Gangeshwari | SGmPdnS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-G-m-P-d-n-S

Like Parameshwari and Rangeshwari, Gangeshwari (‘Lordess of the Ganges River’) was created by Ravi Shankar in 1968, via murchana rotation of his newly-invented Kameshwari (itself dreamed up during a car ride through Bengal). Its unevenly-spaced shadav scale (prakriti with some forms of Sundarkauns) most closely resembles a ‘no Re’ version of either Charukeshi or Basant Mukhari (or alternatively, ‘Gopika Basant shuddha Ga’) – with an ‘all-shuddha‘ poorvang (SGm) and ‘all-komal‘ uttarang (PdnS). Like the rest of its murchana set, its phraseology remains open and uncodified, with little risk of trespass on the bounds of other ragas – refer to recent renditions by Partho Sarothy and Chris Stephens. Also see an array of other Ravi-authored forms including Jogeshwari, Mohankauns, Bairagi, Bairagi Todi, Ahir Lalit, and Pancham se Gara – as well as Ganga: a 2018 invention of Shankar’s santoor student Tarun Bhattacharya, also composed in honour of the Holy River (soon followed by his Triveni: “a tribute to the three rivers of India: the Ganga, Yamuna, & Narmada”).

—Ravi Shankar (1972)—

[refrain, e.g. 1:04] S(G)m, m m, m(G)S, (S)nS d/n n\d, dnSG, GmPm, mGS, (S)nS d/n…

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Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

—Imagery: Ganges in Haridwar—

“Hindus come to the banks of the Holy Ganges daily to perform aarti [rituals] with song, flames, and prayer. This collective, spiritual hug by the hundreds of millions using the river, however, comes with costs. Pollution and a lack of environmental awareness are visibly notable across much of the watershed. And in many areas, the challenges are compounded by a simple mindset flowing through the same people that revere its sacred flow: The river is God, thus it is all powerful and immune to the threats of overuse, contamination, and environmental degradation. In short, people believe the curative powers of the Ganges will not only heal us, but also itself. It is an illogical environmental conundrum: the ‘Ganges paradox’…” (National Geographic)

• Recent Raga Index Updates (Dec 2025): Added new ragas: e.g. Asa, Basant Bahar, Badhans Sarang, Bayati, Chandni Todi, Chandraprabha, Deepavali, Firozkhani Todi, Gaud, Japaniya, Kaushiki, Latangi, Maru, Palas, Sarangkauns, Shivanjali, Shrutivardhini • ‘Bifurcations‘: analysis via ‘poorvang + uttarang’ formulas • DoGa Kalyan & the Beatles’ Blue Jay Way • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Uncovered Prabhateshwari‘s origins • Transcribed Manjiri Asanare-Kelkar’s ‘Amodini‘ lec-dems • Experiments (e.g overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)

• 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

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: (none found)

Also see other shadav ragas which omit Re

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–G–m–P–d–n–S

• Reverse: SRGmPdS

• Negative: 2-1-1-3-3-2

–Global Translations–

S-G₃-M₁-P-D₁-N₂-S

• Jazz: Phrygian Dominant (no 2nd)

1-3-4-5-b6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-4-5-7-8-10-0

(4–1–2–1–2–2)

o • • • o o • o o • o • o

• Names: Gangeshwari, Gangeshwaree

• Transliterations: Hindi (गंगेश्वरी)

—Partho Sarothy (2021)—

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Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni

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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!