Rules for determining the janaka mAELa of a janya rAga

Date: 25 Jul 92 16:12:28 GMT
Message-ID: <krisna.712080748@cham>
References: <1992Jul25.000054.20322@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Re: Begada and its parent

In article <1992Jul25.000054.20322@leland.Stanford.EDU> chander@leland.Stanford.EDU (Chandar Venkataraman) writes:

This is probably on the lines of a question asked a couple of days ago regarding janya ragas and their parents. Why is begada considered a janya of shankarabaranam and not of Harikamboji, which has the "ni" of begada.

Similarly, why is mohanam considered a janya of harikomboji? Why not a janya of shankarabaranam or kalyani?

Are there any subtle rules that define this parent-janya relationship or is this all just academic?

I have asked the question about janaka-janya relations (and the rules for determining them) of many many people---from rank amateurs to well-respected professional musicians. All of them have either said that they do not know the answer or have given a wishy-washy answer saying that tradition determines the relationship between mAELa and janya rAgas (completely ignoring the question of the rules that the original proponents of the relation need to have used).

Therefore, I will propose my ad hoc set of rules, arrived at through observation. Keep in mind that I am simply trying to codify past and current practice, not attempting to dictate what people must follow.

In this article, I will only discuss the rules for classifying simple janya rAgas---elsewhere, I discuss how BAShAngga rAgas can be classified by extending the mAELa rAga system to include SudhDha-meSra and dhve-maDhyama rAgas.

Disclaimer: I have heard many people claim that janya rAgas should not be classified at all. If you are one of them, stop reading immediately.

• panjcama varja rAgas are the simplest to classify. Since there are no "types" for the panjcama svara, there is one unambiguous mAELa rAga which has the same notes as the janya rAga. Unless there is an overriding reason for doing so, a panjcama varja janya rAga should be classified as a derivative of the panjcama avarja mAELa rAga.
• maDhyama varja rAgas are classified as a derivative of the corresponding SudhDha maDhyama mAELa rAga. It seems as if the prathe maDhyama note should be present in the janya rAga for it to be classified as a derivative of a prathe maDhyama mAELa (there are a few exceptions to this rule, but they are so rare that they truly are exceptions).
• The mAELa rAga with Sruthes closest to the janya rAga is considered the janaka rAga. This rule is very powerful and logical, but subject to the whims and fancies of contemporary practice. The Sruthes of both mAELa and janya rAgas evolve over time and what might have been a similarity at one time in the past may no longer be true (while new relations may come into existence, where none has existed before).
• If a janya rAga is known to have evolved from existing rAgas by the regular elision of notes, the janaka rAga for the new janya is the janaka rAga of the existing janya. This rule is less powerful than Sruthe similarity, but very applicable.
• If many mAELa rAgas can derive a janya rAga by the elision of some notes, the mAELa rAga with the smallest katapayAdhe number is the janaka rAga. This is a catch-all rule and should be used only if none of the other rules can be applied.
• Finally, I would like to propose a taxonomic device of my own, based on the technique of graha-BAEdha. If a group of mAELas are related to each other through graha-BAEdha, then a group of janya rAgas (potentially derivable from the mAELa rAgas by the elision of a graha note) are also related through graha-BAEdha. This establishes a janaka-janya relation between the mAELa and the janya rAga.

The principle of Sruthe similarity is also invoked in classifying BAShAngga rAgas (if we do not want to use an extended mAELa rAga system). The creator of a rAga may also choose a janaka mAELa for any arbitrary reason whatever, and this is what constitutes that nebulous thing called tradition.

[ Indian Classical Music | Krishna Kunchithapadam ]

Last updated: Sun Jun 27 17:00:19 PDT 2004
URL: http://geocities.datacellar.net/krishna_kunchith/rmic/rmic.1992.07.25.html