S-G-M-D-N-S

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A captivating, challenging audav raga with all swaras appearing in their highest specific positions (i.e. no komals, and Ma, if present, is tivra: also see Bhupali, Hansadhwani, & Adbhut Kalyan). The name translates as ‘swinging’: indicative of the raga’s melodic character, which is built around ‘swaying’ motions between a SGD trio of nyas, with Ni rendered weakly and often omitted entirely in ascent (see melodic summary). The raga is prominently mentioned in numerous ancient shastras – with Sarngdeva’s 13th-century Sangita Ratnakara stating that “Bhairava, Kaushika, Hindola, Dipaka, Sri, and Megha are the six primary ragas”. Often portrayed in classical ragmala paintings with imagery of Krishna sitting in seductive pose on a swing, Hindol also has mythic links to Kamadeva, God of erotic love and romantic desire (“a handsome young man decked with ornaments, armed with a sugarcane bow and shooting arrows of flowers”). Intriguingly, the similarly-named Carnatic ‘Hindolam’ matches the swaras of the Hindustani Malkauns: leading scholars such as Jairazbhoy to argue that Hindol’s swara set may have arisen via a “semitonal shift of the ground note” (i.e. SGMDNS = ‘SgmdnS with Sa lowered a semitone’; loosely akin to the idea of ‘altered chords’ in jazz). Compare to overlapping ragas including Hindolita, Malavi, and Shankara Karan – as well as Marwa (the same scale plus komal re), Kaushik Dhwani (shuddha ma instead), and Amritvarshini (a Dha-for-Pa swap).

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• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •

राग हिन्डोल

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: DSGMDS

Avroh: SNDMGS

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Pakad: e.g. S\D, D/S; G\S, S/G; G(M)G

Chalan: e.g. SD; MDS; SDSGMG; SGMD; D(N)MDS; DSGS; SDMG; MGSDS (Bor/Vyas)

• Melodic motion focuses on ‘swinging, swaying’ ornaments, particularly between the Sa-Ga-Dha trio of nyas

• Shuddha Ni is weak – rarely elongated, and regularly omitted in aroha as SGMDS (although some include it as DNMDS)

• Tivra Ma can also be used as a resting tone, but is more frequently employed to recolour ‘swinging’ motions such as G(MG)MD; GMD(M)DS

• Concluding phrases may be set up with vakra mid-scale loops such as SDMG; MGSDS – although resolutions to Sa have a curious ambiguity given its ‘detached’ status (i.e. Sa is part of no samvad pairing)

• Associated with springtime – and traditionally depicted with imagery of Krishna sitting on a swing in seductive pose, as well as being associated with Kamadeva, God of Earthly Love

—Pandit Jasraj (2002)—

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[refrain, e.g. 0:48] SM G, MGS, S(NS)D (N)SS; S(D) S(D)S (N)S, (S)G (G)SS; (S)MGGMD (M)SDDMG, MGS; SM(GM) G, MGS…

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• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

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“Hindola Raga: opaque watercolour on paper” (c.1800s) / “Raga Hindola: from the Manley folio” (c.1610)

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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: (none found)

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: SrgMdS

• Complement: SrRgmPdnS (=Bahaduri Todi)

• Imperfect: 2 (Sa, Ma)

• Detached: 1 (Sa)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Shivranjani set

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

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Sunadavinodini

S-G₃-M₂-D₂-N₃-S

• Jazz: Lydian (no 2nd/5th)

1-3-#4-6-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-4-6-9-11-0

(4–2–3–2–1)

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o • • • o • o • • o • o o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Ni (+Dha)

• Names: Hindol, Hindoli (not the Carnatic ‘Hindolam‘ – although the ragas likely share historic overlap: see above)

• Transliterations: Hindi (हिंडोल); Bengali (হিন্দোল); Punjabi (ਹਿੰਡੋਲ); Kannada (ಹಿಂದೋಲ್)

—Uday Bhawalkar (2024)—