Navaneetam (pronounced navanītam, meaning ''the eternal new one'') is a

rāga 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 ...

m 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 ...

(musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 40th ''

Melakarta Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales ( ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be derived. A ''melaka ...

'' rāgam (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called in

Muthuswami Dikshitar Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar) (, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer, veena player, and a prolific composer of Indian classical music. He was the youngest member of what is re ...

school of Carnatic music.''Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar Keertanaigal'' by Vidwan A Sundaram Iyer, Pub. 1989, Music Book Publishers, Mylapore, Chennai''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications''Raganidhi'' by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras Navaneetham is a Sanskrit word meaning fresh butter. 'Nava' meaning fresh (new) and 'neetham' meaning butter.

Structure and Lakshana

It is the 4th rāgam in the 7th ''chakra Rishi''. The mnemonic name is ''Rishi-Bhu''. The mnemonic phrase is ''sa ra ga mi pa dhi ni''. Its ' structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see ''swaras'' in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms): * : * : (this scale uses the notes ''shuddha rishabham, shuddha gandharam, prati madhyamam, chatushruti dhaivatam, kaisiki nishadam'') As it is a ''melakarta'' rāgam, by definition it is a ''sampūrṇa'' rāgam (has all seven notes in ascending and descending scale). It is the ''prati madhyamam'' equivalent of ''

Vanaspati Vanaspati (Devanagari: ) is the Sanskrit word that now refers to the entire plant kingdom. However, according to '' Charaka Samhitā'' and '' Sushruta Samhita'' medical texts and the '' Vaisesikas'' school of philosophy, "vanaspati" is limited ...

'', which is the 4th ''melakarta'' rāgam.

''Janya'' rāgams

''Navanītam'' does not yet have 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 ...

'' rāgam (derived scale) associated with it. See List of ''janya'' rāgams for full list of ''janya'' scales.

Compositions

A few compositions set to ''Navaneetam'' scale are: *''Umāpati pāhi'' by Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna in Telugu *''Lēmidelpa peddavāru'' by

Thyagaraja Sadguru Tyagaraja Swami ( Telugu: సద్గురు త్యాగరాజ స్వామి; 4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Tyagayya, and in full as Kakarla Tyagabrahmam ( Telugu: కాకర్ల త్యాగబ ...

in Telugu *''Sami ide nalla samayam'' by Koteeswara Iyer *''Himātmajē Santatam Pāhimām'' by Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Related rāgams

This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam. ''Navaneetam's'' notes when shifted using ''

Graha bhedam ''Graha Bhedam'' in Carnatic music is the process (or result of the process) of shifting the Tonic (music), Tonic note (''Śruti (music), śruti'') to another note in the rāgam and arriving at a different rāgam. Its equivalent in Hindustani cl ...

'', yields no other ''melakarta'' rāgam, like all 6 rāgams in the ''Rishi chakra'' ('' Salagam, Jalarnavam,

Jhalavarali Jhalavarali (pronounced , meaning ''A moon with the sun's heat''), is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 39th ''Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is ...

, Pavani'' and '' Raghupriya'' being the other 5). Only these rāgams have a gap of 3 notes anywhere in their scale, between G1 to M2. Such a gap does not occur in any other ''melakarta'' by definition. ''Graha bhedam'' is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the ''shadjam'' to the next note in the rāgam.

Notes

References

{{Janya, state=collapsed Melakarta ragas