Photo: VIBHAATH GUDTROT · CC BY-SA 4.0
Inscription · c. 7th century CE

Kudumiyanmalai music inscription

Found
Rock face beside the Shikhanathaswami temple, Kudumiyanmalai, Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu
Kept at
In place

A large rock inscription in Grantha script that sets down musical exercises in svara notation, arranged under seven ragas.

What it says

Each section is headed by a raga name such as Madhyamagrama and Shadjagrama, followed by groups of svara syllables. A closing line says the pieces were made by a king, a disciple of Rudracharya, for the benefit of pupils playing the seven- and eight-stringed vina. Many scholars attribute it to the Pallava king Mahendravarman I.

What it proves

It is the oldest surviving written music notation in Bharat, carved in stone.

Evidence for