A Comparative Study of Some of the Leading Music Systems of the 15th, 16th, 17th & 18th Centuries c7: Raga Manjari

A Comparative Study of Some of the Leading Music Systems of the 15th, 16th, 17th & 18th Centuries c7

Language: English

Raga Manjari

c7.1

The third treatise of Pundarika which we consider is the Raga Manjari. In this treatise also the writer sticks to his shuddha scale. The names of shuddha and vikrita swaras, and the method of describing these are the same as those of the Raga Mala. We thus find in the treatise the following verses of the Raga Mala repeated:

c7.2

वेदावलंकाश्रुतिपुत्रयोदश्यां श्रुतौ ततः ।
सप्तदश्यां च विश्यां च द्वाविश्यां च श्रुतौ क्रमात् ॥
षड्जादीनां स्थितिः प्रोक्ता प्रथमा भरतादिभिः ।
असपाः पूर्वपूर्वस्मात् संचरन्युत्तरोत्तरम् ॥
त्रिश्र्गतीस्ते प्रत्येकं याति गश्च चतुर्गतिः ।
यद्यद्रागोपयोगः स्यात्तत्तदिच्छागतिर्भवेत् ॥

c7.3

These verses have already been discussed, and we shall not repeat the discussion here. Pundarika adds an explanation in which he compares some of his vikrit swaras with those of the southern system. He says:—

c7.4

साधारणः कैशिकी चांतरकाकलिनौ यथा ।
साधारणः कैशिकी द्वौ क्रमाद्गतिगनिन्नमः ॥

c7.5

Translation.—The notes 'sadharana', 'kaishika', 'antara' and 'kakali', are only the first and the second gatis of gandhar and nishada. What he means is that sadharana and kaishika are the prathama gatis of gandhar and nishada respectively, and the antara and kakali are the second gatis of the same two notes. Sadharana ga corresponding with the prathama gati of ga and kaishika ni being the prathama gati of ni. Antar ga and kakali ni are the second gatis of ga and ni respectively.

c7.6

ऊर्ध्वलस्तु गांधारो मध्यमोपरिसंस्थितः ।
मस्य त्रिगतिभेदाश्च मनुः पक्षांतिको नृपः ॥

c7.7

Translation.—When the note gandhar rises to its last gati it coincides with the shuddha maddyama. The shuddha maddyama rises through three gatis or shrutis and bears the three names मनु मध्यम, पक्षांतिक मध्यम, and नृप मध्यम, respectively.

c7.8

These gatis would practically be the sounds of the fourteenth fifteenth and sixteenth srutis.

c7.9

अथ कैशिकिनौ आद्यौ ऊर्ध्वलौ द्वितीयकौ ।
अत्युच्चूं खलनामानौ तृतीयगतिको रिधौ ॥

c7.10

Translation.—When ri and dha rise only one sruti each, they become 'kaishika' ri and 'kaishika dha' respectively. When they rise two srutis, they become ऊर्ध्वल रि, ऊर्ध्वल ध. when they rise three srutis, they will be called अनुच्चैस्त्व रि ध respectively.

c7.11

A glance at the Sruti Swara chart of the Raga Mala will show clearly the positions of the swaras of the Raga Manjari also. The definitions of the terms वादी, संवादी, etc., are in no way different to those given in the Raga Mala. All ragas are founded on the shadja-grama alone.

c7.12

षड्जग्रामाश्रितान् रागान् सर्वे गायन्ति गायकः ।
तस्मान्मन्यतमः षड्जग्राम एव न चापरा ॥

c7.13

On the question of the murchhanas, नष्टोद्दिष्ट and वर्ण Pundarika simply quotes the verses of Sharangdeva Pandit the author of the Sangeeta Ratnakara. It is to be remarked that none of the writers of the last three or four centuries, say anything useful about the jatis of Sharangdeva and Bharata, which evidently had gone out of use in their time. All music was confined to one grama, namely the shadja-grama, with its' own shuddha and vikrita swaras all complete. Thatas were constructed out of these swaras, and these thatas produced their own "janyaragas". All ragas were based on a system of twelve shuddha and vikrita swaras as a general rule. There were two leading shuddha scales in the country. The northern scale corresponded with our modern kafi scale, and the southern shuddha scale was the modern Kanakangi of the Karnatik system.

c7.14

Querry.—When did the Bilawal scale come to be adopted as the shuddha scale of the Hindusthani music system? To this question there is no answer in any of the old Sanskrit treatises.

c7.15

In the Raga-adhyaya Pundarika begins by laying down twenty thatas for the classification of his Janya-ragas. These thatas are:

c7.16

मुखारी सोमरागश्च तोडी गौडी वराटिका ।
केदारः शुद्धनाटश्च देशाक्षी देशिकारकः ॥
मारुताहेरिकल्यणकामोदाश्च हिजेजिकः ।
नादरामकिहिदोला कर्णाटश्च हमीरकः ॥
मालवश्रीकशिअथ श्रीरागश्चेत्यनुक्रमात् ॥

c7.17

The following chart will give the twenty thatas with their shuddha and vikrita notes. The Hindustani equivalents will make the positions of the notes clear to the modern students.

c7.18

| थाट नाम | सा | री | ग | म | प | ध | नि | हिन्दुस्थानी स्वर नाम |
| १-पुराव | शुद्ध | शुद्ध | शुद्ध | शुद्ध | शुद्ध | शुद्ध | शुद्ध | सा री री म प ध ध सां |
| २-श्रीराग | " | " | " | " | " | " | एकगति | सा री री म प ध नि सां |
| ३-तोड़ी | " | " | एकगति | " | " | " | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| ४-गौड़ी | " | " | तृतीय गति | " | " | " | तृतीय गति | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| ५-वराटी | " | " | शुद्ध | तृतीय गति | " | " | " | सा री री म प ध नि सां |
| ६-केदार | " | द्वितीय गति | तृतीय गति | शुद्ध | द्वितीय गति | " | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| ७-शुद्धनाट | " | तृतीय गति | " | " | " | तृतीय गति | " | सा ग ग म प नि नि सां |
| ८-देशाक्षी | " | " | " | " | " | शुद्ध | " | सा ग ग म प ध नि सां |
| ९-देशिकार | " | शुद्ध | " | तृतीय गति | " | " | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| १०-सारंग | " | द्वितीय गति | तृतीय गति | " | " | तृतीय गति | " | सा री म म प नि नि सां |
| ११-आहेरी | " | " | एकगति | शुद्ध | " | शुद्ध | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| १२-कल्याण | " | " | तृतीय गति | तृतीय गति | " | " | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| १३-कामोद | " | शुद्ध | एकगति | " | " | " | एकगति | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| १४-द्विज | " | " | " | शुद्ध | " | " | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां Do. (In the Raga mala गुणविधुगति नि |
| १५-नादरामकी | " | " | " | " | " | " | " | |
| १६-हिंदोल | " | द्वितीय गति | " | " | " | " | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| १७-कर्णाट | " | " | तृतीय गति | " | " | तृतीय गति | तृतीय गति | सा री ग म प नि नि सां |
| १८-हेमार | " | " | " | " | " | शुद्ध | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| १९-मालव कै० | " | एकगति | एकगति | " | " | एकगति | एकगति | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |
| २०-श्रीराग | " | " | तृतीय गति | " | " | " | " | सा री ग म प ध नि सां |

c7.19

c7.20

This list will no doubt be of great interest to the student of the Hindustani system of music Towards the end of the book, Pundarika takes note of a few Persian ragas which he perhaps found introduced into the Hindustani system by the Mohamedan musicians.

c7.21

अन्येऽपि पारसीकिया रागाः परदनामकाः ।
संपूर्णः सर्वगमकाः कफद्वंतरिता सदाः ॥
रहायी देवगांधार कानरेच निशावरः ।
सारंग माहुरी नाम जंगलोऽथ बंगालके ॥
देश्यामाहंगको नाम वारा मल्हाररागे ।
केदारेडवि च मुद्धाध धनास्यां च इरायिका ॥
जिजावयां च हंसेनी मालवे मुसलीककः ।
कल्याणे यमनं गायेत् सर्पदोऽथ विलावले ॥
देशिकारे चामरेजः आसावयां हिजेजकः ।
देवगियां मुशकाख्य एवमन्येऽपि योजयेत् ॥

c7.22

Pundarika has no doubt done a great service to the music scholar by giving these Persian melodies with their Indian equivalents. Possibly, the locative case termination of the Indian rāga name is intended to show that the Persian melody is not exactly the same as the Indian but that the two are founded on the same scale.

Linked texts (1)

Saṅgītaratnākara — Śārṅgadeva, Sanskrit