1

Evolution of the Tla-Daa-Prna concept as

seen in Musicological Works of the
Vijayanagara Empire
Arati Rao, Ph.D. in Music, University College of Fine Arts for Women, University of Mysore
Paper Published in Nind, Journal of the ITC-SRA (Vol 26-27, December 2013).

Abstract The Tla-Daa-Pra (ten Pra-s or ten

vital aspects of Tla) concept is one of the
fundamental concepts related to Tla in Kartaka
music. Musicological works written prior to the
period of the Vijayanagara Empire (1336 A.D. to
1565 A.D.) -Mnasllsa, Sagtacmai,
Sagtasamayasra and Sagtaratnkara describe
the concepts - Kla, Mrga, Kal, Kriy, Laya,
Graha, Yati and Prastra.
However, for the first time in Indian musicological
history, it is in the work Tladpik (written by
Sluva Gpa Tippndra of the Vijayanagara Empire
around 1474 A.D.) that these concepts have been
grouped together along with two more- Aga and
Jti and called the Tla-Daa-Pra-s. TlaDaa-Pra-s have subsequently described in the
later Vijayanagara works Tlakalbdhi and
Sagtasrydaya.
This paper analyzes the birth and evolution of the
Tla-Daa-Pra concept as documented in these
three treatises associated with the Vijayanagara
Court. Of these musicological works, Tladpik
and Tlakalbdhi exist only in manuscript form. In
order to examine the contemporary musicological
climate, references to the descriptions of the TlaDaa-Pra-s from other musicological works
pertaining to the same period have also been taken
up wherever relevant.
I. INTRODUCTION
Several scholars have dealt with the Tla-DaaPra concept. Sri B.M. Sundaram, in his work

"Tla Sagraha" [1], a compendium of tla-s in

Karnataka Music, has explained the Tla-DaaPra-s in the preface. Bharatya Sagt M Tla
Our Rpa Vidhn of Dr. Subhadra Chaudhary,
published in Hindi and its translation by Smt. Hema
Ramanathan, "Time Measure and Compositional
types in Indian Music [2], present an analytical and
critical study of the concepts related to Tla and the
Tla-Daa-Pra-s. Smt. Girija Eswaran has
created a database of information on Tla-DaaPra-s from musicological works [16] 1. Dr. N.
Ramanathan in his paper on Tla-Daa-Pra-s has
provided a brief historical background for the DaaPra concept but has focused on the present-day
musicological problems with respect to the DaaPra-s [20]. Sri Akella Mallikarjuna Sarmas two
works, "Indian genius in Tlaprastra" [3] and
"Tlaprastra of Nihaka rgadvas
Sagtaratnkara - A critical Interpretation" [4]
explain in detail every aspect of Tlaprastra (one
of the Pra-s) and its use in modern context. Dr. R.
Sathyanryaa mentions that the Tla-Daa-Pras are dealt with in the musicological works
Tladpik, Tlakalbdhi and Sagtasrydaya in
his paper [18].
However, none of the writings and research
mentioned above has dealt with the three
Vijayanagara treatises Tladpik, Tlakalbdhi and
Sagtasrydaya in depth from the perspective of
origin and development of the Tla-Daa-Pra
concept. The objective of this paper is to present a
Smt. Girija Eswarans project is entitled Tlalakaa from
various texts on music with translation of which a part is the
Tla-Daa-Pra database. Refer to bibliography [17] for
details of the report on Smt. Girijas project.
1

detailed analysis of the evolution of the Tla-DaaPra concept and the development of the TlaDaa-Pra-s as seen in these musicological works
pertaining to the Vijayanagara Court between 1336
A.D. to 1565 A.D.
II. SOURCE TREATISES
A. Treatises Considered for this Paper
1) Pre-Vijayanagara Treatises
In order to view the developments in Tla-DaaPra-s in the Vijayanagara treatises, it is necessary
to have an overview of the information related to
the Pra-s in some of the treatises written prior to
the period of the Vijayanagara Empire. However, it
must be noted that the term Tla-Daa-Pra
appears in treatises only in the Vijayanagara period,
mentioned for the first time in Tladpik of Sluva
Gpa Tippndra. The terms Aga and Jti (which
are two of the Daa-Pra-s) have not been used in
the Pre-Vijayanagara musicological works.
The Sagtaratnkara (written by Srgadva in the
13th Century A.D.) [5] is a compendium of all the
major concepts presented in the musicological
treatises before it. It appears to have greatly
influenced the authors of musicological works of
the Vijayanagara Empire. For these reasons, this
treatise has been used as the major source of
reference in this paper for concepts relating to the
ten Tla-Pra-s in the pre-Vijayanagara period.
Other treatises of the pre-Vijayanagara times which
too seem to have had some impact on the
Vijayanagara musicological works are Mnasllsa
(composed in the year 1131 A.D. by Smwara)
[6], Sagtacmai (composed between 11381150 A.D. by Jagadkamalla) [7] and
Sagtasamayasra (composed between 1165 and
1330 A.D. by Prvadva) [8]. They have also been
referred to in this paper wherever relevant.
In some cases, it is seen that the descriptions given
in these treatises are different from those in the
Sagtaratnkara.
2) Treatises from the Vijayanagara period
Among the musicological works pertaining to the
Vijayanagara Court, there are three which describe
the concept of the Tla-Daa-Pra-s : Tladpik

by Sluva Gpa Tippndra2, written around 1474

A.D. [13], Sagtasrydaya by Bhar
Lakmnryaa which was composed between
1509-1529 A.D. [9] and Tlakalbdhi by
Acyutarya3 [14], written around 1543 A.D. These
three works have been taken up for detailed analysis
in this paper.
In addition to these, the work Sagtamuktval by
Dvancrya (written in the 15th Century A.D.)
[15], also pertaining to the Vijayanagara court,
mentions important information about Mrga and
Kriy (two of the Pra-s) which has been referred
to in this paper. Kallintha who was under the
patronage of the Vijayanagara King
Praudhadvarya II has authored a commentary on
the Sagtaratnkara in 1430 A.D. This
commentary, called Kalnidhi [10] documents an
interesting development pertaining to the Aga
Pra4. This commentary too has been taken into
consideration. Other than this, two treatises not
directly pertaining to the Vijayanagara Court, but
composed during the Vijayanagara period by
authors from the Southern region who migrated to
other parts of the country5 have been taken up.
These are Nartananiraya (written by Paarka
Vihala between 1562 A.D. and 1576 A.D.) [11]
and Rasakaumudi (written by rkaha around
1575 A.D. ) [12]. The former contains important
information about the Pra-s Aga and Jti. The
latter describes the Tla-Daa-Pra-s. The
references from Nartananiraya and Rasakaumudi
have been considered where relevant.
This work is yet unpublished
For many decades, there were no known manuscripts of
this work. Dr. V. Premalatha published a paper in the Journal
of Music Academy, Madras in 2009 giving details of
manuscripts of this work, which were entitled Tlalakaam.
Various scholars have also called this work Tlakalvrdhi,
Tlamahdadhi and Tlbdhi. Refer to Bibliography [19]
for details. This work is yet unpublished.
4
For Kallinthas commentary Kalnidhi, apart from the
Adyar edition of the Sagtaratnkara [10] (which also gives
Kallinthas commentary), Dr. Subhadra Chaudharys
translation of the Sagtaratnkara [5] with commentary has
been referred to. Dr. Chaudhary has mentioned the gist of
Kalnidhi.
5
Paarka Vihala who was originally from Karaka
migrated to North India. rkaha was originally a Southerner
who migrated to Gujarat. For more details, refer to
Introductions by the editors for Nartananiraya [11] and
Rasakaumudi [12]
2

B. Acronyms used for Treatises

SR Sagtaratnkara of Srgadva
SSS Sagtasamayasra of Prvadva
SC
Sagtacmai of Jagadkamalla
M
Mnasllsa of Smwara
TD Tladpik of Sluva Gpa Tippndra
TK Tlakalbdhi of Acyutarya
SSU Sagtasrydaya of Bhar
Lakmnryaa
SM Sagtamuktval of Dvancrya
RK Rasakaumud of rkaha
NN Nartananiraya of Paarka Vihala
Please see Bibliography for details of the sources
pertaining to the above musicological works.
III. OVERVIEW OF THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE
PRA-S IN PRE-VIJAYANAGARA
MUSICOLOGICAL WORKS
A. Kla
In the Sagtaratnkara, Tla is described as the
measure of time (Kla) that is bound by the Kriy-s
(actions of the hand) and which is associated with
music, drumming and dancing. (SR, 5, 3) There are
two approaches to standardizing Kla which are
seen in pre-Vijayanagara treatises:
1) As seen in Mnasllsa (M, 4, 846 cd-848)
Sagitacmai (SC 16, 49 cd-50) and
Sagtaratnkara (SR, 5, 16)
A basic unit called Mtra is defined as the time
taken to utter five Laghu Akara-s or syllables.
Laghu, Guru, Pluta are defined as follows:
Laghu = 1 Mtra
Guru = 2 Mtra-s
Pluta = 3 Mtra-s
2) As seen in Sagtasamayasra (SSS, 7, 2cd-4)
The time units Kaa, Lava, Kha etc. are defined
as below:
Time taken to pierce 100 lotus petals = 1 Kaa
8 Kaa-s = 1 Lava

8 Lava-s = 1 Kha
8 Kha = 1 Nimia
8 Nimia = 1 Kala
2 Kala = 1 Caturbhga or Trui
2 Caturbhga-s = 1 Ardhadruta. 6
B. Mrga
Mrga literally means path. A Mrga characterizes
different ways of rendering a Tla on the basis of
elongating durations of the time units.7 There are
two systems of Mrga which are seen in preVijayanagara treatises:
1) As per the Sagtaratnkara: The system of
Mrga-s - Dakia, Vrtika, Citra, and Dhruva,
defined on the basis of the unit Kal (Guru) (SR,
5, 10cd).
Dakia: Kal = 8 Mtra-s
Vrtika: Kal = 4 Mtra-s
Citra:
Kal = 2 Mtra-s
Dhruva: Kal = 1 Mtra
2) As per the Sagtacmai: The system of
Mrga-s - Dakia, Vrtika, Citra, Citratara,
Citratama and Aticitratama is seen (SC, 16, 5154 ab), 8. In addition to Dakia, Vrtika and
Citra as defined earlier, we have another three
Mrga-s :
Citratara: Kal = 1 Mtra
Citratama: Kal = Mtra
Aticitratama: Kal = Druta9
The Sagtasamayasra describes both the systems
of Mrga-s and calls Citratara, Citratama and
Aticitrama as D Mrga-s (SSS, 7, 13cd-20ab).

The SR does not mention the Anudruta or Ardhadruta.

However, Simhabhpla who has written a commentary on the
SR in the 14th century mentions the Ardhadruta. Refer [10] ,
page 9, Simhabhplas commentary on SR, 5, 16.
7
This description is as per Dr. N. Ramanathans paper on
Tla-Daa-Pra-s [20]
8
The Mnasllsa too mentions these Mrga-s except
Aticitratama.
9
This seems to be a scribal error, because of a Mtra is
equivalent to Druta, which is the Kal for Citratama. For
Aticitratama, following the same pattern, it should be half a
Druta or a Mtra.

C. Kriy
Kriy stands for action of the hand that is used to
reckon Tla. The Sagtaratnkara gives the
description of the Saabda Kriy-s (actions with
sound) - Dhruva, amy, Tla, Sannipta and
Niabda Kriy-s (actions without sound) - vpa,
Nikrma, Vikpa and Prava (SR 5, 4-6). These
have been defined for the Mrga Tla-s. This
treatise also defines additional hand actions called
Mtr-s (also known as Mrga Kal-s). 10 The
Mrga Kal-s are Dhruvak, Sarpi, K,
Padmin, Visarjit, Vikipt, Patka, Patit. (SR, 5,
11-16ab) These were to be used in conjunction with
the Saabda Kriya-s. Of these, only Dhruvak is
Saabda and the rest are Niabda.
The Mtr-s for the different Mrga-s are defined as
follows:
Dhruva - Dhruvak11
Citra
Dhruvak, Patit
Vrtika Dhruvak, Sarpi, Patka, Patit
Dakia - Dhruvak, Sarpi, K, Padmin,
Visarjit, Vikipt, Patka, Patit
The Sagtasamayasra too follows the above
definitions for Kriy and Mtra (SSS 7, 5 - 13ab).
D. Aga
In the Vijayanagara treatises, Anudruta, Druta,
Laghu, Guru, Pluta have been classified as the
various Aga-s or limbs of a Tla. However, the
term Aga has not been used in the
Sagtaratnkara and other pre-Vijayanagara
treatises. Sagtaratnkara and Mnasllsa do
define Druta, Laghu, Guru, Pluta in terms of Mtr
(SR, 5, 16-17ab, 257-259), (M, 4, 846cd-848). The
Sagtasamayasra defines Ardhadruta, Druta,
Laghu, Guru and Pluta as per the Kaa, Lava,
Ka system (SSS 7, 2-5). Virma has been
mentioned not as a separate entity but as an addition
to Laghu, Guru, Pluta and Druta which increases
the duration by half in the Sagtaratnkara. (SR, 5,
261).

E. Graha
Graha means to catch/grasp; it refers to the
commencement of Tla with respect to
Gta/Vdya/Ntya. The Sagtaratnkara and
Sagtacmai define Tla being simultaneous
with Gita etc. as Sama Graha, Tla commencing
after Gta etc. as Angata Graha and before Gta
etc.as Atta Graha (SR, 5, 51-52) (SC, 16, 54-47).
F. Jti
The Vijayanagara treatises define Jti as class of
Tla-s and mention Caturara, Tryara, Khada,
Mira and Sakra as the five Jti-s. However,
the term Jti has not been defined for Tla in the
Sagtaratnkara and other pre-Vijayanagara texts.
The terms Caturara, Tryara, Khada, Mira and
Sakra have been defined for Mrga Tla-s in
these texts (SR, 5, 17cd-18, 40-41) (SSS, 7, 20ab24ab) (M, 4, 841-844ab) (SC 16, 44-48). These are
defined on the basis of the number of Guru-s in the
Tla-s. Catcatpua and Ccapua are named
Caturara and Tryara respectively because of the
occurrence of 4 and 3 Guru-s in their kakala form.
The mixture of these Tla-s is named Mira.
Sakra Tla-s are those in which Guru-s occur in
multiples greater than three and four12. Khaa
Tla-s are formed by breaking Guru, Pluta etc. into
smaller units.
G. Kal
Kal has been given two meanings in the
Sagtaratnkara: one, Kriy (both Saabda and
Niabda) (SR, 5, 6) and the other, Guru (SR, 5, 20).
In the kakala-Dvikala-Catukala forms, the
number of Kal-s (Guru-s) double in each
subsequent form. In Citra -Vrtika-Dakia Mrgas, the number of Kal-s (Kriy-s) remain the same,
but the duration of a Kal increases from 2 Mtra-s
to 4 to 8.

10

This Mtr is different from the Mtra-s which is defined

as the time taken for the utterance of 5 syllables defined under
Kla.
11
The Mtra for the Dhruva Mrga has not been explicitly
defined in this text but it is implied that it is Dhruvak.

12

Srgadva quotes Sakra Bhda-s (varieties) of 4, 8, 16

Kal-s for Catcatpua Tla and 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96 Kal-s for
Ccapua Tla according to one view and 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11
Guru-s according to another view.

H. Laya
Laya is defined in the Sagtaratnkara (SR, 5, 4445), Sagtacmai (SC, 16, 58) and
Sagtasamayasra (SSS, 7, 15cd-16ab) as the rest
period immediately following a Kriy. It is of three
types Druta, Madhya and Vilamba. For each of
the three Mrga-s, these three Laya-s are applicable.

Associated with Prastra are Sakhy, Naa,

Uddia, Ptla and various Mru-s (tables). A brief
description of these is as follows:

I. Yati
The Sagtaratnkara (SR, 5, 47-50),
Sagtacmai (SC, 16, 59), and
Sagtasamayasra (SSS, 7, 16cd-17ab) define Yati
as the rules concerning the usage of Laya. The rules
basically deal with changes in Laya. Three types of
Yati-s are defined
Sama where the Laya remains the same
either Vilamba, Madhya or Druta
Srtgat where the Laya goes from
Vilamba to Madhya to Druta or Vilamba to
Madhya or Madhya to Druta
Gpuccha which is the opposite of
Srtgata.

J. Prastra
A brief description of Prastra and related
concepts13 as given in the Sagtaratnkara(SR, 5,
314-409) is as follows:
Prastra stands for the break-up of a part (Avayava)
of a Tla such as Guru, Pluta etc. into smaller units.
For example, the Prastra-s of Guru are given
below:
Since 1 Guru = 2 Laghu-s and 1 Laghu = 2 Druta-s,
the following are the possible Prastra-s
(Here S denotes Guru, l laghu and o Druta)
S
l l
o o l
o l o
l o o
o o o o

13

These have been referred to as Tla Pratyaya-s in the SR

Sakhy: is a row of numbers which indicate the

total number of Prastra-s and the number of
Prastra-s ending with Guru, Laghu, Pluta etc.
Naa: The method of arriving at the structure of
a Prastra knowing its sequence number in the
sequence of Prastra-s. For example,
determining the structure of the 4th Prastra in
the above example would give the structure olo .
Uddia: The opposite of Naa, i.e. determining
the sequence number of a Prastra knowing its
structure.
Ptla: A row of numbers indicating the total
number of Druta, Laghu, Guru, Pluta etc. in a
Prastra.
Mru: A table of several rows and columns
indicating the number of Prastra-s with a
particular Aga. For example, a Druta Mru
would indicate the number of Prastra-s with
Druta. Each column represents a different
Avayava o, l, ol, S etc. Each row gives the
number of Prastra-s with 0 Druta, 1 Druta, 2
Druta etc. .

IV. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TLA DAA PRA-S

AS SEEN IN THE VIJAYANAGARA TREATISES
A. Kla
Tladpik 14 describes only the first system of
standardization of Kla i.e. in terms of Mtra.
Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page 14, 16 & Page 32, 28b)
and Sagtasrydaya (SSU, 1, 65-68) describe both
the systems of standardization of Kla in terms of
Mtra as well as in terms of Lava, Kha etc.
Since the Ardhadruta (called Anu/Audruta in
Vijayanagara texts)15 came into vogue as an
independent Aga in the Vijayanagara times, (as
shall be seen later in this paper), the Lava, Kha
TD Page 3, lka Pacnm Laghuvarnm.
Laghvdiparikalpan
15
TD uses the term Ardhadruta, mentioned earlier in
Simhabhplas commentary on SR and also in SSS. SSU and
TK use the term Anudruta. RK refers to the same Aga as
Audruta.
14

system seems to have gained importance in

standardizing the Kla Pra.
B. Mrga
Among the Vijayanagara texts, we can see the
following references to Mrga:
Both the systems of Mrga i.e. Dhruva, Citra,
Vrtika and Dakia as well as Aticitratama,
Citratama, Citratara, Citra, Vrtika and Dakia
have been mentioned in Tladpik16 and
Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page 16, 17) . Tlakalbdhi
describes the latter as D Ygya (fit for D
music). In the Tladpik, for Citratama, the
Kal is Druta and for Aticitratama, it is a
Druta 17 - these are equivalent to a Mtra and
Mtra respectively. 18
Sagtamuktval mentions The Mrga-s
Citratama, Citratara, Dhruva, Citra, Vrtika and
Dakia (SM, Page 111-113, 105-106).
Sagtasrydaya defines the four MrgaDhruva, Citra, Vrtika and Dakia and an
additional Mrga, Kipra(SSU, 1, 93).
In the Vijayanagara period, for the Mrga Pra, the
D Mrga-s Kipra, Citratara, Citratama and
Aticitratama which involved smaller Kal-s like
Druta and Anudruta seem to have come into
prominence.

An interesting development in the Kriy Pra

which is seen in the above points is the allocation of
specific Kriy-s to Aga-s. In the Mrga tradition as
described in the Sagtaratnkara, for each of Guru,
Laghu, Pluta etc., there were different Kriy-s
which could be used. However, in the D
tradition, it appears that for each the Aga-s there
were specific Kriy-s. This can be seen from the
following references:

C. Kriy
We see the following information about Kriy in
treatises of the Vijayanagara period:

The Saabda and Niabda Kriy-s, Mtr-s and

the allocation of the Mtr-s to the various
Mrga-s as given in the Sagtaratnkara have
been described in the works Tladpik19,
Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page 22-28, 21-25) and
Sagtasrydaya (SSU, 1, 73-96). The Mtr-s
have been referred to as D Kriy-s in the
Sagtasrydaya and Tlakalbdhi.
16

TD Page 3, lka Dhruvacitr.Kal Dhruv

TD Page 4, lka Sapacam Kalm Bindum ah
Srdham Kalm Jagau
18
The Kal-s for the Citratama and Aticitratama Mrga-s are
not clear in the manuscript of the Tla Kalbdhi
19
TD Page 2, lka-s Tatrdimasya. Mrgavadiha
and Page 3, lka-s Aau MtrPatk Patit Smt
17

The Mtr-s and their allocation to various

Mrg-s as given in the Sagtaratnkara has
been defined in the Sagtamuktval (SM, Page
111-113, 105-106). In addition, this treatise
defines the Druta as Mtr for Citratara and
Anudruta for Citratama.
In the Sagtasrydaya, for the additional
Mrga Kipra, the Kriya-s Dhruvaka,
Candragmini are given (SSU 1, 96). It might
be that the latter stands for Anudruta, since
Candrakal is one of the synonyms defined for
the Anudruta in this treatise. This treatise also
describes the hand actions used in contemporary
Lakya (practical music) in D Tla-s.

In the Sagtamuktval, Druta and Anudruta

have been mentioned along with the Mtr-s
Dhruvak, Sarpi etc. while detailing the
Mtra-s to be used in various Mrga-s (SM,
Page 111-113, 105-106). This indicates that
Druta and Anudruta have been used here in the
sense of hand actions. Therefore, there must be
specific hand actions prescribed for the two
Aga-s Druta and Anudruta.
The Sagtasrydaya mentions the prescribed
hand actions for the Aga-s Guru, Laghu, Pluta,
Druta and Anudruta as per contemporary
practical music (SSU, 1, 89-91).
In the Sagtasrydaya, we also have mention
of Dhruvak and Candragmini as Mtr-s for
the Kipra Mrga (SSU, 1, 96). The latter Mtr
has not been mentioned in other texts and seems
to be referring to Anudruta.

D. Aga
Aga as one of the Daa-Pra-s is first seen in
Tladpik among the Vijayanagara texts.

We see the following descriptions of Aga-s in the

Vijayanagara treatises:

Druta acquiring a constant value of 2 Laghu

Akara-s.
Laghu acquiring variable spans of 3, 4, 5, 7 and
9 Akara-s.

In his commentary on the Sagtaratnkara,

Kallintha talks about varieties of Laghu-s :
those which span 3, 4 and 5 Laghu Akara-s.
Tladpik describes the duration of a Laghu as
equivalent to the time period of uttering 5 laghu
akara-s20. Tlakalbdhi discusses the views
according to different treatises: Laghu of a span
of 5 akara-s, Laghu of spans of 3 and 4
akara-s, Laghu of 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 akara-s (TK,
Page 34-35, 30b 31b).
Tladpik21, Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page 30-35,
26b 31b) and Sagtasrydaya (SSU, 1,
49cd-57) describe Druta, Laghu, Guru, Pluta
and Hamsapda (Kkapda).
Virma was mentioned by Tladpik22,
Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page 29, 26a),
Nartananiraya(NN, Vol I, 1, 126) and
Sagtasrydaya (SSU, 1, 56) but not as an
independent Aga. In the Rasakaumud, it is
mentioned along with Laghu and Druta. (RK, 4,
121)
Anudruta has been mentioned in
Tlakalbdhi(Page 31-32, 28a-29a) and
Sagtasrydaya (SSU, 1, 50). It is also seen in
Nartananiraya and Rasakaumud. Anudruta is
said to encompass 1 Vara (syllable) in
Tlakalbdhi, Mtra in Rasakaumud (RK, 4,
120), and Druta in fast tempo in
Nartananiraya ((NN, Vol I, 1, 126d 127ab).
Druta is said to span 2 Vara-s in
Tlakalbdhi(TK, Page 32, 29a) and Mtra in
Rasakaumud (RK, 4, 120), Nartananiraya
(NN, Vol I, 1, 123) and Sagtasrydaya (SSU,
1, 51).

Important developments in the Aga Pra seen in

the above treatises are:

Recognition of Aga as one of the Tla Daa

Pra-s in treatises, starting from the Tladpik.
Anudruta acquiring status as an independent
Aga equivalent to half a Druta.

E.
Graha
The treatises Tladpik23, Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page
39-42, 35a-36b) and Sagtasrydaya (SSU 1, 143146) describe the Graha-s Sama, Atta and Angata
in the same way as in the Sagtaratnkara i.e. with
respect to the lag between the commencement of
Tla and commencement of Gta/Vdya/Ntya.
A new feature seen in this Pra is the description
in Tlakalbdhi classifying Atta and Angata as
Viama and giving various other possibilities for it
(TK, Page 42-44, 36b-37b):

If the Atta or Angata (lag between Tla and

Gta) is by a few Mtra-s, then it is Atta or
Angata as the case may be. If the lag is big, it
is called Viama.
Compared to Ntta and Gta Tla being less,
more or the same in the beginning or the end
leads to several possibilities of Viama

F.
Jti
For this Pra, we can see three distinct approaches
in the treatises:
As in the Sagtaratnkara: Jti-s are
distinguished on the basis of Kal-s (Guru-s)
and the Jti-s- Tryara, Caturara and Sakra
defined for Mrga Tla-s. Khaa Tla-s arise
out of break-up of Mrga Tla-s and are
classified among D Tla-s. This is seen in the
Tladpik24.
Jti are defined for D Tla-s and are
distinguished by the number of Mtr-s (Laghus) and not Guru-s. This is seen in
Nartananiraya (NN, Vol I, 1, 119-120).
Jti are defined for D Tla-s and in terms of
Laghu Akara-s or Vara-s (syllables) which are
equated to Anudruta. 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 Vara-s are
the possible spans of the Vara-s for the
Tryara, Caturara, Khaa, Mira and Sakra
23

TD Page 3, lka Pacnm Laghuvarnm.

Laghvdiparikalpan
21
TD Page 17, lka-s Drutam, Bindum. mkra Ityapi
22
TD Page 5, lka Virmpara Paryya Nivyat
20

TD
Page
15-16,
lka-s
Samtto.
Uparipirangatah
24
TD
Page
6,
lka
Caturara
Tryara.Ccapubhidhah and Page 14, lka-s dau
PacakalaKhabhidcayh

Jti-s respectively. This is seen in Tlakalbdh

(TK, Page 47-52, 39a-42a), Sagtasrydaya
(SSU, 1, 149-153) and Rasakaumud (RK,
4,126).

I.
Yati
We find the following information concerning Yati
in the Vijayanagara treatises:
In the Tladpik28, Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page
106-108, 78b-79a), Sagtasrydaya (SSU, 1,
137-141) and Nartananiraya(NN, Vol I, 1,
253), Yati is defined in the same way as in the
Sagtaratnkara. The Yati-s Sama, Srtgata
and Gpuccha are mentioned in all these works.
Some more Yati-s have been defined in
Tlakalbdhi, Rasakaumudi and
Nartananiraya:
o Tlakalbdhi mentions Yavamadhya,
Vdimadhya and Viama (TK, Page 109,
79b) and Nartananiraya mentions
Kharjrik, Piplik and Mdaga (NN,
Vol I, 1, 254).
o The Rasakaumudi defines Laya in terms
of Skma (small) and Sthla (big). For
Sama, Laya is constant. For Srtgata,
Laya is Sthla in the beginning and
Skma later. The opposite of Srtgata
is Gpuccha. For Piplik Yati, the Laya
is Skm in the middle and Sthl in
the beginning and end. Mdaga Yati is
the opposite of Piplik (RK, 4, 135-137)

We see from the above that the definition of Jti

Pra gradually evolved from the Mrga definition,
from being in terms of Kal-s to Mtr-s and then to
sub-units of a Mtra.
G. Kal
Tladpik25, Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page 63-81, 49a64a) and Sagtasrydaya (SSU, 1, 107-131)
mention the kakala, Dvikala and Catukala forms
of the 5 Mrga Tla-s, just as they are defined in the
Sagtaratnkara. In the Tladpik, Druta and
Ardhadruta were mentioned as Kal-s for the
Citratama and Aticitratama Mrga-s respectively.

For the Citratama and Aticitratama Mrga-s, Kal

can no longer be equated to Guru, but seems to be
equivalent to Kriy.
H. Laya
Tladpik26, Tlakalbdhi (TK, Page 98-105, 74b78a) and Sagtasrydaya (SSU, 1, 132-134)
define Laya and mention three types of Laya
Vilamba, Madhya and Druta and their applicability
in the Mrga-s Citra, Vrtika, and Dakia just like
in the Sagtaratnkara. Tlakalbdhi states that the
three Laya-s are applicable for Caturara Jti Tla-s.
Druta is not applicable for Tryara and Khaa Jti
Tla-s.
In the commentary for Sagtaratnkara, Kallintha
explains that in the three Mrga-s, the number of
Kal-s double successively, i.e. number of Kal-s in
Vrtika is double the number of Kal-s in Citra and
so on. Correspondingly, the number of rest periods
(Laya) also doubles and thereby the total Laya
increases27. The same interpretation has been given
by Acutyarya in Tla Kalbdhi (TK, Page 102,
76b).
TD Page 6-9 lka-s Yathkarah Prgdvikalah.
amrabhya Gurutryayam
26
TD Page 15 lka Ghtvnantara Virntidvigu
tmtra Sammatah
27
This view seems contrary to the definition of Mrga in
the SR wherein the Kal duration is said to double in the
successive Mrga-s and not the number of Kal-s (SR, 5, 1011).
25

Thus we can see new Yati-s being defined in the

Vijayanagara period.
J.
Prastra
Prastra and related concepts as outlined in the
Sagtaratnkara have been described in the
Vijayanagara treatises.
In Tladpik29, the Sakhy and Ptla-s and
Mru-s for Druta, Laghu, Guru and Pluta are
given.
In Tlakalbdhi (Page 109-193, 80a-130 b),
Sakhy, Naa and Uddia and various Mru-s
are described. For these, Anudruta and Virma
have also been considered.
Similarly, in the Sagtasrydaya, the
Anudruta and Virma have been taken into
consideration while delineating the various
concepts related to Prastra such as Naa,
Uddia, various Mru-s etc. (SSU,1, 156-427).
28

TD Page 15, lka-s Syatiry.Madhyavilambitah

TD Page 47-55, lka-s Smnannayati..Prastra Mru
Ptladpikm
29

We note the appearance of the Anudruta and

Virma in the various concepts related to Prastra in
the above treatises.
V. SUMMARY
The following developments can be seen in the
Tla-Daa-Pra-s in the musicological works
pertaining to the Vijayanagara Court:

The standardization of Kla in terms of smaller

units such as Lava, Kha seems to have gained
importance. This seems to be due to the
Anudruta acquiring the status of an independent
Aga.
Mrga-s Citratara, Citratama and Aticitratama,
which were suitable for D music, and which
involved smaller Kal-s like Druta and
Anudruta, appear to be more prominent.
In the earlier Mrga tradition (as given in the
Sagtratnkara), for a given set of Guru, Laghu,
Pluta etc., different Kriya-s could be used. But
in the Vijayanagara period, specific Kriy-s are
seen for each of the Aga-s Laghu, Guru, Pluta
etc..
Aga was recognized as one of the DaaPra-s. Anudruta acquired a status as an
independent Aga equivalent to half a Druta,
and also equivalent to 1 Laghu Akara. Druta
was stabilized with a constant value of 2 Laghu
Akara-s. Laghu became variable and could
now span of 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 Akara-s.
Atta and Angata were classified as Viama
Graha and various possibilities were described
for it.
The Jti Pra was initially defined in terms of
Kal-s. The definition was modified to be in
terms of Mtra-s, and then Laghu Akara-s or
Vara-s, which were sub-units of a Mtra.
For Citratama and Aticitratama, Kal was
defined to be Druta and Ardhadruta
respectively. Thus, Kal was no longer
equivalent to Guru in this context but more
aligned to Kriy.
For the Mrga-s Citra-Vrtika-Dakia, the
earlier definition of the duration of the Kriy-s
doubling for subsequent Mrga-s changed to the
number of repetitions of Kriya doubling for

subsequent Mrga-a, thereby resulting in

increase in the Laya.
Newer Yati-s like Yavamadhya, Vdimadhya
and Viama were now defined.
Anudruta and Virma were used in the concepts
related to Prastra.

VI. CONCLUSION
An examination of the Tla-Daa-Pra concept as
defined in the Vijayanagara treatises reveals its path
of evolution. The initial definitions of the Pra-s
are mostly in line with the descriptions in the preVijayanagara treatises. However, towards the end of
the Vijayanagara period, the definitions reflect
seminal changes in the D Tla system such as the
emergence of the Anudruta, the Laghu span
becoming variable, usage of Mrga-s with shorter
Kal-s, Jti being defined in terms of Vara rather
than Kal and specific Kriy-s being associated
with Aga-s. The documentation of these changes
signifies the accordance of musicological sanctity to
prevailing trends in popular music that eventually
led to the complete modification of the Tla system
of Kartaka music.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author thanks her Ph.D. Advisor Prof. Dr.
C.A. Sreedhara, UCFAW, University of Mysore
for his guidance and support. The author would also
like to gratefully acknowledge the inputs and
suggestions given by Prof. Dr. N. Ramanathan,
former HOD, Department of Indian Music,
University of Madras.
REFERENCES
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[1] B.M. Sundaram, Tla Sagraha, Percussive
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[2] Subhadra Chaudhary, translated by Hema
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Sai
Sannidhi
Sangita
Publications, Hyderabad, 2001
[4] Akella Mallikarjuna Sarma, Tlaprastra of
Nihaka rgadva's Sagtaratnkara, Sai
Sannidhi Sangita Publications, Hyderabad,
2001

10

[5] Subhadra
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Reports:
[16] Girija Eswaran, Tladaapra in texts, part
of the Tla Project undertaken as part of the
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Department of Culture and Ministry of Tourism,
Government
of
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undertaken as part of the Senior Fellowship

(2002-2004) awarded by the Department of

Culture and Ministry of Tourism, Government
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[18]R. Sathyanarayana. (2001). Sagtasrydaya
of Bhaaru Lakmnryaa, Sangeet Natak
Academy Journal volume XXXVI, No. 2, pp. 3038. Available: www.musicresearch.in
[19]V. Premalatha (2009). Tlakalbdhi of
Acyutarya discovery of a new work on Tla,
Journal of The Music Academy, Madras,
Volume 80
Conference Papers:
[20] N. Ramanathan, (27-12-2003). Tla-DaaPra-s and the Musicological problems in the
present-day Tla system, presented as a paper
on, Annual Conference of the Music Academy,
Madras, held at the Music Academy, Chennai
from 19-12-2003 to 01-01-2004. Available:
www.musicresearch.in
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arati Rao is a Vidwat (Veena), Govt. of Karnataka,
holds an M. Music Degree from the University of
Madras and Ph.D. Degree from the University of
Mysore.