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INTRODUCTION
IN introducing the first volume of Sārngadeva's Sangītaratnākara, containing the first adhyāya, along with the two commentaries, namely, Kallinātha's Kalānidhi and Simhabhūpāla's Sudhākara, my first duty is to record the gratitude of the Adyar Library to that great scholar, the late Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri, who undertook the edition of this important work. He had 'orrected the entire material for all the seven adhyāyas of the work for the press and the first adhyāya was completely printed before his death. In the normal course, this Introduction would have come from his pen. Having regard to his solid erudition, his profound knowledge of music both on the practical and the theoretical side, his wide reading, his deep insight into subjects allied to music like dancing, I must confess that the present Introduction is only a poor substitute for what could have been expected from him.
The Sangitaratnākara of Sārngadeva is one of the most important works on music now available. It is besides, one of the longest works on music in Sanskrit. It is a very comprehensive exposition of the subject, dealing with all aspects. Ever since it was written it has remained the standard work on music; it has been
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