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{{Short description|Indian musicologist (1175–1247)}}
{{About|a Hindu music scholar|Rajput ruler|Vaghela dynasty}}
{{About|a Hindu music scholar|Rajput ruler|Vaghela dynasty}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2020}}
__NOTOC__
__NOTOC__
'''Śārṅgadeva''' (1175–1247) ({{lang-hi|शार्ङ्गदेव}}),<ref>{{cite book|author=Ananda Lal|title=Theatres of India: A Concise Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goELAQAAMAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-569917-3|page=298}}</ref> also spelled '''Sharngadeva''' or '''Sarnga Deva''', was the 13th-century [[India]]n [[musicologist]] who authored ''[[Sangita Ratnakara]]'' – the classical Sanskrit text on music and drama.<ref name="Lal1992p3987">{{cite book|author=Mohan Lal|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&pg=PA3987 |year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1221-3|page=3987}}</ref> It is considered to be the authoritative treatise in [[Indian classical music]] by both the [[Hindustani music]] and the [[Carnatic music]] traditions.<ref name=bod116>{{cite book|author=Rens Bod|title=A New History of the Humanities: The Search for Principles and Patterns from Antiquity to the Present|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=321oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116| year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-164294-4|page=116}}</ref><ref name="MasseyMassey1996">{{cite book|author1=Reginald Massey|author2=Jamila Massey|title=The Music Of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yySNDP9XVggC&pg=PA42|accessdate=23 July 2013|year= 1996|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-332-8|page=42}}</ref>
'''Śārṅgadeva''' (1175–1247),<ref>{{cite book|author=Ananda Lal|title=Theatres of India: A Concise Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goELAQAAMAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-569917-3|page=298}}</ref> also spelled '''Sharngadeva''' or '''Sarnga Deva''', was a 13th-century [[India]]n [[musicologist]] who authored ''[[Sangita Ratnakara]]'' – a Sanskrit text on music and drama.<ref name="Lal1992p3987">{{cite book|author=Mohan Lal|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&pg=PA3987 |year=1992|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-1221-3|page=3987}}</ref> It is considered to be the authoritative treatise on [[Indian classical music]] by both the [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani]] and [[Carnatic music]] traditions.<ref name=bod116>{{cite book|author=Rens Bod|title=A New History of the Humanities: The Search for Principles and Patterns from Antiquity to the Present|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=321oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116| year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-164294-4|page=116}}</ref><ref name="MasseyMassey1996">{{cite book|author1=Reginald Massey|author2=Jamila Massey|title=The Music Of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yySNDP9XVggC&pg=PA42|accessdate=23 July 2013|year= 1996|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-332-8|page=42}}</ref><ref name="Moorthy2001">{{cite book|author=Vijaya Moorthy|title=Romance Of The Raga|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2s2xJetsy0wC&pg=PA18|accessdate=23 July 2013|year=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-382-3|pages=18–}}</ref>


Śārṅgadeva was born in a [[Brahmin]] family of [[Kashmir]].<ref name=massey41/> In an era of Islamic invasion of the northwest regions of the [[Indian subcontinent]] and the start of [[Delhi Sultanate]], his family migrated south and settled in the Hindu kingdom in the Deccan region ruled by the [[Yadava dynasty]] near [[Ellora Caves]] (Maharashtra). Sarangadeva worked as an accountant with freedom to pursue his music interests in the court of King [[Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri#Singhana II|Singhana II]] (1210–1247).<ref name=massey41>{{cite book|author1=Reginald Massey|author2=Jamila Massey|title=The Music Of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yySNDP9XVggC&pg=PA41|year=1996|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-332-8|pages=41–42}}</ref><ref>Ramanlal Chhotalal Mehta, ''Musical Musings: Selected Essays'', Indian Musicological Society (1996), p. 46</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=T. V. Kuppuswami|title=Carnātic Music and the Tamils|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpLmAAAAMAAJ|year=1992|publisher=Kalinga Publications|isbn=978-81-85163-25-3|pages=vii–viii}}</ref>
Śārṅgadeva was born in a [[Brahmin]] family of [[Kashmir]].<ref name=massey41/> In an era of Islamic invasion of the northwest regions of the [[Indian subcontinent]] and the start of [[Delhi Sultanate]], his family migrated south and settled in the Hindu kingdom in the Deccan region ruled by the [[Yadava dynasty]] near [[Ellora Caves]] (Maharashtra). Śārṅgadeva worked as an accountant with freedom to pursue his music interests in the court of King [[Simhana]] (r. 1210–1247).<ref name=massey41>{{cite book|author1=Reginald Massey|author2=Jamila Massey|title=The Music Of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yySNDP9XVggC&pg=PA41|year=1996|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-332-8|pages=41–42}}</ref><ref>Ramanlal Chhotalal Mehta, ''Musical Musings: Selected Essays'', Indian Musicological Society (1996), p. 46</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=T. V. Kuppuswami|title=Carnātic Music and the Tamils|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpLmAAAAMAAJ|year=1992|publisher=Kalinga Publications|isbn=978-81-85163-25-3|pages=vii–viii}}</ref>


==Ideas==
==Ideas==
Śārṅgadeva presented his ideas on music and dance in seven chapters of ''Sangita Ratnakara'', but integrated it with philosophical context.<ref name="Lal1992p3987"/> He systematically presented his ideas on the nature of sound, register, the smallest distinct sounds that humans can hear and musical instruments can produce (''[[Shruti (music)|shruti]]''), musical scales and modes, 264 ''[[raga]]s'', beats and role of time (''[[tala (music)|tala]]''), prosody (''[[Chanda]]s''), relation between performance arts and human emotions and sentiments, musical and vocal ornaments, the composition of drama and songs, and the limitless opportunities available to the artist to express and affect her audience.<ref name="Lal1992p3987"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Lewis Rowell|title=Music and Musical Thought in Early India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_UCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-73034-9|pages=13, 212–214, 284–285}}</ref>
Śārṅgadeva presented his ideas on music and dance in seven chapters of ''Sangita Ratnakara'', but integrated it with philosophical context.<ref name="Lal1992p3987"/> He systematically presented his ideas on the nature of sound, register, the smallest distinct sounds that humans can hear and musical instruments can produce (''[[Shruti (music)|shruti]]''), musical scales and modes, 264 ''[[raga]]s'', beats and role of time (''[[tala (music)|tala]]''), prosody (''[[Chanda|chhanda]]s''), relation between performance arts and human emotions and sentiments, musical and vocal ornaments, the composition of drama and songs, and the limitless opportunities available to the artist to express and affect her audience.<ref name="Lal1992p3987"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Lewis Rowell|title=Music and Musical Thought in Early India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_UCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-73034-9|pages=13, 212–214, 284–285}}</ref>


According to [[Peter G. Fletcher|Peter Fletcher]] – a professor of Music and Drama, Śārṅgadeva states in ''Sangita Ratnakara'' that "the composer was expected to be a competent performer, but he also made clear that the composer was expected to know his audience, and how their minds work, rising above his own likes and dislikes, in order to bring delight to everyone".<ref name=fletcher253>{{cite book|author=Peter Fletcher|title=World Musics in Context: A Comprehensive Survey of the World's Major Musical Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vBEfViLyp8C&pg=PA253 |year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-816636-8|page=253}}</ref> Sarangadeva's views on music, states Fletcher, exemplified ideas in the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' relating to non-attachment.<ref name=fletcher253/>
According to [[Peter G. Fletcher|Peter Fletcher]] – a professor of Music and Drama, Śārṅgadeva states in ''Sangita Ratnakara'' that "the composer was expected to be a competent performer, but he also made clear that the composer was expected to know his audience, and how their minds work, rising above his own likes and dislikes, in order to bring delight to everyone".<ref name=fletcher253>{{cite book|author=Peter Fletcher|title=World Musics in Context: A Comprehensive Survey of the World's Major Musical Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vBEfViLyp8C&pg=PA253 |year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-816636-8|page=253}}</ref> Śārṅgadeva's views on music, states Fletcher, exemplified ideas in the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' relating to non-attachment.<ref name=fletcher253/>


==Influence==
==Influence==
Śārṅgadeva is one of the most influential medieval era music theorists of the Indian subcontinent, and his book has been called "the first modern book on Indian classical music".<ref name="MasseyMassey1996"/> The book is considered by some to be as significant as [[Bharata Muni|Bharata]]'s ''[[Natya Shastra]]''. This is the text in the Indian [[musicology]] that is referred to by both [[Carnatic Music|Carnatic]] and [[Hindustani Classical Music]] traditions.<ref name="Moorthy2001">{{cite book|author=Vijaya Moorthy|title=Romance Of The Raga|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2s2xJetsy0wC&pg=PA18|accessdate=23 July 2013|year=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-382-3|pages=18–}}</ref> According to [[Don Michael Randel|Don Randel]], a professor of musicology, Śārṅgadeva's text is the most comprehensive treatise that interprets the ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' and ''[[Brihaddeshi]]'' of the ancient Indian music tradition.<ref>{{cite book|author=Don Michael Randel|title=The Harvard Dictionary of Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=02rFSecPhEsC|year=2003|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-01163-2|page=813}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Emmie te Nijenhuis|author-link=Emmie te Nijenhuis|title=Musicological literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HkUIAQAAIAAJ|year=1977|publisher=Harrassowitz|isbn=978-3-447-01831-9|page=12}}</ref>
Śārṅgadeva is one of the most influential medieval era music theorists of the Indian subcontinent, and his book has been called "the first modern book on Indian classical music".<ref name="MasseyMassey1996"/> The book is considered by some to be as significant as [[Bharata Muni|Bharata]]'s ''[[Natya Shastra]]''. According to [[Don Michael Randel|Don Randel]], a professor of musicology, Śārṅgadeva's text is the most comprehensive treatise that interprets the ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' and ''[[Brihaddeshi]]'' of the ancient Indian music tradition.<ref>{{cite book|author=Don Michael Randel|title=The Harvard Dictionary of Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=02rFSecPhEsC|year=2003|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-01163-2|page=813}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Emmie te Nijenhuis|author-link=Emmie te Nijenhuis|title=Musicological literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HkUIAQAAIAAJ|year=1977|publisher=Harrassowitz|isbn=978-3-447-01831-9|page=12}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==
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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Kashmiri people|Sarangadeva]]
[[Category:Indian musicologists]]
[[Category:Indian musicologists]]
[[Category:1210 births]]
[[Category:1175 births]]
[[Category:1247 deaths]]
[[Category:1247 deaths]]
[[Category:13th-century Indian scholars]]
[[Category:13th-century Indian scholars]]
[[Category:Scholars from Maharashtra]]
 
[[Category:Musicology]]
[[Category:Musicology]]
[[Category:Indian music history]]
[[Category:Music history of India]]
[[Category:History of Maharashtra]]
[[Category:13th-century Indian musicians]]
[[Category:13th-century Indian musicians]]

Latest revision as of 12:52, 25 November 2025


Śārṅgadeva (1175–1247),[1] also spelled Sharngadeva or Sarnga Deva, was a 13th-century Indian musicologist who authored Sangita Ratnakara – a Sanskrit text on music and drama.[2] It is considered to be the authoritative treatise on Indian classical music by both the Hindustani and Carnatic music traditions.[3][4][5]

Śārṅgadeva was born in a Brahmin family of Kashmir.[6] In an era of Islamic invasion of the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent and the start of Delhi Sultanate, his family migrated south and settled in the Hindu kingdom in the Deccan region ruled by the Yadava dynasty near Ellora Caves (Maharashtra). Śārṅgadeva worked as an accountant with freedom to pursue his music interests in the court of King Simhana (r. 1210–1247).[6][7][8]

Ideas[edit | edit source]

Śārṅgadeva presented his ideas on music and dance in seven chapters of Sangita Ratnakara, but integrated it with philosophical context.[2] He systematically presented his ideas on the nature of sound, register, the smallest distinct sounds that humans can hear and musical instruments can produce (shruti), musical scales and modes, 264 ragas, beats and role of time (tala), prosody (chhandas), relation between performance arts and human emotions and sentiments, musical and vocal ornaments, the composition of drama and songs, and the limitless opportunities available to the artist to express and affect her audience.[2][9]

According to Peter Fletcher – a professor of Music and Drama, Śārṅgadeva states in Sangita Ratnakara that "the composer was expected to be a competent performer, but he also made clear that the composer was expected to know his audience, and how their minds work, rising above his own likes and dislikes, in order to bring delight to everyone".[10] Śārṅgadeva's views on music, states Fletcher, exemplified ideas in the Bhagavad Gita relating to non-attachment.[10]

Influence[edit | edit source]

Śārṅgadeva is one of the most influential medieval era music theorists of the Indian subcontinent, and his book has been called "the first modern book on Indian classical music".[4] The book is considered by some to be as significant as Bharata's Natya Shastra. According to Don Randel, a professor of musicology, Śārṅgadeva's text is the most comprehensive treatise that interprets the Natya Shastra and Brihaddeshi of the ancient Indian music tradition.[11][12]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Ananda Lal (2009). Theatres of India: A Concise Companion. Oxford University Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-19-569917-3.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mohan Lal (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. p. 3987. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.
  3. Rens Bod (2013). A New History of the Humanities: The Search for Principles and Patterns from Antiquity to the Present. Oxford University Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-19-164294-4.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Reginald Massey; Jamila Massey (1996). The Music Of India. Abhinav Publications. p. 42. ISBN 978-81-7017-332-8. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  5. Vijaya Moorthy (2001). Romance Of The Raga. Abhinav Publications. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-81-7017-382-3. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Reginald Massey; Jamila Massey (1996). The Music Of India. Abhinav Publications. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-81-7017-332-8.
  7. Ramanlal Chhotalal Mehta, Musical Musings: Selected Essays, Indian Musicological Society (1996), p. 46
  8. T. V. Kuppuswami (1992). Carnātic Music and the Tamils. Kalinga Publications. pp. vii–viii. ISBN 978-81-85163-25-3.
  9. Lewis Rowell (2015). Music and Musical Thought in Early India. University of Chicago Press. pp. 13, 212–214, 284–285. ISBN 978-0-226-73034-9.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Peter Fletcher (2001). World Musics in Context: A Comprehensive Survey of the World's Major Musical Cultures. Oxford University Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-19-816636-8.
  11. Don Michael Randel (2003). The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. p. 813. ISBN 978-0-674-01163-2.
  12. Emmie te Nijenhuis (1977). Musicological literature. Harrassowitz. p. 12. ISBN 978-3-447-01831-9.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]