{{Short description|Melodic mode of improvisation in Indian music}} {{About||other uses|Raga (disambiguation)|and|Ragam (disambiguation)|and|Ragas (fly)|the subgenre of reggae music|Ragga}} {{Indian classical music}} [[File:Melakarta.katapayadi.sankhya.72 correction for no 41-47-53-59-65-71 da2-instead-of-da3.png|alt=|thumb|Melakarta ragas of Carnatic music. While ragas in Hindustani music are divided into thaats, ragas in Carnatic music are divided into melakartas.]] A '''raga'''{{efn|Also ''ragam'', ''rāg'' (in modern Hindustani), or its feminine counterpart ''ragini''.}}{{efn|The word ''rāga'' is derived from the Sanskrit verb {{lang|sa|रञ्ज्}} {{IAST3|rañj}} 'to dye' or 'to colour' – itself inherited from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*reg-'' 'to dye'.}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɑː|ɡ|ə}} {{respell|RAH-gə}}; {{IAST3|rāga}}, {{IPA|sa|ɾäːɡɐ|lang}}; {{literally|colouring', 'tingeing|dyeing}}){{Sfn|Titon et al.|2008|p=284}}{{Sfn|Wilke | Moebus| 2011| pp=222 with footnote 463}} is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode.{{Sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=545}} It is central to classical Indian music.{{sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|pp=65–67}} Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, from the perspective of the Indian tradition, the resulting music has the ability to "colour the mind" as it engages the emotions of the audience.{{Sfn|Titon et al.|2008|p=284}}{{Sfn|Wilke | Moebus|2011| pp=222 with footnote 463}}{{sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|pp=65–67}}
Each raga provides the musician with a musical framework within which to improvise.{{Sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=545}}{{Sfn|Fabian| Renee Timmers| Emery Schubert|2014|pp=173–174}}{{Sfn|Nettl|2010}} Improvisation by the musician involves creating sequences of notes allowed by the raga in keeping with rules specific to the raga. Ragas range from small ragas like Bahar and Sahana that are not much more than songs to big ragas like Malkauns, Darbari and Yaman, which have great scope for improvisation and for which performances can last over an hour. Ragas may change over time, with an example being Marwa, the primary development of which has been going down into the lower octave, in contrast with the traditional middle octave.{{sfn|Raja|n.d.|loc="Due to the influence of Amir Khan"}} Each raga traditionally has an emotional significance and symbolic associations such as with season, time and mood.{{Sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=545}} Ragas are considered a means in the Indian musical tradition for evoking specific feelings in listeners. Hundreds of ragas are recognized in the classical tradition, of which about 30 are common,{{Sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=545}}{{Sfn|Nettl|2010}} and each raga has its "own unique melodic personality".{{Sfn|Hast|James R. Cowdery|Stanley Arnold Scott|1999|p=137}}
There are two main classical music traditions, ''Hindustani'' (North Indian) and ''Carnatic'' (South Indian), and the concept of raga is shared by both.{{Sfn|Fabian| Renee Timmers| Emery Schubert|2014|pp=173–174}} Raga is also found in Sikh traditions such as in ''Guru Granth Sahib'', the primary scripture of Sikhism.{{Sfn|Kapoor|2005|pp=46–52}} Similarly, it is a part of the ''qawwali'' tradition in Sufi Islamic communities of South Asia.{{Sfn|Salhi|2013|pp=183–84}} Some popular Indian film songs and ghazals use ragas in their composition.{{sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|pp=107–108}}
Every raga has a svara (a note or named pitch) called shadja, or adhara sadja, whose pitch may be chosen arbitrarily by the performer. This is taken to mark the beginning and end of the ''saptak'' (loosely, octave). The raga also contains an adhista, which is either the svara Ma or the svara Pa. The adhista divides the octave into two parts or ''anga'' – the ''purvanga'', which contains lower notes, and the ''uttaranga'', which contains higher notes. Every raga has a ''vadi'' and a ''samvadi''. The ''vadi'' is the most prominent svara, which means that an improvising musician emphasizes or pays more attention to the ''vadi'' than to other notes. The samvadi is consonant with the vadi (always from the ''anga'' that does not contain the vadi) and is the second most prominent svara in the raga.{{clarify|date=May 2021}}
==Terminology== The Sanskrit word ''rāga'' (Sanskrit: राग) has Indian roots, as the Indo-European root ''*reg-'' connotes 'to dye'. Cognates are found in Greek, Persian, Khwarezmian, Kurdish. The words "red" and "rado" are also related.<ref>{{cite book|author=Douglas Q. Adams|title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC&pg=PA572|year=1997|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-884964-98-5|pages=572–573}}</ref> According to Monier Monier-Williams, the term comes from a Sanskrit word for "the act of colouring or dyeing", or simply a "colour, hue, tint, dye".{{Sfn|Monier-Williams|1899|p=872}} The term also connotes an emotional state referring to a "feeling, affection, desire, interest, joy or delight", particularly related to passion, love, or sympathy for a subject or something.<ref name="journal2">{{cite journal|last1=Mathur|first1=Avantika |last2=Vijayakumar| first2=Suhas |last3=Chakravarti|first3=Bhismadev |last4=Singh|first4=Nandini| title=Emotional responses to Hindustani raga music: the role of musical structure|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|volume=6 |year=2015|page=513 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00513|pmid=25983702 |pmc=4415143 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In the context of ancient Indian music, the term refers to a harmonious note, melody, formula, building block of music available to a musician to construct a state of experience in the audience.{{Sfn|Monier-Williams|1899|p=872}}
The word appears in the ancient Principal Upanishads of Hinduism, as well as the ''Bhagavad Gita''.<ref name=jacobraga/> For example, verse 3.5 of the ''Maitri Upanishad'' and verse 2.2.9 of the ''Mundaka Upanishad'' contain the word ''rāga''. The ''Mundaka Upanishad'' uses it in its discussion of soul (Atman-Brahman) and matter (Prakriti), with the sense that the soul does not "colour, dye, stain, tint" the matter.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n393/mode/2up Mundaka Upanishad], Robert Hume, Oxford University Press, page 373</ref> The ''Maitri Upanishad'' uses the term in the sense of "passion, inner quality, psychological state".<ref name=jacobraga>[https://archive.org/stream/UpanishadVakyaKosha-AConcordanceOfThePrincipalUpanishadsAndBhagavad/UpanishadVakyaKoshaSktEng#page/n793/mode/2up A Concordance to the Principal Upanishads and Bhagavadgita], GA Jacob, Motilal Banarsidass, page 787</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/298/mode/2up Maitri Upanishad], Max Muller, Oxford University Press, page 299</ref> The term ''rāga'' is also found in ancient texts of Buddhism where it connotes "passion, sensuality, lust, desire" for pleasurable experiences as one of three impurities of a character.<ref name=buswelllopezraga/><ref name=rhysd203/> Alternatively, ''rāga'' is used in Buddhist texts in the sense of "color, dye, hue".<ref name=buswelllopezraga>{{cite book|author1=Robert E. Buswell Jr.|author2=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-4805-8 |pages=59, 68, 589}}</ref><ref name=rhysd203>{{cite book|author1=Thomas William Rhys Davids |author2=William Stede |title=Pali-English Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC&pg=PA362 |year=1921|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1144-7|pages= 203, 214, 567–568, 634}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Damien Keown |title=A Dictionary of Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=985a1M7L1NcC|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-157917-2|pages=8, 47, 143}}</ref> right|200px {{Plain image with caption|image=Indiskt That-2.jpg|caption=''Raga'' groups are called ''thaat''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Soubhik Chakraborty|author2=Guerino Mazzola|author3=Swarima Tewari|display-authors=etal|title=Computational Musicology in Hindustani Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o2eBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6|year=2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-11472-9|pages=6, 3–10}}</ref>|width=200px|align=right|caption position=bottom|triangle=triangle|triangle color=#ff6600}}
The term ''rāga'' in the modern connotation of a melodic format occurs in the ''Brihaddeshi'' by Mataṅga Muni dated {{Circa|8th century}},{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=3}} or possibly 9th century.{{Sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|pp=73–74}} The ''Brihaddeshi'' describes ''rāga'' as "a combination of tones which, with beautiful illuminating graces, pleases the people in general".{{sfn|Kaufmann|1968|p=41}}
According to Emmie te Nijenhuis, a professor in Indian musicology, the ''Dattilam'' section of ''Brihaddeshi'' has survived into the modern times, but the details of ancient music scholars mentioned in the extant text suggest a more established tradition by the time this text was composed.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=3}} The same essential idea and prototypical framework is found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the ''Naradiyasiksa'' and the classic Sanskrit work ''Natya Shastra'' by Bharata Muni, whose chronology has been estimated to sometime between 500 BCE and 500 CE,{{Sfn|Dace|1963|p=249}} probably between 200 BCE and 200 CE.{{Sfn|Lidova|2014}}
Bharata describes a series of empirical experiments he did with the ''Veena'', then compared what he heard, noting the relationship of fifth intervals as a function of intentionally induced change to the instrument's tuning. Bharata states that certain combinations of notes are pleasant, and certain others are not so. His methods of experimenting with the instrument triggered further work by ancient Indian scholars, leading to the development of successive permutations, as well as theories of musical note inter-relationships, interlocking scales and how this makes the listener feel.{{Sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|pp=73–74}} Bharata discusses ''Bhairava'', ''Kaushika'', ''Hindola'', ''Dipaka'', ''SrI-rāga'', and ''Megha''. Bharata states that these can to trigger a certain affection and the ability to "color the emotional state" in the audience.{{Sfn|Monier-Williams|1899|p=872}}{{Sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|pp=73–74}} His encyclopedic ''Natya Shastra'' links his studies on music to the performance arts, and it has been influential in Indian performance arts tradition.{{Sfn|Lal|2004|pp=311–312}}{{Sfn|Kane|1971|pp=30–39}}
The other ancient text, ''Naradiyasiksa'' dated to be from the 1st century BCE, discusses secular and religious music, compares the respective musical notes.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=2}} This is earliest known text that reverentially names each musical note to be a deity, describing it in terms of ''varna'' ('colours') and other motifs such as parts of fingers, an approach that is conceptually similar to the 12th century Guidonian hand in European music.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=2}} The study that mathematically arranges rhythms and modes (''rāga'') has been called ''prastāra'' ('matrix').{{harv|Khan|1996|p=89, Quote: "… the Sanskrit word ''prastāra'', … means mathematical arrangement of rhythms and modes. In the Indian system of music there are about the 500 modes and 300 different rhythms which are used in everyday music. The modes are called Ragas."}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Soubhik Chakraborty|author2=Guerino Mazzola|author3=Swarima Tewari|display-authors=etal|title=Computational Musicology in Hindustani Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o2eBQAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-11472-9|pages=v–vi}};<br>{{cite book|author=Amiya Nath Sanyal|title=Ragas and Raginis| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U_qVuQAACAAJ| year=1959| publisher=Orient Longmans|pages=18–20}}</ref>
In the ancient texts of Hinduism, the term for the technical mode part of ''rāga'' was ''jati''. Later, ''jati'' evolved to mean quantitative class of scales, while ''rāga'' evolved to become a more sophisticated concept that included the experience of the audience.{{Sfn|Caudhurī|2000|pp=48–50, 81}} A figurative sense of the word as 'passion, love, desire, delight' is also found in the ''Mahabharata''. The specialized sense of 'loveliness, beauty', especially of voice or song, emerges in classical Sanskrit, used by Kalidasa and in the ''Panchatantra''.{{Sfn|Monier-Williams|1899}}
==History and significance== Indian classical music has ancient roots and developed to serve both spiritual (''moksha'') and entertainment (''kama'') purposes. Conceptions of sound can be traced back to the Vedic period. Sound is thought to carry a metaphysical power, thus the memorisation of Vedic texts also required precise intonation.<ref>{{Citation |last=Virani |first=Vivek |title=Dual consciousness and unconsciousness: The structure and spirituality of polymetric tabla compositions |date=2019-04-11 |work=Music and Consciousness 2 |pages=286–305 |editor-last=Herbert |editor-first=Ruth |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/34969/chapter/298617858 |access-date=2025-10-14 |edition=1 |publisher=Oxford University PressOxford |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198804352.003.0017 |isbn=978-0-19-880435-2 |editor2-last=Clarke |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Clarke |editor3-first=Eric|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Raga, along with performance arts such as dance and music, has long been an integral part of Hinduism. Most Hindus do not regard music as merely entertainment but as a spiritual practice and path to moksha (liberation).<ref name= Thompson1694>{{cite book|author=William Forde Thompson|title =Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: An Encyclopedia|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=kpmlBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT1694| year=2014 |publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4833-6558-9|pages=1693–1694}}; Quote: "Some Hindus believe that music is one path to achieving moksha, or liberation from the cycle of rebirth", (...) "The principles underlying this music are found in the Samaveda, (...)".</ref><ref name=mog17>{{cite web|title=The Mirror of Gesture|author=Coormaraswamy and Duggirala|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1917| page=4| url= https://archive.org/stream/cu31924012568535#page/n5/mode/2up}}; Also see chapter 36</ref>{{Sfn|Beck|2012|pp=138–139. Quote: "A summation of the signal importance of the Natyasastra for Hindu religion and culture has been provided by Susan {{harvtxt|Schwartz|2004|p=13}}, 'In short, the Natyasastra is an exhaustive encyclopedic dissertation of the arts, with an emphasis on performing arts as its central feature. It is also full of invocations to deities, acknowledging the divine origins of the arts and the central role of performance arts in achieving divine goals (...)'".}} In this tradition, ragas are believed to have an inherent natural existence that is discovered rather than invented by artists.{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=323}} Music resonates with human beings because it reflects the hidden harmonies of the ultimate creation.{{Sfn|Dalal|2014|p=323}} Ancient texts such as the ''Sama Veda'' (~1000 BCE), which also arranges the ''Rigveda'' to melodic patterns,{{Sfn|Staal|2009|pp=4–5}} are entirely structured according to melodic themes.<ref name= Thompson1694/>{{Sfn|Beck|1993|pp=107–108}} The ragas were envisioned by the Hindus as a manifestation of the divine, with each musical note treated as a god or goddess with complex personality.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=2}}
During the Bhakti movement of Hinduism, which dates to about the middle of 1st millennium CE, ragas became an integral part of the musical expression of spirituality. Bhajan and kirtan were composed and performed by the early pioneers in South India. A ''bhajan'' is a free-form devotional composition based on melodic ''rāgas''.<ref name="CushRobinson2012p87">{{cite book|author1=Denise Cush|author2=Catherine Robinson|author3=Michael York|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzPgCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-18979-2 |pages=87–88 }}</ref>{{sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|pp=247–253}} A ''kirtan,'' on the other hand, is a more structured team performance, typically with a call and response musical structure, resembling an intimate conversation. It includes two or more musical instruments,{{Sfn|Lavezzoli|2006|pp=371–72}}{{sfn|Brown|2014 |p=455, Quote:"Kirtan, (...), is the congregational singing of sacred chants and mantras in call-and-response format."; Also see, pp. 457, 474–475}} and incorporates various ragas such as those associated with Hindu gods like Shiva (''Bhairav'') or Krishna (''Hindola'').<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gregory D. Booth|author2=Bradley Shope|title=More Than Bollywood: Studies in Indian Popular Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kFwWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA295 |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-992883-5|pages=65, 295–298}}</ref>
The early 13th century Sanskrit text ''Sangitaratnakara'', by Sarngadeva patronized by King Sighana of the Yadava dynasty in the North-Central Deccan region (today a part of Maharashtra), mentions and discusses 253 ragas. This is one of the most comprehensive surviving historic treatises on the structure, technique, and reasoning behind ragas.{{Sfn|Rowell|2015|pp=12–13}}{{Sfn|Sastri|1943|pp=v–vi, ix–x (English), for ''raga'' discussion see pp. 169–274 (Sanskrit)}}{{Sfn | Powers| 1984| pp=352–353}}
The tradition of incorporating ''rāga'' into spiritual music is also found in Jainism{{Sfn|Kelting|2001|pp=28–29, 84}} and in Sikhism.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Kristen Haar|author2=Sewa Singh Kalsi|title=Sikhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YOI1nB_zTyAC |year=2009|publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-0647-2 |pages=60–61}}</ref> In the Sikh scripture, the texts are set to specific raga and are sung according to the rules of that raga.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen Breck Reid|title=Psalms and Practice: Worship, Virtue, and Authority|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OyGqWnBY4KIC&pg=PA13|year=2001|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-5080-6|pages=13–14}}</ref><ref name="Beck2006p156">{{cite book|author=Pashaura Singh|editor=Guy L. Beck|title=Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-IeHbqAfSsC&pg=PA156|year=2006|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|isbn=978-0-88920-421-8|pages=156–60}}</ref> According to Pashaura Singh, a professor of Sikh and Punjabi studies, the ''rāga'' and ''tāla'' of ancient Indian traditions were carefully selected and integrated by the Sikh Gurus into their hymns. They also picked from the "standard instruments used in Hindu musical traditions" for singing ''kirtans'' in Sikhism.<ref name="Beck2006p156"/>
During the Islamic rule period of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in and after the 15th century, the mystical Islamic tradition of Sufism developed devotional songs and music called ''qawwali''. It incorporated elements of ''rāga'' and ''tāla''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Vernon|title=Ethnic and Vernacular Music, 1898–1960: A Resource and Guide to Recordings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gw--_c_LZMIC&pg=PA256 |year=1995|publisher=Greenwood Publishing|isbn=978-0-313-29553-9|page=256}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Regula Qureshi|title=Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context and Meaning in Qawwali|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3o9AAAAIAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26767-0|pages=xiii, 22–24, 32, 47–53, 79–85}}</ref>
The Buddha discouraged music intended for entertainment among monks seeking higher spiritual attainment, but instead encouraged chanting of sacred hymns.<ref name="Tokita2008p38">{{cite book|author1=Alison Tokita|author2=Dr. David W. Hughes |title=The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W2JTgQGc99EC&pg=PA38|year=2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|isbn=978-0-7546-5699-9|pages=38–39}}</ref> The various canonical ''Tripitaka '' texts of Buddhism, for example, outline the ''Dasha-shila'' or ten precepts for those following the Buddhist monastic order. Among these is the precept advising monks to "abstain from dancing, singing, music and worldly spectacles".<ref>{{cite book|author=W. Y. Evans-Wentz|title=The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation: Or the Method of Realizing Nirvana through Knowing the Mind |url=https://archive.org/details/tibetanbookofgre00carl |url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-972723-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tibetanbookofgre00carl/page/111 111] with footnote 3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Frank Reynolds|author2=Jason A. Carbine|title=The Life of Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OnjDUqgFvToC&pg=PA184|year=2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-21105-6|page=184}}</ref> Buddhism does not forbid music or dance for Buddhist lay followers, but its emphasis has been on chants rather than on musical raga.<ref name="Tokita2008p38"/>
==Description== A raga is sometimes explained as a melodic rule set that a musician works with, but according to Dorottya Fabian and others, this is now generally accepted among music scholars to be an explanation that is too simplistic. According to them, a raga of the ancient Indian tradition can be compared to the concept of non-constructible set in language for human communication, in a manner described by Frederik Kortlandt and George van Driem;{{Sfn|Fabian| Renee Timmers| Emery Schubert|2014|pp=173–74}} audiences familiar with raga recognize and evaluate performances of them intuitively.
[[File:Sitar Sarod Jugalbandi - lakshay & Aayush Mohan Gupta.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Two Indian musicians performing a ''rāga'' duet called ''Jugalbandi'']] The attempt to appreciate, understand and explain ''rāga'' among European scholars started in the early colonial period.{{Sfn|Martinez|2001|pp=95–96}} In 1784, Jones translated it as "mode" of European music tradition, but Willard corrected him in 1834 with the statement that a raga is both modet and tune. In 1933, states José Luiz Martinez – a professor of music, Stern refined this explanation to "the raga is more fixed than mode, less fixed than the melody, beyond the mode and short of melody, and richer both than a given mode or a given melody; it is mode with added multiple specialities".{{Sfn|Martinez|2001|pp=95–96}}
The raga is a central concept of Indian music, predominant in its expression, yet the concept has no direct Western translation. According to Walter Kaufmann, though a remarkable and prominent feature of Indian music, a definition of ''rāga'' cannot be offered in one or two sentences.{{Sfn|Kaufmann|1968|p=v}} A raga is a fusion of technical and ideational ideas found in music, and may be roughly described as a musical entity that includes note intonation, relative duration and order, in a manner similar to how words flexibly form phrases to create an atmosphere of expression.{{Sfn|van der Meer|2012|pp=3–5}} In some cases, certain rules are considered obligatory, in others optional. The raga allows flexibility, where the artist may rely on simple expression, or may add ornamentations yet express the same essential message but evoke a different intensity of mood.{{Sfn|van der Meer|2012|pp=3–5}}
A raga has a given set of notes, on a scale, ordered in melodies with musical motifs.{{Sfn|Nettl|2010}} A musician playing a raga, states Bruno Nettl, may traditionally use just these notes but is free to emphasize or improvise certain degrees of the scale.{{Sfn|Nettl|2010}} The Indian tradition suggests a certain sequencing of how the musician moves from note to note for each raga, in order for the performance to create a ''rasa'' ('mood, atmosphere, essence, inner feeling') that is unique to each raga. A raga can be written on a scale. Theoretically, thousands of ragas are possibly given five or more notes, but in practical use, the classical tradition has refined and typically relies on several hundred.{{Sfn|Nettl|2010}} For most artists, their basic perfected repertoire has some forty to fifty ragas.{{Sfn|van der Meer|2012|p=5}} Ragas in Indian classical music is intimately related to ''tala'' or guidance about "division of time", with each unit called a ''matra'' ('beat; mora').{{Sfn|van der Meer|2012|pp=6–8}}
A raga is not a tune, because the same raga can yield an infinite number of tunes.{{sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|p=67}} A raga is not a scale, because many ragas can be based on the same scale.{{Sfn|Martinez|2001|pp=95–96}}{{sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|p=67}} A raga, according to Bruno Nettl and other music scholars, is a concept similar to a mode, something between the domains of tune and scale, and it is best conceptualized as a "unique array of melodic features, mapped to and organized for a unique aesthetic sentiment in the listener".{{sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|p=67}} The goal of a raga and its artist is to create ''rasa'' with music, as classical Indian dance does with performance arts. In the Indian tradition, classical dances are performed with music set to various ragas.{{Sfn|Mehta|1995|pp=xxix, 248}}
Joep Bor of the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music defined ''rāga'' as a "tonal framework for composition and improvisation."{{Sfn|Bor|Rao|Van der Meer|Harvey|1999|p=181}} Nazir Jairazbhoy, chairman of UCLA's department of ethnomusicology, characterized ragas as separated by scale, line of ascent and descent, transilience, emphasized notes and register, and intonation and ornaments.{{Sfn|Jairazbhoy|1995|p=45}}
=== Raga-Ragini system === {{For|illustrations of ragas and raginis|Ragamala paintings}}
''Rāginī'' ({{lang|sa|रागिनी}}) is a term for the "feminine" counterpart of a "masculine" ''rāga''.{{Sfn|Dehejia|2013|pages=191–97}} These are envisioned to parallel the god-goddess themes in Hinduism, and described variously by different medieval Indian music scholars. For example, the ''Sangita-darpana'' text of 15th-century Damodara Misra proposes six ''ragas'' with thirty ''ragini'', creating a system of thirty six, a system that became popular in Rajasthan.{{Sfn|Dehejia|2013|pages=168–69}} In the north Himalayan regions such as Himachal Pradesh, the music scholars such as 16th century Mesakarna expanded this system to include eight descendants to each raga, thereby creating a system of eighty four. After the 16th-century, the system expanded still further.{{Sfn|Dehejia|2013|pages=168–69}}
In ''Sangita-darpana'', the Bhairava raga is associated with the following raginis: Bhairavi, Punyaki, Bilawali, Aslekhi, Bangali. In the Meskarna system, the masculine and feminine musical notes are combined to produce ''putra'' ragas called Harakh, Pancham, Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilawal.{{sfn|Jairazbhoy|1995|p={{Page needed|date=December 2016}}}}
This system is no longer in use today because the 'related' ragas had very little or no similarity and the raga-ragini classification did not agree with various other schemes.
===Ragas and their symbolism=== The North Indian raga system is also called ''Hindustani'', while the South Indian system is commonly referred to as ''Carnatic''. The North Indian system suggests a particular time of a day or a season, in the belief that the human state of psyche and mind are affected by the seasons and by daily biological cycles and nature's rhythms. The South Indian system is closer to the text, and places less emphasis on time or season.{{Sfn|Lavezzoli|2006|pp=17–23}}{{Sfn|Randel|2003|pp=813–21}}
The symbolic role of classical music through raga has been both aesthetic indulgence and the spiritual purifying of one's mind (yoga). The former is encouraged in Kama literature (such as ''Kamasutra''), while the latter appears in Yoga literature with concepts such as "Nada-Brahman" (metaphysical Brahman of sound).{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=35–36}}<ref name="Nietupski2011p59"/>{{Sfn|Sastri|1943|p=xxii, Quote: "[In ancient Indian culture], the musical notes are the physical manifestations of the Highest Reality termed Nada-Brahman. Music is not a mere accompaniment in religious worship, it is religious worship itself".}} ''Hindola raga'', for example, is considered a manifestation of Kama (god of love), typically through Krishna. ''Hindola'' is also linked to the festival of ''dola'',{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=35–36}} which is more commonly known as "spring festival of colors" or Holi. This idea of aesthetic symbolism has also been expressed in Hindu temple reliefs and carvings, as well as painting collections such as the ragamala.<ref name="Nietupski2011p59">{{cite book|author1=Paul Kocot Nietupski|author2=Joan O'Mara|title=Reading Asian Art and Artifacts: Windows to Asia on American College Campuses |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xnLA10fJw88C&pg=PA59 |year=2011|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-61146-070-4|page=59}}</ref>
In ancient and medieval Indian literature, the raga are described as manifestation and symbolism for gods and goddesses. Music is discussed as equivalent to the ritual ''yajna'' sacrifice, with pentatonic and hexatonic notes such as ''"ni-dha-pa-ma-ga-ri"'' as Agnistoma, ''"ri-ni-dha-pa-ma-ga'' as Asvamedha, and so on.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=35–36}}
During the Middle Ages, music scholars of India began associating each raga with seasons. The 11th-century Nanyadeva, for example, recommends that ''Hindola'' raga is best in spring, ''Pancama'' in summer, ''Sadjagrama'' and ''Takka'' during the monsoons, ''Bhinnasadja'' in early winter, and ''Kaisika'' in late winter.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=36}} In the 13th century, Sarngadeva went further and associated raga with rhythms of each day and night. He associated pure and simple ragas to early morning, mixed and more complex ragas to late morning, skillful ragas to noon, love-themed and passionate ragas to evening, and universal ragasl to night.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=36–38}}
=== Raga and Yoga Sutras === In the Yoga Sutras II.7, ''rāga'' is defined as the desire for pleasure based on remembering past experiences of pleasure. Memory triggers the wish to repeat those experiences, leading to attachment. Ego is seen as the root of this attachment, and memory is necessary for attachment to form. Even when not consciously remembered, past impressions can unconsciously draw the mind toward objects of pleasure.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bryant |first=Edwin F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JHYxAQAAIAAJ |title=The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary with Insights from the Traditional Commentators |date=2009-07-21 |publisher=North Point Press |isbn=978-0-86547-736-0 |pages=189–190 |language=en}}</ref>
===Raga and mathematics=== According to Cris Forster, mathematical studies on systematizing and analyzing South Indian raga began in the 16th century.{{Sfn|Forster|2010|pp= 564–565; [http://www.chrysalis-foundation.org/Ramamatya-s_Vina.htm Quote]: "In the next five sections, we will examine the evolution of South Indian ragas in the writings of Ramamatya (fl. c. 1550), Venkatamakhi (fl. c. 1620), and Govinda (c. 1800). These three writers focused on a theme common to all organizational systems, namely, the principle of abstraction. Ramamatya was the first Indian theorist to formulate a system based on a mathematically determined tuning. He defined (1) a theoretical 14-tone scale, (2) a practical 12-tone tuning, and (3) a distinction between abstract mela ragas and musical janya ragas. He then combined these three concepts to identify 20 mela ragas, under which he classified more than 60 janya ragas. Venkatamakhi extended (...)."}} Computational studies of ''rāgas'' is an active area of musicology.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Rao | first1=Suvarnalata | last2=Rao | first2=Preeti | title=An Overview of Hindustani Music in the Context of Computational Musicology | journal=Journal of New Music Research | volume=43 | issue=1 | year=2014 | pages=31–33 | doi=10.1080/09298215.2013.831109 | citeseerx=10.1.1.645.9188 | s2cid=36631020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Soubhik Chakraborty|author2=Guerino Mazzola|author3=Swarima Tewari|display-authors=etal|title=Computational Musicology in Hindustani Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o2eBQAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-11472-9|pages=15–16, 20, 53–54, 65–66, 81–82}}</ref>
==Notations== Although notes are an important part of raga practice, they alone do not make the raga. A raga is more than a scale, and many ragas share the same scale. The underlying scale may have four, five, six or seven tones, called ''svaras''. The ''svara'' concept is found in the ancient ''Natya Shastra'' in Chapter 28. It calls the unit of tonal measurement or audible unit as ''Śruti'',{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=14}} with verse 28.21 introducing the musical scale as follows,<ref>Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy (1985), [http://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/prevol2.pdf Harmonic Implications of Consonance and Dissonance in Ancient Indian Music], ''Pacific Review of Ethnomusicology'' 2:28–51. Citation on pp. 28–31.</ref>
{{Blockquote| <poem> तत्र स्वराः – षड्जश्च ऋषभश्चैव गान्धारो मध्यमस्तथा । पञ्चमो धैवतश्चैव सप्तमोऽथ निषादवान् ॥ २१॥ </poem> |''Natya Shastra''|28.21<ref>Sanskrit: [http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_z_misc_major_works/natya28.html?lang=sa Natyasastra Chapter 28], नाट्यशास्त्रम् अध्याय २८, ॥ २१॥</ref>{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=21–25}}}}
These seven degrees are shared by both major ''rāga'' system, that is the North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic).{{Sfn|Randel|2003|pp=814–815}} The solfege (''sargam'') is learnt in abbreviated form: ''sa, ri (Carnatic) or re (Hindustani), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa''. Of these, the first that is ''"sa"'', and the fifth that is ''"pa"'', are considered anchors that are unalterable, while the remaining have flavors that differs between the two major systems.{{Sfn|Randel|2003|pp=814–815}}
{| class="wikitable" align=center style = " background: transparent; " |+Svara in '''North Indian system''' of ''Rāga''{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=13–14, 21–25}}{{Sfn|Randel|2003|p=815}} |-style="text-align: center;" | width=60px style="background: #ffad66;" | Svara<br>(Long) | width=80px | Sadja<br>(षड्ज) | width=80px | Rishabha<br>(ऋषभ) | width= 80px | Gandhara<br>(गान्धार) | width= 80px | Madhyama<br>(मध्यम) | width=80px | Pañcham<br>(पञ्चम) | width= 80px | Dhaivata<br>(धैवत) | width=80px | Nishada<br>(निषाद) |-style="text-align: center;" | Svara<br>(Short) | style="background: #ffdec1;" | Sa<br>(सा) | style="background: #ffc1ef;" | Re<br>(रे) | style="background: #eae0ff;" | Ga<br>(ग) | style="background: #d1ffc1;" | Ma<br>(म) | style="background: #ffdec1;" | Pa<br>(प) | style="background: #ffff99;" | Dha<br>(ध) | style="background: #b2efff;" | Ni<br>(नि) |-style="text-align: center;" | <small>12 Varieties (names)</small> | <small>C (sadja)</small> | <small>D{{music|b}} (komal re),<br>D ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha re}})</small> | <small>E{{music|b}} (komal ga),<br>E ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha ga}})</small> | <small>F (suddha ma),<br>F{{music|#}} ({{lang|hi-Latn|tivra ma}})</small> | <small>G (pancama)</small> | <small>A{{music|b}} (komal dha),<br>A ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha dha}})</small> | <small>B{{music|b}} (komal ni),<br>B ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha ni}})</small> |}
{| class="wikitable" align=center style = " background: transparent; " |+Svara in '''South Indian system''' of ''rāga''{{Sfn|Randel|2003|p=815}} |-style="text-align: center;" | width=60px style="background: #ffad66;" | Svara<br>(Long) | width=80px | Shadjam<br>(षड्ज) | width=80px | Risabham<br>(ऋषभ) | width= 90px | Gandharam<br>(गान्धार) | width= 80px | Madhyamam<br>(मध्यम) | width=80px | Pañcamam<br>(पञ्चम) | width= 90px | Dhaivatam<br>(धैवत) | width=80px | Nishadam<br>(निषाद) |-style="text-align: center;" | Svara<br>(Short) | style="background: #ffdec1;" | Sa<br>(सा) | style="background: #ffc1ef;" | Ri<br>(री) | style="background: #eae0ff;" | Ga<br>(ग) | style="background: #d1ffc1;" | Ma<br>(म) | style="background: #ffdec1;" | Pa<br>(प) | style="background: #ffff99;" | Dha<br>(ध) | style="background: #b2efff;" | Ni<br>(नि) |-style="text-align: center;" | <small>16 Varieties (names)</small> | <small>C (sadja)</small> | <small>D{{music|b}} ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha ri}}),<br>D{{music|#}} (satsruti ri),<br>D{{Music|natural}} (catussruti ri)</small> | <small>E{{music|b}} (sadarana ga),<br>E{{music|bb}} ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha ga}}),<br>E{{Music|natural}} (antara ga)</small> | <small>F{{music|#}} (prati ma),<br>F{{Music|natural}} ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha ma}})</small> | <small>G (pancama)</small> | <small>A{{music|b}} ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha dha}}),<br>A{{music|#}} (satsruti dha),<br>A{{Music|natural}} (catussruti dha)</small> | <small>B{{music|b}} (kaisiki ni),<br>B{{music|bb}} ({{lang|hi-Latn|suddha ni}}),<br>B{{Music|natural}} (kakali ni)</small> |}
The music theory in the ''Natyashastra'', states Maurice Winternitz, centers around three themes – sound, rhythm and prosody applied to musical texts.{{Sfn|Winternitz|2008|p=654}} The text asserts that the octave has 22 ''srutis'' or micro-intervals of musical tones or 1,200 cents.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=14}} Ancient Greek system is also very close to it, states Emmie te Nijenhuis, with the difference that each ''sruti'' computes to 54.5 cents, while the Greek enharmonic quarter-tone system computes to 55 cents.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=14}} The text discusses ''gramas'' (scales) and ''murchanas'' (modes), mentioning three scales of seven modes (21 total), some Greek modes are also like them .{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=32-34}} However, the Gandhara-grama is just mentioned in ''Natyashastra'', while its discussion largely focuses on two scales, fourteen modes and eight four ''tanas'' (notes).{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=14–25}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=Reginald Massey |author2=Jamila Massey |author2-link=Jamila Massey |title=The Music of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1FSBJWkZofsC |year=1996|publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-332-8 |pages=22–25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Richa Jain |title=Song of the Rainbow: A Work on Depiction of Music Through the Medium of Paintings in the Indian Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6OfAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Kanishka |isbn=978-81-7391-496-6|pages=26, 39–44}}</ref> The text also discusses which scales are best for different forms of performance arts.{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|p=32-34}}
These musical elements are organized into scales (''mela''), and the South Indian raga system works with 72 scales, as first discussed by ''Caturdandi prakashika''.{{Sfn|Randel|2003|p=815}} They are divided into two groups, ''purvanga'' and ''uttaranga'', depending on the nature of the lower tetrachord. The ''anga'' itself has six cycles (''cakra''), where the ''purvanga'' or lower tetrachord is anchored, while there are six permutations of ''uttaranga'' suggested to the artist.{{Sfn|Randel|2003|p=815}} After this system was developed, the Indian classical music scholars have developed additional ragas for all the scales. The North Indian style is closer to the Western diatonic modes, and built upon the foundation developed by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande using ten ''Thaat'': ''kalyan, bilaval, khamaj, kafi, asavari, bhairavi, bhairav, purvi, marva and todi''.{{Sfn|Randel|2003|pp=815–816}} Some ragas are common to both systems and have same names, such as ''kalyan'' performed by either is recognizably the same.{{Sfn|Randel|2003|p=816}} Some ragas are common to both systems but have different names, such as ''malkos'' of Hindustani system is recognizably the same as ''hindolam'' of Carnatic system. However, some ''rāgas'' are named the same in the two systems, but they are different, such as ''todi''.{{Sfn|Randel|2003|p=816}}
Recently, a 32 thaat system was presented in a book Nai Vaigyanik Paddhati to correct the classification of North Indian-style ragas.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
Ragas containing four svaras are called ''{{lang|hi-Latn|surtara}}'' (सुरतर; 'tetratonic') ragas; those with five svaras are called ''audava'' (औडव; 'pentatonic') ragas; those with six are called ''shādava'' (षाडव; hextonic'); and those with seven are called ''sampurna'' (संपूर्ण; 'complete, heptatonic'). The number of svaras may differ in the ascending and descending like the Bhimpalasi raga, which has five notes in the ascending and seven notes in descending or Khamaj with six notes in the ascending and seven in the descending. Ragas differ in their ascending or descending movements. Those that do not follow the strict ascending or descending order of svaras are called ''vakra'' (वक्र; 'crooked') ragas.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}
==Carnatic raga== {{main|Carnatic raga}} In Carnatic music, the principal ragas are called ''Melakarthas'', which literally means "lord of the scale". It is also called ''Asraya'' raga—meaning 'shelter-giving raga', or ''Janaka'' raga—meaning 'father raga'.{{Sfn|Caudhurī|2000|pp=150–151}}
A ''thaata'' in the South Indian tradition are groups of derivative ''rāgas'', which are called ''Janya'' ('begotten') ragas or ''Asrita'' ('sheltered)' ragas.{{Sfn|Caudhurī|2000|pp=150–151}} However, these terms are approximate and interim phrases during learning, as the relationships between the two layers are neither fixed nor has unique parent–child relationship.{{Sfn|Caudhurī|2000|pp=150–151}}
Janaka ragas are grouped together using a scheme called ''Katapayadi sutra'' and are organised as ''Melakarta'' ragas. A Melakarta raga is one which has all seven notes in both the ''ārōhanam'' ('ascending scale') and ''avarōhanam'' ('descending scale'). Some ''Melakarta'' ragas are ''Harikambhoji'', ''Kalyani'', ''Kharaharapriya'', ''Mayamalavagowla'', ''Sankarabharanam'', and ''Hanumatodi''.<ref name="raganidhi">''Raganidhi'' by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras</ref><ref name="ragas">''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications</ref> Janya ragas are derived from Janaka ragas, using a combination of the swarams (usually a subset of swarams) from the parent raga. Some janya ragas are ''Abheri'', ''Abhogi'', ''Bhairavi'', ''Hindolam'', ''Mohanam'' and ''Kambhoji''.<ref name="raganidhi" /><ref name="ragas" />
In the 21st century, few composers have discovered new ragas. Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna who has created raga in three notes<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ramakrishnan|first=Deepa H.|date=2016-11-23|title=Balamurali, a legend, who created ragas with three swaras|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/Balamurali-a-legend-who-created-ragas-with-three-swaras/article16684399.ece|access-date=2021-08-11|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Ragas such as Mahathi, Lavangi, Sidhdhi, Sumukham that he created have only four notes.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-11-22|title=Carnatic singer M Balamuralikrishna passes away in Chennai, Venkaiah Naidu offers condolences|url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/carnatic-singer-m-balamurali-krishna-passes-away-3119230.html|access-date=2021-08-11|website=Firstpost}}</ref>
A list of janaka ragas would include ''Kanakangi'', ''Ratnangi'', Ganamurthi, ''Vanaspathi'', ''Manavathi'', Thanarupi, Senavathi, ''Hanumatodi'', ''Dhenuka'', ''Natakapriya'', ''Kokilapriya'', ''Rupavati'', ''Gayakapriya'', ''Vakulabharanam'', ''Mayamalavagowla'', ''Chakravakam'', ''Suryakantam'', ''Hatakambari'', ''Jhankaradhvani'', ''Natabhairavi'', ''Keeravani'', ''Kharaharapriya'', ''Gourimanohari'', ''Varunapriya'', ''Mararanjani'', ''Charukesi'', ''Sarasangi'', ''Harikambhoji'', ''Sankarabharanam'', ''Naganandini'', ''Yagapriya'', ''Ragavardhini'', ''Gangeyabhushani'', ''Vagadheeswari'', ''Shulini'', ''Chalanata'', ''Salagam'', ''Jalarnavam'', ''Jhalavarali'', Navaneetam, ''Pavani''.
==Training== Classical music has been transmitted through music schools or through Guru–Shishya ''parampara'' ('teacher–student tradition') through an oral tradition and practice. Some are known as ''gharana'' (houses), and their performances are staged through ''sabhas'' (music organizations).{{Sfn|Tenzer|2006|pp=303–309}}<ref>Sanyukta Kashalkar-Karve (2013), "Comparative Study of Ancient Gurukul System and the New Trends of Guru-Shishya Parampara," American International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Volume 2, Number 1, pages 81–84</ref> Each ''gharana'' has freely improvised over time, and differences in the rendering of each raga is discernible. In the Indian musical schooling tradition, the small group of students lived near or with the teacher, the teacher treated them as family members providing food and boarding, and a student learnt various aspects of music thereby continuing the musical knowledge of their guru.{{Sfn|Nettl et al.|1998|pp=457–467}} The tradition survives in parts of India, and many musicians can trace their guru lineage.{{Sfn|Ries|1969|p=22}}
==Persian ''râk''== The music concept of ''râk''{{clarify|date=April 2020}} or ''rang'' ('colour') in Persian is probably a pronunciation of ''rāga''. According to Hormoz Farhat, it is unclear how this term came to Persia, as it has no meaning in the modern Persian language and the concept of ''rāga'' is unknown in Persia.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hormoz Farhat|title=The Dastgah Concept in Persian Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NiMhWnYDuQMC&pg=PA97|year=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-54206-7|pages=97–99}}</ref><ref>Nasrollah Nasehpour, Impact of Persian Music on Other Cultures and Vice Versa, Art of Music, Cultural, Art and Social (Monthly), pp 4--6 (Vol. 37) Sep, 2002.</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|India|Music}} *List of ragas in Indian classical music *List of composers who created ragas *Carnatic raga **List of Janya ragas **List of Melakarta ragas *Prahar *Samayā *Rasa (aesthetics) *''Raga'', a documentary about the life and music of Ravi Shankar * Raga rock * Arabic maqam *Persian dastgah
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
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Whitney|last=Kelting|title=Singing to the Jinas: Jain Laywomen, Mandal Singing, and the Negotiations of Jain Devotion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elcn1IEJ3CEC |year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-803211-3}} *{{cite book|first=Ananda|last=Lal |title=The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DftkAAAAMAAJ| year=2004| publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-564446-3}} *{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Lavezzoli|title=The Dawn of Indian Music in the West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OSZKCXtx-wEC |year=2006|location=New York|publisher=Continuum|isbn=978-0-8264-1815-9}} *{{cite book|first=Natalia|last=Lidova|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0071 |title= Natyashastra }} *{{cite book|first=James G.|last=Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, 2 Volume Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0823922871}} *{{cite book|first=José Luiz|last=Martinez|title=Semiosis in Hindustani Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OwJRnFIcM4cC |year=2001|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1801-9}} *{{cite book|first=Tarla|last=Mehta |title=Sanskrit Play Production in Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l7naMj1UxIkC |year=1995|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1057-0 }} * {{Citation| last =Monier-Williams |first=Monier |author-link=Monier Monier-Williams| year =1899 | title =A Sanskrit-English Dictionary | place =London | publisher =Oxford University Press | url =http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0900/mw__0905.html}} *{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/raga| first=Bruno|last=Nettl |title=Raga, Indian Musical Genre| encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2010}} *{{cite book |ref={{sfnref|Nettl et al.|1998}}| first1=Bruno|last1=Nettl | author2= Ruth M. Stone|author3=James Porter|author4=Timothy Rice|title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia: The Indian Subcontinent| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOlNv8MAXIEC |year=1998|location=New York and London|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-8240-4946-1}} * {{cite journal | last=Powers | first=Harold S. | title=Review: Sangita-Ratnakara of Sarngadeva, Translated by R.K. Shringy | journal=Ethnomusicology | volume=28 | issue=2 | year=1984 | pages=352–355 | doi=10.2307/850775 | jstor=850775 }} *{{cite journal|first=Deepak S.|last=Raja|date=n.d.|title=Marwa, Pooriya, and Sohini: The Tricky Triplets|journal=Shruti|url=http://www.sruti.com/index.php?route=archives/article_details&artId=75}}{{Full citation needed|date=April 2018}}<!--Year, issue needed, since this URL directs to an archive that does not provide these details.--> *{{cite book|first=Don Michael |last= Randel|title=The Harvard Dictionary of Music|edition=fourth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=02rFSecPhEsC |year=2003|location=Cambridge, MA|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-01163-2}} *{{cite journal |last=Ries | first=Raymond E. | title=The Cultural Setting of South Indian Music | journal=Asian Music | volume=1 | issue=2 | year=1969 | pages=22–31 | doi=10.2307/833909 |jstor=833909 }} *{{cite book|first=Lewis |last= Rowell|title=Music and Musical Thought in Early India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_UCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-73034-9}} *{{cite book|first=Kamal|last=Salhi|title=Music, Culture and Identity in the Muslim World: Performance, Politics and Piety |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dc5iAgAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-96310-3}} *{{cite book|editor-first=S.S.|editor-last=Sastri|year=1943|url= https://archive.org/stream/SangitaRatnakara/SangitaRatnakaraChapter1#page/n7/mode/2up| title=Sangitaratnakara of Sarngadeva|location=Adyar|publisher=Adyar Library Press|isbn=978-0-8356-7330-3}} *{{cite book|first=Susan L.|last=Schwartz|title=Rasa: Performing the Divine in India|url=https://archive.org/details/rasa00susa|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13144-5}} *{{cite book|first=Frits|last=Staal|year=2009|title=Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights|location=Auckland|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-309986-4}} *{{cite book|first=Emmie|last=Te Nijenhuis |author-link=Emmie te Nijenhuis|title=Indian Music: History and Structure |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrgfAAAAIAAJ |year=1974|publisher= BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-03978-0 }} *{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Tenzer|title=Analytical Studies in World Music|url=https://archive.org/details/analyticalstudie00tenz |url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517789-3}} *{{citation |ref={{Sfnref|Titon et al.|2008}}| last1=Titon |first1=Jeff Todd |last2=Cooley|last3=Locke|last4=McAllester|last5=Rasmussen| title=Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KzWmpqPTCwYC |year=2008|publisher=Cengage|isbn=978-0-534-59539-5}} *{{cite book| last=van der Meer|first=W.|title=Hindustani Music in the 20th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-jr6CAAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-009-8777-7}} *{{cite book|first1=Annette|last1=Wilke|first2=Oliver|last2= Moebus|title=Sound and Communication: An Aesthetic Cultural History of Sanskrit Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9wmYz_OtZ_gC |year=2011|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-024003-0}} *{{cite book |first =Maurice|last= Winternitz |author-link= Moriz Winternitz |title=History of Indian Literature Vol 3 (Original in German published in 1922, translated into English by VS Sarma, 1981) |year=2008 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |location=New Delhi |isbn= 978-8120800564 }} <!-- Some Ragamala paintings can be found in: *{{Citation | last=Bautze | first=J | title=Indian Miniature Paintings c:1590 to c. 1850 | publisher=Galerie Saundarya Lahari | place=Amsterdam | year=1987 | isbn=90-72085-01-9}}
Published Sanskrit works (listed in Danielou){{Clarify|date=March 2012}}: *{{IAST|Māṇḍuki Śhikṣhā}} (Atharvǎ Vedǎ).Benares Sanskrit Series 1893 *{{IAST|NāradĪyǎ Śhikṣhā}} (of Nāradǎ)(Sāmǎ Vedǎ) (with the {{IAST|Śhikṣhā Vivaraṇǎ}} commentary of {{IAST|Śhrī Bhaṭṭǎ Śhubhākarǎ}}). Benares Sanskriet Series 1983. Mysore 1946 *{{IAST|Nāṭyǎ Śhāstrǎ}} (of Bharatǎ) (chapters 28, 29 and 38 deal with music) Text only: Benares, 1929; with text and commentary of Abhinavǎ Guptǎ: Barode, 1926 *{{Citation | last=Matanga | author-link=Matanga | title=Brhaddeshu = Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, XCIV (1928), 82–133}} ** Ragas and raginis by Amiyanath Sanyal (English) ORIENT LONGMANS 1959 printed by S.C.Ghosh, Calcutta Press, Wellington Squate, Calcutta (Link: www.dli.ernet.in) ** Sangita Ratnakara of Sarangadeva (Raga Adyaya) ( -do- ) --> == Further reading == *{{cite book | last=Bhatkhande | first=Vishnu Narayan | author-link=Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande |title=Kramika Pustaka Malika | publisher=Sangeet Karyalaya | place=Hathras | year=1968–73}} *{{Cite book | last=Daniélou | first=Alain | author-link=Alain Daniélou | title=Northern Indian Music, Volume 1. Theory & technique; Volume 2. The main rāgǎs | publisher=C. Johnson | place=London | year=1949|oclc= 851080}} *{{cite book | last=Moutal | first=Patrick | author-link=Patrick Moutal | title=Hindustani Raga Index. Major bibliographical references (descriptions, compositions, vistara-s) on North Indian Raga-s|isbn=978-2-9541244-3-8 | year=2012| publisher=P. Moutal }} *{{cite book | last=Moutal | first=Patrick | author-link=Patrick Moutal | title=Comparative Study of Selected Hindustani Ragas|isbn=978-2-9541244-2-1 | year=2012| publisher=P. Moutal }} *{{cite book| first=Kapila|last=Vatsyayan |title=Classical Indian dance in literature and the arts |year=1977 |publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi |oclc= 233639306}}, [http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/toc/z2008_2719.pdf Table of Contents] *{{cite book| first=Kapila|last=Vatsyayan |title=Aesthetic theories and forms in Indian tradition |year=2008 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |oclc= 286469807| isbn= 978-8187586357}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://raag-hindustani.com/Scales1.html A step-by-step introduction to the concept of rāga for beginners] *[http://www.parrikar.org/ Rajan Parrikar Music Archive – detailed analyses of rāgas backed by rare audio recordings] *[http://www.soundofindia.com/raagas.asp Comprehensive reference on rāgas] *[http://moutal.eu/indian-music.html Hindustani Raga Sangeet Online] A rare collection of more than 800 audio & video archives from 1902. Radio programs dedicated to famous ragas. *[http://webspace.webring.com/people/dv/vasudevanvrv/carnatic/raagams.htm Online quick reference of rāgams] in Carnatic music. *[https://ragamath.com Ragamath.com] Mathematical computations on rāgams {{Hindustani Classical Music page end}} {{Rāgas as per Performance Time}} {{Melakarta ragas|state=collapsed}} {{Janya}} {{Melody types}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Raga}} Category:Hindustani ragas Category:Hindustani music terminology Category:Musical terminology Category:Modes (music) Category:Ragas