Archaeological discoveries Musical instruments, such as the seven-holed
flute and various types of stringed instruments such as
ravanahatha,
cymbals have been recovered from
Indus Valley Civilization archaeological sites. Evidence suggests use of drum or dhol in the Indus Valley Civilization. There have not been a lot of depictions of musical instruments from IVC, but contemporary BMAC civilization which traded with it has archaeological depictions of
lyre and many cylinderical
drums were also discovered from Indus Valley. A kind of harp is also depicted in the
Chalcolithic cave drawings of India along with
Gong. There is also evidence of dancing figurines from Indus valley civilization suggesting an established musical tradition. A kind of
lithophone has also been discovered from Orissa around 1000 BCE.
Surviving music The
Samaveda, one of the ancient core Hindu scriptures known as the
Vedas, consists of a collection (samhita) of hymns, portions of hymns and detached verses, all but 75 of which are taken from the
Rigveda. They were intended to be sung using melodies called
Samagana whose musical forms are indicated. These hymns were sung by
Udgatar priests at sacrifices in which the juice of the
Soma plant, clarified and mixed with milk and other ingredients, were offered in libation to various deities. This
memorization by Hindu priests of the sacred Vedas included up to eleven musical forms of recitation that could be used on the same text. ==
Nātya Shastra==