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CHAPTER II
RELATED LITERATURE
CHAPTER II
RELATED LITERATURE
All the medieval and modern ragas are evolved from the basic
scales - the melakartas or thaats. Venkatamakhi has devised 72
melakartas. Based on those melakarta ragas, numerous ragas were
evolved which enriched South Indian Music. In general, ragas are
divided into two: Janaka raga and Janya raga. Janaka ragas are also
known by the other names, such as Mela, kartharaga, Melakarta and
Sampurna raga. Janya raga means a raga that is born out of another
raga or derived from another raga. Each Janaka raga have a few Janya
ragas. The Janya raga generally takes the same swarasthanas as those
of the Janaka raga.
a . Janya raga classification with special reference to
Mohana
The Janya ragas are considered to be innumerable. The probable
number of Janya ragas that could be generated from Janaka ragas is
approximately more than 34,000. But many of them are almost same,
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considering the concept of srutibheda or grahabhedam. More over many
of them are non-identifiable or non-practical. They have only
theoritical existence as far as performing music is concerned. They
are also known as derivative ragas. Generally a Janya raga inbibes the
characteric phrases of its Janaka raga. In the case of some Janya ragas
the phrases used deviates from the original swara phrase combinations.
Janya ragas are classified into Varja, Vakra, Bhashanga, Upanga and
Janya sampurna.
Varja Ragas
The Janya ragas in which one, two or three notes are absent either
in the arohana, avarohana or both are called Varja ragas. The omitted
swaras are called Varja swaras. If one note is absent, it is called shadava
and if two notes are absent it is called Audava. If three notes are absent
they are called Swarantara ragas. In these three varieties Shadava and
Audava are common. They are of eight kinds.
1.
Shadava
-
Sampurna
2.
Audava
-
Sampurna
3.
Sampurna -
Shadava
4.
Sampurna -
Audava
5.
Shadava
Shadava
-
12
6.
Shadava
-
Audava
7.
Audava
-
Audava
8.
Audava
-
Shadava
Examples 1.
Shadava - Sampurna - Kamboji - Janya of 28 th mela
Harikamboji
Arohana -
2.
s
r
g
p
d
.
s
.
s
n
d
m
g
r
s
Audava - Sampurna - Bilahari - Janya of 29 th mela
Sankarabharanam
Arohana -
3.
s
.
s
r
g
p
d
.
s
n
d
p
m
g
r
s
Sampurna - Shadava - Nilambari - Janya of 29 th mela
Sankarabharanam
Arohana -
4.
s
.
s
r
g
m
p
d
.
p n s
n
p
m
g
r
g
s
Sampurna - Audava - Saramati - Janya of 20 th mela
Natabhairavi
Arohana -
s
r
g
m
p
d
.
s
n
d
m
g
s
n
.
s
13
5.
Shadava - Shadava - Malayamarutham - Janya of 16th mela
Chakravakam
Arohana -
6.
s
r
g
p
d
n
.
s
.
s
n
d
p
g
r
s
Shadava - Audava - Bahudari - Janya of 28 th mela
Harikamboji
Arohana -
7.
s
g
m
p
d
n
.
s
n
p
m
g
s
.
s
Audava - Shadava - Malahari - Janya of 15 th mela
Mayamalavagaula
Arohana -
8.
s
r
m
p
d
.
s
.
s
d
p
m
g
r
s
Audava - Audava - Mohanam - Janya of 28 th mela
Harikamboji
Arohana -
s
r
g
p
d
.
s
.
s
d
p
g
r
s
A minimum number of notes are essential for a Janya raga. If
there are atleast five notes in a raga, taking together the arohana
avarohana of a raga, the raga will have a distinct swarupa. Ragas where
14
three notes are absent, both in arohana and avarohana are very rare.
Even then the raga Navarasakannada (Janya of 28 th mela) with arohana
avarohana as
.
.
s g m p s - s n d m g r s taking swarantara
arohana and shadava avarohana is very popular.
Vakra ragas
Ragas in which the swaras do not occur in the regular order in the
arohana, avarohana or both are called Vakra ragas. The Vakra ragas
may be Sampurna, Shadava, Audava, Upanga or Bhashanga.
Upanga and Bhashanga ragas
Upanga ragas are taking only the notes of their parent ragas and
exhibiting the qualities of a single raga without the admixture of any
other raga. Example - Mohana, Malahari, Arabhi etc. Upanga ragas
may be varja or vakra.
The Janyaragas which are taking one, two or three extra notes in
addition to the notes taken from its parent scale producing magnificent
effect are called Bhashanga ragas. In such ragas the variety of notes
belonging to the parent scale are called "Svakiya Swaras' and the extra
notes are called "Foreign notes' or "Anya Swara'. These anyaswaras
usually occur in certain sancharas or phrases of the raga.
15
Nishadantya, Dhaivatantya and Panchamatya ragas
There are a few ragas which do not go beyond the limits of
madhyasthayi and do not touch the tharastayi shadja as usual. Such
ragas are of three kinds - Nishadantya, Dhaivatantya and Panchamantya
ragas.
Janya Sampurna ragas
This is another type of janya ragas with sampurna arohana and
avarohana. But the peculiarity of this arohana - avarohana is that it
can be vakra or bhashanga in character. These types of ragas are called
Janya Sampurna ragas. These are the main classification of Janya
ragas.
Among these classifications the raga Mohana comes under the
Varja category. ie. two swaras omit from its melakarta raga. It is called
Audava. In this audava group Mohana is an audava - audava raga.
Mohana is derived from 28 th melakarta Harikamboji. The notes "ma'
and "ni' are omitted in the arohana and avarohana. Thus Mohana
became a regular audava audava raga.
b . Ragalakshana of Mohana
Arohana -
s
r
g
p
d
.
s
.
s
d
p
g
r
s
16
Besides shadja panchama the variety of notes are chatusruti "ri',
antara "ga' and chatusruti "da'. This is an upanga raga. There is no
anyaswara prayoga in this raga. It is a krama audava raga. All the
notes are swakiya swaras ie, the variety of the parental notes itself.
"Ri', "ga' and "dha' are the raga chayaswaras and "ga' and "pa' are
the nyasaswaras. The swarupa of the raga is brought out by jantaswara
.
.
prayogas like s s d d p p g g - d d p p g g r r and
. . . . .
. . . .
datuswara prayogas like d g r g s r, d r s r s d p g . It is a
sarvaswara gamaka varika raktiraga. One of the major ragas gives
scope for elaborate °l°pana. It is one of the prominent ragas in which
all types of compositions are found. It can be sung at all times. This
raga figures in opera and dance dramas. It is very useful for signing
varnanas and descriptions. Being an auspicious raga, it is very suitable
for singing Mangalams. A tristayi raga is capable of evoking more
than one rasa. The notes of this raga are the first ones to be derived by
the shadja panchama bhava or cycle of fifths. Usually the compositions
in this raga commence on the notes "sa', "ga' and "pa'. This is a
sarvaswara murchanakaraka janyaraga.
c . Mohana as a murchanakaraka janya raga
In Indian music various scales are derived by the process of model
shift of tonic also known as Grahabhedam, Sruthibhedam and
17
Grahaswarabhedam. In this process the tonic note or the adhara
shadjam is shifted from note to note (keeping the intervals of the
original scale constant) in order to obtain new scales. This process
can be applied easily in this raga Mohana as well as any other
murchanakaraka mela raga. Therefore Mohana is known as a
murchanakaraka janyaraga. In Mohana all its swaras (Ri, Ga, Pa,
Da) yield other ragas through this process. A small formula helps us
to remember the various ragas resulting from Mohana. The formula is
- Mohana - Madhya - Hindola - Suddho - Udayaravichandrika.
According to this Mohana's Rishabha taken as shadja we will get
another audava raga Madhyamavati. Gandhara of Mohana taking as
shadja will result in Hindolam. By taking panchama as shadja it results
in Suddhasaveri, Suddhadhanyasi or Udayaravichandrika is broughtout
by taking Dhaivata as shadja. In this process when we apply a varjaraga,
will yield the same. The chart based on the model shift of tonic is
given below:
18
MOHANA - MADHYA - HINDOLA - SUDDHO - UDAYARAVICHANDRIKA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Shadjam
Suddha
Ri.
Chatus
Ri.
Sadha
Ga
Antara
Ga.
Suddha
Ma.
Prai
Ma.
Panch
amam
Suddh
Dha.
Chatus
Dha.
Kaisiki
Ni.
Kakali
Ni.
Shadjam
Suddha
Ri.
Chatus
Ri.
Sadha
Ga
Antara
Ga.
Suddha
Ma.
Prai
Ma.
Panch
amam
Suddh
Dha.
Chatus
Dha.
Kaisiki
Ni.
Kakali
Ni.
«
«
«
«
«
«
Rishabham
£
Shadjam
l
Chatus
Ri.
l
Sad
dha
Ma.
l
Pan
cha
mam
l
Kaisi
ki
Ni.
£
Shadjam
l
Sadha
Ga.
l
Sad
dha
Ma.
l
Suddha
Dha.
l
Kaisi
ki
Ni.
£
Shad
jam
l
Cha
tus
Ri
l
Suddha
Ma.
l
Pacnha
mam
l
Chatus
Dha.
l
Shad
jam
l
Sa
dha
Ga.
l
Suddha
Ma.
l
Panchamam
Gandharam
Panchamam
Dhaivatam
«
«
«
«
Mohanam
Madhyanavati
Hindolam
Suddhasaveri
l
Kai
siki
Ni.
Udayaravi Chandrika
Chelladurai P.T. (Dr), The Splendur of South Indian Music, Vaigarai Publishers, Dindigul - 624 004, Tamilnadu, South India, Page No. 285, 2000.
19
d . Identity of Mohanam in Universal Music
The raga Mohana though scientifically defined as an audava
janyaraga has a status equivalent to - or more than that of janaka ragas.
It was widely used even before the modern classification of ragas which
came into existence. The references from Chilappathikaram proves
that Mohana was widely used during the period as early as the 2 nd
century A.D.
The phrases of the raga was used right from the time of or even
before the present system of raga classification which came into
existence. Mohana or scale which have exact resemblance to it was
used all over the world from ancient times. It also shows resemblance
to the phrases used in folk tribal and other such primitive music. The
research work done by Dr. S.A.K. Durga brings out the universal appeal
of the raga Mohana. Her findings can be consolidated as:
Dr. S.A.K. Durga systematically compares the scale of Mohana with
respect to the notes of the keyboard. According to her, the pentatonic scale Mohana, of karnatic music could be defined as follows. She also presents an
analytical study of the nature of the scale. She also states the reason for the use
of Mohana in almost all the cultures of the world and defines it as a universal
scale. Her view points about Mohana is briefed below.
20
The consonant intervalic structure of the scale Mohana makes it use
frequently in various cultures of the world. In carnatic music great composers
have used the raga in various melodic patterns.
The musical compositions of the following forms geetham, varnam,
keerthanam, kriti, padam, javali, tillana, daru and even mangalam are composed
by eminent musicians including trinities.
Dr. Durga briefly presents the use of the raga in other cultures. She also
gives a minute analysis of the use of the phrases and notes while mohana scale
is played or sung as follows:
""The music of East Asia and South Asia profusely use the pentatonic
scale Mohana and other scales that derive from shifting the tonic on other four
notes, ri, ga, pa and da of this scale. The scales are presented as different
types of melodic patterns and ornamentation on the notes, which gives forth
the identity of every music culture. There would be no ""portamento'' or jaru
gamaka and oscillation of the note in medium tempo touching the anuswara or
kampita gamaka, which is found in the carnatic music compositions, set in the
Mohana scale. In other music cultures of Asia, the notes in the scale are
performed as plain notes and sometimes with vibrate, the ornamentation of
the notes are usually ""pdp, dsd, srs'' in the South East Asian Music cultures.
The range of this Mode or Raga is also limited to one octave or one octave
and three notes at the most unlike one finds the range of the mode or Raga
Mohana in low, middle and upper octaves. For example, this pentatonic scale
21
in China, Japan, Korex, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia where the scale is
used in classical music traditions can be analysed'' l.
Dr. Durga states that the basic scale of Chinese music is ""wu sheng''
which is exactly the scale Mohana of carnatic music. ì ""Wu sheng''îas detailed
by Durga isìThe basic scale of China is the pentatonic scale ""Wu sheng''
which is the scale of Mohana. The Chinese tonal system is emerged as cyclic
system. The Chinese scale ""Wu Sheng'' merged from a cycle of tones is
generated by blowing across the tops of a set of bamboo tubes closed at one
end whose lengths were arranged in set mathematical proportions. The
acoustical basis for the method is the principle of overblown fifth. The Chinese
arrived at 12 Lu's or pitches. The first five notes of the 12 Lu's became the
basic pentatonic scale, which is called ""Wu Sheng''. This scale is equivalent
to the scale of Mohana. Interestingly, in ancient Tamil music system, the
Mohana scale, which is called as Mullaitheempani is emerged from the cyclic
system through the over blown fifth of the Bamboo flute.î
Japanese and Koreans also followed the same system of 12 Lu's in
resembling the scale of Mohana. Koreans also followed the same pattern 12
Lu's and the scale corresponding to Mohana is called ""Akshi - Jo''.
1. Durga S.A.K (Dr), The Journal of Madras Academy, Vol. LXXI, 2000.
22
The South East Asian countries Thailand, Indonasia and Malaysia used
the scale of Mohana profusely. The Thailand music has the influence of Indian
music because they have adopted the Ramayana the Indian myth.
Malaysian music is also influenced by the raga Mohana through the
adaptation of the myth of Ramayana.
In Indonesian music the scale similar to the scale of Mohana is slendaro
patet Nem.
Comparing the ideas of Dr. Durga of the use of the raga Mohana in various
cultures and influence of the development of this raga and the most premitive
instrument the Flute it could be concluded that all the theatre forms are
influenced by the myth and culture. The culture aspect connects the music of
the common man which is easily accessible pentatonic scale Mohana with the
theatre music. The folk theatre form reflects the cultural aspects.
An analysis of the pedagogy of western keyboard lessons reveal that, the
scale used for familiarising music students with pentatonic scale in the
beginning stages is Mohana. The ""melody book 2'' popularly used in western
music also reveal that the scale of Mohana was popularly used in keyboard
practice sessions. The pentatonic scale used for beginners has been illustrated
as shown below:
23
L H
5
4
3
2
1
The black keys in the diagram represents the notes of Mohana treating
F # as shadja. This means the raga is the most primitive one prior and post to
the introduction of the presently universally accepted piano keyboard.
The evolution of flute the most primitve natural instrument also
proves that the raga Mohana was popularly used by the shepherds. The
first flute had only two holes. The next one having three used for veda
swaras. The sophisticated pattern of flute used for performances prior
to those used now, had only five holes. This proves that pentatonic
scales mainly Mohana was popularly used. The raga can be played
fluently with ease in flute. This is because the fingers which have
spontaneous kinsthetic movement are only necessary or popularly used
while playing Mohana in the primitive as well as the sophisticated
present days' flute. Many folk songs also have an accent of this raga.
Lord Krishna is associated with this raga. References also state that
Krishna used this raga to mend cattle.
24
In Hindustani System
Mohana is corresponding to raga Bhoop or Bhoopali of Khamaj
Thaat in Hindustani system. But the raga Deshkar of Bilawal Thaat
and Jait kalyan of Kalyan Thaat also have the same aroha - avaroha as
that of Mohana. Both are audava - audava ragas and their scales as
follows.
Deshkar
-
SRGPDS
SDPGRS
Jait kalyan -
SRGPDS
SDPGRS
This is same as that of Mohanam.
e . Mohana in different works
Mohana in Chilappathikaram
Dr. S. Ramanathan makes an assimilable analysis of
Adiyarkkunallar's commentary of the systematic presentation of ragas
and their structure depicted in Chilappathikaram. In Chilappathikaram
the ragas are presented with respect to a systematic dance from "kuravas'
in which seven shephered girls dance in a cirlce; the position of the
girls in the cirlce denote the seven notes. At the same time the circle is
devided into 12, each segment deciding each of the signs of the zodiac.
Thus the 12 segments denotes the seven major tones and five semitones.
Adiyarkkunallar describes the structure of ragas in Chilappathikaram
by describing the zodiac as "vattappaalai'. "Vattam' means circle (the
25
zodiac) and "paalai' means a musical scale of seven notes (kural - sa,
tuttam - ri, kaikkilai - ga, uzhoi - ma, ili - pa, vilari - da, taaram - ni).
From Vattappaalai consists the four major pans (ragas) are arised
paalaiyazh, kurinchiyazh, marutayazh and chevvayazhi. Of this
paalaiyazh is same as Harikamboji. Chilappathikaram paalai is a scale
having seven notes. But it also predicts of puns or ragas having five or
six notes. The raga Mohana is reffered to as Mullaippun in
Adiyarkkunallar's commentary on Chilappathikaram as narrated by
Dr. S. Ramanadhan. When the seven girls forming the circle begin to
perform the kuravai dance, the girl standing as kural addresses tuttam
standing next to her, ""Let us sing the praise of Maayavan in the sweet
mullaipun''. Tuttam initiates the dance and Vilari sings the kuravai
songs.
The singer sings the kural note low, ili in the middle register tuttan
high and vilari low. Then she sings for her friend tuttam standing as
her favourite note.
From the verse, we know that mullaippun has the notes kural
tuttam, ili, and vilari. That is a Tiram (five tone mode) is clear from a
verse in Ceckkizhaar's Tiruttondar puranam.
Dr. S. Ramanathan in his narration about Chilappathikaram
elaborating the structure of puns (ragas) specifically presents the
structure of Mohana on ""It says that mullaippun was first played on
the "kuzhal' flute and adding the raised taaram and uzhai to it,
kootippalai was played. So the notes omitted in Mullaippun are taaram
26
and uzhai. The remaining five notes are learned tuttam, kaikilai, ili
and vilari.
In terms of current nomenclature, the notes of mullaippun are
shadja, chatusruthi rishabha, antara gandhara, panchama and chatusruti
dhaivata. The corresponding raga is Mohana.
Incidently, the verse mentioned above also proves that the raga
which corresponds to kottippalai is sankarabharana. If kakali nishada
(raised taaram) and "uzhai' (suddha madhyama) are added to the notes
of Mohana, the raga becomes Sankarabharana. It may be noted that
the names of the puns mullaippun, paalaiyah, kurinchiyazh,
maruthayazh were named after the five fold divisions of the ancient
Tamil land viz.
mullai
-
forest region
paalai
-
desert
kurinchi
-
mountanious region
marutam
-
cultivated land
neytal
-
sea-shore l
The cowherd women belonged to the mullai region and were
dancing and singing in praise of Mayavan, the God of the mullai land,
but it is fitting that they sing the mullaippun pertaining to their land.
1. Ramanathan. S (Dr), Rtd Principal, Music in Cilappatikaram, Sree Satguru Sangeetha
vidyalayam, College of Music, Madurai, Page No. 37.
27
Here the influence of culture in the music of a society is evidently
confirmed and it also proves that music is evolved from work, culture
and that also before the sampurna ragas came into existence; the
pentatonic scales existed.
The raga Mohana in ancient culture ""The Chilappathikaram'' is
very much linked with the nomadic population consisting mainly of
shepherds who frequently used the most primitive musical instrument
- the Flute. Mohana is played in kuzhal or flute. This shows how much
Mohana is inherent in the music and culture of the period. The Tamil
hymn Thiruvachakam of Manickavachakar is in the raga Mohana.
Thiruvachakam is traditionally sung on culture related occassions.
Adiyarkunallar refers to Chilappathkaram and the position of raga
in the culture and into relation with the zodiac. His interpretations
could be clearly presented as in the tables 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 given.
Table. 1 elaborates specifically the relation of the notes of Mohana
with the zodiac signs. And table 2 the petatonic scales obtained
according to model shift of tonic (sruthibhedam). Madhyamavati,
Hindolam, Sudhasaveri and Suddhadhanyasi and their relation of their
notes with the zodiac signs. The notes of mullaippun were also assigned
their respective position in the zodiac. Its five notes would have their
positions in the zodiac as indicated in the table given below.
28
Table. 1
Sign
Note
Symbol
kural
sa
-
-
1.
Libra
2.
Scorpio
3.
Sagittarius
tuttam
ri - 2
4.
Capricornus
-
-
5.
Aquarius
kaikkilai
ga - 2
6.
Pisces
-
-
7.
Aries
-
-
8.
Taurus
ili
pa
9.
Gemini
-
10. Cancer
vilari
dha - 2
11. Leo
-
-
12. Virgo
-
-
Table. 2 elaborates the notes of the raga Madhyamavati obtained
by taking chatusruti rishabham as the keynote. It also reveals the
relation of notes of Madhyamavati with the zodiac signs.
Ramanathan. S (Dr), Rtd Principal, Music in Cilappatikaram, Sree Satguru Sangeetha
vidyalayam, College of Music, Madurai, Page No. 38.
29
Table. 2
Sign
Note
Symbol
1.
Sagittarius
kural
sa
2.
Capricornus
-
-
3.
Aquarius
tuttam
ri - 2
4.
Pisces
-
-
5.
Aries
-
-
6.
Taurus
uzhai
ma - 1
7.
Gemini
-
-
8.
Cancer
ili
pa
9.
Leo
-
10. Virgo
-
-
11. Libra
taaram
ni - 1
-
-
12. Scorpio
Table. 3 elaborates the notes of the raga Hindolam obtained by
taking Gandhara of Mohana or rishabha of Madhyamavathi as the kural
(shadja ie the keynote). It also reveals the relation of notes of Hindolam
with zodiac signs.
Ramanathan. S (Dr), Rtd Principal, Music in Cilappatikaram, Sree Satguru Sangeetha
vidyalayam, College of Music, Madurai, Page No. 39.
30
Table. 3
Sign
Note
Symbol
kural
sa
1.
Aquarius
2.
Pisces
-
-
3.
Aries
-
-
4.
Taurus
kaikkilai
ga - 1
5.
Gemini
-
-
6.
Cancer
uzhai
ma - 1
7.
Leo
-
-
8.
Virgo
-
-
9.
Libra
vilari
dha - 1
-
-
11. Sagittarius
taaram
ni - 1
12. Capricornus
-
-
10. Scorpio
Table. 4 elaborates the notes of the raga Suddhasaveri obtained
by taking panchama of Mohana or Gandhari of Hindola as the kural
(shadja or keynote).
It also reveals the relation of notes of Suddhasaveri with Zodiac
signs.
Ramanathan. S (Dr), Rtd Principal, Music in Cilappatikaram, Sree Satguru Sangeetha
vidyalayam, College of Music, Madurai, Page No. 39.
31
Table. 4
Sign
Note
Symbol
1.
Taurus
kural
sa
2.
Gemini
-
-
3.
Cancer
tuttam
ri - 2
4.
Leo
-
-
5.
Virgo
-
-
6.
Libra
uzhai
ma - 1
7.
Scorpio
-
-
8.
Sagittarius
ili
pa
9.
Capricornus
-
-
vilari
da - 2
11. Pisces
-
-
12. Aries
-
-
10. Aquarius
Table. 5 elaborates the notes of the raga Suddhadhanyasi obtained
by taking Dhaivata of Mohana ie, vilari note in Cancer sing as kural or
shadja the keynote. The kural of the new pan falls in Cancer.
Ramanathan. S (Dr), Rtd Principal, Music in Cilappatikaram, Sree Satguru Sangeetha
vidyalayam, College of Music, Madurai, Page No. 40.
32
Table. 5
Sign
Note
Symbol
kural
sa
1.
Cancer
2.
Leo
-
-
3.
Virgo
-
-
4.
Libra
kaikkilai
ga - 1
5.
Scorpio
-
-
6.
Sagittarius
uzhai
ma - 1
7.
Capricornus
-
-
8.
Aquarius
ili
pa
9.
Pisces
-
-
10. Aries
-
-
11. Taurus
taaram
ni - 1
12. Gemini
-
-
Music literature during the period of later half of the 17 th century
A.D. to the beginning of the 18 th century A.D. states that the raga
Mohana is a janya raga of kamboji mela and it is a shadava raga.
Ramanathan. S (Dr), Rtd Principal, Music in Cilappatikaram, Sree Satguru Sangeetha
vidyalayam, College of Music, Madurai, Page No. 40.
33
Ragalakshanamu by Sahaji details are as follows:
""The rakti raga Mohana takes the mela of Kamboji. It lacks
nishada and Madhyama occurs rarely. This is how the swara movement
ascent and descent.
Examples
-
s d p
d s r g
r g m
g g
r g
r r
s d
p d d s
s s
in this manner the melody proceeds.''
Mohanakalyani has much resemblance to Mohanam due to the
alpa madhyama prayoga.
Sangeetha Saramritha of Thulaja refers Mohana as the janya of
the raga Kamboji. According to Thulaja Kamboji is a mela which has
many janya ragas and Mohana is a shadava raga. Nishada varjyaraga,
shadja grahadi raga. It is an evening raga and a melodious raga.
Occuring of alpamadhyama make this raga shadava. The arohana avarohana is as follows.
SRGMPDS
SDPMGRS
Swarastanas are panchasruti rishabha, Antara gandhara,
Panchama, Panchasruti, Dhaivata, Suddha madhyama and Shadja.
The sloka is as follows:
34
"" Æ˙…M…: EÚ…®§……‰V…“ ®…‰±……‰i……‰
®……‰Ω˛x……M™……‰ €x…¥…ÃV…i…:
+∫™…±…{……‰ ®…v™…®…:
+…Æ˙…‰Ω˛…¥…Æ˙…‰Ω˛…™……‰:
∫¥…Æ˙M…i…‰Ø˚r˘…Æ˙h…®…¬**''
s d p d s r g r g m g g r
g r r s d p d d s ,
B¥…®…¬ |…EڅƉ˙h……±……{… |…™……‰M…:
<€i… ®……‰Ω˛x… Æ˙…M…:
The raga named Mohana is born from the Kamboji mela. It is
short of ni and so shadava and has sa as graha and nyasa. It may be
sung in the evening and it affords great delight. But sangeeta kalanidhi
Subbarao has a slightly contradictory view about Tulaja's account of
Mohana. It is a very negligible and he goes to the extend of considering
it as an act of careless rendering due to neglect of proper form of the
raga. Subbarao also states that the use of alpa madhyama and
alpanishada in the raga Mohana can be ruled out considering the
currently accepted structure of Mohana. And he states that this
interpretation may be with reference to the raga Mohanakalyani,
Subbarao points out that the references about the raga Mohana was
alien to the music literature prior to the 18 th century A.D. But
Dr. S. Ramanathan in his book Music in Chilappathikaram refers to
35
the mentions of the raga Mohana in Chilappathikaram is considered to
be more primitive.
According to Sangraha choodamani of Govindacharya the raga
Mohana derived from the mela Harikamboji. Taking shadja as nyasa,
amsa and graha, Madhyama and Nishada are omitted from ascent and
descent and thus became audava raga.
Swara prastara
-
s r g p d s d s. r. s.
.
d s d p g r s r d s
According to sangeeta samgrahamu of Tiruvenkata kavi is same
as that of Sangraha choodamani.
According to Muddu venkatamakhi the author of Ragalakshana first quarter of 18 th century A.D. the Mohana is a janya of 65th mela
kalyani as follows.
The raga Mohana is an audava raga and has shadja as graha. It
may be sung at all times. This work describes Mohana the janya a 65th
mela. It is a rakti raga.
Sangeetha sampradaya Pradarsini states that though madhyama
and nishada omitted, Mohana is treated as a bhashanga raga. Alpa
madhyama is coming as the foreign note.
avarohana
-
.
s r g p d s
.
s d p g r s
36
According to the famous work Sangeetha chandrika of Atoor
Krishnapisharodi, shadja as the graha swara and nyasa, R G P are am¿a
swaras, M and N are omitted. This is Mohana. It is an upanga raga.
.
arohana
-
SRGPDS
avarohana
-
SDPGRS
.
Sloka is as follows:
∫…O…Ω˛x™……∫…‰ Æ˙“ M… {……∆∂……‰
®… x…“ Ω˛“x……‰ ®……‰Ω˛x…: ={……R¬ÛM…:**
l
According to Mahabharatha Chudamani, Mohana is born in
Harikamboji mela. Mohana drops ni in ascent, and ma and ni in
descent. This book version of Mohana differs from that of
Sangrahachudamani. It is closer to the various in Ragalakshanam of
Sahaji and Sangita Saramrita of Tulaja.
According to "" Sangeeta swara prastara sagaram
sagaram''' of Nadamuni
Panditar Telugu - 1906, Mohana is a janya 28 th mela Harikamboji.
.
arohana
-
SRGPDS
avarohana
-
SDPGRS
.
Ragakosam'' of R.R. Keshavamurthi canarese the
According to " Ragakosam
arohana - avarohana of Mohana is
.
S R G P D S
.
S D P R G R S
Krishnapisharadi Attoor, Sangeetha Chandrika, Sulabha Books Publications, Trissur, 1995.
37
f. Views regarding the parent scale of Mohana
Opinions of performing artists and musicians were collected
through expert consensus. Since different opinions prevail about the
janakaraga of Mohana, these interviews are necessary in this
connection.
L. Janaki Ammal, Rtd. Prof. of Music Govt. College for Women
Thiruvananthapuram, is of opinion that Mohana is a raga which is oldest
than many other popular melas. Some melas may be derived by the
addition of Madhyama and Nishada to this scale of Mohana. She
concludes that the swaras of Mohana have the resemblance to the swaras
of Harikamboji.
Dr. K. Omanakkutty Amma, Rtd. Head of the Department of
Music, University of Kerala states that Mohana is the janya of 65th mela
Mechakalyani. As a renowned performer she gives more emphasis to
practical values rather than the theoritical aspects. In her view, the
rendering of Rishabha and Dhaivata in Mohana is the same as that of
Kalyani.
Sree B. Sasikumar, the carnatic violin maestro, Rtd. "A' grade
artist All India Radio, Thiruvananthapuram, hesitated to comment on
the controversy of the janaka raga of Mohana. He also opined that
insisting too much on such theoritical aspects do not help music in any
38
way at the performance level. As music is more linked with the
emotional aspects of man rather than the intellectual. The educational
theory also agrees with this opinion as now a days Emotional Quotient
(E.Q.) replaces Intelligence Quotient (I.Q) in the overall development
of the individual. He gives his argument as follows. The use of
rishabha, gandhara and dhaivata in Mohana is seen only in Kalyani ie,
the bhavatheevratha and gamakas of rishabha, gandhara and dhaivata
in Mohana has more resemblance to that in Kalyani when compared to
the Harikamboji, Sankarabharanam and Vachaspati. Kalyani and
Mohana could be identified even if they are sung without gamakas.
ie, the structure of the ragas are such that they could be identified by
simple rendering of the notes as per the grammar of the ragas. Both
are primitive ragas and much linked with culture. The primitive name
of Mohana was Reghupathi. The bhava of both these ragas could be
sensed irrespective of the gamaka used or even the tempo ie, the bhava
of the raga is equally dominant whether it is sung in vilambakalam or
drutakalam. Mohana is linked with nature and is used more in
naturalistic situations. The structure of Mohana is such that it could
be effectively used for learning exercises from basic to varnams.
Another salient feature of Mohana is its duel nature of classical as well
as folk accent. The structure of the swaras in Mohana can be
samabhagikam especially purvardha (S to G), (P to D) in nature ie, the
intervals between the two notes of the raga are equivalent. The
39
enchanting nature of Mohana may be equivalent due to this structure.
The notes of Mohana could be explained as representing the pancha
bhoothas and therefore they are optimum suitables for natural
situations. Taking into consideration the sruti theory from Sangeeta
Damodaran, we can say Shadja - vinchitra, Rishabham - Ghana
gandharam - Sarasa, Pacnhamam - Sarangaravi, Dhaivata - Amrutha.
As per sangeeta Ratnakara the names of these srutis are different. But
as the sruti theory is not relevant and feasible it can be overstopped.
Mohana is also very enchanting to be used in Vaadyagoshti
(Vrinda vaadyam). Mohana was originally considered as an important
raga in concerts. It existed even before the science of Melakarta
paddhati was framed or even more primitive. All these arguements
lead to the conclusion that Mohana has more resemblance to kalyani.
The other arguments might have arosed from the analysis of the
structure of the raga from the point of view of instrumentalists.
Especially wind instruments (sushiravadyas) for which Harikamboji
is easier to play. The fact that the science of the theory of music was
arranged or generated by instrumentalists who also support this opinion.
In olden days there existed the custom of all vocalists compulsorily
playing one or more musical instruments. Unfortunately these
instruments had limitations in producing gamakas which affected the
projection of bhavas.
40
When instruments like violin was introduced in carnatic music
the range of swaras and the range of bhava of ragas took a divergent
pace. Though love is the basic bhava of Mohana it suits for all
emotional outcomes especially pleasant ones.
The blunt notes of Mohana when played gives a hilly mood. The
use of gamakas in the present authentive way came into existence only
after the development of classical music. May be that the name Mohana
might have arisen from this special aesthetic nature of the raga.
Sree. S. Sai Babu hailed from a music family, Rtd. Music Teacher,
Govt. H.S.S., Pakalkuri, renowned violin performer, awardee of Kerala
Sangeeta Nataka Academy in 2004, a Research Scholar in Srutis, in
his research finding with IT aided analysis of the swaras of raga Mohana
states that the value of universal chatusruti Rishabham is 288 cents.
But the value chatusruti rishabha in Harikamboji is 6 vibrations lesser
than the universal chatusruti rishabha ie. 282 cents. In the same way
each notes in Harikamboji mela is having certain vibrations lesser than
that of the universal notes. Except Madhyama and Nishada the value
of other five swaras are as follows.
41
Vibrations of swaras Universally accepted
Lower Shadja
256 cents
Chatusruti Rishabha
288 cents
Antara Gandhara
320 cents
Panchama
384 cents
Chatusruti Dhaivata
432 cent\s
Vibration of swaras in Harikamboji
Differences
Lower Shadja
249
7
Chatusruti Rishabha
282
6
Antara Gandhara
315
5
Panchama
376
8
Dhaivata
424
8
In his view the rendering of S R G P D in Mohana is the same
as that of Harikamboji. Taking into consideration the vibrations of
the five swaras. Mohana can be said to be the janya of Harikamboji
mela.
42
Dr. B. Pushpa, Head of the Department of Music, University of
Kerala, is of opinion that considering the frequency value of the notes
in Mohana the parent scale is Harikamboji itself.
The primary objective intended is to analyse the controversy of
janaka raga of Mohana and to arrive at a conclusion about the same.
But the diversity of the opinions and the depth of the arguments put
forth by the experts make it impossible for the investigator to arrive at
a conclusion and state in a confirming manner the janaka raga of
Mohana. Generally it is felt that performing experts consulted have
similar opinion and theoritical experts have different opinion. The
investigator has consolidated the relevant arguments of the experts and
do not dare to predict or state which of the opinion is more relevant.
This is because the experts, musicologists and performing musicians
have their own reasons through their experience about the relevance
of their opinion.
43