S-R-G-mM-P-D-N-S

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Despite its A-list status (Deepak Raja’s Ragascape research estimates it as the 13th most-performed raga of the modern era), Maru Bihag is a relatively recent invention, at least in its own right – Parrikar notes that “Manikbua Thakurdas speaks of an older Raag Maru [SRGMDNS] as its progenitor…but the Maru Bihag in currency [today] is widely acknowledged to be a product of Jaipur-Atrauli founder Alladiya Khan’s prodigious imagination” (hear Khan’s original bandish, Rasiya Hu Na Jaun, & also see his Dagori and Jait Kalyan). Marked by the use of double-Ma (of which the tivra is more frequent), the raga’s Bihag heritage (e.g. PNSG) is balanced by Kalyanic phrases (e.g. MG(S)RS; GMDNDM). Dha and Re tend to be varjit in aroha, and Pa is a prominent nyas, with many considering Pa–Sa as the vadi-samvadi. Also learn more about its ancestral interlinks with Maru in a superb lecture from Arun Dravid (“It is not well known, [even] in the music world, that Maru Bihag is a mixed raga…very few people know that Maru exists. In simplistic terms, if you take Yaman and remove Pa, what remains is Maru [see ragmala below]. You then combine Maru with Bihag, preserving the features of both…”).

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• Raga Megalist (365+) •

राग मारू बिहाग

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SmG, GMPNS

Avroh: SNDPMG, MGRS

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Chalan: e.g. PNSG; RSRS; NSGMPMG; SmGM(D)P; (D)MPMG; GMPNDP; PMGMGNS; RNSNDP; DPMG; GMDPMG; (G)M(G)RS (Bor/Sadolikar)

—Nirali Karthik (2016)—

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[bandish, e.g. 1:43] (S)NS (M)GMP, (P)MG G(RG), GMP/N(P), (P)S(NSDnDn)P, P P(ND)PM, MPM(G) (M)G(R)S S, (S)NS (M)GMP…

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• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

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“Maru Ragini: A Rajput warrior holding a spear, with sword and katar [dagger] attached to his belt, stands alone with his camel at the banks of a stream – verdant, in contrast to the intense hot yellow of the ground behind them. The warrior’s belt is called a ‘kamarband’ in Persian, and is the origin of the English ‘cummerbund’…” (Rajput, c.1670) / “The essence of Maru Raga: associated with longing, separation, and the anticipation of love…” (Rajasthan, c.1750)

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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

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.

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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: Bihag, Nand, Hameer, Kamod, Pat Bihag, Chayanat, Gaud Sarang, Shyam Kalyan, Khem Kalyan, Lakshmi Kalyan, Sanjh Saravali

–Proximate Forms–

Bilawal = ‘Maru Bihag only ma‘

Yaman = ‘Maru Bihag only Ma‘

Bhankari = ‘Maru Bihag komal re‘

Shankara = ‘Maru Bihag no Ma‘

Chandni Kedar = ‘Maru Bihag double Ni‘

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

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–G–mM–P–D–N–S

• Reverse: SrgmMPdnS

• Negative: 3-2-5-2

• Imperfect: 1 (Ma)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (mM—NS)

• Murchanas: Bihag set

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• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Behag

S-R₂-G₃-M₁-M₂-P-D₂-N₃-S

• Jazz: Lydionian

1-2-3-4-#4-5-6-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-4-5-6-7-9-11-0

(2–2–1–1–1–2–2–1)

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o • o • o o o o • o • o o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)

• Names: Maru Bihag, Marubihag, Meru-Bihag, ‘Yamani Bihag’

• Transliterations: Hindi (मारू बिहाग)

—Ravi Shankar (1963)—