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Kohala in the Sanskrit textual tradition (Study)

by Padma Sugavanam | 2011 | 95,782 words

This page relates ‘Contents of Dattilakohaliyam� of the thesis dealing with Kohala’s contribution to the Sanskrit textual tradition of ancient Indian performing arts. The study focuses specifically on music (Gita), dance (Nritya), and drama (Natya). Although Kohala’s original works have not been found, numerous references to him across Lakshana-Granthas (treatises) and works by modern scholars indicate his significance.

Go directly to: Footnotes.

Part 2.2 - Contents of ٲٳپdz󲹱īⲹ

The text begins with the following heading

अथ श्री दत्तिलकोहलीये वीणावाद्यलक्षणम् �

atha śrī dattilakohalīye īṇāⲹṣaṇam |[1]

This indicates that this is the beginning of a chapter or of a section of a chapter. But the portion on īṇa comes much later on in the work.

Following this is a Իī verse, an obeisance to ṅgīٲ-brahman and then a verse which gives us the names of the authors of this work, and the chapters that would appear in the work.

दत्तिल� कोहलश्चै� द्वौ सङ्गीतविशारदौ �
ताभ्या� इदङ्कृतं शास्त्रं न्नृत्तलक्षणपूर्वकम् �
नृत्यनांल्लक्षणङ्किञ्च तालानांल्लक्षणन्तथ� �
वाद्यानांल्लक्षण� चै� क्रमादिह विरच्यते �

岹ٳپ� kohalaścaiva dvau saṅīٲviśāradau |
tābhyā� idaṅkṛta� śٰ� nṛtٲṣaṇapūrvakam ||
ṛtⲹnāṃlṣaṇaṅkiñca tālānāṃlṣaṇantathā |
vādyānāṃlṣaṇa� caiva kramādiha viracyate ||
[2]

This verse effectively gives us information that Dattila and Kohala are the authors of this work and that the following chapters will be dealt with.

  1. ṛtٲ-ṣaṇa;
  2. ṛtⲹ-ṣaṇa;
  3. -ṣaṇa;
  4. -ṣaṇa;

Subsequently, there are verses of benediction to earlier authorities on ṭy whose opinions were summarised in this work. This list in itself seems to be an interpolation from ṅgīٲratnākara.

Following are the names mentioned:

  1. ī貹پ (Ś);
  2. ;
  3. Bharata;
  4. śⲹ貹;
  5. Śپ;
  6. ṣṭ첹;
  7. Śū첹;
  8. Ѳṭaṅg;
  9. Իī;
  10. ;
  11. ;
  12. Tumburu;
  13. 屹Բ;
  14. nandana (ĀñᲹԱⲹ);
  15. Ѳṛgܱٲ;
  16. ղṇḍ;
  17. Ѳ󲹱;
  18. ṣeٰ첹;
  19. Kamvala;
  20. śٲ;
  21. ;
  22. վś屹;
  23. վś󾱱;
  24. Ugrasena;
  25. Arjuna;

It can be noted that many names in this list are mythological. The mention of Matṛgupta and Ѳٲṅg gives some clues about the date of this work.

M. Ramakrishna Telang says,

“Matṛgupta who was a poet and writer on poetics, is believed to have lived about the first half of the 6th century being a contemporary of Ś徱ٲⲹ Pratāpaśīla of Mālva C.E. 550-600.�[3]

So, this work could not be earlier than the 6th Century C.E. Also, there is a reference to Sage Ѳٲṅg, who lived around the 8th Century C.E. This would suggest that ٲٳپdz󲹱īⲹ was written sometime after the 8th Century C.E.

Subsequently the mythological account of the origin of ṭy is described. According to this work, Bharata was handed this tradition by Brahma. Brahma, in turn taught it to the Ի󲹰 and . They presented this art in front of Lord Ś. He in turn, created some features and taught them to Bharata and ղṇḍ. Ś then taught to پ. And Bharata taught both ṇḍ and to some sages on earth. ī taught the ܰśṭr ladies. The portion which describes the 貹貹 of ṭy and the story of how it came to ūǰ첹 is also mentioned in a similar way in ṅgīٲratnākara of Śṅg𱹲[4].

The text then mentions that ⲹ, abhinaya, īٲ and rasa came from , Yajus, and ٳ󲹰ṇa Veda respectively.

A similar thought has been mentioned by Bharata in his ṭyśٰ also.

जग्राह पाठ्यं ऋग्वेदात्सामभ्यो गीतमेव � �
यजुर्वेदादभिनयान� रसानाथर्वणादपि � �.१७ �

ṻⲹ� ṛgvedātsāmabhyo īٲmeva ca |
yajurvedādabhinayān rasānātharvaṇādapi ||
1.17 ||

—ṭyśٰ of Bharatamuni: 1992: GOS Vol. I: p. 14

The occasions for viewing ṭy and ṛtⲹ such as ṣe첹 of kings, birth of a child etc., three types of ṭy, definition of rasa (Rasābhivyakti kāraṇam) are mentioned.

A definition of ṭy (ٲ-ṭym) is found subsequently. This definition of ṭy makes it out to be a form which is danced. The view of ṭy in the time of Bharata, was that it was a dramatic presentation. The tradition of Bharata prohibits over usage of īٲ and ṛtⲹ during a performance of ṭy. Therefore this definition seems to belong to a period later than Bharata or perhaps, even Kohala.

The following technical aspects on dance are dealt with.

i. Abhinaya

Four types of abhinaya namely ṅg첹, 峦첹, and ٱ첹 are explained with definitions.

ii. Dharmi

Lokadharmi and ṭy󲹰 have been defined.

iii. Āṅg첹

Two types of ṅg첹 namely ṇḍ and are cited. ṇḍ is a form which is used with īٲs and dhruvas and gives importance to 첹ṇa and ṅg. The form is marked by soft and gentle body movements. Three types of ṛtٲ viz. ṣam, 첹ṭam and laghu are described with definitions. Kunjunni Raja interprets these as follows—‘Of these, dancing round and round with ropes and the like is ṣa. That which is ludicrous in form, dress, and movement is considered to be 첹ṭa. That which is constituted by ñٲ and other minor 첹ṇa is known as laghu[5].

iv. Āṅg󾱲Բⲹ

The author states that only ṅg󾱲Բⲹ will be dealt with in this work. ś, ṅkܰ and ṛtٲ are listed as the three aspects of ṅg󾱲Բⲹ and explained with definitions.

v. ṅg

Six ṅg/ parts of the body are mentioned namely ś, hasta, ṣa, ś, 첹ṭītṭa and . vi. Other technical aspects such as ٲⲹṅg-s, adhikas and ܱṅg are listed with their varieties.

vii. ṣaṇa�

ṣaṇa for ٰ, ܱⲹ, Բṭa and have been explained.

viii. Śiro-ṣaṇa

There is a detailed explanation of the different types of head movements.

  1. dhuta;
  2. vidhuta;
  3. ūٲ;
  4. avūٲ;
  5. kampita;
  6. 첹辱ٲ;
  7. ܻ屹󾱳ٲ;
  8. 貹󾱳ٲ;
  9. ñٲ;
  10. nihñٲ;
  11. 貹屹ṛtٲ;
  12. ٰܳṣiٲ;
  13. adhomukha;
  14. lolita;
  15. پⲹṅmٴDzԲԲٲ;
  16. skandhentata;
  17. ٰ첹;
  18. sama;
  19. śūܰ첹;

ix. Hasta-ṣaṇa

The different varieties of hand gestures/ movements are listed. These are further classified into ṃyܳٲ hasta-s, Aṃyܳٲ hastas and ṛtٲ hastas

ṃyܳٲ-󲹲ٲ:

  1. 貹첹;
  2. tri貹첹;
  3. ardhacandra;
  4. 첹ٲīܰ;
  5. ;
  6. ṣṭ;
  7. ś󲹰;
  8. kapittha;
  9. 첹ṭa峾ܰ;
  10. śܰ첹ٳṇḍ첹;
  11. ṅgū;
  12. 貹峾ś;
  13. alapallava;
  14. ūīܰ;
  15. sarpaś;
  16. catura;
  17. ṛgśīṣa;
  18. ṃsⲹ;
  19. ṃs貹ṣa;
  20. bhramara;
  21. mukula;
  22. ūṇa;
  23. Ի岹ṃśa;
  24. 峾ūḍa;

ṃyܳٲ-󲹲ٲ:

  1. ñᲹ;
  2. kapota;
  3. 첹첹ṭa;
  4. svastika;
  5. ḍo;
  6. ܳٲṅg;
  7. 첹ṭa屹󲹳Բ첹;
  8. Ծṣa;
  9. makara;
  10. 󲹳Բ;

While listing the ṃyܳٲ-hastas, only five are found. Later on, while explaining the ṃyܳٲhastas, details of ten can be seen.

But, the end of the ṃyܳٲ-hasta section also bears the following statement�

इत� दत्तिलकोहलीये त्रयोद� संयुतहस्ता�

iti dattilakohalīye ٰǻ岹ś ṃyܳٲhastā�

Which implies that there are 13 ṃyܳٲ hastas. Unfortunately, only ten of these are available in this work.

This section also bears a reference to ṭṭ Abhinavagupta[6]. This goes to prove that the work could not pre-date the 11th century C.E.

Following the subject of dance, is dealt with in detail. This section begins with the definition of .

तालस्तलप्रतिष्ठायामिति धातोर्� विस्मृतः �
गीतन्नृत्यन्तथ� वाद्यन्त्रयन्ताल� प्रतिष्ठितम् �

stalapratiṣṭhāyāmiti dhātordha ṛt� |
īٲnṛtⲹntathā ⲹntrayantāle pratiṣṭhitam ||
[7]

The same verse is seen in ṅgīٲratnākara. But the reading of the verse seen in ٲٳپdz󲹱īⲹ appears to have many errors. This verse also finds place (with a few minor changes) in the text of ṣaԲ (R7979).

This is followed by a list 120 śī s. is said to be of two types� and śī. Subsequently, the concept of is explained, giving the two classes namely ś岹 and Ծśś岹 along with their varieties and the manifestation of these s.

  1. Saśabda-sĀ貹, ṣk峾, ṣe貹, Candraveśaka;
  2. Niśśabda-sDhruva, Śⲹ, , ԲԾٲ;

In the list of ś岹 kriyas, a Ծṣe貹 and a Իś첹 are found. In ṅgīٲratnākara, these s have been called ṣe貹 and ś첹 respectively. Later ṣaṇagranthas have also followed Śṅg𱹲’s terminology. These readings are perhaps the result of scribal errors and such like.

Next, the concept of is defined and explained.

Mārga is of four types viz.

  1. dhruva,
  2. citra,
  3. پ첹 and
  4. 岹ṣiṇa.

The number of ٰ for each of the s is given.

The śī-s have been enumerated after this. They are�

  1. ܱ,
  2. 辱ṇ�,
  3. ṛṣ,
  4. 貹峾ī,
  5. ṣi,
  6. ᾱ,
  7. and
  8. 貹پ.

The concept of is dealt with in detail explaining the ekakala, dvikala and ٳṣk forms of the s

Varieties of [the following] are enumerated under the head -ṣaṇa:

  1. laya (vilamba, madhya and druta),
  2. yati (, dzٴDz and DZܳ) and
  3. graha (sama, īٲ and 岵ٲ

Next the concept of īٲka is described.

The [following] varieties of īٲka are explained followed by a description of ekakala madraka, namely�

  1. madraka,
  2. 貹Գٲ첹,
  3. ullopya,
  4. 첹ṣa[8],
  5. DZṇa첹,
  6. rovindaka and
  7. uttara

Dvikala and ٳṣk madraka are not to be found in this work.

The above section on is followed by the portion on . It is interesting to note that at the beginning of the text, the statement �Vīṇāⲹṣaṇam� is found. But the actual treatment of is seen only towards the end of this manuscript after dealing with ṛtⲹ and . The classification of instruments into tata (string), ṣīr (wind), avanaddha (skin) and ghana (metal) is dealt with at the outset. The text gives a list of the names of instruments under each of these classes.

Yet another classification of instruments according to their application is found. These are�

  1. śṣk,
  2. īԳܲ,
  3. ṛtԳܲ
  4. and īٲṛtԳܲ.

The divine nature of instruments is then explained with details of their connections with celestial beings.

The next subject taken up is the ṣaṇa of the structure of musical instruments. This has been treated in detail. Further, the playing technique of īṇ� has also been described elaborately.

The work concludes with the following colophon.�

इत� श्री दत्तिलकोहलीये वीणावाद्यलक्षण� समाप्तम्{ग्ल्_नोते:३८७९६०:}

iti śrī dattilakohalīye īṇāⲹṣaṇa� ptam[9]

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

ٲٳپdz󲹱īⲹ: ORI-SVU: Acc no. 7561: Fol. 1

[2]:

ٲٳپdz󲹱īⲹ: ORI-SVU: Acc no. 7561: Fol. 1.

[3]:

ṅgīٲmakaranda of 岹: 1920: Intro: p.ix

[4]:

ṅgīٲratnākara of Śṅg𱹲: 1953: Vol. IV: V. 7.4-8: p.3

[5]:

Saṃīٲratnākara of Śṅg𱹲: 1976: Vol. IV: p.4

[6]:

ٲٳپdz󲹱īⲹ: ORI-SVU: Acc no. 7561: Fol. 9

[7]:

ibid.: Fol. 19

[8]:

In works like ṅgīٲratnākara, this variety of īٲka is called 첹ī

[9]:

ٲٳپdz󲹱īⲹ: ORI-SVU: Acc no. 7561: Fol.29

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