https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=RavanahathaRavanahatha - Revision history2026-09-07T00:17:02ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ravanahatha&diff=145448&oldid=previmported>Haploidavey: Not a violin (and all violins are bowed anyway) per short description2021-08-28T05:33:33Z<p>Not a violin (and all violins are bowed anyway) per short description</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Ancient Indian bowed string instrument}}<br />
[[Image:Ravanhatha cmdt.jpg|thumb|right|Indian Ravanhatha at the Casa Museo Del Timple, Lanzarote, Spain.]]<br />
A '''ravanahatha''' (variant names: ''ravanhatta'', ''rawanhattha'', ''ravanastron'', ''ravana hasta veena'') is an ancient [[Indian musical instruments#Bowed strings|bowed, stringed instrument]], used in [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]] and surrounding areas. It has been suggested as an ancestor of the [[violin]].<ref>Heron-Allen, Edward, ''Violin-making : as it was and is, being a historical, theoretical, and practical treatise on the science and art of violin-making, for the use of violin makers and players, amateur and professional'', Ward, Lock, and Co., 1885, pp. 37-42 [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924022320216#page/n69/mode/2up/search/India Archive.org facsimile of Cornell University Press copy] (accessed 29 June 2017)</ref><br />
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== Construction ==<br />
[[File:Man playing Ravanahatha in India.jpg|150px|thumb|left| Man playing Ravanahatha in Jaisalmer, India]]<br />
The ravanahatha's [[sound box]] may be a [[gourd]], a halved [[coconut]] shell or hollowed-out cylinder of wood, with a membrane of stretched [[goat]] or other hide. A neck of wood or [[bamboo]] is attached, carrying between one and four or more peg-tuned strings of gut, hair or steel, strung over a [[Bridge (instrument)|bridge]]. Some examples may have several [[sympathetic strings]]. The bow is usually of horsehair; examples vary in length.<br />
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== History ==<br />
In Indian and Sri Lankan tradition, the ravanahatha is believed to have originated among the [[Hela (people)|Hela]] people of [[Lanka]] during the time of the legendary king [[Ravana]], after whom the instrument is supposedly named. According to legend, Ravana used the ravanahatha in his devotions to the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] God [[Shiva]].<ref>''[[The Island (Sri Lanka)|The Island]]'' (9 March 2008). [http://www.island.lk/2008/03/09/news11.html "Sri Lankan revives Ravana’s musical instrument"].</ref> In the Hindu [[Ramayana]] epic, after the war between [[Rama]] and Ravana, [[Hanuman]] returned to North India with a ravanahatha. The ravanahatha is particularly popular among street musicians in [[Rajasthan]], North India.<br />
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Throughout the history of [[Medieval India]], the kings were patrons of music; this helped in increased popularity of the ravanhatha among royal families. In [[Rajasthan]] and [[Gujarat]], it was the first musical instrument to be learned by princes. The ''Sangit'' tradition of Rajasthan further helped in popularizing ''ravanhatta'' among women.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}<br />
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Some sources claim that between the seventh and tenth centuries AD, Arab traders brought the ravanastron from India to the Near East, where it provided the basic model for the Arab [[rebab]], and other early ancestors of the violin family.<ref>Heron-Allen, Edward, ''Violin-making : as it was and is, being a historical, theoretical, and practical treatise on the science and art of violin-making, for the use of violin makers and players, amateur and professional'', Ward, Lock, and Co., 1885, pp. 37-42 [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924022320216#page/n69/mode/2up/search/India Archive.org facsimile of Cornell University Press copy] (accessed 29 June 2017)</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Choudhary|first1=S.Dhar|title=The Origin and Evolution of Violin as a Musical Instrument and Its Contribution to the Progressive Flow of Indian Classical Music: In search of the historical roots of violin|date=2010|publisher=Ramakrisna Vedanta Math|isbn=978-9380568065|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dUQWMwEACAAJ&q=history+violin+India|accessdate=5 September 2015}}</ref><br />
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{{Clear}}<br />
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== Modern use ==<br />
[[File:Legend of srilankan Ravanhatha.jpg|thumb|[[Dinesh Subasinghe]] showing his new version of the ravanahatha to [[Mahinda Rajapaksa]]]]<br />
In modern times, the instrument has been revived by Sri Lankan composer and violinist [[Dinesh Subasinghe]] and used in several of his compositions, including ''Rawan Nada'' and the Buddhist oratorio ''[[Karuna Nadee]]''.<ref>Balachandran, PK (7 February 2011). [http://newindianexpress.com/entertainment/tamil/article393909.ece "A musical instrument played by Ravana Himself!"]. ''[[New Indian Express]]''. Retrieved 1 May 2013.</ref><ref>[[The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|''The Sunday Times'' (Sri Lanka)]] (8 March 2015). [http://www.sundaytimes.lk/150308/magazine/dinesh-records-highest-sale-for-an-instrumental-139029.html "Dinesh records highest sale for an instrumental"]. Retrieved 16 July 2015.</ref><br />
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The European experimental folk band [[Heilung]] also make use of the ravanahatha, in both their Ofnir and Futha albums.<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
* {{Commons category-inline|Ravanahatha}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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[[Category:Bowed string instruments]]<br />
[[Category:Indian musical instruments]]<br />
[[Category:Sri Lankan musical instruments]]<br />
[[Category:Early musical instruments]]</div>imported>Haploidavey