Gandhara ( ) is the third

svara 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 ...

in Hindustani and

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 ...

. Gandhara is the long form of the syllable ग (Ga).

Details

The following is the information about Gandhara and its importance in

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

: * Gandhara is the third svara in an octave or

Saptak Saptak means "gamut" or "the series of seven notes". It denotes the set of swaras i.e. Shadja (Sa), Rishabha (Ri), Gāndhāra (Ga), Madhyama (Ma), Panchama (Pa), Dhaivat (Dha), Nishada (Ni), Shadja (Sa) which comprise a musical scale in India ...

. * Gandhara is the immediate next svara of Rishabh (Re). * The

of Gandhara is Komal and Shuddha. * It is said that Shadja is the basic svara from which all the other 6 svaras are produced. When we break the word Shadja then we get, Shad And Ja. It means that Shad is 6 and ja is 'giving birth' in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

. So basically the translation is : षड् - 6, ज -जन्म . Therefore, it collectively means giving birth to the other 6 notes of the music. So the svara Ga is formed from

Shadja Shadja ( ) is the first of the seven svaras in Hindustani and Carnatic music. Shadaj is the long form of the syllable सा (Sā). Details The following is the information about Shadaj and its importance in Indian classical music: * Shadaj is ...

. * The frequency of Gandhara is 300 Hz. The frequencies of the 7 svaras are also given below: Sa 240 Hz, Re 270 Hz, Ga 300 Hz, Ma 320 Hz, Pa 360 Hz, Dha 400 Hz, and Ni 450 Hz, Sa 480 Hz (Taar Saptak) ........ (and so on). Consequently, the Ga after the Re of 540 Hz (Taar Saptak) has a frequency of 600 Hz i.e. the double of the Lower octave Ga. * There are 2 Shruti of Gandhara. Previously the main Shruti, not only for Ga but for all the other svaras, was on the last Shruti but now it is considered to be on the 1st Shurti. For example, if these are the 2 Shruti's of Ga then, Previously this was the position of the main Shruti of Ga. ^ 1 2 ^ But now this position has become the main Shruti of Ga. * All the other svaras except Shadja (Sa) and Pancham (Pa) can be or but Sa and Pa are always Shuddha svaras. And hence svaras Sa and Pa are called Achal Svaras , since these svaras don't move from their original position. Svaras Ra, Ga, Ma, Dha, Ni are called Chal Svaras, since these svaras move from their original position. Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni - Shuddha Svaras Re, Ga, Dha, Ni - Komal Svaras Ma - * Ragas from

Kafi Thaat Kafi () is one of the ten basic thaats of Hindustani music from the Indian subcontinent. It is also the name of a raga (Kharaharapriya) within this thaat. Description Kafi thaat makes use of the Komal Gandhara and Komal Nishad. So basically it ...

, Asavari Thaat,

Todi Thaat Todi () is one of the ten basic thaats of Hindustani music from the Indian subcontinent. It is also the name of a raga within this thaat. Description Todi has Komal Rishab, Gandhar, and Dhaivat, as well as Teevra Madhyam. The Todi (raga), Todi ...

and Bhairavi Thaat have Komal Gandhara, rest of the

thaat A ''thaat'' () is a "parent scale" in North Indian or Hindustani music. It is the Hindustani equivalent of the term '' Melakartha raga'' of Carnatic music. The concept of the ''thaat'' is not exactly equivalent to the western musical scal ...

s have Shuddha Gandhara. * Ragas where Ga is the Vadi svara - Raga

Kafi (raga) Kafi () is a ''raga'' in Hindustani classical music. It corresponds to Kharaharapriya in Carnatic music and Dorian mode in Western music Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande classified most ''ragas'' into ten ''Thaats''. Kafi ''Thaat'' is one of them. ...

, raga Bageshri, raga

Bhoopali Bhoopali, also known as ''Bhoop'', ''Bhopali,'' or ''Bhupali'', is a Hindustani classical raga. Bhupālī, is a raag in Kalyan Thaat. It is a pentatonic scale (uses 5 notes in ascending and descending scale). Most of the songs in this raga are ...

etc. Ragas where Ga is the Samvadi svara - Raga

Sohni Sohini is a raga in Hindustani classical music in the Marwa thaat. Alternate transliterations include Sohani and Sohni. Like Bahar, it is a small raga, with not much space for elaboration. It emotes the feel of longing, of passive sensuousnes ...

, etc. * Hypothetically speaking, Ga is said to be the Gandharvas, Gandharvas as in, the three main gods,

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

were first created i.e. Sakar Bhrama (Sa) and then these three gods created Rishimuni i.e. Re and then

Gandharvas A ''gandharva'' () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they ...

were created for singing. Ga is made the acronym of

for showing the importance of the syllable Ga. * Gandhara is said to be sourced from the bleating of a

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

. * Gandhara is associated with the planet

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

. * Gandhara is associated with Golden colour.

References

{{Reflist Indian classical music Musical notation Musical scales Hindustani music terminology Carnatic music terminology

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See also

References