Sangita Makaranda is an ancient work on classical music written by

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

. This work is a rare collection of definitions, descriptions and comments on all the essential music by other ancient reputed authors from

Bharata Muni Bharata Muni (Hindi: भरत मुनि) was an ancient sage who the musical treatise '' Natya Shastra'' is traditionally attributed to. The work covers ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, especially Sanskrit theatre. Bharata is con ...

to Sharangdeva. Its main feature is the treatment of

Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

s; categorizing them as male, female and neuter.

The three distinct stages

It also hints on the uniqueness of the raga-nomenclaturing. On close study of it, one learns of three distinct stages on the nomenclaturing of the Indian ragas. *Stage one refers Bharata's ''Natyashastra'' (prior 2nd century BC). It is the stage of raga-nomenclature when the ragas were named after the saliant swara of the ragas. For example, after Shadja swara, originated the name of the Raga called shadja; after Arshabha swara originated the name of Arsharbha Raga; and after Gandhari swara was named the Gaandhari Raga, the last one being still in currency. *In the second stage, the Ragas were named after different jana (

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s or the

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

s) dwelling in different geographical locations. For example, after

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...

tribe was named Shakatilak Raga or Shakamishrat variants of Shaka Raga; after Pulinda tribe was named the Pulinda Raga; after

Abhira The Abhira tribe is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. They are thought to be people who moved in from eastern Iran in the aftermath of ...

clan was named Abhiri Raga; after Savara tribe was named Saviri or Saverka. Similarly after Malava,

Andhra Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Gurjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...

, Kambhoja (Kamboja) tribes were named Ragas Malvika, Andhrri, Gurjari and Kambhoji (Kamboji) respectively, with all their variants.cf: Ragas and Raginis, pp 72-77, O. P. Ganguli; cf: Music in Education, 1955, p 80, Dmitrij Kabalevskij; Ancient Kamboja People and the Country, 1981, p 233, Dr J. L. Kamboj. *In the third stage, the ragas were named after the

janapada The Janapadas () (c. 1500–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (saamarajya) of the Vedic period on the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to th ...

or desha or country of their origin. For example, after

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

was named Bangal-Raga; after Sindhudesha was named Saindhvi Raga; after Sauvira Janapada was named Sauviri or Sauvirak Raga; after Saurashtra was named the Saurashtri (or Sorathi or Surat or Surat-malar); and after Karnata janapada was named Karnati Raga etc. Similarly, the Kambhoji Raga or Ragini which is now very popular in southern India was named after the Kambhoja janapada. Scholars believe that the Kambhoji raga or ragini had probably originated in the ''jana'' rather than the ''janapada'' stage.Ancient Kamboja People and the Country, 1981, p 233, Dr J. L. Kamboj, cf: Ragas and Raginis, pp 72-77, O. P. Ganguli, The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 94, S Kirpal Singh This implies that the basic tune of raga Kamboji or Kambhoji must have evolved during

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

or even pre-epic times.

The three distinct stages

See also

References

Further reading