''Yazh Nool'' or ''Yal Nool'' (; ; ''lit.'' ''The Book of Yazh'') is a musical research book on

yazh The yazh (, also transliterated yāḻ, ) is a harp used in ancient Tamil music. It was strung with gut strings that ran from a curved ebony neck to a boat or trough-shaped resonator, the opening of which was a covered with skin for a soundboa ...

, one of the ancient musical instruments of the Tamils. The book was written by

Swami Vipulananda Swami Vipulananda (; 27 March 1892 – 20 July 1947), also known as Vipulananda Adigal, was a Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu social reformer, literary critic, author, poet, teacher and ascetic from the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Vipulananda was an e ...

, the worlds' first Tamil professor from

Batticaloa Batticaloa (, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu'', ; , ''Maḍakalapuwa'', ) is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern Univers ...

, Sri Lanka published in June 1947 at Tirukkollampudur Vilvaranyeswarar Temple with the support of ''The Karanthai Tamil Sangam'' and financial support of Nachandupatti, P.RM.RM.ST Sitambaram Chettiar. The book is considered one of Vipulananda's significant works as well as an important treatise on the musical heritage of yazh.

Background

The ancient poetic work ''

Silappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the earliest Tamil epic. It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely ''akaval'' (''acir ...

'' provides some details about ancient Tamil music and yazh. However, it does not accurately define Tamil music and yazh. Its poetic old Tamil is hard to understand in the modern Tamil language, and some Tamil scholars find it difficult to translate its teachings into a modern context. For these reasons, Swami Vipulananda undertook his research on Tamil music and yazh.

Description

The book presents in-depth research on several ancient books that describe Tamil musical melody. It notably describes six different types of forgotten yazh instruments: Vil yazh, Peri yazh, Makara yazh, Cakota yazh, Seeri yazh, and Cenkotti yazh. Swami Vipulananda spent 14 years researching the book. The book has become the basis for the central concept of yazh and is used as a research tool by scholars.

Publishing history

Three editions of the work have been published. The 1947 and 1974 editions were published by ''Karanthai Tamil Sangam''; the second edition includes the author's English-language essay "A 1000-Stringed Yazh". The third edition was published in 2003 by ''Yathumagi Printers'' in

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Yazh Nool'' (2nd edition)
Tamil music Sri Lankan Tamil literature 1947 non-fiction books