Fundamental of Ancient Indian Music and Dance

Author(s): Sureshchandra Benarji
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Introduction
sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts. In fact, pain is an essential element of life. The Sāņkhya philosophy starts with the avowed object of rooting out the threefold pain—that caused by divine forces, that produced by worldly beings and that generated within ourselves-to which human beings are subjected as soon as they are born. Of the Four Noble Truths, declared by the Buddha, the first is Duhkha (pain). The wise penetrate the veil of pleasure that envelops the worldly objects; while the naive human beings are duped by the momentary pleasures of life, Those, who know the truth, aim at permanent bliss after overcoming the causes of pain. One of the strings of our psyche-lute is set to the tune of sorrow. That is why, after hearing a melancholy song or a pensive tune played on an instrument, we feel joy as it seems to be permeated with our most familiar sentiment. According to Bhavabhūti, a great Sanskrit dramatist, the one basic sentiment in us is the pathetic; it manifests itself as diverse sentiments evoked by special circumstances.
The question may arise-what is the use of knowing the musical lore of the past in this age when current musical modes have developed to a great extent and are still developing ? Our answer is this. The knowledge of an individual cannot be complete without a knowledge of his pedigree and antecedents. Similarly, the true nature of current Indian music, of which there are two broad divisions as Northern and Southern, cannot be realised without a knowledge of its precursors. It is necessary to examine how far the present musical systems have borrowed from the Śāstra and to what extent these have assimilated later elements. Apart from the usefulness of Samgita-śāstra from the historical point of view, it has other uses too. If we delve deep into the Šāstra, we shall be in a position to know how much of Indian music is indigenous and how much has been borrowed from non-Aryans and foreigners. Again, researches into the ancient lore will enable us to see if it is possible to improve the current music, Moreover, the knowledge of the Sāstra will enlighten us about