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Kohala in the Sanskrit textual tradition (Study)

by Padma Sugavanam | 2011 | 95,782 words

This page relates ‘Comparison of Kohalamatam with other Lakshanagranthas� of the thesis dealing with Kohala’s contribution to the Sanskrit textual tradition of ancient Indian performing arts. The study focuses specifically on music (Gita), dance (Nritya), and drama (Natya). Although Kohala’s original works have not been found, numerous references to him across Lakshana-Granthas (treatises) and works by modern scholars indicate his significance.

Go directly to: Footnotes.

Part 1(a).4 - A Comparison of Kohalamatam with other Lakṣaṇagranthas

The textual content of Kohalamatam at places seems to correspond exactly with that of ṅgīٲūḍāmṅi, ṅgīٲⲹ and ṅgīٲ첹Ի岹. ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi was written by Kavicakravarti ʰ貹 Jagadekamalla, the King of Kalyā� who ruled between 1138 and 1150 C.E. This work is believed to be a very elaborate one that deals with the aspects of īٲ and ṛtⲹ in five chapters of which only a small part is now available in printed form. ṅgīٲⲹ of Pārśvadeva was written in the 13th century C.E. Pārśvadeva has followed the tradition of Jagadekamalla because of which we find that there is a lot of common material in ṅgīٲūḍāmṅi and ṅgīٲⲹ. ṅgīٲ첹Ի岹, which is dated around the 15th-16th century C.E. also shares lot of material with that of Kohalamatam. There is also quite a bit of common material that Kohalamatam shares individually, with ṅgīٲūḍāmṅi, ṅgīٲⲹ and ṅgīٲ첹Ի岹. In many places, M. Ramakrishna Kavi has made notes in the margins of several folios in the manuscript of Kohalamatam indicating where the text matter matches with other works.

Comparison 1 Kohalamatam and ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi 

The work ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi is available to us from three different sources. i. Manuscripts of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi ii. Quotations found in 󲹰ٲś of Ramakrishna Kavi iii. Printed Edition of Saṅīٲcūḍamaṇi, Edited by D. K. Velankar The manuscripts of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi which have been procured from the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore have been used in this study. Of all the manuscripts available from this source, it is only manuscript P-5081 which actually contains authentic material of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi[1].

The following table shows the instances where the material of Kohalamatam matches with each of the three sources of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi.

Subject Kohalamatam ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi
Printed Edition Manuscript 󲹰ٲś
Svara -Ṛṣ Fol.2 Line 19 -   p.88
Fol.3 Line 6 -   p.88
Fol.4. Line 11 -   p.88
پٳԲ śǰ첹 - Ṣāḍjī Fol. 8 Line 1-4 -   p.690
پ–ٳԲ� śǰ첹� Āṣaī Fol.8 Line 5-8 -   p.57
پ–ٳԲ� śǰ첹� Իī Fol.8 Line 9-12 -   p.174
پ–ٳԲ� śǰ첹� Ѳⲹ Fol.8 Line 13-16 -   p.467
پ–ٳԲ� śǰ첹- Pan camī Fol.8 Line 17-20 -   p.346
پ–ٳԲ� śǰ첹� Dhaivatī Fol.9 Line 1-4 -   p.299
پ–ٳԲ� śǰ첹� ṣādī Fol.9 Line 5-8 -   p.337
Svaramantra -Ṣaḍj Fol.9 Line 9-13 -   p.688
Svaramantra - Ṛṣ Fol.9 Line 13-17 -   p.89
Գٰ� Ի Fol.9 Line 17 - Fol.10 Line 2 -   p.173
Գٰ� Madhyama Fol.10 Line 2-6 -   p.465
Գٰ� ʲñ Fol.10 Line 6-11 -   p.346
Գٰ� Dhaivata Fol.10 Line 11- 15 -   p.298
Գٰ�ṣād Fol.10 Line 15- 19 -   p.337
-Time theory� Morning Fol. 13 Line 19 - Fol.14 Line 2 -   p.405
岵-Time theory� Prahara Fol.14 Line 19 - Fol.15 Line 5 -   p.404
岵-Time theory� Evening Fol.14 Line 19 - Fol.15 Line 5 -   p.404
Prabandha p.21 Lines 1-3, 6-8, 13-20, p.22 line 1-8   Fol.42  Line 5, Line 8-12  
/ Laya Fol.23 Line 10- 11 p.7 sl.58   -
101 s list Fol.24 Line 4 - p.8 sl.65-p.9   -
  Fol.25 Line 14 sl.79b    
ʰ Fol.26 Line 3 - Fol.26 Line 9 p.8 sl. 60-63b   -
101 s�ṣaṇa Fol.26 Line 10 - Fol.43 Line 1 p.9 sl.79c -p.19 sl.132 Fol.52-52A Line 3 -
101 s-svara ṃk Fol.44 Line 18 - Fol.50 Line 18     -
Fol.54 Line 9-13 p. 69 sl.1 -p.70 sl.3b   -


The three sources of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi, though apparently represent a single work, individually depict the work very differently. It is interesting that Kohalamatam has common material with all the sources of ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi, but there is not a single common entry of Kohalamatam which can be found in all the three of them. 

The use of ṭākṣa while giving the ṣaṇa of is a noteworthy aspect seen in the manuscript of Kohalamatam. This technique is seen in works such as ṅgīٴDZ貹Ծṣaǻ of ܻ첹ś, Saṅīٲpārijāta of Ahobala, etc. But this is not found in the work ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi

In the section on , the classification into tata, vitata, ghana and ṣi, match. Interestingly, there is a reference to Jagadekamalla in Kohalamatam in the list of avanaddha ⲹs.

पटहश्च हुडुक्का � कुडुक्का घटसं तथ� �
ढक्क� � मण्डिढक्का � मृदङ्ग� ढकुली तथ� �
करटा त्रिवली कुञ्जा सेल्लुका कस्सवा तथ� �
तथैव हमणा ज्ञेया ढक्क� डमरुकवापिनी �
दाणस्तम्बकी चै� भेरी प्रभृतयस्त्विमाः �
अवनद्धभिदा प्रोक्ता प्रतापपृथिवीभुजा �

貹ṭaś ca ghaṭasa� tathā |
ḍh ca maṇḍiḍh ca mṛdaṅgo ḍhakulī tathā ||
첹ṭ� ٰī ñ ܰ kassavā tathā |
tathaiva hamaṇ� jñeyā ḍh ḍamarukavāpinī ||
dāṇastambakī caiva ī prabhṛtayastvimā� |
avanaddhabhidā proktā pratāpapṛthivībhujā ||
[2]

The appearance of the name of ʰ貹 Jagadekamalla in such a manner indicates the following possibilities. Either the author of this work is referring to the views of Jagadeka and mentioning his name so that the readers can appreciate that these were indeed his views. Or, this could probably be a reading in Jagadeka’s own treatise, which has found its way into the text of Kohalamatam, but is not to be seen in any of the sources of ṅgīٲūḍāmṅi.

2 Kohalamatam and ṅgīٲⲹ

The common entries found in Kohalamatam and ṅgīٲⲹ are presented in the following table:

Subject Kohalamatam ṅgīٲⲹ
Anatomical origin of svaras p.3 line18-20 p. 16 sl.41-42b
Reason for naming    
svaras p.4 line4-7 p.16 sl.44-p.17 sl.45
p.11 line7-8 p.24 sl.58
Prabandha p.21 line 6-8, 14-15, p.21 line17-p.22 line2, p.22 line3-8 p.24 sl.9c-10, sl.11c-12b, sl.13-15b,p.25 17c-19
/ laya p.23 line 10-11 p.76 s.15b-16a
101 s list p.24 line4 -p.25 line 14 p.76 s.24b-p.77 s.39
+ Anga p.25 line14-p.25 last line/ p.26 line2 p.75 s.2 - 5
ʰ p.26 line3 -p.26 line9 p.78 s.40 - 43a
101 s–ṣaṇa p.26 line10 -p.43 line1 p.78 sl.40–p.79 sl.59 (only 29 s out of available 31 match)
ղṇi첹 ṣaṇam p.61 line 9,10,12 p.44 sl.56cd, 57ab, 58ab
ṭy p.62 line17-p.69 line7 p.57 sl.18-p.62 sl.78
ṭy p.74 line5-6 p.74 sl.234
Nartaka ṣaṇam p.74 line 7-p.75 line 4 p.91 sl.154-162
貹پ, etc ṣaṇam p.78 line 1-p.79 line 9 p.80 sl.3-p.81 sl.17b


Most of the common material is on the subject of and ṭy. Like the case of ṅgīٲūḍāmṅi, even ṅgīٲⲹ does not include ṭākṣa while giving the ṣaṇa of each . In addition, we also find that the symbols for the ṅg have been omitted. Another point is that though we do find quite a good amount of common material in these two works, the order in which they appear is random.

3 Kohalamatam and ṅgīٲ첹Ի岹 

The common entries found in Kohalamatam and ṅgīٲ첹Ի岹 are presented in the table below:

Subject Kohalamatam ṅgīٲ첹Ի岹
Kohala Ѳٲṅg ṃv岹 (Brahma ) p.13 line 5-8 p.14 sl. 4c - 6b
Morning p.14 line19 -p.15 line6 p.15 sl.20-23
Pūrṇa 岵 according to Kohalamatam p.15 line 18-p.16 line8 p.16 sl.27-32
Benefits of singing ḍa and ṣāḍava 岵. Varieties of kampa p.16 line18-p.17 line7 p.20 sl.80 -p.21 sl.85b
Rasa for rāga p. 20 line 6-10 p.19 sl.63-65
p.20 line 12-16 p.21 sl.86-88b
101 s list p.24 line4 -p.25 line 14 p.34 sl.3 -p.35 sl.16
p.25 line 14 -17 p.43 sl 52,53
101 s–ṣaṇa p.26 line10 -p.43 line1 p.35 sl.17 -p.39 sl.74b


The most striking common feature is the Kohala-Ѳٲṅg ṃv岹. This is interesting because, the conversation as it appears in Kohalamatam and Kohalarahasyam, is seen verbatim in ṅgīٲ첹Ի岹 also. The only difference is that the names of the two persons have been changed. In Kohalamatam and Kohalarahasyam what is depicted as a dialogue between Kohala and Ѳٲṅg, is represented as one between and 岹 in ṅgīٲ첹Ի岹.

4 Kohalamatam and ṛhśī and ԲDZ 

There are a few verses of Kohalamatam which match with parts of ṛhśī and ԲDZ. M. Ramakrishna Kavi has made notes in the margin of the Kohalamatam manuscript indicating some of these portions.

Subject Kohalamatam Other granthas
岵 and Rasa & Places of origin of svaras in the body p.5 line 2 - 10 ṛhśī–Ch. sl.79 -82
p.11 line 1�17 ṛhśī Ch.3-sl.267
p. 55 line 17-18 ԲDZ sl.586c- 587b


5 Kohalamatam and Saṅīٲnārāyaṇa

There is a portion of common material found in Kohalamatam and Saṅīٲnārāyaṇa of ʳܰṣoٳٲ Miśrā. This relates to the classification of under the heads ūṃśa and Իṃśa based on the time in which they are to be sung. Saṅīٲnārāyaṇa frequently refers to a work of Kohala titled dz󲹱īⲹ and the above mentioned material is also ascribed to the same work. The details on this topic have been dealt with in chapter 2 (ref. para 2.1.9.6.1). This really appears to be the only case where a match is found between the unpublished sources and the references to Kohala in published works.

6 Kohalamatam and Svaratālādiṣaṇam

Svaratālādiṣaṇam is an unpublished work of an unknown author, which deals with īٲ and ṭy in detail. The manuscripts of Svaratālādiṣaṇam are available at Kariavattom (ORI Tvm). This work has been analyzed in depth by Girija Easwaran for her M. Phil research project[3], according to whom the text of Svaratālādiṣaṇam and Kohalamatam were more or less a perfect match. She is also of the opinion that Kohalamatam is not a separate work, but just an incomplete form of Svaratālādiṣaṇam. But the existence of a work titled Kohalamatam can be confirmed from a reference of the same in an unpublished work called ṭysarvasvadīpikā of ⲹṇa ŚDz. Girija Easwaran’s project also gives information about two other works viz. ṅgīٲ󾱰첹� and ṣaṇam, both of which have a lot of common material with Svaratālādiṣaṇam

Excepting a few instances such as the Kohala-Ѳٲṅg-ṃv岹, almost the entire textual material of Kohalamatam is found verbatim in Svaratālādiṣaṇam. Only, the order of appearance of the text is very haphazard. Both of these works also have the same Malayālam commentary. It is noteworthy that Svaratālādiṣaṇam in itself, is incomplete, and appears to be a part of a larger work. And Kohalamatam seems to be but a part of this, and Kohalarahasyam is a small part of Kohalamatam. The portions in Svaratālādiṣaṇam, which do not find place in Kohalamatam are as follows. 

These readings are based on Girija Easwaran’s edition of this work.

S.No Relevant portions in Svaratālādiṣaṇam (Line No.) Subject
i. 1-30 , Classification of nāda
ii. 31- 61 Śܳپ, Svara, Aṣṭa vargas?
iii. 62�77 Anatomical origin of svaras
iv. 133-146 Attributes to svaras like colours, celestial beings etc
v. 187-191 66 śܳپ
vi. 226 33 ṅk
vii. 227-239 Ұ峾, ū󲹲Բ
viii. 240-253 Importance of Gīta
ix. 295-557 岵 ṣaṇam
x. 558 Kriyāvara ṣaṇam
xi. 559-560 Sughaṭa ṣaṇam
xii. 561-562 Susan ca ṣaṇam
xiii. 563-564 Śīkarṣa ṣaṇam
xiv. 565-566 Rasikaⲹ첹 ṣaṇam
xv. 567-568 Bhāvaka ṣaṇam
xvi. 569-570 Svabhāvakṛti ṣaṇam
xvii. 571-572 Devakṛti ṣaṇam
xviii. 573-575 Trinetrakṛti ṣaṇam
xix. 576-577 101 Deśi 岵
xx. 578-597 List of 7 gamakas and their ṣaṇam
xxi. 600-614 Laya, Graha, Yati
xxii. 619-622 Pan cajāti ṣaṇam
xxiii. 623�636 Atijaghanya, Madhyama, Uttama, Uttamottama ṣaṇam
xxiv. 637-653 ūḍa and Ela ṣaṇam
xxv. 654-667 Saptagītikā ṣaṇam
xxvi. 668-675 Śܳپ Aṅgas
xxvii. 676-688 10 Gīta ṇa
xxviii. 745-752
xxix. 826-872 Qualifications of an instrumentalist
xxx. 873-888 Continuation of 岵 ṣaṇam
xxxi. 889 Ran jaka ṣaṇam
xxxii. 890-891 Pararīti ṣaṇam
xxxiii. 892-893 Sugandha ṣaṇam
xxxiv. 894-895 Niyama ṣaṇam
xxxv. 896-897 Āḷaptiⲹ첹 ṣaṇam
xxxvi. 898-899 Rūpakaⲹ첹 ṣaṇam
xxxvii. 900-901 Copaṭa ṣaṇam
xxxviii. 902-903 Vi ṣaṇam
xxxix. 904-905 Vibandha ṣaṇam
xl. 906-907 Ѿś ṣaṇam
xli. 889-907 10 grāhyaⲹ첹 ṣaṇam
xlii. 908-933 Nindya ⲹ첹 ṣaṇam
xliii. 934-942 岵ⲹ ṣaṇam
xliv. 943-950 Kavitākāra ṣaṇam
xlv. 951-954 ٴṣa?
xlvi. 955-960 ղṇi첹 ṣaṇam
xlvii. 973-977 16 Dhruvas
xlviii. 978-979
xlix. 980 Ā徱
l. 981-982 (?)
li. 983-984 Ṭhāya Lakṣaṇam
lii. 1000-1017 Dance
liii. 1111-1123 岵ⲹ Lakṣaṇam
liv. 1124- 1156 101 s
lv. 1212-1265 s explanation
lvi. 1273-1277 Vyoma, Bindu, Druta
lvii. 1289-1319 śṃs, ṇḍ recita, Marma –Lakṣaṇam
lviii. 1320-1321 List of 岵, Miscellaneous subjects–Graha, , yati, Ārohī, Avarohī etc.
lix. 1324-1325 ʲñṅg ṣaṇam
lx. 1381-1395 īṇ� Mahattvam


It is clear from the above table that many important chapters such as , prabandha, rāga ṣaṇa, gamakas and many such like, which are available in Svaratālādiṣaṇam, are missing in Kohalamatam

One noteworthy point here is the mention of the sixty six śܳپ

The very same verse which is found in ṛhśī (and later in ṅgīٲⲹ also) as a quotation of Kohala, is found in Svaratālādiṣaṇam also.

द्वाविंशति� केचिदुदाहरन्ति श्रुति� श्रुतिज्ञानविचारदक्षाः �(१८�)
षट्षष्टिभिन्ना� खल� केचिदासामानन्त्यमे� प्रतिपादयन्त� � (१८�)

屹屹ṃśaپ� 𳦾ܻ󲹰Գپ śܳپ� śrutijñānavicāradakṣāḥ |(187)
ṣaṭṣṣṭ󾱲Բ� khalu kecidāsāmānantyameva pratipādayanti || (188)

—A study of three unpublished texts—Svaratālādi-ṣaṇa [Svaratālādiṣaṇam], Saṅīٲvidhikal and -ṣaṇa [ṣaṇam]: 2001: Lines 187-188

This does not find a place in the manuscript of Kohalamatam (T-822).

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

The manuscripts P-105/1 and P-1298/1 are given under the title ṅgīٲūḍāmṇi in the descriptive catalogue. In actuality, these manuscripts contain material of works like 󲹰ṇa, Saṅīٲsudhākara, Abhinayadarpaṇam, Bṛhaspatidarpaṇam etc.

[2]:

Kohalamatam: ORI Tvm: Acc No. T822: Fol.55

[3]:

A study of three unpublished texts—Svaratālādiṣaṇam, Saṅīٲvidhikal and ṣaṇam: 2001

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