Kohala in the Sanskrit textual tradition (Study)
by Padma Sugavanam | 2011 | 95,782 words
This page relates ‘Contents of the Bharatashastra� 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 4.2 - Contents of the ٲśٰ
The subject matter in ٲśٰ presented some points of interest. The first few folios contain explanations on accompanied by a commentary in Telugu. A few folios later subjects like svara, 岹, 岵, śܳپ etc. appear without any commentary. A few folios later, there is a detailed discussion on rasa with a commentary in ṃsṛt. Still later, there is a repetition of the subject of with a telugu commentary etc. Through the entire manuscript it can be observed that there is a criss-crossing of subjects. This pattern of shifting of subject, the presence/absence of commentaries and so on pointed towards the possibility of there being more than one work in this manuscript.
On closer observation, colophons of 峾峾ٲⲹ and ʰ貹 Jagadekamalla were found. On comparison of a portions of this manuscript with that of ṣaṇa (R7979), it was found that there was a perfect match. Apart from these, there is portion of text, scattered here and there, which bears no colophon or other details of either title or author. Therefore it can be concluded this is a codex in which portions of the works 첹Ծ, ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi and lakṣana are present. Each of these is discussed below.
1 첹Ծ
첹Ծ is a medieval ṣaṇaԳٳ on music, composed by 峾峾ٲⲹ in the year 1550 C.E. The entire text of 첹Ծ is available in ٲśٰm approximately from Folio no. 47 to 65. Some folios, especially in the beginning and end do not have numbers on them. But the text, on comparison with the printed edition, is complete.
S.No | Name of chapter / 첹ṇa | Folio numbers�ٲśٰm |
i. | Upodghāta-첹ṇa | 77 |
ii. | Svara-첹ṇa | 50b to 54a |
iii. | Vīṇ�-첹ṇa | 54 a to 58b |
iv. | Mela-첹ṇa | NA |
v. | Rāga-첹ṇa | NA |
Relevant colophons are also found at the end of the chapters. For instance,
इत� श्रीमदभिनवभरताचार्यवागैयकारतोण्डरमल्� तंम्मू / म्मात्यनन्दन रामामात्� निर्मिते स्वरमेलकलानिधौ वीणा प्रकरण� तृतीयम� �
iti śrīmadabhinavabharatācāryavāgaiyakāratoṇḍaramalla taṃmmū / mmātyanandana rāmāmātya nirmite svaramelakalānidhau īṇ� 첹ṇa� tṛtīyam |
Note: The reading in the printed edition of 첹Ծ (1932: p. 20) is�
इत� श्रीमदभिनवभरताचार्यवाग्गेयकारतोडरमल्�-तिम्मामात्यनन्दनरामामात्यनिर्मित� स्वरमेलकलानिधौ वीणा प्रकरण� तृतीयं संपूर्णम� �
iti śrīmadabhinavabharatācāryavāggeyakāratoḍaramalla-timmāmātyanandanarāmāmātyanirmite svaramelakalānidhau īṇ� 첹ṇa� ṛtīⲹ� saṃpūrṇam |
2 ṣaṇa
ṣaṇa is a work on the 岹śṇa, composed by ܳٲⲹ between 1530 and 1543 C.E. This work is attributed to Kohala according to an introductory passage after the ṅg峦ṇa śǰ첹. But internal evidences in the text prove that the actual author of ṣaṇa is King ܳٲⲹ, who was the brother of Kṛṣṇadevarāya. This has been discussed in detail in para 4.3.
The complete textual matter of ṣaṇa is found in the manuscript of ٲśٰm, though some folios seem to be missing. The text (both ū as well as the commentary) matches with that of R7979 and has all the relevant diagrams also. ṣaṇa is spread over the entire manuscript of ٲśٰm, albeit in a state of disarray. It ranges approximately between the 65th and 250th folios. Around twenty folios of ṣaṇa seem to be missing. Further, the page numbers for many folios are not available, which makes it all the more confusing. Sections of ṣaṇa are interspersed with portions of 첹Ծ, ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi, and other unknown work(s), here and there.
3 ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi
This is a ṣaṇaԳٳ written by Kavicakravarti ʰ貹 Jagadekamalla in the 12th century C.E. Jagadeka was the son of dzś—the author of Abhilaṣitārtha cintāmaṇi and ruled over Kalyā� between 1138 and 1150 C.E.
A printed edition of this work by D. K. Velankar Shastri is currently available. This edition was made from a single manuscript. The editor mentions the fact that much material of the work ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi was not available to him at the time of editing the text. He has given as footnotes many quotations of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi (which were not available in his manuscript) which appear under the name of Jagadeka in ٲś of M. R. Kavi. In addition manuscripts of this work are available at the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore. One of these manuscripts (P-5081, ORI Mys) does share some common material with the printed edition, but on the other hand also deals in a much more extensive manner on the subject of 岵s etc. All these go to show that the work ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi is a very large one, only a small portion of which is available to us today.
The printed edition of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi discusses aspects like svara, 岹, prabandha, 岵, ⲹ, , -ṇa like , graha, laya, etc. The editor mentions that chapters like prabandhādhyāya, rāgādhyāya and ⲹⲹ are not complete. He also says that the ṛtⲹ is completely unavailable (�ṛtⲹ� ٳ پ�[1]). Most of the available information is in the ⲹ. The editor provides quotations of Jagadekamalla, which are not available in the concerned manuscript used by him, but given by Ramakrishna Kavi in his ٲś, in the form of footnotes.
There is a portion dealing with ṛtⲹ in the manuscript of ٲśٰm between Fol. No 176-188. The following colophon is seen in Folio No. 188b:
इत� श्री महाराजाधिराज श्रीमत्प्रतापचक्रवर्ति जगदेकमल्लविरचिते सङ्गीतचूडामणौ नृत्यधिकरण� समाप्तम् �
iti śrī Ჹ śrīmatpratāpacakravarti jagadekamallaviracite saṅgītacūḍāmaṇau ṛtⲹdhikaraṇa� samāptam ||
Here, Jagadeka calls the chapter ṛtⲹ첹ṇa, whereas in the printed edition, the chapters are called ⲹ. In this chapter the following subjects are dealt with.
As mentioned above, this chapter on dance contains the colophon attributing this to ʰ貹. In addition, there are occasional references to King ʰ貹 within the chapter also.
For instance, in Fol. No. 181a, the following verse occurs�
एवमष्टोत्तरं स्पष्ट� करणनां शत क्रमात� �
समुद्दिष्ट यथ� शास्त्रं प्रतापपृथिवीभुजा �𱹲ṣṭdzٳٲ� 貹ṣṭ� 첹ṇa� śٲ kramāt |
samuddiṣṭa yathā śāstra� pratāpapṛthivībhujā ||
These evidences make it amply clear that this section of the manuscript of ٲśٰm definitely belongs to the work ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi of ʰ貹 Jagadekamalla. A noteworthy point at this juncture is that, this ṛtⲹ which was hitherto unavailable to the editor of this work, is available in the manuscript of ٲśٰm. M. R. Kavi, in the introduction of this work ٲś, does mention that he has access to the dance chapter of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi. But surprisingly, no quotations from this chapter find place in ٲś. The manuscript (P-5081) from the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore also does not have the chapter on dance. From that perspective, this manuscript—ٲśٰm assumes much significance.
4 Unknown Work(s)
The rest of the available textual material does not bear any colophon, or details of the name of the author, title of the work etc. Moreover, it is not clear whether this entire material belongs to one work or many.
There is one section of text that extends approximately between the Folio no. 30 and 40, another set between folio no. 247 and 252, and several un-numbered folios (Folio numbers are approximated due to many damaged/missing folios). Some folio numbers are missing/ eaten/ damaged due to which the exact numbers and the order of the original text is difficult to make out. Moreover, of the supposed 350 foilos in the manuscript of ٲśٰm, only 230 are available now. Therefore the material pertaining to more than 100 folios is missing. This could very well constitute an entire work or even parts of two.
However, there is one folio which seems to hold some indications as to the nature of the unidentified work.
Some of the readings are presented below:
(�) विष्णु� लोकगुरुं प्रणम्� शिरस� सन्मार्ग सन्दर्शकम् �
कीर्ति प्रीतिकर� जनस्� लघुन� काले� कामप्रदम� �
सेव्यं सद्यतिभि� धृ�-प्लु�-न्यासात्तलोकत्रयम् �
तालाना� कथयामि लक्षणमहं पूर्वोक्� शास्त्� क्रमात� � इत� कोहल वदनम�(1) ṣṇ� ǰ첹ܰ� praṇamya śirasā san sandarśakam |
īپ īپ첹� janasya laghunā kālena kāmapradam |
𱹲ⲹ� ⲹپ� ṛt-pluta-nyāsāttalokatrayam |
tālānā� kathayāmi lakṣaṇamaha� pūrvokta śāstra kramāt || iti kohala vadanam(�) सदाशिव� शिरो ब्रह्म भरतः कास्यप� मुनि� �
मतङ्गो याष्टिको दुर्गाशक्तिः शार्दूलकोहला �
विशाखिलो दत्तिलश्� कम्बलस्य तलस्त�
—युर्वि—स� रंभार्जुनस्तुम्बुर� नारद�
आञ्जनेयामातृगुप्तौ रावण� नन्दिकेश्वरः �
स्वाति र्गल� देवराज क्षत्रराजश्च काहल� �
रुक्मसेनोध भपाल� भोजो भूवल्लभस्तथा �
एत� हि नाट्यशास्त्रप्रवक्तारो यु� क्रमात� � इत� कोहल वदनम� �(2) ś� ś brahma ٲ� ⲹ ܲԾ� |
mataṅgo yāṣṭiko durgāśakti� śārdūlakohalā |
viśākhilo dattilaśca kambalasya talasta�
�yurvi�su raṃbhārjunastumburu nāradau
āñjaneyāmātṛguptau rāvaṇo nandikeśvara� |
پ rgalo 𱹲Ჹ ṣaٰᲹś � |
rukmasenodha bhapālo bhojo bhūvallabhastathā |
ete hi ṭyśāstrapravaktāro yuga kramāt || iti kohala vadanam ||
This list is found almost in the exact same form in the first chapter of ṅgīٲٲ첹[2]. The differences in readings might be attributed to scribal or other manuscript related errors. For instance, the name in ٲśٰm reads ‘Rāhala� in the ṅgīٲٲ첹.
The last two lines and the statement �Iti Kohala vadanam are not found in ṅgīٲٲ첹.
(�) तालस्थ� प्रतिष्ठायामित� धादोर्� (�/�) स्मृतः �
दत्तिलेनाकाल क्रियायो� प्रमाण� त्तालः �
तलप्रतिष्ठाकरणयोश्चुरीदि � ञ् त्�(�) �
तल्यन्ते प्रतिष्ठाप्यन्ते नृत्तगीतवाद्यान्यनेने�(3) sthala pratiṣṭhāyāmiti dhādorgha (ñ/i) smṛta� |
dattilenākāla kriyāyo� ṇa� t� |
talapratiṣṭhākaraṇayoścurīdi dha ñ tta(la) |
talyante pratiṣṭhāpyante nṛttagītavādyānyaneneva
The fist line of the above is also found in the fifth chapter of ṅgīٲٲ첹.[3]
This folio appears to be the beginning of the work. It is also found in the beginning of the codex. It starts with the Իī śǰ첹 (paragraph i). It is interesting that this very verse is also found in the beginning of the work titled ṣaṇa which is also a part of this codex. Incidentally this verse also appears in the printed edition of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi, but the matter that follows it in the printed edition is different. The verses in paragraph (ii) give the names of early authorities on ṭy ). Since it is found completely in ṅgīٲٲ첹, it could be an indication that this part is an interpolation from Śṅg𱹲’s work. That would mean that this was a post-12th century work.
Next, the author moves on to define the term (paragraph iii). at the very beginning of the work could possibly mean that the work was one that dealt exclusively with and its various facets. The Իī śǰ첹 also reiterates this fact, as it also mentions many aspects of . Of the remaining folios we find another which appears towards the end of the manuscript.
This folio gives us the names of seven chapters that are to be explained in that work, which is an indication that it is a part of the beginning of a work too.
.............� शास्त्रे -� रा� विवे(�) प्रकीर्� प्रबन्� ता� वाद्� नृत्ताख्या� � सप्ताध्यायाः तत्र �
.............ta śāstre -ra 岵 vive(ka) īṇa prabandha ⲹ nṛttākhyā� | saptādhyāyā� tatra |
Moreover, the previous folio discussed, ends with the definition of , and the present folio starts with the same subject. However it is curious to see the list of seven chapters after definitions of a particular aspect of subject (i.e. ) has been dealt with. Furthermore, is the fifth of the seven chapters mentioned in the list. If so, why would the work begin with explanations of ?
Some authorities mentioned herein.
4.1 Some subjects dealt with in the available material:
i. Etymology of —This portion deals with the opinions of different authors regarding the etymology of the word . Many of these verses appear in other works such as ṣaṇa, ṛhśī etc. There also is a reference to the work kalāvilāsam in this context. Also is defined as �岹śṇa-samopetam�. This would help date the present work as one post 16th century C.E., as the concept of 岹śṇa and works such as kalāvilāsam also came into vogue only around this period.
ii. 101 s—The explanations of 101 s is found in parts. Only those from no. 83 (rati) till no. 101 are found. The remaining folios are missing.
iii. 岹, Śܳپ, Svara—The physiological origin of svaras, the distribution of the 22 śܳپs amongst the svaras, the names of animals corresponding to each svara and origin of 岹 are mentioned. There are references to վś and ṇiԾ.
iv. 岵‸岵ṅg, ṅg, ṅg. Deśī 岵s, Auḍava 岵s
v. Classification into Janaka-janya
vi. Grama, Sruti intervals of svara-s, 徱-徱, پ
vii. Rasa�Rasa sūtra of Bharata, Views of authorities like ṭṭ Lolla, ṭṭ Nāyaka, Triśaṅkuka, List of վ屹, Vyabhicārībhāva-s
viii. Vīṇ�
ix. Sūḷādi sapta s
x. The verse �Samyoge ca viyoge ca� appears two times in unknown text and once in ṣaṇa. This is proof that this unknown text contains a minimum of two works.
xi. The following verse is quoted as the opinion of վś.
विशाखिलमते �
शिवशक्त्यात्मत� पुण्यम� यश-म् भुक्तिमुक्तिदम� �
दशप्राणात्मक� तालम� यो जनात� � तत्ववित् �viśākhilamate ||
śivaśaktyātmata� puṇyam ⲹś-m bhuktimuktidam |
daśaprāṇātmaka� m yo janāti sa tatvavit ||
վś was an ancient authority on ṭy. This verse is not found in the reconstructed version of the work of վś[4]. Further, the 岹śṇa concept came into practice sometime around the 15-16th centuries. This raises questions on the authenticity of this work.
xii. Commentaries are found scattered in some folios. These are seen both in ṃsṛt as well as telugu. Normally, a commentary on a work will be in a single language only. Since commentaries in ṃsṛt and telugu are found in this codex, it is likely that there is more than one work in question in this case.
4.2 Date of the work(s)
As discussed earlier, amongst the authorities mentioned after the Իī śǰ첹 (Viṣṇum lokagurum), we find mention of King Bhoja. King Bhoja lived approximately between 1000 and 1050 C.E. This would mean that this work, at the earliest could have come into existence in the 11th century C.E. The paraphrasing of the list of ū峦ⲹ from ṅgīٲٲ첹 would push the date of this work to sometime post-12th century C.E.
Furthermore, the concept of 岹śṇa is mentioned (岹śṇa-samopetam) while defining . This concept came into vogue only in the 16th century C.E. Also, there is mention of the work kalāvilāsam of ʲś (around 15th century C.E.) which places the time of this work to be post-15th century C.E. Also, while discussing , reference to śūḷād sapta s, which is a concept that came into practice around the 16th century C.E., is found.
An interesting feature that can be seen is that in the chapter on 岵, there is mention of classification into �janaka-janya�. It is a common belief that the janaka-janya system of classification of 岵s came into existence only around the early 20th century C.E. But by the 20th century, works were written in paper and even the process of printing had started. Therefore it is extremely unlikely for this manuscript to have been written in this period (20th century C.E.). Further the condition of the present manuscript also indicates that it is at least 150 years old.
On weighing the different evidences available in the material, we can surmise that this work(s) was composed in the vicinity of the 16th-17th century C.E.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi: 1958: Intro: p.3
[2]:
ṅgīٲٲԲ첹 of Śṅg𱹲: 1943: Vol. I: V. 1.15-1.17: p.12
[3]:
ṅgīٲٲ첹 of Śṅg𱹲: 1951: Vol. III: p.3
[4]:
վś’s work on Music—An attempt at reconstruction: 1997