the Sanskrit models. The descriptive pic-

ture for each melody is preceded in the first instance by the

note-structure of the melody. This is well illustrated from

typical pages reproduced from the Nahar Ms. on Plates

LXVI, LXXXVIII-B, LXL-B, LXLV-C, and CII-A. Con-

sidering the fact that the poet had to conform to the conven-

tional pattern of the 'picture' of a rāga as laid down in the

Sanskrit text, he has displayed not only great technical skill

in smooth and attractive versification, but has also given

proofs of considerable poetic imagination, both in ideas and

diction, and his alliterations are mostly made of significant

choice of musical words and not of mere mechanical assem-

blage of a cheap jingle of empty vocables. Harivallabha's

chapter on melodies include (over and above the thirty-six

rāginīs of Hanumāna) a number of sankīrṇa (composite

melodies) and upa-rāginīs (additional melodies not affiliated

to the six rāgas). Some of these are cited with quotations

on the Plates LXXVIII-B, LXL-B, LXII-B, LXLV-C, &

CII.-A.

It is a matter of some conjecture, if the verses of Hari-

vallabha represent the earliest rāga-mālā texts in Hindi

versions. For, if the couplets (dohās) quoted on the back

of the series of rāginī pictures in the Museum of Fine Arts,

Boston (No. 17.2371 to 17.2385) and on the back of analo-

gous examples in the Ghose Collection in Calcutta are proved

to be contemporaneous with the pictures which have been

dated about 1600 A.D., then the texts endorsed on these

early rāginī series must be older than Harivallabha.

The fact that none of the verses of Harivallabha has

been found quoted on any rāginī pictures, would suggest

that texts composed by other hands had already acquired

popularity which could not be displaced by the higher lite-

rary merits of Harivallabha's compositions. Dr. Coomara-

swamy considers the Hindi texts quoted on the earliest

rāginī paintings mentioned above, as of the same date as the

Earlier

Hindi

Texts:

paintings themselves. "We know nothing of descriptive Rāgamālā poems older than those found on the paintings themselves, and these are apparently in a Bundeldkhandi dialect which is related to the language of the Padumāvatī of Malik Muhammad Jaisī, which can hardly be older than the beginning of the sixteenth century."1 The careless and perfunctory style of the writing of these texts endorsed on the back of these early Rāgamālā pictures (designated as S. 1 and S. 2 in the Boston Museum, Catalogue Part V, p. 72) do not encourage the suggestion that the writings and, therefore, the texts are as old as the pictures. But certain significances attaches to the fact that the same couplets are quoted on Mr. A. Ghose's Mālkousa Rāga (Plate XIV-B) as on the analogous example of the same rāga in the Boston Museum (see the two identical texts with minor variations quoted on Plate XIV). The identity of this dohā quoted on two examples of analogous illustrations of nearly the same date suggests that both these pictures were based on the same text, that is to say, the text existed before those miniatures were painted.

Lachiman: Now, the dohā quoted on a Vibhāsā rāginī in the Boston Museum (Plate LXXXV) appears to be the concluding couplet of a string of verses, quoted on a Vibhāsā rāginī in the Fogg Art Museum (Plate LXXXVI). The author of these verses, as appears from this text and the text quoted on Plate LXXVIII, was a poet of the name of Lachiman: 'Lachiman (the poet), describes king Vibhās' ("Lichīman varnai bhūpa Vibhās"). 'This is suggested by Lachiman' ("Karai Lachimana iha upadeś," describing the Pañcama rāginī). Three poets of this name are known to Hindī Literature, (Miśra-Vandhu-Vinod, Parisisth, p. 1566), but we have no sure evidence to identify the author of the verse in question. The style of our Lachiman is very terse and sometimes inclined to be archaic and obscure in idea, reminding one of the obscure diction of Keśavadās' Rasikapriyā (c. 1591). The merits and demerits of the style are best studied in considering the translation of the dohā describing Lalita [identical couplets quoted on examples in Ghosh Col-

(1) Coomaraswamy: Catalogue of the Indian Collections, Boston Museum, Part V, Rajput Painting, 1926, p. 43.

122

lection and in the Boston Museum (Plate XXXVII) ] which in Dr. Coomaraswamy's translation does not reveal the emotive flavour of the melody, and which in our version, appropriately illustrates the situation of a Khanditā nayikā, ('one whose love has been dishonoured by the lover spending the night with another and returning in the morning') as shown in the two illustrations cited on the plate. 'It is not the visit of the enemy to the hero's wife while the hero is abroad' as suggested (Coomaraswamy's Catalogue, Part V, p. 72), on a wrong interpretation of the meaning of the terse and obscure text. 'His lips are red with chewing betel-leaf |Rīgai (not Bāgai) birā], his robes are fragrant, or luminous with sandal (āgar dūti), the dishevelled state of his whole body shuts out the god of Love' ["rupu vāriyatu main(u)"]. These details suggesting a night passed with another lover justifies the interpretation of a Khanditā-nayikī, who is unable in her resentment to utter any words - 'after seeing such a sight how can the elephant-gaited one speak' ("phiri kaisai kahī sakai gaja gāminī sau bain)."

The most famous name in Hindī Literature which figures in rāgamālā texts is that of Deo-Kavi. "According to native opinion he was the greatest poet of his time and indeed one of the greatest poets of India." He was a Sanādh Brāhmaṇa of Etawah, born in Saṃvat 1730, and is believed to have died in 1802 Saṃvat. He wrote in pure Braja-bhāṣā and some of his verses are believed to be the finest productions of the poetic art. His poetic career began at the age of sixteen (c. 1689 A.D.). He wrote a short treatise on Music entitled Rāg-Ratnākar,' specially devoted to a classification and description of the rāgas with five rāginīs each. To each melody is devoted a short descriptive couplet (dohā) followed by a savāyiyā giving a more detailed picture with suggestions for appropriate season and time for singing, and, sometimes, some details of the notes composing the melody. As will appear from an example to be cited below, the image

(1) Printed in the collected edition of his works published by the Nāgarī-pracārinī Sabhā, Benares, 1912. This edition and the printed text of Bhanu Kavi, infra, call for a modification of Dr. Coomaraswamy's assertion that "Apparently, no printed texts of Rāgamālā poems exist."

Deo-Kavi (1673-1745 A.D.):

of each rāga is first indicated in bare outlines in a couplet (dohā) followed by a more elaborate description in the form of a quatrain (savāyīā):

Lalita (couplet): “Lalita is of a delicate frame of golden complexion, she wears ornaments and robes made of gold; coming out of her chamber in a spring morning, she waits, her mind full of the expectation of her lover. (Quatrain): Dressed in yellow, she carries a garland of fresh campaka flower, mingled with blossoms of mango and aśoka; she has decked her complexion of gold with ornaments of gold, her voice is mistaken for the song of the cuckoo in spring mornings. The Moon leaving the celestial abode (and assuming the form of her face) has secured the rare ambrosia of her sweet and juicy lips. Lalita is seeking union with her beloved (alternately—the melody seeks the notes ‘dha’, ‘ni’, ‘sa’, ‘ga’ and ‘ma’) and coming out of her abode is looking out for him.”1

Anonymous

Text: We now come to a stage of rāga-mālā illustrations when the texts instead of being quoted on the reverse side of the miniatures (as in the early primitive series which carry on the back, the text of Lachiman) began to be superscribed on the face of the miniatures themselves at the top, in a rectangular space, allotted for the purpose. In the earlier

British Museum

Ms. Add. Or. 2821:

(1) “Lalita (dohā): Lalita lalita suvarna varana suvarana bhūṣana vās| Madhu-prabhāta gṛhason nikasi thāḍi jiya piya ās|| 37 || (Savaiyā): Pīta dukūla dhare nava campaka-phul gare mile amva asokai|| Someśe āgani soneke bhūṣana prata-vasanta piki dhūni dhokai|

Oḍi sudhā madhurādhara mādhavī pāyo sudhādhara cchāndi surokai|

Cāhati hai dha ni sañgama ko lalitā gṛhatain cali tāhi vilokai||” Rāg-ratnākar, p. 10.

The word ‘oḍi’ has also a double entendre, suggesting that it is a pentatonic (odava) melody, omitting ‘ri’ and ‘pa’. Likewise, the words ‘cāhati hai dhani sañgama’ has a double meaning suggesting that the melody requires the notes ‘dha’ ‘ni’ ‘sa’ ‘ga’ and ‘ma’ in its structure.

illustrations, though a small space is left at the top, it is not large enough for quotations of dohās, much less of savaiyās or kavittas, and is used for superscribing the name of the rāga, and the number indicating the place of the rāginī and nothing more (see Plates IX, X). At a later stage, it became the practice to write out the whole text descriptive of the rāginī on the illustration itself, as if to allow connoisseurs to compare and verify if the illustration accurately justified the idea and the situation pictured in the text. Generally, the space for the text for the superscription, pictured at the top, was coloured yellow, so as to offer an effective background against which the text could be easily read. The earliest example for this new practice is represented by two miniatures of Vibhāsā, and Madhumādhavī in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (No. 15.51, and 15.53, here cited on Plates LXXXVII.—A; and LXXXII.—C) which have been roughly dated about 1630 A.D.

The rāga-mālā texts superscribed on these two miniatures are identical with the texts in the almost complete series1 of rāginī illustrations in the British Museum Collection.

(1) The series is complete excepting the Dīpaka rāga which is missing, but examples of illustration of Dīpaka in similar style, and with identical text, occur in the collection of Mr. Ajit Ghosh, Lala Shambhunath, and other collections. Next in date to the two examples in the Bostom Museum, superscribed with this text, come the three examples analogous in style and with identical text in the Tagore Collection, Calcutta, and the example, Vangāla Rāginī in the author's collection (Plate VIII, B). From a study of the relative styles of these various series bearing identical texts, they seem to answer to the following chronological sequence: (1) Vibhās and Madhumādhavī No. 15. 51, 15. 53, Boston,—C. 1625 (2) Dīpak-rāga (Plate 20, Year Book of Oriental Art, 1925),—C. 1630-1640, (3) Three examples, viz. Varāṭī, Vañgālī and another in Tagore Collection, Calcutta, C. 1650, (4) Vañgāla rāginī, Author's Collection (Plate VIII, B of this work),—C. 1650, (5) Dīpak rāga (Plate LVIII, A), and Kāmode (Plate XLVIII, B),—C. 1660, (6) Lala Sambhunath Collection (Plates XIV, C; XV, B; XXVII, C; XXXVI, C &c.),—C. 1675 (7) British Museum series Ms. Add. Or. 2821—C. 1700

(8) Lipperheide Library, Berlin, (Plates XII, C; XXII, D; XXVI, D;)—C. 1800.

125

tion being Ms. Add. Or. 2821, nearly all of which have been

cited in the plates volume of this work. The text by an

anonymous poet, quoted in this series, has been the most

popular text used by illustrators of rāgamālās, through seven centuries. If the estimate of the date of the two miniatures in the Boston Museum (15.51, 15.53) is correct, the text of this anonymous poet must be earlier than 1630, that is to say, earlier than the text of Harivallabha, discussed

above. The popularity of the anonymous text, (which could not be superceded by the numerous series of illustrations, which bear quotations from it, viz. (1) British Museum Ms. Add. Or. 2821, (2) Lala Sambhunath Collection, Jaipur, (3) Jaipur Museum Collection, (4) Ajit Ghose Collection (stray examples), (5) Collection of Mr. S. Gangoly, Baroda,

stray examples (Plate LXXXI), (6) Author's Collection, (stray examples), (7) Lipperheid'sche Bibliothek, Berlin, 1474 (stray examples), and numerous stray examples in various private collections. In one or two instances dohās from this anonymous text have been cited on the back of the

early rāga-mālā pictures e.g., Vasanta rāginī, Metropolitan Museum (Plate LX, B). This would lend support to the assertion that in some cases, at least, the texts were added later. The text on the back of the Vasanta rāginī which we reproduce on the page opposite is so clumsy and careless as to preclude a supposition of its being contemporary with

the miniature. One peculiarity of the text under discussion is its independent and original treatment of the themes. While the versions of Harivallabha keeps to the main outlines of the pictures and also, invariably, to the significant vocabulary of the Sanskrit text, as we have pointed out,

the anonymous text shows a complete detachment from the Sanskrit models, though conforming to essential iconographic details and particulars of emotive significances. There is no verbal correspondence with the vocabulary of Sanskrit text such as we meet with in the text of Hari-vallabha. This may be easily demonstrated by considering

the three versions (one Sanskrit and two Hindi texts) cited in the descriptions to Vangāli rāginī (Plate VIII). It will be seen that Harivallabha not only reproduces the images but actually borrows several words from the Sanskrit model (triśūla, karanda, vāma-hasta, tarunārka-varṇa),

which the anonymous text absolutely ignores. The author

126

gives an independent version, altogether allowing his own

imagination to weave pictures, imageries and details to

realise the main essences of the themes. Thus, in calling up

the picture of a Yoginī, a female ascetic, performing asteri-

ties, the poet makes her sit on a rug of deer-skin in a shin-

ing temple, or a monastery, situated in a lonely forest,

where the ascetic has retired, away from the haunts of men.

The picture of the forest called up by the poet includes the

necessary details of a group of frisking monkey,1 and a live

lion seated near her (matha siva tala simhaju vaithāi)'.

None of the Sanskrit texts suggests a lion—which is the

poet's own independent contribution to complete the pic-

ture of a lonely forest. The lion is not an essential icono-

graphic detail required by the original dhyāna-formulas,

but an innovation of the poet whom the artist has slavishly

followed. It follows, therefore, that the illustrators had for-

their literary guidance the Hindī version of this anonymous

text, and not the Sanskrit text of the authoritative treatises.

Indeed, with rare exceptions,2 the illustrations invariably

quote Hindī, but not Sanskrit texts. The popular demand

for the Hindī texts naturally called for poetic efforts on the

part of several versifiers who came forward with original

dohās and savayīs giving graphic word pictures of the

emotive and dramatic features of the melodies for the bene-

fit of the pictorial artists.

We, therefore, come across various other groups of

Lāl Kavi:

texts, some composed by poets whose names are attached

to the poems, while others are by anonymous poets. A

series of thirty-six illustrations in the British Museum

(Or. Add. 26550 folios 1-36) are superscribed with texts in

Braj-bhāṣā, written on a yellow grounded scroll enclosed

within a decorative panel. The author of these verses has

since been identified3 as a poet of the name of Lāl, as his

name occurs in the verses on the folios 10, 11 and 12 des-

(1) A group of monkeys occurs in the version of Vaigāla

rāginī in the Collection of Lala Sambhunath not, here, reproduced.

(2) Sanskrit texts are superscribed on the following examples:

Ṭoḍī (Plate XIV-C), Sāraṅga (Plate LXXXVIII-A).

(3) Blumhardt (Catalogue of the Hindī, Panjabi, and Hindus-

tāni Ms. in the British Museum, 1899, p. 61) mistook an adjective

describing the heroine, viz, obhirām as the author of the poem.

127

cribing Mālaśrī, Rāmkelī and Gunakelī. 'Lāla says: she is the rāginī of Malkous' ('Lāla kahai Mālakosaki rāginī,' P. XXXII). Other examples from this text (not containing the author's name) are quoted on plates descriptive of Bhairava (Plate III), of Gurjarī (Plate LXXII), of Pañcama :(Plate LXVIII), of Seta-malār (Plate LXX), of Vilāvala (Plate XXXVIII), of Dīpaka (Plate XLI), of Mālaśrī (Plate LIV), of Śrī-rāga (Plate LIII), of Nata (Plate XLIV). That Lāl Kavi's text won some amount of popularity with the illustrators is proved by the fact that his Kavittas are quoted in more than one series of miniatures. Thus, we find, they are quoted on another series of miniatures in the British Museum (Pers. Ms. Or. 8839, bequeathed by Baroness Zoucha and presented by Lord Curzon), late in style, and with oblong panels, flanked with square knob-decorations containing the text, one of which (with an illustration) is cited here (Plate XXIII). Indentity of the texts in the two series is further supported by the verses cited for Kakubha (Plate XXVII). The same text is also quoted in an analogous series, also late in style, in the British Museum (Pers. Ms. Or. No. 8838, presented by Lord Curzon, 13th October, 1917) of which an example, Megha-mallāra (f. 31) is cited here (Plate LXIV, C). Yet a third series appears to quote the same text, as will appear from a stray example, a Kedāra rāginī, cited here, from the author's collection (Plate CIII—H). As will appear from the last line of the illegible text, it contains the name of the poet.

As may be judged from examples cited on the above plates and the simple diction of the verses, free from obscurities, this series of Hindī texts remind one of the grace and beauty of the text of Harivallabha, with whom Lāl Kavi appears to have occasional correspondence in ideas and in words. Without a comparative study of the style and of philological and phonetic pecularities, it is difficult to say if the author of this rāga-mālā text is identical with the court poet of Bundela Rājā Chhatraśāl who espoused the cause of Aurangzib and fought against Dara Shuko at the battle of Dholpur (1658 A.D.).1 The style of the miniatures

(1) Lāl Kavi wrote a ballad on this battle in Kanauji dialect

128

of the rāga-mālā pictures (B.M. Add. 26550) is very clumsy and mechanical and cannot be earlier than the middle of the 19th century. Lāl Kavi’s text is of iconographic value as it helps to identify certain versions of rāginīs different from other pictorial patterns. The literary merit of his verses may be judged from a typical quatrain describing Bhairava rāga (Plate III) and the one describing Pañcama rāginī quoted on Plate LXXVIII.

Particular interest attaches to an incomplete series of six rāginī pictures in the British Museum (Add. 21934, Blumhardt, Catalogue, 95, p. 62). In the first place, these miniatures are signed by artists of whom we get the following names: Pañcama (the 4th rāginī of Vasanta rāg) by Sītaldās (Plates LXVIII, D); Gaurī (the 4th rāginī of Śrī-rāg) Girdhārī Lāl (Plates XXIII, A); Devagāndhārī (the 1st rāginī of Śrī-rāg) by Sītal Dās (Plates LXLI, D); Śrī-rāga (the 3rd rāga) by Bāhādur Singh (Plates LII, C); Hindola (the 5th rāga) by Bāhādur Singh (Plate XXXI, A); Megha-mallār (the 2nd rāga) by Sītal Dās (Plate LXLI, D); Śrī-rāga (the 3rd rāga) by Bāhādur Singh (Plate LII, C); Hindola (the 5th rāga) by Bāhādur Singh (Plate XXXI, A); Megha-mallār (the 2nd rāga) by the Sītal Dās (Plate LXV, B). The versions of these melodies as illustrated in these miniatures are peculiar conceptions different from their usual types, and they offer very valuable examples of these peculiar versions. In the second place, each of these six miniatures bears on the top in a rectangular space allotted for the purpose, a Hindī verse, descriptive of the rāginī, composed by a poet named Peāray Raṅgalāl, whose name is given in the last line. In the quatrain for Gaurī cited on Plate XXIII—A, he signs his name, simply, as ‘Raṅgalāl’. If he is the same poet as is noticed in Miśra-vandhu-vinode (p. 762) he lived about Samvat 1807 (1754 A.D.) and wrote his poems under the patronage of Surajmull Raja of Bharatpur.1 The style of the pictures which follows the

entitled: ‘Chhatraśāl kī ladāī’ (Blumhardt, Op. Cit, p. 35). He also wrote a poem describing the love of heroes and heroines (nāyikā) called “Viṣṇu-vilās”.

(1) Without a careful comparison of phonetic and stylistic peculiarities it is not possible to identify the protegé with Peāray Raṅgalāl, the author of this rāgamālā text.

17 129

manners of the late Moghul miniatures does not take us earlier than the nineteenth century. Probably these examples are copies of earlier versions. The illustrations were evidently painted to justify the peculiar versions indicated in the Hindī texts. The style of Peāray Raṅgalāl, in spite of the pretentious and long-winded rhythm of his verses, is somewhat heavy, artificial and turbid and lacks the grace and easy flow of the earlier rāga-mālā texts. We have no certain data as to the date of this text, unless we can identify him with Raja Surajmall's court-poet.

Vrajanāth: Two stray examples of rāginī miniatures, Gunakalī (Plate XXIV, C) and Deśākhī (Plate XXXV) in the Collection of Mr. P. S. Nahar, furnish two interesting quatrains, one of them bearing the name of the poet Vrajanāth. It is a name known to Hindī literature and he is probably the same poet as is cited in Miśra-vandhu vinode (Vol. II, p. 167). He was born in Samvat 1780 (1727 A.D.) and his literary activity dates from Samvat 1810 (1757 A.D.). He was the author of a treatise on Rāgamālā, from which apparently the verses quoted on the reverse of the two miniatures have been quoted. The Miśra brothers characterise him as a poet of average merit (sādhāran śrenī). To judge from the two coupais available to us, the poet appears to have been capable of giving vivid descriptions, in strong and effective diction, not entirely devoid of some charm and an easy flow.

A complete set of rāga-mālā text is cited on a complete series of pictures which, at one time, belonged to a dealer in Jaipur (here cited as 'Jaipur Private Collection'). This series (cited here in twelve examples: Plates II, VII, XII, XIII, LVI, LVII, LVIII, LXII, LXXV, LXXVI, LXXVII) of miniatures are not of much aesthetic merit, (though the treatment of the trees is quite distinctive), being apparently copies of better versions. But their interest lies in the fact that they have helped to fill up one or two gaps which occur in the available series of complete illustrations. As a rule, complete series of rāginī pictures are now almost impossible to obtain. This series (the present provenance of which is unknown) offers an illustration of Taṅka rāginī (Plate LXXVII) of which only one other illustration has been traced. The author of this text, who has composed the descriptions in modaka chanda, gives his name twice, once

in the copāi and once in the terminating dohā describing Deskārī rāginī (Plate LXXV, D): 'Paidā says: She is fond of pleasing her lover'; 'To be sung in the fourth hour, so says Paidā.' After giving a description of each melody, the poet indicates in the closing couplet, the note-structure of the melody and the appropriate time and season for its singing. The style of the poet is simple and devoid of flourish, or ornamentations. 'The quality of his verse may be judged from a typical copāi, describing Māru rāginī (Plate LVII). He seems to have been a mediocre versifier, not having found a place in anthologies and his name is not noticed by any compilers of Hindī poems.

An anonymous Hindī text, is quoted on a series of rāga-mālā pictures formerly in the Mouji Collection (Bombay) now dispersed. They were published, along with the miniatures, in a series of articles in a Gujerati Journal1 from which we cite here, two typical quotations, describing Dīpaka and Deśī:

"Mounted on an elephant, surrounded by a bevy of young damsels, with gaits of elephants, his complexion is rosy, his robes are scarlet, he carries garlands made of pearls. His dress is beautiful, his hair dishevelled, he sings in auspicious words like the bee in a grove, such is Dīpaka to be understood."2

"Dressed in blue, and of shining complexion, she is standing near her lord, carrying a fan, full of desire for dalliance. She is burneced by passion and has a voice like the cuckoo which captivates the heart of her beloved. Proud of her youth, and full of joy, she is called Deśī rāginī"3.

(1) "Suvarna-mālā," a quarterly journal, in English and Guzerati, edited and published by Pursuttom Visram Mouji, 1923-1926.

(2) "Sauhata gaja pīha parana āvirta gana (gaja)-kāmani Āruna tana lāla vasana māla mugatakī vanī| Vesa subhaga kesa khulita gāvata subha vāniyen Kunjana madhi guñja madhupa Dīpaka yaha jānīyen"||

(3) "Nila vasana gaura sutana sovata patipain (?) kharī Āmrana tana pāni añjana cāha ramanakī bhari| Rūpa rasika gāvana pika pritama manamohani Jovana mata rījhata cita Desi kahāta rāganī||" Suvarṇa-mālā Vol. I, No. 4, p. 32-33, 1924.

131

Anonymous text:

Rāg-kutū-hal by kavi Rādhā-krsna:

Both the text and the miniatures are late versions not ante-dating the middle of the nineteenth century.

To the third quarter of the eighteenth century belongs an interesting Hindī text which provides some very attractive verses for rāga-mālā illustrations. It is a short treatise called Rāga Kutūhala composed by a Gauḍa Brahmin of Jayanagar named Rādhā Krṣṇa (Kavi-Krṣṇa), under the patronage of Prince Bhīm Singh of Unviār-gad (Jaipur State).

(1781 A.D.). It gives a general survey of the theories of Hindu music and also describes the 'pictures' of the melodies ("Kahaun rīti saṅgīta kī, rāga-rūpa darasāi"). It survives so far as we can gather in a single manuscript,2 which has not yet been published. The rāga-mālā text of this poet has, however, been utilised and published by Bhānu-Kavi in his Kāvya-prabhākar. And we have quoted several verses from this text (Plates VII, X, XIII, XIX, XXV, XXVIII, XXX, XXXII, XXXIV, XXXVII, XXXIX, XLIII, XLIV, XLIX, LXII, LXIII, LXIV, LXVII, LXVIII, LXVI, and LXXVII) to indicate the high merit of these rāga-mālā verses. The composition of this text proves that the demand for rāga-mālā texts and pictures had continued unabated, at any rate, as late as the end of the eighteenth century. We have not, however, been able to trace any, miniatures which have utilised the excellent verses of Rādhā Krṣṇa. Whether they have offered materials for pictorial illustrations or not, the verses are very distinguished compositions of their kind and are marked by qualities of ideas, imageries, and dictions very rarely met with in the average level of rāga-mālā texts. We

(1) "Samvat guna sara vasu mahī mās anūp| Sudi pācai ravi-vara-yuta bhayou prantha sukha-rūp||"

(2) The work is described from a Ms. by Kunwar Brajendra Sinha of Dholpur in an article entitled "Rāg-Kutūhala", published in the Hindī Journal Sarasvatī, November 1933, pp. 425-26. I am indebted to the writer of the article for other informations connected with this text. He has cited from Rāg-Kutūhala six descriptive verses on the iconography of Bhairava, Mālkous, Des, Bhūpālī, Deśkārī, and Śyām. On comparison of these verses with the text borrowed in Kāvya-prabhākara, we find slight variations in readings which suggest that Bhānukavi had used some other Ms. of the text.

132

have, therefore, frequently quoted from this text for the

purpose of affording comparison with the earliest and the

latest poetical efforts on this topic, though the quotations

have been made under the erroneous assumption that they

are works of Bhānu Kavi, the author of Kāvya-prabhākar.

As typical examples of the qualities of his verses one may

particularly study the savaiyās on Todī (Plate XIX) and

Kakubha (Plate XXVIII) which are marked by remarkable

depth of feeling and also by considerable technical skill.

We quote here from the text of Rāg-Kutūhala two more

verses, not cited on the descriptions of the plates:

"Bhairava: On his matted locks the Ganges sparkle

and play; his large forehead is clasped by snakes; his three

eyes offer emancipation from all woes; and round his face

the earpendants dangle; his body, smeared with ashes, carries

ornaments provided by snakes; and his hands carry the tri-

dent, and the drum which he beats; it is the incomparable

picture of Sadā-Śiva (a gracious aspect of the God). The

melody of Bhairava shines as a great masterpiece (picture)."1

'Śyām: Her body shines with the beauty of clouds; she

has snatched away the picture of the figure of Kṛṣṇa (Ghana-

śyām). The glitter of her yellow robes is full of beauty;

she has decked her brow with specks of saffron. The damsel

dallies in sweet smiles which raise new desires in one's heart.

Such is the great melody Śyām, carrying a wreath of jewels

round her neck,—a captivating beauty,—as the incarnation

of Cupid.'2

(1) "Sisa jaṭā sira saṅga umaṅgati, bhāla visāla mayañka virāj|

[v.r. pīta jaṭā sira gaṅga umaṅgata (Kāvya-prabākara)]

Locana tini lasain dukha-mocana, ānama kānana kuṇḍala rājai|

Aṅga vibhūti dharai ahi-bhuṣana, sūla liye kara damarā

(v.r. bhairava) vājai

Rūpa anūpa Sadā-śiva-mūrati, Bhairava-rāga mahā chavi chaājai|

Rāg-kutūhala (Sarasvatī, Nov. 1933, p. 426).

(2) "Śyām: Tan śyām-ghaṭā abhirāma lasai,

Ghana-śyām ghaṭā-chavi chini lai.

Ati sobhita pīt dukūlani kī duti,

Kum-kuma-vindu lilāṭa dai|

133

If we judge by a comparison of the verse describing

Mālkous rāga as cited from Rāg-Kutūhala with the verse

cited by us from a Ms. of the text of Harivallabha (Plate

XIV: Hindī text: Harivallabha As. So. Ms.) we find that

Rādhākr̥ṣṇa has sometimes adopted the text of Hari-

vallabha. In the case of Mālkous, the verses are identical

except in the two concluding lines.1

A late text of Rāgamālā which we owe to an author

named Gangādhar, is a small treatise of 27 verses. It was

composed in Samvat 1855 Chait vadi 2 (April, 1798 A.D.).2

According to the system followed, the author accepts the

following major rāgas: Bhairava, Mālkous Hindola, Dipaka,

Śrī-rāga and Megha-rāga. The rāginīs are those given in

the scheme of Hanumān (Appendix 7). Each of the six

rāgas are described in a dohā followed by a savaiyā, while the

rāginīs are described in short and simple dohās. We cite

here four illustrative examples:-

“Now, the image of the melody Mālkous: Malkous wears

Mdu hāsa-vilāsa karai vanitā,

Ura main unagai abhilāa nai|

Vaha syām visāl garai mani-māl,

Manohara mūrati main-mai||”.Ibid, p. 426.

The above verse is not cited in Bhānu-Kavi’s Kāvya-prabhākar.

(1) “Mālkous: Tana jovana jora marorani soun

Rasa-vīra chakeo mana dhīra dharai|

Kara-mai karavāl liye chavi soun

Paa lāa pravālakī joti harai|

Rati koka-kalā paravina mahā

Drga dekhata rūp anūpa bharai

Yahi Mālai kos udata kiye

Aravindo-prasūna kī māla gai|| Ibid, p. 426.

(2) It has been printed as the second part of Rāga-ratnākar,

a collection of Hindī Hymns published by Khemraj Krsna Das in

the Vyankatesvara Press, Bombay 1893. In the colophon which

gives the date, the author states that with six rāgas and 30 rāginīs

they make up 36 melodies. But Miyā Tānsen has sung about 111

melodies’. The writer is indebted to Rai Bahadur Bishan Swarup

of the discovery of the treatise, and the name of the author, which

is not given in the work itself but is gleaned from a reference in

another work dated 1874.

a robe of blue, he holds a white staff in his hand. He wears on his shoulders a string of pearls, he is accompanied by a number of lady companions. Dressed in blue robe, his shining complexion puts to shame the prince of Kausaka(?) With garlands on his shoulders and a white staff in hand he is the very picture of the purity of the flavour of Love. He overpowers the heart of women, and by his beauty attracts the gaze of all. At early dawn he is up and seated. Hero and Lover, he is contemplating on his colourful exploits of love."1

"Now the image of Madhu-mādhavī: Golden in complexion, with eyes like lotuses, the damsel is of incomparable beauty. She is seated laughing with her beloved—such is the picture of Madhu-mādhavī."2 Now the image of Hindola-rāga: Hindola is robed in yellow, he is seated at the centre of the swing. The confidanté are swinging him with passion, singing and singing with smiles.

"Who has made this masterpiece of beauty, seated on the swing in a mood of passion, as it rocks to and fro? The ladies are swinging him, singing songs with gusto and without reserve. Their shining complexions enhanced by their yellow robes flash like lightening. All the young damsels indulge in the sport, carried away by hilarious mirth and passion."3

(1) "Atha Mālkous rāg-ko-svarup: Dohā: Mālkous nīle-vasan, sveta-chari liye hāth|| Mutiyanakī māla gare, sakala-sakhī-hai sāth|| 42 || Atha saviyā: Kausakako apanāno-bhalo tanu goura virājata hai pata-nīle|| Māla-gare kara sveta chari-rasa-prerna chakeyo chavi-chaila-chavile|| Kāminike mana-mohata hai sabhake mana bhāvata rūp rasilā|| Bhora bhaye uṭhi vaiṭhyo hī bhāvata nāgara nāyaka ranga rangile|| 43 ||

(2) Atha Madhumadhāvī-svarup: Dohā: Kāñcan-tanu-locana-kamala, nāgari-mahā-anūp! Piya-pai vaithi-hansata-hai, Madhu-mādhvī-svarup|| 40 ||

(3) "Atha-Hindola-rāga-svarup: Dohā: Pīta-vasan-Hindolake, haiju Hidole-mālī|| Sakhī-jhulaivai-cāvason, gāya-musakāhī|| 49 ||

135

Sangita

sara.

The Hindi authors we have discussed do not exhaust

all the poets and versifiers who have provided rāga-mālā

texts for the pictorial artists. We have only been able to

notice those who have been cited on rāg-mālā pictures.

The compilation of music data, offered by Maharaja

Sawai Pratap Sinha Deo of Jaipur (1779-1804) in his Hindi

work entitled Sangīta-sāra, gives the iconography as well as

the note structure of a large variety of rāgas. The icono-

graphical notes giving the image (svarūpa) are in prose,

and are mere paraphrases of well known Sanskrit texts as

will appear from the specimens cited below. The author

has cited several new rāgas of which, four quoted here, may

be found interesting.

"Now the picture (image) of Velāvalī is written: For

the purpose of meeting her beloved in the trysting-place, she

is putting on her jewels, (sitting) on the terrace; and she

is repeatedly recalling and invoking her favourite deity-

the god of love; her complexion is like the colour of blue

lotus. A rāginī visualised as above, one should recognize

as Velāvalī."1

"Now the picture (image) of Lankā-dahan is written.

His complexion is fair, he is dressed in a white robe, he is

turning a lotus in his hand, his eyes are large, his tresses are

long, he is an adept in the Art of Love, his body is soft, he

wears jewels on all his limbs, he carries a staff in his other

hand, he is contemplating in his heart on the God Siva, he

is associated with his friends. A rāga thus visualized should

be recognized as Lankā-dahan."

Sāvāiya: Kinhe-bānava mahā-chavi sundara bhavate vāithyo

hidolahi dolai: jhūla-jhulāvata ournihīm sava gāvata

hai sakhiyān-mukha-kholai: Gore jo gāta dipāta vari

dyuti dāminisi mānōu pita paṭolai: Keli karai avalā

ālevelī alola-svai-rasa kāma kilolai|| 50 ||

"Rāg-ratnākar, pp. 326-327.

(1) "Atha vilavalīko svarup likhyate|| Sanketamai piyake pās

jāyveko anganmai ābhūsan pahare hain! Or apano iṣṭa

deva jo.

Kāmdeva tāko bārambār smaran kare hai|| Nīle kamalako

so jāko

Sarīrako rang hai| aisi jo rāginī tāhi Vilāvali jāniye||

136

The melody is a hybrid rāga, composed of Devagiri, Kedār and Gārā.1

"Now, the picture (image) of Līlāvatī is written: her complexion is red, her eyes are like the petals of lotus, her gait is like that of a rutting elephant, her friend is Indra, she is dressed in variegated robes, she wears ropes of pearls, she carries a lotus, she is immersed in the flavour of love, she is of sixteen summers, she is accompanied by confidantés of the same age, her braid is strung with garlands of flowers, she is wearing a smile. A rāginī thus visualized should be recognized as Lilāvatī."2

This melody is a hybrid rāginī, composed of Jaita-Śrī, Lalit and Deskār.

"Now the picture (image) of Tārā-Dvani is written: her complexion is fair, she is dressed in yellow robe,

Sañgīta-Sār, Saptamo rāgādhyāya, Poona Edition, 1912, Part VII, p. 41.

This is an obvious paraphrase of the Sanskrit text, cited on Plate XXXIX.

(1) "Śiv-jī-nai rāgan-maison vibhāg kariveko apnain mukhason Devagiri kedāro, sankīrna Gāro gāike vāinko Lanka-dahan nāṃ kinou|| Atha Lankā-dhanko svarūp likh-yate!! Goro jīko ang hai| Svet vastra pahari hai| hāthson kamal phirave

hai| Vade jāko netra hai| Vade jāke kes hai| rati-kalāmai pravin hai| Kamal jāko ang hai| Sav angame soneke ābhūsaṅ pahare hai| dusare hāthmai chadi hai! manmai Śivko dhyān kare hai! Mitrankarike yukt hai| Eso jo rāg tānhi Lankādahan jāniye|| Ibid, p. 133.

(2) Śiv-jī-nai un rāgan-maiso vibhāg kariveko apanai mukhason Jaita-śri, Lalit, Sankirna Deśkār gaike vānho Lilāvatī nāṃ-kinou|| Atha Lilāvatīko 'svarūp likhyate|| 'Lāl jako ranga hai|| kamala patrose jāke netra hai| māta hātikisi cāl hai| Indra jāko mitra hai| rang-virange vastra pahare hai| motīṅkī māla garemai hai| hāthmai kamal hai| Śṛṅgār rasmai magna hai| Solā varaskī avasthā hai| apane saṅān sakhiṅ karike yukt hai| phūl-mālā sṅn guthi jāki venī hai| manda muskān karre hai| Esī jo rāganī tīnhi Lilāvatī jāniye||

Ibid. pp. 136-137.

besmeared with sandal paste, she has saffron spot on her forehead, her eyes are large, she has tied a pair of amulets on her head, she is contemplating on the God Śiva, she is attended by her confidantés, she wears a rope of pearls on her neck, and various jewels on all her limbs,—she is sporting in company with pea-cocks, she is generous and liberal. A rāga thus visualized should be recognized as Tārā-dvani''1

D i w a n L a c h i r ā m 's Buddhiprakāś Darśan.

A short treatise on Hindu Music, in Brajabhāsā verse by Diwan Lachiram, written in Gurumukhī characters survives in a manuscript2 bearing a colophon dated Samvat 1880 (A.D. 1823). The second chapter (prabhāva) describes the six rāgas and in the following chapter the rāginīs are described with some elaboration. The verses given in this text have not been traced on any rāginī miniatures.

Sangīta sudarśana.

A music-scholar3 has cited some verses from a Hindī treatise named Sangīta-Sudarśana composed by another theorist from the Punjab named Sudarsan-ācārya, who quotes the opinion of another named 'Svara-sāgara.' According to this text, Mālakous has five wives;—It has been said in the Svarā-Sāgara that this rāga (malkous) has the picture of an ascetic, it has Visnu as its presiding deity, and, therefore, it is a peaceful and spiritual melody, its principal

(1) Sivji-nai un rāgan-mai-son vibhāg kariveko apanai mukhasoṃ Suddha-mallār sankirna-Kedāra gāike vāṅko Tārā-dvani nāṃ kino|| Atha Tārā-dvaniko svarūp likhyate|| Goro jāko rang hai|| or pītamvarko pahare hai|| Candanko anga-rāg lagāye hai lilātmai kesarko tilak lagāyo hai| or vade netra hai| Vāranko judī māthe vandho hai| Siv-jiko dhyān kare hai| mitran karike saran hai| motinaki māla kanthamai pahare hai|| or say angannai ābhūsana pahare hai| moranke samuhamai vihār kare hai| param udār hai| Eso jo rāga tāṃhi Tārādvani jāniye|| Ibid, p. 176.

(2) Or. 2765, described in T. F. Blumbardt's Cutalogue of the Hindī, Panjabi, and Hindustani Manuscripts in the Library of the British Museum, 1899, p. 20(31).

(3) Mr. Brajendra Kisore Roy Chowdhury of Mymensingh, cites passages from this work in his articles in Bengali, "Mālkos-Paricaya," published in the Bengali Journal "Sangīta-Vijñāna-prakāśikā (Asvin, 1336, P. 411).

queen is Bhaṭāhāri."1 But the meagre quotation specifying

the names of the melodies according to an unknown school

of Ganapati, does not give us any idea as to the verses des-

criptive of the different melodies.

That the practice of Hindu music had not missed the

significance of emotive values and their related pictorial

illustrations and musical iconography is proved by the

interesting work in Hindi entitled Nād-vinod, by Gossain

Cunni Lalji published in Samvat 1953 (1896 A.D.). The

author cites the standard Sanskrit ślokas descriptive of the

rāgas and rāginīs and paraphrases the Sanskrit texts in

Hindi prose. He does not offer any independent rāga-mālā

texts. His descriptions are illustrated by quaint wood-cuts

giving pictorial versions of some of the melodies of which

some typical specimens have been cited on Plate CXV.

The latest poet who has bequeathed to us a dissertation

on Indian music in Hindi is a modern poet of great distinc-

tion who wrote voluminous verses on a variety of topics

under the pen-name of Bhānu Kavi, and which were collect-

ed and published under the title of Kāvyaprabhākar.2 This

volume treats of various conventions at topics, which it has

been the practice of old Hindi poets to write verses upon.

The topics are divided under 15 chapters (mayukhas), the

second chapter being devoted to music (Sangīta). As ex-

plained in the short preface to this chapter, the author's

materials are derived from older authorities and treatises

e.g. Mūlādhār, Rūga-ratnākar and others. Bhānu Kavi, has

thought fit to give us a short metrical treatise on music with

a complete rāga-mālā text for the current rāga-system. As

pointed out above, his verses describing the iconography of

(1) "Svara-sāgarme kahā hai ki yaha rāga sādhu-veś hai, iskā

Viṣṇu-devatā hai, ataev yaha śānta sātivk rāga hai iskī

Bhaṭha-hārī pāṭa-rānī hai|

Dohā: Bhatha hārī aru sarasvatī rūpa-manjarī vām!

Catura kadamvī pācavī rūpa-rasāla nām||

(2) This was printed and published in Samvat 1966 (1909) by

Ganga Vishnu Srikrshna Das, Lakhmi-Vyankateswar Press, Kalyan.

The Poet's real name is Jagannath Prasad. He received a good

education in English and served as a Deputy Collector at the time

of retirement.

139

rāgas (rāya-rūp) are borrowed from the text of Rādhā Krṣna's Rāga-Kutūhala, although he does not acknowledge the debt. When we quoted, on the descriptions of the plates, from the Kāvya-prabhākar the texts describing several rāgas, it was not known that Bhānu Kavi had drawn his materials bodily from the text of Rāg-Kutūhala.

It cannot be claimed that this modern poet, the latest contributor to rāga-mālā texts, wrote his verses to answer the demand of illustrators. For, the demand of rāga-mālā pictures had ceased by the middle of the 19th century. During the centuries, the practice of composing rāga-mālā verses had grown up, and poets accepted this subject as a conventional topic, worthy of poets. And Bhānu Kavi has only touched upon a topic hallowed by ancient poets, without the slightest hope of his verses being put to any practical pictorial uses.

The large body of rāga-mālā texts in Hindī, a fraction of which we have been able to consider here, came into existence in answer to a demand to popularise the currency of the melodies in accurate presentation of their distinctive emotive values, for, they have been used in intimate application to the pictorial illustrations, the pictures justifying the texts as much as the texts justified the pictures, both contributing to an accurate knowledge of the different emotional significances of the different, though sometimes, related melodies. As compared with the brief and miniature forms of the Sanskrit prototypes, the Hindī descriptive texts are not confined to essential iconographic lineaments of the images suggested in the Sanskrit prayer formulas (dhyāna-ślokas), but in their popular Hindī versions, these original musical images are each amplified and elaborated in an emotional situation, in an appropriate dramatic form which makes it easier to apprehend their inherent emotive concepts. This may be typically illustrated by comparing the Sanskrit dhyāna and the corresponding Hindī version of the Lalita rāginī (plate XXXVI) in the meagre Sanskrit texts, there is hardly room for anything but a suggestion that the lady, carrying a wreath as a memento of her dalliance over-night heaves heavy sighs ("viniśvasantī sahasā prabhāte"), when with the sun-rise her beloved walks out of the love-chamber to attend to the duties of the day. In

the Hindī version,–the germ of this idea is elaborated into a dramatic device--in which the forlorn lover left alone in her couch when the sun is up, is plunged in grief ("Ugata Bhānu cale navakīnta tāvai tiya dekhi viyogame bhīnhī"). Unable to detain her lover by any plausible excuse She tries to pick up a lover's quarrel, unreasonably taunting him with the false charge that he is going to another lover, whom he loves. And the poet, in order to elucidate the state of the feeling of the lovers parted at day-break, (the appropriate hour for singing the melody), introduces this clever dialogue with remarkable dramatic effect. All this elaboration is implied but not actually suggested in the Sanskrit text, and naturally grows out of the seeds imbedded in the essence of the emotional idea connotated by the melody of Lalita rāginī. Other examples of such happy dramatization of the essential emotive concept, in charmingly picturesque situations of profound feelings of diverse flavours and shades, are strewn over the numerous Hindī texts quoted on the Plates (in Volume II) which the reader may find out for himself.

While the Hindī versions helped to broadcast the message of Indian music and to a popular realization of the qualities of rāgas among an ever-growing circle of appreciation far beyond the narrow clique of learned experts, it was found that the meaning and significance of the rāgas were inaccessible to a large group of cultured men ignorant of the Hindī dialects. India has hardly seen more sincere and enthusiastic admirers of her music, than the enlightened princes of the Moghul dynasty whose patronage brought about very rich and significant developments in the art and the science of music. But the Moghul patrons took care to ascertain accurately the fundamental principles of Indian musical science, before proceeding to help towards its further growth and enrichment. And for this purpose, more than one authoritative treatises in Sanskrit were translated into Persian as the basis of a scientific investigation.1 The most typical effort on this line, was the translation of the Sanskrit and Hindī treatises into Persian. The Rāga-darpana, the

(1) The investigation has been going on since the days of 'Amir Khusrau (1296-1315 A.D.).

Persian texts.

Sangīta Darpana, Sangīta Pārijāta, and the Hindī treatise, Mān kutūhala were made available in Persian versions.¹ Led by Akbar, the grandeés of the Imperial Court, (Hindu as well as Mohamedan), became intelligent connoisseurs of Hindī Music, and developed an ardent curiosity to study music from all points of view. The popularity of the rāga-mālā pictures helped to stimulate and satisfy this curiosity, through pictorial and literary forms. The descriptions of the distinctive 'images' (tasvīrs) of the rāgas were demanded in Persian versions and musical interpreters learned in the two languages, were not wanting to answer the demand. Various illustrations of rāginīs had already been painted by Mussulman artists. A typical example is the Moghul version of Todī rāginī, wrongly attributed to Rizzā 'Abbāsi. Though the attribution is wrong, the example proves the popularity of rāginī pictures amongst Mussalman artists.²

The earliest attempts to indicate the nature and quality of the motive of rāgas in Persian versions appear to be represented by interpretive annotations written on rāga-mālā pictures of which some typical examples are borrowed here (Plate CXI, A.B. & C) from the Johnson Albums in the India Office. They appear to be quite early, if not the earliest specimens of their kind. The miniatures B & C (Plate CXI) appear to be earlier than A, and have the explanation in Persian crudely inscribed on the top and at the bottom beyond the borders which frame the pictures. The other examples, Śrī-rāga (Plate CXI-A) is of much more interest, as it provides the Persianized version of the Hindī original cited on Plate LII-C, which it copies somewhat crudely substituting an interpretation in Persian in place of the Hindi verses of Pearay Rangalāl. An early series of examples in the Government Art Gallery, Calcutta, are of high aesthetic merit, both in their lovely and native types of figures, and in

(1) The Mān-kutūhala was translated by Fakur Ullah; the Pārijāt was translated by Deena Nauth in 1724 A.S. (Vide Sir W. Ouseley 'Anecdotes of Indian Music,' The Oriental Collections, Vol. I).

(2) Coomarswamy Catalogue of Indian Collection, Boston Museum, Part VI, Moghul Paintings, Plate LXI, p. 71.

their deeply felt emotional contents. From this series, four

specimens have been borrowed in the second volume (Plates

XVI-C: ‘Toḍī’; LXI: Vasanta; LXIV-D: Megha-rāga, and

CXIV: Khamāic). On this series beyond the ornamental

border in yellow, certain Persian texts are inscribed indicat-

ing the name of the rāginī, and the rāga to which it belongs.

Strictly speaking, the texts are mere labels for identifications,

and do not suggest the atmosphere of the melodies, that have

no literary pretensions. These labels show the necessity of

Persian texts for a class of patrons of Hindu music who had

no knowledge of the Hindī language and to whom the Hindi

texts conveyed no information. These Persian labels esta-

blish a demand for Persian texts for which we have other

evidences.

The most important and authenticated evidence is pro-

vided by the unique Persian rāga-mālā album, three pages

from which are cited in Volume II (Plate LXXIII-B, Śyām

Gujarī, Plate CXII-A, Dīpak rāga, and B, Khokkar rāginī).

The album consists of 84 paintings together with descriptions

in excellent Persian verses, explaining the illustrations op-

posite to the text.1 The colophon, in prose, states that the

work was executed under the command of His Imperial

Majesty Muhammad Shah and completed at the city of Kabul

in the year 1150 Hejiera (1737 A.D.) and presented to the

Emperor. The demand for rāga-mālā pictures, appears to

have continued unabated to the middle of the 18th century,

and also very much later. If we study the text of the Persian

versions of the pictures of rāga-mālā, we find that though the

identity of the characteristics of each rāga is adhered to in

the interpretations, a good deal of the romantic atmosphere

and mystical significance inherent in Hindi love-poetry,

derived from the rasa-śāstra (the canons of erotics) have

evaporated in the Persian translation, though the illustrative

pictures still retain some of the glamour and naivetè of the

pictorial concepts. Śyām Gujarī (Plate LXXIII B) perhaps

carries the sweetest memory of the fragrance of the best

prototypes. The illustrations have no original merit in their

(1) Other pages from the album illustrating 4 rāginīs are

reproduced in Shāma’a vol. V, January 1935, p. 154, by Syed Hashmi

in an illustrated article: ‘Indian Ragamala in Persian.’

Persian

Ragmālā

Album.

style and conception and they can only be judged by the extent of the flavour of the original that they have been able to retain. The Persian verses visualizing Śyām-Gujarī appear to lend the appropriate atmosphere for the melody by calling attention to the enjoyment of nightingale, and to the image of the forlorn heroine, vowed to join her beloved, pouring her sorrows to the peacock, the very picture of intense longing. The version of Dīpak is perhaps less happy; but, the whole series of pictures in this album and the charming verses describing them stand for a very sincere and ardent attempt to get at the ideas behind the conception of Indian melodies.

R ā g m ā- lāī with Persian inscriptions. There can be no doubt that many such pictures must have been painted, and many more of such texts may have been rendered in Persian versions. For, we have, at least, one complete set of rāga-mālās with interpretations in Persian superscribed on the miniatures themselves. This is the admirable series in the Collection of the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay. Their pictorial patterns are adaptations, if not copies, of finer and earlier series in the India Office (Johnson Album, Vol. 43 and Vol. 37) with the descriptive texts, in Persian, superscribed on on rectangular panels at the top and at bottom. The correspondence in pictorial motifs and designs are evident from the juxtaposed examples (Plates CVI,-C and D: CVII-A, and B: CVIII-D and E: CX-C and D). On stylistic grounds, the series in the Prince of Wales Museum may be dated about the end of the 17th or the beginning of the 18th century; they, therefore, ante-date the album from Kabul discussed above. The descriptions inscribed on these series indicate the rāga to which each rāginī is assigned and also its appropriate time and season. This is followed by a somewhat bold recital of the details of the atmosphere related to the melody, but without any suggestion for the emotional background. The descriptions were put on more for the purpose of interpreting and enjoying the pictures for their own sake, rather than as graphic diagrams of musical concepts.

Later examples of rāga-mālā Pictures with Persian texts occassionally come to light. An incomplete series is in the collection of a dealer in Bombay from which we have borrowed an example on the plate on the opposite page.

144

rare illustration of Puhupa rāginī.

If the beauty of musical concepts levied its tribute from

the scholars and poets in Hindī and Persian languages, the

votaries of the Bengali language, followed suit. And we

have at least one metrical treatise which provides not only

a complete rāga-mālā text in Bengali, but also offers a general

survey of Indian musical literature and the main essentials

of the theory, expounded in simple payār (rhyming) verses

couched in the archaic language of the time, together with

specimens of songs illustrating the melodies.

This laudable effort we owe to the enterprise of a Ben-

gali music-theorist named Radha Mohon Sen who published

his treatise in the Bengali year 1225 (1881 A.D.). He gives

a summary of the different systems of rāgas according to the

School of Hanumāna, Bharata (Brahmā), Somesvara, and

Kallināth, and also cites the opinion of Tuph-e-tul Hind and

other Persian treatises. He devotes a section of his work to

the contemplative images of rāgas and rāginīs, which offer

descriptive word-pictures of the different melodies according

to the School of Hanumāna. Though not of much literary

merit, the verses in long strings of couplets fulfil their pur-

pose and convey to us the main outlines of the iconographic

peculiarity, and the emotive personalities of the melodies.

His verses, as a matter of fact, give us attractive physical

portraits of the personified melodies rather than any subjec-

tive musical values. As will appear from the citations of

representative verses from his work, they are based on San-

skrit texts, but are not accurate translation, but only free

rendering, sometimes with many omissions, of important

iconographic details and frequent additions of original

imageries.1 "Barārī: Barārī is the second rāginī (of Bhai-

rava), a young damsel, who makes the four quarters efful-

gent with her radiance. Her tresses are new clouds—her

robes are white: the flowers of the Wishing Tree are her

pendants for the ears. Her face is the Moon without the

marks (spots) of the deer. The 'beauty' has golden brace-

lets on her wrists. The breadth of her waist is very narrow

her navel is deep like a lake, and her breasts are firm. The

(1) The original Sanskrit text (Plate. XI) has 'deodāra'

flowers (Sura-vrkṣa puṣpam) instead of Kalpa-druma' flowers.

Rāgmālā

Text in

Bengali.

fragrance of her body is fascinating: the blind bees mistake

it as that of lotuses.1 In a pleasant mood she smiles and

indulges in pleasantries with her beloved. The damsel

shines as a full-toned melody, the string of notes being Sa,

-ri, -ga, ma, -pa, -dha, ni: Her home is in the note 'Sa' she

should be sung at the end of the day."2

"Madha-mādh (Madhya-mādi): Madha-mādh is incom-

parable in beauty; her complexion is gold, her robes are

yellow. Her frisky eyes are emphasized with pasted colly-

rium, a wag-tail seems to dance on a golden lotus. A pearl-

top at the end of her nose,—resembling a dew-drop on a

flower of seasame. Her body is radiant with the paste of

saffron, she is a damsel from the family of septa-tonic melo-

dies. She adores her lord like cupid and gives him kisses

and embraces. The quarter of her abode is the note ma-

dhyama (F) the succession of the notes are ma-pa-dha-ni-

sa-ri-ga. Suitable for the six seasons beginning with the

autumn, she is to be sung in the morning."3

(1) The Bengali version misses the fly-whisk (cāmara), an

important iconographic detail.

(2) "Barārī| Barārī dvitīyā rāginī-vālā| Rūpe daśa dig kare

ujjālā||

Keśa navaghana sveta vasan| Kalpa-druma-puṣpa karṇa-

bhūṣan||

Mrga-cikhna-bhinna vadana-śaśi| Kanaka-kankana kare

rūpasī||

Mājār valani parama-kṣiṇa| Nābhi-sarovara kuca-kāṭhin||

Amodita kare angera gandha| Kamala-bharame bhramar

āndha||

Mṛdu mṛdu hāsi hariṣa mane| Rasa-ālāpana nāyaka sane||

Jāti sampūrṇane vihare dhani| Surāvali sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-

ni|| Kharaja surete grha-vidhān| Divaser śese karive gān||2||

Radha Mohan Sen: "Sangīt Taranga", Bangabasi Edition,

1310, pp. 136-7.

(3) The Sanskrit text cited on Plate VII may be compared with

this version.

"Madha-mādha| Madha-mādha-rūpe nāhi tulanā| Kanaka-

varanī pīta-vasanā||

Cancala nayane dalitānjana| Svarṇa-padme yena nīce

ṭhanjana||

"Sindhuvī (Saindhavī): She was in expectation of her lord, Sindhuvī, has given up that hope. The appointed hour has gone by, still the beloved has not come. This has led to deep resentment; she assumed the robes of an ascetic. Having cast aside her scarlet robes she has assumed russet ones (proper to ascetics). Casting aside jewelleries she has be-decked herself with strings of rosaries (rudrākṣa: Śiva's rosary) and crystals. She abjured the fragrance of aguru (scented wood and saffrons, and besmeared all her body with ashes. Making pendants from Vāndhuka flowers, she wore them on her ears. Taking a trident, and the counting-beads in her hands, Sindhuvī is worshipping Śankara (Śiva). A septatonic melody having its abode in the note 'sa', the succession of notes being sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni. Proper for the six seasons, beginning with autumn, you should sing it at the end of the day."1

Todī: The damsel Todī, beloved of Mālkauṣa has a complexion of yellow: with saffron and camphor on her body,

Nāsāgre mukuta-tīr tulanā| Til-phule yena sisira-kanā

Keśara-carcite tanūra bhāti| Sampūrana-kule avalā jāti||

Patike rati-pati samādare| Cumva alingana-pradāna kare||

Madhyama haila ghera diga| Srenī-mata-ma-pa-dha-ni-sa-ri-ga||

Śāradadi sada-rtu-vidhān| Prabhāta kālin karive gūn|| 3 ||

Ibid, p. 137.

(1) "Sindhuvī! Pati āśivār āśyāya chila| Sindhuvī se āśā nairacse dila||

Sanketa-samaya gata haila| Tatrāpi nāyaka nāhi āila||

Tāte mān guru bhāva dharile| Yoginir mata veśa karila||

Lohita vasana dūre tyājila| Geruyā vasana āni parila||

Rudrākṣa sphatika gāthiya thare| Tyājiyā bhūṣana bhūṣana kare||

Aguru candana keśara rākhe| Sakala śarīre vibhūti mākhe||

Kundala kariyā vandhuka phule| Parila sundarī śrutira mūle||

Triśūla jāpya mālā kare kare| Pūjen Sindhuvī deva śankare||

Sampūrana grhe kharaja gani| Sura śreni sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni||

Śāradādi sadā ṛtu-vidhān| Divasera śeṣe karive gān"|| 4 ||

Ibid, pp. 137-8.

Compare the Sanskrit text cited on Plate XIII.

and dressed in white robe. Her developed breasts are firm,

her waist is thin. Her navel is deep, she has the shine of

gold. Her tresses are strings of clouds, her face is the full-

moon, in which dance her eyes like those of a fawn and in

which shine her teeth like a row of pearls. She wears be-

jewelled ornaments, of incomparable beauty. Venus says

to Cupid—‘Be sure do not forget me, if you please.’ Her

patterned beauty, lights up the four quarters: she plays on

a vīnā, reposíng in a meadow. The strings of the vīnā, shine

like the rays of effulgence, discoursing melodious music

with the sweet fifth note (G). She practises the form of

the melody in her improvization, by hearing the melody,

birds and animals are moved to tears. Absorbed in the

song, the fawns dance before her, without fear. The melody

of Toḍī belongs to the Septa-tonic variety, and its structure

is made up of the notes sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni. In the abode

of the note Sa(C) it is counted with the winter season, its

songs are sung after the first quarter of the day.1

“Dīpak: The eyes of the Sun are hot and severe, and

there was Dīpak born. His robes are scarlet, and strings

of large pearls grace his neck. He rides on a rutting ele-

phant, with young lads and lassies, some on the right, some

on the left, some hanging on him. His beloved indulge in

pleasantríes, and in this manner he roams frequently. I

count it amongst the septa-tonic class, the string of notes

being—sā-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni. The season is the spring, the

(1) “Toḍī| Mālkauśa-priyā Toḍī vālā pīta varaṇā|

Keśarā karpūra ange sveta-vastra paraṇā||

Kuca pīn su-kathin, madhya kśin valanā|

nābhi-kūp sarovar, svarṇa-kānti lalanā||”

Kādamvinī keśa-pāś, pūrṇa-candra-vadanā|

Tāhāte kuraṇga cakśu, muktā-pangti-radanā||

Manimaya ābharaṇ nāhi tār tulanā|

Rati vale anaṅgere,—dekho yena bhulanā||

Daś dig alo kare hena rūp śajanā|

prāntare vasiyā kare vīnā-yantra vījānā||

Vīnār samūha tantra dipti-rūpe mājanā|

Madhur pañcama svare rāg bhāg bhāinjanā||

Ālāp-cārīr vole rāg-rūp-sādhanā|

148

note 'Sa'(c) is the starting and prevailing note, the rule is to sing it at noon.'1

"Megh: The melody Megh is the son of the heaven, or, born of the hills, according to another view. His complexion surpasses the shade of new clouds, he binds a turban round his matted locks, in beauty, he looks like the god—'who vanquishes Cupid'(Viṣṇu). He flashes a keen-edged sword in his hand, he is the jewel on the head of the youthful. His words are strung with the honey of nectar, starting with the note 'dhaivata'(A). A penta-tonic melody made of the notes dha-ni-sa-ri-gā. It is assigned to the months of rain, to be sung during the end of the night.'2

Rāg śuni paśu pakṣi save kare kāndanā||

Gān śuni kuranginigāṇ hayā maganā|

Sammukhe kariche nrtya, nāhi bhīti-cetanā||

Ṭoḍi-rāginir jāti sampūrane ghaṭanā|

Sā-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni-te rāginir gaḍhanā||

Kharajer gṛha śilīrādi rtu-gananā|

Divā prathama prahara pare gān-racanā|| 6 ||"

Ibid, p. 140-141.

Compare the texts cited on Plates XV to XIX.

(1) "Dīpak| Ravira nayane prabhara dr̥ṣṭi| Tathāy Dīpak haila sr̥ṣṭi||

Lohita-varṇa vasana tār| Galāy gaja-mukutār hār||

Ārohaṇa mattavara mātangal samūha taruṇa-tarunī saṅgel|

Keha vāme vasi, dakṣiṇe keha| Keha vā āśraya kariyā dehal|

Rasa-ālāpana kare pramadā| Erūpe bhramaṇa karena sodā||

Jāti sampūrṇa bhāvete gaṇi| Surāvali sā-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni||

Griṣma-rtu griha kharāja sthān| Madhyāhṇa samaye gān vidhān||"

Ibid, p. 150-51.

(2) "Megh| Megh rāga gagana-tanay| matāntare paruvvat haite janma hay||

Nava-megh jiniyā varṇa.| Jatā-jūṭa jadāiyā uṣṇīṣa vandhan||

Rūpe yena madana-mohan| Kharatara karavāla karate dhāraṇ||

Yuvaka-gaṇera śiromaṇi| Vākya-śreṇi hena-yena sudhār gāthani||

Karilena dhaivāte utthān| Dha-ni-sā-ri-ga pramāṇe oḍote nirmadiṇ||

Enough quotations have been given from the work of Rādhā Mohan Sen, to convey the nature and quality of the rāga-mālā texts composed in Bengali rhyming metre (payār) prevalent at the time. He adds many piquant accessories and details which make his portraits of the rāginīs shine out in rich, vivid, attractive, and sensuous colours. No rāga-mālā paintings appear to have been painted in Bengal,1 so that the text of Rādhā Mohan Sen have had no other uses excepting conveying to practising musicians in Bengal, ignorant of Sanskrit, the systems of the classification of the melodies, and their individual characteristics in pictorial as well as in musical form. “Sangīta-Taranga” appears to have acquired sufficient authority and the author of “Rāga-Kalpa-druma” pays it a compliment by quoting passages from this Bengali work in his anthology.

Varasādirtute vidhān| Rajanīra sesa-bhāge karivek gān||” Ibid, p. 161.

(1) Excepting, of course, the illustrations appearing in the edition of Harivallabh's Ms. in the Nahar Collection which was executed in Murshidabad. [Plates XX, XLII, LXVI, etc.].

PICTORIAL MOTIFS

That rāga-mālā pictures have been painted, (in different parts of Northern India), whether in relation to specific Hindī texts, or independently, throughout the centuries right up to the nineteenth, is amply borne out by the large number of surviving miniatures. The demand for these specimens of “visualized music” must have been continuous, and wide-spread, and, in order to meet the demand, skeleton drawings (khālkās, pricked drawings), and other outline sketches from the patterns designed by gifted artists were used by lesser artists who found it profitable to meet the popular demand. An interesting series of skeleton drawings (not pricked outlines), from the Tagore Collection are collected on Plate CXIII and other examples are cited on other plates for purposes of comparison (Plates I-A, XIII-B). On the drawings in the Tagore collection are inscribed in Hindī and Persian, the names of the rāginīs, with indications and suggestions for the colour schemes. They must have been the basis of finished miniatures, although no finished specimen corresponding to these particular designs, has yet been traced. The most interesting of these series is the one representing Hāṃvirī (Plate LXLVIII-C) which has helped to identify the well-known miniatures (Plate LXLVIII, A and B), not, hitherto, recognized as illustrations of the rāginī. The drawing for Bhairo (Plate I, A), also helps us to identify an analogous drawing (Boston Museum, CCXI, No. 17.2822) as an illustration of the melody. The example in the author’s collection (Plate XIII-B) is perhaps the finest specimen, both in its elaborate pattern and impressive setting.

Materials are not adequate for a demonstration of the processes by which familiar scenes and experiences in life were adopted and developed and utilized into patterns and designs for visualizing the Indian melodies. But one, or two suggestions may be made how characteristic scenes and themes may have been worked out and idealized into

Sources of

Pictorial

Motifs.

151:

a pattern for a rāginī picture. The three examples of Kānadā rāginī cited on Plate L, seem to indicate the three stages in which, a hunting melody, originally used by attendant Shikāris (hunters) helping a Prince in his elephant-hunts, later developed into the rich but plaintive strain of the melody now recognized under the name of Kānadā. Possibly, when the prince killed an elephant, the attendants stood up to salute the hunter and broke into congratulatory cheers, in some crude minstrel-songs (cāranagītis), in which the plaintive groans of the dying animal mingled its deeply moving notes of sorrow, which perhaps still linger in its refined, finished, and developed structure, now known to us. In the final 'picture' that it evolved, it obliterated all traces of its origin, and in this developed picture (Plate L-A) it is interpreted as a song of inspiration to Kṛṣṇa (Kānar= Kāṇorā) as He starts to ride out from His palace to kill the demon gajā̄sura.1 The sources of the pictorial motifs have been forgotten, defaced, or obliterated in most cases. But we shall endeavour to indicate the origins of the motif woven into the theme of the Toḍī rāginī. Possibly, the melody came originally from the peasants' field. Very probably, it was a melody sung by the wife, or daughter of the peasant who watched the paddy fields, (as they still do today, from sunrise to sunset, perched on a bamboo frame), chiding away the deer, and other animals which strayed into the fields, in groups, to eat up the standing crop, before it was ready to be shorn. Perhaps, the farmer's daughter, weaned away the encroaching depredator, by the music of her primitive lute, which attracted the deer, and kept them away from mischief. Some such picture, is called up by many stray passages in ancient poetical literature. We seem to have vivid pen-pictures of deer dropping the food they were chewing in the crop-fields in their depredatory raids, under the enchanting strains of music. Thus in Śrī-Harṣ's "Nāgānandam," in the dialogue of Ātreya and Jimūtavāhana

(1) Like Hercules, Kṛṣṇa is credited with a series of brave and adventurous deeds of valour and heroism, one of which is the vanquishing of a demon in elephant's form (gajā̄sura). Another of the exploits of Kṛṣṇa is worked into the theme of Sāraṅga-rāga (Plate LXL).

152

(Act 1), this appears to be the identical picture suggested: "Ātreya: 'Even the deer prick up their ears, and listen to the strain with their eyes closed, while from their mouth falls the half-chewed grass.'"1 That the depredatory deer were attracted by the songs, or the music of the dames who kept watch over the paddy fields, is suggested by a passage in Subandhu's Vāsavadattā: "With herds of deer delighted by the songs of happy female guardians of the rice."2 This seems to be graphically pictured in the miniature (Plate XV-C), where we find the graceful guardian of the paddy-field, attracting the herds by her music, and alluring them away from the young shoots of paddy which will yet take a long time to mature. The partiality of the deer for music, was an old recognized piece of zoological knowledge, and very soon passed into poetic conventions, of which several applications are met with in Sanskrit literature. Thus in Vāsavadattā, we read: "With herds of deer delighted by the notes of songs of kinnarīs (satyrs) close by."3 Other examples of the convention occur in the Kathā-Sarit-Sāgara4 and in two passages in Hemachandra's Pariśista parvan:5

(1) Nāgānandam translated by B. H. Wortham, London, p. 28.

(2) Vāsavadattā (Gray's Translation, Columbia University, 1913), p. 135-36, Text (at p. 192, line 8) "Hṛsta-kalama-gopikā-gīta-sukhita-mṛga-yuthe." On this passage, the commentator Sīvarām (Hall's edition, p. 288) glosses 'kalama-gopikā' as 'Sāli-samrakṣikā', that is, 'guardians of the paddy fields'.

(3) Gray's translation, p. 126. Text (at page 187, line 9): "Samāsanna-kinnarī-gīta (Śravaṇa-ramaṇa) ruru-visareṇa." [266].

(4) In the anecdote of Harivara and Anaṅgaprabhā (Penzer's Edition, Vol. IV, p. 152). Text: "Sa tena gīta-śavdena truteṇa harino yathā| Ākrṣto bhyapatat tatratra rathamunmucya kevalam||" 197.

(5) "Pātalīputra-nagare yatra yatra jajou sa tu| Tatra tatra yayuḥ pourāḥ gītakṛstāḥ 'kuraṅgavat||' 39 (Bib. Indica, Edition, IX, 39). "Rājāpi tasyāstdṛkṣa-niḥ kṣobhatvena viṣmitaḥ| Utkarṇo' bhut katham śrotum gītim mṛga iṣvacakaiḥ|| 194 Ibid, III, 194.

"Wherever Kunāla went, the citizens of Pātalīputra followed like deer attracted by music." "They pricked up their ears to hear his words, like dear anxious to listen to music." These poetic conventions have also their practical application in the methods employed to capture gazelles which is described by Alberuni: "I myself have witnessed that in hunting gazelles they had caught them with the hand. One Hindu even went so far as to assert that he, without catching gazelles, would drive it before him and lead it straight into the kitchen. This however, rests, as I believe I have found out, simply on the device of slowly and constantly accustoming the animals to one and the same melody. Our people, too, practise the same when hunting the ibex, which is more wild than even the gazelle. When they see the animals resting, they begin to walk-round them in a circle, singing one and the same melody so long until the animals are accustomed to it. Then they make the circle more and more narrow, till at last they come near enough to shoot at the animals which lie there in the perfect rest."1

This practice of hunting deer by the lure of music is recorded in a picturesque Hindī verse, in the form of the deer's wail in which the animal hungry for the music expresses itself ready to sacrifice its body in lieu of the prize of a musical treat: "When a single leaf rustles, I fly to the island of Ceylon; (but having heard the notes of your flute, I have offered to you my head as a present; you can sell my horns and turn them into coins, and roast my meat to eat, take my skin to make into rugs, but O! do please treat me to the music of your flute!"2

Sometimes old legends and folk-stories have been adopted and worked into the themes of rāga-mālā pictures. Thus, an old snake legend has provided the theme for the Āhirī rāginī."3

(1) E. Sachau, "Alberuni's India," London, 1910, p. 195.

(2) "Ek patra yav khadkhadāye, ham bhāge simhal ka dvīp| Suṅke terā venusvara merā fir diyā valcīs|| Sing necke kouḍi karanā mās payāyke khāo| Cāmdā leke āsan kijiye venukā svar sunāo"||

(3) Coomaraswamy, Catalogue of Boston Museum, Rajput

The practice of visualising musical compositions in pictorial forms is no more confined to India. During the last few years a few European artists have made attempts to set down famous master-pieces of music into visualized pictures. The "Twenty-four Preludes" of Chopin have received pictorial interpretations by Robert Spies, an English artist.1 A few years earlier, Miss Pamela Colman Smith exhibited in London, a series of pictorial drawings, interpreting famous musical pieces, which included Panderwski's "Chant du Voyage", Chopin's "Prelude No. 4", César Franck's "Symphony", Schumann's "Kinder-scenen" and Debussy's "Granada", and other pieces.2 Yet, another series of illustrations of musical master-pieces were exhibited by Miss Juliet Williams at the Aeolian Hall in 1926, which included visualized versions of Bach's 'Concerto in E', Chopin's "Berceuse", Debussy's "L'Après-midi d'un Faune", and Borodin's "Unfinished Symphony."3

Dr. Bake has cited the Latin verse composed by Monk Adam of Fulda (15th century) descriptive of the character of different musical modes. "There are even images of the different modes with inscriptions that run: "This mode is the first as far as the singing of songs full of melody is concerned. That which follows is the second in rank and importance. The third portrays the suffering and glorification of Christ. Then follows the fourth mode; its chants portray sorrow." The statuettes represent female figures in different attitudes and of different expressions. Consequently, it is

Painting, Part V, p. 99; Journal, Punjab Historial Society, IV, 2, 1916, p. 118.

(1) His illustrations were published, with accompaniment of poems by Laura Vulda, in French and English versions in the monthly journal, now defunct, called "Kosmos," Calcutta, 1916, Second year, No. 18.

(2) Her pictures were described by the Hon. Mrs. Forbes-Sempill in an article published in the Illustrated London News, 1927. See also the article 'Seeing sound' in the Statesman, Calcutta, 6th March, 1927.

(3) A selection from her pictures are reproduced in the Sketch, London, November 10, 1926, at page 278.

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only the later development which has estranged us from the basic idea, and makes us stare at the idea of portrayed rāgas and rāginīs in Indian Art. The classical Indian system at its height presents the beautiful spectacle of something absolutely perfect."1

(1) Dr. A. A. Bake: "Different Aspects of Indian Music," Indian Art and Letters New series, Vol. VIII, No. 1, 1st issue for 1934, pp. 68-69.

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CRITICISM

The function that the Indian melodies, as rāgas, have been made to play, namely, of spelling out in the language of symphonic formulas definitive rasas, capable of evoking a variety of human emotions has yet to be investigated with reference to the nature of the psychology of musical expression. So much mystery has hovered round the phenomenon of musical expression itself, that until recently no clear conception of the nature of musical utterance has been possible. Great lovers of music have helped to intensify rather than elucidate the mystery. Definitions of music such as that of Cardinal Newman, as "the out-pouring of eternal harmony in the medium of created sound", or of Carlyle, who called "music a kind of inarticulate, unfathomable speech leading us to the edge of the infinite", or that of Lafcadio Hearn—who characterized music as "a psychical storm, agitating to unimaginable depths the mystery of the past within us", can only be regarded as emotional effusions, rather than as scientific enunciations of the nature of musical expression. Even the attempts of expert musicians have not been helpful in unravelling the mystery of the riddle. The technical experts, long persisted in the psychological fallacy, that music had nothing to do with the ordinary emotions of life, but were concerned with emotions peculiar to music itself—i.e. purely musical emotions. According to this view, supported by psychologists like Dr. W. Brown1 and M. Combarieu, music is a unique kind of thought and musical concept which connotes sensations unattainable in the other medium. Says M. Combarieu: "La musique est l'art de penser avec des sons sans concepts." ['Music is an art of thinking in sounds without concepts.']

(1) Dr. W. Brown: "Music expresses an emotional life peculiar to itself. The emotions expressed are not the emotions of everyday life, nor are they even idealised forms of these emotions." The Quest, 1912.

terms of sound without concepts']. The logical implication of this view is that music, unlike painting and sculpture and, like architecture, is incapable of rendering, or expressing a theme, a subject, or a topic. It is one thing to say that music is a language, having laws and logic of its own, and it is quite another, to suggest that music can only deal with matters peculiar to the Kingdom of Sound and is unable to utter, express, or deal with subjects of human emotion, or other thematic materials. According to this doctrine, music is a Non-representative Art,—an Art of production of certain dynamic shades, tempos, phrasings, tone colours—blended into a design of orchestration—having a significance other than that of intellectual, or emotional values. If it arouses any emotion,—the same is not akin to anything that can be imitated, or verbally described. To put it in the language of plastics, music is decorative rather than illustrative. Its patterns have dynamic rather than thematic motifs. There is a certain amount of truth in the doctrines indicated above. It insists, somewhat unduly, on the quality of music as "pure art values"—something akin to 'abstract aesthetic qualities' aimed by exponents of modern paintings in attempting to release the art of painting from the tyranny of subject-matter. The exponents of the modern movements in paintings' have demonstrated that it is possible—to produce 'pictures' of great aesthetic significance, without recourse to any subject, theme, or anecdote. A picture need not tell any story, or represent any imitation, or description of nature. 'Absolute painting' though they represent nothing,—evokes a disinterested aesthetic sensation,—due to a happy perception and contemplation of special relations, dimensions, proportions, accents, colour values and rhythm inherent in the quality of the design, claiming to attain the condition of music. But this demonstration of the quality of non-representative painting, does not invalidate the capacity of the painter's craft to represent, delineate, or imitate nature, or to render themes of human or emotional significance. And if music possesses, as it indeed does, in a large measure, the power of creating forms of 'pure aesthetic values',—it is not incapable of rendering and expressing concepts evocative of human emotions. Indeed, a school of psychologists, supporting the ordinary popular view, has strenuously empha-

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sized on this function of music and some have gone to the length of declaring that music possesses an emotional power greater than that of speech itself and the expression of human emotion is its essential mission and glory. There is little doubt that music "can suggest and stimulate feelings akin to those produced by the vicissitudes of real life, and it can interest, fascinate, delight, or weary and displease, by what we can only call the purely musical quality of its sound patterns" (Vernon Lee). Musical experience has indeed proved to us that certain musical patterns, can well induce reveries peopled with a whole phantasmagoria of tender, weird, or alarming shapes,—reminiscences which one loves to recall, or shrink from recalling,—longings too unbounded to be called hopes--a submerged world of baffled endeavours, undirected passions, romances lived only in fancy. These take form again and again and become embodied in sound, emerging from the caverns of the mind where they have been biding their time of summons into the light of recognition. This phenomena of the evocation of human passions, sentiments and feelings (rasas in term of Indian aesthetics) is explained by psychologists by the theory of 'emotional memory'. As enunciated by M. Ribot, this doctrine claims that emotional states divested of all their accompanying circumstances can leave behind them a memory of themselves. Feelings of love, fear, disappointment, anger, elation, disentangled and disassociated from its cause on the various occasions on which such feelings were experienced, attain an abstract emotional state, or form—which musical patterns can arouse and through them, by means of association "a kind of emotional reverberation," call up in each hearer his own particular images and ideas which once formed the settings of such emotional states when originally experienced by each individual.

The patterns of Indian musical melodies claim to answer somewhat to these emotional abstract states or generalized forms of emotions visualized in dramatic forms with approximate "accompanying circumstances." The melody Ṭoḍī Rāginī [Plates XV-XX] is the emotional symbol of the "feeling of the country side." The human response to the call of nature is embodied in the image of Ṭoḍī, the Indian pastoral symphony par excellence. The melody of the early

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morning—Lalita, [Plate XXXVI] symbolises on the one hand,—the break of the night and the day, and on the other hand,—the separation of the lovers with all its pangs and sufferings told in all the poignancy of the dramatic situation. Here the, 'emotion' as well as its dramatic 'setting' or 'circumstance' or both indicated. In the version of Lalita [Plate XXXVII]—in which the offending lover returns at day-break after spending the night with a rival—the sorrows of love are given in an altogether different 'circumstance', or 'setting'. Vibhāsa [Plate LXXXV], another of the early morning melodies,—pictures pangs of separation—in an analogous, though a somewhat different environment. The cockcrow is the sworn enemy of all love-carousals—and the melody is symbolised in the picture of a lover attempting to shoot the early cock with his bow and arrow. In a version of Lalitā [Plate XXXVII-D] —the feeling of the satiety of love (rati-trpti) is pictured in the symbol of a beautiful lady who has come out of her love-chamber early in the morning accepting the advent of the dawn as a logical termination of a chapter of love. Rāmakelī [Plate XXXII],—the melody of resentment, claims to concentrate within the orchestration of its peculiar notes—the emotion of an offended lady vainly assauged by her lover. Vasanta [Plate LX] in the dancing rhythm of its symphonic form, suggests the emotion of human-beings on the advent of the new spring. Likewise, —the manly and sonorous symphony of the Megha rāga [Plate LXV]—pictures the majesty of clouds—and the inevitable longings for love-union—that the rainy season invokes. Kānodā [Plate LI]—pictured in the image of a young lady—standing at the foot of the Aśoka tree—lean as a golden creeper and drenched in tears—is the lamentation of a heroine cut off from her lover by cruel fate. On the other hand, Bhūpālī [Plate LXXVI]—the evening melody,—is the silent joy of the lover as she meets her beloved at the door by her bed-chamber—with her present of flower-garland which she has been weaving for him during the long hours of the separation. In a version of Kāmoda, [Plate XLVIII] the melody suggests the rapture of love-dalliance symbolised in a pair of lovers, who on the pretext of picking lotuses, have selected the loneliest spot by the lotus-pond. And if in some of the morning melodies, pas-

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sion and the sorrows of separation, receive undue emphasis, this is amply compensated by the conception of Bhairavī [Plate IV],—likewise a morning melody, which,—symbolized in the person of Pārvatî,—worshipping the image of Śiva—in a crystal temple, glorifies the unsullied purity of Love without Desire, and Passion purified by Renunciation. Such are some of the radiant images which flit across the vision of Indian musical imagination. Though rendered in obviously sensuous forms,—they transcend our sense-experience and transport us to a region of super-sensual ecstasy —an atmosphere of sublimated and spiritual emotion.

LIST OF MUSICAL TEXTS

In Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian and Bengali

(Items not otherwise indicated represent Sanskrit Texts).

[This list does not pretend to be anything like a complete Bibliography of Indian Musical texts. It represents texts actually utilised in collecting data put forward in this work].

Date.

Dattila-muni (mentioned by Bharata, 1-26): DATTILAM .. .. .. Circa 2nd century A.D.

Bharata: NĀTYA-SĀSTRA, (Chapters 28, 29, 38) .. .. .. Circa 4th century A.D.

Nārada: NĀRADIYĀ-ŚIKṢĀ CH. II .. Circa 5th century A.D.

Matañga-muni: BRHAD-DEŚI .. Circa 5th to 7th century A.D.

KUDUMIYAMĀLAI INSCRIPTION (PUDUKKOTTAI) .. .. Circa 7th century A.D.

Nārada: SAṄGITA-MAKARANDA .. Circa 7th to 9th century A.D.

RĀGA-SĀGARA (attributed to Nārada and Dattila) .. .. .. Circa 8th century A.D.

Mammata: SAṄGITA-RATNA-MĀLĀ Circa 9th to 13th century A.D.

NĀTYA-LOCANA .. .. .. Circa 9th century A.D.

Nānya-deva (1197-1133): SARASVATĪ-HṚDAYĀLAMKĀRA .. .. Circa 1100 A.D.

Abhinava Gupta: ABHINAVA-BHĀ-RATI .. .. Circa 1030 A.D.

Someśvara deva: MĀNASOLLĀSA or ABHILĀṢĀRTHA CINTĀMAṆI .. Circa 1131 A.D.

Śārangadeva: SAṄGITA-RATNĀKARA 1210-1247 A.D.

Parśva-deva: SAṄGITA-SAMAYA-SĀRA .. .. .. Circa 1250 A.D.

RĀGĀRNAVA .. .. .. Circa 1300 A.D .

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Date.

Subhaṅkara: SANGĀNA-SĀGARA .. 1303 A.D.

SĀRANGARA-DHARA-PADDHATI .. 1363 A.D.

Locana-Kavi: RĀGA-TARAṆGINĪ .. Circa 1375-1400 A.D.

Nārada: PAÑCAMA-SĀRA-SAṂHITĀ

(Asiatic Society of Bengal Ms. Colophon dated 1362 Śaka) .. .. 1440 A.D.

Rānā Kumbha Karṇa Mahimendra: SAṄGĪTA-MĪMĀMSĀ, SAṄGĪTA-RĀJA .. .. .. Circa 1450 A.D.

Catura Kallinātha: RATNĀKARA-ṬĪKĀ 1460 A.D.

Harināyaka: SAṄGĪTA-SĀRA .. Circa 1500 A.D.

Mesakarna: RĀGAMĀLĀ (Asiatic Society of Bengal. Ms. dated 1431 Saka) 1509 A.D.

Rāja Mānsiṅg Tomār: MĪNA-KUTŪ-HALA .. .. .. 1486-1518 A.D.

Madana Pāla Deva: ĀNANDA SAN-JĪVANA .. 1528 A.D.

Tānṣen: RĀGMĀLĀ, (attributed to Tan-sen), (Hindi) .. 1549 A.D.

Pundarīk Viṭṭhala: ṢADRĀGA-CAN-DRODAYA (Burhān Khān) .. Circa 1552-1599 A.D.

Pundarīk Viṭṭhala: RĀGMĀLĀ (Bhandarkar Institute Ms. dated) .. .. 1576A.D.

Pundarīk Viṭṭhala: RĀGMAÑJARĪ (Madho Singh) .. .. .. Circa 1600 A.D.

Pundarīk Viṭṭhala: NARTANA-NIR-NĀYAM .. .. .. .. Circa 1610 A.D.

Nārada: CĀTTVĀRIMṢACCATA-RĀGA--NIRŪPANAM ..

Rāmāmatya: SVARA-MELA-KALĀ-NIDHI .. .. .. 1550 A.D.

Somanātha: RĀGA-VIVODHA .. 1609 A.D.

Dāmodar Miśra: SAṄGĪTA DARPAṆAM .. .. .. .. Circa 1625 A.D.

Govind Dīkṣita: SAṄGĪTA SUDHĀ

(Composed under the auspices of Raghunāth Nāyak of Tanjore) .. Circa 1614-1640 A.D.

Hrdayā Nārāyaṇa Deva of Garwa: HRDAYA KUTUKA }

HRDAYA PRAKĀŚA } Circa 1724 Samvat 1646 A.D.

163

Rājā Jagajjotirmalla: SAṄGĪTA SĀRA SAMGRAHA } SAṄGĪTA-BHĀSKARA Circa 1650 A.D.

Harivallabha: SAṄGĪTA-DARPANA (Hindi) (British Museum Ms. dated 1710 Samvat) .. .. 1653 A.D.

Venkaṭa-makhī: CATUR-DANDI-PRAKĀŚIKĀ .. .. .. 1660 A.D.

Aḥovala: SAṄGĪTA PĀRIJĀTA (Translated into Persian in 1724 A.D.) Circa 1665 A.D.

Deokavi: RĀG RATNĀKAR, (Hindi), Samvat 1780 .. .. 1673 A.D.

Bhāva-Bhaṭṭa: ANŪPA-SAṄGĪTA-VILĀSA } ANŪPA-SAṄGĪTA-RATNĀKARA } Circa 1674-1701 A.D.

ANŪPA-SAṄG�ĪTĀṄKUSA (Composed during the reign of Mahāraj Anūp Singh)

Subhaṃkara: SAṄGĪTA-DĀMODARA .. Circa 1690 A.D.

Mudeveda: SAṄGĪTA-MAKARANDA .. (Composed during the reign of Shāhāji) 1684-1712 A.D.

Puroṣottam Miśra: SAṄGĪTA-NĀRĀYAṄA .. .. .. Circa 1730-50 A.D.

SAṄGĪTA-MĀLĀ (Copy Ms. dated Samvat 1835=1778 A.D.) Circa 1750 A.D.

(Published by Lala Kannomal under the title: Sāhitya-Saṅgīta-Nirūpan, Samvat 1817, Delhi.)

Saiyid 'Abd-alWalī, 'Uzlāt: RĀG-MĀLĀ (Hindustānī), dated 25th Muḥarram A.H. 1173 .. 1759 A.D.

Nārāyaṇa Deva: SAṄGĪTA-NĀRĀYAṄA Circa 1760 A.D.

Tulāji: SAṄGITA SĀRĀMṚTA 1765-1788 A.D.) .. .. .. Circa 1770 A.D.

Kavi-Kṛṣṇa: RĀGA-KUTŪHALA (Hindi) (Ms. dated Samvat 1853 described in Sarasvatī, November 1933, p. 425 ) .. .. .. 1781 A.D.

SAṄGĪT-SĀR, (Compiled by Maharaja Sawai Pratapsimha Deva, Jaipur), (Hindi) .. .. .. 1779-1804 A.D.

RĀGA-VICĀRA (Bikanir Library Ms.) Circa 1800 A.D.

Date.

Mahomed Rezza: NAGMAT-E-ASAPHI (Persian) .. .. 1813 A.D.

Rādhāmohan Sen: SAṄGI TA-TARAṄGA (Bengali) .. .. 1818 A.D.

(Published in the Bengali year 1225 Sāl) .. .. 1819 A.D.

Diwan Lachhiram: BUDDHI-PRAKĀSA-DARPANA (Hindi) dated Samvat 1880 1823 A.D.

Kṛṣṇānanda Vyāsadeva: RĀGA-KALPA-DRUMA (Hindi) .. .. 1843 A.D.

Chhatra Nṛipati: PADA-RATNĀVALĪ (Hindi) (Lithographed in Benares, Samvat 1911) .. .. 1854 A.D.

Sir Sourindra Mohan Tagore: SAṄGITA-SĀRA-SAṄGRAHA (Calcutta, Samvat 1932) .. .. 1875 A.D.

Gossain Cunni-Lālji: NĀDA-VINODA, (Hindi) (Samvat 1953) .. .. 1896 A.D.

Bhānu-Kavi (Jagannāth Prasād): KAVYA-PRABHĀKAR. Dvitīya Mayukh, (Hindi), Samvat 1966 1909 A.D.

Pandit Bhāt Khande (Viṣṇu Sarmā): ŚRI-MAL-LAKṢA SAṄGITAM, (Bombay, Śaka 1843) .. .. 1921 A.D.

Pandit Bhāt Khande (Viṣṇu Sarma): ABHINAVA RĀG-MAÑJARI (Bombay, Śaka 1843) .. .. 1921 A.D.

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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. BOOKS

RAJA SOURINDRA MOHUN TAGORE: Six Principal Ragas of the Hindus, 6 plates, Calcutta 1877. Out of print.

RAJA SOURINDRA MOHUN TAGORE: The Eight Principal Ragas of the Hindus, with tableaux and dramatic pieces illustrating their character, pp. 161, 8 plates, Calcutta, 1880. Out of print.

J. GROSSET (Lyon): Contribution à l'étude de la Musique Hindone, (Paris, 1888, Leroux). Out of print.

B. A. PINGLE: Indian Music, pp. XVIII, 341, Index, Byculla, 1898, 2nd Edition. Out of print.

ANNE C. WILSON: A Short Account of the Hindu System of Music, pp. 48, London, 1904.

RICHARD SIMON: The Musical Compositions of Somanatha critically edited with a table of notations (Lithographed Ms. in Nāgarī), pp. 11,33 Leipzig, 1904.

A. K. COOMARASWAMY: Essays in National Idealism, Colombo, 1909. Chapter on Music.

MRS. MAUD MANN: Some Indian Conceptions of Music. (Proceedings of the Musical Association), London, 1911, 12, pp. 41.

A. C. MACLEOD (Lady Wilson): Five Indian Songs, Edinburgh, 1912.

RATAN DEVI: Thirty Indian songs, with texts and translations by A. K. Coomaraswamy, London, 1913, 7 Illustrations. Out of print. Perhaps Messrs. Luzac & Co. London have copies.

E. CLEMENTS: Introduction to the Study of Indian Music, pp. IX, 104, London, 1913. (Longmans Green & Co.).

E. CLEMENTS: Lectures on Indian Music, Philharmonic Society, Poona (no date).

166

A. H. FOX-STRANGWAYS: The Music of Hindostan, Oxford, 1914.

K. V. DEVAL: Theory of Indian Music as expounded by Somanath, pp. 64, Arya Bhusan Press, Poona, 1916.

Report of the First All-India Musical Conference held at Delhi in 1916, Baroda, 1917.

Report of the Frst All-India Musical Conference held at Baroda in 1916, Baroda, 1917.

Report of the Second All-India Musical Conference held at Delhi in 1919. Delhi, 1919.

Report of the Fourth All-India Music Conference held at Lucknow in 1925. Lucknow, 1925.

K. V. DEVAL: The Rāgas of Hindustan, Philharmonic Society, Poona, 1918-23, 3 Vols.

H. A. POPLEY: The Music of India (Heritage of India Series), Association Press, 3, Russell Street, Calcutta, 1921.

H. P. KRISHNA RAO: The First Steps in Hindu Music in English notation, Bangalore.

H. P. KRISHNA RAO: The Psychology of Music, Bangalore, 1923, (To be had of author, 6th Road, Chamarajpet, Bangalore).

ATIYA BEGUM FYZEE-RAHAMIN: The Music of India, London, Luzac & Co., 1926.

ETHEL ROSENTHAL: The story of Indian Music and its Instruments: A Study of the Present & A Record of the Past, (William Reeves), London, 1928.

PANDIT N. V. BHATKHANDE (Vishnu Sarmā): Hindusthāni Saṅgīt Paddhati, published by B. S. Sukthankar, Vols. I to IV, Poona, San 1914-1932. In Mahratta.

A Hindi translation of this work is in course of publication in the Journal “Sangeeta”, Lucknow.

LALA KANNOO MAL: Kāma-Kalā, published by the Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot, Lahore, 1931.

M. S. RAMASWAMI AIYAR: Rāmamātya's “Swara-Kalā-nidhi” edited with Introduction and Translation, The Annamalai University, 1932.

M. S. RAMASWAMI AIYAR: Somanāth's “Rāga-vivodha”, edited with Introduction and Translation, Triplicane, Madras, 1933.

MAHARANA VIJAYADEVJI OF DHARAMPUR: Sangīt Bhāva (with pictorial illustrations and notations of rāgas), Bombay, 1933 (Publishers: D. B. Taraporevala & Sons).

RAI BAHADUR BISHAN SWARUP: Theory of Indian Music, Swarup Bros. Maithan, Agra, 1933.

II. ESSAYS AND ARTICLES IN JOURNALS, PERIODICALS, ETC.

PANDIT N. V. BHATKANDE: A Short Historical Survey of the Music of Upper India. (A paper read at All-India Music Conference, Baroda, 1916) published by "Bombay Samācar," 1917.

PERCY BROWN: Visualised Music, Young Men of India May 1918.

JOGENDRA NATH MUKHERJEE: A Lecture on Rāgas & Rāginīs delivered at ‘Indian Music Salon’ held at Government House, Calcutta, on 7th December 1920, published by the Indian Society of Oriental Art, Calcutta, 1921, with illustrations.

P. V. MAUJI: Rāgmālā, (a series of articles in English with Sanskrit and Hindi texts, and annotations in Gujarati, accompanied by illustrations of Rāginī pictures, published in the Journal "Suvarṇa-Mālā", Bombay, 1923-1926.

S. G. KANHERE: Some Remarks on Indian Music, (Bulletin, School of Oriental Studies, London, Vol. IV, pp. 105-120).

LALA KANNOO MAL: Notes on Rāginīs, (Rūpam No. 11, 1922).

PHILIPPE STERN: La Musique Indou, (La Revue Musical, Mai, 1923, pp. 31-36, Paris).

A. K. COOMARASWAMY: Hindī Rāgmālā texts, (Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 43, 1933. pp. 396-409).

STANLEY RICE: Hindi Music, (The New Criterion, June 1926, pp. 538-551, London).

A. K. COOMARASWAMY: Dīpaka Rāga, (Year Book of Oriental Art & Culture, London, 1925, p. 29).

M. RAMAKRISHNA KAVI: King Nānyadeva on Music, (The Quarterly Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society, October 1926, Vol. I, Part 2 pp. 55-63).

168

M. RAMAKRISHNA KAVI: Literature on Music, (Ibid., July 1928, Vol. III, Part 1, pp. 20-29).

M. RAMAKRISHNA KAVI: Literary Gleanings: Saṅgītachāryas: Nānyadeva, Jagadekamalla, Someśvara, Śārṅgadeva, Pārśva-deva, Devana Bhatta, Aliya Rāmarāya. (Ibid., Vol. IV, Parts 2, 3, & 4, October 1928—April 1929).

BRAJENDRA KISHORE ROY CHOUDHURY: A series of articles in Bengali on the iconography of rāgas with Sanskrit texts in the Bengali monthly Journal Saṅgīta-Vijñān-Praveśikā (Bengali years 1335 to 1340).

V. · V. NARASIMHACHARY: The Early Writers on Music, (Journal Music Academy, Madras, 1930, Vol. I, No. 3, Vol. II, No. 2).

PANDIT V. N. BHATKHANDE: A Comparative Study of the Leading Music Systems of the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. (A Series of articles published in "Sangeeta", Luck-now, Vol. I, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 1930-1931).

T. L. VENKATARAMA IYER: The Musical Element in Kalidasa (Journal of Oriental Research, Madras, Vol. IV, Part IV, 1930).

V. RAGHAVAN: Some Names in Early Saṅgīta Literature, (Journal of the Music Academy, Madras, Vol. III, Nos. 1 &. 2, 1932).

V. RAGHAVAN: Some More Names in Early Saṅgīta Literature, (Ibid., Vol. III, No. 3 and 4, 1932).

V. RAGHAVAN: Later Saṅgīta Literature, (read before the Music Conference, Madras, December, 1932).

N. C. METHA: Rāgas & Rāginis in a Laudian Ms., (The Bodleian Quarterly Record, Vol. VI, No. 76, Oxford, 1932).

PHILIPPE STERN: The Music of India and the theory of the Rāga. (Indian Art and Letters, New Series, Vol. III, No. 1, pp. 1-9, London, 1933).

W. J. TURNER: 'Visual Music', (The New Statesman and Nation, London, July 7, 1934, p. 13).

O. C. GANGOLY: 'Rāg Rāginir nāma-rahasya' [The mystery of the names of melodies], (A series of articles in Bengali published in the Journal Saṅgīta-Vijñāna-Praveśikā, Calcutta, Bengali year 1941, Baiśākhto Chaitra).

22 169

III. JOURNALS ON INDIAN MUSIC

I. The Indian Music Journal (monthly) edited by H. P. Krishna Rao, Mysore. 1911-1912, now extinct.

II. Sangeeta-Prakāśikā (monthly), a Bengali Journal, Calcutta (1307 to——), now extinct. A translation in Bengali of the Sanskrit text of Rāga-Vivodha was serially published in this Journal.

III. Ānanda-Sañgīta-Patrkā, (monthly Journal in Bengali, Edited and published by Lady Prativa Chowdhury and Indira Devi, Calcutta (1320——).

IV. Sangeeta, A quarterly Journal of Hindustanic Music, published by the Marris College of Hindustani Music, Lucknow. (From 1930, in progress).

V. The Journal of the Music Academy, Madras, A quarterly devoted to the Advancement of the Science and Art of Music (From January 1930, in progress).

VI. Sañgīta-Vijnāna-Praveśikā (monthly Journal in Bengali, from 1331 Bengali year, in progress).

SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY.

BOOKS:

HEMENDRA LAL ROY: Problems of Hindusthani Music, Bharati Bhavan, Calcutta, 1937.

S. SUBRAMANYA SASTRI: The Sangraha-cuda mani of Govinda. With a Critical introduction in English by T. R. Srinivasa Iyengar, The Adyar Library, Madras, 1939.

C. SUBRAMANYA AYYAR: The Grammar of South Indian Music, 1939. Maharana Vijayadeoji of Dharampur—Sangit Bhava, Vol. II (English Gujarati text). B. J. Mody, Sanj Var-taman Press, Bombay, 1940.

G. H. RANADE: Hindustani Music, an Outline of its Physics, Poona, 1939.

S. SUBRAMANYA SASTRI: Sangita-ratnakara with the commentaries of Chaturn-Kallunatha and Simhabhupāla, Brahma-vidya, The Adyar Library Bulletin, 1940.

170

P. S. S. AIYAR AND S. S. SASTRI: Sangita-Sudhā of King Raghunatha of Tanjore, Madras, 1941.

K. G. MULAY: Bharatiya Sangit (Marathi Text), Yoshoda-chintamani Trust Series, Vol. X, Bombay 1941).

P. SAMBAMOORTY: South Indian Music, 3rd Edition, Madras, 1941.

RAMAKRISHNABUA VAZE: Sangit Kali Prakash, Part II (Hindi Text), R. N. Veze, Loka Sangraha Press, Poona, 1941.

C. KUNHAN RAJA: Sangita-Ratnakara of Sarangadeva. English Translation, The Adyar Library, Madras, 1945.

V. N. BHATKHANDE: A Comparative study of some of the Leading Music Systems of the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries, Bombay, 1941.

V. N. BHATKHANDE: Hindusthani Sangit Paddhati, 5th Edition (Marathi Text) Bombay, 1941.

SHRIPADA BANDOPADHYAYA: The Music of India, A Popular Handbook of Hindusthani Music, with 23 reproductions of Indian Miniature Paintings depicting Ragas and Raginis, D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Company, Bombay.

R. L. BATRA: Science and Art of Indian Music, Lion Press, Lahore, 1945.

D. P. MUKHERJI: Indian Music, An Introduction, Kutub Publishers, Bombay, 1945.

SHRIPADA BANDOPADHYAYA: The Origin of Raga. A short Historical Sketch of Indian Music, Sircar Bros. Daryaganj, Delhi, 1946.

ARTICLES:

MISS P. C. DHARMA: Musical Culture in the Ramayana, Indian Culture, Vol. IV, 1938. pp. 445-454.

MAHARANA SAHEB OF DHARAMPUR: Music in India, Indian Arts and Letters XII, 1938, pp. 61-64.

MUHAMMAD UMAR KOKIL: Music during the reign of the Sultans of Gujarat (Gujarati Text). Quarterly Journal of Forbes Gujarati Sabha, Bombay, Vol. III, 1938, p. 398.

171

LAKSHMANA SANKARA BHATTA: The mode of Singing Sama Gana, Poona Orientalist, IV, 1939, p. 1-21.

V. K. R. MENON AND V. K. RAGHAVAN: “Govinda”, the greatest musical theorist of South India, Bulletin Ramverma Research Institute, Tríchur, VII, 1939, pp. 140-143.

N. S. RAMACHANDRAN: The Ragas of Karnatic Music, Bulletin No. 1, Department of Indian Music, University of Madras, 1938.

P. SAMBHAMURTI: A History of Sacred Music of India, K. V. Rangaswami Aiyangar Commemoration Volume, Madras, 1940.

JOHN KAVANAGH: Indian Music, Indian Arts & Letters, XIV, 1940, pp. 105-110.

TARUN GHOSHAL: Hindu Contribution to Music, Calcutta Review, LXXIX, 1940, pp. 257-266.

K. D. RUKMINIYAMA: Music, Journal of Indian History, XX, 1941, pp. 133-34.

DENNIS STOLL: The Philosophy and Modes of Hindu Music, Asiatic Review, Vol. 37, 130, 1941, pp. 334-342.

O. C. GANGOLY: Non-Aryan Contribution to Aryan Music, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

O. C. GANGOLY: Date of the Samgita-Rāga-Kalpa-Drumah, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, Vol. XV, Pts. 1-11, 1934.

O. C. GANGOLY: Who were the Sātavāhanas? Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society, Vol. XI, Pts. 1 & 2, P. 13 -15 (Discussion of Āndhri Ragini).

O. C. GANGOLY–Dhruvā: A type of Old Indian Stage-Songs, the Journal of the Music Academy, Madras, Vol. XIV, Pts. I—VI, P. P. 1-7.

O. C. GANGOLY: The Meaning of Music, The Hindoosthan, (a quarterly Journal published from Calcutta) January—March 1946, P. 12.

Dr. BANI CHATTERJI—Applied Music, a Lecture delivered at the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 8th March, 1948, and Published by Bankim Mukherji, No. 5/1B, Baranashi Ghose 2nd Lane, Calcutta.

172

APPENDICES

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGĀS IN THE APPENDICES

1. According to Dattila (Second Century A.D.)

2. According to Bharata’s Nāṭya-Śāstra (C. 3rd Century A.D.)

3. According to Brhaddesi by Matanga (Circa 5th to 7th Century).

4. According to Sangīta Makaranda by Nārada (Circa 7th to 9th Century A.D.)

5. According to Mammata (about the eleventh century A.D.)

6. According to Nāṭya-locana (circa 850-1000 A.D.)

7. According to King Nānya deva’s Sarasvatī-Hṛdayalāṅkāra (circa 1097 to 1154 A.D.)

8. According to Someśvara Deva (circa 1131 A.D.)

9. According to Sangīta-Ratnākara by Śāraṅgadeva (1210-1247 A.D.)

10. According to Sangīta-samaya-sāra by Pārśvadeva (circa 1250 A.D.)

11. According to Rāga-sāgara, attributed to the joint authors Narada & Dattila.

12. According to Rāgārṇava (datable about the 1300 A.D.)

13. According to Pancama Samhitā by Narada.

14. According to Kallinātha, (1460 A.D.)

15. According to Rāgamālā by Meṣakarṇa (dated about 1509 A.D.)

16. According to Raga-Tarangini by Locan-Kavi (circa 1375 A.D.)

17. According to Svarā-mela-kalānidhi by Rama-matya (1550 A.D.)

18. According to Rāgāmālā by Pundalik Vithala.

19. According to Catvāriṁśacchata-raga-nirūpanam by Narada (circa 1550 A.D.)

20. According to Rāga-vivodha by Soma-nath (1609 A.D.)

173

21. According to Raga-Darpana by Dīmodara Miśra (circa 1625 A.D.)

22. According to Hrdaya-prakāśā by Hrdayanārāyana Deva (circa Samvat 1724-1646 A.D.)

23. According to Catur-dandi-Prákásiká by Vyankatamakhi (1660 A.D.)

24. According to Anūpa-Sangītānkuśa by Bhava-Bhatta (1674-1701 A.D.)

25. According to Anūpa-Sangīta-ratnākara, by Bhava-bhatta (1674-1701 A.D.)

26. According to Sangita-narayana by Purushottama Misra, court poet of Narayana Deva of the Gajapati Dynasty (Circa 1730 A.D.)

27. According to Sangīta-Sārāmrtoddhāra by King Tulaji of Tanjore (1763-1787 A.D.)

28. According to Rāga-Kutūhala by Radha Krishna Kavi, composed in Samvat 1853-1781 A.D.

29. According to Sangīta-sara, compiled by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Sihma Deo of Jaipur (1779-1804 A.D.)

30. According to Bramhā.

31. According to the School of Bharata.

32. According to the School of Hanumāna.

33. According to the Hindi texts inscribed on the series of miniatures in the British Museum Ms. Add. Or. 2821.

34. According to a Hindusthānî (Urdu) Manuscript of Rāga-mīlī by Saiyid 'Abd-al-Wali" Uzlat, (A.D. 1759).

35. According to Pandit V. N. Bhatkhande (Pundit Visnu Sarma), B.A., LL.B. of Bombay, as given in his Sanskrit treatise Abhinavaraga-manjari (Poona 1921).

174

APPENDIX 1.

Eleven Composite Játis (modes).

According to Dattila (Trivandram Edition, No. CII, 1930, p. 5, 49-54).

The data of this text, if not the text itself, may be as early as second century A.D.

Names. Component Jātis.

1. Sadja-Madhyamā Sadjā, Madhamā.

2. Sadja-Kaiśikî Sadjā, Gāndhārî.

3. Sadjodicyavatî Sadjā, Gāndhārî. Dhaivatî.

4. Gāndharodicyavā Sadjā. Gāndhāû, Madhyamā, Dhaivali.

5. Madhyamodicyavā Gāndhārî, Madhyamā, Pancamî, Dhaivatî.

6. Rakta-Gāndhārî Gāndhāû, Madhamā, Pancamî, Naisādî.

7. Āndhrî Gāndhārî, Ārsabhî.

8. Nandayantî Gāndhārî, Ārsabhî, Pancamí.

9. Kārmāravî Gāndhārî, Nisādî (*).

10. Gāndhāra-Pancamî Gāndhārî, Pancamî.

11. Kaiśikî Sadjā. Gāndhārî. Madhyamā. Pancamî, Nisādî.

• "Sa-nisādas-tu gāndhāryaḥ kuryu kārmāravîmimāḥ" 53.

The text differing from Bharata & Sārangadeva, appears to suggest that Kārmāravî is a composed of two modes:—Gāndhîrî & Nisādî.

APPENDIX 2.

The Eighteen Jātis (modes).

According to Bharata's Nāṭya-Sāstra, C, 3rd Century A.D.

(Chapter 28, Verses 41-45.)

Sadja-grāma. Madhyama-grāma.

Sāḍjî (or Sāḍjā) Gāndhārî (or Gāndhārā) Madhyamodîcyavā.

Ārṣabhî Madhyamā Nandayantî.

Dhaivatî Pancamî Kārmāravî.

Niṣādinî (or Niṣādavatî) Gāndhārodîcyavā Āndhrî.

Sadjodîcyavatî or Odicyavā Gāndhāra-Pancamî Kaiśikî.

Sadja-Kaiśikî Rakta-Gāndhārî .

Sadjamadhyā (or madhyamā)

175

Eleven Composite Jātis.

(Chapter 28, Verses 48-54.)

Names.

Component Jātis.

1. Sadja-Madhyamā

Sāḍjī, Madhyamā.

2. Sadja-Kaiśikī

Gāndhārī, Sāḍjī.

3. Sadjodīcyavā

Sāḍjī, Gāndhārī, Dhaivatī.

4. Gāndhārodīcyavati

Sāḍjī, Gāndhārī, Pancamī, (Madhyama, G), Dhaivatī.

5. Madhyamodīcyavā

Gāndhārī, Pancamī, Madhyamā, Dhaivatī.

6. Rakta-Gāndhārī

Gāndhārī, Pancamī, Niṣādī.

7. Āndhrī

Gāndhārī, Ārṣabhī.

8. Nandayantī

Ārṣabhī, Pancamī, Gāndhārī.

9. Karmāravī

Niṣādī, Ārṣabhī, Pancamī.*

10. Gāndhārapancamī

Gāndhārī, Pancamī.

11. Kaiśikī

Sāḍjī, Gāndhārī, Madhyamā, Pancamī, Niṣādī.

• “Karmāravīm niṣādi sārsabhī pancamī kuryuh” 53.

Classification or Jātis, according to the number of their notes (svaras).

(Chapter 28, Verses 57-64.)

4 Sampūrṇa (Hepta-tonic)

4 Sāḍva (Hexa-tonic)

10 Auḍava (Penta-tonic)

Saḍja-grāma.

1 Saḍja-kaiśikī

1 Sāḍjī

5 { Ārṣabhī

Dhaivatī

Niṣādī

Saḍja-madhyamā

Sadjodīcyavatī

Madhyama-grāma

3 { Karmāravī

Gāndhāra-pancamī

Madhyamodīcyavā

3 { Gāndharodīcyavā

Āndhrī

Nandayantī

5 { Gāndhārī

Rakta-gāndharī

Madhyamā

Pancamī

Kaiśikī

176

APPENDIX 3.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

Into Rāga-gītis, Sādhāraṇa-gītis, Bhāṣā-gītis, Bibhāṣā-gītis.

According to Bṛhaddeśī by Matanga (Circa 5th to 7th Century,) melodies, known under the generic name of gītis, or folk-songs, or airs, were of seven varieties, one of which represented the rāga-gītis or melodies proper. The melodies had their derivatives known as bhāṣās, the latter being subdivided into Vibhāṣās. The bhāṣās & vibhāṣās, correspond to rāginīs of later times.

[Bṛhaddeśī (Trivandrum Edition) p. 82-133. The Author follows two earlier authorities Yāstika & Sārdûla.]

GĪTIS.

1. Śuddha- gītis 2. Bhin- naka-gītis 3. Goud- ikā-gītis 4. Sādha- raṇī-gītis 5. Rāga- gītis 6. Bhāsā- gītis 1. Vibhāṣā- gītis

SĀDHĀRAṄA-GĪTIS.

1. Śaka 2. Kaku- bha 3. Hari- mānā- Pancama 4. Rūpa- sādhārita 5. Gānd- hāra- Pancama 6. Sadja- Kaiśika

These were later accepted in the classes of rāga proper, affiliated to the earliest rāga system.

RĀGA-GĪTIS.

1. Takka (-Tanka) 2. Sauvīra 3. Mālava- Pancama 4. Khā- dāva 5. Malava- kaiśika 6. Voṭṭa- Rāga 7. Hindō- loka 7. Takka- Kaiśika

BHĀṢĀ-GĪTIS.

Ascribed to each of the rāgas.

1. TAKKA-RĀGA

2. Travanā 2. Travanod- bhavā 3. Veranjikā 4. Chevātī 5. Mālavesarikā 6. Gūrjarī 7. Sourāṣṭrī 8. Saindhabhī . 9. Vesarikā 10. Pancamākyā 11. Ravi-Candrā 12. Amvā-herī 13. Lalitā 14. Kolāhalī 15. Madhyama- grāmikā 16. Gāndhāra- pancama

177

23

2. SOUVĪRAKA

3. Sauvīrī 2. Vegamadhyamā 3. Sādhāritā 4. Gāndhārī

4. PANCAMA

5. Ābhīrī 2. Bhāvinī 3. Māngalī 4. Saindhavī 5. Gūrjarī 6. Dākṣiṇātyā 7. Āndhrī (?) 8. Tāṇodbhavā 9. Travanī 10. Kaiśikī (Āndhālī)

6. BHINNA-ṢADJA

7. Viśuddhā 2. Dākṣiṇātyā 3. Gāndhārī 4. Śrī-kanṭhī 5. Pourālī 6. Vangālī 7. Saindhavī 8. Kālinḍī 9. Pulindī

8. MĀLAVA-KAIŚIKA

9. Śuddhā 2. Ādyavesarikā 3. Harṣa-pūrī 4. Māngalī 5. Saindhalhī 6. Ābhīrī 7. Khandanī 8. Gunjarī (?)

10. VOṬṬA-RĀGA Mangalā.

11. HINDOLAKA

12. Vesari 2. PrathamManjarī 3. Chevāṭī 4. Ṣaḍjamadhyamā 5. Madhurī (?) (Madhukari)

13. TAKKA-KAIŚIKA

14. Drāviḍī 2. Mālavā 3. BhinnaLalikā

178

APPENDIX 4.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Sangīta Makaranda by Nārada (circa 7th to 9th century A.D.)

Two systems are given one after another. According to the first scheme, the major melodies are eight in number, and the minor melodies twenty-four, aggregating thirty-two melodies. According to the second scheme, the major melodies are six in number, and the minor melodies, thirty-six, aggregating forty-two. Owing to a lacuna in the text, the second scheme is not available in its entirety.

The first scheme, with three rāginīs for each rāga, appears to be very old. But the text of Sangīta-makaranda is, probably, not as early as the 7th century.

| FIRST SCHEME. |

1. BHUPĀLĀ

2. Velāvalī

3. Malaharī

4. Vahulī

5. BHAIRAVA

6. Devakriyā

7. Pourālī

8. Kāmbhārī

9. ŚRĪ-RĀGA

10. Kāmbhojī

11. Bhallāṭī

12. Kuranjikā

13. PADA-MANJARĪ

14. Deśī

15. Manoharī

16. Tundī

17. NĀṬA

18. Sāranga

19. Nāṭākhyā (?)

20. Aharī

179

6. VANGĀLA

7. Nārāyanī 2. Gāndhārī 3. Ranji

8. VASANTA

9. Parāṭī (? Varāṭī) 2. Drāvaḍī 3. Hamsī

10. MĀLAVA

11. Gunda-kriyā 2. Dhūrjarī (Gūrjarī) 3. Gouḍī

|SECOND SCHEME.|

1. ŚRĪ-RĀGA

2. Gouḍī 2. Kolahalī 3. Drāvalī 4. Āndolikī 5. Mādhavī 6. DevaGāndhar'

3. PANCAMA

4. SuddhaNāṭā 2. Sāveī 3. Saindhavī 4. Mālatī 5. Troṭī 6. Koumodakī

5. MEGHA-RĀGA

6. Sourāṣṭrī 2. Kāmbhārī 3. Vangālī 4. Madhumādhavī 5. Devakrī 6. Bhūpālī

7. NĀTA-NĀRĀYANA

8. Vallabhā 2. Mādhyā 3. Vidagdhā 4. Abhisārikā 5. Trivenī 6. Megharanjī

180

5. VASANTA

6. BHAIRAVA

(The rāginīs of the melodies Vasanta and Bhairava do not appear in the text available.)

APPENDIX 5.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS

into six rāgas & thirty-six rāginīs.

According to Mammata (ācārya), author of Sangīta-ratna-mālā as, cited in Sangīta-nārāyaṇa. Some scholars identify Mammata, the author of this musical text, with Mammata, the great authority on poetics, author of Kāvya-prakāśa, who flourished about the eleventh century A.D.

1. KARNĀTA

2. Vandhanī (?) 2. Mālavacī 3. Sindhu 4. Velāvalī 5. Prapāṭinī (?) 6. Vilāsinī

3. NĀṬA

4. Kām-bhojī 2. Nāṭa-bhāṣā 3. Tudikā 4. Gunamanjarī (?)(-Gunakriyā (?)) 5. Śekharī 6. Mukharī

5. (MEGHA)-MALLĀRA

6. Mallārī 2. Lalitā 3. Paṭa-manjarī 4. Madhukirī 5. Bhāṣā-kirī 6. Deśī

7. DEŚĀKH

8. Gunjarī(-Gujjarī ?) 2. Rāmakirī 3. Gundakīrī 4. Sutodikā 5. Dhānāsī 6. Varāṭī

181

5. MĀLAVA

6. Sivi (?) 2. Kedāra 3. Meṣa­mā (?) 4. Jīvika 5. Kandu­kritā (?) 6. Travanā

7. VASANTA

8. Bhai­ravī 2. Rega­hārī (?) (-Reva­guṅplā ?) 3. Megha­lī 4. Supan­canī 5. Amvā­toji (?) (-Āmbho­jī ?) 6. Totka (?) (-Tan­ka)

(The absence of the Bhairava rāga, and the ascription of Bhairavī to the group of Vasanta lend an early date to this scheme.)

APPENDIX 6.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS

Accerding to Nāṭya-locana (circa 850-1000 A.D.) into three greups of Suddha, Sālamka & Sandhi (? Samkirṇa) rāgas.

(Ms. No. 111, E. 158, in the Collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.)

ŚUDDH RĀGAS

1. Pañcana­Mālava 2. Mādhavārī (?) 3. Hindola 4. Mālasikā 5. Velāvalī 6. Todī 7. Gāndhāra 8. Nāṭa

SĀLAMKA-RĀGAS

1. Lalita 2. Nārada­Bhairavi 3. Bhāsa 4. Vasanta 5. Gurjjarī 6. Koda-Deśāg 7. Deśa-Varāti 8. Vicitrā 9. Goundakirī 10. Varādī 11. Vangāla 12. Karnāṭa 13. Rāmakirī 14. Sālamka 15. Deśāga 16. Mālava-rāga

182

SANDHI-RĀGAS

1. Mallāra

2. Paṭhamanjarī

3. Dhanāsī

4. Kakubhā (?)

5. Himakirī

6. Savarī

7. Divādī

8. Khamvāvatī

9. Takka

10. Kāmoda

11. Devakirī

12. Loungirātī (?)

13. Motakī

14. Bhallāta

15. Vāhedī

16. Gunakirī

17. Kokirikā

18. Madhukirī

19. Goudī

20. Anunī

APPENDIX 7.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS

According to King Nānyadeva's Sarasvatī-Hṛdayālamkāra (circa 1097 to 1154 A.D.) available in a single Ms. in the collection of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona (No. 111 of 1869-70). The author mentions a class called Root-rāgas (mūla-rāga). Unfortunately, he does not specify them.

He gives full descriptions and notations of numerous rāgas, under three groups of Ṣadja-grāma, Madhya-grāma and Gāndhāra-grāma.

6 GITĪS

Śuddha Bhinna Gouḍa Vesara Sādhāraṇa

8 PRINCIPAL BHĀSĀS

Mālava-Vesarī Desākhya Mālava Sourāṣṭrī Saindhavī Svarākya Madhya-deha (?) Pancama-lakṣita (?)

AN ALTERNATIVE LIST OF

10 BHĀṢĀS.

Fourālī Bhammānī Bhairavī Hindolī Sāverī Varāṭī Āndhālī Madhukarī Ghāntārava Pallavī

183

BHINNA-GĪTIS

Bhinna-kaśika Bhinna- madhyama Bhima-sadja

Gounda-Gītis

Andhra-Gouda Gouda Kaiśika-Madhyama Gouda-Pancama

SĀDHĀRAṄA-GĪTIS

Reva-Gupta Bhammiṇa-Pancama Rūpa-Sādhārita

ANTARA-BHĀṢĀ

Protīkhya Bhasalī Tānod-bhava Madhurī (?) Sālavāhīni

KRIYANGA (EARLIEST LIST).

Kumuda-Krti Hanu- Krti Śiva- Krti Nāma- KrtiKumuda-Krti Rāma-Krti

KRIYĀNGA (LATER LIST).

Deva- Krti Dāmva- Krti Tri-Netra- Krti Bhāva- Krti Dhānya- Krti

APPENDIX 8.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS

According to Someśvara Deva (Circa 1131 A.D.) cited in Rāga-darpana (Raja Sir S. M. Tagore's Edition, 1881, P. 72). The Chapter in the author's Encyclopædia Mānsollāsa, does not give any classification of the Melodies. Probably this is given in his work Sangīta-ratnāvalī, the text of which is now lost.

1. ŚRĪ-RĀGA

2. Mālaśrī 2. Trivaṇī 3. Gourī 4. Kedārī 5. Madhu-Mādhavī 6. Pāhā-dikā

184

2. VASANTA

3. Désî 2. Devagiri 3. Varâtî 4. Todikâ 5. Hindolî 6. Lalitā

4. BHAIRAVA

5. Bhairavî 2. Gujjarî 3. Rāma-Kirî 4. Guna-Kirî 5. Van-gālî 6. Sain-dhavî

6. PANCHAMA

7. Vibhāsā 2. Bhūpālî 3. Karnāṭî 4. Vada-hamsikā 5. Mālavî 6. Paṭamanjarî

8. MEGHA-RĀGA

9. Mallārî 2. Sou-rathî 3. Sāverî 4. Kou-silâ 5. Gān-dhārî 6. Hara-Śṛṅgāra

10. NAṬṬA-NĀRĀYANA

11. Kāmodî 2. Kalyāṇî 3. Ābhirî 4. Nātikā 5. Sāraṅgî 6. Nāṭṭa-Hāmvîra

APPENDIX 9.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS

According to Sangīta-Ratnākara by Sārangadeva (1210-1247 A.D.). He gives an historical survey of rāgas, according to Kaśyapa, Yāstika, and Matanga. He enumerates 30 grāma-rāgas, viz:–7 Sudda, 5 Bhinnakas, 3 Gouḍas, 8 Vesaras, and 7 Sādharitas (Sādhāraṇa).

GRĀMA-RĀGAS

SUDDHA

Sadja-Kaiśiki Sadja-Madhyama Suddha-Sādhārita Sadja-grāma (? Sadji) Pancama Sādva Suddha-Kaiśika

24

185

(Of these, the first four belong to the Ṣadja-grāma, and the last three to Madhyamā-grāma.)

BHINNAKA

Kaiśika-Madhyama | Bhinna-Ṣadja | Tāna | Kaiśika | Bhinna-Pancama

(Of these, the first two belong to the Ṣadja-grāma, and the three to Madhyama-grāma.)

GOUḌA

Gouḍa-Kaiśika-Madhyama | Gouḍa-Pancama | Gouḍa-Kaiśika

(Of these, the first two belong to Ṣad jāgrāma and the last two Madhyama-grāma)

VESARA

Ṭakka | Vesara-Khaḍava | Souvīra (?) | Voṭṭa | Mālava-Kaiśika | Mālava-Pancama | Takka-Kaiśika | Hindola

(Of these, the first two belong to Ṣadja-grāma, the next four to Madhyama-grāma and the last to both grāmas.)

(These 8 Vesara melodies are designated as “Rāga-gītis” by Matanga, Appedix 3.)

SĀDHĀRITA

Rūpa-Sādhārita | Ṣaka | Bhamāni-Pancama | Narta-Gandhāra | Pancama | Ṣadja-Kaiśika | Kakubha

(Of these, the first three belong to Ṣadja-grāma, the second three to Madhyama, and the last to both grāmas).

186

8 UPARĀGAS

Śaka- Takka- Kokil Reva- Pancama- Bhāvanā- Nāga- Nāga- tilaka Saindhava gupta Ṣadava Pancama Gāndhāra Pancama

A group of 17 Rāgas, wrongly stated to be 20 in number:

1. Śrī-rāga 6. Rakta-hāmsa 11. Soma-rāga 15. Deśākhya 2. Natta 7. Kohla-hāsa 12. Kāmoda 16. Kaiśika-kakubha 3. Vāṅgāla 8. Prasava 13. Abhra (Āmra)-Pancama 17. Natta-Nārāyaṇa 4. Bhāṣā 9. Bhairava-dvani 5. Madhyama-ṣādava 10. Megha-rāga 14. Kandarpa

15 JANAKA or "PARENT" RĀGAS.

(on the authority of Yāstika).

1. Souvīra 5. Bhinna-Pancama 9. Mālava-Kaiśika 13. Mālava-Pancama 2. Kakubha 6. Takka-Kaiśika 10. Gāndhāra-Pancama 14. Tīna 3. Takka 7. Hindola 11. Bhinna-Ṣadja 15. Pancama-Ṣādabha 4. Pancama (Suddha) 8. Bhoṭṭa 12. Vesara-Ṣaḍava

APPENDIX 10.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS

According to Sangīta-samaya-sāra by Pārśvadeva (circa 1250 A.D.).

(The author does not name the major melodics (janaka-rīga) but only gives a classification of the derivative rāgas, aggregating 101 rāgas. Out of these he describes 44 rāgas).

20 RĀGĀNGAS

(Sampūrṇa) (Ṣādava) (Oḍava)

Madhyamādi Āmra-panca Gouda Bhairava Śaṅkarābharana Ghaṇṭā-rava Deśī Śrī-rāga Toḍī Gūrjari-somarāga Dhamnāsi Deśākhya Mālavaśrī Mārga-Hindola Hindola Dīpa-rāga Guṇḍa-krī Suddha-vangāla Varāṭi

187

47 BHĀṢĀṆGAS

(Sampūrṇa)

Kaiśiki

Velā-uli

Śuddha-varāṭi

Ādi-kāmoda

Nāṭṭā

Ābhīrī

Vṛhat-dākṣiṇātyā

Laghv-dākṣiṇātyā

Pourālī

Bhinna-Pourālī

Madhukari

Raganti

Goranji

Prathama-manjari

Sāla-vāhini

Naṭṭa-nārāyaṇa

Utpalī

Vegaranjī

Taranginī

Dhvani

Nādānṭari

(Ṣādava)

Karnāṭa-vangāla

Sāveri

Andhālī

Śrī-kanthi

Utpalī

Goudī

Śuddhā-sourāṣṭri

Bhammani

Saindhī-rāga

Chāyā-rāga

(Oudava)

Nāgadvani

Ahīrī

Kāmvoji

Pulindi

Kacchalli

Cohārī-Goullī

Gāndhāra-gati

Lalitā

Trāvani

Saindhava

Domvaki

Saindhavi

Kālindi

Khasikā

31 UPĀṆGAS

(Sampūrṇa)

Saidhava-varāṭi

Antala-varāṭi

Avasthāna-Vrāṭi

Drāviḍa-varāṭi

Pratāp-Varāṭi

Svara-varāṭi

Turuska-Toddi

Sourāṣṭra-Gūrjarī

Dakṣiṇa-Gūrjarī

Drāviḍa-Gūrjarī

Karnāṭa-Gouda

Bhairavi

Samhala-Kamoda

(Simhala)

Devāla

Mahuri

Chāyā-nāṭṭā

(Ṣādava)

Mahārāṣṭra-Gūrjari

Khambhāṭi

Gurunji

Rāma-kri

Hunji (kā)

Bhallaṭi

Mallāri

(Oudava)

Chāyā-toddi

Deśāla-Gouda

Turuska-Gouda

Pratāpa-Velāuli

Pūrṇāṭa

Mad-hāra

3 KRIYĀṆGAS

(Sampūrṇa)

Devaki (Devakri)

(Trinetra-kri)

Trinetraki

(Ṣādava)

Svabhāvakri

188

APPENDIX 11.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Rāga-sāgara, attributed to the joint authors Nārada &

Dattila (Ms. No. 1304, 13015 in the Govt. Or. Mss. Library, Madrass, Catalogue, Vol. XXII).

1. BHAIRAVA

2. Deva-kriyā 2. Megha-rañjanī 3. Kurañjī

3. BHUPALA

4. Vilaharī 2. Malaharī 3. Subhaṇḍī

5. ŚRĪ RĀGA

6. Manḍalī 2. Sāhulī 3. Bhallāṭī

7. PAṬAMANJARĪ

8. Deśī 2. Mukhārī 3. Lalitā

9. VASANTA

10. Rama-kriyā 2. Vārālī 3. Goulī

11. MĀLAVA-RĀGA

12. Guṇḍakriyā 2. Ghurjarī(?) 3. Pālī

13. VANGĀLA-RĀGA

14. Kalyāṇī 2. Āhirī 3. Sāverī

189

8. NATA-RĀGA

9. Ghantā-rava 2. Kāmboji 3. Śankarābharana

APPENDIX 12.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Rāgarnava as cited in the Śarangadhara-Paddhati, a work compiled in 1363 A.D.

The original text of Rāgarnava (datable about the 1300 A.D.) has not yet been traced.

1. BHAIRAVA

2. Vangapāla 2. Gunakari 3. Madhyamādi 4. Vasanta 5. Dhanaśri

3. PANCAMA

4. Lalitā 2. Gurjari 3. Deśi 4. Varāṭi 5. Rāma-krit

5. NATA

6. Nata-Narayana 2. Gāndhāra 3. Śalaga (Śalanka)

7. Kedāra 5. Karnāṭa

8. MALLĀRA

9. Megha 2. Mallārikā 3. Mālava-Kouśika 4. Prati-manjari(?) (-Paṭamanjari?) 5. Āsāvari

10. GOUḌA-MĀLAVA

11. Hindola 2. Triguṇā 3. Dhāni (?) 4. Goudi 5. Kolāhala

190

6. DEŚĀKH

7. Bhūpālī 2. Hari-pāla 3. Kāmodī 4. Dhoranī 5. Vilāvalī

APPENDIX 13.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Pancama Samhitā by Nārada (Asiatic Society of Bengal Ms. No. 5040 with Colophon dated 1362 śaka-1440 A.D.).

1. MĀLAVA

2. Dhānāsī 2. Mālasī 3.Rāmakirī 4. Sindhuḍā 5. Āsavārī 6. Bhairavī

3. MALLĀRA

4. Velāvalī 2. Pūravī 3. Kānaḍā 4. Māyurī 5. Koḍā 6. Kedārikā

5. ŚRĪ-RĀGA

6. Gāndhārī 2. Gouri 3. Subhagā 4. Kumā- rikā 5. Velawārī 6. Vairāgī

7. VASANTA

8. Tuḍī 2. Pancamī 3. Lalitā 4. Pata- manjarī 5. Gujjarī 6. Vibhāṣa

9. HINDOLA

10. Mādhavī 2. Dīpikā 3. Deśakārī 4. Pāhiḍā 5. Varāḍī 6. Mārahāṭī

191

6. KARNĀṬA

7. Nāṭikā 2. Bhūpālī 3. Gaydā 4. Rāmakelī 5. Kāmodī 6. Kalyāṇī

APPENDIX 14.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Kallinātha, (1460 A.D.) the famous commentator of Sangīta-ratnākara.

(Pandit Bhatkhande in his Hindusthānī Samgita Paddhati, Vol. II, p. 201, ascribes ths system to Kallinātha. The system with slight variations is also ascribed to Kallinātha by Rādhā Mohan Sen in his Sangita-Taranga, p. 222, 1225 sāl,-1818 A.D. The variations with alternate names are given in the table set out below.)

1. ŚRĪ-RĀGA

2. Gourī 2. Kolāhala 3. Dhavalā 4. Varorājīor Rada-rangī 5. Mālkouś 6. Deva-Gāndhāra

3. PANCAMA

4. Triveṇī 2. Hastam-taretahā(?)(-Stambha-tīrthikā-Khamā-icī) 3. Ābhirīor Āhirī 4. Kokabha 5. Verāṭī 6. Āsāvarī

5. BHAIRAVA

6. Bhairavī 2. Gujarī 3. Vilāvalī 4. Vihāga(or Vāda-hamsī) 5. Karnāṭa 6. Kānadā(or Bhāṣā)

192

4. MEGHA

5. Vangālī 2. Madhurā 3. Kāmodī 4. Dhanāśrī 5. Deva- 6. Devali (or Tīrthakī)

(or Mudrā) (or Rahanā- tīrthī) śrī)

5. NATA NĀRĀYANA

6. Tara- 2. Tilamgī 3. Pūrvī 4. Gān- 5. Rāma 6. Sindha- mallārī

vankī (or, (or Tilakī) dhārī) (or Virāmā) (Siddā- mallārī- Śuddha-mallārī ?)

6. VASANTA

7. Āndhālī 2. Guma- 3. Pata- 4. Gounda- 5. Dhanki 6. Deva-

kalī, (or Patamanjarī giri (?Tanki) (Deva- Gamakī) (?Tanka) (or śākha)

25

193

APPENDIX

CLASSIFICATION

OF

RĀGAS.

According

to

Rāgamālā

by

Meṣakarma,

dated

(according

to

the

the

Colophon

of

a

Ms.

in

the

Collection

of

the

Asiatic

Society

of

Bengal

No.

1195

(211)

in

the

Saka

year

1431

(equivalent

to

1509

A.D.

).

The

copy

of

the

Ms.

is

dated

Samvat

1833

(equivalent

to

1761

A.D.

).

BHAIRAVA

Vangālī

5

Wives

Bhairavī

Velāvalī

Punyakī

Snehakī

Harsa

Madhu

Pancama

8

Sons

Deśākh

Lalit

Velāval

Mādhava

MĀLĀ-KOUŚIKA

Gandhārīni

Mālāsrī

5

Wives

Gudagrī

Śrīhafi

Andhreyakī

Dhanasrī

Mevāḍa

Māru

Varvalī

Miśrāngā

Candra-BhāramaraNandana

-Kokkara

Khokharā

8

Sons

HINDOLA

Tilangī

or

Devagirī

Bhūpālī

5

Wives

Vāsantī

Sindhurī

Abhirī

Mangala

Candra-

Śubhrānga

Vimva

Ananda

Vibhāṣa

Vardhana

Vinoda

Vasanta

8

Sons

194

4. DĪPAKA

Hemala

Vahula Campaka

8 Sons

Kalinga

Kuntala

Kusumāma

Kamala

Kāveli or Sarangī

5 Wives

Gujjarī

Toḍī

Pataman-jarī

Kāmboḍī

5. ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Kurabha

Vigada

8 Sons

Kalyāṇa

Guna-sāgara

Gambhīra

Sindhavā Mālava Gouḍa

5 Wives

Karnāṭikā

Sāverī

Vai-rāṭī

Rāmagirī

Gouḍī

6. MEGHA-RĀGA

Sankara

Gunda

8 Sons

Jalandhara

Mālara

Kedāra

Sāranga

Kanara

Nata

Suhāvi

5 Wives

Āsāvarī Kokaṇī

Sorathī

Mallārī

195

APPENDIX 16.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Rāga-Tarangini by Locan-Kavi (Circa 1375 A.D.)

This scheme obviously belongs to the Southern or Carnatic School, according to which 12 root-rāgas or melas (major melodies) are chosen, and to each mela certain derivative rāgas (janya-rāgas) are ascribed. The melody Dīpaka-rāga, the last in the list, is not described and its derivative melodies are not indicated on the ground that at the time of the author, the Dīpaka had ceased to be current and had become unfamiliar to practising musicians.

Melas 12 Janya-Rāgas 77.

1. Bhairavî (?) (1) Bhairavî, Nilāmarî.

2. Toḍî (1) Toḍî.

3. Gourî (1) Mālava, (2) Srî-Gourî, (3) Caiti-Gourî, (4) Parāḍî (?) Gourî. (5) Deśî-Toḍî, (6) Deśa-Kāra, (7) Goura-Srî, (8) Trivana, (9) Mūlatāni, (10) Dhanā-Srî, (11) Vasanta, (12) Goura, (13) Bhairava, (14) Vibhāsa, (15) Rāma Kalî. (16) Gurjarî, (17) Vāhulî, (18) Revî, (19) Bhatiyāra, (20) Saḍ-rīga, (21) Mālava-Pancama, (22) Jayanta-Srî, (23) Āsāvarî, (24) Deva-Gāndhāra, (25) Sindhî-āsāvarî, (26) Gunakarî.

4. Karnāṭa (1) Kānara, (2) Vāgisvari, (3) Khamā-icî, (4) Soraṭha, (5) Paraja, (6) Māru, (7) Jay-Jayantî, (8) Kukubha, (9) Kāmodî, (10) Kedārî, (11) Chāyā-Goura, (12) Māla-Kausika, (13) Hindola, (14) Sugharai, (15) Adānā, (16) Gārc-Kanarā, (17) Srî-Rāga.

5. Kedāra (1) Kedāra-nāṭaka, (2) Abhîra-nāṭaka, (3) Khamvā-vatî, (4) Sankarābharaṇa, (5) Vihāgarā, (6) Hamvîra, (7) Syāma, (8) Chāyā-naṭa, (9) Bhupāli, (10) Bhîmpalaśrî, (11) Kausika. (12) Māru-rāga.

196

6. Iman .. .. (1) Śuddha-Kalyāṇa, (2) Puriyā-Kalyāṇa,

(3) Jayat-Kalyāṇa.

7. Sāranga .. (1) Paṭa-Manjarī, (2) Vrndāvanī, (3) Sāmanta, (4) Vaḍa-hamsaka.

8. Megha .. .. (1) Megha-Mallāra, (2) Gouda-Sāranga,

(3) Nata, (4) Velāvalī, (5) Ālahiyā,

(6) Suddha-Suhāva, (7) Deśākha, (8) Suddha-nāṭa.

9. Dhanā Śrī .. (1) Dhanā Śrī, (2) Lalita.

10. Puravā .. .. (1) Pūravā.

11. Mukhārī .. .. (1) Mukhārī.

12. Dīpaka .. ..

APPENDIX 17.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS

According to Svaramela-kalinidhi by Rāmā-mātya (1550 A.D.)

The scheme belongs to the Southern or Carnatic School, according to

which 20 root-rāgas, or melas (major melodies) are chosen, and to each mela,

certain derivative rāgas (janya-rāgas) are ascribed. The lists of derivative

rāgas given in this work are illustrative and not exhaustive. The table set

out below is borrowed from Mr. M. S. Ramaswami Aiyar’s edition of the work

(Introduction, p. xliv, 1932).

I. Rāmāmātya’s ‘Genus-species’ system.

Melas—(20) Janya-Rāgas—(64)

1. Mukhārī Mukhārī and a few Grāma Rāgas. (6) Mecaboulī (11) Kuranjī

2. Mālavagoula (1) Mālava-goula (2) Lalitā (7) Phalamanjarī (12) Kaṇṇada-vangāla

(3) Boulikā (8) Gundakriyā (13) Mangala-kouśika

(4) Sourāṣṭra (9) Sindhu-rāmakriyā (14) Malharī, etc.

(5) Gurjarī (10) Chāyāgoula

3. Śrīrāga (1) Śrīrāga (5) Suddha-bhairavī (9) Āndolī

197

4. Sāranganāṭa

(1) Sāranganāṭa

(2) Sāverī

(3) Sāranga-bhairavī

(2) Bhairavī

(6) Velāvalī

(10) Deva-gāndhārī

(3) Goulī

(7) Mālavaśrī

(11) Madhya-mādī, etc.

(4) Dhanyāsī

(8) Śankarā-bharana

5. Hindola

(1) Hindola

(2) Mārga Hindola

(3) Ārdradeśī

6. Suddha-rāmakriyā

(1) Suddha-rāmakriyā

(4) Dīpaka

7. Deśakṣī

(1) Deśakṣī

(4) Chāyānāṭa

8. Kannada-goula

(1) Kannada-goula

(2) Ghanṭārava

(5) Turuṣka-Todī

(3) Suddha-vangāla

9. Śuddhanāṭa

Śuddhanāṭa, etc.

10. Āhirī

Āhirī, etc.

11. Nādarāma-kriyā

Nādarāma-kriyā, etc.

12. Suddhavarālī

Suddha-varalī, etc.

13. Rītigoula

Rītigoula, etc.

14. Vasantha-bhairavī

(1) Vasantha-bhairavī

(2) Somarāga, etc.

15. Kedāragoula

(1) Kedāragoula

(2) Nārāyana-goula, etc.

a few Grāma Rāgas.

16. Hejujjī

Hejujjī and Sāmavarālī

17. Sāmavarālī

do.

18. Revagupti

Revagupti

19. Sāmanta

Sāmanta, etc.

20. Kāmbhoji

Kāmbhoji, etc.

198

APPENDIX 18.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to "Rāgamālā" by Pundarīk Viṭṭhala, (Ms. in the collection of

the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, with colophon dated

śaka 1498-1576 A.D.)

1. ŚUDDHA-BHAIRAVA

2. HINDOLA

3. DEŚIKĀR

199

Lalita Sons Vibhāsa Sāranga Ravana Kalyāṇa

4. ŚRĪ-RĀG Wives Goudī Pādi (? Pahadi) Gunakarī Nāda-ramakri Gundkri

Takka Sons Deva-gāndhāra Mālava Suddha-Gouda Karnāṭa-vangāla

5. SUDDHA-NĀTA Wives Mālaśrī Deśākṣī Devakrī Madhu-mādhavī Abhīrī

Jijāvanta Sons Sālanga-Nāta Karnāṭa-rāga Chāyā-nāta Hamīra-nāta

6. NATTA-NĀRĀYANA Wives Velāvalī Kāmojī Sāverī Suhavī Sourāṣṭrī

Malhāra Sons Gounda-rāga Kedāra Sankarābharana Vihāgada

200

APPENDIX 19.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Catvārimśacchata-rāga-nirṇipanam by Nārada (circa 1525-1550 A.D.)

This treatise offers a scheme of 10 major male melodies, with five wives for each, four sons for each with four wives. It is quite possible that a scheme of 10 male rāgas is earlier than that of six male rāgas. More probably, this is an attempt to amalgamate two alternative schemes.

10 Male rāgas. Śrī-rāga, Vasanata, Pancama, Bhairava, Kouśika, Megha-rāga, Natta-nārāyaṇa, Hindola, Dīpaka, and Hamsaka.

1. ŚRĪ-RĀGA

2. VASANTA

201

3. PANCAMA

Trivalī Vallakī Khamvāvatī Kakubhā Aharī Wives Valahamsa Gāndhāra Deva-Hindola Pāvaka Sons Sons' Wives Nārāyanī Bhūpālī Māru Nava-rocikā

4. BHAIRAVA

Velāvalī Bhairavī Gurjarī Lalita Karnāṭikā Wives Panca-vaktra Kalhara Lalita Candra-śckhara Sons Sons' Wives Kuranga-mālikā Vīcī Mangala-kouśikī Māhulī

5. KOUŚIKA

Todī Deva-gāndhārī Desākhya Guna-kriyā Suddha-sāverikā Wives Vidun-māla Modaka Sāraga Kāmoda Sons Sons' Wives Nata-taranginī Pūrṇa-candrikā Pālikā Jayanta-senī

202

6. MEGHA-RĀGA

Wives

Troṭakī Moṭakī Aparā Bṛhan-naṭā Ahaṃ-naṭā

Sons

Ghauṭā-kaṇṭha Kamala Ghaṇṭārava Rohaka

Sons' Wives

Sudhāmayī Dombakrī Mṛta-sanjīvanī Megha-dhvani

7. NATA-NĀRĀYANA

Wives

Vangālī Suddha-sālankā Kāmbhojī Madhu-mādhavī Devakrī

Sons

Suddha-vangāla Nata Garuḍa Mohana

Sons' Wives

Trailingī Lāngalī Suratā Hamvarī

8. HINDOLA

Wives

Desī Siva-krī Lalitā Mallārī Suhamsikā

Ramaṇīya Mukhārī Sons Udaya-pancama Suddha-vasanta

Sons' Wives

Sindhu-ramakriyā Vega-vāhinī Dhāranī Chāyā-taraṅginī

203

9. DĪPAK

Wives

Āsāverī Nāṭikā Dehalī Karnāṭī Kedārī

Sons

Kedāra-goulā Vairanjī Holī Sourāstra

Sons' Wives

Kuranja-manjarī Nāga-varālī Deva-ranjanī Sura-sindhu

10. HAMSAKA-RĀGA

Wives

Śrī-ranjanī Mālaśrī Sarasvatī-manoharī Gaurī Iśa-manoharī

Sons

Nāga-dvanī Sāmanta Bhinna-pancama Takka

Sons' Wives

Mālavī Śyāma-kalyānī Deśākṣī Vilaharī

APPENDIX 20.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to "Rāga-vivodha" by Soma-nātha (1609 A.D.)

The scheme belongs to the Southern or the Carnatic system according to which the 23 root-rāgas or mela-rāgas (major melodies) are chosen to which certain janya-rāgas (derivative melodies) are assigned on the basis of an ana-

204

logy of note-structure. The number of derivative melodies cited are illus-

trative and not exhaustive.

Melas (23)Janya-rāgas (76)

1. Mukhārî(1) Mukhārî, (2) Turuṣka-Todî and others.

2. Revagupti

3. Sāma-varāṭî(1) Sāma-varāṭî, (2) Vasanata-varatî and

others.

4. TodîTodî

5. Nāda-rāmakrîNāda-rāmakrî

6. Bhairava(1) Bhairava, (2) Pouravikā

7. Vasanata(1) Vasanata, (2) Takka, (3) Hijeja,

(4) Hindola

8. Vasanata-Bhairavî(1) Vasanata-Bhairavî, (2) Māravî

9. Mālava-gouda(1) Mālava-gouda, (2) Gouḍî, (3) Pūrvî,

(4) Pāhādî, (5) Deva-gāndhāra,

(6) Gouda-kriyā, (7) Kuranjî, (8) Vā-

hulî, (9) Rāmakriyā, (10) Pāvaka,

(11) Āsāvarî, (12) Pancama, (13) Van-

gāla, (14) Suddha-lalita, (15) Gurjjarî,

(16) Paraja, (17) Suddha-gouda,

(18) Caitî-Gouḍî and others.

10. Rīti-goudaRīti-gouda.

11. Ābhîra-naṭaAbhîra-naṭa.

12. Hammira(1) Hammira, (2) Vihangadā, (3) Kedāra

Suddha-varāṭî

13. Suddha-varāṭî(1) Suddha-rāmakrî, (2) Lalita, (3) Jaitaśrî,

(4) Travanî, (5) Deśî and others

14. Sucî (Suddha) Rāmakri

15. Srî-rāga(1) Srî-rāga, (2) Mālava-śrî, (3) Dhanyāsî,

(4) Bhairavî, (5) Dhavala, (6) Sain-

dhavî and others

16. KalyāṇaKalyāṇa

17. Kāmvodî(1) Kāmvodî, (2) Devakrî

18. Mallārî(1) Mallārî, (2) Naṭa-mallārî, (3) Pūrva-

gouda, (4) Bhūpālî, (5) Gounda,

(6) Sankarābharana, (7) Naṭa-nārāyaṇa,

(8) Nārāyaṇa-goudo, (9) Kedāra,

(10) Sālanka-naṭa, (11) Velāvalî,

(17) Madhyamādi, (13) Sāverî,

(14) Sourāṣṭrî

19. SamantaSāmanta

20. Karnāṭa-gouda(1) Karnāṭa-gouda, (2) Addaṇā, (3) Nāga-

dvani, (4) Suddha-vangāla. (5) Varṇa-

nāṭa, (6) Turuska-Todî-Irākha

21. DeśākṣîDeśākṣî

22. Suddha-nāṭaSuddha-nāṭa

23. SārangaSāranga

205

APPENDIX 21.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Rāga-Darpaṇa by Dāmodara Miśra (circa 1625 A.D.)

The author first cites the scheme current in his time in the North, and then quotes the schemes according to the Schools of Someśvara, Hanuman, and "Rāgāranava." He also gives a list of twenty rāgas, which probably represented a traditional group, which may have been popular before the time of the author. Their names are:—Śrī-rāga, Naṭa, Vangāla, Bhāṣa, Madhyama, Ṣāḍava, Rakta-hamsa, Kohlāsa, Prabhava, Bhairava, Dhani, Megha-rāga, Soma-rāga, Kāmoda, Āmra-Pancama, Kandarpa, Deśākhya, Kukubha, Kaiśika, and Naṭṭa-Nārāyaṇa. Of these many must have ceased to be current in practice at the time of the author.

ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Mālaśrī Trivaṇī Gourī Kedārī Madhu-mādhavī Pāhāḍī

VASAṄTA

Deśī Devagirī Varāṭī Toḍi Lalitā Hindolī

BHAIRAVA

Bhairavī Gurjjārī Rāmakirī Guṇakirī Vāngālī Saindhavī

PANCAMA

Vibhāṣā Bhupālī Karnāṭī Vaḍaham-sikā Mālavī Pata-manjarī

MEGH-RĀGA

Mallārī Sourāṭhī Sāverī Kouśikī Gāndhārī Hara-ṣṅgārā

VRHAṄ-NATA-NATTA-NĀRĀYANA

Kāmodī Kalyāṇī Ābbirī Nāṭikā Sāraṅgī Naṭṭa-Hamvīrā

206

APPENDIX 22.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to "Hṛdaya-koutukaṃ" by Hṛdaya-Nārāyaṇa Deva (circa samvat 1724-1646 A.D.)

The author follows the Southern principle of classification of the 'genus and species system' on the basis of choosing certain major rāgas calling them Samsthānam (ṭhāṭa) in place of the name Melaka used by others.

He adopts 12 root-rāgas, from which he derives the minor melodies.

His 12 major rāgas include a new rāga said to have been created by his patron, the chief of Goḍā deśa (not identified) and called 'Hṛdaya-rāma.'

1. Bhairavî .. .. 1. Bhairavî, 2. Nīlāmvarî

2. Toḍî .. .. Toḍî (mārga)

3. Gourî .. .. 1. Mārga-Gourî, 2. Deśî-Gourî. 3. Mālava, 4. Śrî-Gourî, 5. Caitî-Gourî, 6. Pāhārî-Gaurî, 7. Deśî-Toḍî, 8. Deśa-Kāraka, 9. Gouda, 10. Trivanā, 11. Mulatānî-Dhānaśrî, 12. Vasantakā, 13. Goura, 14. Bhairava, 15. Vibhāṣa, 16. Rāma-karî, 17. Gurjari, 18. Vahulî, 19. Bhāti-yāla, 20. Saṭa-rāga (khaṭ), 21. Mālaśrî, 22. Pancama, 23. Jayantaśrî, 24. Āśāvarî, 25. Deva-Gāndhāra, 26. Sindhî-Āśāvarî, 27. Gunakarî.

4. Karnāṭa .. .. 1. Karnāṭa, 2. Kedārî, 3. Hindola, 4. Sugha-rāi, 5. Āḍanā, 6. Gāro-karnāṭa, 7. Śrî-rāga.

5. Kedāra .. .. 1. Kedāra, 2. Kedāra-nāṭa, 3. Jayant-kedāra, 4. Āhîra-naṭa, 5. Khamvāvatî, 6. Śankarā-bharana, 7. Vihāgarā, 8. Hamvîra, 9. Śyāma-nāṭa, 10. Chāyā-nāṭa, 11. Bhū-pālî, 12. Bhîma-palāśikā, 13. Purîyā-kedāra, 14. Kouśika, 15. Māru.

6. Imana .. .. 1. Imanā, 2. Śuddha-kalyāṇa, 3. Purîyā, 4. Yayat-kalyāṇa

7. Śāranga .. .. 1. Śāranga, 2. Paṭa-manjarî, 3. Vrindāvanî, 4. Sāmanta, 5. Vada-hamsa.

8. Megha .. .. 1. Megha, 2. Mallāra, 3. Yoginî, 4. Madhya-mādi, 5. Gounda-Mallāra, 6. Devā-bharana, 7. Goura-śāranga, 8. Naṭa, 9. Velāvalî, 10. Ālāhiyā, 11. Śuddha-suhāva, 12. Deśî-suhāva, 13. Deśākha, 14. Śuddha-nāṭa.

207

9. Hrdaya-rāma .. .. Hrdaya-rāma

10. Dhanāśrî .. .. 1. Dhanāśrî, 2. Lalita.

11. Pūrvā .. .. .. Pūrvā

12. Mukhārî .. .. .. Mukhārî

An additional root-rāga called Dîpaka is intended to be included but it is not actually described ("Atha thāṭa-prakaraṇa dîpak-samsthānaṃ lekhyam").

APPENDIX 23

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to "Hrdaya-prakāśa," by Hrdayanāyana Deva (Circa Samvat 1724-1646 A.D.)

In this treatise the author uses the term mela (genus) in place of Samsthana (ṭhāṭa) used in his Hrdaya-Kautuka. In the former work, he classifies the parent-scales into eleven melas, according to Suddha or Vikrita-notes used in the structure of the melodies.

1. Suddha-mela .. .. 1. Saindhav, 2. Bhairvî, 3. Nilamvari.

2. Mela with 1 vikrta note .. 1. Karnāṭa, 2. Kakubhā, 3. Jināvatî, 4. Sourāstrî, 5. Sugandhāyî, 6. Kāmoda, 7. Ādānā, 8. Vāgeśvarî.

3. Ditto .. Mukhārî

4. Mela with 2 vikrta notes .. Todî

5. Ditto .. 1. Kedāra, 2. Syāmā-naṭaka, 3. Khamvāvatî, 4. Hamvîra, 5. Saṃkarābharaṇa, 6. Jayat-kedāra, 7. Pūriyā-kedāra, 8. Vihāgarā, 9. Āhîra-nāṭa, 10. Māru, 11. Bhîma-pālāsikā, 12. Chāyā-nāṭa, 13. Khedāra-nāṭa, 14. Māla-kouśika, 15. Bhūpālî

6. Mela with 3 vikrta notes .. 1. Iṃana, 2. Pūriyā-Kalyāna, 3. Jayat-Kal-yāna, 4. Suddha-kalyāna.

7. Ditto .. 1. Megha, 2. Suddha-nāṭa, 3. Nāṭa, 4. Devagirî, 5. Gourā-sāranga, 6. Ālāhiyā, 7. Devā-bharaṇa, 8. Deśākha, 9. Gound-Mallāra, 10. Suhāva, 11. Madhyamādî, 12. Mallāra

8. Ditto .. Hrdaya-ramā

9. Mela with 4 vikrta notes .. 1. Gourî, 2. Mūlatānî-dhānasarî, 3. Srî-rāga, 4. Sadraga, 5. Caitî-Gourî, 6. Vasanta, 7. Jayaśrî, 8. Rāmakali, 9. Paraja, 10. Pañcama, 11. Gāndhāra, 12. Āsāvarî, 13. Deśî-Todî, 14. Bhairava, 15. Vahulî, 16. Gurjarî, 17. Gouḍa, 18. Gunakarî, 19. Deśa-kāra, 20. Mālasrî, 21. Vibhāsa, 22. Trivaṇa.

10. Ditto .. 1. Sāranga, 2. Paṭamanjarî, 3. Sāmanta, 4. Vaḍahamsa.

11. Ditto .. Pūrva

12. Mela with 5 vikrta notes .. Dhanāśrî

208

APPENDIX 24.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Catur-dandi-Prakāśikā by Vyānkatamakhi (otherwise called Vyāmkaṭeśvara Dikṣita) (1660 A.D.)

The author belongs to the Southern, or Carnatic School. He severely criticises the author of Svaramela-kalā-nidhi, who gives a list of 20 melas, whereas Vyankaṭamakhī gives a list of 19 melas.

(Janaka-melas)

(Janya-rāgas)

1. Mukhārī .. .. Mukhārī

2. Sāma-varālī .. .. Sāma-varālī

3. Bhūpāla .. .. 1. Bhūpāla, 2. Bhinna-ṣadja

4. Vasanṭa-Bhairavī .. .. Vasanṭa-Bhairavī

5. Goula .. .. 1. Goula, 2. Gundakriyā, 3. Sālanga-nāṭa, 4. Nāda-rāma-kriyā, 5. Lalitā, 6. Pāḍī, 7. Gurjarī, 8. Vahulī, 9. Mallahārī, 10. Sāverī, 11. Chāyā-goula, 12. Pūrva-goula, 13. Karṇāṭaka, 14. Vangāla, 15. Sourāstra.

6. Āharī .. .. 1. Ābherī, 2. Hindola-vasanṭa

7. Bhairavī .. .. 1. Bhairavī, Hindola, 3. Āhīrī, 4. Ghanṭā-rava, 5. Rīti-goula.

8. Srī-rāga .. .. 1. Srī, 2. Sāla-Bhairavī, 3. Dhanyāsī, 4. Mālava-śrī, 5. Deva-gāndhāra, 6. Āndhālī, 7. Velāvalī, 8. Kannāḍa-Goula.

9. Hejujjī .. .. 1. Hejujjī, 2. Revaguptī.

10. Kāmbhojī .. .. 1. Kāmbhojī, 2. Kedāra-goula, 3. Nārāyaṇa-goula.

11. Sankarābharana .. .. 1. Sankarā-bharṇa, 2. Ārabhī, 3. Nāgadvanī, 4. Sāma, 5. Suddha-vasanṭa, 6. Nārāyaṇī-Deśakṣī, 7. Nārāyaṇī.

12. Sāmanta .. .. Sāmanta

13. Deśākṣī .. .. Deśākṣī

14. Nāṭa .. .. Nāṭa

15. Suddha-varālī .. .. Suddha-varālī

16. Panṭu-varālī .. .. Panṭu-varālī

17. Suddha-rāma-kriyā .. .. Suddha-rāma-kriyā

18. Simha-rava .. .. Simha-rava

19. Kalyāṇī .. .. Kalyāṇa

27

209

APPENDIX 25.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Anūpa-Sangītānkuśa by Bhāva-bhaṭṭa (1674-1701 A.D.)

The author belongs to the Northern School. He utilises both Southern and Northern texts both of which he quotes profusely. He accepts Sangīta-Pārijāta and Sangīta-ratnākara as leading authorities.

BHAIRAVA

Madyamādī Bhairavī Vāngālī Varāṭi Saindhavī

MĀLAVA-KOUŚIKA

Toḍī Khamvāvatī Gouḍī Gunakirī Kakubhā

HINDOLA

Velāvalī Rāmakirī Deśākṣī Paṭamanjarī Lalitā

DĪPAKA

Kedārikā Deśī Kāmōdī Nāṭikā Karanṭī

ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Vasantī Mālavī Mālaśrī Sāverī Dhanāśrī

MEGHA

Mallārī Deśakārī Bhūpālī Gurjarī Takka

210

APPENDIX 26.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Anūpa-Sangīta-ratnākara, by Bhāva-bhatta (1674-1701 A.D.)

The author belongs to the Northern School. But he treats the Northern and the Southern systems. In the Anūpa-sangīta-ratnākara, he cites 20 different melas (root-rāgas) with their derivatives. In another work he cites six rāgas and five rāginīs (sec Appendix 25).

1. Todî .. .. Todî and others.

2. Goudî .. .. 1. Goudî, 2. Gurjarî, 3. Vahulā, 4. Rāmakali, 5. Āśāvarî, 6. Māru, 7. Gunakri, 8. Patamanjarî, 9. Pancama, 10. Suddha-lalita, 11. Takka, 12. Mālava-Gouda, 13. Pūrvî, 14. Vangāla, 15. Pāḍî.

3. Varāṭî .. .. 1. Varāṭî, 2. Suddha-varāṭî, 3. Syāma-varāṭî.

4. Kedāra .. .. 1. Kedāra, 2. Kedāra-Gouda, 3. Mal-lāra, 4. Natta-Nārāyana, 5. Velāvalî, 6. Bhūpālî, 7. Kāmvojî, 8. Madhumaḍhavî, 9. Sankarā-bharana, 10. Sāverî, 11. Suvāhî, 12. Nārāyanî, 13. Kedāra-nāṭa and others.

5. Suddha-nāṭa .. .. Suddha-nāṭa and others.

6. Mālava-kaiśika .. .. 1. Mālava-śrî, 2. Dhannāsî, 3. Bhairavî, 4. Saindhavî, 5. Deva-Gandhāra and others.

7. Śrî-rāga .. .. Śrî-rāga and others.

8. Hammira .. .. Hammira and others.

9. Aherî .. .. Aherî and others.

10. Kalyāna .. .. Kalyāna and others.

11. Deśakṣî .. .. Deśakṣî and others.

12. Deśîkāra .. .. 1. Deśîkāra, 2. Travanî, 3. Deśî, 4. Lalita, 5. Dīpaka, 6. Vibhāsa.

13. Sāranga .. .. Sāranga and others.

14. 'Karnāṭa .. .. 1. Karnāṭa, 2. Sāmaṇta, 3. Sourāṣṭrî, 4. Chāyā-nāṭaka.

15. Kāmoda .. .. Kāmoda and others.

16. Hijeja .. .. Hijeja, Bhairava and others.

17. Nāda-rāmakrî .. .. Nādā-rāmakrî and others.

18. Hindola .. .. 1. Hindola, 2. Vasanṭa and others.

19. Mukhārî .. .. Mukhārî and others.

20. Soma .. .. Soma and others.

211

APPENDIX 27

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Sangīta-nārāyaṇa by Puruşottama Miśra, court poet of Nārāyaṇa Deva of the Gajapati Dynasty (Circa 1730 A.D.) The author quotes the differing views of the lists of rāgas as given by Nārada in the Pancama-Sāra-samhitā (Appendix 13), and Mammata in Sangīta-ratna-mālī (Appendix 5), and cites the system of rāgas as current in his time. The text available, that of the Ms. of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (No. 2513-69-E4) is very much corrupt, and undecipherable at various places.

BHAIRAVA

Bhairavī Kaśikī Bhāṣa Velāvalī Vangālī

VASANTA

Anonita (?) Deśākhya Nona (?) Prathama-manjarī Masravī (?) Mallārī (?)

MĀLAVA-KOUŚIKA

Śaivī (?) Toḍī Gunḍakirī Varāḍī Khamvāvatī Karnāṭī

ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Gāndhārī Deva-gāndhārī Mālava-śrī Sāverī Rāma-kirī

MEGHA-RĀGA

Lalitā Mālasī Gourī Nāṭī Devakirī

NATA-NĀRĀYANA

Saramani (?) Ābhāsa (?) Kāmodī Gunjarī Kakubhā

212

APPENDIX 28.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Sangīta-Sārāmrtoddhāra

By King Tulāji of Tanjore (1763-1787 A.D.)

(Janaka-melas) (Janya-rāgas)

1. Śrī-rāga .. .. Kannada-Gouḍa, Deva-gāndhāra, Sālaga-Bhairavî, Mādhava-manoharî, Suddha-deśî, Madhyama-grāma-rāga, Saindhavî, Kāphî, Husenî, Śrî-ranjanî, Malavaśrî, Deva-manoharî, Jayanta-sena, Mani-ranga, Madhyamādi, Dhanāśrî.

2. Suddha-nāṭa .. .. Śuddha-nāṭî, Udaya-ravi-candrikā.

3. Mālava-gouḍa .. .. Ādya-mālava-gouḍa, Sāranga-nāṭikā, Ārdra-deśî, Chāyā-gouda, Ṭakka, Gurjjarî, Gunda-kriyā, Phala-manjarî, Nāda-rāma-kriyā, Śourāṣṭrî, Māgadhî, Gourî-manoharî, Māruva, Sāverî, Gouḍî-pantu, Pūrvî, Vibhāsa, Goula, Kannada-vangāla, Vahulî, Pāḍi, Malla-hari, Lalitā, Pūrṇa-pancama, Suddha-sāverî, Megha-ranjanî, Reva-Gupta, Mālavî.

4. Velāvalî .. .. Velāvalî.

5. Varālî .. .. Varālî.

6. Suddha-rāma-kriyā .. .. Suddha-rāma-kriyā, Dīpaka.

7. Śankarā-bharaṇa .. .. Śankarābharaṇa, Ārabhî, Suddha-vasanta, Sarasvatî-manoharî, Pūrva-goula, Nārāyaṇî-deśakṣî, Sāmanta, Kuranjî, Pūrṇa-candrikā, Sura-sindhu, Julāvu, Vilaharî, Gouda-mallāra, Kedāra.

8. Kāṃvojî .. .. Kīṃvojî, Nirīyana-gouda, Kedāra-gouda, Vada-hamsa, Nāga-dvani, Chāyā-taran-ginî, Jadu-kula-kāmvojî, Naṭa-kurañjî, Kannada, Naṭa-nārayanî, Āndhālî, Sāma-rāga, Manohara, Deva-kriyā, Mohana-kalyāṇî.

9. Bhairavî .. .. Bhairavî, Āharî, Ghanṭā-rava, Indu-ghanṭā-rava, Riṭî-goula, Hindola-vasanta, Ānan-da-Bhairavî, Ābherî, Nāga-gāndhārî, Dhanyāsî, Hindola.

10. Mukhārî .. .. Mukhārî.

11. Vega-vāhinî .. .. Vega-vāhinî.

12. Sindhu-rāma-kriyā .. .. Sindhu-rāma-kriyā, Pantụ-Varālî.

13. Hejujjî .. .. Hejujjî.

213

14. Sāma-varālī .. .. Sāma-varālī, Gāndhāra-pancama, Bhinna-pancama.

15. Vasanta-bhairava .. .. Vasanta-bhairavī, Lalita-pancama.

16. Bhinna-ṣadja .. .. Bhinna-ṣadja, Bhūpāla.

17. Deśākṣī .. .. Deśākṣī.

18. Chāyā-nāṭa .. .. Chāyā-nāṭa.

19. Sāranga .. ..

20. Todī .. ..

21. Kaiyānī .. ..

APPENDIX 29.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to a Hindī treatise Known as "Rāgā-Kutūhala" by Radha Krishna Kavi, composed in Samvat 1853-1781 A.D.

(Ms. in the possession of Kuñwar Brajendra Singh, Dholpur and described by him in the Hindī monthly Saraswatī, November 1933, p. 425).

BHAIRAVA

MĀLKOUŚA

HINDOLA

DĪPAK

214

ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Vasanta Mālaśrî Āśāvarî Mūrvā Dhanāśrî

MEGHA

Bhūpālî Mallārî Gujārî Tanka Dśakārî

APPENDIX 30.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Sangīta-sāra, compiled by Mahārāja Sawai Pratap Simha Deo of Jaipur, (1779-1804 A.D.)

He purports to follow the School of Hanumāna, and after specifying the six rāgas and 30 rāginîs according to Hanumāna he adds the names and descriptions of the respective sons of the six rāgas, each having 8 sons according to the scheme set out below:-

BHAIRAVA

Vangāla Pancama Madhura Haraṣa Deśākh Lalita Vilāval Mādhava

MĀLKOUŚA

Nandan Khokar

HINDOLA

Vangāl Candra-vimva Śubhrānga Ānanda Vibhāṣa Vardhana Vanānta Vinoda

DĪPAK

Kusuma Kusum (?) Rāma Kuntala Kālinga Vahula Campaka Hema

215

ŚRĪ-RĀG

SaindhavaMālava Gouḍa Gambhīra Guna-sāgara Vigada Kalyāṇa Gaḍa

MEGHA-RĀG

Nāga Kanhāro Sāranga Kedāra Goḍa Mallāra Jalandhara Ṣankara

Note: Only two sons are assigned to Mālkos, viz. Nandan and Khokar.

APPENDIX 31.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Bramhā. This name is more or less a mythical shadow, in Indian musical literature. According to old traditions, to Bramhā is ascribed the musical lore known under the title of Gandharva Veda Sāram. In the Sangīta malakaranda of Nārada (G. O. S., Vol. XVI, p. 13, verse 18) Bramhā is mentioned as an ancient authority. But no authenticated work that could be ascribed to this author has yet been traced. The system of classification of melodies current under his name, is probably the opinion of some later authorities who ascribe it to Bramhā, in order to gain prestige and respectability. His system is followed by several authors.

BHAIRAVA

Bhairavī Gujjarī Rāmakelī Gunakelī Saindhavī Vangālī

ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Mālaśrī Trivanī Gourī Kedārī Madhu-mādhavī Pahāḍī

MEGHARĀGA

Mallārī Sourāṭī Sāverī Kousikī Gāndhārī Hara-ṣṛngārī

216

VASANTA

Deśī Devagiri Varāṭī Todī Lalitā Hindolī

PANCAMA-RĀGA

Vibhāṣā Bhūpālī Karnāṭī Vadha-hamsikā Mālavī Paṭaman-jarī

NATA-RĀGA

Kāmodī Kalyāṇī Ābhirī Nāṭikā Sārangī Hamvīra

APPENDIX 32.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to the School of Bharata.

Unless Bharata is taken to be some later musical authority other than the author of the Nātya-śāstra, the system of classification ascribed to him must be purely apocryphal. For, it is well-known, that at the time of Bharata, the rāgas, as understood in later times, had not evolved. The list ascribed to him by legend, must be a very late classification, attributed to him by way of courtesy, in order to acquire authority by association with a great name famous in musical history. The School of Bharata is referred to in Dāmodara's Sangīta-Darpana (Ch. I, verse 2). The system set out below is borrowed from Radha Mohan Sen's Sangīta-Taranga. (Calcutta, 1818, Reprinted by Vangavāsī Press, 1203, at pp. 123-125.)

BHAIRAVA

Wives

Madhumādhavī Bhairavī Vangālī Varārī Saindhavī

20

217

Sons

Velāval Pancama Deśākh Sons' Wives Deo-gāndhāra Vibhāṣa

Rāmkali Suho ? (Suhāi) Sugaharī Paṭamanjarī Toḍi

MĀLKOUSA

Wives

Gunakali Khamvāvatī Gujarī Sons Bhūpālī Gourī

Soma Parasan Vada-hamsa Sons' Wives Kakubha Vangāla

Soraṭhī Trivcṇī Karnāṭī Āsāvarī Goḍa-girī

HINDOLA

Wives

Velāvalī Deśākī Lalitā Bhīma-palāsī Mālavī

Sons

Rekhav-hamsa Vasanta Lokhāsa Sons' Wives Gandharbha Lalita

Kedāra Kāmodī Vehāgarā Kāphī Parajā

218

DÎPAKA

Wives

Naṭa Mallārī Kedārī Kānarā Bhārekā

Sons

Śuddha-kalyāṇa Soraṭha Deśakāra Hāmīrā Māru

Sons' Wives

Vada-hamsī Deś-varāṭī Vairāṭī Deogiri Sindhavā

ŚRÎ-RĀGA

Wives

Vasantī Mālavī Mālaśrī Sāhanā Dhānaśrī

Sons

Naṭa Chāyānaṭa Kānadā Iman .Sankarābharana

Sons' Wives

Śyāma Pūriyā Gujarī Hamirī Ādānā

MEGHA

Wíves

Sāranga Vankā Gandharvvā Mallārī Mūlatānī

Sons

Bāhādurī Naṭa-nārāyaṇa Malavā Jayatī Kāmod

Sons' Wives

Pahāḍī Jayantī Gāndhārī Pūravī Jaya-jayantī

219

APPENDIX 33.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to the School of Hanumāna (Hanumat).

It is mentioned in the Persian Treatise known as Tuḥfat-ul-Hind by Mahomed Rezza Khan (1813 A.D.) recently edited by the Viśva Bhāratī, that at the time of this author, four classifications were current, one ascribed to Hanumāna, one ascribed to Brahmā, one ascribed to Bharata, and one ascribed to Kallinātha. The last named is set out in Appendix 14. Bharata has only mentioned certain grāma-rāgas (Appendix 2). and the classification ascribed to him must be by some later authors. As regards the School of Hanumāna, no text which could be ascribed to him appears to have survived.

Ānjaneya (Hanumāna) as a musical authority is mentioned by Abhinava Gupta (C. 1930) and Sāranga-deva (C. 1247), and quoted by Sāradā-tanaya (C. 1250) and also by Kallinātha (C. 1460). In Govinda Dīkṣita's Sangīta-sudhā, Ānjaneya is described as deriving the principles of Deśī-rāga, from Yāstika, an ancient authority earlier than Matanga. So that undoubtedly he is an ancient writer on music, although his actual work has not survived.

The fact that his name is associated by Dāmodara in his Sangīta Darpana (Calcutta edition p. 75-76) with the scheme of Rāga-raginîs shows that Hanumāna expounded the Northern, or the Hindusthānî system. He is also referred to by Ahobala, as a commentator on Bharata-nāṭya. The classification of Hanumāna is followed by Dāmodara, Harivallava, the anonymous author of Sangīta-mālā and various other authors, with minor variations and is supposed to be still current.

BHAIRAVA

Madhyamāḍī Bhairavī Vāngālī Varāṭikā Saindhavī

KOUSIKA

Toḍī Khamvāvatī Gourī Gunakrī Kakubhā

HINDOLA

Velāvalī Rāmakirī Deśākhyā 220 Paṭamanjarī Lalita

DĪPAKA

Kedārī Kānādā Deśī Kāmodī Nāṭikā

ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Vasantī Mālavī Mālaśrī Dhanāśikā Āśāvarī

MEGHA-RĀGA

Mallārī Deśakārī Bhūpālī Gurjarī Tanka

(According to the list cited in Rādhāmohan Sen's Sangita-Taranga (p. 123, Calcutta, 1818), Ramvā is substituted for Gaurī, and Mālinī for Mālavī).

APPENDIX 34.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS. ✓

into six Rāgas and thirty Rāginīs.

According to the Hindi texts inscribed on the series of miniatures in the British Museum Ms. Add. Or. 2821,—similar texts in the series in the Ghose Collection, Calcutta,—similar series in the Collection of Lala Shambhunath, Jaipur,—similar series in the Collection of Purā tattva Samsodhaka Mandalī, Poona.

BHAIRAVA

Bhairavī Mālaśrī Paṭamanjarī Lalitā Nāṭikā

MĀLKOUSA

(?) Gourī Gouda -Mālava- Rāmakelī -Mānavatī Khambhāvatī Gunakarī

221

HINDOLA

Madhumādhvī Gāndhārī Toḍī Deśākha Vilāvala

DĪPAKA

Kanaḍī Dhanāśrī Varāḍī Vasantī Varāṭī

ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Pancama Kāmoda Setmalāra Āsāvarī Kedāra

MEGHA-RĀGA

Gourī Kakubhī Gujjarī Vangālī Vibhāsā

APPENDIX 35.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to a Hindusthānī (Urdu) Manuscript of Rāga-mālā by Saiyid 'Abd-al-Walī' Uzlat, dated 25th Muharam, A.H. 1173, (A.D. 1759) in the India Office, London (No. 101 P-2380-C), described at p. 54, of Blumhardt's Catalogue of the Hindustani Manuscripts in the Library of the India Office, 1926.

According to this scheme of classification, the melodies are grouped under six rāgas, each having five rāginīs, and each having a family of eight sons (putras) representing 84 different musical modes. As the list of the sons (putras) are not complete, they are not cited here.

BHAIRAVA

Bhairavī Vilāvalī Varārī Kāmodī Bangālī

222

MĀLKOUSA

Goundakirī Gāndhāra Gāndhārī Sarasvatī Dhanāśrī

HINDOLA

Tilangī Devakirī Vasantī Sindhurī Āhirī

ŚRĪ-RĀGA

Karnāṭī Kriyatī (?) Gaurī Āśāvarī Sindhurā

DĪPAKA

Surath Gond (?) Dhani Kankālī Suhā

APPENDIX 36.

CLASSIFICATION OF RĀGAS.

According to Pandit V. N. Bhatkhande (Pundit Visnu Sarma), B.A., LL.B. of Bombay, as given in his Sanskrit treatise Aṭhinava-rāga-manjari (Poona, 1921), in the pariśiṣṭa (appendix), pp. 1-12.

Mela-rāga: Janya-rāga:

Kalyāṇī .. .. 1. Iman, 2. Bhūpālī, 3. Suddha-Kalyāna, 4. Chandra-Kānta, 5. Jayat-Kalyāna, 6. Mālaśrī, 7. Hindola, 8. Hammīr, 9. Kedāra, 10. Kāmoda, 11. Śyāma, 12. Chāyā-nāṭa, 13. Gouḍa-Sāranga.

Velāvalī .. .. 1. Suddha-vilāvalī, 2. Ālhaiyā, 3. Sukhla-vilāvali, 4. Devagirī, 5. Yamanī, 6. Kakubhā, Second Kakubhā, 7. Natavilāvalī, 8. Laccha-sakhā, 9. Sarpardā, 10. Vihaṅga, 11. Desikār, 12. Hema-kalyāṇa, 13. Nata-rīṅga, 14. Pāhādī, 15. Maḍa-rāga, 16. Durgā, 17. Maluha, 18. Sankarā.

223

Khamāj .. .. 1. Jhinjhoṭī, 2. Khamāj, 3. Second Durgā, 4. Tailangī, 5 .Rāgeśvarī, 6. Khamvāvatī, 7. Garā, 8. Soraṭī, 9. Deśa-rāga, 10. Jayāvatī, 11. Tilok-kāmod.

Bhairava .. .. 1. Bhairava, 2. Rāmakrī, 3. Vangāla-Bhairava, 4. Sourāstra-tanka-rāga, 5. Prabhāta-rāga, 6. Śiva-Bhairava, 7. Ānanda-Bhairava, 8. Āhīra-Bhairava, 9. Gunakrī, 10. Kalinga-rāga, 11. Jogiyā, 12. Vībhāsa-rāga, 13. Megha-ranjani.

Purvī .. .. 1. Pūrvī, 2. Puriyā-Dhanaśrī, 3. Jetaśrī, 4. Praja, 5. Śrīrāga, 6. Gourī, 7. Mālavī, 8. Trivenī, 9. Tankī, 10. Vasanta.

Māravā .. .. 1. Māravā, 2. Pūriyā, 3. Jeta-rāga, 4. Māligourā, 5. Sāj-girī, 6. Varāṭī, 7. Lalitā, 8. Sohanī, 9. Pancama, Second Pancama, 10. Bhattiyāra, 11. Vibhāśa-rāga, 12. Bhakkāra-rāga.

Kāphī .. .. 1. Kāphī, 2. Saindhavī, 3. Sindurā, 4. Dhān-aśrī, 5. Bhimpaḷāsī, 6. Dhānī, 7. Patamanjarī, 8. Paṭa-Dīpakī, 9. Hamsa-kan-kanī, 10. Pilu, 11. Vāgiśvarī, 12. Sāhānā, 13. Suhā, 14. Sughāraikā, 15. Nāyakī-kānaḍā, 16. Dvavasāga-rāga, 17. Vāhāra-rāga, 18. Vrandāvanī-sāranga, 19. Madhyamādī-Sāranga, 20. Sāmañta-Sāranga, 21. Suddha-Sāranga, 22. Miyā-Sārang, 23. Vada-hamsa-sāranga, 24. Suddha-Mallār, 25. Megha-rāga, 26. Miyā (?) Mallāra, 27. Surat-Mallāra, 28. Gouḍ-mallāra.

Āśāvarī .. .. 1. Āśavarī, 2. Jaunpurī, 3. Deva-gāndhār, 4. Sindhu-Bhairavī, 5. Deśī, 6. Śadrāga, 7. Kousika-Kānaḍā, 8. Darvārī-Kānaḍā, 9. Āddanā, 10. Dvitīya-nāyaki.

Bhairavī .. .. 1. Bhairavī, 2. Mālkosā, 3. Āśāvarī, 4. Dhanāśrī, 5. Vilāskhānī-toḍī.

Toḍī ' .. .. 1. Toḍī, 2. Gurjarī-Toḍī, 3. Mūla-tānī.

224