136-453: Hindustani classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent 's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet . The term shastriya sangeet literally means classical music, and is also used to refer to Indian classical music in general. It is played on instruments like the veena , sitar and sarod . It diverged in
272-655: A demon -king of the island of Lanka and the chief antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana . In the Ramayana , Ravana is described as the eldest son of sage Vishrava and Kaikasi . He abducted Rama 's wife, Sita , and took her to his kingdom of Lanka , where he held her in the Ashoka Vatika . Rama, with the support of vanara King Sugriva and his army of vanaras, launched a rescue operation for Sita against Ravana in Lanka. Ravana
408-602: A matra (beat, and duration between beats). A raga is a central concept of Indian music, predominant in its expression. According to Walter Kaufmann, though a remarkable and prominent feature of Indian music, a definition of raga cannot be offered in one or two sentences. Raga may be roughly described as a musical entity that includes note intonation, relative duration and order, in a manner similar to how words flexibly form phrases to create an atmosphere of expression. In some cases, certain rules are considered obligatory, in others optional. The raga allows flexibility, where
544-452: A tala in Indian music covers "the whole subject of musical meter". Indian music is composed and performed in a metrical framework, a structure of beats that is a tala . A tala measures musical time in Indian music. However, it does not imply a regular repeating accent pattern, instead its hierarchical arrangement depends on how the musical piece is supposed to be performed. The tala forms
680-535: A certain sequencing of how the musician moves from note to note for each raga , in order for the performance to create a rasa (mood, atmosphere, essence, inner feeling) that is unique to each raga . A raga can be written on a scale. Theoretically, thousands of raga are possible given 5 or more notes, but in practical use, the classical Indian tradition has refined and typically relies on several hundred. For most artists, their basic perfected repertoire has some forty to fifty ragas . Raga in Indian classical music
816-681: A different way than Carnatic music. Hindustani music style is mainly found in North India , Pakistan and Bangladesh. Prior to the Taliban's ban on music, it also had a strong presence in Afghanistan. It exists in four major forms: Dhrupad , Khyal (or Khayal), Tarana , and the semi-classical Thumri . Dhrupad is ancient, Khyal evolved from it, Thumri evolved from Khyal. There are three major schools of Thumri: Lucknow gharana, Banaras gharana and Punjabi gharana. These weave in folk music innovations. Tappa
952-567: A few generations (e.g. the Sham Chaurasia gharana). Meanwhile, the Bhakti and Sufi traditions continued to develop and interact with the different gharanas and groups. Until the late 19th century, Hindustani classical music was imparted on a one-on-one basis through the guru-shishya ("mentor-protégé") tradition. This system had many benefits but also several drawbacks. In many cases, the shishya had to spend most of his time, serving his guru with
1088-410: A few of his maternal uncles, were generals in the Lanka army. Kaikesi 's father, Sumali and uncle, Malyavan were instrumental in making Ravana the king of Lanka by advising him to receive boons from Brahma, defeat Kubera, and establish rakshasa rule in the three worlds . Ravana's granduncle was Malyavan , who opposed the war with Rama and Lakshmana. He also had another granduncle named Mali who
1224-468: A form equivalent to contemporary music. This likely occurred before the time of Yāska ( c. 500 BCE ), since he includes these terms in his nirukta studies, one of the six Vedanga of ancient Indian tradition. Some of the ancient texts of Hinduism such as the Samaveda ( c. 1000 BCE ) are structured entirely to melodic themes, it is sections of Rigveda set to music. The Samaveda
1360-482: A gentle goodbye, that are ideally mathematical fractions such as dagun (half), tigun (third) or chaugun (fourth). Sometimes a fifth stanza called Bhoga is included. Though usually related to philosophical or Bhakti (emotional devotion to a god or goddess) themes, some Dhrupads were composed to praise kings. Improvisation is of central importance to Hindustani music, and each gharana (school tradition) has developed its own techniques. At its core, it starts with
1496-459: A history spanning over two thousand years, authentic sangita-shastras or treatises, unique Ragas & Talas and a distinctive style of rendition. The various aspects of Odissi music include odissi prabandha, chaupadi, chhānda, champu, chautisa, janāna, mālasri, bhajana, sarimāna, jhulā, kuduka, koili, poi, boli, and more. Presentation dynamics are roughly classified into four: raganga, bhabanga, natyanga and dhrubapadanga. Some great composer-poets of
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#17328523069481632-468: A live rendering, which went viral on the internet; further establishing the growing prominence of Indian Classical Music around the globe. Sangeet Natak Akademi , is an Indian national-level academy for performance arts . It awards the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award , the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performance arts. Ravana Traditional Ravana is
1768-452: A mood of elation and are usually performed towards the end of a concert. They consist of a few lines of bols either from the rhythmic language of Tabla , Pakhawaj , or Kathak dance set to a tune. The singer uses these few lines as a basis for fast improvisation. The tillana of Carnatic music is based on the tarana, although the former is primarily associated with dance. Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music whose specialty
1904-534: A much larger role in Carnatic concerts than in Hindustani concerts. Today's typical concert structure was put in place by the vocalist Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar . The opening piece is called a varnam , and is a warm-up for the musicians. A devotion and a request for a blessing follows, then a series of interchanges between ragams (unmetered melody) and Tanam (the ornamentation within a melorhythmic cycle, equivalent to
2040-459: A network of classical music schools, called gharana . Hindustani classical music is an integral part of the culture of India and is performed across the country and internationally. Exponents of Hindustani classical music, including Ustad Bismillah Khan , Pandit Bhimsen Joshi , and Ravi Shankar have been awarded the Bharat Ratna , the highest civilian award of India, for their contributions to
2176-516: A part of the Qajar court in Tehran , an interaction that continued through the 20th century with import of Indian musical instruments in cities such as Herat near Afghanistan-Iran border. Odissi music is a distinct type of Classical music of Eastern India. This music is sung during performance of classical Odissi dance . The traditional ritual music for the service of Lord Jagannatha , Odissi music has
2312-414: A perfect match, which, before Thumri became a solo form, were performed together. Some recent performers of this genre are Abdul Karim Khan , the brothers Barkat Ali Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan , Begum Akhtar , Nirmala Devi , Girija Devi , Prabha Atre , Siddheshwari Devi , Shobha Gurtu , and Chhannulal Mishra . Indian classical music Traditional Modern Indian classical music
2448-434: A rendition of bandish, with the pakhawaj as an accompaniment. The great Indian musician Tansen sang in the dhrupad style. A lighter form of dhrupad called dhamar , is sung primarily during the spring festival of Holi . Dhrupad was the main form of northern Indian classical music until two centuries ago when it gave way to the somewhat less austere khyal, a more free-form style of singing. Since losing its main patrons among
2584-466: A saraswat Brahmin as per his lineage. There has also been reference to "Ravani", the lineage of Upadhyaya Yasastrata II, who was of the Gautama gotra and Acharya Vasudatta's son, and described as "born of Ravani". The Gondi people of central India claim to be descendants of Ravana, and have temples for him, his wife Mandodari, and their son Meghnad. They also state that Ravana was an ancient Gond king,
2720-467: A standard composition (bandish), then expands it in a process called vistar . The improvisation methods have ancient roots, and one of the more common techniques is called Alap , which is followed by the Jor and Jhala . The Alap explores possible tonal combinations among other things, Jor explores speed or tempo (faster), while Jhala explores complex combinations like a fishnet of strokes while keeping
2856-615: A thousand years, the imprisoned Ravana sang Shiva Tandava Stotra , a hymn in praise of Shiva, who finally blessed him and granted him an invincible sword and a powerful linga (Shiva's iconic symbol, Atmalinga) to worship. But this incident has little to no evidence in Valmiki Ramayana. Ravana's parents were the sage Vishrava (son of Pulastya ) and Kaikesi (daughter of Sumali and Ketumati ). Ravana had seventeen maternal uncles and three maternal aunts. Dhumraksha , Prahastha , Akampana , Vajramushti , Suparshwa and Virupaksha ,
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#17328523069482992-421: A varied repertoire of swara ( notes including microtones ), forms the fabric of a deeply intricate melodic structure, while the tala measures the time cycle . The raga gives an artist a palette to build the melody from sounds, while the tala provides them with a creative framework for rhythmic improvisation using time. In Indian classical music the space between the notes is often more important than
3128-488: Is teental . In the two major systems of classical Indian music, the first count of any tala is called sam . Instruments typically used in Hindustani music include the sitar , sarod , surbahar , esraj , veena , tanpura , bansuri , shehnai , sarangi , violin , santoor , pakhavaj and tabla . Instruments typically used in Carnatic music include veena , venu , gottuvadyam , harmonium , mridangam , kanjira , ghatam , nadaswaram and violin . Players of
3264-586: Is Gauhar, Khandar and Nauharvani.The living legends of this gharana is Pt. Ramjee Mishra A section of dhrupad singers of Delhi Gharana from Mughal emperor Shah Jahan 's court migrated to Bettiah under the patronage of the Bettiah Raj , giving rise to the Bettiah Gharana. Khyal is the modern Hindustani form of vocal music. Khyal, literally meaning "thought" or "imagination" in Hindustani and derived from
3400-435: Is Sanskrit for "loud roaring." In Abhinava Gupta's Krama Shaiva scripture, yāsām rāvanam is used as an expression to mean people who are truly aware of the materialism of their environment. Ravana has many other popular names such as Dasis Ravana, Dasis Sakvithi Maha Ravana, Dashaanan, Ravula, Lankapati, Lankeshwar, Lankeshwaran, Ravanasura and Ravanaeshwaran. Ravana is depicted and described as having ten heads, although he
3536-408: Is a Sanskrit scripture describing the theory of music and its applications in not just musical form and systems but also in physics, medicine and magic. It is said that there are two types of sound: āhata (struck/audible) and anāhata (unstruck/inaudible). The inaudible sound is said to be the principle of all manifestation, the basis of all existence. There are three main 'Saptak' which resemble to
3672-451: Is depicted as one of Vishnu 's cursed doorkeepers. The word Rāvaṇa ( Sanskrit : रावण) means "Roaring" (active), the opposite of Vaiśravaṇa which means to "hear distinctly" (passive). Both Ravana and Vaiśravaṇa, who is commonly known as Kubera , are considered to be patronymics derived from "sons of Vishrava ". Ravana was a title later taken on by Dashānana, and it means "the one with ten (dasha) faces (anana)". Further, roravana
3808-548: Is depicted with green skin. In the Karandavyuha Sutra , Yama asks if the visitor in hell (Avalokitesvara), whom he hasn't seen yet, is a god or a demon, and whether he is Vishnu, Mahesvara , or the rakshasa Ravana. Jain accounts vary from the traditional Hindu accounts of the Ramayana. The incidents are placed at the time of the 20th Tirthankara , Munisuvrata . In Jainism, both Rama and Ravana were devout Jains. Ravana
3944-412: Is intimately related to tala or guidance about "division of time", with each unit called a matra (beat, and duration between beats). A raga is not a tune, because the same raga can yield a very large number of tunes. A raga is not a scale, because many ragas can be based on the same scale. A raga , states Bruno Nettl and other music scholars, is a concept similar to mode, something between
4080-453: Is into "melodic modes" or "parent scales", known as thaats , under which most ragas can be classified based on the notes they use. Thaats may consist of up to seven scale degrees, or swara . Hindustani musicians name these pitches using a system called Sargam , the equivalent of the Western movable do solfege : Both systems repeat at the octave. The difference between sargam and solfege
4216-562: Is its rolling pace based on fast, subtle, knotty construction. It originated from the folk songs of the camel riders of Punjab and was developed as a form of classical music by Mian Ghulam Nabi Shori or Shori Mian, a court singer for Asaf-Ud-Dowlah , the Nawab of Awadh . "Nidhubabur Tappa", or tappas sung by Nidhu Babu were very popular in 18th and 19th-century Bengal. Thumri is a semi-classical vocal form said to have begun in Uttar Pradesh with
Hindustani classical music - Misplaced Pages Continue
4352-468: Is organized into two formats. One part is based on the musical meter , another by the aim of the rituals. The text is written with embedded coding, where swaras ( octave notes) are either shown above or within the text, or the verse is written into parvans (knot or member); in simple words, this embedded code of swaras is like the skeleton of the song. The swaras have about 12 different forms and different combinations of these swaras are made to sit under
4488-471: Is primarily vocal-centric, insofar as the musical forms were designed primarily for a vocal performance, and many instruments were designed and evaluated as to how well they emulate the human voice. The major vocal forms or styles associated with Hindustani classical music are dhrupad , khyal , and tarana . Light classical forms include dhamar , trivat , chaiti , kajari , tappa , tap-khyal , thumri , dadra , ghazal and bhajan ; these do not adhere to
4624-414: Is regarded to have once caught sight of the apsara Rambha and was filled with lust. Even as the apsara resisted his advances by asserting that she was his daughter-in-law, he raped her. When she reported this to her husband, Nalakuvara , he cursed Ravana to be unable to cause violence to any woman who did not consent to being with him, his head splitting into a number of pieces if he did so. This incident
4760-681: Is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored inside his belly thanks to a celestial boon from Brahma . In the War with Lord Rama, Ravana was killed by a powerful Brahma's weapon shot by Rama which was gifted to Rama by Sage Agstya. Ravana was born to the Brahmin sage Vishrava and the Rakshasa princess Kaikasi in Treta Yuga . Villagers from Bisrakh in Uttar Pradesh claim that Bisrakh
4896-578: Is set to a melodic pattern called a raga characterized in part by specific ascent ( aroha ) and descent ( avaroha ) sequences, "king" ( vadi ) and "queen" ( samavadi ) notes and characteristic phrases ( pakad ). Ragas may originate from any source, including religious hymns, folk tunes, and music from outside the Indian subcontinent. For example, raga Khamaj and its variants have been classicized from folk music, while ragas such as Hijaz (also called Basant Mukhari) originated in Persian maqams. The Gandharva Veda
5032-613: Is sometimes shown with only nine heads since he cut one off to convince Shiva. He is described as a devout follower of Shiva, a great scholar, a capable ruler, and a maestro of the Veena . Ravana is also depicted as the author of the Ravana Samhita , a book on Hindu astrology , and the Arka Prakasham , a book on Siddha medicine and treatment. Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Siddha and political science . In some later versions, he
5168-532: Is stated to explain why Ravana could not force the abducted Sita to submit to his desire. Ravana is worshipped as one of Shiva's most revered followers, and he is even worshipped in some Shiva temples. Ravana is worshipped by the Kanyakubja Brahmins of the Vidisha region, who see him as a savior and a sign of prosperity, claiming Ravana was also a Kanyakubja Brahmin. Thousands of Kanyakubja Brahmins of
5304-409: Is that re, ga, ma, dha, and ni can refer to either "Natural" ( shuddha ) or altered "Flat" ( komal ) or "Sharp" ( teevra ) versions of their respective scale degrees. As with movable do solfege, the notes are heard relative to an arbitrary tonic that varies from performance to performance, rather than to fixed frequencies, as on a xylophone. The fine intonational differences between different instances of
5440-522: Is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent . It is generally described using terms like Shastriya Sangeet and Marg Sangeet . It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as Hindustani and the South Indian expression known as Carnatic . These traditions were not distinct until about the 15th century. During the period of Mughal rule of the Indian subcontinent,
5576-535: Is the ancient Indian classical music that became distinct after Hindustani music was established. It is dated back to ancient periods, but was only distinct after Hindustani music was established. Purandara Dasa (1484–1564) was a Hindu composer and musicologist who lived in Hampi of the Vijayanagara Empire . He is considered Pithamaha (literally, "great father or grandfather") of the Carnatic music. Purandara Dasa
Hindustani classical music - Misplaced Pages Continue
5712-523: Is the lack of "strong, weak" beat composition typical of the traditional European meter. In classical Indian traditions, the tala is not restricted to permutations of strong and weak beats, but its flexibility permits the accent of a beat to be decided by the shape of musical phrase. The most widely used tala in the South Indian system is adi tala . In the North Indian system, the most common tala
5848-615: Is the most folksy, one which likely existed in Rajasthan and Punjab region before it was systematized and integrated into classical music structure. It became popular, with the Bengali musicians developing their own Tappa. Khyal is the modern form of Hindustani music, and the term literally means "imagination". It is significant because it was the template for Sufi musicians among the Islamic community of India , and Qawwals sang their folk songs in
5984-598: Is the tradition of religious neutrality: Muslim ustads may sing compositions in praise of Hindu deities, and Hindu pandits may sing similar Islamic compositions. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in 1901 founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a school to impart formal training in Hindustani classical music with some historical Indian Music. This was a school open to all and one of the first in India to run on public support and donations, rather than royal patronage. Many students from
6120-527: Is unclear when the process of differentiation of Hindustani music started. The process may have started in the 14th century courts of the Delhi Sultans. However, according to Jairazbhoy, the North Indian tradition likely acquired its modern form after the 14th or after the 15th century. The development of Hindustani music reached a peak during the reign of Akbar . During this 16th century period, Tansen studied music and introduced musical innovations, for about
6256-461: Is used in instrumental music in dhrupad. Dhrupad music is primarily devotional in theme and content. It contains recitals in praise of particular deities. Dhrupad compositions begin with a relatively long and acyclic alap, where the syllables of the following mantra is recited: " Om Anant tam Taran Tarini Twam Hari Om Narayan, Anant Hari Om Narayan ". The alap gradually unfolds into more rhythmic jod and jhala sections. These sections are followed by
6392-595: The Gandharva Mahavidyalaya music school that he opened in Lahore in 1901, helped foster a movement away from the closed gharana system. Paluskar's contemporary (and occasional rival) Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande recognized the many rifts that had appeared in the structure of Indian classical music. He undertook extensive research visits to a large number of gharanas, Hindustani as well as Carnatic, collecting and comparing compositions. Between 1909 and 1932, he produced
6528-527: The jor ). This is intermixed with hymns called krithis . The pallavi or theme from the raga then follows. Carnatic pieces also have notated lyrical poems that are reproduced as such, possibly with embellishments and treatments according to the performer's ideology, referred to as Manodharmam. Primary themes include worship, descriptions of temples, philosophy, and nayaka-nayika (Sanskrit "hero-heroine") themes. Tyagaraja (1759–1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776–1827) and Syama Sastri (1762–1827) have been
6664-576: The ravanahatha , an ancient bowed string instrument , was created by Ravana and is still used as a Rajasthani folk instrument. In the Rin-spuns-pa Tibetan Ramayana, it is prophesied that Ravana will return as the Buddha incarnation of Vishnu in Kali Yuga. The Arunachal Pradesh Tai Khamti Ramayana (Phra Chow Lamang) shows Rama as a Bodhisattva who was reborn so Ravana could torture him. In
6800-833: The Bhagavata Purana , Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna are said to be reincarnations of Jaya and Vijaya , gatekeepers at Vaikuntha (the abode of Vishnu ), and were cursed to be born on Earth for their insolence. These gatekeepers refused entry to the Sanatha Kumara monks who, because of their powers and austerity, appeared as young children. For their insolence, the monks cursed them to be expelled from Vaikuntha and to be born on Earth. Vishnu agreed that they should be punished and gave them two options. First, that they could be born seven times as normal mortals and devotees of Vishnu, or be born three times as strong and powerful beings, but as enemies of Vishnu. Eager to be back with
6936-561: The Gana also implied singing. The Vedic Sanskrit musical tradition had spread widely in the Indian subcontinent, and according to Rowell, the ancient Tamil classics make it "abundantly clear that a cultivated musical tradition existed in South India as early as the last few pre-Christian centuries". The classic Sanskrit text Natya Shastra is at the foundation of the numerous classical music and dance traditions of India. Before Natyashastra
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#17328523069487072-525: The ITC Sangeet Research Academy . Meanwhile, Hindustani classical music has become popular across the world through the influence of artists such as Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan . Indian classical music has seven basic notes with five interspersed half-notes, resulting in a 12-note scale. Unlike the 12-note scale in Western music, the base frequency of the scale is not fixed, and intertonal gaps ( temperament ) may also vary. The performance
7208-494: The Sama Veda , Natya shastra (classic treatise on music theory, Gandharva), Dattilam , Brihaddesi (treatise on regional classical music forms), and Sangita Ratnakara (definitive text for Carnatic and Hindustani traditions). Most historic music theory texts have been by Hindu scholars. Some classical music texts were also composed by Buddhists and Jain scholars, and in 16th century by Muslim scholars. These are listed in
7344-493: The equal-temperament tuning system. Also, unlike modern Western classical music, Indian classical music places great emphasis on improvisation. The underlying scale may have four , five , six or seven tones , called swaras (sometimes spelled as svaras ). The swara concept is found in the ancient Natya Shastra in Chapter 28. It calls the unit of tonal measurement or audible unit as Śhruti , with verse 28.21 introducing
7480-578: The maharajahs and nawabs declined in the early 20th century, so did their patronage. With the expulsion of Wajid Ali Shah to Calcutta after 1857, the Lucknavi musical tradition came to influence the music of the renaissance in Bengal , giving rise to the tradition of Ragpradhan gan around the turn of the century. Raja Chakradhar Singh of Raigarh was the last of the modern-era Maharajas to patronize Hindustani classical musicians, singers and dancers. Also, at
7616-431: The raga and the tala are two foundational elements. The raga forms the fabric of a melodic structure, and the tala keeps the time cycle. Both raga and tala are open frameworks for creativity and allow a very large number of possibilities, however, the tradition considers a few hundred ragas and talas as basic. Raga is intimately related to tala or guidance about "division of time", with each unit called
7752-436: The sitar ) were also introduced in his time. Amir Khusrau is sometimes credited with the origins of the khyal form, but the record of his compositions does not appear to support this. The compositions by the court musician Sadarang in the court of Muhammad Shah bear a closer affinity to the modern khyal. They suggest that while khyal already existed in some form, Sadarang may have been the father of modern khyal. Much of
7888-431: The tabla , a type of drum, usually keep the rhythm, an indicator of time in Hindustani music. Another common instrument is the stringed tanpura , which is played at a steady tone (a drone) throughout the performance of the raga, and which provides both a point of reference for the musician and a background against which the music stands out. The tuning of the tanpura depends on the raga being performed. The task of playing
8024-515: The 'Octaves' in Western Music except they characterize total seven notes or 'swaras' instead of eight. These are-- low ( mandra), medium ( madhya) and high ( tāra ) . Each octave resonates with a certain part of the body, low octave in the heart, medium octave in the throat and high octave in the head. The rhythmic organization is based on rhythmic patterns called tala . The melodic foundations are called ragas. One possible classification of ragas
8160-511: The 12th century CE from Carnatic music , the classical tradition of Southern India . While Carnatic music largely uses compositions written in Sanskrit , Kannada , Telugu , Tamil , Malayalam , Hindustani music largely uses compositions written in Hindi , Urdu , Braj , Avadhi , Bhojpuri , Bengali , Rajasthani , Marathi and Punjabi . Knowledge of Hindustani classical music is taught through
8296-480: The 16th century began the Carnatic style of Indian classical music. Carnatic music, from South India , tends to be more rhythmically intensive and structured than Hindustani music. Examples of this are the logical classification of ragas into melakartas , and the use of fixed compositions similar to Western classical music. Carnatic raga elaborations are generally much faster in tempo and shorter than their equivalents in Hindustani music. In addition, accompanists have
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#17328523069488432-521: The 16th century, the singing styles diversified into different gharanas patronized in different princely courts. Around 1900, Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande consolidated the musical structures of Hindustani classical music, called ragas , into a few thaats based on their notes. This is a very flawed system but is somewhat useful as a heuristic. Distinguished musicians who are Hindu may be addressed as Pandit and those who are Muslim as Ustad . An aspect of Hindustani music going back to Sufi times
8568-720: The 1980s, 1990s and particularly the 2000s onwards, Indian Classical Music has seen rapid growth in reception and development around the globe, particularly in North America , where immigrant communities have preserved and passed on classical music traditions to subsequent generations through the establishment of local festivals and music schools. Numerous musicians of American origin, including Ramakrishnan Murthy , Sandeep Narayan, Pandit Vikash Maharaj, Abby V, and Mahesh Kale have taken professionally to Indian Classical Music with great success. In his 2020 released video, Canadian singer Abby V demonstrated 73 different Indian Classical ragas in
8704-538: The 3rd century, such as in the works of Chinese lyricist Li Yannian . In 1958, Ravi Shankar came to the US and started making albums. These started a 1960s penchant for Indian classical music in the States. By 1967 Shankar and other artists were performing at rock music festivals alongside Western rock, blues, and soul acts. This lasted until the mid-1970s. Ravi Shankar performed at Woodstock for an audience of over 500,000 in 1969. In
8840-399: The Bengali classical tradition . This openness to ideas led to assimilation of regional folk innovations, as well as influences that arrived from outside the subcontinent. For example, Hindustani music assimilated Arabian and Persian influences. This assimilation of ideas was upon the ancient classical foundations such as raga , tala , matras as well as the musical instruments. For example,
8976-457: The Dhrupad vocalists of this tradition. A Very ancient 500 years old Dhrupad Gharana from Bihar is Dumraon Gharana, Pt. Tilak Chand Dubey , Pt. Ghanarang Baba was founder of this prestigious Gharana.Dumraon Gharana Dist-Buxar is an ancient tradition of Dhrupad music nearly 500 years old. This Gharana flourished under the patronage of the king of Dumraon Raj. The dhrupad style (vanis) of the gharana
9112-753: The Hindu culture from their kingdoms. This helped spur the fusion of Hindu and Muslim ideas to bring forth new forms of musical synthesis like qawwali and khyal . The most influential musician of the Delhi Sultanate period was Amir Khusrau (1253–1325), a composer in Persian , Turkish and Arabic , as well as Braj Bhasha . He is credited with systematizing some aspects of Hindustani music and also introducing several ragas such as Yaman Kalyan , Zeelaf and Sarpada . He created six genres of music: khyal, tarana , Naqsh, Gul, Qaul and Qalbana. A number of instruments (such as
9248-481: The Khyal format. Dhrupad (or Dhruvapad), the ancient form described in the Hindu text Natyashastra , is one of the core forms of classical music found all over the Indian subcontinent. The word comes from Dhruva which means immovable and permanent. A Dhrupad has at least four stanzas, called Sthayi (or Asthayi), Antara, Sanchari and Abhoga. The Sthayi part is a melody that uses the middle octave's first tetrachord and
9384-616: The Laotian Buddhist text Phra Lak Phra Lam , Rama is a Bodhisattva and the embodiment of virtues, while Ravana is a Brahmin (" mahabrahma ") son of Virulaha who is highly materialistic. In the Cambodian Buddhist text Preah Ream , Buddha is an incarnation of Rama and Ravana is a rakshasa. In the Thai Buddhist text Ramakien , Ravana is a rakshasa known as "Thotsakan" (ทศกัณฐ์, from Sanskrit दशकण्ठ, Daśakaṇṭha, "ten necks"), and
9520-509: The Lord, they chose the latter option. The curse of the first birth was fulfilled by Hiranyakashipu and his brother Hiranyaksha in Satya Yuga , when they were both vanquished by earlier avatars of Vishnu (Hiranyaksha by Varaha , and Hiranyakashipu by Narasimha ). Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna were born to fulfill the curse in their second birth as enemies of Vishnu in Treta Yuga . The curse of
9656-527: The Mughal Empire came into closer contact with Hindus, especially under Jalal ud-Din Akbar , music and dance also flourished. In particular, the musician Tansen introduced a number of innovations, including ragas and particular compositions. Legend has it that upon his rendition of a nighttime raga in the morning, the entire city fell under a hush and clouds gathered in the sky so that he could light fires by singing
9792-512: The Odissi tradition are the 12th-century poet Jayadeva , Balarama Dasa , Atibadi Jagannatha Dasa , Dinakrusna Dasa, Kabi Samrata Upendra Bhanja , Banamali Dasa , Kabisurjya Baladeba Ratha , Abhimanyu Samanta Singhara and Kabikalahansa Gopalakrusna Pattanayaka . Classical Indian music is one genre of South Asian music; others include film music, various varieties of pop, regional folk, religious and devotional music. In Indian classical music,
9928-548: The Persian Rāk is probably a pronunciation of Raga . According to Hormoz Farhat, Rāk has no meaning in modern Persian language, and the concept of raga is unknown in Persia. If Hindustani music is taken in as an entirely new form of music created from Indian classical music and Persian music , then Carnatic music was a form from the south of the sub-continent that developed further natively after this divergence. Carnatic music
10064-460: The Persian/Arabic term, is a two- to eight-line lyric set to a melody. Khyal contains a greater variety of embellishments and ornamentations compared to dhrupad . Khyal 's features such as sargam and taan as well as movements to incorporate dhrupad-style alap have led to it becoming popular. The importance of the khyal's content is for the singer to depict, through music in the set raga ,
10200-536: The School's early batches became respected musicians and teachers in North India. This brought respect to musicians, who were treated with disdain earlier. This also helped spread of Hindustani classical music to masses from royal courts. Ravana and Narada from Hindu tradition are accomplished musicians; Saraswati with her veena is the goddess of music. Gandharvas are presented as spirits who are musical masters, and
10336-502: The Yadava dynasty in Maharashtra , mentions and discusses ragas and talas . He identifies seven tala families, then subdivides them into rhythmic ratios, presenting a methodology for improvization and composition that continues to inspire modern era Indian musicians. Sangitaratnakara is one of the most complete historic medieval era Hindu treatises on this subject that has survived into
10472-429: The artist may rely on simple expression, or may add ornamentations yet express the same essential message but evoke a different intensity of mood. A raga has a given set of notes, on a scale, ordered in melodies with musical motifs. A musician playing a raga , states Bruno Nettl , may traditionally use just these notes, but is free to emphasize or improvise certain degrees of the scale. The Indian tradition suggests
10608-494: The arts. Around the 12th century, Hindustani classical music diverged from what eventually came to be identified as Carnatic classical music .The central notion in both systems is that of a melodic musical mode or raga , sung to a rhythmic cycle or tala . It is melodic music, with no concept of harmony. These principles were refined in the musical treatises Natya Shastra , by Bharata (2nd–3rd century CE), and Dattilam (probably 3rd–4th century CE). In medieval times,
10744-473: The attached table. The classical music tradition of the ancient and medieval Indian subcontinent (modern Bangladesh, India, Pakistan) were a generally integrated system through the 14th century, after which the socio-political turmoil of the Delhi Sultanate era isolated the north from the south. The music traditions of the North and South India were not considered distinct until about the 16th century, but after that
10880-536: The beat patterns. As with Carnatic music, Hindustani music has assimilated various folk tunes. For example, ragas such as Kafi and Jaijaiwanti are based on folk tunes. Hindustani music has had Arab and Persian music influences, including the creation of new ragas and the development of instruments such as the sitar and sarod. The nature of these influences are unclear. Scholars have attempted to study Arabic maqam (also spelled makam ) of Arabian peninsula, Turkey and northern Africa, and dastgah of Iran, to discern
11016-480: The court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah , (r. 1847–1856). There are three types of thumri: poorab ang, Lucknavi, and Punjabi thumri. The lyrics are primarily in older, more rural Hindi dialects such as Brij Bhasha , Awadhi , and Bhojpuri . The themes covered are usually romantic in nature, hence giving more importance to lyrics rather than Raag, and bringing out the storytelling qualities of music. The need to express these strong emotional aesthetics makes Thumri and Kathak
11152-521: The different world music systems. One of the earliest known discussions of Persian maqam and Indian ragas is by the late 16th century scholar Pundarika Vittala. He states that Persian maqams in use in his times had been derived from older Indian ragas (or mela ), and he specifically maps over a dozen maqam . For example, Vittala states that the Hijaz maqam was derived from the Asaveri raga , and Jangula
11288-512: The domains of tune and scale, and it is best conceptualized as a "unique array of melodic features, mapped to and organized for a unique aesthetic sentiment in the listener". The goal of a raga and its artist is to create rasa (essence, feeling, atmosphere) with music, as classical Indian dance does with performance arts. In the Indian tradition, classical dances are performed with music set to various ragas . According to David Nelson – an Ethnomusicology scholar specializing in Carnatic music,
11424-531: The earliest musical composition sung in the classical tradition called Ashtapadi music. In the 13th century, Sharangadeva composed the Sangita Ratnakara , which has names such as the Turushka Todi ("Turkish Todi "), revealing an influx of ideas from Islamic culture. This text is the last to be mentioned by both the Carnatic and the Hindustani traditions and is often thought to date the divergence between
11560-403: The earliest periods of the common era. Narada 's Sangita Makarandha treatise, from about 1100 CE, is the earliest text where rules similar to those of current Hindustani classical music can be found. Narada actually names and classifies the system in its earlier form before the Persian influences introduced changes in the system. Jayadeva 's Gita Govinda from the 12th century was perhaps
11696-602: The emotional significance of the khyal. The singer improvises and finds inspiration within the raga to depict the khyal. The origin of Khyal is controversial, although it is accepted that this style was based on dhrupad and influenced by other musical traditions. Many argue that Amir Khusrau created the style in the late 14th century. This form was popularized by Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah through his court musicians; some well-known composers of this period were Sadarang , Adarang , and Manrang . Another vocal form, taranas are medium- to fast-paced songs that are used to convey
11832-530: The first sixty years of his life with patronage of the Hindu king Ram Chand of Gwalior , and thereafter performed at the Muslim court of Akbar. Many musicians consider Tansen as the founder of Hindustani music. Tansen's style and innovations inspired many, and many modern gharanas (Hindustani music teaching houses) link themselves to his lineage. The Muslim courts discouraged Sanskrit, and encouraged technical music. Such constraints led Hindustani music to evolve in
11968-540: The first that is "sa" , and the fifth that is "pa" , are considered anchors that are unalterable, while the remaining have flavors that differs between the two major systems. Contemporary Indian music schools follow notations and classifications (see melakarta and thaat ). Thaat, used in Hindustani, is generally based on a flawed but still useful notation system created by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande . According to Yukteshwar Kumar, elements of Indian music arrived in China in
12104-582: The fundamental melodic structures similar to the raga . The names of the Jatis reflect regional origins, for example Andhri and Oudichya . Music also finds mention in a number of texts from the Gupta period ; Kalidasa mentions several kinds of veena (Parivadini, Vipanchi ), as well as percussion instruments ( mridang ), the flute ( Vamshi ) and conch ( Shankha ). Music also finds mention in Buddhist and Jain texts from
12240-652: The gandharva style looks to music primarily for pleasure, accompanied by the soma rasa. In the Vishnudharmottara Purana , the Naga king Ashvatara asks to know the swaras from Saraswati. While the term raga is articulated in the Natya Shastra (where its meaning is more literal, meaning "color" or "mood"), it finds a clearer expression in what is called Jati in the Dattilam , a text composed shortly after or around
12376-610: The government-run All India Radio , Bangladesh Betar and Radio Pakistan helped bring the artists to public attention, countering the loss of the patronage system. The first star was Gauhar Jan , whose career was born out of Fred Gaisberg 's first recordings of Indian music in 1902. With the advance of films and other public media, musicians started to make their living through public performances. A number of Gurukuls , such as that of Alauddin Khan at Maihar , flourished. In more modern times, corporate support has also been forthcoming, as at
12512-403: The hope that the guru might teach him a " cheez " (piece or nuance) or two. In addition, the system forced the music to be limited to a small subsection of the Indian community. To a large extent, it was limited to the palaces and dance halls. It was shunned by the intellectuals, avoided by the educated middle class, and in general, looked down upon as a frivolous practice. First, as the power of
12648-497: The idiophone in the form of "small bronze cymbals" were used for tala . Almost the entire chapter of Natyashastra on idiophones, by Bharata, is a theoretical treatise on the system of tala . Time keeping with idiophones was considered a separate function than that of percussion (membranophones), in the early Indian thought on music theory . The early 13th century Sanskrit text Sangitaratnakara (literally, "Ocean of Music and Dance"), by Sarngadeva patronized by King Sighana of
12784-404: The important historic scholars of Carnatic music. According to Eleanor Zelliot , Tyagaraja is known in the Carnatic tradition as one of its greatest composers, and he reverentially acknowledged the influence of Purandara Dasa. A common belief is that Carnatic music represents a more ancient and refined approach to classical music, whereas Hindustani music has evolved by external influences. It
12920-751: The junior Dagar brothers, Nasir Zahiruddin and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar ; and Wasifuddin , Fariduddin , and Sayeeduddin Dagar . Other leading exponents include the Gundecha Brothers and Uday Bhawalkar , who have received training from some of the Dagars. Leading vocalists outside the Dagar lineage include the Mallik family of Darbhanga tradition of musicians; some of the leading exponents of this tradition were Ram Chatur Mallick, Siyaram Tiwari , and Vidur Mallick. At present Prem Kumar Mallick, Prashant and Nishant Mallick are
13056-593: The last two thousand years. The roots of the classical music of India are found in the Vedic literature of Hinduism and the ancient Natyashastra , the classic Sanskrit text on performing arts by Bharata Muni . The 13th century Sanskrit text Sangeeta-Ratnakara of Sarangadeva is regarded as the definitive text by both the Hindustani music and the Carnatic music traditions. Indian classical music has two foundational elements, raga and tala . The raga , based on
13192-458: The lower octave notes. The Antara part uses the middle octave's second tetrachord and the higher octave notes. The Sanchari part is the development phase, which builds using parts of Sthayi and Antara already played, and it uses melodic material built with all the three octave notes. The Abhoga is the concluding section, that brings the listener back to the familiar starting point of Sthayi, albeit with rhythmic variations, with diminished notes like
13328-520: The melodic systems were fused with ideas from Persian music, particularly through the influence of Sufi composers like Amir Khusro , and later in the Mughal courts, noted composers such as Tansen flourished, along with religious groups like the Vaishnavites . Artists such as Dalptaram , Mirabai , Brahmanand Swami and Premanand Swami revitalized classical Hindustani music in the 16-18th century. After
13464-492: The metrical structure that repeats, in a cyclical harmony, from the start to end of any particular song or dance segment, making it conceptually analogous to meters in Western music. However, talas have certain qualitative features that classical European musical meters do not. For example, some talas are much longer than any classical Western meter, such as a framework based on 29 beats whose cycle takes about 45 seconds to complete when performed. Another sophistication in talas
13600-710: The modern era, many original works on Indian music are believed to be lost, and are known to have existed only because they are quoted and discussed in other manuscripts on classical Indian music. Many of the encyclopedic Puranas contain large chapters on music theory and instruments, such as the Bhagavata Purana , the Markandeya Purana , the Vayu Purana , the Linga Purana , and the Visnudharmottara Purana . The most cited and influential among these texts are
13736-928: The modern era, that relates to the structure, technique and reasoning behind ragas and talas . The centrality and significance of music in ancient and early medieval India is also expressed in numerous temple and shrine reliefs , in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism , such as through the carving of musicians with cymbals at the fifth century Pavaya temple sculpture near Gwalior , and the Ellora Caves . The post-Vedic era historical literature relating to Indian classical music has been extensive. The ancient and medieval texts are primarily in Sanskrit (Hinduism), but major reviews of music theory, instruments and practice were also composed in regional languages such as Kannada , Odia , Pali (Buddhism), Prakrit (Jainism), Tamil and Telugu . While numerous manuscripts have survived into
13872-644: The monumental four-volume work Hindustani Sangeeta Paddhati , which suggested a transcription of Indian music, and described the many traditions in this notation. Finally, it suggested a possible categorization of ragas based on their notes into a number of thaats (modes), subsequent to the Melakarta system that reorganized Carnatic tradition in the 17th century. The ragas that exist today were categorized according to this scheme, although there are some inconsistencies and ambiguities in Bhatkande's system. In modern times,
14008-420: The most popular images of Shiva is called "Ravananugraha", which was popular in the Gupta era . It depicts Ravana beneath Mount Kailash playing a veena made out of his head and hands, and strings made out of his tendons, while Shiva and Parvati sit on top of the mountain. According to scriptures, Ravana once tried to lift Mount Kailash, but Shiva pushed the mountain into place and trapped Ravana beneath it. For
14144-586: The most powerful being in the mortal world, so as to produce an exceptional heir. He rejected the kings of the world, as they were less powerful than him. Kaikasi searched among the sages and finally chose Vishrava, the father of Kubera. Ravana and his siblings were born to the couple and they completed their education from their father, with Ravana being a great scholar of the Vedas. Ravana and his two brothers, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana , performed penance on Mount Gokarna for 10,000 years and won boons from Brahma. Ravana
14280-558: The musical forms innovated by these pioneers merged with the Hindu tradition, composed in the popular language of the people (as opposed to Sanskrit) in the work of composers like Kabir or Nanak . This can be seen as part of a larger Bhakti tradition (strongly related to the Vaishnavite movement) which remained influential across several centuries; notable figures include Jayadeva (11th century), Vidyapati (fl. 1375 CE), Chandidas (14th–15th century), and Meerabai (1555–1603 CE). As
14416-557: The musical meter too, without the kind of elaboration found in the Samaveda . For example, the Gayatri mantra contains three metric lines of exactly eight syllables, with an embedded ternary rhythm. In the ancient traditions of Hinduism, two musical genre appeared, namely Gandharva (formal, composed, ceremonial music) and Gana (informal, improvised, entertainment music). The Gandharva music also implied celestial, divine associations, while
14552-406: The musical scale as follows, तत्र स्वराः – षड्जश्च ऋषभश्चैव गान्धारो मध्यमस्तथा । पञ्चमो धैवतश्चैव सप्तमोऽथ निषादवान् ॥ २१॥ These seven degrees are shared by both major raga systems , that is the North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) systems. The solfege ( sargam ) is learnt in abbreviated form: sa, ri (Carnatic) or re (Hindustani), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa . Of these,
14688-550: The names of different ragas. The specific code of a song clearly tells us what combination of swaras are present in a specific song. The lyrical part of the song is called "sahityam" and sahityam is just like singing the swaras altogether but using the lyrics of the song. The code in the form of swaras have even the notation of which note to be sung high and which one low. The hymns of Samaveda contain melodic content, form, rhythm and metric organization. This structure is, however, not unique or limited to Samaveda . The Rigveda embeds
14824-406: The nature and extent. Through the colonial era and until the 1960s, the attempt was to theoretically study ragas and maqams and suggested commonalities. Later comparative musicology studies, states Bruno Nettl – a professor of music, have found the similarities between classical Indian music and European music as well, raising the question about the point of similarities and of departures between
14960-465: The notes themselves, and it traditionally eschews Western classical concepts such as harmony , counterpoint , chords , or modulation . The root of music in ancient India are found in the Vedic literature of Hinduism. The earliest Indian thought combined three arts, syllabic recital ( vadya ), melos ( gita ) and dance ( nrtta ). As these fields developed, sangeeta became a distinct genre of art, in
15096-665: The priest of the Asuras, as his minister, and in other accounts, Brihaspati , the priest of the Devas. One account narrates how Ravana ordered Brihaspati to recite the Chandi stava (mantras of Chandi), more specifically the Devi Mahatmya, in order to stave off defeat. According to the Krttivasa text, Ravana arranged for a peaceful yajna , and invited Brihaspati to start the recitation of Chandi. In
15232-404: The primary antagonist in films and television series based on the Ramayana . Movies like Bhakta Ravana (1938) and its Telugu ( 1940 and 1958 ) and Kannada ( 1958 ) adaptations as well as television series Raavan (2006-2008) are focused on the tale on Ravana. The Tamil film Raavanan (2010) and its Hindi counterpart Raavan (2010) narrate the epic from Ravana's perspective in
15368-480: The raga "Deepak". At the royal house of Gwalior , Raja Mansingh Tomar (1486–1516 CE) also participated in the shift from Sanskrit to the local idiom ( Hindi ) as the language for classical songs. He himself penned several volumes of compositions on religious and secular themes and was also responsible for the major compilation, the Mankutuhal ("Book of Curiosity"), which outlined the major forms of music prevalent at
15504-549: The rigorous rules of classical music. Dhrupad is an old style of singing, traditionally performed by male singers. It is performed with a tambura and a pakhawaj as instrumental accompaniments. The lyrics, some of which were written in Sanskrit centuries ago, are presently often sung in brajbhasha , a medieval form of North and East Indian languages that were spoken in Eastern India. The rudra veena , an ancient string instrument,
15640-451: The royalty in Indian princely states, dhrupad risked becoming extinct in the first half of the twentieth century. However, the efforts by a few proponents, especially from the Dagar family, have led to its revival. Some of the best known vocalists who sing in the Dhrupad style are the members of the Dagar lineage, including the senior Dagar brothers, Nasir Moinuddin and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar ;
15776-491: The same swara are called srutis . The three primary registers of Indian classical music are mandra (lower), madhya (middle) and taar (upper). Since the octave location is not fixed, it is also possible to use provenances in mid-register (such as mandra-madhya or madhya-taar) for certain ragas. A typical rendition of Hindustani raga involves two stages: Tans are of several types like Shuddha, Koot, Mishra, Vakra, Sapaat, Saral, Chhoot, Halaq, Jabda, Murki Hindustani classical music
15912-461: The same time as Natya Shastra . The Dattilam is focused on Gandharva music and discusses scales ( swara ), defining a tonal framework called grama in terms of 22 micro-tonal intervals ( shruti ) comprising one octave. It also discusses various arrangements of the notes ( Murchhana ), the permutations and combinations of note-sequences ( tanas ), and alankara or elaboration. Dattilam categorizes melodic structure into 18 groups called Jati , which are
16048-587: The tanpura traditionally falls to a student of the soloist. Other instruments for accompaniment include the sarangi and the harmonium . Indian classical music is both elaborate and expressive. Like Western classical music , it divides the octave into 12 semitones of which the 7 basic notes are, in ascending tonal order, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni for Hindustani music and Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni for Carnatic music, similar to Western music's Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti . However, Indian music uses just-intonation tuning, unlike some modern Western classical music, which uses
16184-478: The tenth dharmaguru of their tribe, and the eighteenth lingo (divine teacher). Annually on Dussehra , the Gondis from the village of Paraswadi carry an image of Ravana riding on an elephant in a procession. The following temples in India are for Ravana as a Shiva Bhakta. Effigies of Ravana are burned on Vijayadashami in many places throughout India to symbolize Rama's triumph over evil. According to mythology,
16320-500: The third birth was fulfilled by Dantavakra and Shishupala in the Dvapara Yuga , when they both were slain by Krishna , the eighth avatar. Ravana had fought with the demons named Nivatakavacha along with his army for an entire year but was unable to kill them due to Brahma's boon. The war was stopped by Brahma and Ravana formed an alliance with them, he learnt several magical tricks or maya from those demons. Ravana had defeated
16456-594: The time. In particular, the musical form known as dhrupad saw considerable development in his court and remained a strong point of the Gwalior gharana for many centuries. After the dissolution of the Mughal empire, the patronage of music continued in smaller princely kingdoms like Awadh , Patiala , and Banaras , giving rise to the diversity of styles that is today known as gharanas . Many musician families obtained large grants of land which made them self-sufficient, at least for
16592-406: The traditions acquired distinct forms. North Indian classical music is called Hindustani , while the South Indian expression is called Carnatic (sometimes spelled as Karnatic ). According to Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy , the North Indian tradition acquired its modern form after the 14th or the 15th century. Indian classical music has historically adopted and evolved with many regional styles, such as
16728-406: The traditions separated and evolved into distinct forms. Hindustani music emphasizes improvisation and exploration of all aspects of a raga , while Carnatic performances tend to be short composition-based. However, the two systems continue to have more common features than differences. Another unique classical music tradition from the eastern part of India is Odissi music , which has evolved over
16864-455: The turn of the century, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande spread Hindustani classical music to the masses in general by organizing music conferences, starting schools, teaching music in classrooms, devising a standardized grading and testing system, and standardizing the notation system. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar emerged as a talented musician and organizer despite being blind from age of 12. His books on music, as well as
17000-496: The two. The advent of Islamic rule under the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire over northern India caused considerable cultural interchange. Increasingly, musicians received patronage in the courts of the new rulers, who, in turn, started taking an increasing interest in local musical forms. While the initial generations may have been rooted in cultural traditions outside India, they gradually adopted many aspects from
17136-445: The vanara warriors namely Hanuman, Sugriva, Neela and even Rama's brother Lakshmana twice during his war with Rama. As per the original six books of Valmiki Ramayana, only lord Rama the incarnation of Vishnu defeated Ravana and killed him after several days of single duel. Once, upon hearing a discourse from Sage Sanatkumara , Ravana attempted to invade Vaikuntha . Only Ravana managed to enter Vaikuntha's capital, Shwetadwipa, where he
17272-785: The village Ravangram of Netaran, in the Vidisha District of Madhya Pradesh , perform daily puja in the Ravana temple and offer naivedyam or bhog (a ritual of sacrifice to the gods). King Shiv Shankar built a Ravana temple in Kanpur , Uttar Pradesh . The Ravana temple is open once a year, on the day of Dashera , to perform puja for the welfare of Ravana. Ravana is also worshipped by Hindus of Bisrakh , who claim their town to be his birthplace. The Sachora Brahmins of Gujarat claim to be descendants of Ravana, and sometimes have "Ravan" as their surnames. Saraswat Brahmins from Mathura claim Ravana as
17408-472: Was a Vidyadhara king who had magical powers, and Lakshmana, not Rama, was the one who ultimately killed Ravana. Pulavar Kuzhanthai 's Ravana Kaaviyam is a panegyric on Ravana that is made up of 3,100 poetic stanzas in which Ravana is the hero. The book was released in 1946, and was subsequently banned by India's Congress led government. The ban was later lifted in 1971. Sri Lanka named its first satellite Raavana 1 after Ravana. Ravana appears as
17544-546: Was a monk and a devotee of the Hindu god Krishna (Vishnu, Vittal avatar). He systematised classical Indian music theory and developed exercises for musicians to learn and perfect their art. He travelled widely sharing and teaching his ideas, and influenced numerous South Indian and Maharashtra Bhakti movement musicians. These exercises, his teachings about raga , and his systematic methodology called Suladi Sapta Tala (literally, "primordial seven talas") remains in use in contemporary times. The efforts of Purandara Dasa in
17680-450: Was blessed with a boon that would make him invincible to all the creations of Brahma, except for humans. He also received weapons, a chariot, as well as the ability to shapeshift from Brahma. According to the Ramayana , demigods approached Brahma since Ravana was causing harm on Earth. Lord Vishnu appeared and gave blessings that he will incarnate as a human (Rama) and kill Ravana since his invincibility boon did not include humans. One of
17816-464: Was derived from the Bangal . In 1941, Haidar Rizvi questioned this and stated that influence was in the other direction, Middle Eastern maqams were turned into Indian ragas , such as Zangulah maqam becoming Jangla raga . According to John Baily – a professor of ethnomusicology, there is evidence that the traffic of musical ideas were both ways, because Persian records confirm that Indian musicians were
17952-612: Was finalized, the ancient Indian traditions had classified musical instruments into four groups based on their acoustic principle (how they work, rather than the material they are made of) for example flute which works with gracious in and out flow of air. These four categories are accepted as given and are four separate chapters in the Natyashastra , one each on stringed instruments (chordophones ), hollow instruments ( aerophones ), solid instruments ( idiophones ), and covered instruments ( membranophones ). Of these, states Levis Rowell,
18088-545: Was hopelessly outmatched by the inhabitants and was forced to retreat. He killed Anaranya, the king of Ayodhya , although he cursed Ravana to be slain by Rama. Ravana had wrestled his brother Kubera and vanquished him for the Pushpaka Vimana . He also fought Marutta (Chakravarti King of Ushiraviga), Gadhi ( Vishwamitra 's father), Dushyanta ( Bharata 's father), Suratha (King of Vidarbha ), Gaya (Chakravarti king of Dharmaranya), and Paurava (King of Anga ). Ravana
18224-417: Was killed by Vishnu . Ravana had 2 full brothers, 8 half brothers, 1 full sister and 3 half sisters. Ravana had three wives, Mandodari , the daughter of the celestial architect Maya , Dhanyamalini, and a third wife. His sons from his three wives were Meghanada , Atikaya , Akshayakumara , Narantaka , Devantaka , Trishira , and Prahasta . In some accounts, Ravana is said to have had Shukracharya ,
18360-550: Was named after Vishrava, and that Ravana was born there. Ravana's paternal grandfather, the sage Pulastya , was one of the ten Prajapatis , or mind-born sons of Brahma , and one of the Saptarishi (seven great sages) in the first Manvantara (age of Manu ). His maternal grandfather was Sumali (or Sumalaya), the king of the Rakshasas and the son of Sukesha. Sumali had ten sons and four daughters. Sumali wished for Kaikasi to marry
18496-699: Was subsequently slain, and Rama rescued his beloved wife Sita. Ravana was well-versed in the six shastras and the four Vedas , including the Shiva Tandava Stotra . Ravana is also considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva . Images of Ravana are often seen associated with Shiva at temples. He also appears in the Buddhist Mahayana text Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra , in Buddhist Jatakas , as well as in Jain Ramayanas . In Vaishnava scriptures , he
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