Shuddha Basant | SrGmMPDNS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-r-G-mM-P-D-N-S

Typically considered the modern successor to the ‘original’ form of Basant – with Maihar musicians such as Nikhil Banerjee and Nityanand Haldipur considering it inseparable from Adi Basant (‘shuddha’, as well as referring to ‘pure’ or ‘unaltered’ swaras, may also indicate ‘primary’ or ‘original’: similar to the meaning of ‘adi’). Generally, it differs from the ‘main’ Basant in taking a shuddha Dha (placing it in line with Marwa thaat), although Dhrupad artists may omit Pa, and others may include touches of shuddha ma in avroh amongst other disparate quirks (some link it to Lalit, Hemant, and Bhinna Shadja). Also refer to renditions by sitarist Kushal Das, sarodiya Amjad Ali Khan, and bansuriyas Pannalal Ghosh and Hariprasad Chaurasia – and compare to the similarly-ancient Pancham, as well as other Basant variants such as Malti Basant, Gauri Basant, and Dakshinatya Basant.

—Kushal Das (2014)—

[refrain, e.g. 0:10] D(SNR)S N(D), (NS)S (Gm)m D(SNR) (N)S N(D), M, m…

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• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

“Vasanta Raga, from a folio…” (Rajasthan, c.1670) / “Dancing nobleman play the role of Krishna in celebrations for the coming of spring, witnessed by flowering plants in the foreground, and the golden flower vessel balanced on his hand. The allusion to Krishna is secured by the nobleman’s skirt of peacock feathers, and the circle of female musicians accompanying him: together, they recall Krishna’s ‘raslila’ dance with the gopis…” (Rajasthan, c.1620)

• Recent Raga Index Updates (Nov 2025): Added new ragas: e.g. Asa, Basant Bahar, Badhans Sarang, Bayati, Chandni Todi, Chandraprabha, Deepavali, Firozkhani Todi, Gaud, Japaniya, Kaushiki, Kokilapriya, Latangi, Maru, Palas, Sarangkauns, Shanmukhpriya, Shivanjali, Shrutivardhini • Analysed the overlap of DoGa Kalyan and the Beatles’ Blue Jay Way • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Uncovered Prabhateshwari‘s origins • Transcribed Manjiri Asanare-Kelkar’s ‘Amodini‘ lec-dems • Experiments (e.g overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)

• 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

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.

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: Bhankari, Bhatiyar, Lalit Pancham, Pancham, Sohini Pancham, Vihang

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–r–G–mM–P–D–N–S

• Reverse: SrgmMPdNS

• Negative: 4-1-5-2

• Murchanas: none

–Global Translations–

S-R₁-G₃-M₁-M₂-P-D₂-N₃-S

1-b2-3-4-#4-5-6-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-4-5-6-7-9-11-0

(1–3–1–1–1–2–2–1)

o o • • o o o o • o • o o

• Names: Shuddha Basant, Suddha Vasanta, Sudh Vasant, (~’Shuddha Dha Basant’)

• Transliterations: Hindi (शुद्ध बसन्त); Bengali (শুদ্ধ বসন্ত)

—Hariprasad Chaurasia (1994)—

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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!