RAGA- RASA THEORY

The Hindu perception of art and literature may be said to rely mainly on the aesthetic conception
of rasa. The Sanskrit word rasa is derived from the root ”ras”, which means ”to taste”. At the
metaphysical level rasa describes the experience aroused by an artistic expression. As noted by
many scholars, in the parlance of art, the concept of rasa cannot be positively defined because
it is intuitively realized rather than sensibly experienced.

Bharata (200 B.C.- 200 A.D.) expounded the rasa theory in relation to the art of drama (natya),
which incorporated dance (nritya) and music (sangita) as well. His deliberations were later
applied to other fine arts including music, dance, poetry (all independent of dramatic art),
painting and sculpture.

In his monumental treatise Natyashastra, Bharata has classified rasa into eight categories to
denote as many colourings of one experience. These are amorous (shringara), humorous
(hasya), pathetic (karuna), furious (raudra), valorous (veera), horrific (bhayanak), repugnant
(bibhatsa) and wondrous (adbhuta). Later, Abhinavagupta, one of the principal commentators of
Bharata added one more to the above list, peaceful (shanta).

Association of a specific rasa (aesthetic emotion) with svara (note), jati (ancient modal pattern)
and dhruva (jati-based vocal composition) as theorized by Bharata has finally culminated into
the raga-rasa relation. Every raga is supposed to portray a specific rasa and the ability of a
performer to invoke the characteristic aesthetic atmosphere of a raga is seen as a measure of
his or her expertise as a musician.

The rasa projected through a raga depends upon various factors such as the specific notes
used, the manner of intonation, the tempo (laya) in which the raga is presented, the text of the
composition (in case of vocal music), the temperament, ability, training, gharana, and voice
quality, and other attributes of the performer. Extraneous factors such as the time, context, and
occasion of the performance as well as the temperament and mental disposition of the listeners,
also contribute to the total aesthetic experience of rasa.

Primarily, it is supposed that only five categories of rasas can be experienced through the raga
music. They are shringar, karuna, veera, hasya and shanta. Some musicians also associate
certain ragas with an ancillary rasa, such as bhakti (devotion). It is believed that the
sandhiprakash ragas project shanta and karuna rasa. On the other hand, ragas using natural re,
ga and dha are believed to enhance the emotion of shringar.

Today, for many reasons, the specificity associated with a subjective experience of raga-rasa
may seem unacceptable. However, there is no doubt that a raga has the potential to create a
unique aesthetic atmosphere leading to a blissful experience, which is said to be akin to the
“Brahmananda” or the bliss experienced upon the knowledge of the ultimate reality.
TIME THEORY OF RAGAS

The relationship of a raga with diurnal as well as seasonal time-cycle is an interesting feature,
unique to Indian music. It is believed that a raga is more effective, when performed at the
designated time. This notion is based on the premise that specific notes are more effective at
specific time of the day or night. The earliest available textual reference expounding the
raga-time (samay) association can be found in a treatise entitled Sangita Makaranda ascribed to
Narada, which dates back to 700-900 AD.

In modern times, Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860-1936) has attempted to categorize
ragas according to the time of performance. Considering two sections of the day, one from the
sunrise to sunset and the other from the sunset to sunrise, the order of raga performance in
both the sections is as follows:

First, the ragas with flat (komal) re and flat dha, followed by those including natural (shuddha) re
and dha, and finally, ragas with flat (komal) ga and ni are to be performed.

The time, just before the sunrise and just after the sunset is known as sandhiprakash. The
ragas with flat re and dha are to be performed during this period. In the morning sandhiprakash
ragas shuddha ma is used, whereas, in the evening sandhiprakash time, ragas with sharp or
tivra ma are included. Although there are some exceptions where the ragas using sharp ma are
performed during the day, majority of the ragas using tivra ma are performed at night. In this
way, madhyam serves as a prime indicator in determining the appropriate time for a particular
raga and denotes the character of the concerned raga.

Thus, ragas with flat re-dha and natural ma, such as Bhatiyar, Bhairav, Kalingada, Lalit and
Bibhas, among others will be performed in the early morning, followed by the ragas of the
Bilaval group that have a natural re and dha. This is followed by the ragas with flat ga and ni,
such as Jaunpuri, Bhairavi, Kafi, Bhimpalasi and Sarang, to name a few.

The second half of the day begins with evening sandhiprakash ragas such as Marwa, Shri and
Puriya that include flat re-dha and sharp ma, followed by ragas such as Yaman, Bihag and
Khamaj with natural re and dha and also sharp ma, and finally ragas with a flat ga and ni,
natural ma, such as Bageshri, Darbari and others.

The seasonal association of the ragas is as follows:

Ragas such as Hindol (literally, swing), Basant (literally, spring), and Bahar among others are
associated with the spring season, while raga Deepak (now almost obsolete) has been
associated with summer. Meghmalhar, Miyamalhar, Gaudmalhar, Surmalhar and the other
varieties of Malhar as well as ragas such as Desh have been associated with monsoon.
Although raga-music has undergone tremendous changes, the practice of performing ragas at
designated hours of the day/night and the seasonal associations have continued even to-date,
at least among the north Indian musicians, while their counterparts in the Carnatic tradition
seem to have given up this practice long ago.