The Dance Chapter of Tulaja’s Saṅgītasārāmṛta as an Encounter of Sanskrit and Local Tradition

Presenter:

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Abstract

Thanjavur under the reign of the Maratha dynasty (from XVII to XIX century) became an important centre of music and dance in South India. The Martha rulers of Thanjavur were outstanding patrons of arts, praised and solicited by the artists of their time. It was on the Maratha court where, under the patronage of the king Serfoji II (1798-1832), flourished the South Indian dance sadir. The rulers also contributed themselves to arts and science as scholars and authors. One of these contributions is Saṅgītasārāmṛta (“The Essence of Saṅgīta”), a Sanskrit treatise on music and dance authored by the king Tulaja I (1728-1736). Thought Saṅgītasārāmṛta focuses primarily on the theory of music, the text contains a chapter on dance. As a treatise on saṅgīta, Saṅgītasārāmṛta belongs to the tradition of Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra, and at the same time it constitutes a rare and valuable written record of local dance forms performed at the Thanjavur court. The paper will look at the way the dance chapter of Saṅgītasārāmṛta combines Sanskrit and local (desi) tradition, placing the text in the context of the tradition of patronage of the rajas of Thanjavur.