Arabhi or Aarabhi (pronounced ārabhi) is a ragam (musical scale) in

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

(South Indian classical music). It is a ''

Janya ''Janya'' is a term meaning "derive". In Carnatic (South Indian) music a ''janya raga'' is one derived from one of the 72 '' melakarta'' ragas (fundamental melodic structures). ''Janya'' ragas are classified into various types based on a vari ...

'' raga (derived scale), whose '' Melakarta'' raga (parent scale, also known as ''janaka'') is '' Shankarabharanam'', 29th in the 72 ''Melakarta'' raga system. It is a combination of the pentatonic scale '' Shuddha Saveri'' (or ''

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

'' in

Hindustani Music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

) and the '' sampurna raga'' scale ''Shankarabharanam''. ''Arabhi'' is a

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

that dates back to 7 AD. Originally, it was called as ''pazhanthakkam'' in Ancient Tamil music. A very auspicious ragam that emanates Veera rasa (valour), Arabhi is one of the five ''Ghana'' ragams that shine with special brilliance when '' Thanam'' is played on Veena.

Structure and Lakshana

Its structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see '' swaras in Carnatic music'' for details on below notation and terms): * : * : ''Arabhi'' raga is an ''Owdava-sampoorna'' raga meaning, 5 ''

swara Swara () or svara is an Indian classical music term that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, a note, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave, or ''saptanka''. More comprehensively ...

s'' occur in the '' arohana'' (so it is called ''Owdava'') and in '' avarohana'' all ''swaras'' occur (so ''sampoorna''). It is a raga without much '' gamakas'' and frequency variations, relying instead on flat notes. The important point is the swara "ga" always comes very close to "ma" so when we sing the phrase "ma ga ri" it sounds like "ma ma ri". Likewise the swara "ni" always comes very close to the swara "sa" hence when we sing the phrase "sa ni da" it sounds like "sa sa da". The closest raga to this one is '' Devagandhari''. There are few aspects which make Arabhi different (though both share the same ascending and desce # In ''Arabhi'' the swara "ga" is close to "ma" but in ''Devagandhari'' it is not the same. # The swara "ri" is not fluctuated in ''Arabhi'' but it is given "asaivu" in ''Devagandhari'' # The phrase "pa ma da sa" should not be sung in ''Arabhi'', as it is exclusive for ''Devagandhari'' # ''Devagandhari'' is sung with '' gamakas'' and ''vilambita kala prayogas'' (usages with elongated notes)''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications # ''Devagandhari'' is sung with ''deergha gandharam'' (elongated G3) ''Arabhi'' raga is a very energetic and it lends itself to creativity in ''brigas'' (fast-paced swara usages) more than ''gamakas''.

Popular Compositions

The 3rd of '' Pancharatna Kritis'' (five gems of compositions), ''Sadhinchanae''(also known as "Samayaniki Tagu Mataladene") by Saint Thyagaraja is a famous composition set in Arabhi raga. Here we can note that Thyagaraja uses phrases like "sa sa da" in the charanam although there are phrases like "sa ni da" also. Here are some more compositions set to Arabhi.

Film Songs

Language:
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Title Song

Language:
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Language: Telugu

Notes

References

External links

Dr. P.Venkatraman's Page - Arabhi Raga Basics

Compositions at karnatik.com
{{Janya Janya ragas