Sruti

Sruti generally refers to musical pitch. It is the near equivalent of a tonic in Western harmony; it is the message from which all the others are derivative. It is also used in the logic of grade pitches in an octave. While there is a countless number of sound falling within a size in Carnatic music, the quantity that can be notable by auditory perception is twenty-two. In this sense, while shruti is resolute by auditory observation, it is also an appearance in the listener's mind.