Samagana

Sāmagān सामगान is not merely a name given to singing hymns of Veda but represents the philosophy and science of uniting thought, sound and music. Sāmagān is purpose of creation of Samaveda.

ām Veda

Sām is singing of hymns from Rigveda alone and not from other Veda-s. "richi adhyoodham sam" ऋचि अध्यूढ्रम साम (Chhandog Upnishad 1.6.1). Hence Sām is composition of words in Rigvedic hymns into notes. The richā-s or hymns of Rigveda are called yoni or ādhār as they form the base of Sāmgān. In musicological parlance Sām Veda has taken mātu (words) from Rigveda and provided dhātu (notes) to these words. (Bharatiya Sangeet Ka Itihaas. Dr. Thakur Jaidev Singh. Calcutta: Sangeet Research Academy, 1994, pp. 35 - 72)

Parts of Sām Veda

Ārchik.आर्चिक् Only a few hymns in Sām Veda Samhita were not based upon richa-s taken from Rigveda. The bulk being based on Rigveda is known as Ārchik. It has two parts.

Poorvārchik. पूर्वार्चिक 585 Richa-s are sub-grouped into 6 Prapāthak-s. Each Prapāthak has two Ardh-s. Each Ardh has 10 Dashati-s. A collection of ten (here, hymns) is called a Dashati.

Uttarārchik. उत्तरार्चिक It has 1225 richa-s contained in 9 Prapāthak-s, first five having two ardh-s each and the remaining four having three ardh-s each.

Āranyak Samhita. अरण्यक सम्हिता It is merely a collection of verses that could be sung.

Branches of Sām

Patanjali's statement, "sahasravartma samvedah" सहस्रवर्त्म समवेदः gives rises to speculation that there were a thousand branches of Sām, while he poetically indicated there could be a thousand ways in which Sām could be sung. In Sāmtarpan there are a maximum of 13 Āchārya-s but today there are only three branches.1. Rānaneeya राणानीय2. Kouthumeeya कौथ्हुमीय3. Jaimineeya जैमिनीय

Relationship of Ārchik and Gān-grantha

Ārchik grantha (treatises) contains hymns that are yoni or base to Gān or singing. The collections of suitably modified richa-s are known as Gān-grantha. These are the true Sām.Sām created on richa-s of Poorvārchik are called Grām-gān,ग्रामगान् Grāmegeya-gān, ग्रामगेयोगान् Prakriti-gān प्रकृतिगान or Veya-gān वेयगान्.Sām created on richa-s of Āranyak Samhita are termed Aranya-gān अरण्यागान or Aranyageya-gān अरण्यगेयोगान्.Sām created on richa-s of Uttarārchik are known as Ooh-gān.ऊहगान्The Sanskrit root ooh means 'to modify according to need'. (Caland in preface to PanchVimshBrahmin)

Application of Gān-s

Gramgeyo-gān: Sung in villages or towns.Aranyageya-gān: Practiced in solitude of forest. Also called Rahasyageyo-gān.Ooh-gān: Pragath-s specially created for yajna on basis of Gramgeyo-gān.Oohya-gān ऊह्यगान: Pragath-s created for yajna on basis of Rahasyageyo-gān.

There is a difference in number of songs attributed to different branches. Shri Satvalekar in preface to Sāmveda Samhita has given the following table of songs.

References

1. Bharatiya Sangeet Ka Itihaas. Dr. Thakur Jaidev Singh. Calcutta: Sangeet Research Academy, 1994

2. Music of Hindostan. Fox-Strangways, A.H. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1914.

3. Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya. Dr. Lalmani Misra

4. Dhwani Aur Sangeet. Prof. Lalit Kishor Singh. New Delhi: Bharatiya Jnanpith, 1954, 1962, 1999.

Links

* [http://www.omenad.net Swar in Samveda. An Article by Dr. Lal Mani Misra on Samic musical notes]