mūrchanā technical_term

TRANSLATION ⁵¹ pañcama and șadja. In the complete state there is the sparseness of șadja, madhyama, pañcama and dhaivata. In the ṣāḍava state, there is the sparseness of şadja, madhyama and dhaivata. In the auduvita form there is the sparseness of madhyama and dhaivata. The tāra extends upto five svaras. The mandra is upto the nyāsa or upto the svara next to it. [Anu. 153] The mūrchanā beginning with gāndhāra obtains. Caccatpuṭa is the tāla. There are thirty-two kalās in the dakṣiṇa (mārga), sixteen in vārtika (mārga), eight in citra (mārga). It is ten-fold. There are ten amśas. Śuddhā (is one). There are three vikṛtās in the complete state, three in the ṣāḍava state and three in the auduva state. Karuna is the rasa. Its application (viniyoga) 68 is prescribed in the singing of dhruvās in the first scene (or act). [5. Şadjakaisiki] [Anu. ¹⁵⁴] Ṣaḍja, gāndhāra and pañcama are the grahas and amsas of ṣaḍjakaisikī. The tāra extends upto five svaras. The mandra is upto the nyāsa or upto the svara next to it. It is always complete. There is the sparseness of dhaivata, niṣāda and madhyama. Ṛṣabha is even more sparse, there is abundance of the remaining ones. Gāndhāra is the nyāsa. And şadja, niṣāda, pañcama are apanyāsas. [Anu. 155] It has no śuddhā state, there are three amśas in the complete state. Caccatpuța is the tāla. În ekakala (tāla), in the citra (mārga), there is māgadhī gīti. In dvikala (tāla), in the vārtika (mārga), there is sambhāvitā (gīti). In catușkala (tāla), in the dakșiņa (mārga), there is pṛthulā (gīti) and the rasa is karuṇa. Its application (viniyoga) is (prescribed) in the first song associated with entry in the second scene (or act). [6. Şadjodicyava] [Apu. 156] Şadja, madhyama, dhaivata and nişāda are the grahas and amsas of şadjodīcyavā. The tara extends up to five svaras. The mandra is upto the nyasa or the svara next to it. The şādava formation is devoid of ṛṣabha, the auduvita formation is devoid of ṛṣabha-pañcama. In the complete state there is the sparseness of

¹²⁷ TRANSLATION in yuddha-vīra 92 (rasa). Vīra and the like is the rasa. The mūrchanā beginning with ṣaḍjaobtains. Ārohin is the varṇa. Prasannāntais the alaṅkāra. The kalā is formed in the dakṣiṇa(mārga), the kalā obtains in the vārtika(mārga) and the kalā prevails in the citra (mārga). A tāla like caccatpuṭa obtains in the songs comprised of svara and pada. [The assignment of grāma to sādhāraņa rāgas] Now, the assignment of grāma to sādhāraņa (rāgas) is being shown. Bhammāṇapañcama should be known to be born of madhyamagrāma and so are gāndhārapañcama, narta and ṣaḍjakaiśika. (342) The rāgas rūpasādhārita, śaka, kakubha, revagupta and pañcamaṣāḍava should be known to be (related to ) the one known as sadja. The seven (nine?) sādhāraņa (rāgas) have (thus) been said to be based on the two grämas. (343) [The basis of the specification of murchanā in respect of grāma-rāgas] [Anu. 213] (Contention) How is the specification of particular mūrchanās in respect of grāma-rāgas known? It is being answered. The specification of mūrchanās is known from the statements of authorities. Similarly has said Kasyapa - "The mūrchanā should be specified by the wise after knowing the predominance of amsa in a jāti."94 [The difference between gita and raga] [Anu. 214] (Contention) What is the difference between gita and raga? It is being answered. The gita characterised with ten lakṣaṇas should be named after the word rāga. Gīta is comprised of four angas (components).95 It is five- fold in combination with dhruva96 From where is this known? From the statements of authorities. Similarly has said Kasyapa -

VIMARŠA ³¹⁹ 57. Ratigana is fourfold and is composed of two syllables each – SS, IS, SI, II. 58, 59. Dhātu-mātu stand for tonal-cum-rhythmic and verbal structure of a composition respectively. 60. Twice Rudra would mean 11 \times 2 = 22. 61. Bāṇagaṇa is of 16 kinds, each one composed of four syllables. 62. Here only the number of syllables is regulated and not their long and short order. 63. Alaghu - that which is not laghu or short. 64. No regulation of the order of long and short syllables is prescribed. 65. See notes 46, 52. 66. 'Yati' is a word that stands for splitting or pause in metre. In tāla, yati means the order or sequence of layas. Here the first meaning seems to be relevant. 67. This is again a reference to Matanga within the text. See note 3. 68. Samā yati is that where one and the same laya is sustained from the beginning to the end. 69. Şaţpadī means 'one having six feet '. Śaṅkarācārya's şaţpadī beginning with 'avinayamapanaya viṣṇo' is well - known. 70. Srotogatā yati is that where there is slow laya in the beginning followed by fast, like the source of a river that gradually gains speed in its current. Samā has been explained in note 68. 71. Gopucchā yati is the opposite of srotogatā; it is fast in the beginning and gradually becomes slow, like the end of the cow's tail which is first thin and then ends up with a thick bunch of hair. 72. See note 46. 73. 'Varṇadhvani' would literally mean 'the sound of syllables'; perhaps the contrast of a cluster of syllables in song, followed by a text-free tonal rendering is implied. 74. Mūrchanā is not known as a kind of gamaka. The combination of 'mūrchanā' with gamaka requires further investigation. 75- 79. Lāţa (approximately present Gujarat), Karṇāta (roughly present Karnataka), Gauda (roughly present Bengal), Andhra (roughly present Andhra Pradesh) and Dravida (roughly present Tamilnadu) are the regions selected for description of types of elā prabandha. Important omissions are Pāṇcāla, Avantī or Mālavā, Vidarbha etc. SR also mentions only the above five regions in this context. 80,81. The description of the regional specialities in the use of rhyme and alliteration is interesting indeed.

¹⁵ TRANSLATION "Some who are adept in the knowledge of śrutis, speak of twenty-two śrutis; some (speak of them) as being differentiated into sixty-six. Others propound their infinity itself." (Anu. ⁷) But then, what is the measure of śruti? It is being explained. Pañcama is known as being seated in the two grāmas.19 The difference of that (pañcama) through utkarşa 20 (augmentation) and apakarşa 21 (diminution) through mārdava 22 (lit. softness) and āyatatva 23 (lit. the state of being stretched or extended) is the measure of śruti (lit. śruti is of that measure). (Anu. ⁸) Now the nidarsana 24 (demonstration) of the twenty-two-fold nature of srutis is thus (being given). Having made two viņās equal in measure,25 string,26 upavādana 27 (the place where the strings are tied up at the lower end of the viņā), daņļa28 (rod or board) and mūrchanā29 (tuning), they (two viņās) should be established in şadjagrāma.50 On one of these, having made the śruti madhyamagrāmiki31 (belonging to madhyama-grāma) on account of the apakarşa (lowering) of pañcama, (one) should make the same śruti şadjagrāmikī 32 (belonging to sadjagrāma) on account of pañcama.35 Thus (the vinā) becomes lowered by (one) śruti, but there is no special gain,34 because of there being only the perception of high and low. Again one should lower in the same manner³⁵ so that gāndhāra and niṣāda that are the subjects (kartṛ in dual no.) on one viņā will 'enter' the rabha-dhaivata 36 that have attained objectification (karmatā) on the unchanged (sthirā) viņā on account of their (of gāndhāra- niṣāda) being 'more's7 (higher) by two śrutis (each, in relation to ṛṣabha- dhaivata). Again also, the dhaivata-ṛṣabha on the cala (mobile) viṇā that is lowered in the same manner, will enter the pañcama-şadja on the other (viņā), on account of their being 'more's8 (higher) (than the latter) by three śrutis (each). Again also, on the (cala) viņā that is lowered in the same way, pañcama, madhyama and şadja enter madhyama, gandhara and nişada respectively on the other on account of their being 'more'39 (higher) (than the latter) by four śrulis.

⁵⁵ TRANSLATION The heptad of svaras (that functions) through ascent and descent²¹ in respective order,22 should be known by the adept ones as being spoken of by the (91) word mürchanā. [ Anu. ³⁶ ] That murchanā again is twofold — one composed of seven svaras and the other of twelve svaras.25 Out of these the murchana of seven svaras is fourfold24 __ pūrņā (lit. complete, here with all the seven svaras), ṣāḍavā (hexatonic), auduvitā (pentatonic) and sādhāraņā (with sādhāraņa svaras). Out of them pūrņā is that which is sung with seven svaras, that which is sung with six svaras is ṣāḍavā, that which is sung with five svaras is auduvitā, that which is sung with kākalī and antara svaras, is sādhāraņā. (Anu. ³⁷) Now the mūrchanā-maṇḍala is being spoken of. In this (maṇḍala) for mūrchanās of seven svaras in each grāma there are forty-nine svaras and (the same number of) squares (kosthakas), on account of the process that follows a set path or order. That is thus— Forty-nine squares filled25 with svaras, have, indeed, to be made with eight (92) horizontal and vertical lines. (Anu. ³⁸) There (in the maṇḍala) are seven (mūrchanās) beginning with 26 sa - ni - dha - pa - ma - ga - ri in sadjagrāma and seven beginning with ma - ga - ri - sa - ni - dha - pa in madhyama-grāma. Svaras have to be 'made' (filled) (in the squares) in the horizontal and vertical (order). That is thus - ni - dha - pa - ma - ga - ni - į sa is (the order) in şadja-grāma. Ga - ni - sa - ni - dha - pa - ma is (the order) in madhyama-grāma. Thus there are the fourteen sampūrņā (complete) mūrchanās of the two grāmas. sa - ri - ga - ma - pa - dha - ni ni - sa - ri - ga - ma - pa - dha

¹³⁷ PĂŢHA VIMARŚA पञ्चमस्य च श्रृङ्गारो बीभत्सो धैवतस्य च । करुणा च निषादस्य सप्तस्थानरसा नव ॥ (Sam Mak II.1.47, ⁴⁸) It is notable that Santa rasa has been included here and bhayanaka has been omitted; thus the number of rasas enumerated is only eight and not nine, as stated in the last foot. 46. MS B reading as recorded by the ed. Section V ( Grāma-mūrchanā ) ग्रामो नाम विशिष्टश्रुतिकस्वरसमूहो मूर्छनात्मा ¹. cf. पूर्णापूर्णस्वभावस्वरगतग्रहाशादिविशेषसमूहरूपजातिसमूहश्च । (Abhi Bhā on NŚ XXVIII, p. 42) ². C.r. in S R I Sudhā, p. ¹⁰². 3. C.r. in S R I Sudhā, p. 101 has been accepted because 'vyavasthitaḥ' is an adjectival form which is not matched by a noun that could be qualified by it, but 'vyavasthitih' is an abstract noun that fits the sentence. 4,5. C.r. in S R I Sudhā, p. 103. 6. This verse is not found in the text of Nā Ši. ⁷. C.r. in S R I Sudhä, p. ¹⁰¹. 8. P.t., modified according to C.r. in ibid. 9. C.r. in S R I Kalā, p. 99 in the name of Muni (Bharata), but this line is not found in the text of NS. In P.t. this line has not been treated as a citation, but as a part of the text, because quotation marks are not given. 10. This line forms part of the text of NS (XVIII, 5 ab). Hence it is treated by us as a citation. 11. P.t. includes ' sadbhih' after 'suddhābhih', but that has no relevance to the context and has, therefore, been omitted by us. 12. C.r. in S R I Sudhā, p. 105 adds the following half-verse, paraphrasing the prose-portion regarding the etymology of mūrchanā - मूर्खनामब्दनिष्यतिर्मुखं मोहे समुच्छये । 13, 14. C.r. in S R I Sudhā, p. 114. 15. P.t. adds 'tiryak' after 'svarāḥ', but that is redundant. 16. P.t. adds 'ürdhvā' after 'mā'. ¹⁷. P.t. मध्यमे तिर्यगूर्ध्वगा अपि स्वरा । 18. Hariņāśvā is the name found in NŚ, S R etc. 'Hariņāhvayā' is the form of 'hariṇāhvā' in the instrumental case; but this case is not relevant to the context. The P.t. is utterly confused, mutilated and in disorder after this line upto the end of Anu. 41; it has been reconstructed according to the context, mainly by re-arranging the order.

¹⁶¹ VIMARŚA commenting on NS XXVIII, 1. He says there that even if an untrained person 'hits' a mūrchita (tuned) vīṇā, the sound produced will be musical (in tune) i.e. svara will be attained. Since the tuning has to take effect only in one of the mūrchanās, the name mūrchanā for tuning is justified. Kālidāsa (Megha. 84) has used the word murchana in the same sense when he says for the Yakşi that again and again she forgets the mūrchanā made by herself. 30. This prescription of establishing the two viņās in sadjagrāma immediately after the mention of murchana appears to be rather queer, but the apparent repetition could be justified if the mention of 'mūrchanā' is taken to refer to equality in tuning, pure and simple and the later mention of sadjagrāma is accepted as the specification of tuning. The construction of the sentence implying that equal tuning is to be done first and then the viņās have to be established in sadjagrāma which itself is a tuning, will have to be ignored as the initial reference to tuning is a part of the general prescription about perfect equality between the two viņās and the second reference relates to special tuning. 31,32. The qualification of śruti as şadjagrāmiki and madhyamagrāmiki could be interpreted in two ways, viz.- (a) 'Sruti' could be taken here as standing for sound in general; accordingly, the total tuning of each grāma could be referred to as śruti in singular number. (b) The interval of sruti perceived through apakarşa (lowering) of pañcama is madhyamagrāmikī śruti and the same interval being perceived through the utkarșa (augmentation) of pañcama is called șadjagrāmiki. It is to be noted that the utkarşa of pañcama is not actual but only 'resultant' because it comes into . being when all the other svaras are lowered in accordance with the lowering of pañcama so that the samvada of şadja-pañcama that was disturbed on account of the lowering of pañcama is restored. 33. In the mention of the restoration of sadjagrāma, the process i.e. the 'utkarşa' (augmentation) of pancama is implicit. In NS (XXVIII, p. 20) it is made explicit by the expression pañcamasyotkarşa-vasat i.e. by reason of the augmentation of pañcama. 34. The idea is that all the svaras on the mobile (cala) viņā are lowered by one śruti, but this process does not prove the interval of any svaras in terms of śruti since there is no svara in this system, that manifests on consecutive śrutis; the gap or interval of one śruti is indispensable. 35. The word 'tadvat' has raised a big controversy among modern scholars. It has been generally interpreted to mean "in the same manner" literally, giving the sense that the second step of this process of demonstration of śrutis has to begin again with the lowering of pañcama. Three opinions are notable in this context. (i) V.N. Bhatkhande (cf. Hindustani Sangita Paddhati, Hindi translation, Vol. IV, p. 37). He has inferred that since all the four steps start with the lowering of pañcama, the value (in pitch) of all the four lowerings is identical and hence all śrutis are identical according to Bharata. (ii) Omkarnath Thakur (cf. Praņava-Bhāratī, p. 61-86) has accepted that all

¹⁸¹ VIMARŚA is also used. This is how the distinction brought about by mandra and tara could be understood. Abhi Bhā on NŚ XXVII, p. 27 also seems to support this view. 48. 'Sukha' has been translated here as convenience or it could be rendered as facility. The facility of the performer and listener is said here to be the objective of the distinction between mūrchanā and tāna. NŠ and Abhi Bhā have the reading 'nānātva' which means variety of mūrchanā and tāna, but since our author has tried to distinguish between murchana and tana, we have accepted the reading anyatvam which means distinction (see note 78 under textual notes on the section ). In NS mūrchanā-tāna is also a compound name for the 84 tānas. BṛD does not use this compound and emphasises the distinction between the two; viz. mūrchanā and tāna. Brahaspati has commented on the reading 'variety' ( nānātvam ) of NŠ and said that the variety of murchana and tana accords facility to the performer by making possible the use of three sthanas (registers) and also the omission of svaras (according to a specific system as embodied in the 84 tanas). The distinction between murchana and tana brought out in the reading accepted by us could be construed to mean that mūrchanā as a complete scale in ascending and descending establishes the three sthanas and tana (involving omission) establishes a specific pattern in ascent. It is interesting to note that even today omission of one or two svaras is very effective in the ascent in all those ragas that involve omission in ascent and use the omitted svaras in descent. ( see glossary) 49. Since specific omissions are prescribed for the two grāmas, tāna the result of this specific omission could be said to be the distinguishing feature between the jātis and rāgas of one grāma and the other. 50. This applies to kūļa-tāna where permutation and combination is involved and definite numbering of each variety is effected. Retrieving the number of a given tana (arrangement of a given number of svaras) and retrieving the form of a tana whose number alone is given is known as uddista and nasta respectively. (see glossary) 51, 52. The word tāna-prayoga is being used here to convey two things—in the first instance the number of tanas (permutation of a given number of svaras ) is implied and in the second instance the number of svaras constituting the specific tāna (combination of svaras) is implied. 53, 54, 55 & 56. Krama is a combination of svaras where the original order remains intact and uthrama is a permutation where the original order is changed. The method of obtaining the number of kramas and utkramas of a given-number of svaras is like this—multiply the earlier numbers of a given number, without leaving any number in-between. For example if the number of svaras is six, 1 \times 2 \times 3 \times 4 \times 5 \times 6 = 720 would be the number of kramas and uthramas taken together; the last number of this series viz. 6 is the number of kramas and the remainder viz. 714 is the number of utkramas. 57. 'Māna' could stand here for the measure (length, breadth and the like) of the viņā concerned. For example, kinnarī, the viņā with frets has been described in SRVI,