Svaramelakalanidhi

''Swaramelakalanidhi'' is a much celebrated musicological treatise of 16th century

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.Vijayanagara

. Authored by Ramamatya in the year 1550, the work is counted among the ''sangita shastra navaratnas'' or the nine 'gems' of the theory of
Carnatic Music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...
. The work's importance lies in the fact that it is more relevant and related to modern practice than the books written prior to it. Spread over five chapters, it deals primarily with the theory of ''
raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...
'', describes the ''melas'' for the classification of ''raga'' -and the different ''shuddha svaras'' and ''vikrta svaras'' constituting the ''melas''. Works by other celebrated contemporaries like
Pundarika Vitthala Pundalik () or Pundarika (), () was an Indian saint and a devotee of the Hindu deity Vithoba. Vithoba is a Vaishnava deity, considered a reincarnation of Vishnu and Krishna. Pundalik is believed to have brought Vithoba to Pandharpur, where the ...
and Somanantha also deal with similar themes, namely the description of ragas, their classification under melas and the enumeration of the shuddha and vikrta svaras constituting the melas. Minor ideological difference can however be discerned among these works.

The author
Ramamatya was the grandson of the illustrious Kallinatha (the author of an authoritative commentary to Sarngadeva's
Sangita Ratnakara The ''Sangita-Ratnakara'', संगीतरत्नाकर, (IAST: Saṃgītaratnākara), literally "Ocean of Music ", is one of the most important musicological texts from India. Composed by Sharngadeva, Śārṅgadeva (शार्ङ� ...
). He was also the royal composer and architect at the court of king Ramaraja. He described himself as abhinavabharatacharya and ''todara-malla'' (meaning "the hero (''malla'') who wears the honorific anklet (''todar'')"). The Kannada term means hero (malla) who wears the honorific anklet (todar). The last epithet is however, usually interpreted by some as alluding Todarmal, a minister in the Mughal emperor
Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...
's court, the anachronism notwithstanding.

The work
The ''Svaramelakalanidhi'' brings the theory up to date, rationalizes intervals and scales, introduces the concepts of ''svayambhu-svara'' (self-generating note, upper partial), ''.dharashruti paryayatattva'' and ''pratinidhitattva'' of ''svaras''. ''Mukhari'' is established as the ''shuddhasvara saptaka''. It also fixes and standardizes musical intervals on the keyboard, defines the accordatura, range, preferred strings (for particular notes) etc., for a variety of stringed keyboards. Among other things, it also innovates and dedicates a new keyboard to king Achyutaraya. A new scheme for classifying ragas into ''uttama'' (superior), ''madhyama'' (middling) and ''adhama'' (inferior) on the basis of their expressive potential is also expounded in the work. It also resolves the problem of the ''antara'' and ''kaishiki'' notes. The work is divided into five chapters viz., 1. Upodghataprakarana
2. Svaraprakarana
3. Vinaprakarana
4. Melaprakarana
5. Ragaprakarana

See also
*
Karnataka Music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...
*
Vijayanagara musicological nonet The Vijayanagara musicological nonet or the are a group of nine musicological treatises written during the reign of the Vijayanagara empire. These works are counted among the most important and definitive treatises in Carnatic music theory. Ea ...
*
Melakarta Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales ( ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be derived. A ''melaka ...
*
Haridasas and Carnatic music The Haridaasas, the Vaishnava saints of Karnataka, are classified into the ''Vyaasakuta'' and ''Daasakuta''. The Vyaasakuta were the pontifical saints known for their scholarship and exposition of Madhva's philosophy. The ''Daasakuta'' were th ...

Notes
{{reflist Vijayanagara Empire 1550 books Carnatic music