History of Carnatic music

The timeline below runs from ancient roots to the modern concert. Where sources disagree, or dates are only approximate, the entry says so. For the story in prose, read the history module.

Read the history module

1. Roots and early texts — Vedic chant, the Natya Shastra and early Tamil sources, with the uncertainty about dates made plain.
2. From treatises to Purandara Dasa — The Sangita Ratnakara, an early 20-scale system and the Vijayanagara-era devotional composers.
3. The 72-scale scheme — How Venkatamakhin and later writers produced the system of 72 parent ragas.
4. The Trinity and the courts — Court patronage, the three great composers, the Tanjore Quartet and Swati Tirunal.
5. The twentieth century and today — From court to concert hall: sabhas, the Madras Music Academy and the December season.

Timeline

1. Ancient (dates uncertain)(approximate / traditionally attributed)

   Chanting of the Sama Veda

   Vedic hymns are chanted to set melodies using a small number of notes. Often cited as an early root of Indian music; its direct link to later ragas is not established.

2. Between 500 BCE and 500 CE (commonly 200 BCE to 200 CE)(approximate / traditionally attributed)

   The Natya Shastra

   A Sanskrit treatise on drama, dance and music, traditionally credited to Bharata. Scholars disagree about its date, and about whether it has one author or grew over time.

3. Early centuries CE (approximate)(approximate / traditionally attributed)

   Early Tamil epic and melodic modes

   The Tamil epic Silappadikaram describes the music and dance of its world, and old Tamil hymns were sung in modes called panns. How panns relate to later ragas is still discussed by scholars.

4. 13th century

   Sangita Ratnakara

   Sarngadeva writes this major treatise under King Simhana (reigned 1210 to 1247) of the Yadava dynasty at Devagiri. Both Carnatic and Hindustani traditions treat it as authoritative.

5. 14th to 17th centuries(approximate / traditionally attributed)

   The Vijayanagara era

   A large South Indian empire whose court and temples support the arts. Devotional singers of the Kannada-speaking region, the Haridasas, compose songs in their own language.

6. 1408 to 1503 (as usually given)

   Annamacharya

   A Telugu composer of devotional songs to Venkateswara at Tirumala. Traditional counts of about 32,000 songs far exceed the roughly 12,000 to 14,000 said to survive.

7. 1550

   Svaramelakalanidhi

   Ramamatya's treatise groups ragas under 20 parent scales (melas) with derived ragas, an early step towards the 72-melakarta scheme.

8. 16th century (died 1564)(approximate / traditionally attributed)

   Purandara Dasa

   A Kannada Haridasa credited with the graded teaching path still used for beginners. His birth year is disputed, with proposals between about 1470 and 1494, and his death in 1564 is firmer.

9. c. 1600 to 1680 (approximate)(approximate / traditionally attributed)

   Kshetrayya and the padam

   A Telugu composer from Movva, best known for padams, with the mudra Muvva Gopala. Dates are approximate, and a 2019 article argues that he may be a literary persona rather than a documented person.

10. 17th century (c. 1630 or 1660, depending on the source)(approximate / traditionally attributed)

    The melakarta scheme

    Venkatamakhin's Chaturdandi Prakashika sets out the system of 72 parent scales. The treatise stayed in manuscript until the early 20th century.

11. About a century after Venkatamakhin(approximate / traditionally attributed)

    Katapayadi naming of the 72

    The katapayadi code begins to be applied to the names of the 72 melakartas, so that a raga's name gives its number. The precise date and who introduced it are not settled in the sources checked.

12. Late 18th century(approximate / traditionally attributed)

    Sangraha Chudamani

    Govindacharya's treatise is credited with standardising the names and classification of ragas under the 72 melakartas.

13. 1762 to 1847

    The Trinity of Carnatic music

    Syama Sastri (1762 to 1827), Tyagaraja (1767 to 1847) and Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775 or 1776 to 1835), all from the Tiruvarur area, are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music.

14. Early 19th century(approximate / traditionally attributed)

    The Tanjore Quartet

    Four brothers (Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu) formalise the Bharatanatyam recital and compose varnams and kritis, at Thanjavur and later Travancore.

15. 1813 to 1846

    Swati Tirunal of Travancore

    A Maharaja who reigned 1829 to 1846, composed in many languages and supported leading musicians at his court.

16. December 1927

    All India Music Conference in Madras

    A music conference is held in Madras in December 1927, alongside the Indian National Congress session. The idea of founding the Madras Music Academy comes out of it.

17. 18 August 1928

    Madras Music Academy founded

    The Madras Music Academy is inaugurated on 18 August 1928 by C. P. Ramaswami Iyer. Its annual December season later becomes the model for the Chennai music season.

18. 20th century (debut year uncertain)(approximate / traditionally attributed)

    Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and the modern concert

    Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar is often credited with establishing the modern concert format. Wikipedia gives 1918 for his debut, flagged as unsourced, and another profile describes a wedding concert as his debut. One profile lists his format as a varnam, brisk kritis, a ragam-tanam-pallavi, lighter pieces and a closing tillana.

19. 1968

    First woman receives the Sangita Kalanidhi

    M. S. Subbulakshmi is the first woman to receive the Madras Music Academy's Sangita Kalanidhi title.

Entries marked "approximate / traditionally attributed" rest on dates or attributions that sources do not fully agree on.