Kohala and Gītā (13): The concept of Tāla

1 Uttara Tāla

उत्तरः पञ्चपाण्याख्यः षट्पितापुत्रकाक्षरः ॥ १२७ ॥
अयुग्मोत्थः प्लुताद्यन्तस्तथा चाहात्र कोहलः ।
द्वौ तु चाचपुटौ कृत्वा द्वितीयोपान्त्यके क्रमात् ॥ १२८ ॥
आद्यन्तयोर्नियुज्यैनं षट्पितापुत्रकं विदुः ।
सन्निपातश्च तालश्च तस्याद्यन्तौ यथाक्रमम् ॥ १२९ ॥
द्विर्मध्ये तालशम्ये च पातादिभ्यो कलाविधिः ।१३०अ ।

uttaraḥ pañcapāṇyākhyaḥ ṣaṭpitāputrakākṣaraḥ || 127 ||
ayugmotthaḥ plutādyantastathā cāhātra kohalaḥ |
dvau tu cācapuṭau kṛtvā dvitīyopāntyake kramāt || 128 ||
ādyantayorniyujyainaṃ ṣaṭpitāputrakaṃ viduḥ |
sannipātaśca tālaśca tasyādyantau yathākramam || 129 ||
dvirmadhye tālaśamye ca pātādibhyo kalāvidhiḥ |130a | 

—(Dattilam, p.26) 

Dattila presents the following definition of the uttara tāla. He says that the uttara tāla which is also called pañcapāṇi is formed using the akṣaras of ṣaṭpitāputraka. It is born of the ayugma (cācapuṭa). The first and last syllables are pluta. Having said this, he proceeds to give Kohala’s definition of the same.

Mukund Lath translates this passage thus—

“Having juxtaposed two cācaputaḥs, place the first syllable at the second in cācaputaḥ and the final in the last but one in cācaputaḥ, such is known as ṣaṭpitāputrakaḥ”^[1]. 

Dattila also says that this tāla begins with a sannipāta, ends with a tāla and has in the middle, a couple of the set of tāla & śamyā. These are the kalās in this tāla. 

According to Dattila, Kohala places two cācapuṭas one after the other. Then he places the first syllable of ṣaṭpitāputraka under the second syllable of cācapuṭa.

cā ca pu ṭaḥ cā ca pu taḥ
ṣaṭ pi tā put ra kaḥ 

In this case, the formation of the aṅgas will be as follows—

S I I S S I I S
Ś I S S I Ś 

The structure of the two tālas, when studied in this manner seem to match quite well. For instance the first and last plutas of ṣatpitāputraka can be assumed to be made from the sum of the guru and laghu in the beginning and the end of the cācaputas (S+I=Ś). This sort of syllabic correspondence is perhaps the reason Dattila says that this tāla is the off-shoot of cācapuṭa. Mukund Lath feels that Dattila quotes Kohala in this context, because this was an easy and practical method to understanding the reason this tāla was believed to be ‘ayugmotthaḥ’. 

It is interesting to note that Kohala has explained a layatāla called vilambitā (ref. para 2.1.14.7). The definition of vilambitā has been given by M. R. Kavi as a footnote in his edition of Nāṭyaśastra^[2]. This particular layatāla also has a form that is similar to juxtaposing two cācapuṭa tālas. Since it seems that Kohala was well versed and has expounded several bhaṅga tāla-s, layatālas etc., his thought process of trying to interpret a mārga tāla also in the same manner (juxtaposing two cācapuṭas) is not surprising. Kohala appears to have explained a mārga tāla, using the mind-set of one who follows a different tradition (that of the bhaṅga tālas).

2 Dvipadī

देशनियममुक्त्वा कालनियममप्यौत्सर्गिकं तावदाह चतुष्कलो हीति । तथा चेति तेनोत्क्षेपेण यत्पादस्यपतनं तदुत्तमानां चतसृभिः कलाभिः यस्मात्तदर्धार्धक्रमेण मध्यमाधमयोः परिभाषित इत्युत्सर्गतयेति भावः । तत्र गीतिचतुष्टयं मागध्यादि वक्ष्यते यत्तत्रार्धमागध्यादौ क्रमेण चित्रादित्रयविनियोगात् । “निमेषाः पञ्च मात्रा स्यात्” इति कलासामान्यलक्षणलब्ध औत्सर्गिकः सर्वत्र ध्रुवकमार्गो मन्तव्यः । विशेषादभिधाने तेन ध्रुवकमानेन चतुष्कलः पादपातः, तथा चोत्तमपरिग्रहे द्विपदी कोहलेनोक्ता स्यादुत्तमानां द्विपदी चतुर्गुरुसमन्विता । तत्रोत्क्षेपनिपाताभ्यां यस्मात्पादद्वयं भवेत् ॥ इति

deśaniyamamuktvā kālaniyamamapyautsargikaṃ tāvadāha catuṣkalo hīti | tathā ceti tenotkṣepeṇa yatpādasyapatanaṃ taduttamānāṃ catasṛbhiḥ kalābhiḥ yasmāttadardhārdhakrameṇa madhyamādhamayoḥ paribhāṣita ityutsargatayeti bhāvaḥ | tatra gīticatuṣṭayaṃ māgadhyādi vakṣyate yattatrārdhamāgadhyādau krameṇa citrāditrayaviniyogāt | “nimeṣāḥ pañca mātrā syāt” iti kalāsāmānyalakṣaṇalabdha autsargikaḥ sarvatra dhruvakamārgo mantavyaḥ | viśeṣādabhidhāne tena dhruvakamānena catuṣkalaḥ pādapātaḥ, tathā cottamaparigrahe dvipadī kohalenoktā syāduttamānāṃ dvipadī caturgurusamanvitā | tatrotkṣepanipātābhyāṃ yasmātpādadvayaṃ bhavet || iti 

—(Abhinavabhāratī, Commentary on 12.11, GOS Vol. II, p.133)

In chapter 12 of Nasṣṭyaśāstra, Bharata describes the entry of the different pātras (actors) onto the stage, the postures to be adopted, and the prescribed interval between their feet.—

पादयोरन्तरं कार्यं द्वौ तालावर्धमेव च ।
पादोत्क्षेपस्तु कर्तव्यः स्वप्रमाणविनिर्मितः ॥ १२.८ ॥
चतुस्तालो द्वितालष्चापि एकतालस्तथैव च ।
चतुस्तालस्तु देवानां पार्थिवानां तथैव च ॥ १२.९ ॥
द्वितालश्चैव मध्यानां तालः स्त्रीनीचलिङ्गिनाम् । १२.१०अब् ।

pādayorantaraṃ kāryaṃ dvau tālāvardhameva ca |
pādotkṣepastu kartavyaḥ svapramāṇavinirmitaḥ || 12.8 ||
catustālo dvitālaṣcāpi ekatālastathaiva ca |
catustālastu devānāṃ pārthivānāṃ tathaiva ca || 12.9 ||
dvitālaścaiva madhyānāṃ tālaḥ strīnīcaliṅginām | 12.10ab |

—Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharatamuni: 2001: GOS Vol. II: pp.131-132

This is followed by Bharata’s explanation of the time taken for each step in the case of the different dramatis personae (uttama, madhyama and adhama pātras). It is in this context that the above excerpt of Abhinavabhāratī occurs. 

On the time taken for each step, Bharata says—

चतुष्कलो ह्वयुत्तमानां मध्यानां द्विकलो भवेत् ।
तथा चैककलः पातो नीचानां संप्रकीर्तितः ॥ १२.११ ॥

catuṣkalo hvayuttamānāṃ madhyānāṃ dvikalo bhavet |
tathā caikakalaḥ pāto nīcānāṃ saṃprakīrtitaḥ || 12.11 ||^[3]

The uttama characters should take the time measure of catuṣkala, madhya characters—dvikala and nīca characters should take a duration of ekakala. 

Abhinava explains that the time taken by uttama-pātras is catuṣkala and the subsequent ones (madhyama and adhama) take half the time of the previous one. He then says that among the four gītis, ardhamāgadhī, sambhāvitā and pṛthulā must follow the citra, vārtika and dakṣiṇa mārgas respectively. The general rule of kalās that says ‘nimeṣāḥ pañca mātrā syāt’ (five nimeṣas make a mātra) is to be understood to refer to the dhruvaka mārga. This movement of feet in catuṣkala must be done in the duration prescribed in the dhruvaka mārga. At this point Abhinava mentions that Kohala, in the case of uttama-pātras has prescribed dvipadī. 

According to Kohala, dvipadī is to be used by the uttama characters. It is made up of four gurus. Of these, two gurus are to be used for lifting a foot up and the other two to place it down. 

In the tradition of Bharata, when a tāla was changed from ekakala to dvikala or catuṣkala, the entire form of the tāla will undergo a change. For instance when caccatpuṭa tāla (SSIŚ) is rendered in dvikala, each of the kalās of the tāla is transformed in to two gurus^[4]. Now the tāla will have four pādabhāgas with Bharata says that interval between the two feet must be two and a half tālas. Here, tāla refers to a unit of measurement which Abhinava later defines as the distance between the middle finger and the thumb of an stretched-out palm (Tālaḥ prasārita-madhyamāṅguṣṭhāntaram) two gurus each. Catuṣkala caccatpuṭa will have four pādabhāgas with four gurus each. Thus, the entire form of the tāla gets transformed. However, in the case of mārga, caccatpuṭa tāla when rendered in citra mārga will have a guru of the duration of two mātras^[5], in the vārtika mārga, this guru takes the duration of four mātrās, and in dakṣina mārga a guru is of the duration of 8 mātrās. But in each of these cases, the form of the tāla (caccatpuṭa) remains the same—i.e. SSIŚ. The only exception is in the case of dhruva mārga. If the above mentioned rules for mārga are followed, then dhruva mārga will have a guru of one mātrā duration (the resultant form would have 1+1+ ½ +1 ½ = 4 mātrās), but instead it has all four gurus (SSSS).

Abhinava mentions that citra, vārtika and dakṣiṇa mārgas are to be used in the case of ardhamāgadhī, sambhāvitā and pṛthulā gītis. By this, he perhaps is trying to show that the māgadhī gīti is to be rendered on dhruvaka mārga alone. The dhruvaka mārga has four kalas and is made up of four gurus. On comparison, it can be seen that Kohala too, mentions a duration of four gurus (caturguru samanvitā) for uttama characters. It is just that he uses the name dvipadī for this whereas neither Bharata nor Abhinava give names for these. Incidentally V. Raghavan says that dvipadī is the name of a laya, a musical composition and a dance based on it^[6]. In this case Kohala’s definition pertains to the variety of laya. It appears that this discussion of Abhinava is intended at ensuring that catuṣkala is understood as referring to the dhruvaka mārga. He says that placing of the feet in catuṣkala using the citra mārga is not acceptable. And it is in this context perhaps, that he mentions the view of Kohala in order to bring out the similarity between catuṣkala in the dhruvaka mārga and Kohala’s dvipadī.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

A Study of Dattilam: 1978: pp.327-328

[2]:

Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharatamuni: 2001: GOS Vol. II: p. 155

[3]:

ibid.: p. 132

[4]:

The dvikala form of Caccatpuṭa tāla will be -SS SS SS SS

[5]:

The duration of five nimeṣas or the time to utter five short syllables (ka-kha-ga-gha-ṅa or ka-ca-ṭa-ta-pa) is one mātrā. The term mātrā has different connotations when used in the field of sāhitya and saṅgīta. In sāhitya, one mātrā would refer to one hrasva syllable. But the mātrā in saṅgīta would be of the duration of five hrasvākṣaras. In the period of Bharata, the term mātrā used in literature and music were different.

[6]:

Uparuspaka- s and Nṛtyaprabandhas: Saṃskṛta Raṅga, Annual V: p. 40