Thalam Theory – 1

Basic meanings, definitions and classifications-

Layam
The rhythm that already exists in nature. It is the movement between one beat to another
(music).

Thalam

 The interval between joining and separation of hands

(i.e) Ghatham: to join, Usi: to separate.
 It is any rhythmic beat or strike that measures musical time.
 This rhythmic beat is governed by 10 important factors called Dasaprana.

Types of thalas

 Shuladi Sapta thalas – 7

 Desadi Madhyadi Thalas – countless
 Chapu thalas – 4 (tishram, khandam, misram, sankeernam)
 Marga thalam – 5
 Desi Thalam – innumerable (in each region they would have created a thalam
pertaining to that place and time period. They are very different)
 Melakarta thalam – 72
 Ashtotra Shatha thalas – 108
 Navasandhi thalas – 9
 Chanda / Tirupughazh thalas – innumerable
 Unique thalam – examples: simhanandanam thalam, aparoopa thalam,
saravanandhana thalam, etc.

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Avarthanam
One cycle, a full round,

Akshara
Major count

Mathra
Minor count

Sorkattu
Rhythamic syllables (mainly vachika, we give the beat a phrase)

Karvai
Pause

Anulomam
Thalam – same speed

Sol – 3 speeds

Prathilomam
Thalam – 3 speeds

Sol – same speed

Vilomam
Opposite of normal ( thaka thakita thakita thaka )

Theermanam

 Ending, finishing or climax

 Usually, a longer rhythemical sequence than the existing one.
 It will have Yathi (patterns)

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Arudhi

 Shorter version of theermanam (technically)

 To show or tell others that a section has come to an end.
 It ends only in samam

Yathi

 The pattern of a theermanam’s ending

 It always ends in a pattern of three
 There is always a rhythmical structure seen in the pattern

Types of Yathi (6 types)

1. Gopuchayathi – Big to Small

2. Shrothovahayathi – Small to Big
3. Samayathi – equal
4. Visamayathi - irregular
5. Mrudangayathi –
6. Damaruyathi -

Gathi
 There are 5 types (tishram, chathusram, khandam, misram, sankeernam)
 It’s the gap between the tap
 Can’t been seen easily

Jaati
 There are 5 types (tisram, chatusram, khandam, misram, sankeernam)
 It’s the finger counting (laghu)
 Can be seen easily

Speeds
 Vilambha/Chouka – first speed

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  Madhyamam – second speed
 Dhuritham – third speed
 Ati dhuritham – fourth speed

Shuladi Saptha thalas

i) Dhuruva thalam –

1 0 1 1: 4 laghu + 2 drutham+ 4 laghu+ 4 laghu = 14 aksharas

ii) Matya thalam –

1 0 1: 4 laghu+ 2 drutham+ 4 laghu = 10 aksharas

iii) Roopaka thalam –

0 1: 2 dhrutham+ 4 laghu= 6 aksharas

iv) Jhampa thalam –

1 U 0: 4 laghu+ 1 anudrutham+ 2 dhrutham= 7 aksharasP a g e | 4

v) Triputa thalam –

1 0 0: 4 laghu+ 2 drutham+ 2 dhrutham= 8 aksharas

vi) Ata thalam –

1 1 0 0: 4 laghu+ 4 laghu+ 2 drutham+ 2 drutham= 12 aksharas

vii) Eka thalam –

1: 4 laghu= 4 aksharas

Thalam theory – 2
Thala Dasaprana –
There are 10 elements of a thala:

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 o Kaala
o Marga
o Kriya
o Anga
o Graha
o Jaathi
o Kalai
o Layam
o Yathi
o Prastharam
Here,
Kaala Jaathi
Marga Kalai
Kriya Maha pranas Layam Upa pranas
Anga Yathi
Graha Prastharam

{Pre-Vijayanagara Period}
Kaala
1. It is a measure or unit that is bound by the kriya (action) of the hand.
2. It is a measure of time.
3. During the 14th and 15th century, in a work named Sangeetha Samayasara the method
in which they used to measure kaala at that period of time is mentioned just the way
we measure time using matras now-a-days.
4. In this work the time periods they mention are –
i) Kshana
ii) Lava
iii) Kaashta

Time Period table –

8 kshana – 1 lava
8 lava – 1 kaashta
8 kaashta – 1 nimisham
8 nimisham – 1 kala
2 kala – 1 chathurbhaga / dhruthi
2 chathurbhaga – 1 ardhadrutha
2 ardhadrutha – 1 dhrutha
2 dhrutha – 1 laghu

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 2 laghu – 1 guru
3 laghu – 1 plutha
4 laghu – 1 kaakapadha

Marga
 literal meaning – a path.
 the way we say a thalam with reference to the time unit is called margam.
 Here, they refer two classifications of Marga:
Marga according to Sangeetha Ratnakara (before Vijayanagara Period) –
1. Dakshina Kaala – 8 Mathras
2. Varthika Kaala – 4 Mathras These marga’s are classified
3. Chithra Kaala – 2 Mathras in reference to keeping Guru
as the main point.
4. Dhruva Kaala – 1 Mathra
Marga according to Sangeetha Chudamani (after Vijayanagara Period) –
1. Dakshina Kaala – 8 Mathras it is the same as
2. Varthika Kaala – 4 Mathras ‘Sangeetha Rathnakara’

3. Chithra Kaala – 2 Mathras

4. Chithrathara Kaala – 1 Mathra
5. Chithrarthama Kaala – ½ Mathra
6. Atichithrarthama Kaala – ¼ Mathra
 In Sangeetha Samayasara, the two system above have been classified under Desi
Marga.

Kriya
 Kriya is any action of the hand to show Thalam.
 Sangeetha Ratnakara divides Kriya into two types –
1. Sasabdha Kriya (actions that make noise):
a) Dhruva – Produce sound by Thumb and Middle finger (Chittikai)
b) Samya – clap over the right palm with the left palm
c) Tala – clap over the left palm with the right palm
d) Sannipata – both palms strike together facing each other
2. Nishabda Kriya (quiet actions):
a) Avapa – Folding the fingers
b) Nishkrama – Opening the folded fingers

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 c) Vikshepa – moving side
d) Pravesa – bringing the hand back
3. In Sangeetha Rathnakara, additional kriya’s of hands are mentioned. They are
called Mathra or Marga kala:
a) Dhruvaka – clap of the hand with one palm facing upwards and the other facing
downwards
b) Sarpini – moving the hand towards the left like a flag with palm facing
downwards
c) Krsna – stretch hand to the right, waving the right palm left to right from above
d) Padmini – turn hand, palm downwards towards the front side
e) Visarjita – waving the hand outwards turning the palm upwards
f) Vikshiptham – closing the fingers and bringing the hand towards self
g) Pathaka – raise the hand upwards like a flag
h) Patita – bring the hand downwards like a flag

Anga

 The word Anga was never mentioned in Sangeetha Rathnakara. Other texts have
mentioned Anudrutham, Dhrutham, Laghu, Plutham, Guru, but they weren’t classified
under Anga.
 In Sangeetha Rathnakara and Manasollasa, Dhrutham, laghu, guru, plutham have been
defined using their Mathras.
 Anga or Shadanga, the word came into existence after Sangeetha Ratnakara.
 The text that came after was Sangeetha Samayasara. Here, Ardhadhrutha, Dhrutha,
Laghu, Plutha, Guru were all counted using Kshana, Lava and Kaashta. Still the word
Anga wasn’t mentioned.
 The word Anga was created more recently.
 Shadanga:
 Anudhrutham
 Dhrutham
 Laghu All these words are mentioned but
not under a category called Anga.
 Plutham
 Guru

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  kaakapadam
 Virama, a type of counting was mentioned alongside Anudhrutham, Dhrutham, Laghu
etc.
(if they want to increase the counting of guru/plutha by half, they use Virama and call
it guru virama/plutha virama)
 Separate definition for Virama wasn’t given. But wherever there is a need to increase
something by half, they use it.

Graha

 Meaning – to grab, attract or grasp

 The grasping of rhythm and thalam in a composition is the deciding factor of graha.
(rhythm-thalam, one is grabbing the other)
 When the song and thalam are on an equal frequency, it is called Sama graha. This is
explained in Sangeetha Ratnakara and Sangeetha Chudamani.
 Other Types of Graha:
I. Anagatha – when the thalam begins before the song.
II. Athitham – when the song starts before the thalam.
III. Visamam – when the song begins either before or after the stroke of thala.
IV. Samam – music and thalam starts at the same time equally.

Jaati

 According to the Vijayanagara texts, it is supposed to be a group of thalas:

i. Tishram
ii. Chathusram  All these words weren’t
mentioned in Sangeetha
iii. Khandam Rathnakara, as it was a work
iv. Mishram written before the Vijayanagara
Period.
v. Sankeernam  13th century went through a lot of
change in terms of music, dance,
language, partition etc.

 These group of thalas were defined for Marga Thala. They define these jathi’s by
calculating the number of gurus in a thalam.
 Chachaputa and Chaachaputa are named Chathurasram and Triastram.

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 i. 4 Guru’s are there is Chaturasram
ii. 3 Guru’s are there in Triasram
 Only after the Vijayanagara Period the word jathi was used.
 Jathi is used to calculate the aksharas’s in a thala.
 The laghu part of the thala depends on this jathi and its counting varies according to
it.
 There are five jathi’s:
i. Tishram – 3 akshara counts
ii. Chathushram – 4 akshara counts
iii. Khandam – 5 akshara counts
iv. Mishram – 7 akshara counts
v. Sankeernam – 9 akshara counts

Kalai

 Kalai in relation to Kriya, can be both Sasabdam as well as Nishabdam.

 Kalai is the same throughout but from 2 mathrai’s it can double and become 4 and the
4 can double and become 8. Action is the same but the mathrai in it changes. This is
when kalai is said in relation to Guru.
 Kalai in relation to kriya –
i. Eka kala – 1 kriya – 1 aksharam
ii. Dwi kala – 1 kriya – 2 aksharam
iii. Tri kala – 1 kriya – 3 aksharam
iv. Chathus kala – 1 kriya – 4 aksharam
Example (Adi thalam) –
a) Eka kala – 1 Avarthanam – 8 aksharams
b) Dwi kala – 1 avarthanam – 16 aksharams
c) Tri kala – 1 avarthanam – 24 aksharams
d) Chathus kala – 1 avarthanam – 32 aksharams
 Kalai in relation to guru –
i. Chithra
ii. Varthika
iii. Dakshina
iv. Marga

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Layam

 It is the interval between one kriyai to another. (Same can be said for kalam but the
difference lies in the fact that kalam can be seen properly while layam can’t be seen).
 Layam also refers to the tempo (i.e) Vilambam, Madhyamam, Dhuritham.
 In the north:
i. Prathama
ii. Dwithiya
iii. Trithiya
iv. Chathurthakala
v. Panchamakala
vi. Shatkala

Yathi

 Arranging different group of syllables into beautiful combination that gives a

particular shape to the music is called Yathi.
 Sangeetha Ratnakara, Sangeetha Chudamani and Sangeetha Samaya Sara explains
yathi by keeping layam as the point of reference.
 There are six types of Yathi:
i. Sama yathi –
When all the syllables are equal in number for each akshara as its gathi it is
called sama yathi. Even if its Vilambham, Madhyamam, Dhuritham, the layam
or the internal rhythm must be the same.
ii. Vishamam yathi –
The syllables are arranged in a jumbled way with one’s imagination and the
outcome can be in any shape is called vishama yathi.
iii. Mridanga yathi –
The syllables are arranged in such a way that the syllables take the shape of a
mrudangam.
iv. Damaru yathi –

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 The syllables are arranged in such a manner that it is broad at both sides and
small at the centre like a udukai or damaru.
v. Gopucha yathi –
The syllables are arranged similar to a cow’s tail which is broad at the start
and narrow gradually at the bottom.
vi. Shrothovaha yathi –
The syllables are arranged in such a manner that it resembles a mountain peak.
Narrow at the top while it gets broader as we go down.

Prasthara

 It is the calculation of group of tala syllables in different angles for the purpose of
easy tabulation.
 It literally means to spread out or break the thalam into small units.
 Sangeetha Ratnakara calls prasthara as Avavyaya and Thala Prathyaya.
 In Sangeetha Ratnakara, along with prasthara, some words relating to it is explained:
 Sankya – Total counting of that row.
i.e) 1 0 0 (adi thalam) = 3 in total counting
 Nashta – Seeing the sequence and determining the pattern.
Eg. Laghu 4+ dhritham 2+ dhrutham 2 = 8
So, the pattern is big to small.
 Udhishta – it is the opposite of Nashta. Seeing the shape and pattern and
determining the sequence.
 Paathala – writing the total value of the pattern or sequence in a row.
 Meru – putting a flow chart (thala)
Eg. If we take a thala, all the things that can be done with it is categorized and
written.

{During Vijayanagara Period}

1) Some Vijayanagara texts:
 Thala Deepika
 Thala Kalapdhi
 Sangeetha Suryodaya
2) The standardization of Kalam relating to mathrai was started during this period.

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 3) The two types of kriyai’s, Sashabdha and Nishabda were called Desi Kriya’s and they
weren’t a part of today’s Marga.
4) Oher name for Mathra and Anudrutham are Chitrathara and Chitrarthama
respectively.
5) It was during this period that the symbol [u] was used to indicate Anudrutham. It is
known as a part of Desi Tradition.
6) In Marga tradition, laghu, guru, plutham all had different kriya’s.
7) In Desi tradition, even the smallest anga has different kriya’s.
8) Angam is a part of Dasaprana was first seen in Thala Deepika.
9) The commentator Khalli Nadha Talks about the various types of Laghu’s –
 3 aksharam laghu He talks in detail about them. He says, the
 4 aksharam laghu time taken to say 5 aksharas is the duration
of a laghu
 5 aksharam laghu
10) Later, the word Anga can be seen mentioned in works like Sangeetha Suryodaya,
Nrthana Nirnaya and Rasa Kaumudi. It was in Rasa Kaumudi that the word
Anudrutha was mentioned.
11) Anudrutha gets its status as a part of Anga during the Vijayanagara Period. It gets a
separate status and was being mentioned as a separate section. Anudrutham is basically
Drutham’s half, so they call it Padhi Drutham.
12) Graham and jathi is mostly the same but in Jathi Desi thalas have also been mentioned.
13) In Kalai, Eka kalai, Dwi kalai and Chathus kalai has been mentioned more but Tri kalai
wasn’t mentioned much.
14) It was during this period that the word Yathi came into existence while sama,
shrotovaha, gopucha have been mentioned.
15) The text Rasa Kaumudi used the words Sukshma (small) and Sthula (big) to explain
the Yathi’s.
16) In this period, it was said that each yathi has the other 5 yathi’s in it individually and
they are minutely present.
17) New names of yathi were mentioned namely Yavamadhya and Bhedimadhya.

{Post Vijayanagara Period}

1) In Sangeetha Makarandha, only 5 Angams were mentioned (Kakapadam was later
added)

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 2) In some texts of post Vijayanagara period it was stated that each and every anga is
related to the pancha bhoota:
 Anudrutham – Wind
 Drutham – Water
 Laghu – Fire
 Guru – Space or Sky
 Plutham – land
3) In the tamil text Thala Samudhiram, each Anga has a separate Deity representing it:
 Anudrutham – Varuna
 Drutham – Shiva
 Laghu – Shakthi
 Plutham – Bramha, Vishnu and Maheshwara
 Guru – Chandra
4) In Bharathasenapathiyam, they have 6 chakras representing the Anga’s. By this time
Kakapadam came into existance.
 Anudrutham – Mooladharam
 Dhrutham – Swadistanam
 Laghu – Manipooram
 Guru – Vishuddhi
 Kakapadam – Aagnya
5) Laghu is generally the count of one tap. Same way:
 Tishra jathi laghu – Swarga laghu
 Chathusra jathi laghu – Maanushya laghu
 Khanda jathi laghu – Desiya laghu
 Mishra jathi laghu – Hamsam laghu
 Sankeerna jathi laghu – Chitra laghu
6) Some advanced laghu’s:
 Divya Snkeerna Laghu – 6 Aksharam (1 tap + 5 finger counting)
 Mishra Sankeerna Laghu – 8 Aksharam (1 tap + 7 finger counting)
(also called Simha Laghu)
 Desiya Sankeerna Laghu – 10 Aksharam (1 tap + 9 finger counting)
(also called Varna Laghu)

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  Mishra Desiya Sankeerna Laghu (also called Vaadhya Laghu) –
12 Aksharam (1 tap + 11 finger counting)
 Desiya Suddha Sankeerna Laghu (also called Karnataka Laghu) – 16
Aksharam (1tap + 15 finger counting)

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