सङ्गीतरत्नाकर: प्रथम भाग (शार्ङ्गदेव - स्वरगताध्याय सविस्तार व्याख्या व अनुवाद सहित)

अथ चतुर्थं ग्राममूर्च्छनाक्रमतानप्रकरणम्
क. ग्रामः
(i) ग्रामलक्षणम्
ग्रामः स्वरसमूहः स्यान्मूर्च्छनाऽऽदेः समाश्रयः ।
Section 4
Grāma, Mūrcchanā, Krama and Tāna
A. Grāma : 1-8
(i) The definition of grāma : 1ab
Grāma¹ is a group of tones that forms the basis of
mūrcchanā² etc. (1ab)
The individual identity of the tones has been established and
demonstrated in the previous Section. But, taken individually, the
tones do not have any utility, obvious or hidden. So, in order to be
effective the tones are organised and presented in a systematic form;
and therefore, the author now comes to deal with the basic pattern
of tonal organisation and the system of formal presentation related to it.
In this Section he deals with grāma which forms the basis of tonal
organisation of the system of formal presentation consisting of such
concepts as mūrcchana, the mūrcchana-series (krama) and the note-series
(tāna) which constitute the important features of ancient Indian music.
These concepts will be elaborated in their proper context, but for the
present we are concerned with the term 'grāma'.
The word grāma in Sanskrit means a village; but a village in
ancient times, and even today was and is more or less a community by
itself. So, when the word grāma is adapted in musical parlance, it
denotes, not merely a collection of musical notes, but a group of notes

1. Grama may be understood roughly as a basic scale, but for the
   sake of accuracy it has not been translated into English.
2. Mūrcchanā, though not translated in this work, like grama, may
   otherwise briefly be understood as modified gramic prototype
   scale.
   Section 4 : Grāma, Mūrcchanā, Krama and Tāna ...
   of relative tonal value organised into an integrated whole compre-
   hending within its fold the span of a saptaka (heptad), a scale of seven
   notes which serves as the basis for musical compositions.
   'K' elucidates that as in every-day life grāma refers to a group of
   people, so in musicology grāma refers to a group of svara-s; but, as the
   word svara refers to the linguistic vowels (vedic and classical) as well as
   the musical notes, this definition would be too wide. Also in the
   ordinary connotation of 'svara' is included the threefold vedic accent,
   viz., udatta, anudātta and svarita. It is in order to preclude such an
   interpretation as it were that grāma is stated to be such a group of svara-s
   which forms the basis of mūrcchanā etc. By etc., the author implies
   mūrcchanā-series, note-series (tāna), ornamentation (alaṁkāra), graces
   (gamaka) and the archetypes (jāti) of musical compositions such as
   grāma-rāga-s and so on.
   'S' also offers the same elucidation but with an alternative :
   probably, as he apprehends, one may not understand the order of tonal
   value, say in terms of the pitch involved in the grāma, if it is merely
   taken to be a group of tones. Therefore, this general statement is
   conditioned in so far as the group of notes has to be so organised, the
   tones have to be so related to each other, as to serve as the basis for
   mūrcchanā etc.
   'S' is obviously inspired in this view by the Saṅgīta-samaya-sāra,
   from which he quotes as under :
   “Grāma is a group of notes having ordered śruti-s and constituting
   mūrcchanā, tāna, jāti and aṁśa.”
   The emphasis is on the order inherent in the arrangement of the
   śruti-s, and therefore the svara-s. It is this order in the tonal value of
   the notes which distinguishes it from an indistinct jumble of sounds.
   Actually this point is implied in the text as one can clearly see it, though
   'K' has emphasised one aspect of it and 'S' has stressed the other.
   Kumbha's definition of grāma seems to be the most appropriate :
   “When the svara-s in consonance, having śruti-s in due order, serve
   as the basis of mūrcchanā etc., they are said to constitute a grāma”. (S.
   Raj. I. 2. 3. 9-10)
   That the tones of the grāma should be so related as to be in
   consonance with each other, makes this definition more explicit, clear
   and precise. Also, this definition gives due importance to śruti-s apart
   from the svara-s.
   M. S. Ramaswami Aiyar in his paper entitled, "The Question of
   Grāma-s" (pub. J. R. A. S., 1936, p. 632) explains grāma in these words :
   11