the earliest texts like the Nilmatapurana and Rajatarangini by Kalhana. The very fact that it was a Kashmiri, Abhinavagupta (the great philosopher), who wrote a commentary called Abhinavabharati on Bharata's Natyashatra shows how much importance was given to music in the ancient times. A favorite traditional instrument is the santoor (Shat-tantri-veena), a hundred string percussion instrument which is played by the goddess Sharada (the goddess of learning and art in ancient Kashmir). Notable santoor players from Jammu and Kashmir include Shivkumar Sharma, from Jammu, and Bhajan Sopori from the Kashmir Valley. Jammu region Music in Jammu is mainly in Dogri language, Gujari language, Pahari language and Punjabi language. Traditional Dogri folk song is known as Bhakh. See also Jammu and Kashmir (union territory) Culture of Kashmir Outline of Jammu and Kashmir References External links Official Site Culture of Jammu and Kashmir Indian culture Indian music