A raga is a system used in Indian classical music to guide the creation of melodies. It is similar to a musical scale and plays a central role in this type of music. Each raga includes a set of musical patterns and rules. According to the Indian tradition, music based on a raga can influence the emotions of listeners by "coloring the mind."
A raga gives musicians a structure to follow when creating music. Musicians use the rules of the raga to arrange notes in specific ways. Some ragas, like Bahar and Sahana, are simple and resemble songs, while others, such as Malkauns, Darbari, and Yaman, allow for more complex improvisation and can be performed for over an hour. Over time, ragas may change. For example, the raga Marwa has shifted from using notes in the middle octave to those in the lower octave. Each raga is associated with specific emotions, seasons, times of day, or moods. In Indian music, ragas are used to express particular feelings to listeners. Hundreds of ragas exist in the classical tradition, but only about 30 are commonly used. Each raga has a unique and distinct melodic character.
Two main traditions of Indian classical music exist: Hindustani (from North India) and Carnatic (from South India). Both traditions use the concept of raga. Ragas are also found in Sikh music, such as in the Guru Granth Sahib, and in Sufi Islamic music, like qawwali. Some Indian film songs and ghazals use ragas in their compositions.
Every raga includes a specific note called shadja or adhara sadja, which marks the start and end of an octave. A raga also has an adhista, which is either the note Ma or Pa. This note divides the octave into two sections: purvanga (lower notes) and uttaranga (higher notes). Each raga has two important notes: vadi and samvadi. The vadi is the most important note, and musicians focus on it during improvisation. The samvadi is a note that complements the vadi and is the second most important note in the raga.
Terminology
The word rāga (Sanskrit: राग) comes from Indian languages. Its root, reg-, means "to dye" in an ancient group of languages called Indo-European. Similar words appear in Greek, Persian, Khwarezmian, and Kurdish. The words "red" and "rado" are also related. Monier Monier-Williams, a scholar, said the term comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "the act of coloring or dyeing" or "a color, hue, tint, dye." It also refers to an emotional state, such as "feeling, affection, desire, interest, joy, or delight," especially related to passion, love, or sympathy. In ancient Indian music, rāga means a harmonious note, melody, or formula used by musicians to create a specific experience for listeners.
The word rāga appears in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Principal Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. For example, verse 3.5 of the Maitri Upanishad and verse 2.2.9 of the Mundaka Upanishad use the term. The Mundaka Upanishad uses rāga to describe how the soul does not "color, dye, or stain" matter. The Maitri Upanishad uses it to describe "passion, inner quality, or psychological state." In Buddhist texts, rāga means "passion, sensuality, lust, or desire" for pleasurable experiences, as one of three impurities in character. It also appears in the sense of "color, dye, or hue."
The modern idea of rāga as a melodic format is found in the Brihaddeshi, a text written by Mataṅga Muni around the 8th or 9th century. The Brihaddeshi describes rāga as "a combination of tones that pleases people with beautiful, illuminating graces." Emmie te Nijenhuis, a professor of Indian musicology, said the Dattilam section of the Brihaddeshi has survived to modern times. Ancient music scholars mentioned in the text suggest that musical traditions were well-established by the time the text was written. Similar ideas and frameworks appear in older Hindu texts, such as the Naradiyasiksa and the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni. The Natya Shastra is estimated to have been written between 500 BCE and 500 CE, likely between 200 BCE and 200 CE.
Bharata Muni described experiments he did with the Veena, a musical instrument. He compared what he heard and noted how changing the instrument's tuning affected the sound. Bharata said certain note combinations are pleasant, while others are not. His experiments inspired later scholars to develop theories about musical notes, scales, and how they affect listeners. Bharata discussed rāgas like Bhairava, Kaushika, Hindola, Dipaka, SrI-rāga, and Megha, saying they can evoke specific emotions and "color the emotional state" of the audience. His Natya Shastra connects music to performance arts and has influenced Indian traditions.
The Naradiyasiksa, written around the 1st century BCE, discusses secular and religious music. It compares musical notes and names each note after a deity, describing them in terms of colors and parts of the body. This approach is similar to the 12th-century Guidonian hand used in European music. The study of arranging rhythms and modes (rāga) mathematically is called prastāra ("matrix"). There are about 500 rāgas and 300 rhythms used in Indian music.
In ancient Hindu texts, the technical term for the mode part of rāga was jati. Over time, jati came to mean a quantitative class of scales, while rāga became a more complex concept that included the audience's experience. The word rāga also appears in the Mahabharata with a figurative meaning of "passion, love, desire, or delight." In classical Sanskrit, it later took on a specialized meaning of "loveliness or beauty," especially of voice or song, as used by the poet Kalidasa and in the Panchatantra.
History and significance
Indian classical music has a long history and was created to help people achieve spiritual goals, such as liberation, and to provide enjoyment. The idea of sound having special power can be found in ancient texts from the Vedic period. People believed that sound could carry spiritual energy, which is why memorizing Vedic texts required careful pronunciation.
Raga, along with dance and other arts, has been important in Hindu traditions for a long time. Many Hindus see music not just as entertainment but as a way to reach spiritual goals. In this tradition, ragas are thought to exist naturally and are discovered, not created, by musicians. Music connects with people because it reflects the hidden harmony of the universe. Ancient texts, like the Sama Veda (about 1000 BCE), organize the Rigveda into musical patterns and are based on melodic themes. Hindus believed ragas were expressions of the divine, with each musical note representing a god or goddess with unique characteristics.
During the Bhakti movement in Hinduism, which began around the middle of the first millennium CE, ragas became central to spiritual music. Songs called bhajans and kirtans were created and performed in South India. A bhajan is a simple devotional song based on a raga. A kirtan is a more structured group performance, often with a call-and-response style, and may include instruments and ragas linked to Hindu gods like Shiva (Bhairav) or Krishna (Hindola).
A 13th-century Sanskrit text called Sangitaratnakara, written by Sarngadeva and supported by King Sighana of the Yadava dynasty in present-day Maharashtra, describes 253 ragas. This text is one of the most detailed historical works about ragas, explaining their structure, techniques, and purpose.
The use of ragas in spiritual music also appears in Jainism and Sikhism. In Sikhism, religious texts are sung according to specific ragas. Scholars, like Pashaura Singh, explain that Sikh Gurus chose ragas and musical rhythms from Hindu traditions and used traditional instruments to perform kirtans.
During the Islamic rule of the Indian subcontinent, especially after the 15th century, Sufi mystics developed devotional music called qawwali. This music included elements of raga and tala (rhythmic patterns).
Buddhism discouraged monks from using music for entertainment but encouraged chanting sacred hymns. Texts like the Tripitaka outline rules for monks, including avoiding dancing, singing, and worldly performances. However, Buddhism does not forbid music or dance for non-monks. Instead, it focuses on chanting rather than using ragas for musical purposes.
Description
A raga is sometimes described as a set of rules that a musician follows, but music scholars like Dorottya Fabian say this is too simple. Instead, they compare a raga to a concept in language that cannot be fully built or defined, as explained by Frederik Kortlandt and George van Driem. People who know raga can recognize and judge performances of it naturally.
European scholars began trying to understand raga during the early colonial period. In 1784, Jones called it a "mode" in Western music, but Willard corrected this in 1834 by saying a raga is both a mode and a tune. In 1933, José Luiz Martinez, a music professor, said Stern described raga as more fixed than a mode but less fixed than a melody. It is more detailed than a mode or a melody and includes special features.
Raga is a central idea in Indian music, but it has no direct equivalent in Western music. Walter Kaufmann said raga cannot be explained in one or two sentences. It is a mix of technical and creative ideas in music, similar to how words form phrases to create feelings. Some rules are required, while others are optional. A raga allows flexibility, letting musicians express the same message in different ways with varying emotional intensity.
A raga has a specific set of notes arranged in melodies with musical patterns. Bruno Nettl said musicians may use these notes but can emphasize or improvise parts of the scale. Indian tradition suggests how notes should be ordered to create a unique mood called "rasa." A raga can be written on a scale, and theoretically, thousands exist, but classical music typically uses several hundred. Most artists master about forty to fifty ragas. Raga is closely connected to "tala," which refers to how time is divided in music, with each unit called a "matra."
A raga is not a single tune, as the same raga can produce many different tunes. It is not a scale, as multiple ragas can share the same scale. Scholars like Bruno Nettl say raga is similar to a mode but lies between a tune and a scale. It is best described as a collection of melodic features that create a specific feeling in the listener. The goal of a raga is to produce "rasa," similar to how classical Indian dance evokes emotions.
Joep Bor of the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music defined raga as a "tonal framework for composition and improvisation." Nazir Jairazbhoy, a music scholar, said ragas differ based on scale, how notes rise and fall, emphasized notes, and ornaments.
"Rāginī" is the female version of a male "rāga," linked to god and goddess pairs in Hinduism. Medieval texts like the Sangita-darpana by Damodara Misra described six ragas with thirty raginis, making thirty-six total. In the Himalayan region, Mesakarna expanded this to eight raginis per raga, creating eighty-four. Later systems became too complex and are no longer used today.
The North Indian raga system is called "Hindustani," while the South Indian system is called "Carnatic." Hindustani raga is linked to specific times of day or seasons, based on the belief that human emotions are influenced by nature's rhythms. Carnatic raga focuses more on musical structure and uses less emphasis on time or seasons.
Classical Indian music through raga has both artistic and spiritual purposes. Artistic expression is found in texts like the Kamasutra, while spiritual goals are linked to "Nada-Brahman" in Yoga, which connects sound to divine energy. For example, the Hindola raga is tied to the god of love, Krishna, and is associated with the Holi festival. This symbolism also appears in temple carvings and paintings like the ragamala.
In ancient and medieval Indian texts, ragas were linked to gods and goddesses. Music was compared to religious rituals, with specific note patterns representing sacrifices.
During the Middle Ages, scholars connected ragas to seasons and times of day. Nanyadeva, for example, said Hindola is best in spring, while Sarngadeva linked ragas to parts of the day, such as simple ragas in the early morning and complex ones at night.
In the Yoga Sutras, "rāga" is defined as a desire for pleasure from past experiences. This desire is tied to memory and ego, which can influence the mind even when not consciously remembered.
Mathematical studies of South Indian ragas began in the 16th century and continue today as an active area of music research.
Notations
Notes are an important part of raga practice, but they alone do not define a raga. A raga is more than just a scale, and many ragas share the same scale. The basic scale may have four, five, six, or seven tones, called svaras. The concept of svaras is found in the ancient Natya Shastra, in Chapter 28. This text refers to the smallest unit of tonal measurement as Śruti. Verse 28.21 describes the musical scale as follows:
— Natya Shastra, 28.21
These seven degrees of the scale are used in both the North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) raga systems. The solfege system (sargam) is taught in a shortened form: sa, ri (Carnatic) or re (Hindustani), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa. Of these, the first note, "sa," and the fifth note, "pa," are considered fixed and unchangeable. The other notes have variations that differ between the two systems.
According to the Natyashastra, music theory focuses on three themes: sound, rhythm, and prosody in musical texts. The text states that an octave contains 22 srutis, or very small intervals of musical tones, totaling 1,200 cents. The ancient Greek system is similar, as noted by Emmie te Nijenhuis. Each sruti in the Indian system measures 54.5 cents, while the Greek enharmonic quarter-tone system measures 55 cents. The text discusses gramas (scales) and murchanas (modes), mentioning three scales with seven modes (21 total). Some Greek modes are similar to these. However, the Gandhara-grama is only briefly mentioned in the Natyashastra, while the text focuses more on two scales, fourteen modes, and eight four-tanas (notes). It also explains which scales are best suited for different types of performances.
These musical elements are organized into scales called mela. The South Indian raga system uses 72 scales, first described in Caturdandi Prakashika. These scales are divided into two groups, purvanga and uttaranga, based on the lower tetrachord. The anga itself has six cycles (cakra), where the purvanga (lower tetrachord) is fixed, while the uttaranga has six variations for the artist to choose from. After this system was developed, Indian classical music scholars created additional ragas for all the scales. The North Indian style is closer to Western diatonic modes and was developed by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande using ten Thaat: Kalyan, Bilaval, Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari, Bhairavi, Bhairav, Purvi, Marva, and Todi. Some ragas are shared between the two systems and have the same names, such as Kalyan. Others have different names but are the same, like Malkos in Hindustani and Hindolam in Carnatic. However, some ragas have the same names in both systems but are different, such as Todi.
Recently, a 32-Thaat system was introduced in a book called Nai Vaigyanik Paddhati to improve the classification of North Indian-style ragas.
Ragas with four svaras are called surtara (tetratonic) ragas. Those with five svaras are called audava (pentatonic) ragas. Those with six svaras are called shādava (hexatonic) ragas. Those with seven svaras are called sampurna (heptatonic) ragas. The number of svaras may differ in the ascending and descending parts of a raga. For example, the Bhimpalasi raga has five notes in the ascending scale and seven in the descending scale. The Khamaj raga has six notes in the ascending scale and seven in the descending scale. Ragas also differ in how they move up and down the scale. Ragas that do not follow a strict ascending or descending order of svaras are called vakra (crooked) ragas.
Carnatic raga
In Carnatic music, the main ragas are called Melakarthas, which means "lord of the scale." They are also called Asraya ragas, meaning "shelter-giving ragas," or Janaka ragas, meaning "father ragas."
In the South Indian tradition, groups of related ragas are called Janya ragas or Asrita ragas. These terms are temporary labels used during learning, as the relationships between ragas are not always fixed or clearly parent-child.
Janaka ragas are organized using a system called the Katapayadi sutra and are classified as Melakarta ragas. A Melakarta raga includes all seven musical notes in both the ārōhanam (ascending scale) and avarōhanam (descending scale). Examples of Melakarta ragas include Harikambhoji, Kalyani, Kharaharapriya, Mayamalavagowla, Sankarabharanam, and Hanumatodi. Janya ragas are created by using some or all of the swarams (musical notes) from a parent Janaka raga. Examples of Janya ragas include Abheri, Abhogi, Bhairavi, Hindolam, Mohanam, and Kambhoji.
In the 21st century, some composers have created new ragas. Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna developed ragas with only three or four notes, such as Mahathi, Lavangi, Sidhdhi, and Sumukham.
A list of Janaka ragas includes Kanakangi, Ratnangi, Ganamurthi, Vanaspathi, Manavathi, Thanarupi, Senavathi, Hanumatodi, Dhenuka, Natakapriya, Kokilapriya, Rupavati, Gayakapriya, Vakulabharanam, Mayamalavagowla, Chakravakam, Suryakantam, Hatakambari, Jhankaradhvani, Natabhairavi, Keeravani, Kharaharapriya, Gourimanohari, Varunapriya, Mararanjani, Charukesi, Sarasangi, Harikambhoji, Sankarabharanam, Naganandini, Yagapriya, Ragavardhini, Gangeyabhushani, Vagadheeswari, Shulini, Chalanata, Salagam, Jalarnavam, Jhalavarali, Navaneetam, and Pavani.
Training
Classical music has been passed down through music schools or through the Guru-Shishya parampara, which is a teacher-student tradition that uses spoken and practiced methods. Some traditions are called gharanas, and their performances are held by sabhas, which are music organizations. Each gharana has changed over time in different ways, and the differences in how each raga is performed can be noticed. In the Indian musical schooling tradition, a small group of students lived close to or with their teacher. The teacher treated them like family members, giving them food and a place to stay. Students learned many parts of music, which helped continue the musical knowledge from their guru. This tradition still exists in some parts of India, and many musicians can trace their lineage back to their guru.
Persianrâk
The music idea of râk or rang, which means 'color' in Persian, might be a way of saying rāga. According to Hormoz Farhat, it is not clear how this term came to be used in Persia, as it does not have a meaning in modern Persian and the concept of rāga is not known in Persia.