gandharva technical_term

²¹³ TRANSLATION [9. Dodhaka] Having sung the (first) half, the latter half is comprised of a stretching of svaras. (391) [10. Totaka] [11. Vastu] Where there are pāṭas and tennas 16 and the rest is comprised of a stretching (elaboration) of svaras, that is vastu¹⁷ used in desī gītas as well as in drama. (392) [12. Krauńcapada] Krauñcapada is known to those proficient in gandharva as that which is sung in pratitāla, being comprised of pada and svara. (393) [13. Haṁsapada] Where there is one foot in Sainskṛta and the second (foot) is composed in a regional (language) (and) which is sung with rhyme, that song is known as hamsapada. (394) [14. Śukasārika] That which is combined with tāla (and) pada, bedecked with pada (and) pāṭa (and) comprised of question and answer, is said to be śukaśārika. 19. (395) That which is composed in the Karnāta language or is mixed (with other languages) (and) is comprised of pada (text) embodying dialogue, is śukasārika. (396)

TRANSLATION ²²⁹ [2. Kāmalekhā] Kāmalekhā is that where there are twenty-two⁶⁰ (dviguņita-rudra) mātrās in the first (foot) and in the foot bearing an even number (second) the same (number of mātrās) obtains, in the foot of odd number (third) there are twenty (mātrās). (445) [3. Bāṇalekhā] If in all the three feet, in a uniform manner there are double the number of mātrās (obtaining in kāmalekhā) (and) where they are composed in bāṇagaṇas,61 that is bāṇalekhā. (446) [4. Candralekhā] Where there are three above forty (forty-three) mātrās in a couple of feet i.e. the first two feet (and where) the number of mātrās is less by one (forty- two) in the foot bearing an odd number (third foot), that is candralekhā. (447) Thus ends the fourfold mātrailā. [C. The varieties of Varnailā] There is no regulation of tāla here, none of msa and none of rāga; there is only the regulation of syllables ^{62} (in their number); hence it is called varyailā. (448) Madanavatī, śaśilekhā, prabhāvatī, mālatī, similarly lalitā, hemavatī, (and) kusumavatī, these seven are the elās regulated on the basis of varņa (syllable). (449) Beginning with eleven syllables and ending with seventeen (syllables in each foot), these seven are sung in sequence, by the gandharvas with beautiful padas (textual units) (and) good sounds. (450) [1. Madanavatī 2. Šašilekhā 3. Prabhāvatī] That madanavatī is composed of non-short (alaghu) gaṇas 63 i.e., has all long (guru) syllables, śaśilekhā is with short (laghu) gaṇas, prabhāvatī is always profuse with long (guni) gaṇas (and) mālatī and lalitā (will be described now). (451)

TRANSLATION ²³¹ [4. Mālatī] The elā composed with long and short (syllables), 64 adorned with sweet sounds, similarly straight, having profuse gamakas and alankāras (and) beautiful, is mālatī. (452) [5. Lalitā] This lalitā (elā) should be sung by the gandharvas with graceful regulation of syllables. (Its) two feet are like the first one, combined with gamakas and hindu-mūrchanā.65 (453) [6. Hemavatī] (It) is with graceful pada, ends in biruda and similarly there is gamaka placed on the yati. 66 This is the order of the (first) two feet, then there is the name of the object of description. (454) [7. Kusumavatī?] Where that (third foot) composed with textual units comprised of short syllables, is sung again after having sung the name of the singer (composer) 'preceded' (accompanied) by the description of the play of valour and the like, that has been said to be varṇailā by Matanga⁶⁷ according to the accepted order. Where the respectability brought about by the description of glory, enthusiasm, steadfastness and the like is seen in a definite order, that is said to be varyailā. It is sung in tālas like maņļha, dvitīya, kankāla (and) įmatitāla. (455-457) This is one manner in which (varnaila) has been described clearly, now the seven varnailās are being described in a way similar (samarasa) to the same. (458)

¹ Ė ¹⁵¹ VIMARŚA ì 2. Gita (lit. song or the act of singing) stands for the melodic aspect of music which is rendered through the voice or stringed and wind instruments. BṛD does not mention vādya along with gīta here, nor in verse 14 where desī music is defined as 'that which is sung.' Since voice sets the model followed by stringed and wind instruments, gita is the word for the melodic aspect of music and the content of the above instruments is included in it. This extension of the meaning of gita gets established when the word vādya is juxtaposed with it, because in that case vādya gets restricted to drums. But here, in absence of that juxtaposition, gita would acquire a further extension by way of also including vādya in its orbit. Hence gīta stands here for the totality of music. It is notable that gita is followed by svara in this verse. This looks like a repetition because svara is the main constituent of gita. This could be construed as an emphasis on 'svara' through an independent reference to it. 3. Nrtta generally stands for pure dance where the delineation of artha (meaning) of kāvya (poetry, literature) is not intended (vide NŠ IV, 263). Nṛtta is dependent on nāda, because it has to be accompanied on instruments, specially drums. 4. The statement that the world is made up of nāda seems to be somewhat out of place here, because the context is that of nada being the essence of music and dance. But if one recalls the exposition of the order of manifestation or formation of gandharva beginning from bindu and moving forward through nāda - mātṛkā - varṇa - pada - vākya - mahāvākya - to Veda ( alongwith its auxiliary disciplines), it would become clear that 'gīta' (representing gāndharva) incorporates all the stages upto gandharva and hence the fundamental nature of nāda as established in gīta could be logically extended to the 'world' because the world or phenomenon itself is a manifestation of nāda through the above stages. SR expresses the same idea in the following manner - "Nāda manifests the letters ( of alphabet ), letters constitute the word and words make a sentence; so, the entire business of life is carried on through language and therefore, the whole phenomenon (i.e. the world) is based on nāda". (SR1, ².2) Just as SR has related the business of life with nāda through verbal communication that is based on the same, BrD has used gita in an extended meaning, including in it all the manifestations of nada and has expounded nada to be the essence of the whole world. It would be interesting to note here that S R also speaks of nāda being the essence of gita, vādya and nṛtta but the 'world' is not connected with nāda in that context. "Nāda is the very essence of vocal music, instrumental music is enjoyable as it manifests nāda. Nṛtta (dance) follows both (i.e. vocal and instrumental music); therefore, all the three together depend on nāda". (SRI, 2.1) 5,6,7,8. Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara (Śiva) form one group as Trideva (three gods), representing three aspects of the manifestation of the Ultimate Reality into the phenomenon of the universe, viz. creation, preservation and destruction. Although the three of them occur in Vedic literature, yet the idea