This presentation examines the concept of nāda, or divine sound, in Sanskrit sources, specifically focusing on the literature of the early Śaiva Tantras and systematic works on music (saṅgītaśāstra), noting how this semantically “resonant” term is indexed to discussions of metaphysics, linguistics, cosmogony, and yogic practice. Adopting the methodological approach of conceptual and intellectual history, I chart the usages of nāda, or Resonance, as it is deployed across Śaiva metaphysics and music theory, focusing particularly on its role as a value-laden concept in the cosmogonies and metaphysical frameworks of both disciplines. This will lead to a consideration of how this term illuminates certain “adjacencies” and cross-pollinations between religious speculation and classical Indian performing arts in pre-modern India.
This presentation examines the concept of nāda, or divine sound, in Sanskrit sources, specifically focusing on the literature of the early Śaiva Tantras and systematic works on music (saṅgītaśāstra), noting how this semantically “resonant” term is indexed to discussions of metaphysics, linguistics, cosmogony, and yogic practice. Adopting the methodological approach of conceptual and intellectual history, I chart the usages of nāda, or Resonance, as it is deployed across Śaiva metaphysics and music theory, focusing particularly on its role as a value-laden concept in the cosmogonies and metaphysical frameworks of both disciplines. This will lead to a consideration of how this term illuminates certain “adjacencies” and cross-pollinations between religious speculation and classical Indian performing arts in pre-modern India.