Swami Vivekananda                           

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC' 

SWAMI PRAJNANANANDA 

VOLUME ONE 

( Ancient Period ) 

RAMAKRISHNA VEDANTA MATH 

CALCUTTA : INDIA. 

Published by Swaxni Adytaanda 

Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, Calcutta-6. 

First Published in May, 1963 

All Rights Reserved by 

Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, Calcutta. 

Printed by Benoy Ratan Sinha at Bharati Printing Works, 

141, Vivekananda Road, Calcutta-6. 

Plates printed by Messrs. Bengal Autotype Co. Private Ltd. 

Cornwallis Street, Calcutta. 

DEDICATED TO 

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA 

AND HIS SPIRITUAL BROTHER 

SWAMI ABHEDANANDA 

PREFACE 

Before attempting to write an elaborate history of 

Indian Music, I had a mind to write a concise one 

for the students. Opinions differ regarding the 

import, scope, characteristics as well as method of 

treatment of history of Indian music. So far as 

is known to us there are different kinds of history 

of music taught in schools, colleges and universities 

of foreign lands. Indian people claim that their 

music is the most ancient one in the world, but 

no serious attempt has as yet; been made to write 

a chronological history of music of India. India 

indeed is a great country, the fountain-head of the 

world civilization and culture. Most of the 

historians both of the East and the West admit 

that many of the civilized nations of the world are 

indebted to India for their materials of civilization, 

aft and culture. India does not lack in authentic 

materials for constructing a history of music of 

her own, for putting before the admiring gaze of 

tbe world, her glorious heritage in the field of art, 

education and culture. 

It gives me pleasure to mention in this connection 

that some valuable articles on the history of Indian 

music, from the gifted pens of the connoisseurs of 

music, published from time to time in different 

papers and journals, have left; behind them impress 

of permanent value in the field of study and culture 

( vii ) 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

of Indian music. A compendious book on history 

of music has recently come out from the pen of a 

scholar like Shri P. Sambamoorthy of Madras. 

The precious articles of Dr. V. Raghavan in this 

field are noted for their clarity and scholarship. 

His illuminating serial articles on Some Names in 

Early and latter Sangita Literature, An Outline 

Literary History >of Indian Music, appeared in the 

journal of the Music Academy, Madras, and 

Music in the Deccan and South India, appeared in 

the "Behar Theatre", Behar, and other articles, 

appeared in the Trivai, the Bulletin of the Sangita 

Na'tak Akadami, New Delhi, are worth-mentioning. 

Recently the University of Agra has honoured 

Dr. Saratchandra Shridhar Paranjape of Bhopal 

by conferring a doctorate on him for his thesis on 

the history of Indian music, from the ancient 

period upto the Gupta period. Thus new hope is 

dawning on the horizon of history of Indian music, 

and paving the path for writing a future authentic 

history of music of the Indian people. 

The present volume is an attempt for tracing out 

firstly the historical evolution of the musical 

materials like microtones, tones, murcchands, 

rdgas, scales, gifts and prabandhas, ve\en!d, vemt, 

and tnridanga, dances and hand-poses, rhythm and 

tempp as well as the philosophical concept that are 

very essential for the study of history of Indian 

music, and secondly, the chronological accounts of 

.history of music of India in different ways in 

( -v 

Vlll ) 

PREFACE 

different periods, including development of music 

in Bengal and South India. 

It is needless to mention that this present small 

volume will act as a guide to the students of 

history of Indian music. I have already published 

two volumes of Sangita O Samskriti in Bengali (in 

the second edition, the name has been changed into 

Bharatiya* Sangiter Itihdsa), wherein I have dealt 

with Indian music upto the Gupta period. The 

third volume of the book is under preparation. 

The present first volume deals with the ancient 

period, covering the primitive one down to the 12th 

century A.D. The second volume will cover the 

mediaeval and modern periods i.e., from the 13th 

century upto the 20th century. 

I express my deep sense of gratitude to 

Dr. Niharranjan Ray for writing the 'Foreword' 

of this book, which has enhanced its value as well 

as its prestige. I also express my gratitude to 

Dr. V. Raghavan of the Madras University for 

giving me permission to print as an 'Appendix' to 

this volume his learned article, Sdmazwda and' 

Mtisic, which was delivered under the auspices of 

the Convention in Delhi on the 13th October, 1962 

and subsequently published in the Journal of the 

Music Academy, Madras, in 1963. Though I have 

dealt with the problem of sdmagdnti in this book, 

yet I have included Dr. Raghavan's article for the 

fuller knowledge of the subject for the students. 

I also express my gratitude to Shri Subodh 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Kumar Chatter ji, B.A,, for making necessary 

corrections in the manuscript before sending it to 

the press. It will be of great pleasure to me if 

the Students as well as the lovers of Indian music 

are benefitted through its perusal. 

It should be mentioned in this connection that 

the diacritical marks a a a a have been used 

throughout the book to express the sound of a i.e., 

aa. 

Swami Prajnanananda. 

Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 

19B, Raja Rajkrishna Street, 

Calcutta-6. 

May, 1963 

FOREWORD 

Swami Prajiianananda of the Ramakrishna 

Vedanta Math of Calcutta, has been well-known 

in Bengal for more than a decade and a half, as 

one of our foremost authorities on the history, 

form, and technique of Indian Classical Music. 

For all these years he has been publishing, in 

Bengali, volume after volume, each one incorporat- 

ing his findings and interpretations on practically 

all aspects and phases of his chosen field of study. 

This treatise in English is a summary of some of 

his basic findings and observations, put in the form 

of a simple historical narrative, more or less in the 

shape and form of a student's or general reader's 

hand-book on the subject. 

I believe the book fulfils its purpose. 

A good Sanskritist, deeply religious in spirit 

and approach to life and its afifairs and philoso- 

phical in training and discipline, Swami 

Prajnanananda-ji gives evidence of his intimate 

knowledge of early and mediaeval texts on Indian 

music, its religious and spiritual associations and 

its philosophical background. Yet what is most 

gratifying is that he never loses sight of the 

historical perspective; indeed, his study is directed 

from the point of view of what; he calls "dialectical 

method of historical -evolution". In whatever, 

therefore, he brings into his orbit of study and 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

analysis, whether it is shrutis or svaras, rdgas or 

prabatidhas, mudrds or musical instruments, he 

follows the history from mystic origins to almost 

the beginning of our times, and more, he cites 

evidences that are not merely textual, but literary 

and archaeological as well, evidence that can be 

fixed in time and space more or less objectively. 

His narrative of the history of music in our 

country from primitive times onwards is also very 

interesting reading. The inclusion of rural and 

folk music and a separate chapter on the contri- 

bution of Bengal to Indian music enhances, I am 

sure, the value of the narrative. 

I feel very thankful that I have been asked to 

introduce the book to the reading public, though 

I am sure, Swami Prajfianananda does not need 

any introduction as a writer and scholar in the 

field of Indian music. 

Prasad Bhavan 

68-4A, Puma Dos Road, NIHARRANJAN RAY 

Calcutta-29 

April 11, 1963. 

( xii ) 

CONTENTS 

Subject Page 

Preface ....... vii ix 

Foreword by Dr. N. R. Ray .... xi xii 

Prelude 17 

CHAPTER I & 14 

Music that evolved on the Indian soil, 8 What is 

history, 8 What do we mean by history of music, 9 

How to construct history of music, 9-10 Import- 

ance and utility of history of music, 10-11 Music: 

sacred and profane, 11 Division of ages, 12-13 

Origin of music, 13-14. 

CHAPTER II 1582 

Historical evolution of different music-materials, 15 

Evolution of microtones (shrutis), 15-16 Five jdti- 

shrutis and 22 shrwtis (table), 17-18 Table No. 2, 18 

Evolution of tones, 19-23 Ud&tta, anuddtta and 

svarita, 19 The emergence of the solfa syllables, 20 

The Vedic tones, 20- -The Vedic tones evolved in 

a downward process, 20 The laukika tones evolved 

from the register tones, uddtta, etc., 21 The ddhdra- 

shadja, 21 Different numbers of shrutis in different 

periods (Table No. I), 28 Table No. II, 23 Evolu- 

tion of murcchand, varna, alamkdra, tana and stJidya, 

23-29 Sth&na and murcchand in the Rdmdyana, 24 

The Rdmdyama and Abhinavagupta on pdthya, 24 

Bharata on pdthya, 24-25 Murcchand in the Ndradi- 

shikshd and the Ndtyasdstra, 25 The murcchands 

evolved from the gramas, 25-26 Murcchand of 12 

tones, 26 Murcchands with 7 tones are divided into 

four parts, 26 Kohala on the murcchand, 26-27 The 

function of the varna, 27 The tanas in old treatises, 

27-28 Different kinds of tana, 28 The gamaka and 

the kdku, 29 The sthdya, 29 Evolution of ten essen- 

tials (dasa lakshanas), 29-30 Bharata on the ten 

( . V 

Kill ) 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Subject Page 

essentials, 30-31 Graha and amsha, 31-32 Nydsa, 

viddri, samnydsa, alpatva, vahutva, etc., 32-33 Vadi, 

samvddi, anwuddi and vivadi, 33 Evolution of the 

concept of rdga, 33-34 Rdgas in the Rdmdyana, 

Mahdbhdrata-Harivamsha, 34 Evolution of the rdga f 

35 Jdti or jdtirdga and six grdmardgas, 35-36 Rdgas 

in the Kudumiamalai Rock-Inscriptions, 36 Different 

bhdshdrdgas, 37 Shuddha and vikrita jdtirdgas as 

described in the Ndtyasdstra, 37-38 Evolution of the 

grdmardgas, 38 The seven shuddha grdmardgas 

evolved from the gramas, shadja and madhyama, 39-40 

Evolution of the bhdshdrdgas or angardgas, 41 The 

evolution of the rdgas was in a gradual process, 42 

Evolution of the scales, 42-47 What do we mean by 

the word, scale, 42-43 The sdman scale, 43-44 The 

shadjagrdma was the fixed scale of the Vedic music, 

44-45 The mcla and the melakantd, 46-46 Evolution 

of the gitis and the prabandhas, 47-48 The jdtiqdna, 

48 The brahma- gitis , 48 The gitis, magddhi, ardha- 

mdgadhi, etc., 49 The definitions of the rdgagitis, 

shuddha, etc., 50-51 The probandha-giti, 51-52 The 

limbs (angas) of the prabandha, 52 Three categories 

of prabandha i.e., suda, dli and wprakirna, 52-53 The 

new designs of the dhruvapada (dhrupad), 53-54 

Evolution of the wecnd, venu and mridanga, 54-59 

The vetna and the dhanuryantram, 55 The evolution 

of vcnu, 56 Different kinds of ve,end in the Vedic age, 

56-57 Division of the musical instruments, 57 The , 

veena, wna, 57-58 The four-stringed vfynd from the 

Ruper excavation, 59 Evolution of dance in India and 

its significance, 59-60 Statuette of bronze dancing 

girl and that of the dancing Nataraja Siva from the 

mounds of Mahenjo-daro and Harappa, 60 Hand- 

poses, 60 Nritya, nritta, and ndtya, 61 Mdrga and 

desi types of dances, 61-62 Dances in the times of 

Panini, Patanjali and Bharata, 63 Tandatva and Idsya, 

63 Dances during the time of Kalidasa, 64 Dances 

in different periods, 65 Evolution of the hand-poses 

(mudrds), 66-71 The symbolized figures of the hands 

and different limbs of the body during the time of the 

( xiv ) 

CONTENTS 

Subject Page 

sdman singing, in the Vedic period, 67-68 Narada 

about the hand-poses, 68-69 The updsand-mudrds of 

the Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and others, 69 The four 

kinds of abhinaya, 20 Hand-poses as described by 

Bharata and Nandikeshvara, 70-71 Evolution of 

rhythm and tempo, 71-78 Kdla and tola, 71 Hans 

Tiscler on rhythm, 72 The Vedic meters, 73 The 

talas, sa-shabda and nis-shabda, 73 Evolution of 

eight kinds of tdla, 74 Two kinds of jdti of the 

talas, 74 Different grahas of the tolas, 75 The 

evolution of yati, 75-76 The evolution of prastdra, 

76 Different rhythms of the Karnatic music, 76-77 

The modern talas of the North Indian system of 

music, 77 Historical evolution of philosophical con- 

cept in music, 78-82 The Mahdbhdrata about seven 

tones, 79 Philosophical ideas in the Brihaddeshi and 

the Sangita-samayasdra, 79-82'. 

CHAPTER III 8388 

Music in the primitive time, 83-86 The functional 

music, 83 A. B. Alexander on the primitive music, 

83-84- Mr. Hambly on the primitive music, 84 The 

musical instruments of the primitive time, 85 

Some aboriginal stocks of the primitive singers, 

85-86. Music in the prehistoric time, 86-88 The 

mounds of the dead in Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, 

86 Musical remains from the Indus civilization, 87 

The wena from the Ruper level, 87 A shell piece 

with grooves at two places, found from, the Lothal ex- 

cavation, 87-88. 

CHAPTER IV 8996 

The sdmagdna, 89 The stobhas, 89 The women 

would devoted their time in music in the Vedic time, 

90 Music in different sacrifices and rites, 90-91 The 

tones of the Vedic music were in descending series, 91 

Some subsidiary tones of the Vedic music, 91 The 

veends, v&na and kdtydyawi, 92 The four song 

books and four types of Vedic ganas, 92-93 The sing- 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Subject Page 

ing process of the Vedic music, 93 The Vedic songs 

had their fixed scale, 93 The vakra and riju move- 

ments of the Vedic tones (Table), 94 Pt. Lakshmana 

Sankara Bhatta-Dravida and M. S. Ramasvami 

Aiyar on the methods of the movements of the Vedic 

tones, 94 The seven Vedic tones evolved from the three 

register tones, 94 There were various recensions 

(shdkhds) of singing the sdmagdna, 95 The stobha, 

95 Four kinds of sdmagdna, 96. 

CHAPTER V 97103 

Music in the classical and Epic times, 97-103 The 

g&ndharva type of music, 97 The real significance 

of the word rdga, 98 Music in the works of Panini 

and Patanjali, 98-99 Music in the Bhuddhist period, 

99-103 The thera and theri gathds, 100 The gatha, 

ndrasamsi, 100 Music in the Matsya and Gupttta 

jdtakas, 100 The veends, chvtra and vipanchi, 101 

Music in the Mahayana texts, 101-102 The records left 

by Fa Hien, 102 Music culture during Harsa 

vardhana's time, 103. 

CHAPTER VI 104107 

Music in sculptures and bas-leliefs, 104 Rajendra Lai 

Mitra on Sanchi and Amaravati, 104-105 Music 

remains in the temples at Bhubanesvara, 105 The 

dancing Nataraja in the cave temple of Badami, 105 

Drums, represented in the temple-halls of Muktesvara 

and Badami, 106 Dance figures in the Parasurames- 

vara temple, 106-107 The dancing Nataraja of 

Chidamvaram, 107. 

CHAPTER VII 108139 

Setback and reconstruction in Indian music, 108 

Music coming into definite form, 109 Contact of 

India with other countries, 110 It is said that 

Pythagoras visited India and carried with him the 

materials of Indian culture, 110 Cultural and com- 

mercial contact between the prehistoric Indus cities 

CONTENTS 

Subject Page 

and other Western and most ancient countries, 111 

Contract of India with China, 111-112 Contact of 

India with Central Asia, 112 Different schools of 

dance, drama and music, 112-113 The schools of 

Narada, Bharata and Nandikesvara, 113 Brahma- 

bharata and Sadasi vabharata, 113-1 14 Different 

Naradas, 114 The svaramandcda as described by 

Narada in the Shikshd, 115 The gwnawrittis, as 

described in the Ndradishikshd, 115-116 The vaidika 

and laukika tones, 116 Gdtra and ddravi veends, 1 lo- 

ll/ Bharata, the father of the methodical system of 

music ,117 The Pythagorian inicrotonal system, 

118-119 Bharata's method of determing of the 

twenty-two shrutis, 120-122 A short survey of 

Bharata's Ndfiyasdstra, 112-128 The veends, chitrd 

and vipanchi, 129 The remains of the saptatantri- 

veend in the Pitalkhora Caves, 129-130 The kutapa, 

131 Evolution of the tuning-method or mdrjand, 

131-132 Three kinds mdrjand, 132 The modern 

method of tuning in the tumburd, 133 Nandikesvara 

and his works, 133-134 Bharata and Nandikesvara, 

135 A short analysis of the work, Bharatdrnava, 

136-137 The age of new awakening, 136-138^-The 

murcchands and grdmardgas in the Ndradishikshd, 

137 Aryan and non-Aryan elements in Indian music, 

138-139. 

CHAPTER VIII 140143 

The age of renaissance, 140 Eighteen jdtis, sddhdrana, 

antara and kdkali (modified) tones, 141-142 The 

alamkdras, gitis and dance in the Ndtiyasdstra, 142 

What do we mean by the word jati, 142 The dhruvds, 

143 The tonal bases and their distributing units, 

143. 

CHAPTER IX 144150 

Culture of music in the Gupta and Maurya period, 

114 Kumara Davi, 145 The Sakas and the Pahlavas 

ha4 interest in music, 145 Kalidasa's knowledge of 

( xvii ) 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Subject Page 

music and dance, 145-146 Dance-types, as described 

in different works of Kalidasa, 146-149 Dipadikd, 

jhambhalika, etc. classical dances, 147-148 Prof. 

Ghurye on dvipadika and other dances, 148 Vema- 

Bhupala and Rana Kumbha on dance, 149 Shudraka 

and music, 149 Vishnu Sharma and music, 149 

Shri-Harsa and Damodaragupta on dance, 150. 

CHAPTER X 151165 

Indian music in the post-Bharata period, 151 Kohala, 

151 Dattila, 151-152 Shardula, 152 Yashtika, 152 

Durgashakti, 1 52 Vishvakhila, 1 53 Visvavasu, 

153 Svati, 153 Kirtidhara, 153 Lollata, 153 

Udbhata, 153 Saunaka, 154 Nandikeshvara, 154-155 

Matanga, 155-156 Matrigupta, 157 The author 

of the Natyalochana, 157 Utpaladeva, 158 

Abhinavagupta, 1 58-1 59 Parshvadeva, 1 59-160 

King Nanyadeva, 160-161 Someshvara, 162-164 

Saradatanaya, 164 and other musicologists, 165. 

CHAPTER XI 166176 

Role of Bengal in the domain of music, 166-167 

Sumudragupta, the veend-player, 167 King Harsa- 

vardhana of Kanauj and music, 157 Kalhana, and 

Damodaragupta about music of Bengal, 167 The 

music culture during Pala and Sena Rulers, 168 The 

charyd and vajra gitis, 169 The singing method of 

the chary agitij 170 Music culture during Lakshmana- 

sena's time, 171 Jayadeva contribution to the music 

of Bengal, 171 The nature and the raga* of the 

Gitagovinda, 172 Rana Kumbha's commentary of 

of the Gitagovinda and the change of form of the 

rtigas, mentioned in the astapadi, 173-174 Similar 

works like the Gitagovinda, 175 Theform of presenta- 

tion of astapadi in the South, 176. 

CHAPTER XII 177190 

Role of South India in the field of music, 177 The 

ancient Tamil epic, Silappadikaram, 177 The Jain 

( xviii ) 

CONTENTS 

Subject Page 

dictionary, Tivakaram, 178 The hymns and rdgas, 

as described in the Tevdkaram, 178 The fans are 

divided into three main classes, 178-179 The shuddha 

scale of the Tamil music, 179 The book, Paripadal, 

179 Dr. Ragghavan regarding the Tamil worked on 

music, 780 The Silappadhikaram has described about 

22 microtones, 180 The epic drama is divided into 

three, ISOThe pan and its four varieties, 180 The 

names of the seven tones of the Tamil music, 180 

The nine classes of prabandha, 180 The ancient 

scale of the Tamil music, 181 Different musical instru- 

ments in the Tamil music, 181 Music as developed 

during the Pallava Rulers, 181-182 The Vakatakas 

and the Pallavas, 182 Raja Mahendravarman was an 

accomplished zwna-player, 182 Prof. Nilkanta 

Sastri on the Pallava Rulers, 183 The religio-devo- 

tional hymns of the Nayanars, 184 The new names of 

some of the old rdgas, ISA Dr. Raghavan about the 

Saiva hymns of the Nayanars, ISA Music in the 

Chola period, 185 The Dancing hall at Chidambaram, 

185-186 MM. Ramakrishna Kavi about the dance- 

figures at the Chidambaram Nataraja temple, 186 

The musical modes during the time of Rajendra Chola 

186-187 The ages of Rajaraja and his son Rajendra, 

187 Music in the Chalukya period, 188 King 

Somesvara and music-materials, 188-189 The 

ragas, tolas and prabandhas, as described in the 

Abhildsdrthachintdmaniy 189 The ancient period of 

history of Indian music is very important one, 190. 

APPENDIX 191198 

Samaveda and music, 191 The Samaveda is the 

musical version of the Rigveda, 191 The arrange- 

ments of the Samaveda, 191 The purvdrchika and the 

uttardrchika, The udgdtris and the sdmans, 192 

According to the Sdmavidhdna-brdhmana, the saman- 

singing, 192 The terms prakriti and vikriti, 192 

Seven kinds of gdna, 193 The different kinds sdmans 

like gayatra, etc., 193 The utterances of the syllables 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Subject Page 

in the texts of the sdmans, 193 The stobhas, 193 

The syllables of the aldpa, 194 The Rik and the sdman 

differ in the method of the sdman-singmg, 194 

Matanga and Kallinath in this connection, 194-195 

The esoteric significance of the ^awaw-smging*, 196 

The Mahdbhdsya on the ^aftum-singing, 195 The 

sdman-scale, 196 The jdtis of the sdmans, 196 The 

rendering of different sdmans, 197 Indian music still 

harks back to the Samaveda, 198. 

BOOKS TO BE CONSULTED . . . 199200 

INDEX 201207 

PLATES 210 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

PRELUDE 

The ancient history of Indian Music is funda- 

mentally the history of her people, civilization and 

culture. The continuity of Indian civilization and 

culture, from the most ancient time uptil now, hab 

one of its sources in the geographical configuration 

of the country. Many historians are of opinion 

that as Hinduism was a common faith and the 

Hindu kings were in power, there was a religious 

and cultural unity and affinity among the Indian 

people as a whole. Decadence set in with the fall 

of Hindu India, and reached its climax during the 

period intervening the 9th to llth centuries A.D. 

That again was the cause of success of the Turkish 

and some other foreign invasions. There was a 

great revival in arts and letters in the 15th-16th 

centuries A.D., with the rise of the Mughal Empire 

in the North India on one side and the Hindu 

Empire in Vijayanagar in the Deccan on the other. 

In the beginning of Maghadhan ascendancy, the 

infiltration of 'the Yavanas began. The word 

'yavana' here means the Greeks or some other 

foreign peoples like the Sakas or Scythians and 

others. During the decadence of Mauryan imperia- 

lism, the Graeco-Scythian powers invaded India 

(324 B.C. 320 A.D.). Though the advent of the 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Muslims, politically speaking, commenced with the 

conquest of Sind by the Arabs and that of the 

Punjab by the Sultans of Ghazni, it was 'Ala-ud- 

din Khalji, who got a strangle-hold over this 

country. Dr. R. C. Majumdar is of opinion that 

the reign of 'Ala-ud-din Khalji really witnessed the 

rapid expansion of the Muslim dominion over 

different parts of India. The name of Amir 

Khusrau should also be linked with that of 'Ala-ud- 

din for our purpose, for the period witnessed the 

innovation brought about in the art of classical 

music of Muslim India. During the period of 

Sharqui rule at Jaunpur, music, architecture and 

other types of culture received fresh impetus for 

their development in a novel manner. 

The history of India from 1526 A.D. to 1556 

A.D. is mainly the story of the Mughul-Afghan 

contest for supremacy on the Indian soil. Akbar 

the Great ascended the throne in February, 1556 

A.D. and ruled upto October 1605 A.D. During 

this period, music, architecture, pointing and other 

fine arts, (together with literary culture attained 

high watermark of development. During the 

time of Jahangir and Shah Jahan (1605-1657 

A.D.), fine arts, including dance and music fully 

received Imperial patronage. During the reign of 

Aurangzeb (1658 to 1707 A.D.), the tempo of 

culture of classical music became slow to some 

.extent, and during that of his successors, it became 

more and more slothful and stagnant, and at last it 

PRELUDE 

entirely ceased to receive support from the Mughul 

court during the reign of Shah Alam II (1759-1806 

A.D.). But strange enough the reign of Muham- 

mad Shah (17194748 A.D.) became a landmark 

in ( lhe domain of Indian classical music. A new 

type of vocal music, vilambat or slow kheydl on 

the model of the traditional dhruvapada became in 

vogue, through the expert medium of Ustad 

Niyamat Khan, saddrang, and at the same time the 

culture of dhruvapada was raised to its pristine 

glory. 

Besides the courts of the Afghan, Pathan and 

Mughul rulers, dance, music and drama, together 

with other fine arts also found free outlet under 

the patronage of the indigenous rulers as well as 

the art-loving wealthy people of both the North 

and the South India. In Kashmere, Bengal, Bihar, 

Assam, Kamarupa, Nepal and Maharastra, the 

tradition of culture of classical dance and music 

was fully maintained with proper care. The 

classical dance, drama and music received the 

royal patronage from the rulers like Lalitaditya 

Jayapida Vinayaditya of Kashmere. Kalhan the 

historian of Kashmere has recorded these facts in 

his history of Kashmere, the RdjaParangini. 

Dance and music got full support at the hands 

of the Gupta, Pala and Sena rulers of Greater 

Bengal. The charyd and vajra gitis of the 

Vajrayani Buddhist Siddhacharyas of the 10th- 

llth centuries A.D., the Gitagovindappdagitis of 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Kavi Jayadeva of the early 12th century A.D., the 

Kristhnakirtana of (the Vaishnava savants like Vadu 

Chandidasa, Vidydpati and others of the 14th-15th 

centuries A.D., the ndma-kirtana and the Hid or 

rasa kirtana of Shri Chaitanya and Thakur Narot- 

tamadasa of the 16th-17th centuries A.D., and the 

classical and folk as well as the classico-Bengali 

songs of the 18th-20th centuries A.D., enriched the 

treasury of Indian music. 

The materials for history of Indian music of the 

ancient period can be collected from the Vedas 

and specially from 'the Samaveda, Ihe womb of 

music, the Shikshds and the PrdPishdkhyas, the 

Ndtyasdstra and its commentaries, the classical 

Sanskrit dramas and literature, the Buddhist 

literature and the Jdtakas, 'the Brihaddcshi and 

the Sangitasamayasdra, the Silappadikaram and 

the Tevaram and other ancient Tamil literature, as 

well as from the rock-cut inscriptions and sculp- 

tures, chiselled on the railings, facades and walls of 

different Buddhist, Hindu and Jain Stupas, 

Viharas and temples. 

Similarly the materials of history of Indian music 

of the mediaeval and modern periods can also 

be collected from the records of political and social 

happenings of those two periods. The epochs of 

Baijubaora, Nayaka Gopala, Raja Man Singh 

Tomar, Baksu, Macchu, and others, together with 

that of Swami Krishnadasa, Swami Haridasa, 

Mian Tanasena and others must be considered to 

4 

PRELUDE 

be important landmarks in the history of North 

Indian music of 'the mediaeval period. In the South, 

we had Tyagaraja, Muthusvami Dikshitar, 

Shyama-shastri, Svati Tirunal and others, who put 

a mark upon the mediaeval history of Karnatic 

music. Again, the music works like the Git\a- 

prakdstha of Swami Krishnadasa, the Rdgat\a- 

rangini of Lochana-kavi as well as some of the 

Persian books like Mdnakutuhala of Fakir-ulla, the 

Toft-ul-hind of Mirza Khan, the Ma'danul- 

moosiqui of Hakim Mohammed Karam Imam of 

the court of Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow and the 

Ndgmat-e-asaphi of Md. Rezza Khan are the land- 

marks of history of Indian music of the mediaeval 

period of North India. In this connection, 

mention may be made of the main works like 

Samgraha-chiiddmani of Govinda Dikshit and the 

Chatudandiprakdshikd of Venkatamakhi, which 

have constitued the mediaeval history of South 

Indian music. The Rdgadarpana (Hindi transla- 

tion), 'the Sangitadarpana of Damodara (Sans- 

krit), the Sangitataranga of Radhamohan Sen of 

Bengal, the Rddhdgovinda-sangitasdra (Hindi) of 

Frajtap Singh Deo of Jaipur, etc., contain impor- 

tant materials for history of music of the Moham- 

medan period. The contributions of Pandit 

Achrekar, Prof. Deval, Pandit Bhatkhande of 

Maharastra, and Sir Saurindra Mohan Tagore of 

Calcutta, Bengal, are essential for the history of 

Indian music of the modern period. 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Mere heresies and stories, unsupported by 

reliable facts, arguments and reasoning, must not 

be regarded as authentic materials for the construe- 

tion of the history of music. Although they might 

have been collected and preserved with care, they 

must always be weighed upon the scale of verifica- 

tion of facts and traditional records, aided by 

arguments and reasoning. Some are inclined to 

believe dogmatically that old Ustads and the 

upholders of the ghardiids are the only persons 

capable of supplying records and materials for 

construction of a reliable history of music, 

but that is merely a blind faith, having 110 

tradition and argument. True historians are rather 

merciless in this respect, because they do not believe 

in anything which is not based upon traditional 

facts and reasoning. So the history of music must 

always be built upon the solid rock of traditional 

as well as textual materials, supported by reasoning 

and sound proofs. From the statements of Captain 

Willard and some of the Western writers on Indian 

music, we come to know that from time to time 

conferences used to be called upon to ascertain the 

real and genuine system and standard scale of 

Indian music, and stalwart Hindu and Muslim 

Tmsicians used to be invited at those conferences, 

and as such the system used to undergo many 

changes from time to time. 

The culture of classical, classico-folk and folk 

music are being now patronised by the Government 

PRELUDE 

of India and the State Governments, and 'their 

courses will certainly continue to flow uninter- 

ruptedly towards the near and distant future, so 

as to preserve the glorious tradition of fine arts of 

cultural and historical India. It is at least a 

pleasure to admit in connection with the history 

of Indian music that some of the modern researches 

on music in the Science Laboratories and experi- 

ments in the field of crops and trees have unveiled 

the inner nature of Indian music, and have enriched 

its historical and scientific values as well. 

7 

CHAPTER I 

Music that evolved on the Indian soil and was 

cultured all through ages % in diverse ways and 

forms by ilhe Indian people and nurtured in a 

religious and spiritual atmosphere, is called 'Indian 

music'. Not only Indian music, but also music o 

all the countries evolved in the hoary past among 

the aboriginal primitive tribes in a very crude and 

simple form. It is commonly believed that it 

originated from Nalture. But it has a systematic 

ar:d chronological history, as it passed through 

different stages of evolution in order to take shape 

as a complete system of science and art. 

I. What is History : 

The creative genius of India had been busy in 

giving expression to art in all its aspects through 

ages. They are prolific in contents and uplift- 

ing in nature. The history of Indian culture and 

civilization is not only glorious but amazing as 

well. Now, what do we mean by history? A 

history, in its truest sense, is an interpretation of 

the genuine happennings of the events and facts 

in the progressive human society. C A history is a 

collection of records or chronicles of incidents and 

evolution and involution of different matters or 

subjects, that happened and had their beings in the 

8 

HOW TO CONSTRUCT HISTORY 

past, have so in the present, and will happen in the 

future.} The music of India has an interesting and 

eventful history of its own. Having its origin in 

the primitive society, it kept the tempo of its 

triumphal march throughout ages, prehistoric, 

historic or Vedic, post-Vedic or Classical and post- 

Classical. It will again resume its march through 

the near and distant future in order to attain 

perfection, and in the process, it will adjust; and 

harmonize itself with the taste and temperament 

of the growing and changing society. 

II. What do We mean by History of Music : 

A history of music is, therefore, the systematic 

and chronological records of musical thoughts and 

materials that evolved in different ages in a 

gradual process. It requires collection, arrange- 

ment and preservation of the facts and findings 

relating to music in a systematic order. A history 

of Indian music is a saga of musical thoughts of 

the Indian people, as written in their subconscious 

mind. It has its birth, growth and progress in 

Indian society, and has religious and spiritual out- 

look. A history of Indian music is a wide subject, 

the range of which is extended from the remote 

antiquity uplto the present time. 

III. How to construct HisiPory of Music: 

A history of Indian music can be constructed 

from the materials as found in the annals of 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

different periods, and they are, in fact, the land- 

marks of history of Indian music. Those materials 

can be classified tentatively under four main heads : 

(a) the treatises of music, written or compiled by 

different authors in different ages; (b) the rock- 

cut temples, tablets and inscriptions caused to be 

carved and inscribed by different rulers of differ- 

ent times, together with sculptures, paintings, 

copper-plates and coins of different periods; (c) 

the writings of foreign writers on music and drama, 

as well as the history of music of other nations; 

(d) the private diaries of the musicians and musi- 

cologists, including the local traditions, transmitted 

orally through ages, and the folklores and 

anecdotes of music. All these materials are 

required to be properly studied and verified in their 

true historical perspective and be consulted 

in a comparative manner. The facts, dates and 

forms of music and types of musical instruments 

and dances of different periods should be 

studied with care, and also be collected and 

arranged in a systematic way. As music was 

considered to be a part and parcel of the art and 

science of drama in the classical period, its struc- 

ture and technique, in relation thereto, should also 

be studied in this context. 

IV. Importance and Utility of History of Music : 

The study as well as the culture of music loses 

much of its zest without the knowledge of history 

10 

MUSIC : SACRED AND PROFANE 

cr historical aspect of music. Music developed in 

a gradual process. As taste and temperament of 

the society have been changing all the time 

through ages, so forms and patterns as well 

as the qualities of music are subject to change 

in different periods of history. A student of music 

should, therefore, critically 'take note of those 

changes and compare one with the other, so as 

to get the full vision of development of music of 

different ages and climes. A sense of historical 

perspective is necessary in studying the art and 

science of music, and this method of study is sure 

to make the knowledge of music perfect, whether 

practical or theoretical. 

V. Music: Sacred and Profane: 

The history of Indian music can be divided into 

tw5 main periods, vaidika (Vedic) and laukika 

sacred and profane. The sdmagdna, together with 

its various forms, constitutes the fabric of -the 

vaidika music, while the gdndharva and formalised 

desi music form that of the laukika musia Sir 

Jadunath Sarkar has said that "it is the duty of 

the historians not to let the past be forgotten He 

nmst trace these gifts back to their sources, give 

them their due places in time-scheme, and show 

how they influenced or prepared the succeeding 

ages, and what portion of present day Indian life 

and thought is the distinctive contribution of each 

race of creed that has lived in this land''. 

11 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

VI. Division of Ages: 

As the range of history of music is wide, it will 

be convenient to divide it into different units or 

periods, so as to enable a historian to arrange and 

represent the facts and records of development and 

culture of music, so that one may adequately and 

easily grasp the significance and value of music. 

The history of Indian music can, therefore, be 

divided into three broad periods, viz. (1) from the 

most ancient times to the end of 'the twelfth 

century A.D. ; (2) from the thirteenth century to 

the eighteenth century A.D.; and (3) the subse- 

quent period. So the periods may be enumerated 

as: (1) Ancient, (2) Medieval, and (3) Modern. 

Pandit Vishnunarayana Bhatkhande has divided 

the history of Indian music into ( 1 ) Hindu period, 

(2) Mohammedan period, and (3) British period. 

"Each of 'these periods", he has said, "may again 

be sub-divided, if necessary, into two divisions, 

viz. (1) the earlier, (2) the later". In support of 

his views, Panditji has further said: "the Moham- 

medans came into contact with this country as 

ruling nation in the llth century A.D., and 

remained here as such till about the end of the 18th 

century, after which date the country passed under 

the domination of our present rulers, the British. 

* * The Hindu period, according to this classifica- 

tion, begins from the Vedic times and extends right 

up to the end of 10th century A.D.". We think 

12 

ORIGIN OF MUSIC 

the former divisions, as mentioned above, can be 

safely accepted for many reasons. 

VII. Origin of Music: 

Various grotesque and mythical stories are 

current regarding the origin of music, both Indian 

and foreign. The statement of (the Alaxaridrian 

Chronicles about the invention of music by the Sons 

ol Seth or that of the Mosaic literature about 

J'obal's invention seems to be garbed in mythological 

allusions. Homer's discovery of a shell of tortoise 

on the bank of the Nile or on the top of the Mount 

Kyllene are all myths. Sir John Strainer says in 

connection with the music of the Bible that the 

origin of music is inseparable from 'that of lan- 

guage. Darwin, Rouseau, Herder, Herbert 

Spencer and other Western savants have advanced 

their respective views regarding it in different ways. 

According to Darwin, music evolved from the 

imitation of the calls and cries of the animals and 

birds. In the Rikprdtishdkhya (the grammar of the 

Rigveda) and musical treatises of India, this theory 

finds support to some extent. 

Father Schmidt and Carl Stumpf are of opinion 

that music evolved like speech "from the need to 

give signals by sound". It has been mentioned in 

the Vedic literature that music evolved out of the 

rics or stanzas (mantras) of the Rigveda, set to 

tunes i.e., tones. So the Samaveda, being a collec- 

tion of rics or stanzas, is regarded as the source of 

13 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Indian music, nay, of ithe music of the world. The 

philologists have observed three transitional strata 

or phases in the development of music of all nations, 

and they are: (1) speech, (2) speech-music or 

recitation, and (3) song i.e., music proper. The 

psycho-analysts and the psychologists are of opinion 

that speech and music have originated from a 

common source, and the primitive music was neither 

speaknig nor singing, but something of both. 

The Indian literature, both Vedic, Epic and 

Classical, have described that music originated from 

the sound (narfa), which is the product of ether 

(dkddha) : "shabda dkdsha-samb l havah" . Sound 

originates in the living beings, from 'the f ridtion of 

air (prdiia-vdyit or vital breath) and heat-energy 

(agni~ will-power). It evolves first in a causal form 

(andhato) and then in a gross form (dhata). When 

the gross sound emanates from the vocal chord, it 

is called sound, and when again it is sweet 

and soothing, it is called music or sangitwn. 

Different kinds of philosophical conceptions have 

been formed over this -theory of musical sound 

and origin of music, and two among them are 

Siva-Sakti and Laksmi-Ndrdyana conceptions. 

The worshipers of the Lord Siva hold that music 

came out from the mouths of both Siva and Sakti, 

whereas the followers of Visnu ascribe its origin 

to Laksmi and Narayana. From this it is evident 

that the mythological conceptions have been inter- 

preted in the light of philosophy in later days. 

14 

CHAPTER II 

Historical Evolution of Different Music-Materials : 

Before dealing with the regular chronological 

history of Indian music, we would like to trace out 

the nature of origin as well as historical evolution 

of the music-materials like microtone, tone, 

murcchai'ia, uarna, alanikara, tana, sthdya, pra- 

bandha, rdga, scale or thdta, rdgagiti, rhythm and 

tempo, veena, venu and drum, dance and hand-pose 

(mudra), 'together with their philosophical concept, 

which are the most essential things to be studied 

for the history of Indian music. It should be taken 

into accourit that history like any other subject 

rests upon the universal process of evolution, and, 

therefore, history of Indian music should be studied 

from ithe viewpoint of dialectical method of 

historical evolution: 

I Evolution of Microtones (shrutis) : 

The microtones (shrutis) are the minute percep- 

tible ("shravanayogya"} tones or musical sound- 

units that constitute the structures of seven tones 

like shadja, rishabha, gdndhdra, madhyama, pan- 

chama, dhaivata and nishdda (corresponding Vedic 

tones, chaturtha, mandra, atisvdrya, krusta, pra- 

thama, dvitiya, \tritiya). The Shdstrakdras 

15 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

(authors on Indian music) have defined 'shrut? as, 

Prathamah shravanat shabdah shruyate 

hrasvamatrakah } 

Sa shrutih samparijiieya svaravayava- 

lakshamanam 1 1 

In the primitive, prehistoric and Vedic periods, 

we do not come across the use of the microtones. 

But their existence cannot be denied even in those 

times, and it can be said that in those periods men 

did not feel it necessary to determine them in their 

musical systems. ( So the use of microtones may 

properly be assigned to the beginning of the 

classical period in the 600-500 B.C., when the Vedic 

music, sdmagdtia was falling out of practice and 

the laukika gdndharva type of systematic-cum- 

scientific music gaining ascendency over it. In 

Greece, the microtones were devised in the begin- 

ning of the classical period by the Greek 

philosopher, Pythagoras, and the system was 

developed by the Pythagorians. In India, it is said 

that the microtones were devised by Brahma or 

Brahmabharata, the first promulgator of the 

gdndharva type of music, and afterwards it was 

made perfect by Narada of the Shiksd (1st century, 

A. D.) and Bharata of the Ndtyasdstra in the 

2nd century A. D. Narada has mentioned about 5 

basic minute tones diptd, dyatd, karund, mridu 

and madhyd, and he has called them 'shrutis'. The 

names of those basic minute tones were very signi- 

16 

EVOLUTION OF MICROTONES 

ficant with their specific meanings. Bharata has 

systematically determined and arranged 22 micro- 

tones (shrutis) on the basis of those 5 basic minute 

tones, and has 'termed them as 'jails' or the ddhdras 

of ithe 22 microtones. \ Thus we get in the 2nd 

century A. D. the jdii-vyakti or sdnidnya-vishesa 

(janaka-janya} relation between the series of 

microtones, diptd, dyatd, karund, etc. and tivra, 

kumudavati, mandd, etc. Bharata has also deter- 

mined the exact bases of the seven tones, shad] a, 

etc. (svarasthdnas} in the ratio of 4 : 3 : 2, making 

experiment upon two veenas of equal size, chala 

and achala (i.e., one veetvA with shif table frets and 

other with fixed frets). He has determined the 

22 microtones in relation to 5 jdtis (diptd, etc.) 

thus : 

nos. of the 

shrutis. 

names of the 

shrutis. 

jdtis and their 

names. 

svaras. 

1. 

tivra 

dipta 

2. 

kumudvati 

ayata 

3. 

manda 

mridu 

4. 

chandovati 

madhva. . . . 

Sa 

5. 

dayavati 

karuna 

6. 

ranjani 

madhya 

7. 

ratika 

mridu 

.... Ri 

8. 

raudri 

dipta 

9. 

krodha 

. ayata 

Ga 

10. 

vajrika 

. . . dipta 

11. 

prasarini 

ayata 

12 

priti 

. . . . . mridu 

13. 

marjani 

madhya 

Ma 

14. 

kshiti 

mridu 

17 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

shrutis. 

tios. of the 

names of thfc 

shrutis. 

jdtis and their 

names. 

svaras. 

15. 

rakta 

madhya 

16. 

sandipani 

ayata 

17. 

alapini 

karuna 

Pa 

18. 

madanti 

karuna 

19. 

rohini 

20. 

ramya 

. ...madhya 

Dha 

21. 

Urra 

dipta 

22. 

kshobhini 

. . . . ... .madhya 

Ni 

This division of the shrutis, according to the 

jdtis, is also accepted by the authors on musip of 'the 

Karnatic system. It should be remembered that 

all the names of the Shrutis bear full significances 

of their own, and these significances are given 

according to eight aesthetic sentiments and moods 

(rdsa and bhdva}. On the basis of aesthetic 

sentiments and moods of the 5 jdtis i.e. jdti-shrutis 

of Narada, the 22 shrtO&s of Bharata are classified 

thus: 

Narada 

dipta = excited, bright, radiant. 

ayata extended, broad, wide. 

mridu soft, tender, mild, gentle. 

madhya = central, proper tolerable, middling. 

karuna = sympathetic, compassionate, 

tenderness, merciful. 

Bharata 

tivra. 

kumudavati. 

mandd. 

cliandovati. 

dayavati. 

18 

EVOLUTION OF TONES 

II. Evolution of Tones (svaras) : 

The primitive tribes of all countries of the world 

used to sing monotonous songs with one high tone 

at first. Gradually two tones, high and low came 

into practice. In the Vedic period, this practice also 

prevailed, though the order of the tones used to be 

more systematic. In the Brdhmana literature, we 

find references as to the method of chanting hymns 

with one tone only (ekasvari-gdyana) , and it was 

also known as the drchika-gdyana. Similarly refer- 

ences to gdthd-gdyana (system of chanting or 

singing the hymns with two tones, high and low) 

and sdmika-gdyana (system of chanting or singing 

of the hymns with three tones, high, medium and 

low) are found in the Vedic literature. 

\ The Vedic music, sdmagdna was the earliest 

scientific method of singing in India. It became 

systematic when three base tones like amtddtta, 

svarita and itddtta evolved. The svarita was the 

harmonizing (samdhdra) or balancing middle tone 

that was a combination of the partial tones of the 

anuddtta and nddtba. Well has it been said by 

Prof. Sambamoorthy : "The Rigveda was recited 

to the three notes, uddtta, anuddtta and svarita, 

corresponding to ri } ni and sa of frequencies 10 1 9, 

8(9 and 1 respectively, the nishdda being a note 

belonging to the lower octave". The nucleus of 

the scale (thdta } mela or melakartd} was formed 

in the arrangement of the three basic tones, 

svwrita and uddtta. 

19 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

The emergence of the solfa syllables, sa, ri, ga, 

ma, pa, dha, ni of the post-Vedic period, says Prof. 

Sambamoorthy, "is the earliest landmark in the 

history of music. * * The European solfa system, 

doh, ray, mi, fdh, soh, la, si originated only with 

Guido d' Areezzo (10th century A.D.) The solfa 

syllables sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni laid the foun- 

dation for the development of Indian musicography 

(notation)". But it should be remembered that 

the seven Vedic tones, prathama, dvitiya, tritiya, 

chaturtha, mandra (panchama), atisvdrya (sastha) 

and krusta (saptama) evolved earlier in the Vedic 

society, and they are, therefore, anterior to the posi- 

Vedic laukika solfa syllables like sa, ri, ga, etc. 

There welre "some subsidiary tones like jdtya, abhi- 

nihita, kshaipra, praslista, tairovanjana, pdda- 

vritta and tathdbhdvya. Besides these, there 

evolved some other subsidiary tones like vinardi, 

anirukta, etc. The Vedic music, sdmagdna used to 

be sung with different tones, which evolved in a 

gradual process from one to seven, thus creating 

different strata like drchika, gdthika, sdmika, 

svardntara, audava, shddava and sampurna. When 

the Vedic music became more systematised, they 

were used to be sung with four, five, six and seven 

tones. The Vedic tones evolved in downward 

process (avarohana-krama) thus: 

Uddtta krusta (pa) 

prathama (ma) 

dvitiya (ga) 

20 

EVOLUTION OF TONES 

Svarita tritiya ( ri ) Vide the Taittiriya- 

{ medium) pratishakhya : 

chaturtha (sa) "tesham diptijno- 

pdabdhih". 

mandra (ni) (dha) 

Anudatta atisvdrya (dha) (ni) 

(low) 

According to the Y&jnavalkya, Naradi and other 

Shikshds, the laukika (gdndharva and desi) tones 

or solf a syllables evolved thus : 

anudatta swrita udatta 

ri, dha, scr, ma, pa, ni, ga 

The solf a syllables, sa, ri, ga, etc. evolved in accord- 

ance with the concept of basic or adhara-shadja, 

according to which the tones or tunes of the stringed 

and percussion instruments, and even the tones of 

the vocal music are harmonized even to 'this day, 

or it can be said that it is a common practice even 

to this day that all rdgas and musical compositions 

are sung to the basic key-note, ithe adhara-shadja. 

The fourth and fifth tones are the samvddi-svaras 

(consonance) of the adhara-shadja. 

All the tones of music before the Christian era 

were pure and not displaced (vikrita}. In ! the 

Ndtyasdstra of the 2nd century A. D., we find two 

itcnes as displaced (vikrita) and they were gdn^ 

dhara and nishdda (i.e., antara-gandhdra and 

kdkali-nishdda) . So in the beginning of the 

Christian era, the tones were divided into two, 

shuddha and vikrita, sharp and flat. The displace- 

ment in the tones were due to the shifting of the 

21 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

subtle microtonal units (shrutis) of the tones. 

During the time of Sharangdeva i.e., in the early 

13th century A. D., we find the use of a number 

of displaced (vikrita) tones in classical music, and 

their numbers were 19 i.e., 7 sharp and 12 flat- 

19 'tones in all. During Pandit Ramamatya's time 

(1150 A.D.), their numbers were minimised and 

only 7 displaced tones were used, which meant that 

7 sharp and 7 displaced^H tones were used in the 

North Indian system of music. During Venkata- 

makhi (1620 A.D.) and Tulaja's time (1729- 

1735 A.D.), the displaced or flat tones were limited 

to five, and 'the total number of tones used were 12 

(7 sharp and 5 flat 12), and these numbers are 

still in practice in the North Indian system of music. 

But in the South Indian system, the pure (shuddha) 

and displaced (vikriba} tones are 12, and they are 

set forth in the following two tables: 

Table I. 

1. 

ri 1 

shuddha-rishabha 

ra 

2. 

ri 2 

chatushruti-rishabha 

ri 

3. 

ri 3 

shat-shruti-rishabha 

ru 

4. 

g 1 

shuddha-gandhara 

g a 

5. 

g 2 

sadharana-gandhara 

gi 

6. 

g 8 

antara-gandhara 

g" 

7. 

d 1 

shuddha-dhaivata 

dha 

8. 

d 2 

chatushruti-dhaivata 

dhi 

9. 

d" 

shat-shruti-dhaivata 

dhu 

10. 

n 1 

shuddha-nishada 

na 

11. 

n 2 

kaishiki-nishada 

ni 

12. 

n 3 

kakali-nishada 

nu 

EVOLUTION OF MURCCHANA 

Table II. 

Svuth Indian 

North Indian 

s 

sa 

1. 

shad j a = 

shadj a 

r 

ri 

2. 

shuddha-shadja 

vikrita-rishabha. 

(flat) 

gorR 

ra 

3. 

shuddha- 

chatushruti- 

gandhara 

rishabha=tivra- 

rishabha. 

R'org 

ga 

4. 

sadharana- = 

shatshruti- 

(flat) 

gandhara 

rishabhavikrita 

or 

komala 

gandhara 

G 1 

ga 

5. 

antara-gandhara 

tivra-gandhara 

in 

ma 

6. 

shuddha- 

shuddha- 

madhyama 

madhyama 

M 

ma 

7. 

prati-madhyama = 

tivra-madhyama 

(flat) 

P 

pa 

8 

panchama 

panchama 

d 

da 

9. 

shuddha- = 

komala-dhaivata 

(flat) 

dhaivata 

norD 

dha 

10. 

chatushniti- = 

shuddha- 

dhaivata 

nishada=tivra- 

dhaivata 

D'orn 

ni 

11. 

kaishika- = 

satshruti- 

(flat) 

nishada 

dhaivata 

=- 

komala-nishada 

N x 

na 

12. 

kakali-nishada = 

tivra-nishada 

S 

sa 

shadj a- ( tara ) ~ 

(tara) 

III. Evolution of Murcchand, Varn, Alamkdra, 

Tdna and $\t\hdya: 

We find the practice of murcchand, varna, 

alamkdra, tana, sthdya and other music-materials 

prevailing in India in the pre-Christian era. In the 

23 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

Great Epic like the Rdmdyma of (the 400 B. C, it 

has been mentioned : "sthdna-murcchana-kovidau" 

i.e., the wandering Bards like Lava and Kusha were 

well-versed in the art and science of the gdndharua, 

type of music: (a) "tau tu gdndharvortattvajnau" 

(b) "bhrdtardn svararsaynpannau gadharvavivar 

rupinam" (vide IV canto). From these it is 

e rident 'that in the gdndharua type of music, songs 

were sung with the seven shuddha jdtirdgas, having 

seven tones, murcchand, sthdna or register, rhythm 

and tempo, and aesthetic sentiment and mood 

(rasa and bhdva} : "jdtitihih saptabhir-yuktaw, 

tantri-laya-samanvitam, * * rasair-yuMam bdvya- 

metadgdyatdm" (vide IV canto). The alamkdras 

were also in practice, along with the songs, and it 

has been mentioned in the Rdmdyana, while it 

states: "pdthye gcyc cha madhuram". Abhinava- 

gupta has stated in the commentary Abhinava- 

bhdrati that when any composition (sdhitya) 

possesses six alamkdras and sweet tones, it is 

known as a pdthya. These six alamkdras are, 

according to Abhinavagupta, svara or tone, sthdna 

or register, varna, kdku, alamkdra and anga. So 

the kdvya or sdhitya of a song is called the pdthya, 

when it is embellished by those six alamkdras. 

Bharata has also explained pdthya in the 

Ndtyasdstra (XVII. 102), and has said: 

"pdthyam prayunjitam saddlamkdrasamyuktcwn" 

Abhinavagupta has followed Bharata in this 

respect. Bharata has divided pdthya into two, 

24 

EVOLUTION OF MURCCHANA 

Sanskrit and Prakrit. Therefore it is clear from 

the texts and commentaries that murcchand, 

alamkdra, varna and tana had already evolved in 

the pre-Christian era, in the beginning of the 

classical period. 

(a) During the beginning of the Christictn 

era, we come across the clear definitions and des- 

criptions of the music-materials like murcchand, 

varna, alamkdra, etc., in ithe treatises like the 

Ndradishikshd of the 1st century A. D., the 

Ndtyasdstra of the 2nd century A. D., the Brihad- 

deshi of the 5th-7th centuries A. D. Ndrada of the 

Shikshd has said: "tdna-rdga-svara-grdma- 

murcchand tu lakshanam" (II. 1). Bharata has 

stated that a murcchand is but a series of the closely 

connected tones: "kramayutdh". In the 5th-7th 

centuries A. D., we find a definition of murcchand 

in the Brihadde^hi, in which Matanga has 

said: "murcchdmoha-saniitcchrdyayoh", i.e., murc- 

chand is no other than the elaboration of 'the seed- 

form of the rdga, and this is possible when the 

seven tones of a rdga make themselves manifest 

by ascent and descent processes. 

The murcdha'nds evolved from the gramas as 

their base, and so twenty-one murcchands evolved 

from the three main gramas, shadja, madhyma 

and gdndhdra. Each murcchand possessed 

a special unit of aesthetic sentiment. Though 

Narada has roughly said about twenty-one 

25 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

and Bharata about fourteen ("dvaigramikshcha- 

turdasha") murcchanas, yet by different arrange- 

ments of seven tones (^sa ni dha pa ma ga ri), 84 

(7 X 12=84) variations of murcchana might have 

evolved. 

During the 5th-7th centuries A.D., we come 

across a new school, which maintained murcchand 

with 12 tones. From the history of Indian music we 

come to know that Kohala, Nandikeshvara and to 

some extent Matanga, were the upholders of this 

school. In the Brihaddeshi, Matanga has said : "sd 

murcchand dvibhidha sapta-svara-murcchand 

dvadasha-svara-murcchand chcti", i.e., murcchand 

was of two kinds: one, having 7 tones and the 

ether, having 12 tones, (a) The murcchand with 

7 tones was divided into four parts: pwrna, 

shddava, audwvita, and sddhdr&na, The purna 

or heptatonic one contained 7 tones, hexatonic one, 

6 tones, petnatonic one, 5 tones and the sddhdrana 

one, two displaced (vikrita} tones, antara-gdridhdra 

and kdkali-nidhdda. (b) The murcchand with 12 

tones used to manifest themselves in three registers 

(sthdna), low, medium and high (mandra, 

madhya and tdra). As for example, Kohala has 

said, 

Yojaniyo vudhair-nityam kramo 

lakshanusaraltahf 

Samsthapya murcchana jatiraga- 

bhashadi-siddhyaye | \ 

26 

EVOLUTION OF VARNA AND TANA 

And Nandikeshvara has said, 

D vadasha-svara-sampanna j naty avy a 

murcchana vudhaih) 

Jati-bhashadi-siddhyartham tara- 

mandradi-siddhaye 1 1 

(b) The function of a varna is 'to manifest a song 

(along with a raga), and, therefore, i't is known 

as the gdnakriyd. The varna is of four kinds, 

drohi, avarohi, sthdyi and sanchdri. Different 

alamkdras evolved from those four varnas. The 

alamkdras are so called, because they adorn the 

rdgas and the gdnas. Now, from the drohi-varna 

evolved 12 alamkdras (varndlamkdras} such as, 

vistirna, nishkardha (together with its gdtravarna), 

vindu, etc. From the avarohi and sthdyi varnas 

similar alamkdras evolved, and from the sanchdri- 

varna } evolved 25 alamkdras. 

x (c) It has already been said that the tanas 

evolved during the pre-Christian era, and there 

were many tdnas, which were named after different 

sacred sacrifies ("yajnandmdni tdndni" vide the 

Vdyu-purdna, Matanga's Brihaddeshi, Narada's 

Sangita-makaraMa, etc.). In the beginning of 

the Christian era, 49 tdnas evolved (vide the 

Ndradishikshd, III. 8). Narada has said in the 

Shikshd that 20 tdnas evolved from the 

madhyamagr&ma, 14 from the shadjagrdma and 15 

from the gdndhdragrdma (= 49 tdnas). But, dur- 

ing Bhara'ta's time (2nd century A,D.), 84 tdnas 

27 

A HISTORY OF INDIAN MUSIC 

-evolved ("chaturashiti", NS. 28.33). Bharata has 

said that there are 49 tanas with six tones and 35 

with five tones ( 84), and besides -these, there exist 

tanas with 7 itones (sampurna-tdna} . Bharata has 

further said about the tanas, applicable >to musical 

instruments (veend, etc.), and they were divided 

into pravesha (low or soft) and nigraha (touch). 

Dattila has said that besides the simple tanas, there 

evolved gradually thousands of intricate or kitta^ 

tanas (5033) in the later period, from different 

methods of plucking the strings of 'the musical 

instruments like veend, etc: "krama-niutsrijya 

tantrinqm". 

(d) Similarly different gamakas and kdkus 

evolved during the pre-Christian era. The gamakas 

like tiripa, sphurita, kampita, Una, dndolita, vali, tri- 

bhinna, kitrula, dhata, ullasita, pldvita, gumphita, 

wudrita, namtit\a, and mishrita, and kdkus like 

svara-kdku, rdga-kaku, anya-kaku, desha-kaku, 

kshetra-kdkit and yantra-kdku, etc. evolved in a 

gradual process. In the Rdmdyana, we find that 

Lava and Kusha used to sing rdmdyana' gdna with 

the application of kdku: 

Tarn sa shushrava kakusthah p-urvacharya- 

vinirmitam | 

Apurvam pathyajatim cha geyena 

samalamkritam 1 1 etc. 

(e) The kdkus are the variations of the vocal 

sound for expressing different ideas. Abhinava- 

28 

J&YUJLUHU1N U* 1J&JN 

gupta, Visvanath Chakravurty, Raja Bhojadeva of 

Dhara, Sharangdeva, Bhanuji Dikshit and others 

have explained the term 'kdku' in different ways. 

In the 2nd century A.D., we find that the kdkus 

were used to express the eight aesthetic sentiments 

(rasas), which have been made explicit by Bharata 

in the NdPyasdstra. The experts have observed 

that kdku originates from a conjunction of palate, 

apex and vocal shord, 

(f ) The sthdyas or musical phrases also evolv- 

ed in the pre-Christian era, as the songs used to be 

improvised at that time with the jdtirdgas and 

grdmardgas (vide the Rdondyana, the Mahdbhdrata 

and the Harivamsha). The sthdyas or thdyas are 

the outlines of musical frames (dkdra), upon which 

the structures of the rdgas are built. From the 

5th-7th to 9- llth centuries A.D., the sthdyas began 

to be conceived and scientifically arranged, upon 

which different anga-rdgas like bhdshd, vibhdshd, 

anParabhdshd, along with the ancient jdti and grama 

rdgas began to be evolved. Different kinds of 

sVhdya like vena, gati, jdyi, anujdyi, vali, etc., 

evolved as different bases (sthdnas) of the rdgas. 

IV. Evolution of Ten Essentials (dasha-laksh- 

manas) : 

The ten essentials of Indian music reached high 

watermark in their evolutionary process, when the 

music-consciousness of the people of the society be- 

29 

A HISTORY OP INDIAN MUSIC 

came mature and keen. The ten essentials like 

initials (graha)^ sonant (amsha), higher (tdra), 

lower (mandra), concluding (nydsa), medial 

(apanydsa}, rare (alpPva), abundance (vahutva}, 

hexatonic (shddava), and pentatonic (audava) 

evolved as qualities, for determining the genuine 

form and nature of the melodic -types or rdgas. 

The essentials became necessary when the folk 

tunes of different countries and nations began to 

infiltrate into the stock of the classical music, and 

so they were considered as the means for preserv- 

ing the intrinsic purity of the rdga^iorms. 

In the 2nd century A.D., we come across 

those essentials in Bharata's Ndtyasdstra in a very 

definite form, and this fact undoubtedly proves the 

existence of the essentials even in the pre-Christian 

era. The essentials had in them theoretical-cum- 

gramma'tical value. Gradually 'there happened many 

admixture in the domain of rdgas, indrga and desi, 

urban and rural, from the 3rd-4th centuries to 

5th-7th centuries A.D., and as such the ten essen- 

tials played an important role at that time, for 

determining their classical character, and even upto 

this time that tradition is upheld and followed with 

esteem. 

Bharata has said, 

Grahamshau tara-mandrau cha 

nyasopanydsa eva cha| 

Alpatvam cha vahutvam cha 

shadavauduvite tatha|| 

30 

EVOLUTION OF TEN ESSENTIALS 

It has been mentioned before that the essen- 

tials were known as the determining factors of <the 

rdgas, and through them the real forms and natures 

of the rdgas used to be ascertained. As Bharata 

has admitted that he owed his debt to the ancient 

preceptor, Brahma, in compiling his book on the 

dramaturgy (i.e. the Ndtyasdstra), it can further 

be taken for certain that the ten essentials existed 

before him, either in seed form or in somewhat 

obscure manner, and he knowingly adopted them 

in his system and applied them for practical pur- 

poses. 

It may be interesting to note that though 

Bharata has scientifically used those ten essentials, 

yet there were some indefiniteness in the connota- 

tion of some of 'the essentials. As for example, 

Bharata has used the 'terms, graha and amsha in 

one and the same sense, and again he has used the 

terms, amsha and vddi side by side. Besides, he 

has ascertained more than one amsha of a 

rdga (jdtiraga). Regarding the essentials, graha 

and amsha, he has said, 

Grahastu sarva-jatinamamsha eva hi kirtitah] 

Yat pravrittam bhaved-ganam so'msho graha 

vikalpitah 1 1 

That is, where-from a song or a part of song