Rāga

Rāga is the pivotal concept of Indian music. In Sanskrit, the word raga literally
means "colour, hue" and also "beauty, melody".It is one of the melodic modes
used in Indian classical music. It can be classified as an absolute mode, i.e., one
form of music which can exist by itself. The individual swaras and the raga forms
have been referred to as divine beings (Swara devatas and Raga devatas). It forms
the basis on which the whole structure of melody is built.

The two important terms related to the scale or structure of raga are termed the
arohana and avarohana.  Arohanam can be defined as the sequence of swaras used
in a raga in the ascending order . Whereas Avarohana is the sequence of swaras
used in the descent.  The arohana and avarohana (or the scale) of a raga provide
only a skeletal outline upon which the rest of the raga is formed.

Ragas are not simply abstract collections of swaras that occur together to produce a
tune.  Each raga has a distinct identity or swaroopa which defines the raga. 
Arbitrary selection of a set of swaras cannot produce the raga swaroopam.  Each
raga is the culmination of hours of dedicated practice leading to aesthetic facts.

It is the arrangement of tones and semi-tones in relation to a basic note or ādhāra

shadja that establishes the swarūpa of a rāga. Hovering around the primary swaras
of the rāga, swara patterns are woven based on scientific laws and aesthetic
creativity.
योऽसौध्वनिविषे शस्तु स्वरवर्णविभूषितः I

रञ्जकोजनचित्तानांसरागःकथितोबु धैः II

- Sarangadeva’s Sangita Ratnakara

According to the above shloka, a raga is that which is beautified or decorated by
the total excellence of swaras and varnas and which decoration gives pleasure to
the mind of the listener.

रन्जकःस्वरसन्दर्भोरागइत्यमिधीयते I

- Ahobala’s Sangita pārijāta

A combination of swaras capable of pleasing the ear constitutes a raga.

“Ranj” or to be dyed in or to glow, or to colour is the root of the word Raga.

रञ्जयतिइतिरागः

Is the etymological definition of raga i.e. that which pleases is the raga. It colours
the mind. Raga can be taken to mean “feeling”, as the ‘colour’ of the mind is emotion.

The evolution of the ragas has been a gradual process. As for example, the
graamaraagas evolved from the jaatis or causal jaatiraagas, the bhaashaaragas from
the graamaraagas, the vibhaashaaraagas from the bhaashaaraagas, and the
antarabaashaa -raagas from the vibhaashaaraagas. The bhaashaa, vibhaashaa and
antarabhaasha raagas were all anga or subordinate raagas. The raagaanga,
bhashaanga, kriyaanga and upaanga raagas all came out from the graama raagas
which may be considered as their fountain head. As regard the evolution of the
mediaeval and modern raagas, it can be said that all of them owe their origin ito the
graama raagas or jaati raagas.
Brhaddesi of Sage Matanga is the first musical treatise to describe Raga and
introduce concepts like swara notation, Nada, Shruthi, Swara, Grama, Murchana
etc. He has defined raga as “That which pleases and enamours one through the
swara varnas and their intonation or expression through different rasas”. The
association of Swaras with emotions like heroism or valour, compassion, romantic
appeal etc. has been described both by Bharata in his Natya Shastra and by
Matanga in his Brihaddeshi. In the Sangita Ratnakara of Sarangadeva describes
about sruthis, swaras and rasas, and also gives a multi stage method of Raga
elaboration i.e., the stages Akshipthika, Vidari, Ragavardhani Sthayi, and Nyasa.
The janya janaka system of the raagas evolved later on giving us the highly
scientific classification of ragas in the world.

Before getting into further technical details of the raga, it is imperative to

understand the concept of ‘sthaaya’ that evolved in the pre-Christian era. As
explained by Swami Pragnyananda, the ‘Sthayas’ or ‘thaayas’were musical phrases
or the outlines of musical frames (aakaara), upon which the structures of the raagas
were built. The scientific arrangement of the sthaayas (from the 5th-7th to 9- llth
centuries A.D.) paved way to different ragas like like bhaashaa, vibhaashaa,
antarabhaashaa etc.

Dashavidha lakshanas of a raga:

The ten essentials (dasha-lakshanas) of a raga are the result of the culmination of a
long evolutionary process. They are nothing but the essential pre-requisite
qualities of a raga. The true form or nature of a raga can be ascertained by these
lakshanas.
The ten essentials listed by bharata are:
Grahaamshau taara-mandrau cha nyaasopanyaasa eva cha|
Alpatvam cha vahutvam cha shaadavauduvite tathaa||
1. Amsha (sonant) : The "Amsha" is the backbone of a Raga which creates a
particular flavour or colour typical to the Raga. There can be more than one
notes as the Amsha swara.

2. Graha (initials) : the starting note of a composition is called Graha. It may be

interesting to note that Bharata has used the terms, graha and amsha in
one and the same sense. He talks about more than one amsha of a
raaga . He explains about the graha and amsha thus:

Grahastu sarva-jaatinaamamsha eva hi kirtitah

Yat pravrittam bhaved-gaanam so'msho graha vikalpitah 1 1

That is, where from a song or a part of song takes its start ("yat pravrittam
bhaved gaanam"),it is known as a graha, whereas amsha is explained as :

"tatva amsho naamayasmin vasati raagastit yasmaacchaiva pravartate",

when a raaga fully manifests itself from its starting point it is known as
amsha.
 However, in matanga’s brihaddeshi we find clarity about the two terms
wherein he states that the starting note of a raga is the graha whereas the
dominant swana is called the amsha swara.
Insert shloka from brihaddeshi
3. Taara (upper): This referes to the range of singing. Notes sung in the upper
octave are called Taara.

4. Mandra (lower): These refer to the notes sung in the lower octave.
5. Nyaasa (concluding) : Nyaasa conveys the idea of a concluding note; when
singing finally concludes.
6. Apanyaasa (medial): Apanyaasa conveys the medial stop;where a part of the
singing ends. This was a concept used for compositions called vidaari.
7. alpatva (rare) : Notes that are rarely used in a raga are called alpatva.
8. vahutva (abundance) : S.waras that are used in abundance are called vahutva
9. shaadava(hexatonic): Shadava refer to the hexatonic scale of raaga
10.audava(pentatonic) : This refers to the pentatonic scale of raga.

Sarangadeva however has quoted 13 lakshanas of a raga in this sangeetha

ratnakara.
Insert Shloka page 281 sangeeta ratnakara

Apart from the above mentiond ten lakshanas, he has dealt with three more
lakshanas viz. the Sanyasa, Vinyasa and antaramarga. These concepts are
explained below.
 Sanyasa : Sanyasa is the concluding note of the first sub – section of a
musical composition with the provision that it is not a dissonant of the
fundamental note.
  Vinyasa : Vinyasa is the note that stands at the end of a paada forming a part
of a sub-section and is not related to the fundamental note as its dissonant.
It may be noted that paada literally means a quarter or a line of stanza.
 Antarmarga : Sparing the positions of the final and other notes, taking in-
between the rare notes intermittently, the concordance that is established
with the fundamental and other notes which creates an artist variety
sometimes by non-repetition is called antarmarga.

Classification of Rāgas:

1. Ghana, Naya, Deshya:

A ghana raga is a raga whose typical characteristic individuality is portrayed by

playing the madhyama kāla tāna ( ghanam). The traditional five ghana ragas
called the Ghana panchaka are Nāta, Gowla, Arabhi, Shree and Varali.

A second set called the dvitiya ghana panchaka are the series Kedara,
Narayanagowla, Reetigowla, Saranganāta & Bowli.

Some scholars are of the opinion that the Ghana ragas can be considered as
those which have a grand and majestic effect and are best suitable for Pallavi
exposition in concerts.

Naya ragas : The naya ragas are those that exhibit delicate charm and grace that
portray shringara and karuna rasa. E.g. Kanada, Nayaki, Sahana, Asaveri,
Neelambari etc.

Deshya : these ragas are considered to have come from the northern India and
other countries and have eventually changed form to facilitate their handling in
 South Indian music. Their origin is invariably from the Hindustani music. For
example Pharaz, Jhanjhuti, Desh, Mānd, Hamir Kalyani, Hindustani Behag .

Some scholars talk about another type of rāga called the rakti rāga. Grand,
majestic rāgas filled with aesthetic beauty, apt for alapana, tāna & swara
prasthara and fit for elaborate compositions are termed rakti rāgas. Since they
have most type of gamakas and other ornamentations, they are also known as
sarvagamaka vārika rakti rāgas. For example Thodi, Dhanyasi, Kambodhi,
Bhairavi, Sāveri etc.

2. Shuddha, Chhayalaga, Sankirna Rāgas

This is an old system of classification of rāgas which was popular before the
advent of the scientific janaka- janya system. As quoted by Matanga

शु द्धच्छायालगप्रोक्तासं कीर्णचतथै वच

This classification was based on the nādatma rūpa of rāgas.

Shuddha rāgas : these rāgas were pure melodies that adhered to prescribed rules.
They included within their list today’s melakarta rāgas like Mayamalavagowla,
Kalyani etc and also janya rāgas of the upanga type like Mohana, Madhyamavati,
Sriranjani.

Chhayalaga rāgas: the Chhayalaga rāga also called Sālaga rāga was a rāga which
combined in itself the lakshana of a foreign rāga by incorporating certain sanchāras
of the other rāga. As the name suggests, Chhaya is nothing but a shade or trace.
Hence the reflection of rāga prayoga of an alien rāga is a typical feature of the
Sālaga rāga. E.g. Sourashtra, Sāranga.

Sankirna Rāgas: Also called as Mishra rāga, the Sankirna Rāga was literally a
mixture of two or more ragas. The traces or more than one raga were clearly
visible in such ragas due to the presence of foreign swara sanchāras suggestive of
other rāgas. Nevertheless these rāgas had their own divine melodic individuality.
For example Āhiri, Ghanta, Jujāvanti.

Owing to the complexity of swara sāncharas the Sankirna Rāgas do not offer much
scope for elaboration.

Matanga also classified Jātis into Shuddha, Vikruta and Sansarga.

Classification based on Gender of Rāgas:

This antiquated classification of rāgas can be found in Narada’s sangeetha

Makaranda. He has classified Rāgas unto

 Purusha (Masculine)
 Stri ( Feminine)
 Napumsaka ( Neuter) Ragas.
Since some of the Rāgas could not be assigned specific genders, this
classification became obsolete.
3. Classification based on Kampita swaras
a) Sarva swara gamaka vārika rāgas: also called sampurna kampita rāgas or
muktānga kampita rāgas are rāgas where all the swaras figuring in them can
be subjected to gamaka rendition. E.g. Thodi, Mohana, Kalyani. It might be
observed that only the shadja being the tonic note cannot be subjected to
kampita.
b) Ardha kampita rāgas : in these rāgas only few of the swaras figuring in the
rāga are subjected to gamaka rendition e.g. Kuntalavarali.
c) Kampa vihina rāgas : in these rāgas the swaras are rendered pure without
any shake. This kind of a rendition does not cause any detrimental value to
 the rāga bhāva and is in fact a salient feature of such rāgas e.g.
Kadanakutūhala.

4. Classification based on Nyāsa swaras

Based on the Nyāsa swaras admissible, ragas maybe classified into

i. Rishaba Nyāsa raga : e.g. Arabhi

ii. Gandhara Nyāsa raga: e.g. Shankarabharana
iii. Madhyama Nyāsa raga : e.g. Khamas
iv. Pancham Nyāsa raga: e.g. Shamukhapriya
v. Dhaivata Nyāsa raga : e.g. Sāveri
vi. Nishāda Nyāsa raga: e.g. Hamsadhwani

It might be observed that the shadja is a common Nyāsa swara for all rāgas.
However a raga may have more than one Nyāsa swara. In this case a further
classification into Purna&Alpa Nyāsa swara ragas is made.

A Purna Nyāsa swara is a note on which one can sustain for a long duration
e.g. the swara pa in the Bhairavi raga.

An Alpa Nyāsa swara is one on which can just conclude without stressing
e.g. the chatushruti dhaivata in the phrase ś N da.

A point to observe that ragas Hamsadhwani and Mohana are examples of

sarva swara Nyāsa ragas.

5. Uttama Madhyama & Adhama ragas

In ancient times, ragas were classified according to their scope in their

practical usage.
 Uttama ragas were superior ragas which were fit for elaboration and
compositions.

Madhyama ragas were mainly used for elaboration and rarely handled for
composition purpose.

Adhama ragas were those which though in vogue were not considered fit for
elaboration and so were regarded as inferior.

6. Raga–rāgini- putra
This type of classification was prevalent in North India. There were
supposed to be six principle ragas and each of them hand a number of
consorts called rāginis. These ragas and rāginis combined to yield putra
ragas. There were no definite rules observed in this system and the
classification was also arbitrary. Some artists have taken this concept and
created beautiful paintings called the raga-māla pictures.

7. Classification based on rasa:

Ragas are classified based on the feelings that they arouse in us. The idea of
rasa is one of the fundamental concepts of Indian aesthetics. There are
permanent aesthetic moods called the sthayi-bhavas. The classification
denoting the nine rasas is mentioned below
i. Shringara or love: e.g. Khamas
ii. Veera or valour : e.g. Arabhi, Nāta
iii. Karuna or pathos : e.g. Mukhari, Sahana
iv. Hasya or humour: e.g. Kunthalavarali, Navarasakanada
v. Raudra or fury: e.g. Athana, Vasantha
 vi. Bhayanaka or fear: e.g. Pharaz, Bhavapriya
vii. Bheebhathsa or disgust: e.g. Ahiri, Manji, Nādanāmakriya
viii. Adbhutha or wonder: e.g. Malayamārutha
ix. Shanta or peace: e.g. Suruti, Shree, Sāma

There are some ragas which evoke only gāna rasa, which give the rasika a sense of
absolute happiness. Again there are some ragas which can be treated in such a way
to arouse two or more feelings. In such cases, it is possible to say which is the
primary or the dominant rasa and the secondary.

8. Classification based on time of singing

In ancient period, ragas were classified according to the time for appropriate
rendition. They were not only classified based on the time of the day or
night, but also the seasons during which they should be sung. The time
theory of ragas is based on the principle that the ragas sound best when
performed during the allotted time. In fact in Hindustani classical music, the
concept of time theory is still in vogue.
i. Purva suryodaya ragas: they are also called Prabhat ragas and are apt
when sung before sunrise e.g. Bhoopala, Bowli, Revagupti,
Malayamārutha
ii. Morning ragas are Bilahari, Kedaram, Dhanyasi etc
iii. A classic example of forenoon raga is Asaveri
iv. Midday ragas are Shree and Madhyamavati
v. Afternoon ragas are Mukhari and Begada
vi. Evening ragas are Purvikalyani, Vasantha

There are some ragas which may be sung at all times. There ragas are called
sārvakālika ragas e.g. Chakravaka, Bhairavi, Kambodhi.
 A parallel classification based on time theory can be seen in the Pan system
of the Tevāram. The classification is as bellows

i. Pagal pan – to be sung during the day

ii. Iravup pan –to be sung during the night
iii. Podup pan – which can be sung at all times

9. Classification based on Anga

Anga means branch or limb. This classification is by far the most simple and
best division of ragas in general.
i. Rāgānga ragas: these are the same as the melakarta ragas also called
the janaka ragas, sampurna ragas, mela ragas, kartha ragas etc. these
will be discussed in detail in the next chapter.

ii. Upānga ragas : these are the direct derivatives of the Rāgānga ragas.
They constitute the largest group of derived ragas or janya ragas.
Their number is theoretically 483 under each mela if the combinations
of their important varieties are taken up. However there are a few
repetitions that can be observed under different melas. These are the
regular straight type derivatives of the 72 melas such as the
combinations of audava, shādava, swarāntara, sampurna.

iii. Kriyānga ragas : also called vakra ragas these ragas had several
meanings in the past. However today the Kriyānga raga is construed
as ragas having irregular or curvaceous derivates. It has several notes
repeating in the ārohana, avarohana or both. E.g. Vasantha,
Natakuranji, Kadanakutuhala
iv. Bhāshānga ragas : these are ragas where the presence of anya swaras
is dominant i.e. apart from having the swaras belonging to the parent
scale, swaras belonging to other scales are also incorporated to create
a special effect.

Further classification of Bhāshānga ragas are as follows:

a) Sukshma – here the anya swara is rendered in a subtle manner e.g.
the antara gāndhāra as rendered in Kanada

b) Sūchita – here the anya swara is suggestive in nature. It is not

obligatory to use it yet if left out the charm of the raga is lost e.g.
kaishiki nishāda prayoga in Neelambari raga.

c) Alpabhāshānga – here the anya swara comes occasionally and it is

an absolute must for depicting the totality of the raga e.g. kaishiki
nishāda prayoga in Saurashtra

d) Ardhabhāshānga – here the foreign note is quite important and

repeats frequently. It is prominently noticeable as the antara
gāndhāra, kakali nishada, shuddha dhaivatha in Kāpi.

e) Poornabhāshānga – here the anya swara is completely incorporated

in the scale of the raga itself. It is an absolutely necessary note for
depiction of raga Chaya e.g. chatushruthi dhaivatha in Bhairavi.
Ragas are sometimes defined as melody types.  The raga system is a method of
organizing tunes based on certain natural principles.  Tunes in the same raga use
the same (nominal) swaras in various combinations and with practice, the listener
can pick up the similarity.  Each raga has a swaroopam (a musical form or image)
that is defined by the swaras used, the gamakas given to these swaras, the sequence
in which the swaras occur etc.  This definition is termed as the raga lakshanam.
Raga lakshanam usually contains the arohanam, avarohanam, details of raga chaya
swaras (the swaras which are chiefly responsible for the characteristic melody of
the raga), gamakas, characteristic swara phrases and general usage notes.  It is
intended more for the performer than for the listener. 
Ragas that we know today are the products of centuries of experimentation. That
Indian music existed in a highly advanced form earlier to Bharata has been
Acknowledged by musicians and musicologists world-wide. The evolution of raga
from the concept of naada to the highly scientific janaka – janya systems is indeed
a scientific marvel.