Note 37 — CHAPTER 24

Chand remarks of his hero, the Chauhan, that he was “master of the art,” both vocal and instrumental. Whether profane music was ever common may be doubted; but sacred music was a part of early education with the sons of kings. Rama and his brothers were celebrated for the harmonious execution of episodes from the grand epic, the Ramayana. The sacred canticles of Jayadeva were set to music, and apparently by himself, and are yet sung by the Chaubes. The inhabitants of the various monastic establishments chant their addresses to the deity; and I have listened with delight to the modulated cadences of the hermits, singing the praises of Pataliswara from their pinnacled abode of Abu. It would be injustice to touch incidentally on the merits of the minstrel Dholi, who sings the warlike compositions of the sacred Bardai of Rajasthan.