Ragmala
Encyclopedia
Ragmala
or Ragamala (ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ), literally means a 'garland of Ragas, or musical melodies'. "Mala" means "garland", while "Raga" is a "musical composition or mode", which has also given rise to the series of Ragamala paintings
. This list differs according to the author and the music school it is based upon. Thus there exists a number of such lists in the music text books of India.
Ragmala is also the title of a composition of twelve verses, running into sixty lines, of the Guru Granth Sahib
as a table or index of ragas that appears after the compositions of Guru Arjun Dev entitled "Mundaavani" (RIDDLE).
God is one. He is realized by guru’s grace. There is one tune (God).
The whole world sings His praise in classical Tunes in the group of
five; The first major tune is Tune Bhairao (Devotee’s tune). Page 1430
It sings the praise of God in a group of five including other sub tunes.
First sub tune in the group is Bhairavee, and Bilaavalee; Your praises
are sung in melodious tunes. Then comes the turn of other truthful
tunes; these are the five tunes of major tune Bhairao. All five sing
Your praises joyfully in godly tunes. Singing your praises in beautiful
tunes full of melody. ||1|| Tunes Lalat and Bilaaval – each have their
own melody. Everyone is the son of Bhairav (God). Sings your praise
in devotion! ||1|| The second major tune is Maalakausak (Acquired
knowledge) also sing Your praises in the group of five tunes!
Gondakaree and Dev Gandhaaree sing Your praises in loud voice.
Including Dhanaasaree and maal Tune in the group of Maalakausak;
Maaroo Tune is the devotional tune of Maiwar sung emotionally in
the group. The devotional singers sing their best. Every one is the son
of Maalakausak (God). ||1|| Then comes Hindol (joy) sing Your
praises in the group of five. They sing in harmony to the best of their
ability. ||1|| Then, comes Taylangee the music of gods; it is sung with
the best attire including saffron on forehead. The universe blooms
and becomes green O brother; here also Your praises are sung in the
group of five tunes. The singers come well dressed wearing mascara,
scent of sandalwood on the forehead and wearing the sacred thread.
The whole atmosphere fills with joy; they sing Your praises in tune
Basant with musical instruments. God pervades in every one. Then
comes the turn of Deepak (enlightenment) ||1|| Todee Tune is sung
with lot of zest in the group of five tunes. Goojree Tune is sung with
musical instruments in the group major Tune Deepak. ||1|| The ugly
the beautiful and the devotees of God; all are the children of the same
flower The God. Tune Gauraa, Kaanaraa and Kaylaanaa; all are the
son of Deepak (God). ||1|| All join and sing Siree Tune (tune to honour
God) that also is sung in the group of five. Bairaaree is the tune of
Karnaatka. The Aasaavaree is sung in a simple tune. Then follows
Tune Sindhavee; It is also the part of the group of tune siree Tune.
||1|| Deep tune Tune Saarag is sung in deep devotion and Tune Gond
is serious. Everyone is the son of Siree Tune (God) whether named
Gund, Kumbh or Hameer. ||1|| The sixth major tune is Maygh Tune.
(tune of guru's grace) Also sung in the group of five tunes! The tunes
Sorath, Gond, and Malaar are part of Mayagh Tune. Including Aasaa
that is sung in slow rhythm in the head; All sung in devotion loudly
and form the part of the group of five the Maygh Tune. ||1|| The salty
land, jungles, the religious shrines, the land of warriors the magicians
and the land of rivers; everywhere the devotees and the prophets sing Your praises.
Those are the names of the sons of God the Maygh Tune. ||1|| Six
major tunes have been sung including the sub tunes totalling thirty in
Your admiration. One more added later. All are the sons of the Creator
of music (God) whether eighteen, ten or twenty. ||1||1||
(P. 1429-1430, www.SriGranth.org)
With the exception of the Sarsut Mat which subscribes to seven chief raags, all other systems acknowledge six chief raags, thirty (in some cases thirty-six also) "wives" and forty-eight "sons" or sub-raags, each raag having eight "sons." Thus each system includes eighty-four measures which itself is a mystic number in the Indian tradition, symbolizing such entities as the 84 siddhs or the 8.4 million species of life.
Though the details concerning the names of "wives" and "sons" differ in each raagmala, the chief systems, broadly speaking, have only two sets; one including Siri, Basant, Bhairav, Pancham, Megh and Nat Narayan, as in the Saiv and Kalinath systems; and the other including Bhairav, Malkauris, Hindol, Deepak, Siri and Megh as in Bharat and Hanuman systems. In some systems, the raags have, besides "wives" and "sons", "daughters" and "daughters-inlaw" as well. The chief raags are shudh, i.e. complete and perfect, while the "wives" and "sons" are sanktrna, i.e. mixed, incomplete and adulterated. Each of the six principal raags relates itself by its nature to a corresponding season.
A few self proclaimed Sikh scholars differ in their opinion about the inclusion of Raagmala in the Granth. It must be noted that the only body which disputes the Ragmala are the Babu Teja Singh and Bhai Sahib Bhai Randhir Singh's Akhand Kirtani Jatha (AKJ). The traditional position among all Sikhs and the official position of all Sikh Gurdwara management committees worldwide including the SGPC in Punjab is that Ragamala is a part of the Guru Granth Sahib and it must be included in all printed copies of this sacred scripture. That is the stand that is taken here as well. Please do not add any disputed points here - Use the Discussion Page to voice your views if they differ from the above.
Scholars and Saints against Ragmala: Prof. Hazara Singh; J. C. Cunningham - the author of History of Sikhs; well-known historian Macauliff, Maha-Kavi Santokh Singh, Giani Gian Singh, Giani Ditt Singh, Prof. Gurmukh Singh (founders of Singh Sabha Movement), Sant Teja Singh Manstuana, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Bhai Randhir Singh Ji Narangwal, Prof. Sahib Singh, Bhai Randhir Singh Ji Research Scholar, Dr. Trilochan Singh
Raagmala is not Gurbani.
"The reading of the whole Guru Granth Sahib (intermittent or non-stop) may be concluded with the reading of Mundawani alone or the Rag Mala according to the convention traditionally observed at all the concerned places. (There is know difference of opinion within the Panth on this issue, nobody should dare to write or print a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib excluding the Rag Mala)."
http://www.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_three_chap_five.html
Wives: Bhairavi, Bilawali, Punyaki, Bangli, Aslekhi.
Sons: Pancham, Harakh, Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilaval.
Wives: Gaundkari, Devagandhari, Gandhari, Seehute, Dhanasri.
Sons: Maru, Mustang, Mewara, Parbal, Chand, Khokhat, Bhora, Nad.
Wives: Telangi, Devkari, Basanti, Sindhoori, Aheeri.
Sons: Surmanand, Bhasker, Chandra-Bimb, Mangalan, Ban, Binoda, Basant, Kamoda.
Wives: Kachheli, Patmanjari, Todi, Kamodi, Gujri.
Sons: Kaalanka, Kuntal, Rama, Kamal, Kusum, Champak, Gaura, Kanra [36].
Wives: Bairavi, Karnati, Gauri, Asavari, Sindhavi.
Sons: Salu, Sarag, Sagra, Gaund, Gambhir, Gund, Kumbh, Hamir.
Wives: Sorath, Gaundi-Malari, Asa, Gunguni, Sooho.
Sons: Biradhar, Gajdhar, Kedara, Jablidhar, Nut, Jaldhara, Sankar, Syama.
, we find that only two major ragas - Sri raga
and Bhairav - have been included in the Scripture. The remaining male parent ragas, namely Malkaus, Hindol, Deepak and Megh have been excluded. Sri raga is the first raga in the Scripture instead of Bhairav raga of the Ragmala. Asawari used in the Scripture as a part of Asa raga is according to ragmala the wife of Sri raga. The following eleven wives (raginis) and eight sons of the parent-ragas are included in the Scripture:
There is no mention of Bihagara, Wadahans, Mali-Gaura, Kalyan [37], Manjh, Jaitsri, Ramkali, Tukhari, Prabhati and Jaijawanti in Ragmala.
Ragmala
Ragmala or Ragamala , literally means a 'garland of Ragas, or musical melodies'. "Mala" means "garland", while "Raga" is a "musical composition or mode", which has also given rise to the series of Ragamala paintings. This list differs according to the author and the music school it is based upon...
or Ragamala (ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ), literally means a 'garland of Ragas, or musical melodies'. "Mala" means "garland", while "Raga" is a "musical composition or mode", which has also given rise to the series of Ragamala paintings
Ragamala paintings
Ragamala Paintings are a series of illustrative paintings from medieval India based on Ragamala or the 'Garland of Ragas', depicting various Indian musical nodes, Ragas...
. This list differs according to the author and the music school it is based upon. Thus there exists a number of such lists in the music text books of India.
Ragmala is also the title of a composition of twelve verses, running into sixty lines, of the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
as a table or index of ragas that appears after the compositions of Guru Arjun Dev entitled "Mundaavani" (RIDDLE).
Translation of Ragmala Composition in Sikh Scriptures
Rosary of tunes; Translation by swarn singh bainsGod is one. He is realized by guru’s grace. There is one tune (God).
The whole world sings His praise in classical Tunes in the group of
five; The first major tune is Tune Bhairao (Devotee’s tune). Page 1430
It sings the praise of God in a group of five including other sub tunes.
First sub tune in the group is Bhairavee, and Bilaavalee; Your praises
are sung in melodious tunes. Then comes the turn of other truthful
tunes; these are the five tunes of major tune Bhairao. All five sing
Your praises joyfully in godly tunes. Singing your praises in beautiful
tunes full of melody. ||1|| Tunes Lalat and Bilaaval – each have their
own melody. Everyone is the son of Bhairav (God). Sings your praise
in devotion! ||1|| The second major tune is Maalakausak (Acquired
knowledge) also sing Your praises in the group of five tunes!
Gondakaree and Dev Gandhaaree sing Your praises in loud voice.
Including Dhanaasaree and maal Tune in the group of Maalakausak;
Maaroo Tune is the devotional tune of Maiwar sung emotionally in
the group. The devotional singers sing their best. Every one is the son
of Maalakausak (God). ||1|| Then comes Hindol (joy) sing Your
praises in the group of five. They sing in harmony to the best of their
ability. ||1|| Then, comes Taylangee the music of gods; it is sung with
the best attire including saffron on forehead. The universe blooms
and becomes green O brother; here also Your praises are sung in the
group of five tunes. The singers come well dressed wearing mascara,
scent of sandalwood on the forehead and wearing the sacred thread.
The whole atmosphere fills with joy; they sing Your praises in tune
Basant with musical instruments. God pervades in every one. Then
comes the turn of Deepak (enlightenment) ||1|| Todee Tune is sung
with lot of zest in the group of five tunes. Goojree Tune is sung with
musical instruments in the group major Tune Deepak. ||1|| The ugly
the beautiful and the devotees of God; all are the children of the same
flower The God. Tune Gauraa, Kaanaraa and Kaylaanaa; all are the
son of Deepak (God). ||1|| All join and sing Siree Tune (tune to honour
God) that also is sung in the group of five. Bairaaree is the tune of
Karnaatka. The Aasaavaree is sung in a simple tune. Then follows
Tune Sindhavee; It is also the part of the group of tune siree Tune.
||1|| Deep tune Tune Saarag is sung in deep devotion and Tune Gond
is serious. Everyone is the son of Siree Tune (God) whether named
Gund, Kumbh or Hameer. ||1|| The sixth major tune is Maygh Tune.
(tune of guru's grace) Also sung in the group of five tunes! The tunes
Sorath, Gond, and Malaar are part of Mayagh Tune. Including Aasaa
that is sung in slow rhythm in the head; All sung in devotion loudly
and form the part of the group of five the Maygh Tune. ||1|| The salty
land, jungles, the religious shrines, the land of warriors the magicians
and the land of rivers; everywhere the devotees and the prophets sing Your praises.
Those are the names of the sons of God the Maygh Tune. ||1|| Six
major tunes have been sung including the sub tunes totalling thirty in
Your admiration. One more added later. All are the sons of the Creator
of music (God) whether eighteen, ten or twenty. ||1||1||
"Raag Maalaa: Translation by other scholars;
Each Raga has five wives, and eight sons, who emit distinctive notes. In the first place is Raag Bhairao. It is accompanied by the voices of its five Raaginis: First come Bhairavee, and Bilaavalee; then the songs of Punni-aakee and Bangalee; and then Asalaykhee. These are the five consorts of Bhairao. The sounds of Pancham, Harakh and Disaakh; the songs of Bangaalam, Madh and Maadhav. ||1|| Lalat and Bilaaval - each gives out its own melody. when these eight sons of Bhairao are sung by accomplished musicians. ||1|| In the second family is Maalakausak, who brings his five Raaginis: Gondakaree and Dayv Gandhaaree, the voices of Gandhaaree and Seehutee, and the fifth song of Dhanaasaree. This chain of Maalakausak brings along: Maaroo, Masta-ang and Mayvaaraa, Prabal, Chandakausak, Khau, Khat and Bauraanad singing. These are the eight sons of Maalakausak. ||1|| Then comes Hindol with his five wives and eight sons; it rises in waves when the sweet-voiced chorus sings. ||1|| There come Taylangee and Darvakaree; Basantee and Sandoor follow; then Aheeree, the finest of women. These five wives come together. The sons: Surmaanand and Bhaaskar come, Chandrabinb and Mangalan follow. Sarasbaan and Binodaa then come, and the thrilling songs of Basant and Kamodaa. These are the eight sons I have listed. Then comes the turn of Deepak. ||1|| Kachhaylee, Patamanjaree and Todee are sung; Kaamodee and Goojaree accompany Deepak. ||1|| Kaalankaa, Kuntal and Raamaa, Kamalakusam and Champak are their names; Gauraa, Kaanaraa and Kaylaanaa; these are the eight sons of Deepak. ||1|| All join together and sing Siree Raag, which is accompanied by its five wives: Bairaaree and Karnaatee, the songs of Gawree and Aasaavaree; then follows Sindhavee. These are the five wives of Siree Raag. ||1|| Saaloo, Saarang, Saagaraa, Gond and Gambheer - the eight sons of Siree Raag include Gund, Kumb and Hameer. ||1|| In the sixth place, Maygh Raag is sung, with its five wives in accompaniment: Sorat'h, Gond, and the melody of Malaaree; then the harmonies of Aasaa are sung. And finally comes the high tone Soohau. These are the five with Maygh Raag. ||1|| Bairaadhar, Gajadhar, Kaydaaraa, Jabaleedhar, Nat and Jaladhaaraa. Then come the songs of Shankar and Shi-aamaa. These are the names of the sons of Maygh Raag. ||1|| So all together, they sing the six Raagas and the thirty Raaginis, and all the forty-eight sons of the Raagas. ||1||1||"
(P. 1429-1430, www.SriGranth.org)
Background of Ragmala & History of Indian Music
In the course of the evolution of Indian music, many systems came into effect, prominent among them being the Saiv Mat, said to have been imparted by Lord Shiva, who is accepted as the innovator of music; the Kalinath Mat, also called the Krishan Mat, which has its predominance in Braj and Panjab and is said to have been introduced by Kalinath, a revered teacher of music; the Bharat Mat which has its vogue in Western India and was propounded by Bharat Muni; the Hanuman Mat; the Siddh Sarsut Mat; and the Ragaranava Mat. A large number of ragmalas pertaining to these and other systems that developed are, with some variations, traceable in such well known works on Indian musicology as Gobind Sangeet Sdr, Qanun Mausiki, Budh Parkas Darpan, Sangeet Rinod and Raag Deepak.With the exception of the Sarsut Mat which subscribes to seven chief raags, all other systems acknowledge six chief raags, thirty (in some cases thirty-six also) "wives" and forty-eight "sons" or sub-raags, each raag having eight "sons." Thus each system includes eighty-four measures which itself is a mystic number in the Indian tradition, symbolizing such entities as the 84 siddhs or the 8.4 million species of life.
Though the details concerning the names of "wives" and "sons" differ in each raagmala, the chief systems, broadly speaking, have only two sets; one including Siri, Basant, Bhairav, Pancham, Megh and Nat Narayan, as in the Saiv and Kalinath systems; and the other including Bhairav, Malkauris, Hindol, Deepak, Siri and Megh as in Bharat and Hanuman systems. In some systems, the raags have, besides "wives" and "sons", "daughters" and "daughters-inlaw" as well. The chief raags are shudh, i.e. complete and perfect, while the "wives" and "sons" are sanktrna, i.e. mixed, incomplete and adulterated. Each of the six principal raags relates itself by its nature to a corresponding season.
The Ragmala & Guru Granth Sahib's Musical System
Raagmala literally means a beaded string of musical melodies. "Mala" means "a beaded string" and "Raga" is a "musical composition". It is the name given to the last composition in the Guru Granth Sahib appearing after Mundavani (riddle) and a Salok by Guru Arjan Dev. Like Japji Sahib, which appears at the beginning of the Guru Granth Sahib this composition has no heading to show the name of the author.A few self proclaimed Sikh scholars differ in their opinion about the inclusion of Raagmala in the Granth. It must be noted that the only body which disputes the Ragmala are the Babu Teja Singh and Bhai Sahib Bhai Randhir Singh's Akhand Kirtani Jatha (AKJ). The traditional position among all Sikhs and the official position of all Sikh Gurdwara management committees worldwide including the SGPC in Punjab is that Ragamala is a part of the Guru Granth Sahib and it must be included in all printed copies of this sacred scripture. That is the stand that is taken here as well. Please do not add any disputed points here - Use the Discussion Page to voice your views if they differ from the above.
No Dividing Issue on Ragmala
Ragmala is the last composition in the Kartarpur volume. According to Prof. Sahib Singh, "the last pages of the Kartarpur volume do not suggest, either because of the presence of blank spaces, or scoring out, or obliteration, or otherwise, that there was or could have been the least intention to write these hymns in the Granth. The Mudaavni is on page 973/1. Pages 973/2 and 974/1 are blank, and on page 974/2 is the Ragmala. As such,It is thought and suggested by scholars that there could never have been the possibility, nor could it ever have been contemplated that these three writings requiring a space of over four pages could have been accommodated on the two blank pages 973/2 and 974/1."Divided Opinion on Ragmala amongst 20th Century Sikh Scholars
Scholars and Saints for Ragmala: Bhai Vir Singh, Dr. Jodh Singh, Akali Kaur Singh, Sant Giani Gurbachan Singh (Jatha Bhindran), and Sant Samaj (Society of Saints)Scholars and Saints against Ragmala: Prof. Hazara Singh; J. C. Cunningham - the author of History of Sikhs; well-known historian Macauliff, Maha-Kavi Santokh Singh, Giani Gian Singh, Giani Ditt Singh, Prof. Gurmukh Singh (founders of Singh Sabha Movement), Sant Teja Singh Manstuana, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Bhai Randhir Singh Ji Narangwal, Prof. Sahib Singh, Bhai Randhir Singh Ji Research Scholar, Dr. Trilochan Singh
Raagmala is not Gurbani.
The Official Sikh Standpoint on Ragmala
Article XI (a) of the Sikh Rehat Maryada (SRM):"The reading of the whole Guru Granth Sahib (intermittent or non-stop) may be concluded with the reading of Mundawani alone or the Rag Mala according to the convention traditionally observed at all the concerned places. (There is know difference of opinion within the Panth on this issue, nobody should dare to write or print a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib excluding the Rag Mala)."
http://www.sgpc.net/rehat_maryada/section_three_chap_five.html
The Ragas
Six are male (parent) ragas; the thirty raginis are their wives and the remaining forty-eight are their sons. These are listed is as follows:- (1) Parent Raga: Bhairav raga
Wives: Bhairavi, Bilawali, Punyaki, Bangli, Aslekhi.
Sons: Pancham, Harakh, Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilaval.
- (2) Parent Raga: Malkaus raga
Wives: Gaundkari, Devagandhari, Gandhari, Seehute, Dhanasri.
Sons: Maru, Mustang, Mewara, Parbal, Chand, Khokhat, Bhora, Nad.
- (3) Parent Raga: Hindol raga
Wives: Telangi, Devkari, Basanti, Sindhoori, Aheeri.
Sons: Surmanand, Bhasker, Chandra-Bimb, Mangalan, Ban, Binoda, Basant, Kamoda.
- (4) Parent Raga: Deepak raga
Wives: Kachheli, Patmanjari, Todi, Kamodi, Gujri.
Sons: Kaalanka, Kuntal, Rama, Kamal, Kusum, Champak, Gaura, Kanra [36].
- (5) Parent Raga: Sri raga
Wives: Bairavi, Karnati, Gauri, Asavari, Sindhavi.
Sons: Salu, Sarag, Sagra, Gaund, Gambhir, Gund, Kumbh, Hamir.
- (6) Parent Raga: Megh raga
Wives: Sorath, Gaundi-Malari, Asa, Gunguni, Sooho.
Sons: Biradhar, Gajdhar, Kedara, Jablidhar, Nut, Jaldhara, Sankar, Syama.
Ragas in Guru Granth Sahib
If we compare the above scheme with the ragas of Guru Granth SahibGuru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
, we find that only two major ragas - Sri raga
Raga Sri
Shree is a very old North Indian raga of the Purvi thaat said to have been related to Lord Shiva: it also appears in the Sikh tradition from northern India and is part of the Guru Granth Sahib. In the Guru Granth Sahib composition appear in 31 ragas and this is the first raga to appear in the series...
and Bhairav - have been included in the Scripture. The remaining male parent ragas, namely Malkaus, Hindol, Deepak and Megh have been excluded. Sri raga is the first raga in the Scripture instead of Bhairav raga of the Ragmala. Asawari used in the Scripture as a part of Asa raga is according to ragmala the wife of Sri raga. The following eleven wives (raginis) and eight sons of the parent-ragas are included in the Scripture:
- Bhairavi: Son: BilavalBilavalBilawal is a raga and basic thaat in Hindustani classical music. It is equivalent to the Western Ionian mode and contains the notes S R G m P D N S' . The pitches of Bilawal thaat are all shuddha, or natural...
- Malkaus: Wives: DevagandhariDevagandhariDevagandhari is a raga in Indian classical music. It is used in the Sikh tradition of northern India and is part of the Guru Granth Sahib...
, DhanasariDhanasariThis is an India musical raga that appears in the Sikh tradition from northern India and is part of the Guru Granth Sahib. Every raga has a strict set of rules which govern the number of notes that can be used; which notes can be used; and their interplay that has to be adhered to for the...
and Son: Maru
- Hindol: Wives: Tilang (Telangi) and Son: Basant
- Deepak: Wives: TodiTodi (raga)Todi is a Hindustani classical raga which gave its name to the Todi thaat, one of the ten modes of Hindustani classical music. Ragas from the Todi raganga include Todi itself, Bilaskhani Todi, Bahaduri Todi, and Gujari Todi....
, Gujri and Son: Kanra
- Sri Raga: Wives: Gauri, Bhairavi and sons: Sarang (Sarag), Gaund
- Megh: Wives: SorathSorathSorath is an India musical raga that appears in the Sikh tradition from northern India and is part of the Sikh holy scripture called Sri Guru Granth Sahib Every raga has a strict set of rules which govern the number of notes that can be used; which notes can be used; and their interplay that has...
, Asa, Suhi (Sooho), Malar and sons: Nut, Kedara
There is no mention of Bihagara, Wadahans, Mali-Gaura, Kalyan [37], Manjh, Jaitsri, Ramkali, Tukhari, Prabhati and Jaijawanti in Ragmala.