S-G-M-P-N-S

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A rare audav raga corresponding to the swaras of ‘Yaman no Re/Dha’, imported from a well-established Carnatic form. The name translates as ‘one who showers the elixir of immortality’, hinting at its rich mythological history – in South India, the raga has long been associated with the monsoon (compare to the Northern Malhar ragas, which represent rainfall with contrasting swara sets). As recounted by Anuradha Mahesh, “In the Puranas, its written that when Ravana set Lord Hanuman’s tail ablaze, Hanuman set fire to the entirety of Lanka. Then, Ravana played Amruthavarshini on his veena to bring forth the rains, which put out the fire”. Another popular tale describes how the great composer Muthuswami Dikshitar visited Ettayapuram, a Tamil Nadu village stricken with severe drought, and implored the Goddess Devi to alleviate their plight, addressing her as ‘Anandamritakarshini Amritavarshini‘ and singing ‘Salilam Varshaya Varshaya’ (‘let the rain pour’) – leading to such torrential rain that he soon had to plead ‘Sthambhaya, Sthambhaya’ (‘stop, stop’). Subbha Rao files the scale as a Malashree variant, thus placing it in Kalyan thaat (indeed, many Malashree renditions already add touches of Ma and Ni to its basic SGP form) – while Ocean of Ragas describes it as “extremely difficult…the raga has an appealing melodic structure, but requires a high level of skill and maturity to present”. Sawani Shende links it to Maru Bihag, and it also lies close to Hindol (a Pa-for-Dha swap) and Amirkhani Kauns (komal ni instead), as well as being a murchana of Kaushik Dhwani, Gunkali, and Japaniya. I’m still unsure who first borrowed the scale into Hindustani music: with notable adopters including Balaram Pathak (sitar), Jitendra Abhisheki (khayal), Sandhya Rao (khayal), Zia Fariduddin Dagar (Dhrupad vocal), and Vinayak Vora (tabla tarang, in the rare 13-matra ‘firodast’ taal: see transcription below). Compare to other ‘jagged‘ scales – i.e. those with no ‘adjacent repeating intervals’.

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• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •

राग अमृतवर्षिणी

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SGMPNS

Avroh: SNPMGS

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Pakad: variable, e.g. NSGPM; GMGPG

Chalan: (open-form)

• Compositions •

—Vinayak Vora (tabla tarang):

• [firodast: 13 matras] P M GMGS, G S GM GMP, P PP MPNP, MG MGS, SGMP

—Vinayak Vora (1986)—

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[themes, e.g. 3:13] GMGPG, GMGSSGMP, PPMP NPSNPSNP, N(PN)P P, MPN; NSGMP, NSGMP, PMGN, SGMPN, NPMGS, GMPNS, SNPMG…

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• Carnatic Origins •

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—Ragam Amritvarshini—

(D. Srinivas)

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–All ragas of Carnatic origin–

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• Classifiers •

Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):

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Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+

Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM

Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS

Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni

Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact

Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra

Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row

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Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2

Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night

Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball

Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern

Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang

Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.

• Prakriti: (none found)

Also see other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Pa-Ni‘

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–G–M–P–N–S

• Reverse: SrmMdS

• Complement: SrRgmdDnS

• Imperfect: 2 (Ma, Pa)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Kaushik Dhwani set

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• Quirks: ‘jagged‘ (no ‘adjacent interval repetitions’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: Amritvarshini

S-G₃-M₂-P-N₃-S

• Jazz: Lydian Pentatonic

1-3-#4-5-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-4-6-7-11-0

(4–2–1–4–1)

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o • • • o • o o • • • o o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Amritvarshini, Amrutvarshini, Amrit-Varshani

• Transliterations: Hindi (अमृतवर्षिणी); Punjabi (ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਵਰਸ਼ਿਨੀ)

—Moumita Mitra (2025)—

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“Since the raga is associated with rain, I tried to compose a tintal bandish with related lyrics: ‘Barkha Rut me Ansuyan Bahaao, Jal ki Aar me Dukh Bhulaao; Jhar jhar vaari; Tan Man Amani, shanti; Manki Agani Bujhaao’. Meaning: Shed tears in the rain, so that no one can see you silently seek relief from grief; With the raindrops, your heart and body will get peace; This is how to cool the fire in your heart.” (Moumita Mitra: also see her Amritvarshini demo lesson)

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