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SVARAMLAKALNIDHI
of Rmmtya
(N.Ramanathan)

This work is written by Rmmtya in the year 1550. He served in the court of King
Rmarja of Vijayanagara Kingdom. He himself was a composer of Prabandha-s

This work deals primarily with Rga and preliminary to it, describes the Mla-s for the
classification of Rga- and the different uddha svara-s and Vikta svara-s constituting the Mla-
s. The work is spread over five chapters.

1. Updghtaprakaraa
2. Svaraprakaraa
3. Vprakaraa
4. Mlaprakaraa
5. Rgaprakaraa.

1. Upodghta-prakaraa
This is the introductory chapter describing the kings under whom the author served. It also
explains how at the request of the King to write a work to bridge the gap between the existing
lakaa and lakya, the author came to present this work. This section also lists the topics to be
dealt with in the subsequent chapters.

2. Svaraprakaraa
In this prakaraa the author starts with a list of 7 uddha and 12 Viktasvaras given in the
Sagtaratnkara. However the author contends that some of the vikta svaras do not possess
pitch levels different from those of other uddha and vikta svaras and terms them redundant.
Thus he gives a list of 7 uddha and 7 viktasvaras
these are:
1. uddhaad ja 2. uddhaabha 3. uddhagndhra
4. Sdhraagndhra 5. Antaragndhra 6. Cyutamadhyama
7. uddhamadhyama 8. Cyutapacama 9. uddhapacama
10. uddhadhaivata 11. uddhanida 12. Kaiikinida
13. Kkalnida 14. Cyutaadja.

The author then points out that in lakya the svara cyuta-adja is regarded a variety of nida
and is known as cyuta-adja-nida. Similarly cyuta-madhyama and cyuta-pacama are known
as cyuta-madhyama-gndhra and cyuta-pacama-madhyama.

The author also adds that in practice it is found that the abha svara is found located on the
sthana-s of uddha-gndhra and sdhraa-gndhra in which case the svarasthana-s will be
called pacaruti-abha and aruti-abha respectively. Similarly the dhaivata svara has also
varieties located on two other svarasthana-s, namely that of uddha-nida and kaiiki-nida
and in which case they will be known as pacaruti-dhaivata and aruti-dhaivata.

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The author then points out that in lakya the svara Cyutaadja is regarded a variety of Nida
and is known as Cyuta-adja-nida. Similarly Cyutamadhyama and cyutapacama are known as
Cyuta-madhyama-gndhra and Cyuta-pacama-madhyama.

The author also adds that in practice it is found that the abha svara is found located on the
sthna-s of uddhagndhra and sdhraagndhra in which case the svarasthna-s will be
called Pacaruti-rsabha and aruti-rsabha respectively. Similarly the dhaivata svara has also
varieties located on two other svarasthna-s, namely that of uddhanida and Kaiikinida and
in which case they will be known as Pacaruti-dhaivata and atruti-dhaivata.

ruti
No.
uddha-svara Vikta-svara Vikta-svara (other
names)
1 Kaiika-nida aruti-dhaivata
2 Kkal-nida
3 Cyuta-adja-nida
4 adja
5
6
7 abha
8
9 Gndhra Pacaruti-abha
10 Sdhraa-gndhra aruti-abha
11 Antara-gndhra
12 Cyuta-madhyama-gndhra
13 Madhyama
14
15
16 Cyuta-pacama-madhyama
17 Pacama
18
19
20 Dhaivata
21
22 Nida Pacaruti-dhaivata

III. V-prakaraa
In the third prakaraa the author illustrates the various svaras on the frets of a V. The
construction of the V is not described but only the tuning of the strings. This V resembles
the modern V at least in this respect that it had four main playing-strings, and three side
strings. The tuning of the strings has three methods. These are known as:-

1. uddhamla V
2. Madhyamla V
3. Acyutarajendramla V

Again in the setting of the frets too there are two methods.
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1 kargamlaV: Here the frets are provided for playing only one rga. Perhaps the
frets were movable so that they could be shifted to enable one to play svara-s of other
rga-s.
2. Akhilargamla V: In this sufficient number of frets are provided so that there was
facility to play all the rga-s:

The method of tuning of the strings in uddhamla-v is as follows:

uddha-mla V
Side Strings Main Strings
3:Man-Sa 2: Man-Pa 1:Mad-Sa 4:Man-Ma 3:Man-Sa 2:AMan-Pa 1:AMan-Sa

Madhya-mla V
Side Strings Main Strings
3:Man-Sa 2: Man-Pa 1:Mad-Sa 4:Mad-Sa 3:Man-Pa 2:Man-Sa 1:AMan-Pa

Acyutarjndra-mla V
Side Strings Main Strings
4:Man-Sa 3: Man-Pa 2:Mad-Sa 1:Mad-Pa 4:Man-Pa 3:Man-Sa 2:AMan-Pa 1:AMan-Sa

The author then describes the placement of svara-s on each fret.
uddha-mla V Placement of Svara-s on the Frets
Strings 4:Man-Ma 3:Man-Sa 2:AMan-Pa 1:AMan-Sa
Fret -1 Cyuta-Pa-Ma =3 uddha-Ri =3 uddha-Dha = 3 uddha-Ri =3
Fret -2 uddha-Pa =1 uddha-Ga =2 uddha-Ni =2 uddha-Ga =2
Fret -3 uddha-Dha =3 Sdhraa-Ga =1 Kaiiki-Ni =1 Sdhraa-Ga =1
Fret -4 uddha-Ni =2 Cyuta-Ma-Ga =2 Cyuta-Sa-Ni =2 Cyuta-Ma-Ga =2
Fret -5 Kaiiki-Ni =1 uddha-Ma =1 uddha-Sa =1 uddha-Ma =1
Fret -6 Cyuta-Sa-Ni =2 Cyuta-Pa-Ma =3 uddha-Ri =3 Cyuta-Pa-Ma =3


In this arrangement we find that -:
a) there are no frets provided for playing Antaragndhra and Kkalnida. The author points
out that those svara-s should be played on the frets on Cyuta-madhyama-gndhra and
Cyuta-adja-nida respectively.

b) examination of the intervals of svara-s produced on the various frets and the intervals as
enunciated in the svaraprakaraa shows a discrepancy which suggests that the tuning and
fretting of V could not accommodate the adjagrma based svara-s inherited from
Sagtaratnkara. For instance, on String-3, fret-2, the svara Mandra-uddhagndhra should
be theoretically at an interval of five ruti-s from the svara Mandra-uddhaadja on the open
4
string. However on the same fret (2
nd
) but on String-4, the svara Mandra-Pacama is four
ruti-s from Mandra-uddhamadhyama on the open string.

Svayambhsvara
The author also points out that the different uddha and Viktasvaras can be derived as the
Samvd-s of one another, starting with the basic svara-s viz. Sa, pa and ma to which the strings
are tuned and which are termed Svayambhsvara-s. And in turn the other svaras derived through
Samvd relationship are also called Svayambhsvara-s.

IV. Mla-prakaraa
The fourth prakaraa deals with Mla-s. Mla represents a class under which asset of rga-s
are classified and this system is known as Mla-Rga classification. And a mla is assigned the
name of the most prominent rga classified under it. Rmmtya gives a list of Twenty mla-s.
1. Mukhr 2. rrga 3. Mlavagaula 4. Sragana
5. Hindla 6. uddharmakriya 7. Deki 8. Kannadagaua
9. uddhani 10. hari 11. Ndarmakriya 12. uddhavari
13. Rtigaua 14. Vasantabhairavi 15. Kdragaula 16. Hejujji
17. Smavarli 18. Rvagupti 19. Smanta 20. Kmbhji.

Author gives details of uddhasvara-s and Viktasvara-s occuring in each of the Mla. The
first Mla consists of all the uddhasvaras. The author also gives a list of rga-s classified under
each Mla. This information is being presented below.

1. Mukhri
All uddha-svara-s

2. Mlavagaula
uddha-adja uddha-abha Cyutamadhyama-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata Cyutaadja-nida

3. rrga
uddha-adja Pacaruti-abha Sdhraa-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama Pacaruti-dhaivata Kaiiki-nida

4 Sragana
uddha-adja Pacaruti-abha Cyutamadhyama-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama Pacaruti-dha Cyutaadja-nida

5 Hindlam
uddha-adja Pacaruti-abha Sdhraa-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata Kaiiki-nida

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6 uddharmakriya
uddha-adja uddha-abha Cyutamadhyama-gndhra Cyutapacama-
madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhai Cyutaadja-nida

7 Dki
uddha-adja aruti-abha Cyutamadhyama-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama Pacaruti-dhaivata Cyutaadja-nida

8 Kannadagaula
uddha-adja aruti-abha Cyutamadhyama-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama Pacaruti-dhaivata Kaiiki-nida

9 uddha ni
uddha-adja aruti-abha Cyutamadhyama-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama aruti-dhaivata Cyutaadja-nida

10 hari
uddha-adja Pacaruti-abha Sdhraa-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata Cyutaadja-nida


11 Ndarmakriy
uddha-adja uddha-abha Sdhraa-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata Cyutaadja-nida

12 uddhavari
uddha-adja uddha-abha uddha-gndhra Cyutapacama-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata Cyutaadja-nida


13 Rtigaua
uddha-adja uddha-abha uddha-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama Pacaruti-dhaivata Kaiiki-nida

14 Vasantabhairavi
uddha-adja uddha-abha Cyutamadhyama-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata Kaiiki-nida

15 Kdragaula
uddha-adja Pacaruti-abha Cyutamadhyama-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama Pacaruti-dhaivata Cyutaadja-nida

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16 Hejjujji
uddha-adja uddha-abha Antara-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata Kkal-nida

17 Smavari
uddha-adja uddha-abha uddha-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata Kkal-nida

18 Rvagupti

uddha-adja uddha-abha Antara-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama uddha-dhaivata uddha-nida

19 Smanta
uddha-adja aruti-abha Antara-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama aruti-dhaivata Kkal-nida

20 Kmbhji
uddha-adja Pacaruti-abha Antara-gndhra uddha-madhyama
uddha-pacama Pacaruti-dhaivata Kkal-nida

ruti positions of Svara-s in the mla-s
No. Mla sa ri ga ma pa dha ni
1 Mukhri 4 7 9 13 17 20 22
2 Mlavagaula 4 7 12 13 17 20 3
3 rrga 4 9 10 13 17 22 1
4 Sragana 4 9 12 13 17 22 3
5 Hindlam 4 9 10 13 17 20 1
6 uddharmakriya 4 7 12 16 17 20 3
7 Dki 4 10 12 13 17 22 3
8 Kannadagaula 4 10 12 13 17 22 1
9 uddha ni 4 10 12 13 17 1 3
10 hari 4 9 10 13 17 20 3
11 Ndarmakriy 4 7 10 13 17 20 3
12 uddhavari 4 7 9 16 17 20 3
13 Rtigaua 4 7 9 13 17 22 1
14 Vasantabhairavi 4 7 12 13 17 20 1
15 Kdragaula 4 9 12 13 17 22 3
16 Hejjujji 4 7 11 13 17 20 2
17 Smavari 4 7 9 13 17 20 2
18 Rvagupta 4 7 11 13 17 20 22
19 Smanta 4 10 11 13 17 1 2
20 Kmbhji 4 9 11 13 17 22 2

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Rga-s classified under the various mla-s are given below.

No. Mla Rga-s
1 Mukhri Mukhri and some Grmarga-s
2 Mlavagaula Mlavagaula Lalit Baulik Saurra
Gurjari Mcabauli Palamajari Gudakri
Sindhurmakri Chygaula Kuraji Kannadabagla
Magalakauika Malahari
3 rrga rrga Bhairavi Gaul/a Dhanysi
uddhabhairavi Vlvali Mlavar akarbharaa
ndoli Dvagndhri Madhyamvati
4 Sragana Sragana Sveri Sragabhairavi Naanryai
uddha-vasantam Purva-gaula Kuntalavarli Bhinnaadja
Nryai
5 Hindlam Hindl Mrgahindla Bhpla
6 uddharmakriya uddharmakriya Bauli Pdi rdrad
Dpaka
7 Dki Dki and a few other rga-s
8 Kannadagaula Kannadagaula Gharava uddhabagla Chyna
Turukka td i Ngadhvani Dvakriy
9 uddha ni uddhani etc
10 hari hari
11 Ndarmakriy Ndarmakriy
12 uddhavari uddhavarli
13 Rtigaua Rtigaula and other rga-s
14 Vasantabhairavi Vasantabhairavi Sma-rga
15 Kdragaula Kdragaua Nryaagaula
16 Hejjujji Hejjujji and some Grma rga-s.
17 Smavari Smavari Tdi Prvavarli
18 Rvagupti Rvagupti
19 Smanta Smanta
20 Kmbhji Kmbhji

In the above list of 20 Mla-s, the first 15 Mlas do not incorporate the svara-s Kakalnida
and Antaragndhra. These svara-s are present only in the other five Mla-s (16 to 20).
Rmmtya says that ragarding the Mla-s there are two traditions among the V
performers. According to one school Kkalnida is not recognised as being different from
Cyuta-adja-nida while antaragndhra is not different from Cyuta-madhyama-gndhra. This
school does not recognise Mla-s with Kkalnida and antaragndhra as being different from
those having Cyuta-ad ja-nida and Cyuta-madhyama-gndhra resepectively. Consequently,
the last 5 Mla-s are not accepted and are declared to be identical with one or the other of the
earlier 15 Mla-s. However according to the other school of vainika-s all the 20 Mla-s are
recognised.


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V. Rga-prakaraa
The fifth and last chapter of the work is Rgaprakaraa. In this chapter the author gives the
characteristics of various rgas. First of all, rgas are classified into 3 groups.
1. Uttama 2. Madhyama 3. Adhama

1 Uttama rga-s: These rga-s have the melodic potentiality to be used in the singing of lpa,
hya, Prabandha and Gta and they have identity of their own (i.e., no shades of other rga-s
occur in them).

2 Madhyamarga-s: These rga-s do not have that as much melodic potentiality as the Uttama
rga-s do. They are employed for setting music to some sections of a Prabandha.

3 Adhamarga-s: These rga-s do not possess an identity separating them from Uttama and
Madhyama rga-s.

Each of the above class of rga-s is further classified as Sampra (having all the seven svara-
s), dava (having six svara-s) and Auduva (having seven svara-s). A few examples from each
class are given below:

1 Uttama Sampra
i Ni (Janya of uddhani Mla)
ii Varli (Janya of uddhavarli Mla)
2 Uttama dava -
i Bauli (Janya of Mlavagaula Mla)
ii Lalita (Janya of Mlavagaula Mla)
3 Uttama Auduva -
i Hindla (Janya of Hindla Mla)
ii rrga (Janya of rrga Mla)
4 Madhyama Sampra
i Smavarli (Janya of Smavarli)
ii Rtigaula (Janya of Rtigaula)
5 Madhyama dava -
i Kannadabagla (Janya of Mlavagaula)
ii Vasantabhairavi (Janya of Vasantabhairavi)
6 Madhyama Auduva -
i Bhpla (Janya of Hindla)
ii Rvagupti (Janya of Rvagupti)
7 Adhama Sampra -
i Svri (Janya of Sragana)
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Svaramlakalnidhi is an important work as the information contained in it is more relevant
and related to the modern practice than the books written prior to it. There are many books
written around the same period carrying information of similar nature like the works of
Pudarka Vihala and Smanntha. Though some minor ideological differences could be seen,
these works project a common theme, namely, the description of Rga-s, their classification
under Mla-s and the enumeration of the uddha and Vikta svara-s constituting the Mla-s.