S-G-m-D-N-S
Often characterised as the ‘older form’ of today’s Kaushik Dhwani, Bhinna Shadja’s lineage stretches back well over 1000 years. It appears in numerous ancient shastras: notably including Matangamuni’s Brihaddeshi (~8th-century), Abhinavagupta 11th-century writings (“Bhinnashadaja, Kaushiki, and Bhinnapanchama are favoured in Summer”), and Sarangdeva’s 13th-century Sangita Ratnakara – which describes its scale form in remarkably similar terms to the modern incarnation (“Bhinna is devoid of Rishabh and Pancham, has Dhaivat as its initial and fundamental note, and Madhyam for its final note”). The name refers to its presumed origins as an offshoot of the ancient ‘Shadja-Grama’ base mode: ‘Bhinna’ means ‘differentiated’, i.e. ‘differentiated from the Shadja-Grama scale’ (as per the Sangita Ratkanara, “Bhinna is differentiated with reference to four factors: sruti, jati, swara, and purity…”). While its phraseologies are relatively unrestricted, the shuddha ma vadi exerts the strongest melodic gravity – and some, including Kishori Amonkar, include shuddha Re as part of ornamental flourishes in avroh. Compare to Hindol (tivra Ma instead) and Rajeshwari (komal ga instead).
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग भिन्न षड्ज
Search | Glossary | Tags
• Hindustani Raga Index •
Aroha: SGm, DNS
Avroh: SND, mGS
Chalan: e.g. SDNSGm; m; mGS; (N)DNSGm; GmDGm; mGGm(N)D; D; DN; NS; SD; GmGSG; mDNS, DNSG; mGS; SD; NDm; GmGS (Ramrang)
—Kishori Amonkar (1989)—
[motifs, e.g. 0:39] m, mG, N/G m/D(ND)G, G(R)Gm, (SG)m, G(m), G(RS), N/G G/m m/D(NSN), NN DG(m), m, mG…
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Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…
—Shadja Grama: Ramkrishna Das (2018)—
“Between 200 BCE to 200 CE, Bharat documented the performing arts traditions of his contemporary India in his famous Natyashastra: describing a tuning system called ‘Shadaj Gram’, considered as a slight modification of the ‘Sama Gana’ scale. In this period, music was likely played on 8-string harps tuned to Shadaj Gram, Madhyam Gram, and related scales. Over time, more sophisticated instruments came into being, adding capabilities to bend, slide, and shake notes. Through their murchanas, jatis, and lakshanas, this era created a precedent for raga bhavas and identities…” (Sadharani)
• Experiments •
Novel interpretations of the raga’s essence…
—Traces of You (Anoushka Shankar & Norah Jones)—
A beautiful song setting of Bhinna Shadja’s core phrases, co-written by Ravi Shankar‘s two daughters and released as the title track of Anoushka’s 2013 album [main melodies: D/N, SN\D(ND), (m)G, G(m)m(G); (S)N, SN(DND) NS]
• Recent Raga Index Updates (Jul 2026): Melodic ‘snapshots’ of prachalit ragas • Up to 365 raga pages! Some highlights: Bayati, Basant Mukhari, Bilaskhani Todi, Chandranandan, DoGa Kalyan, Jog, Kalavati, Kaushiki, Malkauns, Maru, Meladalan, Parameshwari, Sarangkauns, Vachaspati (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)
Raag Jog: exploring different ways the electric guitar can support a Dhrupad-ang nomtom (syllabic improvisation)…
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#dhrupad #raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic
Jun 28
Raag Kafi: Electric guitar improv around the adha bandish ‘Aaj Khel Shaam Sang Hori’
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 22
Raag Jog: some sawal-jawab (‘question-answer’) fun with Marc Clayton on tabla
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 15
Some tintal improv around a wonderful Durga bandish I’ll be playing at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc)
#indianmusic #raga #icm #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 10
Come see me play some bendy raga-guitar at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc) – including this piece, a famous Bhairavi bhajan by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada)
#bhajan #raga #indianmusic #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 5
tomato can jungle/DnB (distracted while cooking)
#drumming #percussion #dnb #jungle
May 23
A great Jaunpuri gat from Senia-Shahjahanpur sarod legend Pt Buddhadev DasGupta, full of fast bends and slides (originally released for Joep Bor’s 1997 Raga Guide, in many ways a precursor to my own raga index)
Raag Jaunpuri: a late morning raga, likely originating in the Sultanate-era music of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh (as per Subodh Agrawal: “The rulers of Jaunpur were keen patrons of the arts, and the last one – Sultan Hussain Sharqi – was himself a distinguished musician; it is probable that the Jaunpuri flavor of Asavari was developed by him, or under his patronage“). Rajan Parrikar elaborates on its “Asavariant” status, noting that some (including Omkarnath Thakur) see it as essentially indistinguishable from Shuddha Re Asavari, while others consider Jaunpuri to follow more ‘rounded’ melodic motions…
#sarod #ragaguitar #stratocaster #worldmusic #jaunpur
May 6
just for fun…I had to defend the honour of my main instrument against my second instrument (many thanks to @mountainhead for the original video, as well as some tasty bends) – still no match for the surbahar’s meend range though!
#sitar #guitar #raga #bends #ragaguitar
May 4
• Classifiers •
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
Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact
Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra
Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row
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: Kaushik Dhwani
Also see other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Dha-Ni‘
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–G–m–D–N–S
• Reverse: SrgPdS (=Bhupali Todi)
• Complement: SrRgMPdnS
• Imperfect: 2 (Sa, Ni)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: Kaushik Dhwani set
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: (~Hindolavasantham)
S-G3-M1-D2-N3-S
• Jazz: Major (no 2nd/5th)
1-3-4-6-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-4-5-9-11-0
(4–1–4–2–1)
o • • • o o • • • o • o o
• Tanpura: Sa–ma (+Dha)
• Names: Bhinna Shadja, Bhinan Shatraj, Bhukosh, Bhookosh, Bhavkosh, Bhavkauns, ‘Audav Bilawal’, Kaushik Dhwani
• Transliterations: Hindi (भिन्न षड्ज); Kannada (ಭಿನ್ನ ಷಡ್ಜ)
—Kala Ramnath (2019)—
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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!
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