Pallava period (Social and Cultural History)
by S. Krishnamurthy | 2017 | 143,765 words
This study examines the Social and Cultural History of the Pallava period (as gleaned through the Sculptural Art). The Pallavas (6th-9th century A.D.) mainly ruled over the Tondaimandalam (Tondai Nadu) region in the Northern part of Tamil Nadu (South-India). The Pallava dynasty ensured a golden age of architecture, arts, and spirituality and while ...
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Musical Instruments (Introduction)
Sculptural representations of men and women in the form of, gods, goddesses, celestials like Gandharvas, Kinnaris and Vidhyadharas, Ganas, musicians and common villager are seen playing various musical instruments.
The musical instruments used in ancient India are classified in Bharata’s Natyasastra[1] under four categories viz.,
- Tata, i.e. chordophones or stringed instruments like Vina.
- Anaddha, i.e. membrophones or percussion instruments like Mrdanga, Ghata and Damaru.
- Sushira, i.e. aerophones or wind instruments like Sankha, Venu and Turiya.
- Ghana, i.e. autophones or solid instruments like the cymbals and bell.
Each of these musical instruments with suitable examples from the sculptural representations of this period is described below:
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
S. R. Apparao, A Monograph on Bharata’s Natyasastra, Hyderabad, 1967.