Ragas in the Guru Granth Sahib
A raga is a complex structure of musical melody used in the Indian classical music. It is a set of rules of how to build a melody which can ignite a certain mood[1] in the reciter and listeners. The Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, is composed in and divided by 31 ragas. Each raga is a chapter or section in the Guru Granth Sahib starting with Shree raag, and all the hymns produced in Shree raag are found in this section ordered chronologically by the Guru or other Bhagat that have written hymns in that raga.
List of ragas used in the Guru Granth Sahib
The following are the ragas that are used in the Guru Granth Sahib:
No. | Name of Raga | Order in Guru Granth Sahib | Page Range | Page Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Asa ਆਸਾ |
4 | 347 to 489 | 142 |
2 | Bairari ਬੈਰਾੜੀ |
13 | 719 to 721 | 2 |
3 | Basant ਬਸੰਤੁ |
25 | 1168 to 1197 | 29 |
4 | Bhairon ਭੈਰਉ |
24 | 1125 to 1168 | 43 |
5 | Bihagara ਬਿਹਾਗੜਾ |
7 | 537 to 557 | 20 |
6 | Bilaval ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ |
16 | 795 to 859 | 64 |
7 | Devagandhari ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ |
6 | 527 to 537 | 10 |
8 | Dhanasari ਧਨਾਸਰੀ |
10 | 660 to 696 | 36 |
9 | Gauri ਗਉੜੀ |
3 | 151 to 347 | 196 |
10 | Gond ਗੋਂਡ |
17 | 859 to 876 | 17 |
11 | Gujari ਗੂਜਰੀ |
5 | 489 to 527 | 38 |
12 | Jaijaivanti ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ |
31 | 1352 to 1353 | 1 |
13 | Jaitshree ਜੈਤਸਰੀ |
11 | 696 to 711 | 15 |
14 | Kalyan ਕਲਿਆਨ |
29 | 1319 to 1327 | 8 |
15 | Kanara ਕਾਨੜਾ |
28 | 1294 to 1319 | 25 |
16 | Kedara ਕੇਦਾਰਾ |
23 | 1118 to 1125 | 7 |
17 | Maajh ਮਾਝ |
2 | 94 to 151 | 57 |
18 | Malhar ਮਲਾਰ |
27 | 1254 to 1294 | 40 |
19 | Mali Gaura ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ |
20 | 984 to 989 | 5 |
20 | Maru ਮਾਰੂ |
21 | 989 to 1107 | 118 |
21 | Nat Narayan ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ |
19 | 975 to 984 | 9 |
22 | Prabhati ਪਰਭਾਤੀ |
30 | 1327 to 1352 | 25 |
23 | Ramkali ਰਾਮਕਲੀ |
18 | 876 to 975 | 99 |
24 | Sarang ਸਾਰਗ |
26 | 1197 to 1254 | 57 |
25 | Shree ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ |
1 | 14 to 94 | 80 |
26 | Sorath ਸੋਰਠਿ |
9 | 595 to 660 | 65 |
27 | Suhi ਸੂਹੀ |
15 | 728 to 795 | 67 |
28 | Tilang ਤਿਲੰਗ |
14 | 721 to 728 | 7 |
29 | Todi ਟੋਡੀ |
12 | 711 to 719 | 8 |
30 | Tukhari ਤੁਖਾਰੀ |
22 | 1107 to 1118 | 11 |
31 | Vadahans ਵਡਹੰਸੁ |
8 | 557 to 595 | 38 |
Raga: melodic scales
Ragas have a direct relationship to human moods and the following are the connections between Ragas and feeling:
- Soohi – joy and separation
- Bilaaval – happiness
- Gaund – strangeness, surprise, beauty
- Sri – satisfaction and balance
- Maajh – loss, beautification
- Gauri – seriousness
- Aasa – making effort
- Gujri – satisfaction, softness of heart, sadness
- Devgandhari – no specific feeling but the Raag has a softness
- Bihaagra – beautification
- Sorath – motivation
- Dhanasari – inspiration, motivation
- Jaitsree – softness, satisfaction, sadness
- Todi – this being a flexible Raag it is apt for communicating many feelings
- Bhairaagi – sadness, (The Gurus have, however, used it for the message of *Bhakti)
- Tilang – this is a favourite Raag of Muslims. It denotes feeling of beautification and yearning.
- Raamkali – calmness
- Nat Narayan – happiness
- Maali Gaura – happiness
- Maaru – giving up of cowardice
- Tukhari – beautification
- Kedara – love and beautification
- Bhairav – seriousness, brings stability of mind
- Basant – happiness
- Sarang – sadness
- Malaar – separation
- Jaijawanti – viraag
- Kalyaan – Bhakti Ras
- Vadhans – vairaag, loss (that is why Alahniya is sung in this Raag when someone passes away)
- Parbhati – Bhakti and seriousness
- Kaanra – Bhakti and seriousness
In addition to raag names, there exists an indication in the titles of hymns called ghar. The precise meaning of ghar is not fully understood, although recent research proposes it refers to raag variants.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 2. Routledge. 2013. p. 935. ISBN 9781136096020.
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in Authors list (help) - ↑ See Inderjit N Kaur http://www.sikhmusicheritage.org/ghar2.pdf
External links
- Guru Granth Sahib Jee- Gurbani Index
- Information on 31 Raags in Guru Granth Sahib Jee
- Musicological Study of Sri Guru Granth Sahib
- Raag Parbandh of Sri Guru Granth Sahib
- Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Its Structure