Rag-Raaginis Article

THE RAGA-RAGINI CLASSIFICATION

The raga-ragini system makes for an interesting study. Because the ragas in Indian music have been given a sacred, demi-God status, it is only natural that they were classified into 'human-like' groups and assigned familial relationships with each other.

The raga-ragini system of raga classification occurred between the 16th and 19th Centuries and preceded the modern classification of ragas, as it exists today.

The raga-ragini system tries to draw a parallel between the dynamic and the static ' the Prakruti and the Purusha. Further, the raga-ragini system also illustrates the fluctuation in human behavior and responses to situations. It is related to the various mood changes in a person, with apt ragas to portray these emotions.

It is the classification of ragas on the raga-ragini basis, that gave rise to the close link between poetry, art and music, as mentioned before. Various nayaka-nayika (man-woman) relationships and emotions were depicted with poetry, painting and music.

Again, Hindustani music relies more heavily on the raga-ragini system. Carnatic music merely acknowledges the existence of this theory.

The raga-ragini (male-female raga) classification can be traced right since the time of the treatise, 'Ragatarangini', written by Lochana Kavi. This book discusses in detail several songs of the Maithila dialect of the Hindi language. These songs were set to many ragas and raginis prevalent during that time. In his book, Lochana Kavi has dealt with both regional and local ragas and raginis of Mithila during that time.

The raga-ragini classification of ragas is created with the following principle:

There are 6 principal male ragas, namely Bhairav, Malkauns, Hindol, Deepak, Shri and Megh ragas.

These ragas have five wives or raginis each and these raga-ragini 'couples' also have 8 children or raga putras each. This gives us a total of 84 ragas.

Mentioned below is a detailed list of the ragas, raginis and their children:

RAGA BHAIRAV

raga ' Bhairav
Raag Bhairav is known to be the first raga, that emanated from Siva himself. A simple and common raga, this is seldom heard in concerts today, as it is deemed as a morning raga.
raginis ' Bhairavi, Punyaki, Bilawali, Aslekhi, Bangli
putra ragas ' Harakh, Pancham, Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilawal

SHIVA'S TANDAVA

raga ' Malkauns
Malkauns is one very beautiful raga, derived from the Bhairavi Thaat. This raga is said to have been created from Siva's Taandav (cosmic dance), so it has a vigour and energy about it.
raginis - Gaundkari, Gandhari, Seehute, Devagandhari, Dhanasri
putra ragas - Mustang, Maru, Mewara, Khokhat, Parbal, Chand, Bhora, Nad

RAGA HINDOL

raga ' Hindol
This raga depicts love and personifies kaama or love and the beauty that is Krishna. A simple raga to sing, it is also very pleasing to the ears.
raginis - Telangi, Devkari, Basanti, Sindhoori, Aheeri
putra ragas - Surmanand, Bhasker, Chandra-Bimb, Mangalan, Ban, Binoda, Basant, Kamoda

RAGA DEEPAK

raga ' Deepak
Tansen, one of the 'navaratnas' in Emperor Akbar's court, is said to have lighted lamps with this strong, vibrant raga.
raginis - Kachheli, Patmanjari, Todi, Kamodi, Gujri
putra ragas - Kaalanka, Rama, Kuntal, Kamal, Kusum, Gaura, Champak, Kanra

raga ' Shri
This is a very old raga, taken from the Poorvi Thaat. As the name suggests, it is also a very auspicious raga.
raginis - Bhairavi, Gauri, Karnati, Sindhavi Asavari
putra ragas - Salu, Sagra, Sarag, Gund, Gaund, Kumbh, Hamir, Gambhir

RAGA MEGHA

raga ' Megh
As the name of the raga suggests, it lets us envision monsoon in all its primitive force and lets us conjure up images of thick clouds, thunder and lightning.
raginis - Sorath, Asa, Gaundi-Malari, Gunguni, Sooho
putra ragas - Biradhar, Kedara, Gajdhar, Jablidhar, Jaldhara, Nut, Sankar, Syama

This system of raga-ragini classification was also accepted and upheld by the Tansen school of thought.

The raga-ragini classification had not accepted very easily by scholars at that time. Many musicologists argued that this basis for classification of ragas was merely imaginary and nothing to do with the actual ragas.

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