Pancha Marapu (Tamil: பஞ்சமரபு pañcamarapu) is a 10th-century Tamil treatise on musical theory, written by Aṟivaṉār. The work is one of the isaittamiḻ texts referred to in Atiyarkkunallar's commentary on the Silappadhikaram. Although it was long believed to be lost, a manuscript was discovered in the latter half of the twentieth century, and partially published in 1973.[1] A revised edition has since been published.[2]

The text deals with the music, musical instruments and percussion instruments (muḻavu)[3] of that period, and enumerates nine divisions of Tamil music, namely, cindu, cavalai, tiripatai, camapātaviruttam, centuṟai, veṇṭuṟai, peruntēvappāṇi, ciruntēvappāṇi, and vaṇṇam. [4]

References

  1. ^ Zvelebil, Kamil (1992). Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature. Leiden: Brill. p. 83. ISBN 90-04-09365-6.
  2. ^ Sundaram, V.P.K. (1991). Pancha Marapu (2nd ed.). The South India Saiva Siddhantha Works Publishing Society.
  3. ^ Kuppuswami, T. V.; T. K. Venkata Subramanian (1993). Rhythm in historical cognition. Delhi: Kalinga Publications. pp. 9–11. ISBN 81-85163-34-0.
  4. ^ Ramanathan, S. (1979). Music in Cilappatikaaram. Madurai: Madurai-Kamaraj University. p. 57.


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