8 Rāga and Tāla

Let us recall

Svara

Let us revisit some of the basic building blocks of melody in classical music.

• There are 7 notes (svaras) of music.
• S and P are the invariant notes known as achala-svara/ prakṛiti-svara.
• The remaining 5 notes (R G M D N) have higher and lower variants and known as chala-svaras/vikṛiti-svaras.
• So, the total number of notes (svara-sthānas) comprise 2 prakṛiti-svaras or achala-svaras (S and P), and 2 variants of the remaining 5 notes (R G M D N), bringing the total number of note positions to 12.

In a keyboard or a harmonium, you can see the arrangement of notes in an octave, and how the same note positions repeat, across different octaves.

Fig. 8.1. The arrangement of svaras and octaves on a keyboard

It is important to know that the 7 notes and 12 note positions are the same in both Hindustani and Carnatic Music, but the variants are known by different names.

Table 8.1. Svara-sthānās in Hindustani and Carnatic Music

Svar	Name	Note Position	Variant Names (Hindustani)	Variant Names (Carnatic)
S	Shadja		No variant	No variant
R	Rishabha	Lower Higher	Komala Shuddha	Shuddha Chatuḥśhruti
G	Gāndhāra	Lower Higher	Komala Shuddha	Sādhāraṇa Antara
M	Madhyama	Lower Higher	Shuddha Tīvra	Shuddha Prati
P	Pañchama		No variant	No variant
D	Dhaivata	Lower Higher	Komala Shuddha	Shuddha Chatuḥśhruti
N	Nishāda	Lower Higher	Komala Shuddha	Kaiśhikī Kākali

Do you know?

The 7 notes and 12 note positions are found in most music systems around the world!

Rāga

A rāga is a melodic framework in Indian Classical Music and comprises a set of notes. The rāga system is one of the reasons why Indian Classical Music is one of the most sophisticated, complex, and scientific music systems in the world. So, how do we group and classify these hundreds of rāgas? Just like you would have studied the classification of plants and animals into different groups and families, rāgas are also classified and grouped according to their characteristics so that we can understand them better.

Fig. 8.2. Students performing Carnatic Classical Music (Kala Utsav 2025)

Classification based on number of svaras

In both Hindustani and Carnatic traditions, one way of classifying rāgas is based on how many notes are used in the arohana (ascending scale) and avarohaņa (descending scale).

In Hindustani Music, this classification of rāgas based on the number of notes in the scale is called the Rāga-jāti.

Table 8.2. Rāga-jāti and Examples

No. of Svaras	Name	Example in Hindustani	Example in Carnatic
7	Saṁpūrṇa	Alhaiyā Bilāval, Yaman	Śhaṅkaraṁbharaṇaṁ
6	Śhāḍava	Gurjarī Todī	Śhrīraṁjjanī
5	Auḍava	Bhūpālī	Haṁsadhvani

Rāgas can also have different numbers of notes in the aroha/ārohaņa and avaroha/avarohaņa.

Rāga-jātis Sampūrņa - Sampūrņa | Sampūrņa - Şhādava | Sampūrņa - Audava | Şhādava - Sampūrṇa | Şhādava - Audava | Şhādava - Shādava | Audava - Sampūrņa | Audava - Audava | Audava - Şhādava

Classification based on the svara-sthānas

Rāgas in both Carnatic and Hindustani Music have also been traditionally classified into various families, based on their note positions (svara-sthānas). In this case, the systems of classification in Carnatic and Hindustani Music are different. Let us look at each one below.

Carnatic 72 Melakartā System

The 72 melakartās form the basic scale system of Carnatic Music. Each melakartā rāga uses all seven svaras in both the arohaņa (ascending) and avarohaņa (descending) order. In all, 72 different scales are created by systematically combining the lower and higher variants of the svaras R, G, M, D, and N.

Do you know?

The system of mathematically deriving 72 melakartā scales based on the permutation and combination of svara-sthānas was established by Venkatamakhi in his treatise Chaturdandi-Prakāśhikā, which was published in the eighteenth century.

Janaka Janya Rāgas

These 72 melakartās can also be referred to as Janaka (parent) rāgas. Many janya rāgas are derived from each janaka by eliminating notes or changing the order of the notes. For example, the Melakartā/janaka Rāga Śhańkarābharaņam has the scale:

In Rāga Hamsadhvani, the M and D svaras are removed from Śhankarābharaņam to give rise to a 5 note (audava) scale

Hindustani Thāt System

The that system is a method used to group rāgas based on the notes that are used in the raga. A that is a musical scale consisting of 7 svaras (SRGMPDN) arranged in order. Each of the notes - RGMD, and N have two variants. Based on different combinations of these variants, there are 10 different thāts, and all rāgas belong to one of these 10 thāts.

Eg: The Kalyān Thāt has the scale: SRGM'PDNS

Do you know?

The that system was developed by musicologist Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande in the early twentieth century to make the study of rāgas easier and more structured.

Two rāgas belonging to the Kalyān Thāt are:

1. Yaman

N R G M D N S S N D P M G R S

2. Shuddha Kalyān

S R G P D S S N D P M G R S

Compositions

Let's look at compositions in both Carnatic and Hindustani Music. In both systems, we will deal with a similar rāga - Śhankarābharaņam in Carnatic and Alhaiyā Bilāval in Hindustani.

Carnatic Music — Rāga Śhaṅkarābharaṇam

Feature	Details
Melakarta Number	29
Classification (Jāti)	Saṃpūrṇa
Western Equivalent	Major Scale
Ārohaṇam (Ascent)	S R₂ G₃ M₁ P D₂ N₃ Ś
Avaroḥaṇam (Descent)	Ś N₃ D₂ P M₁ G₃ R₂ S
Famous Composition	‘Enduku Peddala’ by Tyāgarāja
Significance	One of the first rāgas students learn due to the simplicity of its scale

Let's learn two compositions that are in janya rāgas of Śhańkarābharaņam.

Jatisvaram

It is a Carnatic Music composition that has svaras (musical notes) and optionally rhythmic syllables (jatis) to create a lively musical piece. It generally has no lyrics or sāhitya.

Rāga: Kaņņadā

Tāla: Ādi

Composer: Veena Padmanābhayya

Pallavi

Chitte-svara

Svarajati

It is a Carnatic Music composition that combines simple lyrics (sāhitya) with musical notes (svaras) and optionally, rhythmic patterns (jati).

Rāga: Hamsadhvani Tāla: Adi

Fig. 8.4. Kala Utsav participants playing the sitar and tabla

Hindustani Music — Rāga Alhaiyā Bilāval

Bandish

Tāla: Teen Tāla Kramik Pustak Malika - Bhāg 2

Sthāyī: Tù Hī Ādhār Sakala Tribhuvana Ko Pālaka Sacharāchar Bhūtan Ko Tū Hĩ Vişhņu Tū Nārāyaņa Kāraņa Tū Parabrahma Jagat Ko

Lakshaņa-Gīta

Tāla: Teen Tāla (Madhya Laya) Kramik Pustak Malika - Bhāg 2

Sthāyī: Taba Kahata Bilāval Bheda Chatura Jaba Mela Milāvata Śhuddha Surana Ko Prātaḥ Samaya Nit Prathama Prahara Dhaivata Vādī Gā Samvādī Aşhța Bheda Saba Gaye Madhura

Tāla

It is the rhythmic cycle in Indian Classical Music that organises beats into a repeating pattern. Let us revisit the basic tālas in Hindustani and Carnatic Music.

Tālas of Hindustani Music

Tālas of Carnatic Music

Carnatic Music also has several tālas, of which two most popular are Ādi Tāla and Rūpaka Tāla. Let us revise counting the tāla with our fingers as shown below:

Activity 8.4

Through this activity, we observe how tāla can provide structure and definition to a song, and indeed this is one of the factors that differentiate prose (which you will find in a story) from song lyrics.