From the earliest times, music was regarded as sacred. It sprang from God and was performed by the smaller divinities. There were professional celestial beings, such as Gandharvas and Apsaras, who performed before the Devas. Brahma indulged in the art for relaxation. Saraswati, the goddess of learning and music, invented the exquisite Vina, which bears her name. Narada is a brilliant figure among the divine beings, in the musical world. Shiva, in the act of dancing his divine dance, shook the universe with his marvellous performance. His wife, Parvati, has been the subject of many a poetical idea. The Rudra Vina is the definite representation of her lovely sleeping form.
The leading motive of Indian music is an expression of the feeling and emotions in a series of melodies. The mysteries and misconceptions engulfing it are dispelled by an elucidation of our important parts (angas): Sur Adhaya (Law of tone) Tala Adhaya (Law of Rhythm), Ast Adhaya (Law of Musical Instruments) and Raga Adhaya (Law of Tune).
The Indian music is woven with legends and traditions of the poetic fancies and reveries of the human soul and spirit of the country which the author has immortalised in a series of beautiful paintings, the Ragas and Raginis.
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