Of rāgās and Manthara…

Read the previous part here…

Chatura smirked. “Uncle dearest, it’s fine, the poetry and all. But the fact is that you don’t know to sing. All you do is bray. And so, why take unnecessary risks, when you can be silent and enjoy the delicious cucumbers?”

Now Uddata became furious. “Are you implying that I don’t know to sing? Let me educate you on the art of classical singing….”

सप्त स्वरास् त्रयो ग्रामा मूर्च्छताश् चैकत्रिंशतिः ।
तानास् त्व् एकोनपऊचाशत् तिस्रो मात्रा लयास् त्रयः ॥ ५२ ॥

sapta svarās trayo grāmā mūrcchatāś caikatriṃśatiḥ |
tānās tv ekonapaūcāśat tisro mātrā layās trayaḥ || 52 ||

There are seven Svaras, grouped into three Grāmas. In classical music, there are twenty-one Moorchanas, and forty-nine Tālās. Svaras have three Mātrās and three Layas.

स्थान-त्रयं यतीनां च षड्-अस्यानि रसा नव ।
रागा षट्-त्रिंशतिर् भावाश् चत्वारिंशत् ततः स्मृताः ॥ ५३ ॥

sthāna-trayaṃ yatīnāṃ ca ṣaḍ-asyāni rasā nava |
rāgā ṣaṭ-triṃśatir bhāvāś catvāriṃśat tataḥ smṛtāḥ || 53 ||

The Svaras have three Sthānas. Yati is also of three types, Āsyas are six in number and there are nine Rasas. Rāgas are thirty-six, and Bhāvas are forty in number.

पञ्चाशीत्य्-अधिकं ह्य् एतद् गीताङ्गानां शतं स्मृतम् ।
स्वयम् एव पुरा प्रोक्तं भरतेन श्रुतेः परम् ॥ ५४ ॥

pañcāśīty-adhikaṃ hy etad gītāṅgānāṃ śataṃ smṛtam |
svayam eva purā proktaṃ bharatena śruteḥ param || 54 ||

Bharat Muni, the source of classical music, has himself explained these melodious classifications in the Sangeet Shastras, which are revered as the fifth Veda.

नान्यद् गीतात् प्रियं लोके देवानाम् अपि दृश्यते ।
शुष्क-स्नायु-स्वराह्लादात् त्र्य्-अक्षं जग्राह रावणः ॥ ५५ ॥

nānyad gītāt priyaṃ loke devānām api dṛśyate |
śuṣka-snāyu-svarāhlādāt try-akṣaṃ jagrāha rāvaṇaḥ || 55 ||

There is nothing more pleasing to man, and nothing more pleasing to the devas, than music. It is by playing the Veena that Rāvana had pleased Shiva and obtained his boons.

“So tell me, dear nephew, do I not know anything about music?”

“My dear uncle, if this is the case, and you are so insistent on imposing your talent on the unsuspecting world, please go ahead. Give me a minute to step outside the field and watch out for the guards, so that I can warn you in advance”, said the clever fox.

“Sure!” said Uddhata. And Chatura quickly stepped out of the field, and waited for the inevitable.


Uddhata didn’t get beyond the fifth swara. Hearing the braying of the donkey, the farmers, who owned the field, came out running, clubs in hand, eager to extract their revenge on the cucumber thief. Poor Uddhata fell to the ground under their hard and unrelenting blows. The farmers then tied a huge stone to it’s neck, and the other end to a pole, and then went back to their huts, determined to continue beating the donkey in the morning.

It is said that सारमेयस्य चाश्वस्य रासभस्य विशेषतःमुहूर्तात्परतो न स्यात्प्रहारजनिता व्यथा – A dog, a horse, and especially a donkey, suffer the pain of getting beaten up for just a few minutes. And so Uddhata managed to get up, free himself from the pole, and limp to the fence that took him outside the field, the heavy stone around his neck the whole time.

Chatura, who was watching the whole scene unfold, waited till the donkey was wishing earshot, and then smiled sarcastically and said – साधु मातुल गीतेन मया प्रोक्तो ऽपि न स्थितः अपूर्वो ऽयं मणिर् बद्धः सम्प्राप्तं गीत-लक्षणम् Uncle! You didn’t stop singing even when I told you to. Now you wear a beautiful gem around your neck…what an apt reward for your singing!


“Just like the donkey, you too refused to heed my advice and stay back”, concluded TruptaKumar.

“You are correct”, said VairāgyaKumar. ” I should have listened to you. It is rightly said…”

यस्य नास्ति स्वयं प्रज्ञा मित्रोक्तं न करोति यः ।
स एव निधनं याति यथा मन्थर-कोलिकः ॥ ५८ ॥

yasya nāsti svayaṃ prajñā mitroktaṃ na karoti yaḥ |
sa eva nidhanaṃ yāti yathā manthara-kolikaḥ || 58 ||

He who has no sense of his own, and does not heed the advice of his friends, dies like the weaver Manthara.

TruptaKumar said “How did that happen?”

VairāgyaKumar replied…

to be continued…