10
THE NÁGÁNANDA.
ing the mouthfuls of darbha grass between their teeth, listen to the distinct melodious words of a song, possessing, through due regard to the laws of harmony, the treble and bass tones impartially developed from their respective organs,[1] mingled with the notes of the strings of the resounding lute, as with the hum of bees.
Vidúshaka.
Who, then, my friend, sings here in the sacred grove?
Jímútaváhana.
Inasmuch as these notes sound clearly, struck by the tips of soft fingers, I conjecture that it is sung with Kákilí[2] for its key-note. (Pointing forwards with his
- ↑ This passage is difficult, as it alludes to some technicalities of Hindu music. The Hindus place the bass (mandra), the tenor (madhya), and the treble (tára), in the chest, throat, and top of the palate respectively. Thus the Sangita-ratnákara, "iti vastusthitis távad gáne tredhá bhaved asau; hridi, mandro; gale, madhyo; múrdhni, tara; iti kramát." Compare Prof. Aufrecht's Catalogue of Oxford MSS., 200 b 3.
- ↑ Kákilí is explained as a sweet soft sound, corresponding to the cuckoo's note. Hindu poets give to the kokila, or cuckoo, the fifth note of their scale. Compare Browning:—
"Here's the spring back, or close,
When the almond blossom blows,
We shall have the word
In that minor third
There is none but the cuckoo knows;
Heaps of the guelder-rose,—
I must bear with it, I suppose."Which is curiously paralleled by a verse quoted in the Sáhitya Darpana:—
"The bees may fill every quarter with the sound of their hum-
