An Introduction To Indian Classical Music - The Origin
Rig Veda |
 The Introduction
 The Origin - Pg 2
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The originThe origin
The origin of Indian music can be discussed from two perspectives, the religious one which believes in divine origin and the secular perspective which tries to trace the origin with reference to the development of civilization in India.
Music is an integral part of Hindu Mythology. According to Hindu Mythology, music originated with the first sound in the universe, OM, also called Naada Brahma (the first note). OM is believed to be the purest sound ever made, and just chanting of OM can heal the body. OM is positioned in Indian philosophical and religious thought as being one with the rhythms of the universe. The correct rendition of it requires a particular breath-process, and as such is believed to clear the system and the karmic cycle. There are several music CDs made around this theme of chanting OM. Preface to one such CD says - OM is a musical bliss through the regular use of which, a restive heart and stressful mind can achieve eternal peace and harmony, delirious joy and happiness of being at one with the Creator.
Music in the celestial world was practised by Gandharvas, demigods. Indra and other gods requested the Creator, Brahma, to give the people something which not only creates a diversion from their bad ways, but helps in their upliftment. Brahma agreed and gave music to people through a human with extraordinary abilities, Narada Muni (sage). Even now, Narada is represented with images of him carrying a Tanpura.
Brahma is also said to be the author of the four Vedas, of which the SamaVeda was chanted in definite musical patterns. Other vedic hymns were sung in plain melody, using only 3 notes.
Many mythological figures have music association. Sarasvathi, the goddess of learning and knowledge, is represented as playing the ancient instrument, Veena. Infact, the most common form of veena is called Sarasvathi Veena. Ravana, the villain of the epic Ramayana, was proficient in Veena.
Considering these beliefs it is not surprising that even to this day, music and musical instruments are considered sacred. All classical composers are considered saints and are worshipped (especially the Carnatic composers like Sri Purandara and Shri Thyagaraja) as such.
Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was first excavated in 1920s, in cities of Harappa and Mohanjo Daro. Later several cities, not only along Indus (Sindhu) river, but also on now dried up rivers Gaggar-Hakra (Saraswati) have been discovered ( IVC Map). The discoveries pertain to a very long period of time - 7000 to 1300 BC ( Timeline). The height of civilization in terms of writing, long distance commerce, large city settlements and common measuring weights were seen during 2600-1900 BC, a period commonly referred to as Indus Valley Civilization. Cities are found all over what is now western India and Eastern Pakistan, 650,000 Sq. Km., making it the largest of the four ancient civilizations (Egypt, Mesapotamia, China and India) (Old World Map). After that period, IVC went into decline, the settlements became smaller, there was no long distance commerce and no evidence of writing or measuring weights.
Though there have been claims of IVC being the same as RigVedic culture, there is very little known about the people of IVC or there culture, except from the figurines they have left behind. The dancing figurines give ample proof that dancing and thus, music was prevalent during IVC. But linkage from the that culture to the later cultures of Gangetic plains or the Deccan have not been established. Afterall, during the later IVC stage (1900-1300 BC) a lot of civilizational aspects of IVC, like writing, were lost. Thus, we will have to consider RigVedic period as the starting point for Indian music rather than the more ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
The decline of the major urban centers and the fragmentation of the Indus culture can be attributed in part to changing river systems that disrupted the agricultural and economic system. Around 1700 B.C. the tributaries of the Hakra-Nara River became diverted to the Indus system in the west and the Jamuna River to the east As the river dried up people migrated to the central Indus valley, the Ganga-Yamuna Valley or the fertile plains of Gujarat in western India. The Indus river itself began to change its course, resulting in destructive floods. Certain distinguishing hallmarks of the Indus civilization disappeared.
The most ancient Hindu scriptures are the Vedas. There are four of them - RigVeda, SamaVeda, YajurVeda and AtharvaVeda. The singing or chanting of the hymns was called Sama Gana. The secular music for pleasure was called Gandharva gana. It is said the Gandharva gana grew out of Sama-Gaana. Though it is quite possible that they developed in parallel.
There is no consensus on the age of Vedas. Also it is politically a very explosive question. History, we should note, has always been used to represent the political views of the historian.
The old Iranian language of Avesta, is very close to Vedic language. Avesta, the old scripture of Zoroastrism (modern day Parsis) is very much like the RigVeda. The Avesthan people and Vedic people called themselves, Aryans (Iranian - airya). Infact, Persian kings, proud of their Aryan origin, named their country Iran, in the aftermath of the Aryan race theory.
The first systematic theory of the relationships between human languages began when Sir William Jones, the Chief Magistrate of Calcutta and the founder of the Asiatic Society, proposed in 1786 that Greek and Latin, the classical languages of Europe, and Sanskrit, the classical language of India, had all descended from a common source (The Third Anniversary Discourse On The Hindus,1786 ). The evidence for this came from both the structure of the languages - Sanskrit grammar has similarities to Greek - and the vocabulary of the languages. Thus, father in English compares to Vater in German, pater in Latin, patêr in Greek, pitr. in Sanskrit, pedar in Persian, etc. On the other hand, father in Arabic is ab, which hardly seems like any of the others. This became the theory of Indo-European languages, and today the hypothetical language that would be the common source for all Indo-European languages (Language Family Tree - Indo-European) is now called Proto-Indo-European.
First it was thought that India was the possible origin of all civilization (Enlightenment scholars like Voltaire). The famous German philosopher Kant placed the origin of mankind in Tibet. Eighteenth century German scholar, Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829), supposed that a new people had formed itself in northern India, swarmed towards the West, populating Europe. Later it was postulated that the original home of Indo-Europeans was Central Asia, (because of common word roots for winter and snow, but not for rice or ocean, also presence of horse - so the original home must hav been a cold place away from the oceans) and various groups of people migrated south to occupy India and Iran, West to occupy Europe. French writer Arthur de Gobineau (1816-1882) proposed that Eurpean aristocracy was Aryan, peasants were not Aryan and Anti-Semitic ideas against the Jews was born.
German scholar Max Muller (1823-1900), who picked up this prevelent theory, explained that Indo Aryans came to India from north west and conquered the Dravidian people who lived there, pushing them to the south, sometime around 1500 to 1000 B.C. He thought the high castes were Aryan people, while the lower castes non-Aryan (just like it was argued in Erupoe). After the excavations and discovery of Indus valley civilization (Harappa, Mohanjodaro - 1920 AD), Sir Mortimer Wheeler a British archeologist, in 1946 theorized that Aryans invaded the cities of Indus Valley bringing that non-aryan civilization to an end. Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) became the accepted theory.
Divine origin
Indus Valley Civilization (2600-1900 BC)
Non-Divine Origin
Age Of The Veda - Aryan Migration Theory
The Introduction
The Origin - Pg 2
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