Vadya

A vadya refers to instrument and the music they produce.^[1]^[2] Above examples are found in the Natya Shastra.^[3]^[4]

Vadya (Sanskrit: वाद्य, vādya), also called vadyaka or atodya, is one of the three components of sangita (musical performance arts), and refers to "instrumental music" in the Indian traditions.^[1]^[5]^[6] The other two components of sangita are gita (vocal music, song) and nritya (dance, movement).^[1]^[7]^[4] In the general sense, vadya means an instrument and the characteristic music they produce, sound, or play out.^[8]^[9]

Indian musicology

The term vadya in the sense of "music, sounded, played, uttered" appears in Vedic literature such as the Aitareya Brahmana, and in early post-Vedic era Sanskrit texts such as the Natya Shastra, Panchatantra, Malvikagnimitra, and Kathasaritsagara.^[5] These texts refer to the musician or instrumental performer as vadyadhara.^[5] A stringed instrument is described with proportional lengths in Jaiminiya Brahmana and Aitareya Aranyaka, and these are compared to poetical meters.^[10] The 17th-century text Sangita Darpana defines sangita (musical arts) as "gītam vādyam tathā nrityam trayan sangīta muchyate", meaning sangita comprises gīta (vocal music), vādya (instrumental music), and nritya (dance).^[11]

Classification of instruments

Sanskrit literature describes four types of vadya:^[4]^[6]^[12]

Tantu: stringed musical instrument (chordophone)
Susira: hollow musical instrument (aerophone)
Ghana: solid musical instrument (idiophone)
Avanaddha: covered musical instrument (membranophone)

Ensembles and orchestras

The chapter 14 of the Saṅgītaśiromaṇi describes musical ensembles based on a collective performance of vadya instruments by musicians, and it calls such a band orchestra as a kutapa.^[13]

Cultural exchange

The term vadya also appears in the Buddhist Sanskrit text Sukhavativyuha, influential in the Chinese and Japanese traditions, which Luis Gomez translates as "instrumental music".^[14]

In Hindu-Javanese music tradition, vadya is called vaditra.^[7] According to Roger Blench, most scholars consider the term valiha (a Madagascar tube zither instrument) to be rooted in the Sanskrit term vadya, reflecting a period of cultural exchange over the Indian Ocean.^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Lewis Rowell (2015). Music and Musical Thought in Early India. University of Chicago Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-226-73034-9.
^ Bigamudre Chaitanya Deva (1995). Indian Music. Taylor & Francis. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-81-224-0730-3.
^ Rachel Van M. Baumer; James R. Brandon (1993). Sanskrit Drama in Performance. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 117–118. ISBN 978-81-208-0772-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c Alison Arnold; Bruno Nettl (2000). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent. Taylor & Francis. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0-8240-4946-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c Monier Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 940
^ ^a ^b Dilip Ranjan Barthakur (2003). The Music and Musical Instruments of North Eastern India. Mittal Publications. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-81-7099-881-5.
^ ^a ^b Jaap Kunst (2013). Hindu-Javanese Musical Instruments. Springer Science. pp. 88 with footnote 26. ISBN 978-94-011-9185-2.
^ Lewis Rowell (2015). Music and Musical Thought in Early India. University of Chicago Press. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-0-226-73034-9.
^ Mandakranta Bose (2012). Movement and Mimesis: The Idea of Dance in the Sanskritic Tradition. Springer Science. p. 57. ISBN 978-94-011-3594-8.
^ Emmie te Nijenhuis (1992). Saṅgītaśiromaṇi: A Medieval Handbook of Indian Music. BRILL Academic. pp. 12–14. ISBN 90-04-09498-9.
^ Dona, Lasanthi Manaranjanie Kalinga (2012). "On the Therapeutic Aspects of Indian Classical Music". Musik-, Tanz- und Kunsttherapie. 23 (1). Hogrefe Publishing: 8–14. doi:10.1026/0933-6885/a000069.
^ Bonnie C. Wade (1987). Music in India: The Classical Traditions. Riverdale Company. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-913215-25-8.
^ Emmie Te Nijenhuis (1992). Saṅgītaśiromaṇi: A Medieval Handbook of Indian Music. BRILL Academic. pp. 524–525. ISBN 90-04-09498-9.
^ Luis Gómez (1996), The Land of Bliss: Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutras, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0-8248-1760-2, page 72 (verse 28.23)
^ Roger Blench (2014), Using Diverse Sources of Evidence for Reconstructing the Past History of Musical Exchanges in the Indian Ocean, African Archaeological Review, Volume 31, Issue 4 (December), pp 675–703

[Rowell2015p13-1] Lewis Rowell (2015). Music and Musical Thought in Early India. University of Chicago Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-226-73034-9.

[2] Bigamudre Chaitanya Deva (1995). Indian Music. Taylor & Francis. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-81-224-0730-3.

[BaumerBrandon1993p117-3] Rachel Van M. Baumer; James R. Brandon (1993). Sanskrit Drama in Performance. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 117–118. ISBN 978-81-208-0772-3.

[ArnoldNettl2000p321-4] Alison Arnold; Bruno Nettl (2000). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent. Taylor & Francis. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0-8240-4946-1.

[mmwvadya-5] Monier Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 940

[Barthakur2003p3-6] Dilip Ranjan Barthakur (2003). The Music and Musical Instruments of North Eastern India. Mittal Publications. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-81-7099-881-5.

[Kunst2013p88-7] Jaap Kunst (2013). Hindu-Javanese Musical Instruments. Springer Science. pp. 88 with footnote 26. ISBN 978-94-011-9185-2.

[8] Lewis Rowell (2015). Music and Musical Thought in Early India. University of Chicago Press. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-0-226-73034-9.

[9] Mandakranta Bose (2012). Movement and Mimesis: The Idea of Dance in the Sanskritic Tradition. Springer Science. p. 57. ISBN 978-94-011-3594-8.

[Nijenhuis1992p12-10] Emmie te Nijenhuis (1992). Saṅgītaśiromaṇi: A Medieval Handbook of Indian Music. BRILL Academic. pp. 12–14. ISBN 90-04-09498-9.

[11] Dona, Lasanthi Manaranjanie Kalinga (2012). "On the Therapeutic Aspects of Indian Classical Music". Musik-, Tanz- und Kunsttherapie. 23 (1). Hogrefe Publishing: 8–14. doi:10.1026/0933-6885/a000069.

[Wade1987p88-12] Bonnie C. Wade (1987). Music in India: The Classical Traditions. Riverdale Company. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-913215-25-8.

[13] Emmie Te Nijenhuis (1992). Saṅgītaśiromaṇi: A Medieval Handbook of Indian Music. BRILL Academic. pp. 524–525. ISBN 90-04-09498-9.

[14] Luis Gómez (1996), The Land of Bliss: Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutras, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0-8248-1760-2, page 72 (verse 28.23)

[15] Roger Blench (2014), Using Diverse Sources of Evidence for Reconstructing the Past History of Musical Exchanges in the Indian Ocean, African Archaeological Review, Volume 31, Issue 4 (December), pp 675–703

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v t e Indian musical instruments
Wind (Sushir)	Bansuri Harmonium Karnay Kombu Kuzhal Nadaswaram Nafir Pungi Shankha Shehnai Shruti box Sringa Tharai Venu
Plucked Stringed (Tat)	Dotara Ektara Gottuvadhyam Pena Rudra veena Santoor Saraswati veena Sarod Seni Rebab Sitar Surbahar Swarabat Swarmandal Tanpura Electronic tanpura Veena Vichitra veena Yazh
Bowed Stringed (Vitat)	Dilruba Esraj Sarangi Sarinda Taus Violin
Membranous Percussion (Avanaddh)	Anandalahari Chande Chenda Damaru Dhaak Duggi Dhol Dholak Dholki Edakka Kanjira Khamak Khol Madal Mardala Mizhav Mridangam Nagada Pakhawaj Parai Sambal Tabla Jori (instrument) Tavil Udukai
Non-Membranous Percussion (Ghan)	Chimta Ghatam Ghungroo Jal tarang Kartal Khanjani Khartal Manjira Morsing
Other	Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya Indian classical music Music of India Jivari
Historical/possibly extinct	Ālāpiṇī vīṇā Eka-tantri vina Kinnari vina Pinaka vina

Indian musicology

Classification of instruments

Ensembles and orchestras

Cultural exchange

See also

References