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

402 Treatment of Svara
to the fact that śruti is either considered to be one or many⁸,
implying that it all depends on the connotation of the term;
for, the word śruti was quite differently understood by diffe-
rent scholars or schoolmen as it appears from his discussion
with regard to the number of śruti-s.
To Mataṅga, therefore, śruti, as undertood in its
primary sense of 'the audible sound', is one only.⁹ And he
supports his contention by quoting Viśvāvasu who says that,
"because it is perceptible by the sense of hearing, sound only
can be śruti.¹⁰ But Viśvāvasu does not seem to be limiting
the connotation of the word śruti to its primary meaning;
rather he lends it a meaning which makes the word technical
in the field of musicology; for, he says that śruti is twofold
according to as it is associated with the standard notes and
the intervening (antara-svara-s) ones.¹¹ But those who
consider the śruti to be threefold either on the ground of
three registers or threefold perceptual insensitivity as quoted
by Mataṅga¹² do not seem to make an advance on the one
śruti theory from the musicological point of view, since the
first opinion makes no important distinction as the very same
notes are involved in all the three registers; and the second
view relates to the quality of voice i. e the timbre and not
the pitch. However, the theory referred to by him, that
considers śruti to be fourfold on the basis of the different
physiological conditions makes some advance upon the three-
fold śruti view in so far as it affects the whole structure of
८—सा चैकानेका वा ।
Bṛhaddeśī.
९—तत्रैकैव श्रुतिरिति ।
ibid.
१०—श्रवणेन्द्रियग्राह्यत्वाद् ध्वनिरेव श्रुतिर्भवेत् ।
ibid.
११—सा चैकापि द्विधा ज्ञेया स्वरान्तरविभागनः ।।
ibid.
१२—केचित् स्थानत्र(य)योगात् त्रिविधां श्रुतिं प्रपद्यन्ते ।
अपरे त्विन्द्रियवैगुण्यात् त्रिविधां श्रुतिं मन्यन्ते ।
इन्द्रियवैगुण्यं च त्रिविधं सहजं दोषजमभिघातजं चेति ।
ibid.
Appendix III 403
musical sound. But yet it does not seem to depart absolu-
tely from the primary meaning of the term śruti and there-
fore fails to accord distinct individuality to different śruti-s.
Bharata has spoken of three types of tones viz., having
four śruti-s, three śruti-s, and two sruti-s, in the context of
wind instruments with reference to the technique of playing
upon them.¹³ Presumably on this basis, some flutists, accor-
ding to Mataṅga, consider śruti-s to be nine only. We are
not presently so much concerned with the actual and true
number of śruti-s as with the true significance and the actual
function of śruti-s. It is obvious that to the flutists only
nine śruti-s were real, for they could produce the notes of
the octave with this understanding. Therefore, once again
we find that śruti-s are conceived in order to produce the
svara-s accurately and for obtaining their modified forms such
as antara and kākalī referred to earlier in the two-sruti view.
But, however, apart from the technique of the wind instru-
ments, Bharata himself implies twentytwo śruti-s in a scale;
for there are three notes with four śruti-s, two with three and
two with two śruti-s each in ṣaḍjagrāma.
It is interesting in this context to consider the view of
Dattila whose work is believed to be earlier than Mataṅga
and who is considered to be a close follower of Bharata. He
says : "Higher and higher notes in the high (tāra-sthāna)
(register) are on the vīṇā lower and lower. Thus the differences
of sound are called śruti because of their auditive perceptibility.
With some of these (śruti-s) one sings in all songs. Those
(śruti-s), however, which have become notes will be consi-
dered here."¹⁴ Thus, auditive perceptibility of differences in
१३—द्विकत्रिकचतुष्कास्तु ज्ञेया वंशगताः स्वराः ।
(कम्प्यमानार्थमुक्ताश्च व्यक्तमुक्तास्तथैव च ॥)
Nāṭyaśāstra (G. O. S.) 3.2.
१४—उत्तरोत्तरतारस्तु वीणायामधरोत्तरः ।
इति ध्वनि विशेषास्ते श्रवणाच्छ्रुतिसंज्ञिता ॥९॥
तेभ्य कांश्चिदुपादाय गीयन्ते सर्वगीतिषु ।
आन्दिर्यन्ते च ये तेषु स्वरत्वमुपलभ्यते ॥१०॥
Dattilam.