Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition

256 Pages·2014·1.761 MB·English

by  Guy L. Beck

Sonic Liturgy
Studies in Comparative Religion
Frederick M. Denny, Series Editor
S o n i c
(cid:0)
liturg
Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition
Guy L. Beck
The University of South Carolina Press
© 2012 University of South Carolina
Cloth edition published by the University of South Carolina Press, 2012
Ebook edition published in Columbia, South Carolina,
by the University of South Carolina Press, 2013
www.sc.edu/uscpress
22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Library of Congress has cataloged the cloth edition as follows:
Beck, Guy L., 1948–
Sonic liturgy : ritual and music in Hindu tradition / Guy L. Beck.
p. cm. — (Studies in comparative religion)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61117-037-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Music—Religious aspects—Hinduism. 2. Sound--Religious
aspects—Hinduism. 3. Hinduism—Rituals. 4. Hinduism—Liturgy.
5. Liturgics. I. Title. II. Title: Ritual and music in Hindu tradition.
BL1215.M87B43 2012
294.5'38—dc23
2011031529
ISBN 978-1-61117-108-2 (ebook)
Contents
Series Editor’s Preface vii
Preface ix
Note on Transliteration x
Introduction 1
1
Ancient India: Yajna and Sama-Gana 35
2
Classical India: Puja and Gandharva Sangita 64
3
Medieval India: Temple Hinduism and Bhakti Sangit 103
4
Seva and Haveli Sangit 146
5
Seva and Samaj Gayan 173
Conclusion 200
Notes 207
Glossary 223
Bibliography 231
Index 241

Series Editor’s Preface
This new book is an important sequel to Professor Beck’s pioneering earlier book
in this series—Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound,published in 1993.
The earlier book focused on theoretical understandings of sacred sound in Hindu
traditions from the earliest times, whereas this sequel takes us into the actual, lived
world of Hindu ritual and liturgy, which the author refers to as “sacred sound in
practice as opposed to sacred sound in theory.” “Sonic liturgy” is a new category
for understanding religious music in comparative perspective, thus enriching the
traditional fields of ritual and religious studies. Although this book focuses princi-
pally on Hindu ritual and its musical dimensions, it provides a universal method-
ology for the study of sacred sound in whatever religious traditions are being
studied.
Frederick M. Denny

Preface
This book is dedicated to all the musicians and ritual specialists of Hindu India
who have diligently maintained their traditions with unswerving devotion over the
centuries. Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition may be viewed as
a sequel to the previous Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound (1993), also
published by the University of South Carolina Press. While the former deals with
theories of sacred sound in Hinduism, the present work covers some of the prac-
tical aspects of sound and music. Financial support for the research conducted in
1992 and 1993 was provided by the Council for the International Exchange of
Scholars (CIES) in the form of a Fulbright Research Grant and by the American
Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) in the form of a Senior Research Fellowship.
During the periods covered by these grants, I greatly appreciate the assistance pro-
vided by the Vrindaban Research Institute for fieldwork in the Braj area and the
ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Calcutta for instruction on Indian music the-
ory and history.
For the present work, thanks go to Professor Ed Johnson, chair of the Philos-
ophy Department at the University of New Orleans, for providing me with a won-
derful office while I taught courses at UNO from fall 2008 through fall 2009.
During this time most of the actual writing took place in the peaceful solitude of
the third floor of the Liberal Arts Building. In addition, the fact that the Tulane
University School of Continuing Studies kept me on board during the difficult
post-Katrina years will never be forgotten. Without the employment support of
these two institutions, the completion of this book would not have been possible.
I sincerely extend a vote of thanks to Professor Fred Denny for graciously
accommodating this text in his USC Press series, Studies in Comparative Reli-
gion. I also thank James Denton and the editors of the University of South Caro-
lina Press for taking an interest in a work on Hindu ritual and music and for their
help through the acquisitions and editorial processes.
Last, Kajal Beck, my wife, deserves much credit for her patient assistance and
encouragement through all phases of the project, including in Vrindaban and
Rajasthan in northern India when I was the recipient of the Fulbright and AIIS
grants.