A era A NOTE ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE JATHISVARA COMPOSITION by Dr S. SITA, B. A., M, Litt., Ph. D. Reader, Department of Indian Music University of Madras REPRINTED FROM Journal of The Madras University Wolume XLVI, No. Fon. 1976 UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS MADRAS-600 005.A NOTE ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE JATHISVARA COMPOSITION De 8. SITA Dance musical forms of India have a long history behind them. With advanced developments in the art of dancing and with the growth of an elaborate tala system and new techniques in the art of drumming, many dance compostions evolved in course of time. The rich out put of vadya prabandhas and nytya prabandhes during the medieval period in the history of music, reveals the popularity of such compositions. With the emergence of the Bharata N&fya concerts, special classical types of compositions to be utilised in the programme such as alarippu, sabda, jathiseara, searajathi, padavarna, pada and tilldna came to be composed. It must be conceded that the highest type of art music is available in these classical forms of dance music, In view of the grand musical conception and rhythmic loveliness, these dance pieces are studied by students of vocal and instrumental music and were rendered in art musical concerts as well. It is well known that the famous Tanjore Quartette; Ponnaiah, Chinnayya, Vadivel and Sivanandam pillai systematised the Bharata ndfyem programme by composing the compositions mentioned above in large numbers. The earliest available jathisvaras are those of these four talented brothers, who were themselves exponents of Bharata sastra. ‘The jathiseara resembles the dance piece svarajathi in form but has no words or sdhilya. After the invocatory opening item of the Bharata Napya namely the alarippu, which is an epitome of all the important poses and movements, the jafhisara is rendered. This isa composition sung mainly to solfa syllables but is found to have a superior rhythmic excellence than that of the scarajathi. On account of their fine2 JOURNAL OF THE MADRAS UNIVERSITY rhythmic setting, these are considered as practice pieces by art music students, The names of the two musical forms, jathisvara and svarajathi, as such point out to the employment of rhythmic syllables or Sollukattu (Jathi) in their structure. The history of these two forms may be traced to the vidya and nrtyaprabandhes expounded at great length in Sangita Ratnakara and other treatises. The prabandha composition had the six constituent angas, the svara, biruda, pada, pata, tena and tala. Of these, the svara and tala are the primary elements comprising a musical form. Pada meaning sa@filye is made attractive by the presence of biruda (culogising expressions), pafa (rkythmic syllables) and tna (auspicious words), Of these six angas, pala means the sounds of stringed, wind and percussion instruments. The paja has been classified as hasta pata, muraja pata, suddha and misra patas. Ina gita prabandha, pata or the rhythmic syllables are found in any one of the sections. For example, the wdgraka section of the Harshaverdkana prabandha is made up of words and biruda, while the dhruva section is constituted of svara and pata. ‘The kaivare prabandha is a good example where in the sections, udgraka and dhrusa are fully constituted of jaihis, while sahitya is present in the abhoga. Haripaladeva’s seven addya prabandhas are significant from the stand point of dance, The first item which commences the Natya, known as pushpafuta nriya is performed to the music of the pushaputa prabandba, accompanied by the instruments like maddhala, kahala and karatika. Worship was offered to the a s through invocatory dances with the srifa elements predominating in them. It is the pushpapuia prabandka or the instrumental prelude to this pushpanjali that later blossomed as the Alary or Alarippu composition. Again the pushpanjali may be identified as the abridged form of the ancient purcatanga of Bharata’s stage, which was itself an elaborate item. ‘The ancient proto type of the term jathi, is to be traced to the sushkaskaras of Bharata, which constitute the Nirgita of his dramatic representation. The rendering of bhavabhinaya to the music of geyapada, coupled with the recitation of jathis, is mentioned in SangitaA NOTE ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE JATHISVARA COMposiTION = 3 muktavali and’ Sangita Damediara, The carlicr counterpart of the jathisvara is the yathi nytya which is a kind of dance sequence. It is to be noted that jarhi, is only a desi varient, an apabhramsa of the term Jatt which means the rhythmic pattern denoted by the sollukkatu, Jathi may be understood as a rhythmic sequence expressed in terms. of Sushkaksharas, atranged in accordance with a ‘fixed point-pause?? According to Damodhara, yathi connotes the v@dya akshara or instru- mental syllables such as falta, taitatha, didki, takita, and dhikita. hus yathi nrtya is dance te the accompaniment of a musical composi with beautiful and attractive combinations of instrumental sounds and which is characterised by well measured pauses. Sarngadeva describes a vadya prabandha named yathi as a composi- tion made up of sequences of kitazarnas, arranged in beautiful pauses. This piece is also referred to as jakka. The khanda yathi, which is one of the sapta vidya prabandhas of Haripala is a combination of instru- mental sounds emanating from stringed, wind or percussion ingtru- ments and is rendered in the druta, madhya and vilambifa laya. The music of the yathi nyitya may be said to survive in the musical forms, jathiseara and svarajathi. The ‘raga vakyanuga yathi nptya” ie. the pathi nrtya to the accompaniment of raga music, may be identified as the earlier counterpart of the jathisvara. When the element of raga is absent in the yathi nptya, it is called the ‘Suddia Yati’. If the musical setting is introduced for this rhythmic sequence, it is the example of the jathisvara, The grouping of jathis or sequence of jathis is conceived first in a jathisvara composition and the svara passages equivalent to these jaihi patterns are then set. It is significant that the jathisvaras were originally known also as svara pallavi®, Svara pallavis are also available in Vizianagaram manuscripts. Though jathis assuch are not used in later searajathis, beautiful thirmanas in three degrees of speed are utilised while performing these as dance items. Jathiscara came into existence originally as an item of classical dance concert with profusion of jathis. A replacement of jathis by the equivalent solfa passages must have led to the jathisvaras 1, Sangita Dimodhara—Dance Chap. p.207. 2. Sangiia Muktavali—Dance Chap. p59. 3. Sangita Kalpadeuna—Dr. L. Muthiabbagavatar. p.106,4 JOURNAL OF THE MADRAS UNIVERSITY without rhythmic syllables. In recent times, sahitya is also introduced into jaihisvara and the piece ‘ Raravenugepabala’ is an instance in point. Jathis as such are absent in the jathisvara of present day music, but the variegated rhythmic patterns suggestive of the progressions like tigram, migram, khanda and sankirna ave emphasised by the sequence of svaras, The passages of svara sequence in a jathisvara composition serve only as substitutes for the sequence of rhythmic syllables and are mnemoni¢ musical aids for the remembrance of the rhythmic construe tion of the piece and its excellence.