S-gG-m-d-n-S

---

A fascinating creation of Kirana vocalist Prabha Atre, matching the swaras of ‘Malkauns double-Ga’ (or ‘Nandkauns no Pa’). The addition of shuddha Ga maintains the original Ga–ni symmetry axis of Malkauns, while also giving more gravity to shuddha ma via upward resolutions of G/m – a feature which forms the basis of most of her renditions (e.g. Gm, ndm, GGm), sometimes even tempting the feel of a ‘ma-murchana’ (=Hemshri). Komal ga is mostly used in Sa-bound concluding phrases, in which shades of Jogkauns may appear (mGmgS). Intriguingly, I came across an old Atre recording entitled ‘Suryakauns’, which I’m 99% certain is a ‘proto-Madhurkauns’: the bandish and melodic character are near-identical to a ‘shuddha Ga only’ version of her spellbinding Madhurkauns performance at Darbar 2014, around half a century later (the ‘Surya’ title presumably derives from the prakriti Carnatic Surya‘: she may have renamed her rework due to the existence of another, unrelated species of ‘Suryakauns’). Prakriti with Ravi Shankar’s Mohankauns – and not to be confused with Amir Khan’s Madhukauns or Salamat Ali Khan’s Madhkauns (although it is prakriti with the latter). Also see my article What does ‘Kauns’ mean? A brief survey of all known Kaunsi ragas.

---

• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •

राग मधुरकौंस

Search | Glossary | Tags

• Hindustani Raga Index •

—Prabha Atre (2014)—

---

[refrains, e.g. 1:22] G m m/n(dnd)m, GGmm; m\gS, Sgmd (m)d…

---

• 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: Mohankauns, Madhkauns, Viyog Kauns, Anupriya

Also see other ragas with generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Dha-Ni‘ – and compare to other members of the Kauns raganga

–Swara Geometries–

---

• Core form: S–gG–m–d–n–S

• Reverse: SRGPdDS

• Complement: SrRMPDNS

• Imperfect: 2 (Sa, Ga)

• Detached: 1 (Ga)

• Symmetries: mirror (G—n)

• Murchanas: Hemshri set

–Global Translations–

---

• Carnatic: ~Ragavardhini

S-G₂-G₃-M₁-D₁-N₂-S

• Jazz: Epogimic

1-b3-3-4-b6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-3-4-5-8-10-0

(3–1–1–3–2–2)

---

o • • o o o • • o • o • o

---

• Tanpura: Sa–ma

• Names: Madhurkauns, Madhurkans (not Madhukauns or Madhkauns)

• Transliterations: Hindi (मधुरकौंस)

—Rageshree Vairagkar (2022)—