Saṅgītasamayasāra, the 12th century Sanskrit text of Pārśvadéva is dedicated to Deśi Saṅgīta (vocal, instrumental music and dance) that establishes music and dance as two separate streams. The text while briefly covering dance in two chapters focuses mainly on vocal and instrumental music. The term Saṅgīta has been explained with the triad concept of gīta, vādya and nṛtta. With salutation to Lord Viṣṇu, Saṅgītasamayasāra covers many important musical concepts such as nāda, dhvani, śārira, ālapti, sthāya, varṇa, tāḷa and alamkāra etc, which makes it an important music text of all times.
This book is a 12th CE text, Saṅgītasamayasāra authored by Pārśvadeva, a Jain Ācārya, who was widely acclaimed for his musical knowledge and was honoured with the title Saṅgīta-ākara (ocean of music). The work throws considerable light on the musical traditions prevalent during his time while elaborately discussing the theory of instrumental and vocal music as well as dance.