Raga Theory: Structure, Pakad, Vadi–Samvadi and Time of Day
Raga theory questions in the PSEB paper are mostly definitional and comparative: define a term precisely, then prove you can apply it to a named raga. A raga is more than a scale - it is a melodic entity defined by its swaras, their order and emphasis, its pakad, and its assigned time.
Core vocabulary
- Thaat: Bhatkhande's ten-scale classification (Bilawal, Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari, Bhairavi, Bhairav, Kalyan, Marwa, Purvi, Todi). A thaat has all seven swaras and no vadi, pakad or time; a raga does.
- Jati: audav (5 swaras), shadav (6), sampurna (7). Aroha and avaroha may differ, giving labels such as shadav–sampurna.
- Vakra: zigzag movement that skips back over a swara; varjya: an omitted swara.
- Vadi: the king swara, most frequently rested on. Samvadi: usually the fourth or fifth from the vadi. Anuvadi: remaining swaras. Vivadi: a swara that sounds wrong in that raga.
- Pakad: the short identifying phrase that names the raga even when aroha–avaroha is not quoted.
- Nyas: a resting note. Graha or amsa: the starting note.
- Time: the day is divided into eight prahars of about three hours; night ragas fall in the first four prahars after sunset.
Worked example: Bhairav
Bhairav is sampurna, takes komal Re and komal Dha both with andolan, has vadi Dha and samvadi Re, and belongs to the first prahar of the morning. Its pakad is Ga Ma Pa Dha~ Pa, Ma Ga~ Re~ Sa. Asked to separate it from Ahir Bhairav, note that Ahir Bhairav uses shuddha Dha with komal Ni, has vadi Ma, and is also a morning raga.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating a thaat as a raga (Bhairav is in Bhairav thaat, but the two are not the same thing).
- Swapping vadi and samvadi.
- Giving clock times instead of a prahar.
- Writing andolan as a plain komal note with no shake.