S-R-G-M-P-d-n-S

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Already a rare mode in Carnatic music (mela #62), Rishabhapriya has barely been touched by Hindustani musicians. Equivalent to ‘Charukeshi tivra Ma’ or ‘Vachaspati komal dha’, all poorvang swaras are set to their highest specific positions, and all uttarang swaras are at their lowest (SRGM+PdnS: like ‘Yaman’s poorvang + Bhairavi’s uttarang’). The rare Ma–ni sangati is on stark display, and artists must navigate a highly distinctive ‘whole-tone run’ which occupies most of the scale form (dnSRG: ‘2-2-2-2’: shared by Charukeshi, Imratkauns, & Sehera). Like its murchana partner Kokilapriya, Rishabhapriya has 5 ‘imperfect’ swaras (=those with no swara a perfect 5th above them) and 4 ‘detached’ swaras (=no swaras a perfect 5th above or below), in both cases the theoretical maximum for a 7-note scale – bringing a dispersed, fragmented feel to its melodies. So far, the only formal Hindustani recording I can find is a 2025 release by Abhirang, who demonstrates the scale’s multifaceted possibilities with slow, patient vocal elaborations across all three octaves (alap transcribed below) – although some renditions of Dhyan Kalyan add shades of Pa to its Sehera-congruent SRGMdnS core form. Also compare to Shanmukhpriya (komal ga instead) and Latangi (shuddha Ni instead), as well as other ‘fragmented’ ragas (=over half the swaras are ‘detached’), and other members of the ‘32 thaat’ (=all possible 7-swara sampurna scales). I hope that more Hindustani performers will soon be tempted by the challenge of Rishabhapriya’s strange, unresolving geometries…

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राग ऋषभप्रिया

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—Abhirang (2025)—

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[alap, e.g. 6:31] S/dMPGM(G)R M(RGM) G(M) (G)P (M)d, Pdn(d) d(P)P, (P)M Pdn(d) d(Pd)P MGR, S /nd (PMP)M, MdndM d(M)MGr Grndn rGMdn(dndP), P(MP)…

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• Carnatic Origins •

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—Ragam Rishabhapriya (mela #62)—

(Sandeep Narayan)

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–All ragas of Carnatic origin–

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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: Thaat #11

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–G–M–P–d–n–S

• Reverse: SRGmMdnS

• Complement: SrgmDNS

• Imperfect: 5 (Re, Ga, Ma, dha, ni)

• Detached: 4 (Ga, Ma, dha, ni)

• Symmetries: mirror (r—P)

• Murchanas: Kokilapriya (on Pa)

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• Quirks: ‘fragmented‘ (at least half the swaras are detached) • 5 ‘imperfect’ and 4 ‘detached’ swaras (in both cases the theoretical maximum for a 7-note scale)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: Rishabhapriya (mela #62)

S-R₂-G₃-M₂-P-D₁-N₂-S

• Jazz: Lydian Minor

1-2-3-#4-5-b6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-4-6-7-8-10-0

(2–2–2–1–1–2–2)

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o • o • o • o o o • o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Rishabhapriya, Rishabpriya

• Transliterations: Hindi (ऋषभप्रिया); Kannada (ರಿಷಭಪ್ರಿಯ); Malayalam (ഋഷഭപ്രിയ); Punjabi (ਰਿਸ਼ਭਾਪ੍ਰਿਆ); Tamil (ரிஷபப்பிரியா); Telugu (రిషభప్రియ)