Essay name: Musical Instruments in Sanskrit Literature
Author:
S. Karthick Raj KMoundinya
Affiliation: University of Madras / Department of Sanskrit
The essay studies the Musical Instruments in Sanskrit Literature and its relationship with the South Indian musical tradition. The study emphasizes the universal appeal of music and documents how it pervades various aspects of life, art, literature, painting, and sculpture.
Chapter 2 - Origin and evolution of Music and Musical instruments
40 (of 99)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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The units are called Aksaras and the 膧di T膩la has 8 Aksaras.
The first part of the t膩la, which consists of the beating of the palm and
counting, is called Laghu. Here the number of units is 4 (Catu艣ra) and
the laghu is Catu艣ra laghu. The J膩ti of the laghu determines the J膩ti of
the T膩la so the t膩la is Catu艣ra J膩ti 膧di T膩la.
The next process of beat and turning the palm is called Druta. It is
done twice, so the t膩la has 2 Druta. Thus Catu艣ra J膩ti Triputa T膩la (膧di)
has one Catu艣ra Laghu and two Druta. The symbol for laghu is 1 and the
number written beneath it represents the J膩ti and the symbol for Druta is
0 and hence, this T膩la will be represented thus 1400.
Thus we understand that a T膩la has a laghu and a Druta and these
are called Angas (parts) of the T膩la. In some cases, there may be half of
Druta, i.e., just the beat of the palm without turning it and is called
Anudruta.
2.15.3 Angas & J膩tis:
There are seven basic T膩las that are called Sul膩di Sapta T膩las, which
are given, in the following page:
1. Dhruva T膩la
2. Matya T膩la
3. R奴paka T膩la
4. Jampa T膩la
5. Tripu峁璦 T膩la
6. A峁璦 T膩la
7. Eka T膩la
In a T膩la, the Druta has two units and Anudruta (if it is part of a T膩la)
has one unit and this is a constant. But the units of the laghu vary
according to the J膩ti.
MUL
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