S-R-m-P-D-S

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Beguiling in its pentatonic simplicity, Durga (Sanskrit: ‘invincible, impassable, inaccessible’) is inextricably tied to visions of the Hindu Mother Goddess: a destroyer of demons and protector of the faithful, who, according to legend, “was created to slay the buffalo demon Mahisha by Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the lesser gods, who were otherwise powerless to overcome him…She is usually depicted riding a lion, with 8 or 10 arms each holding the special weapon of one of the gods…”. Despite these ancient associations, the raga is of relatively recent Carnatic import (likely evolving from Suddha Saveri), only gaining broad acceptance among Northern rasikas around the mid-20th century. Prakriti with Jaldhar Kedar and Shuddha Malhar, Durga is principally differentiated via a greater emphasis on shuddha Dha (the only ‘imperfect‘ swara). See melodic summary below, and compare to the proximate Durgawati, Jhinjhoti, and Mangal Bhairav – plus other members of the Bilawal raganga.

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Aroha: SRmR, mDS

Avroh: SDPDm, mRS, DS

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Pakad: e.g. RRmR; DDS; DmPDS

Chalan: illustrative sequences e.g. RmPD; PDm; mPDDm; DmPDS; DDS; SDDm; mPD; mRDS (Tanarang)

• Shuddha ma is strong throughout (vadi-samvadi: ma-Sa), as is shuddha Dha – bringing a natural melodic gravity to the middle of the saptak space (e.g. mPD; mDPm; DPDm; SDDm)

• Pa may be skipped to emphasise the mDS ‘major triad’ (i.e. comprising intervals ‘4-3’), and some avoid it as a resting tone in avroh – but is essential to motions elsewhere such as RmPD; mPDm; PmRP

• Other recurring phrases tend to pair shuddha Re with shuddha ma (RRmR), and Sa with shuddha Dha (DDS; DmPDS) – interlinked with clear, direct sliding phrases (Dm\R; mRmD/S)

• Care must be taken to distinguish from the prakriti Jaldhar Kedar (which favours wide Kedar-ang leaps such as SmRS; SmmP; PRS) and Shuddha Malhar (which applies more dynamic, fluid ornaments to the SRmP space, e.g. S/m\R; m\R/P) 

• Named after the Mother Goddess, who balances gentle and nurturing sentiments with fierce, protective, warlike qualities – with renditions navigating these contrasts via strong, reassuring, straightforward melodies which focus on madhya saptak

–Venkatesh Kumar (2010)–

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“When all was callous, and there was no simplicity; When even the last tree was on the verge of dimming away; I rambled here and there, thinking ‘What was it that did not come to mind? Whose absence did not cause pain?’; Only then did I hear Raag Durga; Floating like the relics of a civilisation; I moved towards it, the aroha rising like grass, and avroh flowing like water…” (Manglesh Dabral reflects on Bhimsen Joshi’s Durga)

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—Context—

Origins, myths, quirks, & more

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[COMING SOON: click here to hasten the project’s expansion, so all 365+ raga pages can eventually look more like these]

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• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

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“Durga confronting the demon Mahisha: who is depicted both in his human form, and then again as an elephant. Not only is Mahisha not in his usual avatar of a bull – but Durga is kneeling, rather than standing, on her tiger…” (Mankot, c.1790)

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—Phraseologies—

Melodies, movements, characteristics…

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[coming soon]

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—Sanskriti demo (2017)—

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“Durga lends itself to bold melodic treatment, with a substantial dose of staccato intonation. Such treatment is consistent with the ferocious image of the Goddess Durga, making it explicitly of the ‘warlike’ veera rasa. Though Bhatkhande has described the raga as being centred in the poorvang, Durga renditions have, for a long time, had a strong ascending tendency, centred in the mid-octave region and upper half of the melodic canvas. This bias might reflect the psychoacoustic assumptions of the Hindustani tradition, apparently associating ascending melodic motion in the upper registers with sentiments of aggression and valour. But some recent renditions suggest that some musicians are not happy dealing with a ‘ferocious’ Durga: they want the warrior goddess to become sensuous and alluring…” (Deepak Raja)

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—Listen—

A brief selection of superb renditions

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–Soumik Datta (2018)–

• Senia-Shahjanpur sarod (10m): performing a lively alap–jor–jhalla at London’s Barbican Centre for Darbar 2018, with leisurely slides and subtle chayas of Gorakh Kalyan in places (“A lilting, light touch…he makes it look so easy and joyful while playing deep, exquisite melodies…”):

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[jor, e.g. 2:06] S, S, P(D), P(D) P(D) m, m S(R)P, P, P, P(S) PD, D, D, D(SD) D(RSD), D, P(D) P(D) m, m, m(R)P, P, P, R(mR) R(mR) R(mR) SRP, P, P, R(mRmRP), P(R) R(mRmRm) m, m(RmRD), D, D(P) D(P) P(DPD), m(PmPm) m(PD), P(DP) m(Rm), P, P, P…

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–Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan (1983)–

• Maihar sitar & sarod (29m): a space-sharing jugalbandi from a 1983 show at San Francisco’s Palace Of Fine Arts – with dense, rhythm-driven melodic lines pulled forward by Alla Rakha’s effervescent jhaptal accompaniment:

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[refrain, e.g. 20:06] (m)R, (R)S, RP P, m(PD) D, D(SD) P(m) m; (m)R, (R)S RP P, m(PD) D…

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–Further Recordings–

• Adnan Sami (6m): creative use of the keyboard‘s timbres (also read the tale of when Sami played Durga for Amjad Ali Khan)
• Ram Deshpande (7m): an AUTRIM pitch-graph (“My beloved has a dark complexion like Krishna, and my heart is filled with joy…”)
• Wasifuddin Dagar (9m): at the 2017 Bhilwara Sur Sangam in Delhi (“This was Kishori Amonkar‘s last concert too…”)
• Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (14m): a Jaipur-Atrauli highlight in vilambit rupak (bandish: Ata Hi Ghanghor Badal Chaye)
• Bismillah Khan (20m): the Dumaron reed pioneer takes the raga back to its folksy roots, supported by his shehnai students
• Anuradha Kuber (28m): a clear-toned rendition from the Bhendibazar stalwart, supported by Rigved Deshpande’s tabla
• Amjad Ali Khan (29m): the Senia-Bangash sarodiya rolls out rhythmic drive with a variety of plucking techniques
• Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan (29m): a joyous 1984 jugalbandi in San Francisco, with Alla Rakha on jhaptal duties
• Imrat Khan (31m): utilising the full force of his sitar at a private baithak in 1975, exploring Durga’s warrior-nature
• Bhimsen Joshi (52m): a favourite raga of his school demos, with S.V. & Ramkrishna Patwardhan on tabla & tanpura
• Shivkumar Sharma (58m): showcasing the scale’s harmonic dimensions, live at Swar Utsav 2000 (gats in rupak and tintal)

• Guitaragas •

My attempts to capture the raga on electric guitar (see more on my Insta)

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—Durga tintal improv (electric guitar)—

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A brief Durga electric guitar improvisation in tintal…

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• Experiments •

Novel interpretations of the raga’s essence…

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—Susumu Miyashita (Japanese koto)—

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From Ravi Shankar’s 1982 East Greets East album, live in Japan: composed by Shankar for koto artist Susumu Miyashita, explicitly based on Durga (see a full but slightly fuzzy transcription here, from the album’s liner notes).

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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: Shuddha Malhar, Jaldhar Kedar

Also see other ragas with the generic swaras ‘Sa-Re-Ma-Pa-Dha‘ – and compare to the rest of the Bilawal raganga

–Proximate Forms–

Bhavani = ‘Durga no Pa‘

Bhupali = ‘Durga Ga-for-ma‘

Gorakh Kalyan = ‘Durga add ni‘

Shobhawari = ‘Durga komal dha‘

Shivranjani = ‘Durga ga-for-ma‘

(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–m–P–D–S

• Reverse: SgmPnS (=Dhani)

• Complement: SrgGMdnNS

• Imperfect: 1 (Dha)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (r—P)

• Murchanas: Bhupali set

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• Quirks: ‘atritonal‘ (no available tritones) • ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’) • ‘Pa-repeating‘ (poorvang and uttarang take the same ‘semitone shape’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Suddha Saveri

S-R₂-M₁-P-D₂-S

• Jazz: Ritusen Pentatonic

1-2-4-5-6-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-5-7-9-0

(2–3–2–2–3)

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o • o • • o • o • o • • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Dha)

• Names: Durga, Doorga

• Transliterations: Hindi (दुर्गा); Kannada (ದುರ್ಗಾ)

—More—

Further info: links, listenings, learnings, etc

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• Raag Durga: [coming soon]

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• Header audio: Jhaptal bandish (Saki Mori Rumajhuma) by Padma Talwalkar (2005)
• Header image: ‘Durga Mahishasura-Mardini, Slayer of the Buffalo Demon’, stone statue from Bengal (Commons)

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