Musical Instruments used in Temple Rituals

Abstract

For many centuries, temples in India have been not only places of workship, but also seat of learning. Students pursued their studies under their Acharyas, in the holy precincts of temples in a spirit of reverence and devotion. Temples in the past also played an important part in the preservation and development of fine arts. Music in its triple aspect of gita, vidya and nritya instances of vinaikkam i.e land given in perpetuity to vaimkas by rulers in return for performance on the vina during temple virtuals. Many saivite temples have eduvors who recite selections from the Tevaram during temple services. The Vaishnavite temples have the Araiyars. The veda parayan goshtis provided the Lymnal music. The nagaswaram party provided instrumental music in temples.
Incidentally it might be mentioned that the correct name of this instrument is only nagaswaram and not nadasvaram. The name nagaswaram was possibly, given to the instrument because its tone colour resembled that of the bhujanga svaram, the snake charmer’s instrument. Muthuswamy Dikshitar himself in his song, “Tyagaraja mahadhvajaroha” in Sriraja, relating to the festival at Tiruvarur temple has answered this question in an unmistakable manner. We come across the words: Nagasvara maddaladi vadyam in the song and the word nagasvara here rhymes with the corresponding satvitya, Agama siddhanta etc., in the previous line. The nagasvara not more than seven hundred years old. It is neither mentioned in the old works nor do we come across this instrument in to earlier sculptures. In the mural paintings in the Padmanabhapuram palace, in Travancore, the nagasvaram is depicted but there paintings belong to the late medival period.