Essay name: Arts in the Puranas (study)
Author:
Meena Devadatta Jeste
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Pune
This essay studies the Arts in the Puranas by reconstructing the theory of six major fine arts鈥擬usic, Dance, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, and Literature鈥攆rom the Major and Minor Puranas. This thesis shows how ancient sages studied these arts within the context of cultural traditions of ancient India.
Chapter 1 - Music in the Puranas
3 (of 72)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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- 3 - when a RK is set to the tunes of music it is called Sama. music. There were one thousand schools of the Samavedic "Samavedasya Aila Sahasrabheda岣� bhavanti". But 8 among these thousand schools only three schools have survived,
namely, (1) Kauthuma (2) Ranayaniya and (3) Jaiminiya.
Abhinavagupta says that the Gandharva Veda presents the first
phase of development of music from the Saman. This
Gandharva-veda is supposed to be an Upaveda of the Samaveda.
The text of this Gandharva-veda is not available now. But
it is mentioned in the later Tantrika treatise as a text on
music consisting of 36 thousand Granthas and dealt with the
basic principles of playing upon various musical instruments,
10 of combination of Svaras etc.
After the vedic period the vocal music was developed
during the period of the Brahmanas. Besides vocal music,
there is a parallel development of instrumental music. In
the vedas we find all the three classes of instruments.
This instrumental music was also performed in the vedic
rituals like Asvamedha. In the Taittiriya Brahmana
(13.1.5.1 and 13.4.3.3) there is a reference to a singer who
sings to the accompaniment of a lute (Vina). The original
word is V墨n膩g膩tni. Jaiminiya Brahmana mentions a lute with
a hundred strings 'Satatantri'. The term 'Ganaka' occurs
in Taittiriya Brahmana (3.4.10). Sayan膩c膩rya, the
commentator, has explained this term as "Sruti-j膩ti-
svaramandaladiku salah Ganakah". Ganaka is one who has
specialized in the knowledge of Sruti, Jati and
