Tala (music)

A Tala (IAST tāla), sometimes spelled Titi or Pipi, literally means a

"clap, tapping one's hand on one's arm, a musical measure".[1] It is the
term used in Indian classical music to refer to musical meter,[2] that is any
rhythmic beat or strike that measures musical time.[3] The measure is
typically established by hand clapping, waving, touching fingers on thigh
or the other hand, verbally, striking of small cymbals, or a percussion
instrument in the Indian subcontinental traditions.[4][5] Along with raga
which forms the fabric of a melodic structure, the tala forms the life cycle
and thereby constitutes one of the two foundational elements of Indian
music.[6]

Tala is an ancient music concept traceable to Vedic era texts of

Hinduism, such as the Samaveda and methods for singing the Vedic
hymns.[7][8][9] The music traditions of the North and South India,
particularly the raga and tala systems, were not considered as distinct till
about the 16th century. There on, during the tumultuous period of Islamic Tala refers to musical meter in
rule of the Indian subcontinent, the traditions separated and evolved into classical Indian music.
distinct forms. The tala system of the north is called Hindustaani, while Above: a musician using
small cymbals to set the tala.
the south is called Carnaatic.[7] However, the tala system between them
continues to have more common features than differences.[10]

Tala in the Indian tradition embraces the time dimension of music, the means by which musical rhythm and
form were guided and expressed.[11] While a tala carries the musical meter, it does not necessarily imply a
regularly recurring pattern. In the major classical Indian music traditions, the beats are hierarchically
arranged based on how the music piece is to be performed.[4] The most widely used tala in the South
Indian system is Adi tala.[4] In the North Indian system, the most common tala is teental.[12]

Tala has other contextual meanings in ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. For example, it means trochee in
Sanskrit prosody.[1]

Contents
Etymology
Terminology and definitions
History
Description
In Carnatic music
Strokes
Jatis
Jati (nadai in Tamil, nadaka in Telugu, nade in Kannada)
Kāla
In Hindustani music
 Common Hindustani talas
72 melakarta talas and 108 anga talas
72 melakarta talas
7 Saptangachakram (7 angas)
Shodashangachakram (16 angas)
Rarer hindustani talas
References
Bibliography
External links

Etymology
Tāļa (ताळ) is a Sanskrit word,[1] which means "being established".[13]Adi tala is one of the most used talas
in Carnatic music.

Terminology and definitions

According to David Nelson – an Ethnomusicology scholar specializing in Carnatic music, a tala in Indian
music covers "the whole subject of musical meter".[5] Indian music is composed and performed in a
metrical framework, a structure of beats that is a tala. The tala forms the metrical structure that repeats, in a
cyclical harmony, from the start to end of any particular song or dance segment, making it conceptually
analogous to meters in Western music.[5] However, talas have certain qualitative features that classical
European musical meters do not. For example, some talas are much longer than any classical Western
meter, such as a framework based on 29 beats whose cycle takes about 45 seconds to complete when
performed. Another sophistication in talas is the lack of "strong, weak" beat composition typical of the
traditional European meter. In classical Indian traditions, the tala is not restricted to permutations of strong
and weak beats, but its flexibility permits the accent of a beat to be decided by the shape of musical
phrase.[5]

A tala measures musical time in Indian music. However, it does not

imply a regular repeating accent pattern, instead its hierarchical
arrangement depends on how the musical piece is supposed to be
performed.[5] A metric cycle of a tala contains a specific number of
beats, which can be as short as 3 beats or as long as 128 beats.[14] The
pattern repeats, but the play of accent and empty beats are an integral part
of Indian music architecture. Each tala has subunits. In other words, the
larger cyclic tala pattern has embedded smaller cyclic patterns, and both
of these rhythmic patterns provide the musician and the audience to
experience the play of harmonious and discordant patterns at two planes.
A musician can choose to intentionally challenge a pattern at the subunit
level by contradicting the tala, explore the pattern in exciting ways, then
bring the music and audience experience back to the fundamental pattern
of cyclical beats.[14] A painting depicting the Vedic
sage-musician Narada, with a
The tala as the time cycle, and the raga as the melodic framework, are tala instrument in his left
the two foundational elements of classical Indian music.[6] The raga hand.
gives an artist the ingredients palette to build the melody from sounds,
while the tala provides her with a creative framework for rhythmic improvisation using time.[14][15][16]

The basic rhythmic phrase of a tala when rendered on a percussive instrument such as tabla is called a
theka.[17] The beats within each rhythmic cycle are called matras, and the first beat of any rhythmic cycle
is called the sam.[18] An empty beat is called khali.[19] The subdivisions of a tala are called vibhagas or
khands.[18] In the two major systems of classical Indian music, the first count of any tala is called sam.[12]
The cyclic nature of a tala is a major feature of the Indian tradition, and this is termed as avartan. Both
raga and tala are open frameworks for creativity and allow theoretically infinite number of possibilities,
however, the tradition considers 108 talas as basic.[19]

History
The roots of tala and music in ancient India are found in the Vedic literature of Hinduism. The earliest
Indian thought combined three arts, instrumental music (vadya), vocal music (gita) and dance (nrtta).[20]
As these fields developed, sangita became a distinct genre of art, in a form equivalent to contemporary
music. This likely occurred before the time of Yāska (~500 BCE), since he includes these terms in his
nirukta studies, one of the six Vedanga of ancient Indian tradition. Some of the ancient texts of Hinduism
such as the Samaveda (~1000 BCE) are structured entirely to melodic themes,[21][22] it is sections of
Rigveda set to music.[23]

The Samaveda is organized into two formats. One part is based on the musical meter, another by the aim of
the rituals.[24] The text is written with embedded coding, where svaras (octave note) is either shown above
or within the text, or the verse is written into parvans (knot or member). These markings identify which
units are to be sung in a single breath, each unit based on multiples of one eighth. The hymns of Samaveda
contain melodic content, form, rhythm and metric organization.[24] This structure is, however, not unique or
limited to Samaveda. The Rigveda embeds the musical meter too, without the kind of elaboration found in
the Samaveda. For example, the Gayatri mantra contains three metric lines of exactly eight syllables, with
an embedded ternary rhythm.[25]

According to Lewis Rowell – a professor of Music specializing on classical Indian music, the need and
impulse to develop mathematically precise musical meters in the Vedic era may have been driven by the
Indian use of oral tradition for transmitting vast amounts of Vedic literature. Deeply and systematically
embedded structure and meters may have enabled the ancient Indians a means to detect and correct any
errors of memory or oral transmission from one person or generation to the next.[26] According to Michael
Witzel,[27]

The Vedic texts were orally composed and transmitted, without the use of script, in an
unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalized early on. This
ensured an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures; it is,
in fact, something like a tape-recording.... Not just the actual words, but even the long-lost
musical (tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the present.

— Michael Witzel[27]

The Samaveda also included a system of chironomy, or hand signals to set the recital speed. These were
mudras (finger and palm postures) and jatis (finger counts of the beat), a system at the foundation of
talas.[28] The chants in the Vedic recital text, associated with rituals, are presented to be measured in matras
and its multiples in the invariant ratio of 1:2:3. This system is also the basis of every tala.[29]
In the ancient traditions of Hinduism, two musical genre
appeared, namely Gandharva (formal, composed,
ceremonial music) and Gana (informal, improvised,
entertainment music).[31] The Gandharva music also
implied celestial, divine associations, while the Gana also
implied singing.[31] The Vedic Sanskrit musical tradition had
spread widely in the Indian subcontinent, and according to
Rowell, the ancient Tamil classics make it "abundantly clear
that a cultivated musical tradition existed in South India as
early as the last few pre-Christian centuries".[11]
Five Gandharvas (celestial musicians) from
The classic Sanskrit text Natya Shastra is at the foundation 4th-5th century CE, northwest Indian
of the numerous classical music and dance of India. Before subcontinent, carrying the four types of
musical instruments. Gandharvas are
Natyashastra was finalized, the ancient Indian traditions had
discussed in Vedic era literature.[30]
classified musical instruments into four groups based on
their acoustic principle (how they work, rather than the
material they are made of).[32] These four categories are
accepted as given and are four separate chapters in the Natyashastra, one each on stringed instruments
(chordophones), hollow instruments (aerophones), solid instruments (idiophones), and covered instruments
(membranophones).[32] Of these, states Rowell, the idiophone in the form of "small bronze cymbals" were
used for tala. Almost the entire chapter of Natyashastra on idiophones, by Bharata, is a theoretical treatise
on the system of tala.[33] Time keeping with idiophones was considered a separate function than that of
percussion (membranophones), in the early Indian thought on music theory.[33]

The early 13th century Sanskrit text Sangitaratnakara (literally, "Ocean of Music and Dance"), by
Śārṅgadeva patronized by King Sighana of the Yadava dynasty in Maharashtra, mentions and discusses
ragas and talas.[34] He identifies seven tala families, then subdivides them into rhythmic ratios, presenting
a methodology for improvisation and composition that continues to inspire modern era Indian
musicians.[35] Sangitaratnakara is one of the most complete historic medieval era Hindu treatises on this
subject that has survived into the modern era, that relates to the structure, technique and reasoning behind
ragas and talas.[36][35]

The centrality and significance of Tala to music in ancient and early medieval India is also expressed in
numerous temple reliefs, in both Hinduism and Jainism, such as through the carving of musicians with
cymbals at the fifth century Pavaya temple sculpture near Gwalior,[37] and the Ellora Caves.[38][39]

Description
In the South Indian system (Carnatic), a full tala is a group of seven suladi talas. These are cyclic
(avartana), with three parts (anga) traditionally written down with laghu, drutam and anudrutam symbols.
Each tala is divided in two ways to perfect the musical performance, one is called kala (kind) and the other
gati (pulse).[4]

Each repeated cycle of a tala is called an avartan. This is counted additively in sections (vibhag or anga)
which roughly correspond to bars or measures but may not have the same number of beats (matra,
akshara) and may be marked by accents or rests. So the Hindustani Jhoomra tal has 14 beats, counted
3+4+3+4, which differs from Dhamar tal, also of 14 beats but counted 5+2+3+4. The spacing of the
vibhag accents makes them distinct, otherwise, again, since Rupak tal consists of 7 beats, two cycles of it of
would be indistinguishable from one cycle of the related Dhamar tal.[40] However the most common
Hindustani tala, Teental, is a regularly-divisible cycle of four measures of four beats each.
The first beat of any tala, called sam
(pronounced as the English word 'sum'
and meaning even or equal) is always
the most important and heavily
emphasised. It is the point of resolution
in the rhythm where the percussionist's
and soloist's phrases culminate: a
soloist has to sound an important note
of the raga there, and a North Indian
classical dance composition must end
there. However, melodies do not
always begin on the first beat of the
tala but may be offset, for example to
suit the words of a composition so that
the most accented word falls upon the
sam. The term talli, literally "shift", is
used to describe this offset in Tamil. A
composition may also start with an
anacrusis on one of the last beats of the
previous cycle of the tala, called ateeta
Examples of bol, notation and additive counting in Hindustani
eduppu in Tamil.
classical music
The tāla is indicated visually by using
a series of rhythmic hand gestures
called kriyas that correspond to the angas or "limbs", or vibhag of the tāla. These movements define the
tala in Carnatic music, and in the Hindustani tradition too, when learning and reciting the tala, the first beat
of any vibhag is known as tali ("clap") and is accompanied by a clap of the hands, while an "empty"
(khali) vibhag is indicated with a sideways wave of the dominant clapping hand (usually the right) or the
placing of the back of the hand upon the base hand's palm instead. But northern definitions of tala rely far
more upon specific drum-strokes, known as bols, each with its own name that can be vocalized as well as
written. In one common notation the sam is denoted by an 'X' and the khali, which is always the first beat
of a particular vibhag, denoted by '0' (zero).[41]

A tala does not have a fixed tempo (laya) and can be played at different speeds. In Hindustani classical
music a typical recital of a raga falls into two or three parts categorized by the quickening tempo of the
music; Vilambit (delayed, i.e., slow), Madhya (medium tempo) and Drut (fast). Carnatic music adds an
extra slow and fast category, categorised by divisions of the pulse; Chauka (1 stroke per beat), Vilamba (2
strokes per beat), Madhyama (4 strokes per beat), Drut(8 strokes per beat) and lastly Adi-drut(16 strokes
per beat).

Indian classical music, both northern and southern, have theoretically developed since ancient times
numerous tala, though in practice some talas are very common, and some are rare.

In Carnatic music
Tala was introduced to Karnataka music by its founder Purandara Dasa. Carnatic music uses various
classification systems of tālas such as the Chapu (4 talas), Chanda (108 talas) and Melakarta (72 talas). The
Suladi Sapta Tāla system (35 talas) is used here, according to which there are seven families of tāla. A tāla
cannot exist without reference to one of five jatis, differentiated by the length in beats of the laghu, thus
allowing thirty-five possible tālas. With all possible combinations of tala types and laghu lengths, there are
5 x 7 = 35 talas having lengths ranging from 3 (Tisra-jati Eka tala) to 29 (sankeerna jati dhruva tala)
aksharas. The seven tala families and the number of aksharas for each of the 35 talas are;
 Tala Anga Notation Tisra (3) Chatusra (4) Khanda (5) Misra (7) Sankeerna (9)
Dhruva lOll 11 14 17 23 29
Matya lOl 8 10 12 16 20
Rupaka Ol 5 6 7 9 11
Jhampa lUO 6 7 8 10 12
Triputa lOO 7 8 9 11 13
Ata llOO 10 12 14 18 22
Eka l 3 4 5 7 9

In practice, only a few talas have compositions set to them. The most common tala is Chaturasra-nadai
Chaturasra-jaati Triputa tala, also called Adi tala (Adi meaning primordial in Sanskrit). Nadai is a term
which means subdivision of beats. Many kritis and around half of the varnams are set to this tala. Other
common talas include:

Chaturasra-nadai Chaturasra-jaati Rupaka tala (or simply Rupaka tala).[42] A large body of
krtis is set to this tala.
Khanda Chapu (a 10-count) and Misra Chapu (a 14-count), both of which do not fit very well
into the suladi sapta tala scheme. Many padams are set to Misra Chapu, while there are also
krtis set to both the above talas.
Chatusra-nadai Khanda-jati Ata tala (or simply Ata tala).[42] Around half of the varnams are
set to this tala.
Tisra-nadai Chatusra-jati Triputa tala (Adi Tala Tisra-Nadai).[42] A few fast-paced kritis are
set to this tala. As this tala is a twenty-four beat cycle, compositions in it can be and
sometimes are sung in Rupaka talam.

Strokes

There are 6 main angas/strokes in talas;

Anudhrutam, a single beat, notated 'U', a downward clap of the open hand with the palm
facing down.
Dhrutam, a pattern of 2 beats, notated 'O', a downward clap with the palm facing down
followed by a second downward clap with the palm facing up.
Laghu, a pattern with a variable number of beats, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 9, depending on the jati. It is
notated 'l' and consists of a downward clap with the palm facing down followed by counting
from little finger to thumb and back, depending on the jati.
Guru, a pattern represented by a 8 beats . It is notated ‘8’ and consists of a downward clap
with the palm facing down followed by circling movement of the right hand with closed
fingers in the clockwise direction.
Plutham, a pattern of 12 beats notated ‘3’, it consists of a downward clap with the palm
facing down followed by counting from little finger to the middle finger, a krishya (waving the
hand towards the left hand side 4 times) and a sarpini (waving the hand towards the right 4
times)
Kakapadam, a pattern of 16 beats notated ’x’, it consists of a downward clap with the palm
facing down followed by counting from little finger to the middle finger, a pathakam (waving
the hand upwards 4 times),a krishya and a sarpini
Jatis

Each tala can incorporate one of the five following jatis.

Jati Number of Aksharas

Chaturasra 4
Thisra 3
Khanda 5
Misra 7
Sankeerna 9

Each tala family has a default jati associated with it; the tala name mentioned without qualification refers to
the default jati .

Dhruva tala is by default chaturasra jati

Matya tala is chaturasra jati
Rupaka tala is chaturasra jati
Jhampa tala is misra jati[42]
Triputa tala is tisra jati (chaturasra jati type is also known as Adi tala)
Ata tala is kanda jati
Eka tala is chaturasra jati
For all the 72 melakarta talas and the 108 talas the jathi is mostly chatusram

For example, one cycle of khanda-jati rupaka tala comprises a 2-beat dhrutam followed by a 5-beat laghu.
The cycle is, thus, 7 aksharas long. Chaturasra nadai khanda-jati Rupaka tala has 7 aksharam, each of
which is 4 matras long; each avartana of the tala is 4 x 7 = 28 matras long. For Misra nadai Khanda-jati
Rupaka tala, it would be 7 x 7 = 49 matra.

Jati (nadai in Tamil, nadaka in Telugu, nade in Kannada)

The number of maatras in an akshara is called the nadai. This number can be 3, 4, 5, 7 or 9, and take the
same name as the jatis. The default nadai is Chatusram:

Jati Maatras Phonetic representation of beats

Tisra 3 Tha Ki Ta
Chatusra 4 Tha Ka Dhi Mi
Khanda 5 Tha Ka Tha Ki Ta
Misra 7 Tha Ki Ta Tha Ka Dhi Mi
Sankeerna 9 Tha Ka Dhi Mi Tha Ka Tha Ki Ta

Sometimes, pallavis are sung as part of a Ragam Thanam Pallavi exposition in some of the rarer, more
complicated talas; such pallavis, if sung in a non-Chatusra-nadai tala, are called nadai pallavis. In
addition, pallavis are often sung in chauka kale(slowing the tala cycle by a magnitude of four times),
although this trend seems to be slowing.
Kāla

Kāla refers to the change of tempo during a rendition of song, typically doubling up the speed. Onnaam
kaalam is 1st speed, Erandaam kaalam is 2nd speed and so on. Erandaam kaalam fits in twice the number
of aksharaas (notes) into the same beat, thus doubling the tempo. Sometimes, Kāla is also used similar to
Layā, for example Madhyama Kālam or Chowka Kālam.

In Hindustani music
Talas have a vocalised and therefore recordable form wherein individual beats are expressed as phonetic
representations of various strokes played upon the tabla. Various Gharanas (literally "Houses" which can be
inferred to be "styles" – basically styles of the same art with cultivated traditional variances) also have their
own preferences. For example, the Kirana Gharana uses Ektaal more frequently for Vilambit Khayal while
the Jaipur Gharana uses Trital. Jaipur Gharana is also known to use Ada Trital, a variation of Trital for
transitioning from Vilambit to Drut laya.

The Khyal vibhag has no beats on the bayan, i.e. no bass beats this can be seen as a way to enforce the
balance between the usage of heavy (bass dominated) and fine (treble) beats or more simply it can be
thought of another mnemonic to keep track of the rhythmic cycle (in addition to Sam). The khali is played
with a stressed syllable that can easily be picked out from the surrounding beats.

Some rare talas even contain a "half-beat". For example, Dharami is an 11 1/2 beat cycle where the final
"Ka" only occupies half the time of the other beats. This tala's 6th beat does not have a played syllable – in
western terms it is a "rest".

Common Hindustani talas

Some talas, for example Dhamaar, Ek, Jhoomra and Chau talas, lend themselves better to slow and medium
tempos. Others flourish at faster speeds, like Jhap or Rupak talas. Trital or Teental is one of the most
popular, since it is as aesthetic at slower tempos as it is at faster speeds.

There are many talas in Hindustani music, some of the more popular ones are:

Name Beats Division Vibhaga

Tintal (or Trital or Teental) 16 4+4+4+4 X203
Jhoomra 14 3+4+3+4 X203
Tilwada 16 4+4+4+4 X203
Dhamar 14 5+2+3+4 X203
Ektal and Chautal 12 2+2+2+2+2+2 X02034
Jhaptal 10 2+3+2+3 X203
Keherwa 8 4+4 X0
Rupak (Mughlai/Roopak) 7 3+2+2 X23
Dadra 6 3+3 X0

72 melakarta talas and 108 anga talas

72 melakarta talas
S.No Name of Raga Pattern of the symbols of angas Aksharas
1 Kanakaangi 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Guru, 1 Laghu 15
2 Rathnaangi 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu 20
1 Laghu, 2 Anudhruthas, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Guru, 1
3 Ganamurthi 22
Anudhrutha
1 Laghu, 2 Anudhruthas, 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
4 Vanaspathi 22
Sekara Viraamam
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1
5 Maanavathi 20
Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
6 Dhanarupi 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhritha 15
1 Gurus, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha,
7 Senaavathi 25
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
8 Hanumathodi 1 Guru, 2 Anudhruthas, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Pluta, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu 34
9 Dhenuka 1 Pluta, 2 Anudhruthas, 1 Dhrutha 16
10 Natakapriya 3 Dhruthas, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 12
11 Kokilapriya 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha, 2 Laghus, 1 Dhrutha 21
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1
12 Rupaavathi 19
Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
13 Gayakapriya 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 2 Dhruthas, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 15
Vagula 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 2 Dhruthas, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha
14 28
bharanam Sekara Viraamam, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
1 Laghu, 2 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara
Maya malava
15 Viraamam, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 31
goulam
Sekara Viraamam, 1 Anudhrutha
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 2 Laghus, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1
16 Chakravaham 24
Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
17 Suryakantham 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Guru, 1 Pluta 33
18 Haata kambari 1 Guru, 2 Dhruthas, 1 Guru, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam 27
19 Jankaradh wani 1 Pluta, 3 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamams, 1 Pluta, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Anudhrutha 36
1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 2 Dhrutha Sekara
20 Nata bhairavi 19
Viraamams, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha
21 Keeravani 2 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamams, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 18
2 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamams, 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha Sekara
22 Karahara priya 24
Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 2 Laghus, 1 Dhrutha, 2 Gurus, 1
23 Gowri manohari 37
Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha,
24 Varuna priya 20
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
25 Maara ranjani 1 Laghu, 2 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamams, 2 Gurus, 2 Anudhruthas 28
1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1
26 Charukesi 22
Dhrutha
27 Sarasaangi 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Pluta, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu 29
1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Guru, 1 Pluta, 1
28 Harikamboji 41
Guru, 1 Anudhrutha
29 Dheera sankara 1 Guru, 2 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamams, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara 50
 bharanam Viraamam, 1 Dhrutha, 2 Laghus, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha Sekara
Viraamam, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Guru, 2
30 Nagaa nandhini 23
Anudhruthas
31 Yagapriya 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 2 Laghus, 1 Dhrutha 13
32 Raga vardhini 3 Laghus, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Anudhrutha 24
1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Dhrutha, 1
Gangeya
33 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 38
bhushani
Dhrutha
Vaga 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1
34 34
dheeshwari Guru, Dhrutha, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
35 Soolini 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha 12
36 Chala Naata 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 2 Dhruthas 15
37 Chalagam 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha 22
38 Jalaarnavam 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 2 Gurus, 1 Dhrutha 32
1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 2 Laghus, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1
39 Jaalavarali 25
Anudhrutha
1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
40 Navaneetham 15
Sekara Viraamam
41 Paavani 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 2 Anudhruthas 9
42 Raghupriya 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 14
1 Laghu, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Pluta, 1 Guru, 1
43 Kavaambothi 36
Anudhrutha
44 Bhavapriya 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 16
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara
Subha
45 Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 35
panthuvarali
1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha
Shadvitha 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1
46 44
maargini Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
47 Swarnaangi 1 Guru, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Pluta, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu 32
1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1
48 Divyamani 27
Dhrutha
1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1Dhrutha Sekara
49 Davalaambari 28
Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
Naama
50 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 2 Dhruthas, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 22
narayani
1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha,
51 Kaamavartha 27
1 Pluta, 1 Anudhrutha
52 Raamapriya 2 Laghus, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 16
53 Gamanashrama 2 Laghus, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu , 1 Dhrutha 17
1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Pluta, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1
54 Viswambari 27
Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
1 Guru, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1
55 Syamalangi 25
Laghu
Shanmukha 1 Pluta, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1
56 27
priya Dhrutha
57 Simhendra 1 Guru, 1 Kakapada, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara 69
madhyamam Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1
Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
1 Pluta, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
58 Hemaavathi 30
Sekara Viraamam
1 Pluta, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
59 Dharmavathi 30
Sekara Viraamam
1Dhrutha, 1Laghu, 1Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1
60 Neethimathi 22
Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
61 Kaanthamani 2 Gurus, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha 28
1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1
62 Rishabhapriya 21
Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
63 Lathaangi 1 Laghu, 1 Pluta, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu 21
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Guru, 1
64 Vachaspathi 29
Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Dhrutha, 1
65 Mecha Kalyani 30
Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Pluta, 1 Dhrutha Sekara
66 Chithraambari 29
Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam
67 Sucharithra 1 Guru, 1 Laghu, 2 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamams, 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha 27
Jyothi 1 Kakapada, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1
68 48
swarupini Pluta, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara
69 Dathuvardhani 36
Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Anudhrutha, 1 Pluta, 1 Anudhrutha
Naasikha 1 Dhrutha, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha, 1
70 32
bhushani Laghu, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Laghu, 1 Dhrutha
71 Kosalam 1 Guru, 1 Anudhrutha, 2 Gurus, 1 Anudhruthas 26
1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1 Guru, 1 Dhrutha Sekara Viraamam, 1
72 Rasikapriya 20
Laghu, 1 Dhrutha

7 Saptangachakram (7 angas)

Anga Symbol Aksharakala

Anudrutam U 1
Druta O 2
Druta-virama UO 3
Laghu (Chatusra-jati) l 4
Guru 8 8
Plutam 3 12
Kakapadam x 16

Shodashangachakram (16 angas)

 Anga Symbol Aksharakala
Anudrutam U 1
Druta O 2
Druta-virama UO 3
Laghu (Chatusra-jati) l 4
Laghu-virama Ul 5
Laghu-druta Ol 6
Laghu-druta-virama UOl 7
Guru 8 8
Guru-virama U8 9
Guru-druta O8 10
Guru-druta-virama UO8 11
Plutam 3 12
Pluta-virana U3 13
Pluta-druta O3 14
Pluta-druta-virama UO3 15
Kakapadam x 16

Compositions are rare in the 108 lengthy anga talas. They are mostly used in performing the Pallavi of
Ragam Thanam Pallavis. Some examples of anga talas are:

Sarabhanandana tala

8 O l l O U U)
O O O U O) OU) U) O
U O U O U) O (OU) O)

Simhanandana tala : It is the longest tala.

8 8 l ) l 8 O O
8 8 l ) l ) 8 l
l x

Another type of tala is the chhanda tala. These are talas set to the lyrics of the Thirupugazh by the Tamil
composer Arunagirinathar. He is said to have written 16000 hyms each in a different chhanda tala. Of
these, only 1500–2000 are available.

Rarer hindustani talas

 Name Beats Division Vibhaga
Adachoutal 14 2+2+2+2+2+2+2 X203040
Brahmtal 28 2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2+2 X 0 2 3 0 4 5 6 0 7 8 9 10 0
Dipchandi 14 3+4+3+4 X203
Shikar 17 6+6+2+3 X034
Sultal 10 2+2+2+2+2 x0230
Ussole e Fakhta 5 1+1+1+1+1 x3
Farodast 14 3+4+3+4 X203

References
1. Monier-Williams 1899, p. 444.
2. Nettl et al. 1998, p. 138.
3. Randel 2003, p. 816.
4. Randel 2003, pp. 816–817.
5. Nettl et al. 1998, pp. 138–139.
6. Sorrell & Narayan 1980, pp. 1–3.
7. Sorrell & Narayan 1980, pp. 3–4.
8. Guy L. Beck (2012). Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition (https://books.google.
com/books?id=UzUMCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT63). University of South Carolina Press. pp. 63–
64. ISBN 978-1-61117-108-2.
9. William Alves (2013). Music of the Peoples of the World (https://books.google.com/books?id
=6fkJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA266). Cengage Learning. p. 266. ISBN 978-1-133-71230-5.
10. Sorrell & Narayan 1980, pp. 4–5.
11. Rowell 2015, pp. 12–13.
12. Ellen Koskoff (2013). The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 2 (https://
books.google.com/books?id=hzIt6ZL5lY0C). Routledge. pp. 938–939. ISBN 978-1-136-
09602-0.
13. Caudhurī 2000, p. 130.
14. Nettl 2010.
15. James B. Robinson (2009). Hinduism (https://books.google.com/books?id=GmQ_yp4vVhsC
&pg=PA104). Infobase Publishing. pp. 104–106. ISBN 978-1-4381-0641-0.
16. Vijaya Moorthy (2001). Romance of the Raga (https://books.google.com/books?id=2s2xJets
y0wC). Abhinav Publications. pp. 45–48, 53, 56–58. ISBN 978-81-7017-382-3.
17. Nettl et al. 1998, p. 124.
18. Gangolli 2007, p. 56.
19. Rao, Suvarnalata; Rao, Preeti (2014). "An Overview of Hindustani Music in the Context of
Computational Musicology". Journal of New Music Research. 43 (1): 26–28.
CiteSeerX 10.1.1.645.9188 (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.645.
9188). doi:10.1080/09298215.2013.831109 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F09298215.2013.831
109).
20. Rowell 2015, p. 9.
21. William Forde Thompson (2014). Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An
Encyclopedia (https://books.google.com/books?id=kpmlBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT1694). SAGE
Publications. pp. 1693–1694. ISBN 978-1-4833-6558-9.
22. Guy Beck (1993), Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound, University of South
Carolina Press, ISBN 978-0872498556, pages 107-108
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Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., ISBN 1-4051-3251-5, pages 68-71
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34. S.S. Sastri (1943), Sangitaratnakara of Sarngadeva (https://archive.org/stream/SangitaRatna
kara/SangitaRatnakaraChapter1#page/n7/mode/2up), Adyar Library Press, ISBN 0-8356-
7330-8, pages v-vi, ix-x (English), for talas discussion see pp. 169-274 (Sanskrit)
35. Rens Bod (2013). A New History of the Humanities: The Search for Principles and Patterns
from Antiquity to the Present (https://books.google.com/books?id=321oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1
16). Oxford University Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-19-164294-4.
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20629-8.
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ISBN 978-0-19-565458-5.
40. Kaufmann 1968.
41. Chandrakantha Music of India http://chandrakantha.com/faq/tala_thalam.html
42. A practical course in Karnatik music by Prof. P. Sambamurthy, Book II, The Indian Music
Publishing House, Madras

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The main rāgǎs. London: C. Johnson. OCLC 851080
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/851080).
Gangolli, Ramesh (2007). "Music and Mathematics". Perspectives of New Music. 45 (2
(Summer)): 51–56. JSTOR 25164656 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/25164656).
Jairazbhoy, Nazir Ali (1995), The Rāgs of North Indian Music: Their Structure & Evolution (ht
tps://books.google.com/books?id=hGLRqLscf78C) (first revised Indian ed.), Bombay:
Popular Prakashan, ISBN 978-81-7154-395-3
Kaufmann, Walter (1968), The Ragas of North India (https://archive.org/details/ragasofnorthi
ndi00kauf), Oxford & Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0253347800, OCLC 11369 (https://
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of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent (https://books.google.com/books?id=Z
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München (Munich), Salzburg: Katzbichler, 1983.

External links
A Visual Introduction to Rhythms (taal) in Hindustani Classical Music (https://raag-hindustan
i.com/Rhythm.html)
Colvin Russell: Tala Primer – A basic introduction to tabla and tala (http://www.pathcom.co
m/~ericp/tala.html).
KKSongs Talamala (http://kksongs.org/talamala.html): Recordings of Tabla Bols, database
for Hindustani Talas.
Ancient Future (http://www.ancient-future.com/india.html): MIDI files of the common (major)
Hindustani Talas.

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