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

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162 Treatment of Svara
(ii) द्वौ ग्रामौ (धरातले)
तौ द्वौ धरातले तत्र स्यात्षड्जग्राम आदिमः ॥१॥
द्वितीयो मध्यमग्रामस्तयोर्लक्षणमुच्यते ।
(ii) The two grāma-s: 1c--2b
Two grāma-s are prevalent in this world¹, the first is
ṣaḍja-grāma and the second is madhyama-grāma; they are defin-
ed in the following terms. (1c--2b)
"A grāma was an unsingable group scale, so to speak, consisting of śuddha-
vikṛta svara-s collected together and preserved, as such, for the purpose
of selecting, from that group scale, any desired set of seven notes with a
graha or srarting point which set, when sung in the natural order of
ascent and descent was called mūrcchanā and which, when a harmonic
individuality was established with the help of aṁśa,, nyāsa, vādī and
saṁvādī etc., took the name of jātī³." Thus, it would seem that the con-
cept of grāma is deeply involved in other concepts of the grāma-mūrcchanā
system; and would therefore become more and more clear as we go on
comprehending them all as a part and parcel of a single scheme.
Grāma has been defined primarily to be a group of tones : there-
fore, the question is, why not have seven grāma-s, one by the name of
each tone ?, and why only two viz., ṣaḍja-grāma and madhyama-grāma?
'K' suggests that since the tones are employed in two forms viz., the
standard or unmodified and the modified, there are only two grāma-s
each to serve as the basis for the former and the latter i e., the ṣaḍja-
grāma for the standard tones and the madhyama-grāma for the modified
tones. However relevant this explanation may be, it can hardly be said
to be adequate; there are many other factors of musical practice that
make any other grāma impracticable, e.g., the principle that the tones
of a grāma should be in consonance with each other implies that the
consonant tones have to be of the same śruti-measure : and this implica-
tion cannot probably be realised elsewhere as accurately as in the ṣaḍja
and the madhyama-grāma-s.
3. As quoted by Nijenhuis in her Dattilam, p. 104.

1. Dharātale, literally means, 'on the face of the earth', i.e., in the
   mortal world, for gāndhāra-grāma is said to be prevalent in the
   heaven or among the gods.

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Section 4 : Grāma, Mūrcchanā, Krama and Tāna 163
(iii) षड्जमध्यमग्रामयोर्लक्षणम्
षड्जग्रामः पञ्चमे स्वचतुर्थश्रुतिसंस्थिते ॥२॥
स्वोपान्त्यश्रुतिसंस्थेऽस्मिन्मध्यमग्राम इष्यते ।
(iii) The definition of the ṣaḍja-grāma and the madhyama-
grāma: 2c--3b
Pañcama, if located on its¹ fourth śruti makes for the
ṣaḍja-grāma; but if established on the śruti immediately
preceding² it, makes for the madhyama-grāma. Alternatively³,
dhaivata of the ṣaḍja-grāma is of three śruti-s; while in
madhyama-grāma it has four śruti-s. (2c--3b)
The author is now suggesting the means of distinguishing the
ṣaḍja-grāma from the madhyama-grāma and he says that pañcama is the
crucial note for this purpose. In the ṣaḍja-grāma pañcama is located on
the seventeenth śruti and consequently dhaivata has three śruti-s, but in
madhyama-grāma, pañcama is located on the sixteenth śruti and conse-
quently one of the śruti-s is spared to dhaivata which sustains four śruti-s.
Thus the grāma-s can be distinguished either by the position and the
extent of pañcama or of dhaivata.
Incidentally, it is pointed out by 'S' that, whereas the pañcama of
the ṣaḍja-grāma is unmodifiable, the pañcama of the madhyama-grāma is
essentially a modified note. Even though there are other notes in
ṣaḍja-grāma such as ṣaḍja etc, that too are constant, yet pañcama presents
a contrast and that is why it becomes more significant.

1. Sva the use of this possessive pronoun in the terminology of
   Śārṅgadeva is quite significant; for, it excludes the śruti-s
   gained by the tones in their modified state. The fourth śruti
   of pañcama is the seventeenth śruti of the scale identified by
   'K' as ālāpinī of the karuṇā jāti (class).
2. Svopāntya—of the text literally means "its penultimate". Thus,
   the expression refers to the śruti immediately preceding the
   fourth śruti of pañcama, i.e., the third śruti, or the sixteenth
   of the scale, identified by 'K' as sandīpanī of the āyatā class.
3. 'S' points out that the use of the indeclinable tu in the text
   shows that the author prefers to stick to the first distinction
   for distinguishing the grāma-s, while he mentions the other
   alternative on behalf of other musicologists. Indeed the
   distinction of dhaivata is incidental to that of pañcama.