ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 focuses on the relationship of the drum with kings and gods, an aspect emphasized by all the contemporary pakhāvaj players. The author introduces the historical period and the socio-religious context during which the ancient drum mṛdaṅga emerged as major courtly drum, and describes the importance of the sound of the mṛdaṅga in the aestheticized life of the courts. Then, he studies the models of kingship associated with Śiva, conceived as the magnification of the warrior king, and Viṣṇu-Kṛṣṇa, representative of the righteous king.
At the core of this chapter is the analysis of the relationship of the mṛdaṅga with the concept of the King-God and the associated secular–sacred dichotomy. On the basis of myths, literary and visual sources, the author suggests a new narrative on the evolution of the mṛdaṅga and its relationship with kingship and godship.
