Ragas and Raginis: A Pictorial and Iconographic Study of Indian Musical Modes Based on Original Sources c6.35

c6.35

“The grāma-rāgas referred to above, it may be assumed, were identical with the grāma-rāgas described in the Nāṭya-śāstra. Only the latter describes the grāma-rāgas appertaining to two grāmas viz. ṣaḍja and madhyama, while the passage of the Harivaṃśa alludes to rāgas belonging to the gāndhāra-grāma. As some ancient authorities have explained, the last named grāma (scale) was obsolete amongst men and were current in celestial practices. In fact, one text suggests that according to Nārada, the ṣaḍja-grāma has grown out of the terrestrial regions, the madhyama-grāma from the ethereal regions, and the gāndhāra-grāma from the celestial regions, and not from anywhere else.