Fundamental of Ancient Indian Music and Dance

Author(s): Sureshchandra Benarji
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Fundamentals of Ancient Indian Music and Dance
Rāga:
It is not known precisely when the word 'raga' came to be used for the first time to denote a musical mode. The Nāradiya Sikṣā (circa 1st century A.D.) mentions rāga in connexion with gramarāga, but does not explain the term. In his Natyasastra Bharata (circa 2nd. cent. A.D.) mentions rāga, jātirāga and grāmarāga, but does not define raga.
Raga denotes such a dhvani (sound), possessed of particular svaras and varnas, as causes delight to the mind of people.
Ragus appear to be broadly divided into two classes, viz. grāma-rāga and desi rāga which may be rendered as classical and regional respectively.
Grama rāgas1 are fivefold according as they are the resorts of five kinds of songs. The five classes of grāma-rāgas are: (1) Suddha-constituted by simple and charming svaras.
(2) Bhinna-consisting of uneven and swiftly uttered svarus. It has sweet gamakas.
(3) Gaudi-compact, having gamakas in the three places of mandra, madhya, tara and possessed of sweet svaras of ohati.3
(4) Vesara-it is vegasvarā, i.e., it consists of swift svaras, and is very charming in all the varnas named sthāyt etc.
(5) Sadharani-possessed of the characteristics of the above four kinds of songs.
The above types have respectively seven, five, three, eight and seven sub-divisions thus making a total of thirty grama-rāgas.
! A grama-rāga is so called as it arises from grama which has been defined as a group of svaras which are the resort of murchana etc.
2 The names are teminine as they qualify giti which is feminine.
3 A kind of song in singing which the chin is placed on the heart; which has kampita gamaka. is possessed of very swift svaras and the sounds HA and AU. When qualifying raga, these will be called suddha, bhinna, etc.