Ragas and Raginis: A Pictorial and Iconographic Study of Indian Musical Modes Based on Original Sources c7.38

c7.38

Some of the names are derived from their associations with the season, and seasonal rites, or ṣaturnāliās. To this class belong the Megha-rāga, the melody of the rains, Vasanta, the melody of the spring, the Hiṇḍola, associated with the Swing Festival, and the Śrī-rāga, associated with the harvesting season. The text of *Saṅgīta-Sudhā* (early 17th century) alludes to the traditional association of this melody with Lakṣmī, the goddess of Fortune. ‘As it is known to all, it brings fortunes.’² Prathama-mañjarī (lit. ‘the first shoots’) probably borrows its name from its association with early spring. Other melodies associated with the spring and the summer are, Cūta-mañjarī, (lit. ‘the Mango-blossom’), Āmra-pañcama (‘the mango with the fifth note’).