What is a Raga and how is it classified?
A raga, in simplistic terms, is a scale of fixed notes with certain characteristics. These characteristics set out the basic structure in which the composition, vocal or instrumental, is played to. The origin of the name of the specific raga is not always clear. Some names have been attributed to the composer and others to the area in which they originated.
Characteristics of a raga could be grouped into 2 categories, the main characteristics and those that are more subtle.
The main characteristics of a raga may be listed as follows:
- A raga must have a keynote, tonic or starting point referred to as Sa.
- A raga must have an aroh (ascent) and an avroh (descent) or notes.
- The aroh and avroh of a raga must contain at least 5 notes or more in order to qualify as a raga. Different fixed notes make different ragas.
- A raga must contain the note Ma or Pa or both.
- A raga must have a vadi (most important note or sonant) and a samvadi (secondary important note or consonant). The samvadi compliments the vadi.
- A raga must contain a pakad (catch phrase), mukya anga (main aspect) or swarup (own form). These are melodic expressions in the form of short note combinations that express the content of the basic scale in an aesthetically pleasing manner (sometimes called chalan). Each phrase acts as a guide to the performer as to the note combinations he or she should use when presenting a particular raga. The greater the familiarity that the artist has with the knowledge of the phraseology of the raga the better he or she is likely to be in presenting it. The pakad takes on greater significance where a raga contains identical notes in aroh and avroh and must therefore be differentiated by virtue of its melodic phraseology.
The more subtle characteristics of a raga may be listed as follows:
- A raga cannot use both the shuddha (pure) form of a note and its vikrit (altered, its flat or sharp equivalent) as consecutive notes in aroh and avroh although they can be used to form part of the raga by being used separately in ascent and descent. Therefore, shuddha Ni could be used in aroh in the same raga as komal Ni in avroh but they could not be both used in the raga in aroh.
- A raga must have a jati. This is a way of classifying the number of notes in aroh and avroh. Audav is a 5 note scale or pentatonic. Shadav is a 6 note scale or hexatonic. Sampurna is a 7 note scale or heptatonic. A raga jati is audav-audav if there are 5 notes in aroh and avroh or shadav-sampurna if there are 6 notes in aroh and 7 notes in avroh and so forth.
- Most often a raga will have a straight set of fixed notes in aroh and avroh. Common examples of these are raga Bhopali and raga Malkauns. A raga could have a vakra (twisted) aroh or avroh. Vakra aroh arises when the notes of the raga briefly descend at some point before ascending. Vakra avroh arises when the notes of a raga ascend briefly before once more descending. A good example of this is raga Bahar. Listen to the recordings below.
- A raga must run through two entire tetrachords or two parts. The first tetrachord referred to as purvang contains the notes Sa, Re, Ga and Ma while the second tetrachord referred to as uttarang contains the notes Pa, Dha, Ni and Sa (of the higher register or tar saptak). The main melodic movements in the presentation of the raga will fall into one tetrachord or the other rendering it an essentially purvang raga or uttarang raga.
- A raga must not contain its vadi and samvadi in the same tetrachord. Normally these notes are 4 or 5 notes apart for reasons of consonance.
- A raga must be played during a certain part of the day or season (samay). This is because the raga was traditionally intended to bring about certain emotions (rasas) in the listener. Sometimes deities, colours or planets were associated with the raga.
Here is an example of how a raga could be set out
Raga Bhopali
Aroh S R G P D S
Avroh S D P G R S
Vadi G
Samvadi D
Pakad / Chalan D S, D S R G, G R P G, G R G P D S, P R G R S
Jati Audav-Audav
Samay Evening or Early Night
The famous Indian classical vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty
A short clip of Tore Nainone, a chota khayal bandish in raag bhopali sung by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty
Whilst there have been many attempts to classify ragas into a particular grouping it is accepted that no-one has been able to successfully invent a system which would immediately govern all the ragas and classify them accordingly. This is because ragas are not simply straight fixed scales. They have notes that are more important than others, have certain melodic movements that need to be adhered to and of course often contain both the (shuddha) pure and vikrit (altered) forms of the same note. Nevertheless, Pandit Bhatkande developed a system of thaat in the early 1920’s which was essentially a parent scale into which a raga could be grouped into according to its basic notes. A more expansive definition may be found at
The shortcomings of this system in view of the complex nature of the presentation of a raga, has rendered it almost redundant although it does arguably serve as a useful starting point for a beginner.
Other Useful Links
North Indian ragas and notation system
Raga as a musical concept (pdf)
The origin of ragas and the rag ragini system of Indian classical music