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

242 Treatment of Svara
and Dattila defines it as :
प्रसन्नं पूर्वमुच्चार्य शनैः संदी नयेत् स्वरम् । प्रसन्नादिर्भवेदेवम् ।
Dattilam, 100
Śārṅgadeva has, at the very outset, taken the two terms dīpta
and tāra as synonyms; but Ghosh and Nijenhuis render the word dīpta,
literally as 'brilliant'. Dīpta is not only bright but also stimulated, or
brightened when applied to tone (svara). Accordingly, the two defini-
tions can be rendered as under.
(i) That which is gradually heightened is called prasannādi.
(ii) Having sung prasanna (mandra or low) in the first instance
if it is gradually heightened, it would be prasannādi.
Dattila's definition of prasannādi also makes it clear that Śārṅgadeva's
interpretation of the term prasanna as mandra (low) is in keeping with
tradition. Nijenhuis renders it literally as 'clear', which seems to be
technically inadequate as it has no explicit reference to pitch value.
However, it is noteworthy that the above two definitions are indicative
of the fact that Bharata and Dattila did not use the words prasanna and
dīpta as totally dissociated from their general connotation, though the
technical implication of their expression is precisely brought out by
Śārṅgadeva. Mataṅga was the first to equate prasanna with mandra
as he says "मन्द्रशब्देन प्रसन्नध्वनिरुच्यते i. e. the word mandra signifies the
pitch (called) prasanna [lit. clear)."
It is notable in the above context that Mataṅga illustrates prasan-
nādi as sa ri ga ma pa dha ni, which presents his interpretation of
Bharata's kramaśaḥ but does not correspond exactly with that of Śārṅga-
deva whose pattern is followed by Kumbhā (S. Raj II. 1.3.29). This
indicates a process of crystallisation.
2. प्रसन्नन्तः
तद्वैलोम्ये प्रसन्नन्तः,
सं सं सं । (२)
(2) Prasannānta
Its² reverse is prasannānta³, e. g. ‘sa sa sa’ (9c).
2. The reverse of prasannādi,
3. Literally, having the lower at the end.
Section 6 : Varṇālaṅkāra 243
3. प्रसन्नाद्यन्तः
,प्रसन्नद्वयमध्यगे ॥९॥
दीप्ते प्रसन्नाद्यन्तः स्यात्,
सं सं सं । (३)
4. प्रसन्नमध्यः
,तारयोर्मध्यगे पुनः ।
मन्द्रे प्रसन्नमध्याख्यमलङ्कारं विदो विदुः ॥१०॥
सं सं सं । (४)
5. क्रमरेचितः
आद्यन्तयोर्मूर्च्छनाऽऽदिश्चेत्स्वरो ऽन्तर्द्वितीयकः ।
सैका कला ऽथ चेन्मध्ये स्तस्तृतीयचतुर्थकौ ॥११॥
(3) Prasannādyanta
If the higher tone is placed in-between two lower tones,
it becomes prasannādyanta⁴, e. g ‘śa sa śa’ (9d-10a).
(4) Prasannamadhya
If, however, the lower is placed in-between the two
higher tones, that embellishment is known to the experts as
prasannamadhyā⁵, c. g. ‘sa sa sa’ (10b-d).
(5) kramarecita
The embellishment (called) kramarecita, is described in
three phrases⁶ as follows : the first tone of the mūrcchanā, in
the first phrase, is placed in the beginning as well as at the
If the arrangement of tones in the different phrases of kramarecita
is observed, it will be found that there is a progressive increase in the
number of tones in-between the final ‘sa’. This makes the prefix krama
4. Literally, having the lower in the beginning and at the end.
5. Literally, having the lower in the middle.
6. Kalā means an integral part or a phrase.