Ragamala paintings are a form of Indian miniature painting, a set of illustrative paintings of the ''Ragamala'' or "Garland of Ragas", depicting variations of the Indian musical modes called

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

. They stand as a classical example of the amalgamation of art, poetry and classical music in medieval India. Ragamala paintings were created in most schools of Indian painting, starting in the 16th and 17th centuries, and are today named accordingly as Pahari Ragamala, Rajasthan or Rajput Ragamala, Deccan Ragamala, and Mughal Ragamala. Also it originated in Rajasthan. In these painting each raga is personified by a colour, mood, a verse describing a story of a hero and heroine (nayaka and nayika), it also elucidates the season and the time of day and night in which a particular raga is to be sung; and finally most paintings also demarcate the specific Hindu deities attached with the raga, like Bhairava or Bhairavi to Shiva, Sri to Devi etc. The paintings depict not just the

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

, but also their wives, (''raginis''), their numerous sons (''ragaputra'') and daughters (''ragaputri''). The six principal ragas present in the Ragamala are Bhairava, Deepak, Sri, Malkaunsa, Megha and Hindola and these are meant to be sung during the six seasons of the year – summer, monsoon, autumn, early winter, winter and spring.

History

Sangita Ratnakara The ''Sangita-Ratnakara'', संगीतरत्नाकर, (IAST: Saṃgītaratnākara), literally "Ocean of Music ", is one of the most important musicological texts from India. Composed by Sharngadeva, Śārṅgadeva (शार्ङ� ...

'' is an important 12th century CE treatise on the classification of Indian Ragas, which for the first time mentions the presiding deity of each raga. From the 14th century onwards, they were described in short verses in Sanskrit, for dhyana, 'contemplation', and later depicted in a series of paintings, called the Ragamala paintings. Some of the best available works of Ragamala are from the 16th and 17th centuries, when the form flourished under royal patronage, though by the 19th century, it gradually faded.

Extant works

In 1570, Kshemakarna, a priest of Rewa in Central India, compiled a poetic text on the Ragamala 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 ...

, which describes six principal Ragas—Bhairava, Malakoshika, Hindola, Deepak, Shri, and Megha—each having five Raginis and eight Ragaputras, except Raga Shri, which has six Raginis and nine Ragaputras, thus making a Ragamala family of 86 members Most of the extant works of Ragamala are from Deccan style, where Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur, was himself also a fine painter and illustrator, though some Rajput style also exist of which the work of an artist of the 'Chawand' (a part of Mewar) school of painting, Sahibdin, whose Ragamala (musical modes) series dated 1628, are now in National Museum of India Ragamala sets discovered in Odisha are in the

Pattachitra Patachitra or Pattachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian States and territories of India, states of Odisha, and West Bengal as well as parts of Bangladesh. Patachitra art form is known ...

style, based on the ragas of

Odissi music Odissi music (, ) is a genre of Indian classical music, classical music originating from the eastern state of Odisha. Rooted in the ancient ritual music tradition dedicated to the deity Jagannatha, Odissi music has a rich history spanning over ...

and show distinct iconography and raga groups from other regions.

The Ragas in Ragamala

Six are male (parent) ragas; the thirty raginis are their wives and the remaining forty-eight are their sons. These are listed is as follows: *(1) Parent Raga: Bhairav raga Wives: Bhairavi, Bilawali, Punyaki, Bangali, Aslekhi. Sons: Pancham, Harakh, Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilaval. *(2) Parent Raga: Malkaus raga Wives: Gaundkari, Devagandhari, Gandhari, Seehute, Dhanasri. Sons: Maru, Mustang, Mewara, Parbal, Chand, Khokhat, Bhora, Nad. *(3) Parent Raga: Hindol raga Wives: Telangi, Devkari, Basanti, Sindhoori, Aheeri. Sons: Surmanand, Bhasker, Chandra-Bimb, Mangalan, Ban, Binoda, Basant, Kamoda. *(4) Parent Raga: Deepak raga Wives: Kachheli, Patmanjari, Todi, Kamodi, Gujri. Sons: Kaalanka, Kuntal, Rama, Kamal, Kusum, Champak, Gaura, Kanra 6 *(5) Parent Raga: Sri raga Wives: Bairavi, Karnati, Gauri,

Asavari Asavari () is a minor character from the Stri Parva in Mahabharata, the love life of Karna but due to her father's arrogance, the marriage did not take place. She belongs to the Asavari (thaat), Asavari thaat kingdom. In pre-Bhatkhande days As ...

, Sindhavi. Sons: Salu, Sarag, Sagra, Gaund, Gambhir, Gund, Kumbh, Hamir. *(6) Parent Raga: Megh raga Wives: Sorath, Gaundi-Malari, Asa, Gunguni, Sooho. Sons: Biradhar, Gajdhar, Kedara, Jablidhar, Nut, Jaldhara, Sankar, Syama.

Gallery

File:Bhairavi Ragini.jpg, Bhairavi Ragini. Possibly

Mewar Mewar, also spelled as Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasth ...

, c. 1550.

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

File:Gauri Ragini, First Wife of Malkos Raga, Folio from a Ragamala, 1575-1600, LACMA.jpg, '' Gauri Ragini''. Probably Ahmadnagar, c. 1575-1600.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

File:1 Shaykh Husayn. Malkausik Raga Page from the Chunar Ragamala Manuscript, dated February 24, 1591, Metmuseum.jpg, '' Malkausik Raga'', folio from the Chunar Ragamala, dated February 24, 1591. Private collection, New York File:Sahibdin 001.jpg, ''Dipak Raga'', folio from the Chawand Ragamala by Nasiruddin. Mewar, 1605. G.K. Kanoria Collection File:Indischer Maler um 1625 001.jpg, ''Ragini Bhairavi''. Bundi, c. 1625. Allahabad Museum File:Nisaradi 001.jpg, ''Lalit Ragini'', folio from the Ragamala painted by Sahibdin. Mewar, 1628. National Museum, New Delhi File:Indischer Maler um 1650 (III) 001.jpg, ''Hindola Raga''.

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

, c. 1650. Bharat Kala Bhavan File:MET DP153180.jpg, ''Kedar Ragini'', by Ruknuddin.

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

, c. 1690-1695.

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

File:MET DP153192.jpg, ''Vasanti Ragini''. Bilaspur, c. 1710. Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Raga Madhava, Folio from the Ragamala series.jpg, ''Raga Madhava'', by the 2nd Master of the Shangri Ramayana series. Probably Bahu, c. 1720.

Rietberg Museum The Rietberg Museum is a museum in Zürich, Switzerland, displaying Asian, African, American and Oceanian art. It is the largest art museum focusing on non-European art and design in Switzerland, the third-largest museum in Zürich, and the large ...

File:Ragini Madhumadhavi - Girl flees from a storm.jpg, ''Ragini Madhumadhavi'', by Jay Krishna. Malpura, c. 1756. Rietberg Museum File:The Musical Mode - Ragini Todi.jpg, '' Ragini Todi''. Ascribed to a Master of the Second Generation after Nainsukh, c. 1825-30. Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh File:Two lovers, folio from a Ragamala album.jpg, ''Two lovers'' (possibly Kodaba Raga). Pigment on cloth, in the technique closely resembling that used in

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

n pattachitras. Odisha, circa 1850. Private collection

References

External links