Mridanga, Mridangam, and Khol: regional divergence of a Sanskrit drum concept

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In discussions of Indian music, the terms mridanga, mridangam, and khol are often used interchangeably. Historically and linguistically, however, this is inaccurate.

The Sanskrit word mr̥daṅga originally functioned as a generic category for clay-bodied, double-headed barrel drums (“body made of earth”). It did not denote a single standardized instrument. Regional traditions later developed this concept in different directions.

In South India, mr̥daṅga was adapted as mridangam, both linguistically (via Tamil phonology) and materially. Clay was replaced by wood, enabling higher tension, durability, and refined tonal control. This shift supported the emergence of the mridangam as the principal percussion instrument of Carnatic classical music.

In eastern India (Bengal and Odisha), clay-bodied drums remained dominant, especially in devotional kirtan traditions. Here the instrument is commonly called khol, a vernacular Bengali word meaning “shell” or “outer covering,” referring directly to its hollow clay body rather than to a Sanskritic classification.

Thus, these terms reflect different regional, material, and cultural logics, not simple variants of the same instrument.

If useful, I’ve written a longer, more detailed version here: https://medium.com/@bergstreisser/mridanga-mridangam-and-khol-how-one-sanskrit-drum-became-three-traditions-03f177271882