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Last Updated On: June 24, 1998
Added some MP3 samples on June 24, 2000. The information on these pages were last updated on February 9, 1998. Click on the underlined rAgams for a sample of their ArOHanam and avarOHanam.
The intent of this analysis is to bring out the close relationships between rAgams from a theoretical standpoint. Moreover, beginners and people with interest in learning more about Carnatic music may find it easier to relate to the rAgams, compared to a simple list of rAgams in alphabetical order or the order of the mELakarthA rAgams they are related to.
Audava-audava rAgams are analysed in this page with respect to graha bEdham (shift of the tonic note), and with respect to change of a single svara, which I will call svara bEdham. Neither vakra rAgams nor the rAgams with difference between ArOHanam and avarOHanam, have been considered in this analysis.
Note: The notation used in this page is same as that used in all pages in this site and is described in rAgams page. An analysis of audava-sampUrna rAgams and sampUrna-audava rAgams has been compiled too.
Example of graha bEdham - valachi can be obtained by graha bEdham from AbhOgi and vice versa.
| valachi | S | _ | _ | _ | G3 | _ | _ | P | _ | D2 | N2 | _ | S+ | _ | _ | _ | G3+ | _ | _ | P+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AbhOgi | M1- | _ | _ | _ | D2- | _ | _ | S | _ | R2 | G2 | _ | M1 | _ | _ | _ | D2 | _ | _ | S+ |
The first line is the rAgam valachi. An empty cell denotes the svara sthAna that is skipped in this rAgam. If one sings the notes (frequencies - not the syllables) of first line, but using the syllables listed on the second line, then one ends up with the rAgam AbhOgi. The singer, though is now singing with a high frequency tonic note, is clearly singing AbhOgi. More information on graha bEdham can be obtained from Krishna Kunchitapadam's pages. A link to his collection is available from my Music page.
Example of svara bEdham - shivaranjani can be obtained by changing one svara from mOHanam and vice versa. In this case, the anthara gAndhAra of mOHanam is replaced by sAdhArana gAndhAra to get shivaranjani.
| mOHanam | S | _ | R2 | _ | G3 | _ | _ | P | _ | D2 | _ | _ | S+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| shivaranjani | S | _ | R2 | G2 | _ | _ | _ | P | _ | D2 | _ | _ | S+ |
A small beginning
Without any further ado, let us begin the analysis, beginning with mOHanam and along with its related graha bEdhams. We will also include shivaranjani, which is a svara bEdham of mOHanam.
---------- mOHanam ------ SB G3.G2 -- sshivaranjani | | | | GB R2 | | | | |-GB R2 -- madhyamAvathi - SB R2.R1 -- rEvathi | | | | GB G2 | | |-GB G3 -- HindhOlam ---- SB S.~S ------- sunAdhavinOdhini | |-GB P -- sudhdha sAvEri | |-GB D2 -- sudhdha dhanyAsiIn the above table, ~S represents shifting of shadjam down by one svara sthAna, keeping all other svaras at same position. In other words, all svaras in HindhOlam except shadjam is shifted up by one svara sthAna to get sunAdhavinOdhini. So, sunAdhavinOdhini can be derived by shifting G2, M1, D1 and N2 to G3, M2, D2 and N3. See table for a visual aid to understand what I am trying to say.
There are more relationships of rAgams which we will see soon in this page. The wonderful aspect about all this, is that a shift of the tonic note or the shift of one svara alters the whole bhAva of the rAgam giving a totally different feeling to the atmosphere, for example from a ghambhIra feeling of mOHanam to a sad feeling of shivaranjani.
The tree
I am working on a computer program to generate the tree given any arbitrary starting pentatonic rAgam and the database of known pentatonic rAgams. Once I do that, I want to incorporate it into this collection of pages for all of you to experiment and get to know the different relationships. (Why?)
We will apply graha bEdham and svara bEdham and draw up the tree of pentatonic rAgams. Graha bEdham has been used as the first pass on any rAgam, before trying svara bEdham on it. No rAgam is repeated, i.e., even if there are many other relationships, I have kept the tree simple by this restriction. If I do not put this restriction, the tree becomes a complex network, which is definitely going to help you all tune out soon.
In the tree below GB denotes graha bEdham and SB denotes svara bEdham. I have used the known rAgams only, because that is the focus of this analysis. Theoretically hundreds of audhava-audava rAgams possible within the category taken up for this analysis. More on that can be picked up from one of Krishna Kunchithapadam's article on pentatonic rAgams.
Moreover, along with symbol GB, the notation r1 is used to mean that r1 in the first rAgam is now taken as the tonic note to derive the second rAgam. Along with symbol SB, the notation s1.s2 is used to mean that svara s1 in first rAgam is replaced by svara s2 in the second rAgam.
mOHanam --- GB R2 -- madhyamAvathi | |- GB G3 -- HindhOlam --- SB D1.D2 -- sudhdha HindhOlam | | | | | | | GB M1 | | | | | | | sAvithri | | | | | -- SB N2.N3 -- chandrakauns ----| | | | | | | GB P | | | | | | | samudhrapriyA | | | | | |- GB P -- sudhdha sAvEri SB G2.R2 | -- GB D2 -- sudhdha dhanyAsi | | | priyadharshini | SB G2.D2 | | | SB R2.P | kunthalavarAli | | dhEvaranjani | |------ SB G3.G2 -- shivaranjani --- GB R2 -- rEvathi | | |- GB G2 -- sunAdhavinOdhini | SB P.M1 | | | SB D2.P | AbhOgi | | | amRuthavarshiNi | GB M1 | | | GB N3 | valachi | | karnAtaka sudhdha sAvEri | | | | SB M1.G2 SB M1.G3 | | | | bhUpAlam rEvagupthi | | | | | GB R1 GB D1 SB P.N2 | | | | | HamsanAdham gambhIranAta sallApam | | | SB P.R1 | | | mEgharanjani | |------ SB D2.N3 -- HamsaDhvani --- GB P -- nAgasvarAli | |------ SB R2.R1 -- rasikaranjani | |------ SB D2.D1 -- janasammOdhini | |------ SB D2.N2 -- vInAvAdhini | |------ SB P.N3 -- nirOshtaThis tree is not complete, since it was done manually. For people who are interested in a quick understanding with a visual aid, rather than the above tree see my continuation page. I hope the tables help many to get to know the similarities of the rAgams.
NOTE: The above tree does not bring out all relationships, since it is intended to be a tree and not a complex network - which is the actual complete representation of the relationships between these rAgams. For example from amRuthavarshiNi svara bEdham M2.R2 can get you HamsaDhvani.
Why do we need to look at the tree from different viewpoints?
Well, for one reason, there are relationships between rAgams that are found at points far apart from each other in the above tree, as mentioned earlier. For example kunthalavarALi changed by SB M1.G3 gives valachi. Such relations would become visible if we construct the tree from a different rAgam. Also see example of amRuthavarshiNi and HamsaDhvani mentioned above.
Innovations and Discoveries
For the musically inclined with an innovative touch, this kind of analysis can help in looking for and creating new rAgams, which may be very good to listen to. Usually, if a rAgam has well spaced svaras, in terms of frequency ratios and vivadhi notes, their graha bEdhams produce good rAgams too. Not all such graha bEdhams of popular rAgams have been exploited. As mentioned earlier, hundreds of audava rAgams are possible, but rAgams that are sung are so little. Add to it vakra pryOgas and addition of anya svaras and there is no limit to how many rAgams can be created. There is so much to experiment, explore and exploit in the universe of Carnatic music.
More research . . . anyone?
I have not worked deeper into the mathematical aspects, like whether all the KNOWN rAgams will turn up in the tree irrespective of the starting rAgam or whether it is dependent on the specific rAgam we start with, etc. If time permits, I plan to get there too. If anyone has done any research along these lines please email me.
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