Dhrupad

History glossary

Topic: The Mughal Empire: Babur to Aurangzeb · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Dhrupad is one of the oldest surviving forms of Hindustani classical vocal music (the classical music of north India). It is slow, serious and mostly devotional. It grew in the court of Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior and later flourished at the Mughal court. Exams link it to rulers who supported music, to Tansen at Akbar's court, and to the blend of Hindu and Muslim traditions in Indian culture.

Explanation

Background and origin

  • The name probably comes from dhruva-pada, meaning "fixed verse". The words of a dhrupad song are set and are not made up on the spot.
  • It grew out of older temple and devotional singing in north India.
  • Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior (late 15th to early 16th century) is credited with shaping and spreading it. Gwalior became its main centre.
  • Tradition links a treatise on music, the Man Kautuhal, with his court. This is "according to tradition", and the original text is not easy to trace.

Main features

  • Language: mostly Braj Bhasha, a form of early Hindi. Some songs are in Sanskrit.
  • Themes: praise of gods such as Krishna and Shiva, praise of kings and patrons, and nature and the seasons.
  • Alap first: the singer opens with a long, slow alap (an opening that unfolds the raga step by step, without a fixed beat). The alap uses sounds like "nom-tom" instead of words.
  • The song in four parts: sthayi, antara, sanchari and abhog.
  • Instruments:
  • the pakhawaj, a two-headed barrel drum that keeps the rhythm
  • the tanpura, a string instrument that gives a steady drone (one long, continuous note)

  • the rudra veena, which is closely linked with dhrupad

  • Mood: it is austere (plain and serious). It avoids light decoration and fast showy runs. Its aim is calm and devotion.

How it changed over time

  • Gwalior to the Mughal court: singers trained in the Gwalior tradition moved to the courts of north India. The most famous was Tansen, who joined Akbar's court. He was one of the "nine jewels" (navaratnas) of the court, according to later tradition.
  • Teachers: tradition says Tansen learnt from Swami Haridas, a saint-musician of Vrindavan. This comes from legend, not firm records.
  • Four banis: four styles of dhrupad singing, called banis, are traced back to Akbar's time: Gauhar (Gobarhari), Khandar, Nauhar and Dagar.
  • Decline: in the 18th century the lighter and more flexible khayal became the favourite style at court. Its rise is linked with the court of Muhammad Shah "Rangila". Dhrupad became the music of a smaller group of families.
  • Temples: a style close to dhrupad survived in the temple music (haveli sangeet) of the Vallabha (Pushtimarg) sect.

Results and legacy

  • Dhrupad laid the base on which later Hindustani music was built: the raga-based alap and a disciplined rhythm cycle.
  • The Dagar family are its best-known modern exponents (masters). They kept the form alive in the 20th century and took it to audiences around the world.
  • It is a clear example of composite culture. Hindu devotional themes were sung by Hindu and Muslim musicians alike, and both Rajput and Mughal courts supported them.

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: it took shape in the late 15th and early 16th century and reached its peak under the Mughals in the 16th and 17th centuries.
  • Places:
  • Gwalior, the court of Man Singh Tomar
  • Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's court

  • Vrindavan, linked with Swami Haridas

  • Key people:

  • Raja Man Singh Tomar, patron and shaper of the form
  • Tansen, Akbar's court singer
  • Swami Haridas, Tansen's teacher according to tradition
  • Baiju Bawra, a legendary singer of Gwalior whose life story is mostly folklore

  • the Dagar family, its modern exponents

  • How we know:

  • The Ain-i-Akbari of Abul Fazl lists the musicians of Akbar's court and names Tansen among them.
  • Mughal court histories and paintings show musicians at court.
  • Songs, compositions and the lines of teachers and pupils were passed down by word of mouth in musician families (gharanas and banis).

  • The Man Kautuhal is linked with Man Singh's court only by tradition.

  • Note on the Mughal context: this glossary places dhrupad under the Mughal Empire. Akbar's court at Fatehpur Sikri brought many traditions together, including the translation of Sanskrit texts into Persian at the Maktab Khana ("house of translation"), set up in 1574. [1] Dhrupad shows the same spirit in music.

Don't confuse with

  • Khayal: a later, lighter style that rose to the top in the 18th century and gives the singer more freedom to improvise. Dhrupad is older, slower and stricter, and is accompanied by the pakhawaj, while khayal uses the tabla.
  • Thumri: a light classical form about romantic and devotional love, often sung in a lighter raga. It is not the strict, austere style of dhrupad.
  • Dhamar: a form sung by dhrupad singers in the same style, but set to the 14-beat dhamar tala and full of Holi and Krishna themes. It is a close relative of dhrupad, not the same form.
  • Carnatic music: the classical music of south India. Dhrupad belongs to Hindustani (north Indian) music.

Prelims Hooks

  • Dhrupad is one of the oldest surviving forms of Hindustani classical vocal music.
  • Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior is the ruler most often linked with making dhrupad popular.
  • Tansen, a dhrupad singer, was at Akbar's court. Tradition names Swami Haridas as his teacher.
  • The rhythm instrument of dhrupad is the pakhawaj, not the tabla.
  • The four banis of dhrupad are Gauhar (Gobarhari), Khandar, Nauhar and Dagar.
  • The Dagar family are its famous modern exponents. Trap: khayal, not dhrupad, became the main court style in the 18th century.

Mains Points

  • Music as part of composite culture:
  • Hindu devotional themes, sung in Braj Bhasha, were supported by Rajput rulers like Man Singh Tomar and by Mughal emperors like Akbar.
  • Muslim and Hindu musicians shared the same tradition.

  • This matches Akbar's wider policy of Sulh-i-Kul ("peace with all"). [2] Useful in GS-I answers on Indo-Islamic culture.

  • Continuity and change in court patronage:

  • Dhrupad rose with royal support at Gwalior and Agra.
  • It lost ground when tastes moved to khayal in the 18th century.
  • It survived through family lines (the Dagars) and temple music.

  • This shows how art forms depend on patrons and how they adapt when patrons change.

  • Heritage and revival:

  • In the 20th century, dhrupad's survival depended on a few families who passed it down by word of mouth.
  • This is an example of how intangible heritage (traditions handed down by people, not buildings) is kept alive, and why it needs institutional support today.

Related concepts

Read more

Sources

  1. 1Razmnāmaindianculture.gov.in · tier 1
  2. 2World Heritage Sites – Fatehpur Sikri, Archaeological Survey of Indiaasi.nic.in · tier 1