shankarAbharaNam: Raga Lakshana

From sangeetham.com

shankarAbharaNam is a melody that enjoys great importance universally, in almost all the
systems of music, from time immemorial. Almost similar to the Major Diatonic scale, or the C
Major of Western music, this rAga enjoys a regal status in the realm of Indian music. Rightly has
it been referred to as 'rAga rAjasya mELakaha' in the Chaturdandiprakasika. Even in the 12th
Century, it was classified as a rAgAnga rAga by Parsvadeva, and it is one of the pUrva prasiddha
rAgAnga ragas listed by Sarangadeva. Besides, most of the works on music have classified it as
an important mELa. This rAga is only the nishAda mUrchana of the ancient ShaDja grAma scale
and was known as ranjani in the mUrchana-jAti system. The rAga was very much in practice in
the Ancient Tamil Music system as a sampUrNa scale known by the name paN pazhampanjuram.
We have bilAval thAT of Hindustani music which corresponds to shankarAbharaNam. It has
always maintained the status of a major parent rAga, giving rise to a number of janya ragas.

Being the 29th mELa, shankarAbharaNam is one of the six mELas that can boast of possessing
symmetrical tetra chords in the scale arrangement, the other five being kanakAngi, hanumatODi,
mAyAmALavagauLa, kharaharapriya and calanATa. The svaras are ShaDja, catushruti riShabha,
antara gAndhAra, shuddha madhyama, pancama, catushruti dhaivata and kAkali niShAda. It may
be of interest to observe the well-distributed svara intervals of shankarAbharaNa scale. S-R2,
M1-P & P-D2: chatushruti interval; R2-G3 & D2-N3: trishruti interval; G3-M1 & N3-S : dvishruti
interval. Thus it is one of those uttama mELas having samvAdi pairs for all the svaras, like S-M1,
S-P, R2-P, R2-D2 & G3-N3. It is not surprising that the rAga is so appealing to the senses and
that it instantly ushers in a mood of sublimity considering that there is so much of samvAditva or
consonance inherent in its structure. Also, all svaras excepting the madhyamam, are tIvra svaras.
This shuddha madhyama here acts as a bridge and balances the tIvra svaras of the pUrvAnga
and the uttarAnga, thus sustaining the innate sublimity of the melody throughout.

Subbarama Dikshitar states that it is the unanimous opinion of the pUrvAcAryas that
shankarAbharaNam is the most superior amongst all ragas. niShAdam, gAndhAram,
madhyamam and pancamam are the jIva svaras. He says all the svaras contribute equally to the
rAga's rakti, though ShaDja is the main graha, amsa and nyAsa svara. He points out the 'nokku's
for riShabha, gAndhAra, dhaivata and niShAda in the ascent and the 'odukkal's and 'iRakka jAru's
for all the vikrta svaras in the descent. He specifies that usages such as S'\DP,- S'N(d)P,- S'(d)P,
-M/P(g)R,S contribute largely to the ranjakatva of the rAga.

Though it is generally referred to as a sarva svara gamaka varika rakti rAga, and that too a major
rAga giving endless scope for elaboration, there are certain restrictions when it comes to the
gamaka patterns. The heart of shankarAbharaNam rests in the conspicuously plain antara
gAndhAra, that produces a soothing effect amidst the tIvra riShabha, dhaivata and kampita
madhyama. Similarly the absence of kampita in niShAda is also significant. gAndhAra and
niShAda are just characterized by nokku. This factor easily distinguishes this rAga from kalyANi,
which admits of wide kampitam in these two svaras. Sometimes N admits of mild oscillation too,
as in phrases like N,,SRGMGGRSN,, but even in such instances, niShAdam sounds more like an
anusvara to ShaDja, though it is intoned as N. Even if we observe the scalar arrangement of
shankarAbharaNam, it can be noted that there is an alternate succession of plain and kampita
svaras. This accounts for the classy, proportionate melodic structure of the rAga, and also to its
sobriety. This sedateness is balanced by the gambhIratva that is created by the strong oscillation
of riShabha and dhaivata. The svastAna gamaka in these two svaras (SR,,S and PD,,P) are
beautiful.

The extent of oscillation in madhyama is variable. It is either rendered plain (as in PGMRGS and
S,/PMG,) or with ardha kampita (as in SRGM,, SP,M,, and RGMGGRSN), or with dIrgha kampita
when it is combined with pancama (M~,,P, and GM~,,P/D,^NS'). It is this last mentioned tIvra
madhyama that is widely used in bEgaDa (besides its own bEgaDa M), one of the classic janyas
of shankarAbharaNam. The ardha kampita madhyama is imbibed by its other janya nIlAmbari.

It is not uncommon to hear plain svaras in this magical rAga, especially in the dhATu and jaNTa
prayOgas like RNSDNPDMPGMRGS, SSRRGGMMP and GGMMDDNNR. Such usages abound
in 'calamEla', the aTa tALa varNa of Swati Tirunal. The sprightly nOTTu svara sAhityas of
Muttuswami Dikshitar are all wrapped up in such plain svaras, akin to the Western band airs.
Herein one can come across phrases like SGS, MRM, GPMR, SNP, etc.

gAndhAram functions as an important amsa and nyAsa svara. No delineation of this rAga would
be complete without highlighting the importance of G. And equally significant is the combination
of G and M. pancama and madhyama are other amsa, nyAsa svaras. There cannot be any nyAsa
or amsa on riShabha, dhaivata and nishAda. Unlike kalyANi, niShAda is generally treated as a
passing note here, but its role is more significant as an anusvara, rather than as a whole svara. It
is common to hear ShaDja varjya and pancama varjya prayOgas both in the ascent and descent
of kalyANi, which is the prati madhyama counterpart of shankarAbharaNam. These types of
varjya phrases enhance the interest in shankarAbharaNam too, but only in the ascent
(GMDNRSNDPMGRS - N.RGMGRS - N.RGMDPMGRS). Combinations like SP,MG, S/D~,,PMG,
-S'^N(d)P,- /S'DP,- PS(d)P- S,(d )P, etc. are commonly employed to add beauty. samvAdi and
stAyi combinations like SP,- SM,- SS', - S'P, etc. are used but those like GD, GN, RD are better
avoided lest they should suggest kalyANi.

shankarAbharaNam is a pancasvara mUrcanAkAraka mELa. If the tonic note is shifted to

riShabha, gAndhAra, madhyama, pancama or dhaivata, the resulting ragas would be
kharaharapriya, tODi, kalyANi, harikAmbhOji and naTabhairavi respectively. It could be noted that
the madhyama mUrcana of this shuddha madhyama mELa gives rise to its prati madhyama
counterpart.

This tristAyi rAga is a parent of numerous popular janyas such as hamsadhwani, Arabhi,
pUrNacandrika, janaranjani, aThANa, bilahari, kEdAram, kannaDa, dEvagAndhAri, etc. The
nishAdAntya, pancamAntya ragas like kuRinji and navrOj are only replicas of shankarAbharaNam,
but due to the truncation, they admit of limited sancAras and are usually rendered in madhyama
shruti. Nevertheless they possess their own melodic individuality. It is said that
shankarAbharaNam itself, in the period of ancient Tamil music, was initially only reckoned as a
madhyama mUrcana of the shuddha scale (harikAmbhOji), though it was also a paN (sampUrNa
rAga). The strings of the yAzh or the harp were tuned to the svaras of shuddha scale, and when
the need to play paN pazhampanjuram arose, the tonic note was shifted to the madhyama string
of the yAzh and played or sung. Thus because of the limitations of the yAzh and also of the
human voice, the range of the tEvArams in shankarAbharaNam was restricted to the tAra stAyi
ShaDja. Later with the advent of the vINa, the rAga evolved into a wholesome sampUrNa rAga,
fulfilling the requisites of a mELa.

It can be safely claimed that shankarAbharaNam is the most utilised rAga all over the world. This
ghana raga would readily accommodate any kind of musical creation, be it classical, semi-
classical or light, kalpita or manodharma sangIta, would suit any emotion, any tempo - viLamba,
madhyama or durita. It is not surprising that there are innumerable compositions in this rAga by
all composers.

Compositions:
There are innumerable compositions in shankarAbharaNam of all genres.
calamEla of Swati Tirunal and sAmi ninnE kOri of Vina Kuppayyar are standard starters in a
concert. manavi cEkkona rAdA, the padavarNam of Ponnaiah Pillai is an elaborate piece that
tests the skills of a dancer. It is a pity that this varNAm is not utilised in music concerts.

As usual with great ragas, the Tiruvarur Trinity has produced masterpieces in this raga too.
Shyama Sastri's sarOjadaLa nEtri and the rare dEvi mina nEtri, the former in madhyamakAla and
the latter in caukakAla provide ample testimony to the inimitable craftsmanship of this great
composer. The exact point at which neraval was to be done for sarOjadaLa was the subject of a
raging discussion in print between TT Krishnamachari and Kalki Krishnamurthy.

Versatility marks the eternal quality of the compositions of Tyagaraja. shankarAbharaNam is no

different. The bard has gifted the world with about 20 songs, all different in melodic structure and
individuality, each outlining a different aspect of the rAga. The very popular enduku pEddhala, the
philosophically advaitic and musically sublime manasu svAdhInamai, the cauka kAla masterpiece
Emi nEramu, the evergreen swararAga sudhA rasa which expounds the great purpose of music,
bhakti bhikshamiyyavE wherein the bard pleads to Rama to grant him devotion as alms and
budhirAdu, wherein the saint moans the silly and stupid ways of the world and mariyAda gAdurA -
all these kritis have only shankarAbharaNAm in common, but, what the poetry speaks of, the
music underlying each of the pieces conveys in tone and with ultimate perfection, thereby
rendering each of those compositions unique in raga bhAva. Who else but the Sage of
Tiruvaiyyaru could achieve such excellence in the world of tonal art? With the infinite musical
possibilities of shankarAbharaNam, is it any wonder that the great Tyagaraja has coaxed the raga
to yield all kinds of rasas? His other compositions include eduTa nilicitE, endukI calamu, ramA
ramaNa and many others. He has also composed a number of divyanAma kIrtanas in
shankarAbharaNam, of which the brisk ones like gatamOhA srita pAla and varalIlagAna lOla are
akin to the western notes.

Muttuswami Dikshitar's popular akshayalinga vibhO has the same dhAtu as Tyagaraja's manasu
swAdhInami in the pallavi. If the prosodic beauty in the anupallavi blends perfectly and is
stunningly beautiful musically, it is due in no small measure to the great scope that the rAga
possesses as to the limitless creativity of Dikshitar. His dakshiNAmUrtE in jhampa tALa is another
masterpiece that testifies to his genius and wherein the music itself reveals in subliminal tone, the
truth of Silence as exemplified by Lord Dakshinamurti Himself. Such is the soulful quality of the
song. girijaya ajaya and sadAshivam upAsmahE bring out the highly creative Dikshitar. In these
two songs, he has explored certain rare combinations spanning the three octaves. All said and
done, his navAvaraNA kriti in shankarAbharaNam is a class by itself. What better way to invoke
the Goddess than to just sing the pallavi lines of this masterpiece? The elevating quality of the
riShabha of shankarAbharaNAm is utilized to create the effect and the presence of the Shrine
itself. Dikshitar's nOTTuswara songs, numbering around 40 are all based on shankarAbharaNam
and correspond to western tunes.

Other compositions that testify to the classicism of shankarAbharaNam are entanuchu of

Subbaraya Sastri, mahima teliya taramA of Anayya, shankarAchAryam of Subbarama Dikshitar,
dEvi jagajjanani, the navarAtri kriti of Swati Tirunal, muthukumarayyanE of Ramaswami Sivan,
etc. Songs like konjam dayai, kanjamalaradu, mahAlakshmi and akhilANDa nAyaki of
Pananasam Sivan, alarulu guriyaga of Annamacharya, bAgumIra of Vina Kuppayyar, ADiya pAdA
of Gopalakrishna Bharathi are some of the other compositions that we get to hear in this rAga.
Besides, Kshetrayya's sundasEpu and Govindaswami Ayya's mAnamE bhUShaNamu are works
of great grandeur.

Maestros' Renditions

No musician worth his/her salt can do without shankarAbharaNam. We have Ariyakkudi's good
rendition of bhakti bhikShamiyyavE and akshayalinga vibhO. Semmangudi's competent rendition
of swara raga sudhA rasa and his grand, yet moving first kAla swaras for the song once in an FM
radio programme in 1984, with T. N. Krishnan and Trichy Sankaran will always remain in memory.
He learnt Dikshitar's dakShiNAmUrtE from T. Brinda and sang it often in concerts. But his best
rendition of the song is available in a private recording without accompaniments excepting K. S.
Narayanaswami's vINa. Semmangudi also sang Enduku pEddhala often as do other musicians.

Tanjavur Sankara Iyer once sang a beautiful AlApana of the raga as a prelude to dakshiNAmUrtE,
the rendition of which too was inspiring, at the Max Mueller Bhavan in Madras. Appropriately and
wisely, Sankara Iyer sang svaras only in the first kAla. This thoughtful action of his added to the
transcendental quality of his rendition.

Brinda-Muktas' large repertoire in shankarAbharaNam included Shyama Sastri's sarOjadaLa nEtri,

Tyagaraja's manasu svAdhInamaina, Emi nEramu and buddhi rAdu, Dikshitar's akshayalinga
vibhO and dakshiNAmUrtE, the Kshetrajna padams mAnamE bhUShaNAmu and sunda sEpu.
dakshiNAmUrtE was popularised on the concert platform by them and it is their family's 'sothu'
(property), so much have they made that song their own. akshayalinga vibhO in their version has
a lot of differences from that we get to listen usually. The polished rendition of the three kritis of
Tyagaraja mentioned above was a lesson in how they should be sung. As usual with the padams,
they were a class by themselves and the sisters' emotive singing of mAnamE bhUShaNamu and
sunda sEpu was like caviar, never failing to thrill rasikas who knew the true value of those
compositions. Their grandmother Dhanammal's 78 rpm recording of Anayya's mahima teliya
taramA, wherein she has both sung and played the vINa is a 3 minute vintage that is the rarest of
ethereal shankarAbharaNam.

In 1982, Balamurali Krishna gave a concert at the Vani Mahal, Madras, where he sang an
exquisite shankarAbharaNam followed by a sublime version of manasu svAdhInamaina. His
correct enunciation of the lyrics sought to highlight and bring out the total beauty of Tyagaraja's
masterpiece. A radio concert of the maestro featuring Emi nEramu proved how, if he wanted,
Balamurali could offer chaste music.

M. D. Ramanathan too had a large repertoire in shankarAbharaNam. manasu svAdhInamaina,

sarOjadaLa nEtri and akshayalinga vibhO were some of his favourites and, in his own inimitable
style, MDR gave a unique character to these songs. His AlApana for 20 minutes once, at the
Sastri hall, was so bhAvA oriented that it struck an emotionally responsive chord in the fortunate
few rasikas present that day. Utilising only the Shadja, riShabha, gAndhAra and madhyama for
about 10 minutes, the maestro wove magic through the notes.

Among instrumentalists Flute Mali and vINa K. S. Narayanaswami revelled in playing

shankarAbharaNAm. Mali's foray into the mandra niShAda and dhaivata for about five minutes at
the end of an AlApana resulted in rasikas holding their breath, before the breathtaking finale
made them cheer the genius repeatedly. The venue was The Mylapore Fine Arts Club in the
1970s. What exquisite gamakas and kArvais Mali wove in the mandra region!

K. S. Narayanaswami strictly adhered to lakShaNa. His mITTu and gamakas would be just right.
He could get to the very soul of shankarAbharaNAm with just a couple of mITTus. He could
clearly bring out the subtlety of the varying madhyamas of shankarAbharaNAm. An example of
his great vidvat was had at the Krishna Gana Sabha in the 1980s where he played this rAga.
KSN never hung on to the strings, never kept on pulling them. He just cajoled a bit here, coaxed a
bit there and let the glides and curves happen. The shankarabharaNam he played that day was a
rare instance of lakShaNa walking hand in hand with lakShya to produce exquisite music. One
also had the opportunity to interact with KSN on this raga at the home of one of his disciples. The
way he explained and demonstrated how one should limit oneself to the correct mITTus and pulls
to produce chaste music was a revelation.
Sidelight:

The film world has unfortunately not utilised this rAga properly in its full classical form, though
there are umpteen light numbers based on this rAga. P. U. Chinnappa's 'chandrOdayam idilE' for
a 1940s Tamil film was an example of pure shankarAbharaNAm.

The delightful song 'doe a deer' sung by Julie Andrews in the English film of the 1960s 'The
Sound of Music' is plain shankarAbharaNam.

Raja Saraboji II, the king of Tanjavur, (reigned 1798-1832) was a great patron of the arts. His
court boasted of great musicians such as Sonti Venkataramanayya, Pallavi Gopala Iyer, Todi
Seetharama Iyer, Chowkkam Srinivasa Iyengar, Vina Subbukutti Iyer, Talanayar Krishna Iyer and
Rettai Pallavi Sivarama Iyer etc.

The Tanjavur court reverberated with music performances by these and other visiting musicians
and dance performances. One of the court musicians was Narasayya. Once, Narayasayya sang
an elaborate shankarAbharaNam with such beauty and rAga bhAva that mesmerised the whole
court including Saraboji. Ever to recognise exceptional talent, Saraboji immediately decreed that
henceforth the musician should be addressed as shankarAbharaNam Narasayya. The rAga
became Narasayya's property. At all his performances he was requested to sing
shankarAbharaNAm. Narasayya could elaborate the raga for hours together without repeating
sangatIs.Such was his prowess in the raga.

Once Narasayya faced a severe financial crisis. Being a self-respecting man, he could not bring
himself to ask for charity from anyone. But the problem had to be solved. He therefore decided to
undertake a trip to Kapisthalam, a village on the banks of the Cauvery, about 12 miles from
Tanjavur. Here resided Ramabhadra Moopanar, a landlord and a prominent personality of the
area. He was also a great lover and patron of music. The recently deceased Karuppaiah
Moopanar, Congress party leader, was a great-grandson of Ramabhadra Moopanar. The latter
had hosted even the great Thyagaraja at his home in Kapisthalam. Narasayya went straight to
Moopanar's house and asked him for a short-term loan of 80 sovereigns of gold. Ramabhadra
Moopanar asked Narasayya whether he could offer any security in lieu of the loan. Narasayya
told Moopanar that he had an invaluable AbharaNam (jewel) and that he could offer that as
hypothecation. 'Ah, let's see that AbharaNAm', said Moopanar. 'No, that AbharaNAm can't be
seen, it can only be heard. It is my own property. It is the raga shankarAbharaNAm. I am pledging
shankarAbharaNAm with you and promise you that I shall not sing the raga until I repay the loan',
said Narasayya. The amused Moopanar insisted on a promissory note to the effect that
Narasayya would not sing shankarAbharaNAm anywhere before returning the 80 sovereigns of
gold.

Thereafter, Narasayya stopped singing shankarAbharaNAm. His rasikas sorely missed his
delectable delineation of the rAga. Whenever a request was made to Narasayya for
shankarAbharaNAm, he demurred and declined to sing either the rAga or any compositions in it.
He however did not offer any explanation.

Once, there was a wedding at the house of Appuraya, an official of the East India Company at
Kumbhakonam. Appuraya arranged for music concerts by many stalwarts of that time. Narasayya
was also slated to sing. On the day of Narasayya's performance, there was a huge turnout.
Appuraya requested Narasayya to begin his performance with the shankarAbharaNAm varNam.
Narasayya was taken aback as it was difficult to refuse Appuraya's request. He therefore
explained to Appuraya that he had pledged his favourite raga with Ramabhadra Moopanar for a
loan of 80 sovereigns of gold and that without repaying the loan, he, Narasayya, could not sing
shankarAbharaNAm. Appuraya was shocked that a great raga could be thus hocked. He
immediately sent a messenger with 80 sovereigns of gold and a letter with instructions to bring
back the promissory note. When the messenger reached Kapisthalam and gave the gold to
Moopanar, the latter, a gentleman and a great rasika to boot, himself rushed to Kumbhakonam.
The musician and rasikas were waiting. Moopanar went to the dais and met Narasayya and
Appuraya. He said, "Had Narasayya asked me for money with all the privilege that he had with
me, I would have happily given him. It hurt me very much that he should ask for a loan. Everyone
knows that I am a great rasika of Narasayya and our intimate relationship. Since he was very
formal with me and insisted on a loan, I also decided to follow the proper procedures and insisted
on hypothecation. No one has absolutely any right to subject art to bondage. As punishment for
this sin of mine, I have decided to forfeit both the interest as well as the capital. I also request
Narasayya to sing shankarAbharaNAm." So saying, Ramabhadra Moopanar gave the 80
sovereigns of gold to Narasayya.

That was the story of shankarAbharaNAm being hocked. Strange indeed are the acts of men of
the arts and their patrons.

Sangeetham Raga Team

Sanjay's Reflections:

Whenever I think of this raga I am reminded of an interesting incident. A friend of mine, an

amateur musician and keen enthusiast, once asked me " Who discovered shankarAbharaNam? I
want to congratulate him!" He was so enamoured by the beauty of this raga that he wondered if
there could be someone who actually discovered it!

shankarAbharaNam immediately brings to mind a sedate and serene thought. Just a kArvai in the
antara gAndhAra conjures images of the Dakshinamurti deep in penance!

The music community for long has associated shankarAbharaNam with the inimitable MSS. Her
soulful renditions of the various great compositions especially some of the rarer ones like
sadAshivam upAsmahE and ATTra piravi (Tiruvembavai) can never be forgotten. I recently came
across an old 78 rpm record of Dhanammal rendering mahima tEliya and also singing snatches of
the song in between. It is a most quaint and haunting piece.

Traditional favorites of shankarAbharaNam have included Semmangudi ( many many songs, the
Poochi tillana and that brilliant RTP - tsakkaga nI bhajana), MDR (again many many songs and a
wonderful RTP starting with the words "sa ri ga madhava nannu brOva vayya" in svarAksharam),
Ramnad Krishnan (can we ever forget that akshayalinga vibho!), Madurai Mani Iyer (His
inimitable tUkkiya tiruvaDi with neraval in the line "yettanayO piravi"), all members of the Dhanam
school including Brinda, Muktha, Viswa (especially dEvi mIna nEtri of Syama Sastri), and
Ariyakudi ( a terrific enduku peddala with Papa and Pazhani). GNB was not really known for his
shankarAbharaNam but I still thought his versions of songs like nannubrOva, manasu svAdina
and Emi nEramu were quite exqusite.

Listening live I have enjoyed some of the best shankarAbharaNam s from KVN (again many
songs but bhakti biksha being special), DKJ ( a terrific RTP in the Academy starting with the
words "samAnama, sabhApatE, sadAshiva" again in svarAksharam), TNS (his eduta nilacite is
really something special), TMT ( a wonderful RTP in an AIR recital in khanda gati) and
Maharajapuram Santhanam ( one particular rendition of mahAlakshmi jagan mAta in an AIR
recital).

Of the songs that I learnt from my Guru Shri KSK, I really treasure some of the
shankarAbharaNam songs like an aTa tALa varnam of Madurai Subramaniya Iyer, bAgumIra of
Vina Kuppayyar and Elaku daya vaccura ( I forget the composer). It is strange that
shankarAbharaNam has not really been the forte of the Nagaswaram players. We hear more
about tODi and kAmbhOji. I think this raga is made more for the Vina and is evident especially in
the Dikshitar masterpieces where the subtle nuances and graces are brought out beautifully. I
can never forget once when Shri S.Balachander during a lecdem, just played the gandhAra,
looked up and asked "What rAgam could this be?" and many responded immediately
"shankarAbharaNam!

CONCLUDED