Kvananam means the melodious sound from the lute. The synonyms of the sounds from the lute is thus described in Amarakosa the famous lexicon in the Sanskrit Literature - निक्वाणो निक्वणः क्वाणः क्वणः क्वणन इत्यपि। There are several references in Kalidasa to the stringed instrument, Vina. The most memorable picture is that of the forlorn wife of the Yaksha (in Alaka) in the Meghaduta . In a series of descriptions the Yaksha tells the cloud of the different ways in which his wife must be spending the period of their separation . The cloud, at the time of its arrival, might see her in any 25 one of these different occupations. Then Kalidasa has this portrait of the Yaksha's wife with a Vina on her lap and eager to sing a song composed by her on the Yaksha .
उत्सङ्गे वा मलिनवसने सोम्य निक्षिप्य
वीणां मद्गोत्राङ्कं विरचितपदं गेयमुद्गातुकामा ।
तन्त्रीमार्द्रां नयनसलिलैः सारयित्वा
कथं चिद् भूयो भूयः स्वयमपि कृतां
मूर्छनां विस्मरन्ती ॥ ८७॥
The second half of the verse deserves the notice
of one interested in the structure of this stringed instrument. The poet
reveals that as the lady started singing each line, tears streamed forth from
her eyes and drenched the strings of the Vina, so that she had to re-arrange
the Me/a of the strings , which had been disturbed. This suggests an important
feature of the structure of the ancient Vina: it had an open string-board, or
one without any fixed frets, as some of our stringed instruments continue to
have even today; and every time a new Raga was to be played, the Mela or the Sarana appropriate to
the Raga had to be done.
(This blog post is a part of Blogchatter's #BlogchatterA2Z)
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