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

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164 Treatment of Svara
(iv) गान्धारग्रामः
यदा धस्त्रिश्रुतिः षड्जे मध्यमे तु चतुःश्रुतिः ॥३॥
रिमयोः श्रुतिमेकैकां गान्धारश्चेत्समाश्रितः ।
षट्श्रुतिं धो निषादस्तु धश्रुतिं सश्रुतिं श्रितः ॥४॥
गान्धारग्राममाचष्ट तदा तं नारदो मुनिः ।
प्रवर्तते स्वर्गलोके ग्रामोऽसौ न महीतले ॥५॥
(iv) The gāndhāra-grāma : 4-5
If gāndhāra takes one śruti each from ṛṣabha and
madhyama, dhaivata takes one śruti from pañcama, and niṣāda
takes one śruti each from dhaivata and ṣaḍja, it becomes
gāndhāra-grāma as declared by the sage Nārada¹. This grāma
is prevalent in the heaven², not in this world. (4-5)
In the tradition of Bharata, which Mataṅga seems to follow, only
two grāma-s, viz., the ṣaḍja-grāma and the madhyama-grāma are recognised
(cf. Br. D. 93). However Narada, of uncertain chronology, refers to a
third grāma called gāndhāra-grāma which, our author after Mataṅga
declares, was meant to be used exclusively by gods and not by human
beings. This grāma is derived by him from the ṣaḍja-grāma as described
in the text and accordingly can graphically be demonstrated as under :
The three grāma-s

Name of the grāma	Tones with number of śruti-s
Ṣaḍja-grāma	sa/4	ri/3	ga/2	ma/4	pa/4	dha/3	ni/2
Madhyama-grāma	ma/4	pa/3	dha/4	ni/2	sa/4	ri/3	ga/2
Gāndhāra-grāma	ga/4	ma/3	pa/3	dha/3	ni/4	sa/3	ri/2

(Chart 11)
Dhaivata takes one śruti from pañcama (of the ṣaḍja-grāma) and
yields one śruti to niṣāda, retaining in effect the same number of śruti-s.
1. Nārada is a very ancient name, known to Veda as the brahmarṣi
and the Purāṇas as devarṣi. He is associated with Bharata in the very first
performance of drama (N. S. Kashi ed, 5.32). Bharata mentions Nārada
as an authority on gandharva (N. S Kashi ed. 32.484). At least five per-
sonalities are discerned by the name of Nārada including the authors of
Nāradīya-śikṣā and Saṅgīta-makaranda (cf. S. Raj, Vol. 1, pp. 667-668 for a
detailed description). In short, Nārada is an ancient authority on music.
2. The heaven in the Hindu mythology, is the abode of gods;
those who accumulate merit by good deeds, are born as gods in heaven
and as the merit earned by them is exhausted, they are again reborn as
mortals in noble families. On the other hand, the gods are considered

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Section 4 : Grāma, Mūrcchanā, Krama and Tāna 165
(v) ग्रामत्रयस्य नामस्वराणां वैशिष्ट्यम्
षड्जः प्रधानमाद्यत्वादमात्याधिक्यतस्तथा ।
ग्रामे स्याद्विलोपित्वान्मध्यमस्तु पुरःसरः ॥६॥
एतत्कुलप्रसूतत्वाद् गन्धारोऽप्यग्रणीर्दिवि ।
(v) Justification for the three grāma-s: 6-7b
Ṣaḍja is the prime tone¹, for being in the first position
and also for having more ministers² in the grāma; madhyama
too is in the fore-front, because it cannot be omitted. Being
a descendant of the same family, even gāndhāra is the promi-
nent note in the heaven. (6-b)
Now, the question is why the three grāma-s are named particularly
after ṣaḍja, madhyama and gāndhāra, and not after any other notes such as
pañcama or niṣāda and so on. The author explains that it is because ṣaḍja
is the most prominent tone; and that for two reasons viz., it is the funda-
mental note and also it is in consonance with more notes than the other
-i.e., with pañcama and madhyama; whereas other tones have only one
consonant.
Madhyama is also an important note since it cannot be omitted
while composing standard (śuddha), hexatonic and pentatonic note-
series (tāna-s). 'K' also suggests another reason. Madhyama cannot be
omitted because the three notes preceding it are quite in balance with
the three notes succeeding it, and have a certain consonance in-between
them, but madhyama being centrally situated is isolated from that sort
of relationship and therefore serves as the boundary line between the
two sets of notes, making itself in-omissible. 'S' quotes Dattila regar-
ding the inomissibility of madhyama to the following effect.
"Pañcama in the madhyama-grāma, and dhaivata in the ṣaḍja-grāma
are inomissible, but however madhyama is so everywhere."
Gāndhāra-grāma is so named because it is a descendent of the same
family of gods to which ṣaḍja and madhyama belong and is thereby the
prominent note in heaven, where it is said to be prevalent. 'S' quotes
Mataṅga in support of this reasoning.
"Why indeed this particular nomenclature ṣaḍja and madhyama-
grāma ? To explain, they have been assigned grāma names because of
their being extraordinary, and that is because of their being born in the
family of gods." (cf. I.3.52ab ante)
1. Pradhāna literally means 'the chief', in other words, the most
important tone.
2. The consonant tones have been referred to as ministers (cf.
3.50 ante).