S-R-G-P-D-N-S
Long fabled as a favourite of Lord Shiva, Shankara (‘Auspicious‘) takes its name from a famous epithet of the deity (Rajan Parrikar: “the musical embodiment of [Shiva’s] personality, comporting with all its attributes: raudra, veera, irascible, volatile, capricious…”). Often considered a pre-midnight raga, it ascends with SGPDNS, often in vakra patterns, before adding subtle touches of shuddha Re in avroh (thus allowing for hints of Hansadhwani). In Tanarang‘s vivid description, “You wake up from a stupor or disturbed state of mind upon hearing Shankara, a surge of life force…Veera rasa is the best expression of this raga, with raudra roop for the tandav [destruction dance] of Lord Shankara”. Also refer to an AUTRIM pitch-graph, mapping the swirling movements of a Dagarvani vocal rendition by Uday Bhawalkar. Associated with a trio of seldom-heard variants: Shankara Aran (SGMPDNS), Shankara Bharan (SRGmMPDNS), and Shankara Karan (SRGMPDnNS) – however Parrikar notes that “all of them have gone out of fashion, and…no consensus prevails on their movements”. Compare to other members of the Bilawal raganga.
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग शंकरा
Search | Glossary | Tags
• Hindustani Raga Index •
Aroha: SGPNDSN
Avroh: SNDP, GPRGRS
Pakad: variable, e.g. GPNPG; GPNDNS
Chalan: e.g. PNSG; GPRGRS; GPNDSNPG; GPNDNS; RNSNDSN; DPG; GPNPG; GPRGRS (Bor/Vyas)
—Purbayan Chatterjee (2019)—
[motif, e.g. 5:37] SNRS N, (N)D D(S), D(SNS), DDPGP, (D)NND/S N(DP)…
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• Ragmalas •
Historic miniature paintings (learn more)
“Shankara, putra of Megha: The epithet ‘Shankara’ [‘auspicious’, ‘joy-bringing’] is usually associated with Shiva, Chief of the Storm Gods. However in this case he is represented as Vishnu, the Preserver, being praised by fellow deities, including Shiva as a five-headed, ash-covered ascetic, with tiger skin dhoti, garland of skulls, and cobra necklace – with the four-faced Brahma, elephant-headed Ganesha, and Indra, Vedic King of the Gods. Interestingly, the verse does not describe him as Vishnu, but merely mentions his appearance: his splendid garment, crown, ornaments, and lotus-like eyes…” (Mughal, c.1620)
• Recent Raga Index Updates (Oct 2026): Melodic ‘snapshots’ of prachalit ragas • Up to 365 raga pages! Some highlights: Bayati, Basant Mukhari, Bilaskhani Todi, Chandranandan, DoGa Kalyan, Jog, Kalavati, Kaushiki, Malkauns, Maru, Meladalan, Parameshwari, Sarangkauns, Vachaspati (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)
Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas
#raga #jazzguitar #indianmusic #icm #londonmusic
Sep 30
E8 Boogie (Squarepusher): @sqpusher did I get them right? Tried to work out guitar voicings for this curious chord sequence in E8 Boogie (…originally at the request of a student!)
Original: Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson (from 1997’s Hard Normal Daddy)
#jungle #jazzguitar #warprecords #idm #dnb @warprecords
Sep 27
Raag Jaiwanti Todi (SrgmPDnS): An Ahiri-prakriti raga introduced by Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela (1904-1980): the hereditary ruler of Sanand who gained wide renown as a spiritual teacher, vocal educator, and generous patron of the nascent Mewati gharana (also the creator of Gyankali and other ragas). Sung here by his student Pandit Jasraj – a bandish I’ve always loved, especially the ferocious taan and colourful harmonium accompaniment…
—Original: Pandit Jasraj (khayal); Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium); Nizamuddin Khan? (tabla)
#raga #khayal #indianmusic #worldmusic #icm
Sep 22
Raag Prabhateshwari (SrgmPDnS): A mysterious raga created by Hariprasad Chaurasia, played here by his nephew Rakesh – resembling a blend of the morning Ahir Bhairav and the late night Bageshri. I was inspired to learn the raga when researching Maa Annapurna Devi’s time teaching Hariprasad (many thanks to my crack team of experts including Rupak Kulkarni, Alam Khan, George Ruckert, Suresh Vyas, Anindya Banerjee, and Gopi Shanker, who all gave valuable assistance in illuminating the raga’s origins)
—Original: Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), live at Darbar 2008 @chaurasia_rakesh @darbarfestival
#raga #darbarfestival #indianmusic #bansuri #worldmusic
Sep 15
• 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: Kesari Kalyan
See all shadav ragas which omit Ma – and also compare to other members of the Bilawal raganga
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–R–G–P–D–N–S
• Reverse: SrgmdnS
• Complement: SrgmMdnS (=Meladalan)
• Imperfect: 1 (Ni)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: mirror (mM—NS)
• Murchanas: Shankara set
• Quirks: ‘self-shadowing‘ (negative form=core form) • ‘atritonal‘ (no available tritones)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Shankaramohana
S-R2-G3-P-D2-N3-S
• Jazz: Major/Ionian (no 5th)
1-2-3-5-6-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-4-7-9-11-0
(2–2–3–2–2–1)
o • o • o • • o • o • o o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)
• Names: Shankara, Sankara
• Transliterations: Hindi (शंकरा); Bengali (শঙ্করা); Kannada (ಶಂಕರ)
—Bhimsen Joshi (1993)—
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An open-ended project seeking to bring North Indian raga closer to all who approach with open ears. Combines direct input from dozens of leading Hindustani artists with in-depth insights from music history, global theory, performance practice, cognitive science, and much more besides!
–Masterlist (1000+ ragas)–
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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!
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