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

Page 376

376 Treatment of Svara
The word kapāla literally means the skull bone, a piece of a broken
jar, a beggar's bowl, a cup, a jar, etc. Kallinātha explains this name with
reference to the first two meanings. Technically, kapāla is a modifica-
tion of a śuddhā jāti from which it is derived. It has the characteristic
feature of reflecting the rāga as derived from its parent jāti, because
it bears a close resemblance to it in form. In a way if a jāti can be
said to be a melodic type giving rise to many rāga-s, kapāla is a cross
section of a particular jāti that embodies the sectional features of a
particular derived rāga. Therefore, kapāla is explained by 'K' firstly on
the analogy of a broken jar which points out to the jar. Secondly, he
relates a mythical story: "Once Lord Śiva, while he wandered as a
mendicant, was singing in ṣaḍjī etc. and he was so blissfully absorbed
in it that the crescent of the moon on his forehead melted releasing
nectar, drinking which the skulls (kapāla-s) of Brahmā that he was
carrying fastened together in a garland around his neck came to
life and began to sing along with him; that is why these songs are called
kapāla-s."
There are seven śuddhā jāti-s and correspondingly there are seven
kapāla songs. Though the chapter is entitled 'Gīti-s' in accordance with
the synopsis (see Section 1) the Kapāla and the Kambala songs are dealt
with to begin with.
(ii) गीतिलक्षणं, तद्भेदाश्च
वर्णाद्यलङ्कृता गानक्रिया पदलयान्विता ।।१४।।
गीतिरित्युच्यते सा च बुधैरुक्ता चतुर्विधा ।
मागधी प्रथमा ज्ञेया द्वितीया चार्धमागधी ।।१५।।
संभाविता च पृथुलेत्येतासां लक्ष्म चक्ष्महे ।

1. मागधी गीतिः
   गीत्वा कलायामाद्यायां विलम्बितलयं पदम् ।।१६।।
   द्वितीयायां मध्यलयं तत्पदान्तरसंयुतम् ।
   सतृतीयपदे ते च तृतीयस्यां द्रुते लये ।।१७।।
   इति त्रिरावृत्तपदां मागधीं जगदुर्बुधाः ।

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Page 377

Section 8 : Gīti-s 377
(ii) The definition and classification of gīti-s: 14c-25
The act of singing¹ embellished by (various) patterns
of tonal movement (varṇa) etc.², and couched in verbal
phrases³ set in musical speed (tempo)⁴, is called gīti. It is
said to be fourfold by the enlightened ones⁵. The first is
known to be māgadhī, the second is ardha-māgadhī, (the third
is) sambhāvitā and (the fourth is) pṛthulā. We shall describe
their characteristic features. (14c-16b)

1. Māgadhī
   Having sung a verbal phrase (pada) in the first kalā in
   the slow tempo, and then in the second⁶ the same⁷ along
   with another phrase in the middle tempo, if in the third
   they⁸ are sung along with the third phrase in the fast tempo,
   such (a gīti) that thrice repeats a verbal phrase⁹ is called
   māgadhī by the enlightened ones¹⁰. (16c-18b)
   The jāti songs are meant to be sung in particular gīti-s, so the
   author now introduces this topic and gives first of all a general defini-
   tion of gīti and then goes on to define their particular forms.
   Gīti is defined primarily to be a gāna-kriyā, 'the act of singing'
   which is moulded and shaped through the use of particular patterns
   of tonal movement such as ascending, descending, stable and circu-
   latory (i.e. ārohī, avarohī, sthāyī and sañcārī varṇa-s) and is enriched
2. Gāna-kriyā in this context is restricted in its connotation to
   mean an act of singing.
3. The suffix ādi (etc.) is meant to include, according to 'K', the
   sixty-three alaṅkāra-s spoken of in Section 6 ante, such as
   prasannādi and so on.
4. Pada, in this context, is a meaningful word with grammatical
   terminations. Thus, a pada is not only a word, since it also
   is qualified to indicate a relation. Pada is therefore more than
   a word and yet not a sentence. As such, it has been trans-
   lated as a verbal phrase to distinguish it from a tonal
   phrase. Technically, pada signifies the verbal structure
   of melody.
5. Laya is tempo, i. e. relative musical speed.
6. This refers to the earlier teachers of the subject.
7. The second kalā.
8. The phrase of the first kalā.
9. That is, the phrases of the first two kalā-s.
10. Viz. devam.
11. The ancient authorities of saṅgīta-śāstra.