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

Page 12

12          Treatment of Svara
(vii) The importance and significance of gītam (melody):
25c-30
Gītam¹ (the vocal music) was extracted from the
Sāmaveda and collected² by Brahmā. Omniscient God, the
husband of Pārvatī (i. e., Śiva) is propitiated by gītam (i. e.,
singing); Kṛṣṇa, the lord of gopī-s, in spite of being infinite,
was enamoured³ of the sound of the bamboo flute. When
Brahmā (the creator) is devoted to sāmagīti (i c., the hymns
of the Sāmaveda sung in a particular style), and Sarasvatī is
attached⁴ to the lute (vīṇā), what to speak, then, of other
creatures, such as the yakṣa-s⁵ and of gandharva-s, the gods
and the demons, and the human beings. An infant, crying
in cradle, unaware of the enjoyment of objects, on tasting
the nectar of a song, knows no bounds of joy. Even a fawn,
an animal feeding on grass and moving in the forest, attract-
ed by the song of a hunter, is ready to sacrifice its life.
Who indeed can describe the grandeur⁶ of melody, for
in fact, it is the only⁷ means for the realisation of the four

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Footnotes:

1. As suggested by ‘K’ the hymns of the Sāmaveda are sung in
   seven tones, viz. kruṣṭa, prathama, dvitīya, tṛtīya, caturtha, mandra
   and atisvārya, and so is the present music based on seven tones
   of a different nomenclature.
2. ‘K’ suggests that since the creator himself has extracted saṅgīta
   from the Sāmaveda it is open to all the four castes.
3. Lit. entrapped, charmed, confined.
4. That is, fond of Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning, who, in the
   Hindu mythology, is contemplated with a vīṇā in two of her four
   hands and is considered to be the presiding deity of fine arts.
5. Yakṣa-s and gandharva-s are semi-divine beings of mythological
   origin that have also found a place in poetic convention in
   Sanskrit literature. Yakṣa-s as demigods are considered to be
   the attendants of Kubera, the god of wealth, and guard his
   gardens and treasures; while gandharva-s are celestial singers.
6. Lit. the significance and importance.
7. Though there are definite means for the attainment of these
   values, music is a delightful medium of achieving the same
   ends. Vocal music is employed in the worship of the Divine
   almost universally. Thus it earns spiritual merit. ‘S’ further
   points out that, as mentioned in the text in the context of
   jāti-s, the proper use of jāti-s is instrumental to the attainment
   of dharma.
   That music is a means of earning one’s livelihood and
   wealth needs no explanation, and similarly it also serves as a

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         Section I : Introductory          13
primary values of human life, viz. righteousness (dharma),
wealth (artha), enjoyment (kāma) and emancipation (mokṣa).
(25c-30)

(viii) ग्रन्थस्थसप्ताध्यायानां वस्तुसंग्रहः

तत्र स्वरगताध्याये प्रथमे प्रतिपाद्यते ।
शरीरं नादसंभूतिः स्थानानि श्रुतयस्तथा ॥ ३१ ॥
ततः शुद्धाः स्वराः सप्त विकृता द्वादशाप्यमी ।
कुलानि जातयो वर्णा द्वीपान्यार्षं च दैवतम् ॥ ३२ ॥
छन्दांसि विनियोगाश्च स्वराणां श्रुतिजातयः ।
ग्रामाश्च मूर्छनास्तानाः शुद्धाः कूटाश्च संख्यया ॥ ३३ ॥
प्रस्तारः खण्डमेरुश्च नष्टोद्दिष्टप्रबोधकः ।
स्वरसाधारणं जातिसाधारणमतः परम् ॥ ३४ ॥
काकल्यन्तरयोः सम्यक्प्रयोगो वर्णलक्षणम् ।
त्रिषष्टिरप्यलङ्कारास्त्रयोदशविधं ततः ॥ ३५ ॥
जातिलक्ष्मा ग्रहांशादि कपालानि च कम्बलम् ।
नानाविधा गोतयश्चेत्येतावान्वस्तुसंग्रहः ॥ ३६ ॥
अथ रागविवेकाख्येऽध्याये वक्ष्यामहे क्रमात् ।
ग्रामरागांश्चोपरागान् रागान् भाषा विभाषिकाः ॥ ३७ ॥
ततोऽप्यन्तरभाषाश्च रागाङ्गाण्यखिलान्यपि ।
भाषाङ्गान्युपपाङ्गानि क्रियाङ्गाणि च तत्त्वतः ॥ ३८ ॥
ततः प्रकीर्णकाध्याये तृतीये कथयिष्यते ।
वाग्गेयकारो गान्धर्वः स्वरादिर्गायनस्तथा ॥ ३९ ॥

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Footnote (continued from Page 12):
medium of entertainment apart from affording aesthetic
delight; e. g., music is employed to heighten the sentiment of
love. So, music serves as means to the realisation of the two
other values, viz., wealth and enjoyment. Finally, music is
a means to spiritual emancipation when it is practised in the
spirit of dedication, e. g. in the case of songs like madraka
given in the text subsequently (Chap. V.).