Surdasi Malhar | SRmPDnNS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-R-m-P-D-nN-S

A combination of melodies from the Malhar and Sarang ragangas, said to have been created by Saint Surdas: a blind 16th-century poet-musician renowned for his evocations of Krishna amidst themes of shringara and bhakti. The raga which bears his name is described by Tanarang as “uttarang-pradhan, with general movement around taar Sa…[lyrics] are dominated by descriptions of clouds, thunder, and lightning…in comparison to other Malhar forms, this raga is less deep…”). Ocean of Ragas advises that “shuddha Dha is used in avroh in a peculiar fashion, as [SnDmP; PnDP]”, also pointing to the influence of Sorath – and noting two additional variants (“one without Dha, and another with komal ga, favoured by Dhrupadyas”). Sitarist Srinivas Reddy recently recommended me an outstanding 1984 rendition by Nikhil Banerjee (“the drut gat is so powerful and triumphant…”).

• Raga Megalist (365+) •

राग सूरदासी मल्हार

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SRmP, nDmPNS

Avroh: SnDmP, nDPmRS

Chalan: e.g. SmRm; (m)RmP; DPmR; RmP; nDmPnDP; PDPmR; NSRS; mRNS; SnDmPnDP; PDPmRm; NS (Bor/Dasgupta)

—Venkatesh Kumar (2016)—

[refrain, e.g. 1:11] PnP m(R) RSNS (P)S, (nD)n (DP)D (P)m; PnP m(R) RSNS (P)S, (nD)n (DP)D (P)m…

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Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

—Imagery: Surdas (c.1480-1580)—

“Surdas’s meeting with Akbar, the Mughal emperor, came about in a fortuitous manner. The Emperor praised Tansen for his musical skill, but wondered if there was anyone who surpassed him at singing. Tansen mentioned Surdas’s name. A meeting was arranged, and Surdas became a favorite of Akbar. But Akbar did not pester Surdas to sing his praises: only once he issued that command did Surdas sing in praise of Krishna. The song impressed Akbar…”

• Recent Raga Index Updates (Dec 2025): Added new ragas: e.g. Asa, Basant Bahar, Badhans Sarang, Bayati, Chandni Todi, Chandraprabha, Deepavali, Firozkhani Todi, Gaud, Japaniya, Kaushiki, Latangi, Maru, Palas, Sarangkauns, Shivanjali, Shrutivardhini • ‘Bifurcations‘: analysis via ‘poorvang + uttarang’ formulas • DoGa Kalyan & 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: Badhans Sarang, Samant Sarang**, Miyan ki Sarang*

Also see other shadav ragas which omit Ga

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–R–m–P–D–nN–S

• Reverse: SrRgmPnS

• Negative: 5-2-1-2-2 (e.g. Adbhut Kalyan)

• Imperfect: 2 (Dha, Ni)

• Detached: 1 (Ni)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Anup (on Pa)

–Global Translations–

• Carnatic: ~Narayani

S-R₂-M₁-P-D₂-N₂-N₃-S

• Jazz: Bebop Dominant (no 3rd)

1-2-4-5-6-b7-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-5-7-9-10-11-0

(2–3–2–2–1–1–1)

o • o • • o • o • o o o o

• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Surdasi Malhar, Sur Malhar

• Transliterations: Hindi (सूरदासी मल्हार); Bengali (সুর মল্লার)

—Nikhil Banerjee (1984)—

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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!

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Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni

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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!