Bheem | SRgGmPDnS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-R-gG-m-P-D-n-S

Near-identical to Gaoti, Bheem is sometimes said to be marked out by its allowance of komal ga in taar saptak – although this distinction now seems moot: there are plenty of Gaoti performances with this characteristic too. Debate persists: while Agra-Gwalior vocalist Prabhakar Karekar considers the ragas indistinguishable (having remarked that he “had been taught [Gaoti] under the name Bheem”), the liner notes to a Nikhil Banerjee album state that “Gaoti has the same aroha–avroh as Bheem, but…Bheem often uses mPGRS and mPGmGRS” (also noting that “Both ragas recall their kinship with Bhimpalasi through the use of komal ga in the upper octave [as SgRS]…Unlike Bhimpalasi, however, Re and Dha are more prominent, and ma is weaker and used in a vakra fashion”). Tanarang notes that “in uttarang, komal ni is always rendered [via a] meend from Sa, as a kan-swar like GmP, (S)nS…Similarly in avroh, ni is generally skipped like SP/DP“. Compare and contrast with Bhimpalasi, derived from an archaic conjoining of Bheem and the now near-extinct Palas [n.b. some scholars note the past existence of a separate Kafi-thaat Bheem, seemingly obsolete today].

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राग भीम

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Aroha: nSGmPnS

Avroh: SPDP, mGPm, GmRS

Chalan: e.g. nSGm; PnPSnS; SPDPDmP; GmRS; RnS; PnS; GmRS (Tanarang)

—Veena Sahasrabuddhe (1999)—

[refrain, e.g. 0:02] D PmP, P/S, S\n (S)n, S(nP) D(PD), D PmP, P/S…

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

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

Double: rR | gG | mM | dD | nN

Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact

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

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

Symmetries: Mirror | Rotation | Palindr.

Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

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

Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night

Murchana: Bhup. | Bihag | Bilaw. | Charu.

Raganga: Bhairav | Malhar | Kan. | Todi

Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball

Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern

Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang

Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.

• Prakriti: Malgunji, Lankeshwari, Rageshri Kanada, Neelambari

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–R–gG–m–P–D–n–S

• Reverse: SRgmPdDnS

• Negative: 2-5-2-3

• Imperfect: 1 (Ga)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (gG—Dn)

• Murchanas: Bihag set

• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’)

–Global Translations–

• Carnatic: ~Dwijavanthi

S-R₂-G₂-G₃-M₁-P-D₂-N₂-S

• Jazz: Bebop Dorian (dbl. 3rd)

1-2-b3-3-4-5-6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-3-4-5-7-9-10-0

(2–1–1–1-2–2–1–2)

o • o o o o • o • o o • o

• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Bheem, Bhim (~Gaoti: see above)

• Transliterations: Hindi (भीम)

—Munshi Raziuddin & Fareed Ayaz (1988)—

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George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Homepage for more, and hit me up for Lessons!