Carnatic music

Carnatic music, called Karnāṭaka saṃgīta or Karnāṭaka saṅgītam in Dravidian languages, is a musical tradition rooted in South India, covering the modern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. Alongside Hindustani music, it is one of the two principal branches of Indian classical music, both of which trace their origins to ancient Hindu texts and traditions, particularly the Samaveda. Vocal music is central to Carnatic practice; most pieces are composed for singing, and instrumental performances aim to emulate a singing, or gāyaki, style. While improvisation is significant, the tradition relies heavily on fixed compositions, especially the kriti or kirtanam, a form developed between the 14th and 20th centuries by composers such as Purandara Dasa and the Trinity of Carnatic music. Learning typically occurs through these compositions, and the Telugu language plays a dominant role in the evolution of the repertoire. The foundational elements—śruti (pitch), svara (note), rāga (melodic mode), and tala (rhythmic cycle)—are shared with Hindustani music, though stylistic differences exist.

A typical performance features a small ensemble: a principal performer, often a vocalist; a melodic accompanist, usually on violin; a rhythm accompanist, typically on mridangam; and a tambura providing a continuous drone. Other instruments like the ghatam, kanjira, morsing, venu flute, veena, and chitraveena may also appear. The largest community of Carnatic musicians is in Chennai, and festivals such as the Madras Music Season—considered one of the world’s largest cultural events—are held across India and abroad.

The music originated in Karnataka, from which it takes its name, and later spread to Andhra and Tamil regions, where it flourished. Indian classical music is regarded as a divine art, believed to have come from Hindu gods and goddesses and revered as symbolic of nāda brāhman. Ancient texts connect the origin of svaras to the sounds of animals and birds, imitated through human observation. The Samaveda, foundational to Indian classical music, set hymns from the Rigveda to musical tunes using three to seven notes for Vedic yajnas. The Yajurveda mentions the veena as an accompaniment to vocal recitations, and references appear in epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The Yajnavalkya Smriti states that one skilled in veena, śruti, and tala attains liberation. Contemporary Carnatic music draws on concepts detailed in works such as Bharata’s Natya Shastra and Ilango Adigal’s Cilappatikaram.

From the 12th century, Persian and Islamic influences in North India caused Indian classical music to split into Hindustani and Carnatic styles. Commentaries like Sharngadeva’s Sangita Ratnakara elaborated on these concepts, and by the 16th and 17th centuries, the two styles were clearly distinct, with Carnatic music remaining largely unaffected by Persian and Arabic influences. During this period, Carnatic music flourished under the Vijayanagara Empire. Purandara Dasa, known as the father of Carnatic music, formulated the teaching system still used today. Venkatamakhin authored the melakarta system of raga classification in his Sanskrit work Chaturdandi Prakasika (1660 AD), and Govindacharya later expanded it into the sampurna raga scheme now in common use. The term “Karnataka” music came from the Vijayanagara Empire, historically called the Karnataka Empire; the British later influenced the change to “Carnatic,” a term only about 150–200 years old.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Carnatic music was patronized by the local kings of Mysore, Travancore, and the Maratha rulers of Tanjore. Some royalty from Mysore and Travancore were themselves composers and skilled players of instruments like the veena, rudra veena, violin, ghatam, venu, mridangam, nadaswaram, and swarabat. Notable court musicians included Veene Sheshanna (1852–1926) and Veene Subbanna (1861–1939). By the late 19th century, Madras (now Chennai) became the center for Carnatic music. After the dissolution of princely states and India’s independence in 1947, patronage shifted from royalty to the masses, with ticketed performances organized by private institutions called sabhās.