S-R-g-P-D-S

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A spellbinding raga resembling ‘Bhupali komal ga’ (or ‘Kafi no ma/ni’), Shivranjani’s melodies, described by Kalakar as “plaintive and haunting”, are said to appease the destructive rage of Lord Shiva (a similar mythology to that of Malkauns). Tanarang suggests illustrative combinations of SRgPD; PDPgR; gRgSRDS, although interpretations vary greatly within the scale’s pentatonic bounds (see melodic considerations) – and the raga may arrive in mishra form (e.g. the double-sitar jugalbandi below by my own gurus Shivnath & Deobrat Mishra: a ‘mishra-Mishra’ rendition). Derived from the congruent Carnatic Sivranjani, the raga remains generally more popular with instrumentalists than vocalists (although Lata Mangeshkar has successfully set it in filmi). Also see my collaborator Jesse Bannister’s solo saxophone take, recorded in a highly resonant Cumbrian Cave in the North of England. Compare to proximate scales such as Bhupali (SRGPDS), Japaniya (SRgPdS), Bhupeshwari (SRGPdS), Trishnaa (SRgGPdDS), and Lagan Gandhar (SRgg̃GPDS, with a ‘triple Ga’) – as well as to other ‘jagged‘ scales, i.e. those which have no ‘adjacent repeated intervals’ (SRgPDS: jumps of ‘2-1-4-2-3‘). Vocalist Moumita Mitra mentions that the equivalent tone-set is sometimes known as ‘Maalti’ in Pakistan.

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• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •

राग शिवरंजनी

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SRgPDS

Avroh: SDPgRS

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Pakad: variable, e.g. SRgPD; PgRSDS

Chalan: (open-form) – illustrative sequences e.g. SRgPD, PDPgR, RgRSR DS (Tanarang)

• As with many Carnatic imports, melodic consensus is limited, with no established pakad or chalan – and the raga regularly arrives in ‘mishra’ form (often via a double-Ga: e.g. DSRG; PgRS)

• Vakra motions are common (e.g. DPDSgR; SRgRgR; SRSDS) – although straight-line melodies maintain interest given the lack of ‘repeated jumps’ (i.e. no interval appears twice in a row – SRgPDS: ‘2-1-4-2-3’)

• Komal ga stands out as the only non-shuddha swara, and the only swara ‘detached’ from all samvad relationships – with the Rg pairing offering the only available hemitone resolution

• While sharing its characteristic tritonal ga-Dha axis with Kafi thaat, the absence of ma distances the raga from the Kafi-ang and any familiar raganga (as virtually no other raga restricts its poorvang to SRg)

• Associated with Lord Shiva (‘shiva-ranjani’: ‘that which delights Shiva’) – and, like Malkauns, said to appease his destructive rage

—Shivnath & Deobrat Mishra (2013)—

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[mishra refrain, e.g. 3:37] DSgg, gRS, RRgR, (R)SSGG, GPDP, ggRS(R)S…

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• More •

Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

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—Imagery: Shiva’s Tandav (Badami)—

“Salutations to Lord Shiva, whose hair is like a dense forest, whose throat is wet by the pure, flowing water of the Ganga; the snakes resting around his neck are like garlands; ‘Dhaga-dhaga-dhaga’ sound the drums, describing the passionate dance of the fearless Shiva…” (Shiva Tandava Stotra)

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• Carnatic Origins •

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—Ragam Shivaranjani—

(A. Kanyakumari & V. Sanjeev)

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–All ragas of Carnatic origin–

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• Guitaragas •

My attempts to capture the raga on electric guitar (see more on my Insta)

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—Sitarkhani improv (electric guitar)—

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A brief electric guitar improvisation in sitarkhani taal (working on different ways to return to the sthayi)

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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: (none found)

Also see other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Re-Ga-Pa-Dha‘

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–g–P–D–S

• Reverse: SgmDnS (=Sundarkauns)

• Complement: SrGmMdnNS

• Imperfect: 2 (ga, Dha)

• Detached: 1 (ga)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Shivranjani set

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• Quirks: ‘jagged‘ (no ‘adjacent interval repetitions’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: Sivaranjani

S-R₂-G₂-P-D₂-S

• Jazz: Dorian (no 4th/7th)

1-2-b3-5-6-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-3-7-9-0

(2–1–4–2–3)

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o • o o • • • o • o • • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+ga)

• Names: Shivranjani, Sivranjani

• Transliterations: Hindi (शिवरंजनी); Kannada (ಶಿವರಂಜನಿ); Malayalam (ശിവരഞ്ജനി); Tamil (சிவரஞ்சனி); Telugu (శివరంజని); Sinhala (ශිවරංජනී)

—Jesse Bannister (2011)—