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44-457: This tradition was founded by Sidhar Khan Dhadi in the early 18th century. The tradition is regarded for establishing a distinction from pakhawaj repertoire, do ungliyon ka baaj (two-finger style), and contributing improvisation conventions like peshkar and qayada . Heirs of this gharana went on to establish other traditions like Punjab gharana , Lucknow gharana , Ajrada gharana , Farukhabad gharana and Benares gharana . Delhi Gharana

88-505: A Sanskrit drama, the characters should speak Maharashtri Prakrit in verse and Shauraseni Prakrit in prose. But the 10th century Sanskrit dramatist Rajashekhara does not abide by this rule. Markandeya, as well as later scholars such as Sten Konow, find faults with the Prakrit portions of Rajashekhara's writings, but it is not clear if the rule enunciated by Vishvanatha existed during Rajashekhara's time. Rajashekhara himself imagines Prakrit as

132-422: A cushion under the narrower treble face to lift it slightly. A right-handed person places the larger bass-skin on the left side and the treble skin on the right. The bass face tends to be smeared with some fresh wheat dough which acts as the kiran and gives a vivid bass sound to the pakhavaj. The tuning of Pakhavaj is similar to that of the tabla – with the wooden wedges placed under the tautening straps. Due to

176-536: A distinction between Jain and non-Jain Prakrit literature. Jacobi used the term "Jain Prakrit" (or "Jain Maharashtri", as he called it) to denote the language of relatively late and relatively more Sanskrit-influenced narrative literature, as opposed to the earlier Prakrit court poetry. Later scholars used the term "Jain Prakrit" for any variety of Prakrit used by Jain authors, including the one used in early texts such as Tarangavati and Vasudeva-Hindi . However,

220-484: A good command of the original language of the texts, as several of the extant Prakrit texts contain inaccuracies or are incomprehensible. Also, like Sanskrit and other ancient languages Prakrit was spoken and written long before grammars were written for it. The Vedas do not follow Panini's Sanskrit grammar which is now the basis for all Sanskrit grammar. Similarly, the Agamas, and texts like Shatkhandagama , do not follow

264-557: A large period of the first millennium, literary Prakrit was the preferred language for the fictional romance in India. Its use as a language of systematic knowledge was limited, because of Sanskrit's dominance in this area, but nevertheless, Prakrit texts exist on topics such as grammar, lexicography , metrics, alchemy, medicine, divination , and gemology . In addition, the Jains used Prakrit for religious literature, including commentaries on

308-402: A rhythm accompaniment for various other sub-forms of music and dance performances (e.g. kathak , odissi , marathi). It has a low, mellow tone that is quite rich in harmonics. The sides of the pakhawaj are made with animal skin (often goat skin). The pakhavaj players place the instrument horizontally in front of themselves as they sit on the floor with legs crossed. The players may sometimes place

352-410: A single language or a single kind of language, alongside Sanskrit, Apabhramsha, and Paishachi . German Indologist Theodor Bloch (1894) dismissed the medieval Prakrit grammarians as unreliable, arguing that they were not qualified to describe the language of the texts composed centuries before them. Other scholars such as Sten Konow , Richard Pischel and Alfred Hillebrandt disagree with Bloch. It

396-511: A specific sound. These are remembered and practised with corresponding syllables i.e. mnemonics. This memorisation is often referred to as पढ़न्त (paḍhanta) in Hindi. While the pakhavaj mnemonics share some similarity with the tabla mnemonics, the interpretation of the same mnemonics may be different in pakhavaj and also vary according to the respective gharana – e.g. the Nana Panse gharana and

440-478: Is a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, originating from the Indian subcontinent , the oldest version of double sided drums and its descendants are mridangam of Southern India and kendang of Maritime Southeast Asia and other South Asian double-headed drums. Its older forms were made with clay. It is the percussion instrument most commonly used in the dhrupad style of Indian classical music and less often used as

484-420: Is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and Pali . The oldest stage of Middle Indo-Aryan language is attested in the inscriptions of Ashoka (ca. 260 BCE), as well as in

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528-438: Is done with a tabla. The treble face – which would be the right side of the pakhavaj for a right-handed person – is played with varied configurations of the fingers to produce different bols according to a given rhythm, whereas the traditional mode is to use the whole hand in order to produce the pure and perfect sound, called 'chanti'. In traditional pakhavaj styles a student would learn a number of different strokes which produce

572-578: Is expected to learn is playing a theka (pattern) in a particular tala or rhythmic cycle. For example, the simple bols for chautal or chartal (unrelated to chowtal – the folksong style from the Bhojpuri-speaking region) in 12 beats are as follows: |धा धा | दिन ता | तिट धा | दिन ता | तिट कत | गदि गन | | dha dha | din ta || tiTa dha | din ta | tiTa kata | gadi gana | Learners typically advance to practising rela s (which are compositions performed at high tempo/laya). In

616-419: Is formed with the words पक्ष pakṣa ("a side"), and वाद्य vādya ("a musical instrument"). Tamil pakkavadyam and Kannada pakkavādya (ಪಕ್ಕವಾದ್ಯ) are cognates. It is said that during the 14th century, the great mridangists experimented with the materials used in mridang construction and finally started using wood for the main body as opposed to the original clay. Thus, a new name pakhavaj emerged, whilst

660-496: Is possible that the grammarians sought to codify only the language of the earliest classics of the Prakrit literature, such as the Gaha Sattasai . Another explanation is that the extant Prakrit manuscripts contain scribal errors. Most of the surviving Prakrit manuscripts were produced in a variety of regional scripts during 1300–1800 CE. It appears that the scribes who made these copies from the earlier manuscripts did not have

704-526: Is the predominant language of the ancient Indian literature. Several modern scholars, such as George Abraham Grierson and Richard Pischel , have asserted that the literary Prakrit does not represent the actual languages spoken by the common people of ancient India. This theory is corroborated by a market scene in Uddyotana's Kuvalaya-mala (779 CE), in which the narrator speaks a few words in 18 different languages: some of these languages sound similar to

748-1005: The "khula baaj" (open style) of Punjab gharana and Farukhabad gharana . Delhi gharana is reputed for its vast repertoire of qayada s - a structured improvisation consisting of a theme and variations. Delhi gharana values sound quality that: Sidhar Khan Dhadi and his descendants contributed greatly to the development of the tabla language, compositional structures of the peshkars and qayada s. Many compositions from this school are standard and introductory repertoire taught to students of all tabla gharanas . A few notable masters of this school are Ustad Nathu Khan (1875–1940), Gamay Khan (1883–1958), Ustad Munnu Khan (the three brothers) and Ustad Gamay Khan's son Ustad Inam Ali Khan (1924–1986), his son Gulam Haider Khan, and Asif Ali Khan, Pandit Chatur Lal (1924–1966), Ustad Latif Ahmed Khan (1942-1989) and his sons Akbar Latif Khan and Babar Latif Khan, as well as Canadian tabla player and vocalist Cassius Khan (1974). Pakhawaj The pakhavaj

792-756: The Hindustani system, the basic theka e.g. for chowtal above remains as a pulse while elaborations or vistāra (विस्तार) continue with higher tempos. For example, a rela that corresponds to the above chowtal is the following | धा दिन धा किट तकिट तकाकिट । तक तक धुम किट तकिट तकाकिट । तक तक धुम किट तक तक धुम किट । तक तक धुम किट तकिट तकाकिट । तक धुम किट तक गदि गन धा किट । तक गदि गन धा किट तक गदि गन । | dhā dina dhā kiṭa takiṭa takākiṭa । taka taka dhuma kiṭa takiṭa takākiṭa । taka taka dhuma kiṭa taka taka dhuma kiṭa । taka taka dhuma kiṭa takiṭa takākiṭa । taka dhuma kiṭa taka gadi gana dhā kiṭa । taka gadi gana dhā kiṭa taka gadi gana । Here, four bols correspond to every bol of

836-509: The Jain canonical literature, stories about Jain figures, moral stories, hymns and expositions of Jain doctrine. Prakrit is also the language of some Shaiva tantras and Vaishnava hymns. Besides being the primary language of several texts, Prakrit also features as the language of low-class men and most women in the Sanskrit stage plays . American scholar Andrew Ollett traces the origin of

880-592: The Nathdwara gharana. Indian classical music tradition encourages the percussionist to verbally recite the rhythm as expressed in these mnemonics. Unlike the Konnakol notation(s) in Carnatic classical music, however, such recitals are hardly presented as independent performances. In the Hindustani classical traditions, the recitals are instead presented in a conversational manner to the audience before demonstrating

924-467: The Sanskrit Kavya to Prakrit poems. Some of the texts that identify their language as Prakrit include: The languages that have been labeled "Prakrit" in modern times include the following: Not all of these languages were actually called "Prakrit" in the ancient period. Dramatic Prakrits were those that were used in dramas and other literature. Whenever dialogue was written in a Prakrit,

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968-462: The Western system of music). Another tala used often in compositions is Dhamaar tala(14 beats) – which follows the scheme of 3-2-2-3-4 and sometimes 3-2-2-3-2-2 – varying according to the particular correspondence. The theka for Dhamara tala is |Ka dhi ta | dhi ta| dha S |Ga di na | di na ta S | Another impressive tala is Sultala(10 beats) or Sur-fank tala following the scheme of 2-2-2-2-2 notable by

1012-671: The common people – as well as the converse influence of Sanskrit on the Prakrits, gave Prakrits progressively higher cultural prestige. Mirza Khan's Tuhfat al-hind (1676) characterizes Prakrit as the language of "the lowest of the low", stating that the language was known as Patal-bani ("Language of the underground") or Nag-bani ("Language of the snakes"). Among modern scholars, Prakrit literature has received less attention than Sanskrit. Few modern Prakrit texts have survived in modern times, and even fewer have been published or attracted critical scholarship. Prakrit has been designated as

1056-424: The composition on the instrument. As the percussionists are expected to improvise their own rhythms, having a good knowledge of mnemonics helps finding a common ground with the co-performing musician – a singer or an instrumentalist whom the percussionist accompanies. Since the percussionist is required to play the rhythm quite fast at times (i.e. the drut laya) – these mnemonics are designed to assist fast recital by

1100-643: The earliest forms of Pāli, the language of the Theravāda Buddhist canon. The most prominent form of Prakrit is Ardhamāgadhı̄, associated with the ancient kingdom of Magadha, in modern Bihar, and the subsequent Mauryan Empire. Mahāvı̄ra, the last tirthankar of 24 tirthankar of Jainism, was born in Magadha, and the earliest Jain texts were composed in Ardhamāgadhı̄. Almost all the native prākrit grammarians identify prākṛta to be named so because they originate in

1144-402: The few languages suitable for composition of literature. Mirza Khan's Tuhfat al-hind (1676) names Prakrit among the three kinds of literary languages native to India, the other two being Sanskrit and the vernacular languages. It describes Prakrit as a mixture of Sanskrit and vernacular languages, and adds that Prakrit was "mostly employed in the praise of kings, ministers, and chiefs". During

1188-416: The full grammar of Ardhamagadhi first, and then define the other grammars with relation to it. For this reason, courses teaching 'Prakrit' are often regarded as teaching Ardhamagadhi. Medieval grammarians such as Markandeya (late 16th century) describe a highly systematized Prakrit grammar, but the surviving Prakrit texts do not adhere to this grammar. For example, according to Vishvanatha (14th century), in

1232-578: The independent development of these languages, often separated from the history of Sanskrit by wide divisions of caste , religion , and geography . The broadest definition uses the term "Prakrit" to describe any Middle Indo-Aryan language that deviates from Sanskrit in any manner. American scholar Andrew Ollett points out that this unsatisfactory definition makes "Prakrit" a cover term for languages that were not actually called Prakrit in ancient India, such as: According to some scholars, such as German Indologists Richard Pischel and Oskar von Hinüber ,

1276-553: The languages spoken in modern India; but none of them resemble the language that Uddyotana identifies as "Prakrit" and uses for narration throughout the text. The local variants of Apabhramsha evolved into the modern day Indo-Aryan vernaculars of South Asia. Literary Prakrit was among the main languages of the classical Indian culture. Dandin 's Kavya-darsha ( c.  700 ) mentions four kinds of literary languages: Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsha , and mixed. Bhoja 's Sarasvati-Kanthabharana (11th century) lists Prakrit among

1320-469: The modern Prakrit grammar. Prakrita Prakasha, a book attributed to Vararuchi , summarizes various Prakrit languages. Prakrit literature was produced across a wide area of South Asia. Outside India, the language was also known in Cambodia and Java. Literary Prakrit is often wrongly assumed to have been a language (or languages) spoken by the common people, because it is different from Sanskrit, which

1364-399: The older name, mridang was still used. As with the tabla , the pakhavaj rhythms (or tala ) are taught by a series of mnemonic syllables known as bol . The playing technique varies from that of tabla in many aspects. Most remarkably, the artist hits the bass face – which would be the left side of pakhavaj for a right-handed person – with the whole palm instead of with the finger tips as

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1408-405: The percussionist – often with alternative names to allow the composition to be easy on the tongue. The following are some mnemonics that are popular. Alternative names are sometimes used for some of the mnemonics (bol) in order to assist fast recital. For example, घे (ghe) could also be pronounced थुन् (thun) and तिट (tiTa) could also be pronounced as किट(kiTa). A basic exercise that a beginner

1452-414: The reader would also be provided with a Sanskrit translation. The phrase "Dramatic Prakrits" often refers to three most prominent of them: Shauraseni Prakrit , Magadhi Prakrit , and Maharashtri Prakrit . However, there were a slew of other less commonly used Prakrits that also fall into this category. These include Prachya, Bahliki, Dakshinatya, Shakari, Chandali, Shabari, Abhiri, Dramili, and Odri. There

1496-429: The skin that the face is made of. It is only on the bass skin where a freshly made batter (or dough) of (wheat) flour and water is applied to provide enhance the low-pitched sound. While the options to use a polymer-based substitute are available but are not commonly used. The word पखावज – pakhāvaja or pakhavāja is of Prakrit origin, whose equivalent in Sanskrit is पक्षवाद्य pakṣavādya – where it

1540-428: The source language (prakṛti) which is Sanskrit . Thus the name prākṛta indicates that they depend on Sanskrit for their origin and are not themselves the prakṛti (or originary languages, originating independent of Sanskrit): The dictionary of Monier Monier-Williams (1819–1899), and other modern authors, however, interpret the word in the opposite sense: "the most frequent meanings of the term prakṛta , from which

1584-555: The term "Prakrit" refers to a smaller set of languages that were used exclusively in literature: According to Sanskrit and Prakrit scholar Shreyansh Kumar Jain Shastri and A. C. Woolner , the Ardhamagadhi (or simply Magadhi ) Prakrit, which was used extensively to write the scriptures of Jainism , is often considered to be the definitive form of Prakrit, while others are considered variants of it. Prakrit grammarians would give

1628-730: The theka of | Dha kete | Nak Dhi | Ghere Nak | Gad Di | Ghere Nak | A few other talas used in the pakhavaj are the Therwa (7 beats/3-2-2) tala, Matta tala(9 beats/4-2-3 and sometimes 4-1-4), Teentala (16 beats/4-4-4-4) and Pancham Sawari(15 beats/3-4-4-4). These are not as common. Nana Panse, Nathdwara and Kudai Singh may be the primary surviving gharanas of pakhawaj but there are at least 11 styles that can be traced in recent history – Jaawli, Mathura, Punjab, Kudau Singh, Nana Saheb Panse, Naathdwara, Bishnupur, Gurav parampara, Mangalvedhekar, Gwalior, Raigarh, Gujarat, Jaipur and Jodhpur. Prakrit Prakrit ( / ˈ p r ɑː k r ɪ t / )

1672-462: The theka. Players often start the performance with the theka – playing just the one bol at every pulse (particularly when not performing as accompaniments to singing or instrumental pieces) and then go on to present their compositions with higher or lower speeds. Increasing the speed(tempo) up or down is acceptable in Indian classical music – which has more temporal rather than harmonic complexity (unlike

1716-412: The varied thickness of the skin that covers the treble face, the treble face can produce at least two tones that are a semitone apart. For example, if hitting the centre (the bol दिन din ) is tuned to produce the note C then hitting closer to the edge (with the bol ता for example) could produce the note C#. The fine tuning can be done with the woven outer ring (गजरा – gajra ) which is an extension of

1760-427: The word "prakrit" is derived, are "original, natural, normal" and the term is derived from prakṛti , "making or placing before or at first, the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". Modern scholars have used the term "Prakrit" to refer to two concepts: Some modern scholars include all Middle Indo-Aryan languages under the rubric of 'Prakrits', while others emphasize

1804-542: The works written by Jain authors do not necessarily belong to an exclusively Jain history, and do not show any specific literary features resulting from their belief in Jainism. Therefore, the division of Prakrit literature into Jain and non-Jain categories is no longer considered tenable. Under the Mauryan Empire various Prakrits enjoyed the status of royal language. Prakrit was the language of Emperor Ashoka who

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1848-507: Was a strict structure to the use of these different Prakrits in dramas. Characters each spoke a different Prakrit based on their role and background; for example, Dramili was the language of "forest-dwellers", Sauraseni was spoken by "the heroine and her female friends", and Avanti was spoken by "cheats and rogues". Maharashtri and Shaurseni Prakrit were more common and were used in literature extensively. Some 19th–20th century European scholars, such as Hermann Jacobi and Ernst Leumann , made

1892-474: Was founded by Sidhar Khan Dhadi in the early-18th century. Sometimes referred to as the inventor of the tabla , Sidhar Khan Dhadi is the earliest available name associated with tabla in historical records. He was initially a pakhawaj player from the tradition of Lala Bhavanidas. Considered a moderately resonant style (like Ajrada ), the Delhi gharana is classified with the "bandh baaj" (closed style) rather than

1936-463: Was patron of Buddhism. Prakrit languages are said to have held a lower social status than Sanskrit in classical India. In the Sanskrit stage plays , such as Kalidasa 's Shakuntala , lead characters typically speak Sanskrit, while the unimportant characters and most female characters typically speak Prakrit. While Prakrits were originally seen as 'lower' forms of language, the influence they had on Sanskrit – allowing it to be more easily used by

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