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The yazh is one of the most ancient instruments that were prevalent in Tamilnadu. It was used as a primary instrument and also as an accompaniment to vocal music. When the fretted Vina emerged, the yazh slowly receded to the background. During the time of Manickavacagar, the Vina and the yazh were both in vogue. This is proved from that yazh in the statement "Innisai vinaiyar yazhinar orupal" in the Tirupalli yezhuchi of Tiruvembavai. Appar (7 th century A.D.) also refers to the Vina in his hymn "Masil Vinaiyum". Tirunilakantha yazhpanar provided the yazh accompaniment to the sacred hymns that flowed as devotional outpourings from the mouth of Tirugnana Sambandar. Reasons for the name - Yazh Since the tip of the Dandi or the stem of this instrument was carved into the head of the weird animal Yali (vyala in Sanskrit), it was named yazh. (In this connection it may be mentioned that the instrument 'Tavus' with the peacock-shaped resonator is called mayuri, or mayil Vadyam. Likewise the instrument "Svarabath "with the headpiece carved into the shape of a parrot is called Kili muku Vadyam. The head-piece of the yazh at the tip of the Dandi is retained even now as the head-piece in the Vina. The Yazh was played with the fingers of both the hands. It was tuned to a particular scale. Other scales were played on it by the shift of the tonic note or by retuning the particular strings. Thus the yazh may be said to be the precursor of the later Eka Raga Mela Vina.

84 Varieties of Yazh: Peri yazh had 21 strings (Cilappatikaram- 1.10.26); Sakoda yazh had 14 strings (Cilappatikaram-1.10-Katturai-14); Senkotti yazh had 7 strings (Cilappatikaram-2.13.106) and Siri yazh (Cilappatikaram-3.28.31,32) and various other varieties are mentioned in ancient Tamil Literature. In the temple in Tirumaiyam (near Pudukkottai), Amaravathi, Khajuraho the sculpture of the yazh can be seen. The Makara Vina, Narada Vina and Maha Vina as mentioned in Sanskrit texts, correspond to 'Maha yazh', 'Narada yazh' and 'Adi Kalattu Periyazh' respectively in Tamil. The yazh had many limitations. Only straight notes could be played on this instrument. There were no facilities for playing the Gamakas or Quartertones. Further, it took a long time to tune the instrument. Thus the fretted Vina emerged without the above limitations. By deflecting the playing strings over the Dandi inwardly, the various types of Gamakas are produced. The production of Gamakas and the reckoning of the tala simultaneously make the instrument unique in all respects and give it a superior status among the stringed instruments. The left hand i.e., playing technique constituted the varieties of gamakas or graces, which are the most essential angas of Indian Music like Kampita, Lina, Titipa, Vali, Tribhinna, Kurula, Ahata, Ullasita, Purva Dhal and Uttara Dhal. With this, the different kinds of plucking also developed side by side.

85 Types of yazh: an The list below is from the article 'From yazh to guitar overview' by Prof. V.V. Subramanyam in the conference related to String instruments in the year 1999, in Chembur fine arts society, Mumbai. Adi yazh: A 1000-stringed yazh used for chasing away animals and raksasas in forests. Narada peri yazh: A 1000-stringed yazh, in the shape of a triangle. This instrument had Mandara, Madhya and Tara sthayi (3-octave range) strings. Adi kala peri yazh: A 100-stringed instrument. Peri yazh: A 21-stringed instrument. Siri yazh: A stringed instrument with 7 or 9 strings. It is stated that the instrumentalist playing Peri yazh was known as "Banan" and that his wife (known as "Padini") played the Siri yazh. Makara yazh: A 17-stringed instrument. Sakoda yazh: A 16-stringed instrument. Sengotti yazh: A 7-stringed instrument. As in the present-day Vina, it had 4 main strings and 3 strings for tala. Tumuru yazh: A 9-stringed instrument. Kichaka yazh: A 100-stringed yazh. Maruttuva yazh: This was a single stringed instrument capable of presenting 62 types of notes and known as Deva yazh. Kurinji yazh, Palai yazh, Maruda yazh and Mullai yazh: Corresponding to the 4 regions of ancient Tamil landscape. Vallaki yazh: It is said that Brihaspati used to play on this type of yazh. Killai yazh: This instrument had a face like that of a parrot. Going through the historical development of yazh and Vina it is clear that distinctive shapes and structure gave rise to different types of tones. Further, they required special playing skills. 13

86 Through Puranas we learn that when the sages Narada and Tumburu played the Vina, and the Puranas also convey, that Ravana captivated Lord Siva by his Vina playing. Records show that Kovalan and Madhavi were experts on playing the Sengotti yazh (Cilappatikaram- 2.13.106). There is evidence showing that the Yazh and Vina were utilized as accompanying instruments as well. For example, there is a reference in Adi Sankara's 'Saundaryalahari' (Verse 66) that Goddess Sarasvati played the Vina in the court of Goddess Paramesvari. It is to be noted that Pinaki Vina, Kurma Vina and Ravanasram are in fact types of bowed instruments. Another instrument called Vinai Kunju is even today seen in Kerala where gypsies and tribals play on it. Gottuvadyam (Citravina) was known much earlier as Maha Nataka Vina.