Raga and Its Classification
This domain tests raga as a melodic system, not a scale. You must define raga, classify it by jati and thaat, identify vadi, samvadi, anuvadi and vivadi, state its time, and explain pakad and chalan.
Core rules
- Jati counts notes in aroha and avaroha: audav 5, shadav 6, sampurna 7. Mixed jati is written as audav-sampurna, etc.
- Bhatkhande's ten thaats group ragas by their swara set: Bilawal, Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari, Bhairavi, Bhairav, Kalyan, Marwa, Poorvi and Todi. A thaat is a scale; a raga is a living melodic entity with chalan.
- Vadi is the principal note, samvadi the second; anuvadi are other notes; vivadi are avoided or used only in special phrases.
- Time theory assigns ragas to periods of day and night; sandhiprakash ragas sit at twilight.
- Pakad is a short identifying phrase; chalan is the characteristic movement.
Worked example
Classify Yaman. Its swara set is S R G M^ P D N, so it belongs to Kalyan thaat. It is sampurna-sampurna. Vadi is Ga and samvadi is Ni. It is an evening raga, traditionally first prahar of night. Reasoning: the tivra Ma places it in Kalyan, not Bilawal; the presence of both Re and Ni rules out audav jati; vadi and samvadi are separate from the thaat label.
Traps
- Calling a thaat a raga, or assuming all ragas in a thaat have the same aroha.
- Classifying only from the aroha and ignoring avaroha jati.
- Confusing vadi with the first note sung; vadi is the raga's principal note.
- Giving a scale instead of a pakad when asked for identification.