The Gitaprakasa (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: 'Gītaprakāśa'; "Illuminator of music") is a 16th-century musical treatise belonging to the tradition of
Odissi music
music () is a genre of classical music in India, originated from the eastern state of Odisha. The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha, Odissi music has a history spanning over two thousand years, authentic ''sangita-shas ...
, written by the musicologist Krusnadasa Badajena Mahapatra. Mahapatra was a court musician of Gajapati
Mukundadeba.
It is the second earliest music treatise discovered from Odisha.
The Gita Prakasa is one of the cornerstones of the Odissi music tradition and is widely quoted by later authorities such as the ''
Sangita Narayana
The Sangita Narayana ( IAST: 'Sangīta Nārāyana') is a 17th-century musical treatise belonging to the tradition of Odissi music, written by musician ''Kabiratna'' Purusottama Misra and attributed to Gajapati ''Sarbagya'' Jagannatha Narayana De ...
'' and the ''Sangita Muktabali''.
The treatise was first published by the
Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1983, based on two palm leaf manuscripts preserved in the
Odisha State Museum
Odisha State Museum is a museum in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. In its original form it was established in 1932 and later moved to the current building in 1960. The museum is divided into eleven sections, viz, Archaeology, Epigraphy, Numismatics, Armo ...
,
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
. Both manuscripts were collected from
Puri district
Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one sub-division, 11 tahasils and 11 blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only municipality of the district. Konark, Pipili and Nimapara are the thre ...
, Odisha and were roughly dated to the 18th century.
Author
Krusnadesa Badajena Mahapatra was a 16th-century musician par excellence from Odisha. The author reveals no information about his family, age or any other details in his text. However, the period to which he belonged can be determined by internal evidence. A song authored by Raya Ramananda on Gajapati
Prataparudra Deba has been quoted in the Gitaprakasa. Another musicologist
Haladhara Misra refers to Krusnadasa's Gitaprakasa in his treatise called ''
Sangitakalpalatika'', composed between 1623 and 1647 AD. Since Mahapatra himself eulogises Gajapati Mukundadeba, it is inferred that he was a contemporary of the king and most probably served as a court musician. There has only been one Gajapati in the history of Odisha bearing the name Mukunda. He was the last independent ruler of Odisha from 1559 to 1568 AD. Hence, Krusnadasa can be dated to the same period.
In the year 1565, Mahapatra presented his music in the court of Akbar.
Abul Fazl Abul is an Arabic masculine given name. It may refer to:
* Abul Kalam Azad
* Abul A'la Maududi
* Abul Khair (disambiguation), several people
* Abul Abbas (disambiguation), several people
* Abul Hasan
* Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi
* Abu'l-Fazl ibn ...
extolls a certain 'Mahapattar' in his ''
Ain-i-Akbari
The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...
''. The ''
Akbarnama
The ''Akbarnama'', which translates to ''Book of Akbar'', the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (), commissioned by Akbar himself and written by his court historian and biographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. It was ...
'' also makes mention of a "Mahapattar who adorned the court of Akbar, the great Mogul and who was unrivalled in the arts of Indian poetry and music".
The surname Mahapatra is one of the most popular surnames of Odisha, found since the Ganga period. In several inscriptions from the 12th century AD this surname is mentioned. Badajena was another such title in vogue in Odisha. Both titles are popular and found even now. It is certain that the Mahapattar Abul Fazl mentions can be none other than Krusnadasa.
Contents
The Gitaprakasa only deals with aspects of vocal music. The treatise is meticulous in its analysis of songs and their classification.
The text is also replete with many examples, a significant portion of them having been composed by the author himself. Like most Odia authors, Mahapatra begins his treatise with a customary invocation to
Jagannath
Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...
a, the venerable deity of Odisha.
He cites certain musicologists preceding him, like
Harinayaka, author of ''
Sangitasara.''
The ragas mentioned in the Gitaprakasa are ''Sri, Natta, Karnāta, Rebagupta, Basanta, Suddhabhairaba, Bangāla, Soma, Āmrapanchama, Kāmoda, Megha, Drābidagauda, Barādi, Gujjari, Todi, Mālabasri, Saindhabi, Debakiri, Rāmakiri, Prathamamanjari, Nattā, Belābali, Gaudi, Gauda, Karnnātabangāla, Desi, Dhannāsi, Kolāhala, Ballāli, Desākhya, Sābari, Khambhābati, Harsapuri, Mallāri, Hunchhikā, Madhyamādi, Mallāra, Desapāla, Mālaba, Hindola, Bhairaba, Nāgadhwani, Gondakiri, Lalitā, Chhāyātodi, Pratāpabelābali, Guptabasanta, Paurabi, Nattamallārika, Māravi, Ballabi, Gauri, Kalyāni, Karnātika, Āsābari'' and ''Mukhābari''.
Many of these ragas continue to be popular in present-day
Odissi music
music () is a genre of classical music in India, originated from the eastern state of Odisha. The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha, Odissi music has a history spanning over two thousand years, authentic ''sangita-shas ...
repertoires.
References
{{Odia culture
Odissi
Odissi music
Odia culture
Sanskrit texts