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

Page 302

302 Treatment of Svara
in the first act (of a drama). There are twelve kalā-s⁷ of eight
laghu-s⁸ (shorts) each. (60-64b)
In this ṣaḍjī the final note is ṣaḍja, the semifinal notes
are gāndhāra and pañcama and varāṭī is seen (through it). Its
prastāra⁹ (elaboration) follows :

1. sā sā sā sā pā ni-dha pā dha-ni
   Tam bha va la ṭa
2. rī ga-ma gā gā sā ri-ga dha-sa dha
   na ya naṁ bu jā dhī
3. ri-ga sā rī gā sā sā sā sā
   kam
4. dhā dhā nī ni-sa ni-dha pā sā sā
   na ga sū pra ṇa ya
5. nī dhā pā dha-ni rī gā sā gā
   ke li sa mu dbha
6. sā dhā dha-ni dha-pā sā sā sā sā
   vaṁ
7. sā sā gā sā mā pā mā mā
   Sa ra sa kṛ ta ti la ka
8. sā gā mā dha-ni ni-dha pā gā ri-ga
   paṅ ka ru he pa
9. gā gā gā sā sā sā sā sā
   naṁ
10. dhā sā rī ga-ri sā mā mā mā
    pra ya mā mi ka ma
11. dha nī pa dha-ni rī ga rī sā
    de hen dha na na
12. ri-ga sā rī gā sā sā sā sā
    laṁ
13. Kalā is understood by Nijenhuis as ‘variable time unit’ which
    brings out the idea so well, but it being a phrase, she has
    not herself used it as an equivalent term. Here it seems to
    imply a phrase, a tonal sector structured upon a verbal unit in
    a definite time space.
14. ‘K’ points out that in the context of tāla, laghu is the measure
    of time taken to pronounce five short syllables. And eight
    such laghu-s constitute one kalā. Thus the kalā spoken of here
    pertains to dakṣiṇa mārga as the author himself says in verse
    subsequently. ‘S’ reads eight guru-s (longs) in place of eight
    laghu-s. ‘K’ elucidates that the prescribed form of tāla is
    catuṣkala. In the Vārtika mārga, i. e. in dvikala form it will
    have twentyfour kalā-s of four laghu-s each, while in the citra
    mārga, i. e the ekakala form it will have fortyeight kalā-s of
    two laghu-s each (See ‘K’ on 111 cd. and 112 ab).
15. It has not been possible to give signs for tāra-mandra in the
    notations reproduced in the Roman script.

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Page 303

Section 7 : Jāti-s (Melodic types) 303
The author now describes (from verse 60-109) the distinguish-
ing features of each of the eighteen jāti-s separately. It would be
observed from the above description that the jāti songs in various forms
constituted a part and parcel of the dramatic episodes and their tech-
nique of presentation and contributed in terms of musical effect to the
creation of aesthetic delight (rasa). This explains their relation to
rasa and also presents the perspective in which the jāti-songs must
be viewed.
It is notable that Śārṅgadeva, in addition to the jāti-lakṣaṇa-s
(characteristic features of jāti-s) also invariably mentions the commence-
ment of the mūrcchanā as an added essential feature. In Bharata’s
system it was understood that the fundamental note which is also the
initial note would be the commencing note of the mūrcchanā. So, in a
way Śārṅgadeva is recording a departure from that notion, and it seems
that it is based on Mataṅga’s twelve-tone (dvādaśa-svara) mūrcchanā-s, a
concept brought into being by such ancient authorities as Kohala and
Nandikeśvara (as quoted by him vide Br. D. p. 32) and elaborated by
him. As each jāti has more than one fundamental note (as capable of
being used), Bharata’s system of seven-tone (sapta-svara) mūrcchanā-s (also
otherwise spoken of by Mataṅga) could easily be worked on stringed
instruments of the harp type, that had as many as twentyone strings,
but it was not suited to the fretted instruments of the lute type with
fixed note positions It is conjectured that when such instruments
appeared during the times of Mataṅga and others, it was found difficult
to work out the seven-tone mūrcchanā-s on them, since every time the
fundamental note of a jāti was changed it required a different tuning
of the instruments. Therefore a system comprising notes of three
registers such as two of the lower, seven of the middle and three of the
higher was invented to obviate this difficulty and to obtain the structure
of a rāga or a bhāṣā, etc. within the range of twelve notes. So the
very purpose of mūrcchanā was extended to include the comprehension of
the tonal structure (outline) of a rāga and so on (see S. Chintāmaṇi,
p. 66).
However Kallinātha seems to have identified the seven-tone
mūrcchanā-s of Bharata with the twelve-tone mūrcchanā-s of Mataṅga
quietly accepted in this context by Śārṅgadeva, without mentioning
them as such anywhere else. But such an identification is obviously
erroneous. The expression dhaivatādi of the text (i. e. commencing
with dhaivata) is borrowed from Mataṅga and refers to the twelve-
tone mūrcchanā-s innovated by him. The twelve-tone mūrcchanā-s of
Mataṅga are illustrated as under :