November 1, 2019

Vedic Musical String Instruments & Violin

LOKOGANDHAR ISSN : 2582-2705
Indigenous Art & Culture
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Dr. Dipak Banerjee, Guest Assistant Professor, Rabindra Bharati University

Abstract: There are many types of Chordophone or musical string Instruments used in Vedic age. Of them only two instruments are related with Violin. They are Pinga and Gargara. Some Western experts say, Violin is the ancestor of Indian bowing Musical String Instrument. Through, Europeans Invented Violin in 16th Century. According to the base of both information, this easy try to relate with Vedic Musical String Instruments and Violin.

Keywords: Vedic age, Vedic Musical String Instruments, Pinga, Gargara, Violin, relation with Violin.

Introduction: There were many types of musical string instrument used in Vedic age. Among this musical string instruments, one kind of musical string Instruments was bow shaped. Some experts of the West think that this kind of musical string Instrument was the ancestor of Violin. Pinga1 and Gargara2these two types of bowing musical string instruments were used in Vedic age. These types of musical string instruments are related with evolution of Violin. To find a relation between Violin and Vedic bowing musical string instruments is the major topic of this Article.

Vedic age, Vedic Music & Musical String Instruments: Historian suspected that Vedic civilization starts in India Probably in 2500-2000 B.C.3. In conformity with the report of the Historian, this civilization was enriching with music, literature and culture. Music and literature are the part of music. Culture is the part of Vedic age. At the end of the civilization of Indus Valley, the Vedic civilization starts. Aryans were the ruler of this civilization. They brought with them their music, the earliest records, which are Vedic Music. Four Vedas were successively written in Vedic age. The names of four Vedas are Rig-Veda, Sāmavēda, Yayurvēda, Atharbavēda.

Newly, the name of fifth Veda is Ayurveda in one side, but in another side the name of fifth Veda is Natya-Shastra. It is not only the religious books of Hindus, but also the records and musical records of this age. Rig-Veda is the first literature of this world. Rig-Veda, the oldest four Vedas, is a simple recitation with three tones. Each separated from next by a tone (three of four securities). This recitation of three notes is high, low and circumflex.

          The name of this application was Udatta (High), Anudatta (Low), Savarita (Circumflex). The Sāmavēda, which is more elaborate chanting of Rigveda, has seven notes arranged in certain degrees of descant and ascent. It is mainly as a descending type in music. It is starting from a high pitch and cascading down. This is the characteristic of all early music. This is closely related to psychophysiology of music and musical instruments.

          The Vedic chants were ecclesiastical purpose and hence highly symbolic, not easily permissible of change. In the rituals sacrifices various musical instruments used to accompany the chants. As the priests (Udgata) sang; their wives played various kinds of Veena such as : Bana veena, Karkari, Kanda veena Apaghatia, Godha, etc. But we have no clear idea about the tuning systems and construction of that Veena. Some musicologist may suspect that they were harps of dulcimers. There were many types of musical Instruments used in Vedic age. But here I discussed about only bowing musical string instruments which is related to Violin.

          In Vedic age – along with the spread of the Aryans, the influence of their music also extended throughout the country. Bowing musical string instruments were used in Vedic age. A musical instrument called Pinga is said to have in Rigveda. It is found in Rigveda of 8th Mondal, 69 Sukta and in 9th Sloka. The following sloka in identify about Pinga. It is a bowing string instruments. Following sloka is written bellow:

“Ava Swarati Gargara Goda Parisaniswanat.

Pinga Pari Cha Niskaddindaya Brahmadyaetam”4

          Pinga was bow shaped instrument. The string of this instrument was made up by animal intestines which have been the colour of gray-tinted-half-blue. According to the colour of string, the instrument is thus called Pinga, which stands for colour (Dhar Choudhury, 2010, 42) 5.

          The other Instruments called Gargara, which is equally bow shaped is named according to the sound it makes when in use. The sloka has been interpreted in this way. According to the sloka, Gargara, the musical instruments of Vedic age, is making tremendous sound; another musical instruments Pinga, was shape like bow. The Production of the sound comes through its string. Veda analyst Sayna Acharya (14th Century A.D) was given a note about this instrument.

          The two Vedic musical instruments namely Pinga and Gargara, have retained their structural shape through various, stages of formation and transformation in subsequent periods and have been the source instruments; of what latter called as Dhanuryantram of more preferably Dhanurveena. According to the opinior of Swami Prajnananda the Vedic musical instruments, which is called Pinga known as Dhanuryantram, which was subsequently reconcile as Ravanastram in the Period of Post Vedic age. The bowing musical string instruments Pinga is believed to be the source instruments of what is now-a-days known as Violin. (Prajnanda, 1953, 27) 6

About Violin: Acoustically the Violin is one of the most popular perfect instrument. It has an extra ordinary musical versatility. No one known who in vented Violin 7 and it is most unlikely that a single person did so. The modern Violin is supposed to has been constructed in 1555 by Andra Amati. But the date is doubtful. Generallly, A Violin has four strings. A violin is played with bow. The strings of Violin tuned with MaG, SaD,, PaA, RaE 8 according to Indian music. It is also tuned with PaG, SaD, PaA, SaE in Indian music system. But, other tuning methods are used in Europe. It is said that Violin is played with bow. The first shape of the Bow Stick was joined with horse hair. It is arranged like semi circular shape. It looks like Bow, means like Dhonuk (in Indian Language). So, this polishing stick was called Bow. And the Instrument was called bowing string instrument. The structural changes of Violin in Europe throughout the world come in 17th, 18th and 19th century. In 19th century modern Violin formed. Acoustical research is continued on about Violin.

          Bowed Instruments may have originated in the equestrian cultures of central Asia. It is believed that bowing musical string instrument eventually spread to China, India, and the Middle East, where they developed instrument such as Erhu (China) and the Rabab (Middle East) and Esraj (India). The violin in its present from emerged early 16th Century in Northern Italy, where the port towns of Venice and Genoa maintained extensive of Central Asia through the trades rules of Silk Road.

          Most likely first make of Violin borrowed from three types of current Instruments; the Rebac (10th Century), Renaissance fiddle, and Lira di braccio (Internet searching).

          According to the opinion of B.Chaitanyadeva,- “It is certain that the ancestor of Violin came from central Asia, if not from India. It is supposed that the instruments came to Europe through the Balkan Peneinsila one of the early illustration of a Violin prototype is from the 9th century A.D. It might have had as its precursors the fiddle, the Bizantine Kamang Rumi and Rebec, the last is obviously related to Rabab of Arabia.” (Chaityanadeba 1978, 171) 9. But Kshetra Mohan Goswami, has suggested that the Arabic musical instrument in the name of Kamanaga is only an imitation, with some minor alteration, of the ancient Indian musical instrument known the name of Amriti. Amriti is an off shoot of the primitive musical instrument Ravanastram (Dey, 1974, 64) 10.

          From the Groves Dictionary of Music & Musicians, 3rd Ed; Vol.- III page no-13 we get some valuable lines:-

“Kemangh – It is undoubtly one of the earliest of all bowed instruments, claiming its identity or descent from somewhat mythical Ravanastram of India”.11

          It is suspected that Kamanga and Kemangeh is a same type of musical Instruments. We also get few lines in the book of the Musical instrument of India, by S. Krishna Swami, that some western experts think, ancestor of Violin comes from India quoted lines of this books are written below:

“Some experts in the west are of the opinion that the Violin has an Indian ancestry and trace the gradual evolution of the Instrument to one of the many varieties of bowed instruments found all over India which are of great antiquity one such variety is the famous ravanhatha (ravanahasta or ravanstrom), a folk instrument of the stringed variety which is still used in some regions of Gujrat and Rajasthan. (Krishna Swami, 1977, 30)12

          This lines makes a relation with Pinga, bowing musical string instrument of Vedic age, is started before. Now the clear conception is that, Pinga is related to Ravanastram, Ravanstram is related to Violin.

Relation with Violin & Vedic bowing musical string Instrument : From this discussion about Violin and Vedic bowing musical string Instruments, we get two major opinions of the invention of Violin or construction of Violin (i) Violin is invented or constructed from Ravanshastram which is related with Vedic bowing musical string instrument Pinga and Gargara (ii) Violin is invented from Arabian Rabab.

          From this discussion, it is said origin and evolution of Violin comes from the Vedic bowing musical string Instrument, which is called Pinga. But some where we see the lines that – “Violin is a Western Instrument” (Krishna Swami, 1971, 30) 13.

May be, both of these opinion are true. But, it is bring out from this discussion if Vedic age or Prevedic ages of India, the Indians are the inventor or constructer of bowing musical string instruments, then Western i.e. Europeans are the modifier of this Vedic musical string instruments, which is Violin.

Conclusion: Modern Violin of this century is now enriched, developed structurally and acoustically. But evolution of Violin is related to bowing musical string instrument of Prevedic and Vedic age. Although, the modern Violin in invented or constructed from Europe. Yet, nobody can deny origin and evolution of Violin or one kind of source of Violin from India, from Prevedic and Vedic age.

Notes & References:-

  1. Rigveda Bengali Version, 2nd Part, Haraf Prokashani, Kolkata; P-259. Ed.2000.
  2. Ibid; Vedic Index of names and subjects (Vol-II); P-544, Motilal Baranasi Dass, Varanasi; Ed. 1958.
  3. Advanced History of India; K.A. Nilkanta Sastri, G.Srinivas Acharya, Calcutta, 1970.
  4. Rigveda, Ibid.
  5. The origin and Evolution of Violin as a Musical string Instrument, Sisir Kona Dhar Choudhury; Ramkrishna Vedanta Math; Kolkata, Ed.2010.
  6. Sangeet O Sanskriti; (Bengali Book). Swami Prajananda, Ramkrishna Vedanta Math, Calcutta, Ed.1953.
  7. The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians; Stanliy Sadie, Macmillan Publishers Limited, London, Vol-19, P-825, 995; Ed.1995.
  8. G,D,A,E is the name of Violin String.
  9. Musical Instrument of India; B.Chaitanyadeva, Firma KLM Private Limited, Calcutta, Ed. 1978.
  10. The Music and Musical Instrument of Southern India and the Deccan; C.R.Dey, B.R. Publishing Corporation; New Delhi, P-103, Ed. 1974.
  11. The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians; Ibid, Vol-II, P-13, 3rd Ed.1995.
  12.  Musical Instruments of India; S.Krishna Swami, Ministry of Information and Broad Casting, New Delhi; Ed.1977
  13.  Krishna Swami, Ibid.

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                                      Instrument, Part-I

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Internet Searching: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History-of-the-Violin.