Bharata Muni
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1/ Now I will speak about tāla, belonging to the class of “solid” (ghana) [instruments]; it is connected with the division into kālas and the observation of tempo (laya).
2/ Those who apply tāla in a musical performance must understand kālas as a measure of time.
3/ One should distinguish between ordinary kāla (equal to approximately eight seconds) and kāla arising from the practice of tāla, for they are fundamentally different.
4/ A mātra consists of five nimeṣa (blinks of an eye), and kāla arises from the combination of mātras.
5/ Tāla is of two main types: caturasra (four-sided) and tryasra (three-sided), and both originate from a single source.
6-7/ These two types are generated by two fundamental rhythmic patterns: cañcatpuṭaḥ and capapuṭaḥ.
8/ From each source originate tālas of two or four kalās. Cañcatpuṭaḥ represents the form of caturasra, and capapuṭaḥ the form of tryasra, “consisting of long and short syllables.”
9/ Chanchatputah consists of “two long syllables, followed by one short syllable and a final pluta syllable.” Chapaputah (tryasra) contains “one long syllable, followed by two short syllables and a final long syllable.”
10/ The mixed tāla, combining both, forms ṣaṭpitāputrakaḥ and pañcāpāṇiḥ, constructed according to syllabic patterns.
11-12/ Three main types of tāla exist in their pure form. Each has three varieties: yathākṣara (literal), dvikāla (two-fold), and catuṣkāla (four-fold), with “each subsequent one being twice as long as the preceding one.”
13/ Tāla caturasra has three special varieties with four, eight, and sixteen kālas respectively.
14/ Chañcatputaḥ also has three varieties depending on the placement of the pātakāla: sannipātādi, śamyādi, and tālādi, each of which is applied in various song contexts.
15-16/ From the variety of sannipātādi arise tālas of six or eight kalās. The special form of tryaśra, named ṣaṭpitāputrakaḥ (or pañcapāṇiḥ), has six pātas: sannipāta, tāla, śamya, tāla, śamya, and tāla.
17/ Samparkeṣṭakas, another variety of triasra, consists “of five long syllables, including the initial and final syllables pluta,” with the pāṭas tāla, śamya, tāla, śamya, and tāla.
18-19/ “Pure cañcatputas and others from one kalā” are manifested through three standard varieties.
20/ Tāla tryaśra contains “six special varieties, having respectively three, six, twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight, and ninety-six kalās,” which makes nine varieties of tryaśra in combination with the three general types.
21-22/ Tāla is divided into the silent (without sound) and the sounding (having sound), and each performs special functions.
23/ The silent tāla has four varieties: āvāpa, niṣkrāma, vikṣepa and praveśaka.
24/ The sounding tāla also has four varieties: śamyā, tāla, dhruva and sannipāta.
25-26/ Specific gestures are characteristic of each variety of the silent tāla: “Āvāpa is the bending of fingers directed upward; niṣkrāma is the opening of fingers turned downward. A quick movement to the right is vikṣepa, and praveśana is the drawing back of the palm turned downward.”
27/ The sequence is as follows: first they show āvāpa, then niṣkrāma, vikṣepa, and praveśana. When four kālas are combined, all four movements are used; with two kālas, only niṣkrāma and praveśa suffice.
28-29/ The alternating arrangement of hand movements constitutes pātu. The sounding tālas include: śamyā (right hand), tāla (left hand), and sannipāta (both hands together).
30/ Dhruva means a pause for one mātra, “paving the way for rāgas.”
31/ In yathākṣara-tāla, dhruva represents a long syllable. Tālas consisting of yathākṣara-pāṭ use doubled long syllables for two-kāla versions, and further doubling creates four-kāla forms.
32-33/ “Cāncatputaḥ, cāpapuṭaḥ and pañcapāṇiḥ each have three varieties.”
34/ Besides the categories caturaśra and tryaśra, there exist “five kinds of tāla,” called udghaṭṭaka and the like, pertaining to mixed types.
35/ They may contain five, seven, nine, ten, or eleven kalās, for which they receive the designation “other.” They serve in pravṛtti and other forms of songs, but not in the seven traditional types of songs or in dhruvās.
36-37/ It is said that “dhruvas will have tāla caturasra and tryaśra, consisting respectively of eight and six kalās.”
38-39/ For the eight-kala tāla caturaśra, individual fingers indicate specific components: the little finger shows niṣkramā and śamyā; the little finger and ring finger together show niṣkramā, tāla and śamyā; the middle finger indicates praveśā; and the index finger — niṣkramā and sannipāta.
40/ For the six-kāla tāla triasra, the little finger shows niṣkrāma, śamyā, tāla, and śamyā, while the index finger shows śamyā and sannipāta.
41/ «Such is the rule regarding the tāla of four kalās in terms of āvāpa and vikṣepa, shown with the fingers.»
42-43/ Padabhāgas consisting of two or four kalās are established. Next, āsārita is introduced: the chief director takes cañcatpuṭas with “long, short, and pluta syllables, and then the double pañcapāṇi.”
44/ In the preceding tāla, the syllables are arranged as indicated by their names. This yields sequences of pāt: tāla, śamya, tāla, śamya, tāla. Thus arises the “short yathākṣara-āsarita.”
45-46/ The syllables within the names of tāla indicate specific placements of pat. For example, in cañcatpuṭa: “ca” indicates tāla, “cat” indicates tāla, “pu” indicates śamya, and “ta” indicates tāla.
47/ A short āsārita, when combined with long syllables, becomes a medium āsārita. When this medium form is doubled, it becomes a long āsārita, “with kālas twice the number of kālas of the medium āsārita.”
48-49/ Next, lāyantārita and vardhamāna are described. Lāyantārita represents the “shortest tāla” with a variation based on differences in time, while vardhamāna appears as a “combination of āsārita.”
50-52/ The mythological narrative states: “Rudra once created a beautiful dance called tāṇḍava.” Then the great bhūtas created vardhamāna, “adorned with pindibandhas” (group dances). Observance of traditional rules brings one closer to Śiva.
53-55/ Vardhamāna, “performed in three mārgas,” is of two kinds. It contains four parts (kandikā): the first includes nine kalās, the second — eight, the third — sixteen, and the fourth — thirty-two.
56/ The brief āsārita is constructed after the first part in combination with the “brief tāla,” with the second half being short by one kāla.
57-58/ When the second part is completed and the kālas of the first part are applied in the preceding tāla, lāyāntarita arises. A short āsārita does not exist in dakṣiṇa-mārga, whether in vardhamāna or other songs.
59-60/ The middle āsarita requires observance of the prescribed short āsarita-tāla in the first two parts, with the third, second, and first parts maintaining an equal number of kālas.
61/ The long āsārita reverses the order of the parts and adds four kālas to each part.
62-63/ Four parts (aṅgas) constitute all āsāritas: mukha, pratimukha, deha, and saṃhāraṇa. Upohana is mukha, yugma is pratimukha, ojaḥ is deha, and saṃhāra is the fourth part.
64/ The mukhas of the long, middle, and short āsārita contain eight, seven, and five kalās respectively.
65-66/ Upavāhanas use certain syllabic patterns: eight syllables (two long, four short, two long) for the brief āsāritā; twelve for lāyantāritā; sixteen for the medium; and twenty for the long form.
67/ An example in the context of the brief āsārita states: «Devam devaiḥ samstutam īśam daityair yakṣaiḥ prāṇamita-caraṇam» (I have resorted to the protection of Hara, the formidable, benefactor of the three worlds…).
68-70/ On average, the asārita cañcatputāḥ contains eight ordinary gaṇas, the ṣaṭpitāputraka requires twelve, and the third part of the vastu — thirteen and a half. The long asārita uses, respectively, sixteen, twenty-four, and twenty-four and a half gaṇas in its three components.
71-72/ Three varieties of āsārita are described: literal (yathākṣara), double (dvisaṃkhyāta), and triple (trisaṃkhyāta). The literal version uses gaṇas with equal varṇas, doubled when observing tāla. With a single repetition it becomes double; with two repetitions, triple.
73/ The double āsārita requires the addition of half a gaṇa to the literal form for repetition, and the triple requires the addition of half a gaṇa to the double.
74/ The double āsārita should not be performed in cittra-mārga; the triple should not appear in vārttika-mārga.
75/ Specific assignments of the mārgas: the triple āsārita in dakṣiṇā, the double in vārtika, the literal in citra. The triple should begin in dakṣiṇā, and vṛtti and citra follow upon repetition.
76-78/ Vardhamāna contains four parts: viśāla (nine kālas), saṃgata (eight kālas), sunanda (sixteen kālas), and sumukhī (thirty-two kālas).
79-80/ Upohanas for each part include: five kalās (viśālā), six (saṃghātā), seven (sunandā), and eight (sumukhī). The upohana of viśālā contains “two long syllables at the beginning, then fourteen short ones, and finally a long syllable.”
81/ The tāla of upohana viśāla is as follows: “Śamya, tāla, śamya, tāla, sannipāta.” Saṃghāta uses cañcatpuṭa of two kalās, and the tāla of sunandā is preceded by udghaṭṭa of three kalās.
82-83/ Upohanas appear twice to complete each kandikā. Tāla viśāla includes śamyā, tāla, śamyā, tāla, and sannipāta of three kalās. Saṃghāta uses cañcatpuṭaḥ of two kalās; sunandā — the same of four kalās.
84/ Sumukhi uses the “double cañcatpuṭa of four kālas with two sannipātas.” The performance begins with viśāla in a brief tāla.
85-86/ The short āsārita counts nine kālas; the layāntarita — seventeen; the medium — thirty-three; the long — sixty-five kālas.
87-88/ The designation «vardhamānaka» reflects the gradual increase of syllables, tāla, and tempo through successive phases. In all āsārita and vardhamāna, the law of the syllable is applied in double measure of the ordinary tāla.
89/ Sannipāta occurs at the end, and the final kalā consists of two mātrās.
90-92/ The middle āsārita uses the tāla uttarāh (ṣatpitāputrakaḥ) except for three kalās with two full repetitions in its first vastu. Certain sequences of pāṭs govern each composite section.
93-95/ The body of the long āsārita includes śamyā and tāla with the correct tempo, consisting of sixty-five kalās. Its āvāpa, niṣkrāma, vikṣepa, and praveśaka contain groups of four kalās each.
96-98/ Extended sequences of pāṭ for a long āsārita include: “śamya and tāla of four kalās, śamya of four kalās, tāla of two kalās, sannipāta of six kalās, tāla of six kalās, śamya of two kalās, tāla of two kalās, and sannipāta of six kalās.”
99-100/ Seventeen kālas appear in the first sannipāta with specific finger notations. A full description follows for the second and third groups of sannipātas. Eight tālas, six śamyās, and three sannipātas characterize each type of āsārita.
101-102/ Vastu and the bodies of songs contain parts: vivadha, ekaka, and vṛtta. Ekaka consists of one vidāri; vivadha contains two; vṛtta includes from three to six vidāri.
103/ Vidari represents “padas or varṇas,” and the vastu concludes with nyāsa, apanyāsa, and aṁśa.
104/ “Since it splits the notes, it is called vidārī, and it is like heavy varṇas.”
105-106/ The use of vivadha and ekaka is characteristic of madraka and prakari, while vṛtta appears in rovinḍaka, uttara, and lāsya.
107/ Vṛtta is of two kinds: pravṛtta and avagādha.
108/ In song, vidari occur “at least three and at most eleven,” although in exceptional cases they reach twenty-four.
109/ “The seven [traditional types] of songs are madraka, ullopyaka, aparāntaka, prakari, ovenaka, rovindaka and uttara.”
Madraka
110/ Madraka is of two kinds: “consisting of four vastu” and “consisting of three vastu”.
111-112/ The description of kāla includes the “sixteen mātrās” and the construction of padas with “eight long… eight short” syllables.
113-115/ Details about the pat drawings, including “śamya, tāla, tāla, śamya, tāla, śamya, tāla and sannipāta.”
116-120/ Rules for catuṣkala-madraka with detailed placement of pāṭa at specific kāla intervals.
Aparāntaka
121/ This form requires “five, six, or seven” śirṣakas, whereas the prakārī must contain “four, three and a half” sections, totaling seven and a half units.
Rovindaka
122-123/ Rovindaka “consists of seven parts at minimum and sixteen parts at maximum,” with individual sections including “two [consecutive] pādas.”
124/ The performance instructions prescribe “to apply at the beginning the pravṛtti and vivādha,” with the syllable “a” appearing both in the middle and at the conclusion.
125-126/ The specifications include “six mātrās with a padabhāga of four kālas,” with time-mark patterns consisting of “tāla, śamya, tāla, śamya, tāla, śamya.” The concluding sections “must end with sannipāta and include vivādha and ekaka.”
Ovenaka
127/ This form contains “seven or twelve parts” with various structural endings depending on the number of parts.
128-129/ The twelve-part version includes: “pāda, sandhi, māśaghāta, vajra, sampiṣṭaka, śīrṣaka, caturasra, upavartana, upapāta, two praveṇī and saṃhāraṇa.”
130-132/ Varieties of sampiṣṭaka with specific tāla patterns, including “niṣkrāma, three śamyā, three tāla.” Application of praveṇī with “literal pañcapāṇi” and specifications of antaharaṇa.
Ullopyaka
133-134/ The composition of vastu from “two long syllables, two short syllables, and a long syllable” with the tāla pattern.
135-137/ Specifications of vaikhāyasī with “twelve kālas” and seven pāṭas, including śākhā and pratiśākhā.
138-140/ Three types of nivṛtti (tryasra, caturasra, and mixed) with three parts: “sthita, pravṛtta, and mahājanika.”
141/ “The three parts of ullopya are avagādha, pravṛtta and mahājanika,” which may be reduced to two parts by omitting the last component, or to one part through certain combinations.
142/ The form “must have no fewer than six and no more than twenty parts.”
Uttara
143/ The uttara “must have a mukha and pratimukha”.
144-145/ This form requires “six parts minimum and twelve parts maximum,” with the śākhā component including “six pāṭas consisting of twelve kālas.”
146/ Pratiśākhā “should also be performed with pañcapani of two kalās.”
General rules for the seven types
147-148/ Songs are divided into two categories: “kulaka” (a single thematic meaning) and “chedyaka” (multiple separate meanings).
149-150/ Three additional types of classification: niryukta (including external elements), padaniryukta (partially independent), and aniryukta (fully self-sufficient).
151/ These compositional forms “originated from the Sāmaveda.”
Chatuṣpada
152-153/ The catuṣpada “should be performed by women, and it is of two kinds: tryaśra and caturaśra.”
154/ This form, “depending on whether it pertains to the speech of one, two, or many, will be of three kinds and will abound in the rasa śṛṅgāra (erotic).”
155-158/ The twenty-eight named varieties include: bahvakṣara, vipulā, māgadhī, ardhamāgadhī, samākṣarapāda, viṣamākṣarā, adyantapahāraṇa, anikiṇī, avasānapahāraṇa, antapahāraṇa, abhyantarapahāraṇa, ardhanāṭakūṭa, ardhakhañja, miśra, śīrṣaka, ekāvasāna, niyatākṣara, and ardhavṛtti.
159/ The form “may consist of one, two, three, or four pādas, but no more than four.”
Lāsyā
160/ Lāsya pertains to the “mutual attraction between men and women” and “should be performed by a single person.”
161-162/ The ten main types: geyapada, sthitapathya, asinapathya, pushpagandika, pracchedaka, trimudhaka, saindhavaka, dvimudhaka, uttamottamaka and vicitrapada.
163-164/ Geyyapada includes preliminary musical preparations, followed by the performance of śuṣka-āsarita with “three flutes,” and concludes with “parivṛttis.” The form reaches “nirvāhaṇa” (resolution).
165-166/ Āsinapāṭhya “should be performed with a song composed in meters of long feet, expressing entirely heroic sentiments,” and uses “tāla pañcapaniḥ.”
167-168/ Puṣpagaṇḍikā is characterized by the “alternation” of singing and instrumental performance with “appropriate aṅgahāras and playing of instruments.”
169-170/ The pracchhedaka “consists of three parts and two dhātu” and predominates “in plays,” being “rich in plays.”
171-172/ Trimudhaka contains the “sixty-four sannipātas” and must be “devoid of roughness” and have no “aṅgahāra and viṣkambha”.
173-174/ Saindhavaka represents “performance without very clear aṅgahāras” and includes “the dialect of Sindh.”
175/ Uttamottamaka emphasizes “heroic sentiments” and includes the section “aparāntaka śākhā”.
176/ Uktapratyukta, “abounding in references to anger and its pacification,” should “end with pacification.”
The meaning of tāla
177-178/ It is emphasized that “the dramatic performance (nāṭya) is based on tāla,” and performers should apply “great effort” in mastering these rhythmic patterns, for insufficient or excessive material “is held [in measure] by tāla.”
179/ Traditional types of songs “are all recognized by their tāla,” which requires students “to study (lit. verify) their tāla with all diligence.”
180/ Knowledge requires that performers “know tāla,” which makes this knowledge necessary for singers and instrumentalists. “One cannot be a singer or an instrumentalist without knowing tāla.”
Three tempos
181/ Three tempos are defined: “fast (druta), medium (madhya) and slow (vilambita),” which manifest in “the various mārgas of songs and instrumental playing.”
182/ The concept of laya is connected with the “completion of measures, syllables, and words” and depends on “the variation of time in the kālas [of its tāla].”
183/ The three categories of yati — “even (sama), flowing (srotogata)” and others — operate in combination with these tempos.
184/ Thus are established seven types of traditional songs, which “are all recognized by their tāla.”
Here ends chapter thirty-one of Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra, treating of the measure of time (tāla).