1

di-tla: A Historical study of its Structure1

(N.Ramanathan)

ditla is the first among the tla-s in the D tradition and has a history of more than 1200 years.
The name continues to exist although the tla has undergone structural changes. This paper is an
attempt to understand the present form of ditla and the process underlying the change.

di-tla in the Texts:

As stated in the beginning di-tla is seen as a part of the D tradition of Kayapa and Mataga
as different from the Mrga associated with Bharata and his Nyastra. Hence we do not find the
tla being mentioned in texts like Nyastra and Dattilam. Bhadd being the earliest available text
belonging to the D tradition, the mention of di-tla is found in it for the first time as a tla figuring
in the prabandha Sihavikrnta (5,406). The description of the structure of di-tla is not found in this
text as the tla chapter is missing in the available work. It is only in the later works that we have
description of the tla.

Mnasllsa /Abhilaitrthacintma of Smvara (1131AD): This work speaks of the di-tla

as structured by one `laghu' (of one mtr or single time-unit) duration and expressed through one
pta (sounded beat of the hand). The author adds that the tla is so called because all the tla-s
spring from that. In other words it is the di (lit. the first) or the source. (MU. 4, (16), 853-855b).
The text speaks of an other version of the structure of the tla. This has three druta-s (Druta is a
time unit of -mtr duration) with the first druta having a Kalpana or Virma attached to it. A
virma when attached to a time-unit like druta and laghu extends its duration by half its value and in
this case the time duration of the first druta will be extended by half its duration. In other words, the
time-unit will increase from -mtr to of =1/4, thus extending the duration of druta from to
mtr. The tla is represented thus - O' O O
While di-tla is the first tla described by Mnasllsa, the second one is Dvitya-tla. This tla
is made up of two Druta-s and one Laghu and is expressed through 3 pta-s or sounded beats. It is
represented as -O O |. (MU 4,(16), 855c-856).
Mnasllsa also speaks of a tla called Ttya which is made up of one Laghu and two Druta-s
and expressed through three pta-s. - | O O. (MU 4, (16), 866-867).
We shall have occasion to refer to this later.

All the later texts speak on the same lines. ditla has the structure of one Laghu, with the
symbol | - SR 5,261c; SSS 7,46b; SSur 1,443ab; BA 439b; SM 2,2,19d, RKau 4,149a; SNar 1,422d423a.
They also mention that there is an other name for the tla and that is Rsa. They also describe
Dvitya-tla as having the structure O O |.
Sagtpaniadsrddhra of Sudhkalaa (2,46cd) refers to this tla also as Mahtla (great
tla) and the author also gives drum syllables pertaining to this tla.

ta

dhi

thau

draim

Among the Tamizh works, Pacamarapu of Arivanr (126) mentions ditla as one of the tla-s
used in the Tava called di. Thus we learn that there was also a dance variety called di. Tlacamuttiram describes 108 tla-s and di is the sixth one (p.40). Besides giving the structure as one
laghu, one of the manuscripts also gives, in addition, its duration as one mttirai.

Modern Period:
We thus find that right from the earliest work available the structure of di-tla has been
consistently given as one Laghu. In the Caturdaprakik of Vekaamakh we find an interesting
piece of information. Among the eight Svara-alakra-s set to tla-s described by the author, two are
of interest to us.
1. Jhmpaa-tla Alakra (3,84-86ab): It is set in Jhmpaa tla. Jhmpaa tla is formed by two
druta-s of two akara-s each and one laghu of four akara-s. Thus Jhmpaa has in all 8 akara-s
and is of two mtr-s. The Alakra is illustrated thus - sa ri, ga ma, pa dha ni sa : sa ni, dha pa,
ma ga ri sa.

In the edition of Tlacamuttiram, additional information from a different manuscript is furnished in

the appendix. Among the tla-s described therein figures Cempaai (p.119) described in a similar
manner, O O |, with a duration of two mttirai-s.

Incidentally in the music of Kathakali theatre, Cempaa (sounding similar to jhmpaa) is the
name of a tla having 8 kriy-s (7 nihabda-kriy and one saabda) and having a value of 8 or
16 units (C V Sudheer - oral information).

The Sagtaprijta (p.115) describes ditla as having the structure O O | which is similar to
that of Jhmpaa.
above descriptions seem to bring ditla closer to the Cempaa tla.

We note two points in the above description.

a) The structure of the tla is O O |. This is similar to the Dvitya-tla referred to earlier.
b) We come across two terms, Akara and Mtr. Mtr had always been used as the basic
unit for time duration. Akara, seems to refer to the number of svara-s occurring within the
time-unit. That is, there are 2 akara-s in a Druta of Mtr and 4 akara-s in a Laghu of 1
mtr.
The tla must have been expressed through three pta-s or sounded actions.

ka-tla Alakra -: It is set in ka-tla. ka-tla is formed by one Druta. Vekaamakh (3,108110) adds that in practice this tla has not been found to be suitable and in its place di-tla has
been introduced.
di-tla is made up of one Laghu having four aksara-s.
Vkaamakh (3,114-116) provides a very important piece of information at the end, "The
Alakra-s seen in practice do not, in some instances, conform to the prescribed characteristics.
For the purpose of Rakti the Vaiika-s have brought about changes in the tla-s by shifting the
order of occurrence in the time units like Laghu and Druta through the operation of features like
Atta, Angata graha etc."
This information is very pertinent because --

a) The Alakra - sa ri, ga ma, pa dha ni sa : sa ni, dha pa, ma ga ri sa.

is today sung not in a tla with the structure O O | but in one with the structure | O O. Hence it
could be possible that the Jhmpaa-tla underwent a change due to shifting the graha and
attained the structure | O O similar to the Ttya-tla mentioned in the Mnasllsa and cited
above. This structure is same as that of the di-tla in use today. But we do not know when the
name change from Jhmpaa to di came about.
b) Today when the Alakra set to ka-tla is performed the structure of the tla is one Laghu. In
other words, it has changed from a structure of one Druta to that of di having four akara-s or
one Mtr.

An interesting development of this is seen in the compositions tradition also. Muddusvmi Dkitar
has composed songs on seven of the Nava-graha-s (the deified form of Nine-planets) and the songs
are respectively set to the seven Sldi tla-s. The seventh Sldi tla should be normally in ka-tla.
The Krtana divkara tanujam on the anvara is however indicated as being set in di-tla by
Subbarma Dkitar, a desendent of the composer and who has published these compositions. And
from the notation of the krtana given by Subbarma Dkitar in his Sagta-sampradya-pradarini
(p.810) we see that the di-tla is not the one of 4 akara-s but the modern one of 8 akara-s.
However in one of the later publications, r Guruguha-gnmtavarii (p.56) the tla is mentioned
as ka (4 units)!

Let us take the di-tla of today. The duration is of 8 time units called 8 akara-s. This 8 unit tla is
said to be constituted of three aga-s or limbs. These are one laghu and two druta-s. Laghu is an
aga of the duration of 4 units while a Druta is of 2 units.

Today the manifestation of the tla is done through the rendering of saabda kriy-s and
nihabda kriy-s. But unlike as in ancient times, the Laghu and Druta are treated today as not
single indivisible time spans but as discrete time-units of the duration of 4 and 2 units respectively.

Thus the structure of the tla along with the kriys is as shown below.

[ sk=saabda kriy;

nk=nihabda kriy]

sk

nk

nk

nk

sk

nk

sk

nk

Ddi tla:
It must also be mentioned here that a tla form close to the di-tla form mentioned earlier,
namely, that of one laghu of 4 units or one mtr was in use till 60 years ago. This was known as
Ddi-tla. It had a structure of 4 time units with 3 saabda and 1 nihsabda kriy-s expressing it.

sk

sk

sk

nk

The Ddi and the present di tla-s are not totally unrelated. The number of saabda kriy-s
are the same. The duration of di is 8 while that of Ddi is 4. The increased duration of 4 units is
expressed through 4 nihabda kriy-s. The relationship is similar to that existing between the
kakala-caccatpua tla and the Dvikala one. (See Appendix.)
Incidentally, the prefix D in the name Ddi is suggestive of the tla having come from the
Northern part of the country, as understood in the context of Dya-rga. We find that the Dditla resembles the Tna-tla of the tla system of Hindustni music.

Tna-tla:
Tna-tla has three aspects of to it instead of the usual two of time-units and Kriy. It has 4 kriy-s
and 16 mtr-s manifested by 16 syllables representing the strokes of the Tabal drum.

Mtr

Kriy

sk

Bla

dh

dhin

dhin

dh

Mtr

10

11

12

Kriy

nk

Bla

dh

dh

dhin

dhin

dh

13

14

15

16

dhin

dhin

dh

sk

sk
tin

tin

Since it is based on the 16 syllables, the tla is said to be of 16 mtr-s. But if we consider the
division based on kriy-s then the tla would be of 4 mtr-s.

Conclusion:

ditla in the earliest description has the structure, one Laghu. It is however puzzling how a tla
could have projected a form with just one aga or time-unit. In the system prevailing then, the laghu
would have had just one saabda-kriy to manifest it. When the same kriy is executed again and
again it would be difficult to comprehend the structure of the tla.
From the period of Sagtpaniadsrddhra (14C-AD) where we begin to see four syllables
manifesting the single laghu it becomes clear that ditla had come to express itself in terms of four
sub-units. This is confirmed by Caturdaprakik (17C-AD), although the text does not clarify if
there were four kriy-s manifesting the tla.
When four kriy-s constitute the ditla, it must also be understood that all the four kriy-s cannot
be saabda ones. If they are so, then again, the form of the tla will not be perceptible since aurally it
will not be clear where a cycle of the tla starts and where it ends. That is why, whether is Tna-tla or
Ddi-tla, among the four kriy-s one is nihabda.
The earlier ka-tla on which the form of ditla had been superimposed (as mentioned by
Vkaamakh), is in present times rendered with four kriy-s. Among these four only the first one is
saabda-kriy and the remaining three , nihabda.
The present day ditla of 8 units seems only an enlargement of the 4 unit Ddi tla as pointed
out earlier. In its enlarged form di is again related to the Jhmpaa tla mentioned by Vkaamakh.
It is not however clear when the 8 unit form came to be called di. di is not one of the Sldi tla-s
although it has come to be adopted in the scheme of 35 tla-s.

Appendix
kakala, Dvikala and Catukala forms of Caccatpua
It was mentioned that di-tla has come down only in the D tradition. in the other tradition, that
is, in the Mrga the the tla-s are classified into two groups, Caturara and Tryara. Caturara
consists of tla-s that have a total duration value of 4 units, 8, 16 etc. in the other group, Tryara, the
tla-s of the value 6, 12, 24 etc. are included.

The first tla listed is Caccatpua and it belongs to the Caturara variety. Its structure is two gurus, one laghu and one pluta.
S

The tla-s in the Mrga tradition have three forms of existence, namely, the kakala, Dvikala and
Catukala. The above structure of Caccatpua represents the kakala form. The other states are -

Dvikala

and
Catukala

The duration of tla-s in Dvikala and Catukala forms are mentioned in terms of a unit called Kal.
A kal is equal to one guru. Thus Caccatupua in Dvikala form is of the duration of 8 kal-s and in
Catukala form of 16 kal-s. (SR 5,18-37)

In the kakala form, the tla-s are described in terms of the laghu-guru arrangement only. In
Dvikala and Catukala forms the different kinds of time units like laghu and guru are not there and all
units are uniformly guru-s. But for the purposes of quantitative representation, a laghu is taken as one
mtr and the Caccatpua tla would be one of 8 mtr-s. The internal structure would be --

Now in the case of kakala form the internal structure in terms of laghu-guru-pluta is what gives
the `svarpa' to the tla. In the case of Dvikala form, eventhough the duration is stated as 8 kal-s
and the tla is depicted as consisting of 8 guru-s, the actual structure is discernible only when the tla
is executed through the actions of the hands, which are called kriy-s.
Kriy-s are of two kinds, the ones that are accompanied with the production of sound, called
saabda-kriy and those that are not accompanied by sound, called nihabda kriy-s. It is the kriys that actually manifest or express the imperceptible time units. In the case of kakala state of a tla
normally the saabda kriy-s alone are used.

kakala Caccatpua
Time units

Kriy-s

sk

sk

sk

sk

In the case of Dvikala state the number of sounded actions remain the same, i.e., four, while the
other time units are expressed through non-sounding actions.

Dvikala Caccatpua
Time units

Kriy

nk

sk

nk

sk

sk

nk

nk

sk

Again in Catukala form too the Saabda kriy-s remain 4 manifesting 4 units and the remaining
12 units are expressed through Niabda kriy-s.

Catukala Caccatpua
Time

units
Kriy

nk

nk

nk

sk

nk

nk

nk

sk

nk

sk

nk

nk

nk

nk

nk

sk

If we observe the positions of only the saada kriy-s (sk) in the Dvikala and Catukala forms, we
find that the structure of the kakala form is maintained and only the duration between the Saabdakriy-s are enlarged proportionally. Thus the structure of 2 2 1 3 is preserved.

References
Texts
Bharatarnava of

ed. by K.Vasudeva Sastri, pub. in Saraswathi Mahal Library

Nandikesvara

Series, Tanjore, 1957/89.

Bhadd of

ed. Prem Lata Sharma assisted by Anil Behari Beohar,

Matagamuni

Kalamula Sastra Series, Indira Gandhi National Centre For

BA

BrD

The Arts and Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi.

Vol.II Kalamulasastra Series no.10, 1994
Caturda-

ed. Trn. & Comm. by R.Sathyanarayana, Kalamula Sastra

prakik of

Series, Indira Gandhi National Centre For The Arts and

Vkaamakh

Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi.

Vol.I Kalamulasastra Series no.24

CDP

2002

Mnasllsa of

vol.III, ed. by G.K. Shrigondekar, pub. in Gaekwad's Oriental

MU

Smvara

Series by Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1961.

Pacamarapu of

ed. by Deyvasikhamani Gaundar, Coimbatore, 1975

PM

Rasakaumud of

ed. by A.N. Jani, pub. in Gaekwad's Oriental Series by

RKau

rkaha

Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1963.

Sagtamakaranda

ed. M.R.Telang, Gaekwad Oriental Series - XVI, Baroda,

of Nrada

1920.

Sagtanryaa of

ed. Srivanambara Acarya, Kalicarana Pattanayaka &

Gajapati

Kedaranatha Mahapatra, pub. by Orissa Sangeet Natak

Nryaadva

Akademi, 1966.

Sagtaprijta of

pub. by R S Gondhalekara, Pune. 1898.

SPar

Sangitaratnakara of

with the commentaries Kalanidhi of Kallinatha and Sudhakara

SR

Sarngadeva

of Simhabhupala, ed. by Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri, pub.

Arivanr

SM

SNar

Ahbala

in the Adyar Library Series by Adyar Library, Madras -vol.III 1951, revised by S.Sarada, 1986.
Sangitasamayasara

ed. by T.Ganapati Sastri, pub. in Trivandrum Sanskrit Series,

of Parsvadeva

Trivandrum, 1925.

Sagtasrydaya

ed. Kamtaprasada Tripathi, Indira Kala Sagta

SSS

SSur

of Lakminryaa

Visvavidyalaya, Khairagarh, 1986

Sagtpaniatsr

ed. & Trn. by Allyn Miner, Kalamula Sastra Series 23, Indira

ddhra of

Gandhi National Centre For The Arts and Motilal

Sudhkalaa

Banarsidass, New Delhi 1998

Tla-camuttiram of

ed. K.Vsudva str, Tanjore Saraswathi Mahal, Tanjore,

unknown

1955/1998.

SUS

TCam

authorship

Other Books
Subbarma Dikitar

Sagta-sampradya-pradarin of Subbarma Dkitar, Pt. 1 & 2,

Vidya Vilasini Press, Ettayapuram, 1904

Vdnta Bhgavatar

r Guruguha-gnmta-varii, pt.2,- Sr navagraha krtanaga - pub.

and

Authors, Madras, 1937.

A.Anantakayyar

This article, under the title 'The Significance of Aditala in Music Tradition', was presented as a Paper on

30-01-1993, at the International Seminar on Mayonic Science and Technology organised by Vastu Vedic
Research Foundation, Madras at Indira Gandhi Auditorium, Madras 600113, from 28-01-1993 to 31-01-1993.
It was later published under title 'Adi-Tala: A Historical study of its Structure', in the Journal, Samakalika
Sangeetham, Kozhikode, No.3, October 2007, pp.128-137.