Gandharva is regarded as the most ancient treatise in Indian music, although its only evidence is in the quotations attributed to it in the texts that have followed subsequently. The most reliable and presently available source of history and evolution of Indian music is Bharata’s Natya Shastra, which dates back to the 2nd century BC. Bharata refers to Narada as the first expert on the subject matter of Gandharva. Narada defines Gandharva as follows – Gitigeyam viduh pragyadhetikasmavadanam Vetti vadyasya vijneyam gandharvasya virocanam. Bhatta Subhamkara in this commentary (of this verse) draws the etymological meaning of Gandharva by stating that ‘gana’ or singing is derived from the root ‘gai;’ ‘dhakara’ suggests efficient finger movements; and ‘vakara’ suggests ‘vadana’ or the playing of an instrument. Abhinavagupta further elucidates that ‘dha’ is related to ‘dhatu’, which explains the finger movements while playing the Vina, which has strings made of dhatu or metal. The