Which of the following statements best defines Ghana Vadya in the context of Indian traditional music?

Correct — C. The Natya Shastra sorts instruments by how they sound: stringed (tata), hollow or wind (sushira), covered (avanaddha) and solid (ghana).

Ghana vadya are idiophones, instruments whose solid body itself sounds when struck. They need no tuning before playing and are principally rhythmic, best suited to folk and tribal music and dance. That is option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Tuned melodic instruments played with strings and bow — Strings and a bow describe tata vadya, the stringed family, where bowed instruments like the sarangi sit alongside plucked ones like the sitar. Ghana instruments have no strings.
• (b)
  Percussion instruments requiring precise tuning before use — Drums that need tuning are avanaddha vadya, covered instruments with a skin stretched over a frame or vessel, like the tabla and mridangam. Ghana instruments are solid, with no skin to tune.
• (d)
  Wind instruments made of bamboo or reed used in classical traditions — Bamboo and reed instruments are sushira vadya, where sound comes from air blown into a hollow column, as in the bansuri or shehnai. Ghana means solid, not hollow.

Indian music classifies instruments by how the sound is made, and the Natya Shastra already uses four classes: tata (a vibrating string), sushira (air in a hollow column), avanaddha (a stretched membrane) and ghana (a solid body).

Ghana instruments are idiophones: cymbals, clappers, bells and struck pots. They are played by striking, shaking or clashing, and their role is mainly rhythmic.

Key facts

• Natya Shastra's four classes: tata (stringed), sushira (hollow or wind), avanaddha (covered) and ghana (solid).
• Ghana vadya are idiophones, solid instruments that need no tuning before playing.
• Avanaddha vadya have a skin stretched over a frame or vessel, as in the tabla and mridangam.
• Sushira vadya produce sound from air blown into a hollow column, as in the bansuri and shehnai.

Common traps

• Picking (b) because ghana instruments are rhythmic. Tuned drums with a skin are avanaddha, not ghana.
• Treating every percussion instrument as ghana. Only the solid ones, with no membrane, belong there.

No directly related past PYQ was found.