S-G-m-D-N-S

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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).

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• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •

राग भिन्न षड्ज

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SGm, DNS

Avroh: SND, mGS

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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)—

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[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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• More •

Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

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—Shadja Grama: Ramkrishna Das (2018)—

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“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)

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• Experiments •

Novel interpretations of the raga’s essence…

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—Traces of You (Anoushka Shankar & Norah Jones)—

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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]

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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: Kaushik Dhwani

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

–Swara Geometries–

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• 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

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

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–Global Translations–

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• 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)

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o • • • o o • • • o • o o

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• 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)—