Shadja is the first

svara Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...

out of the seven svaras of

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

and

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

. Shadja is the long form of the syllable सा. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Shadja is pronounced as Sa (notation - S). It is also called as षड्ज in the

Devanagri Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...

script.

Details

The following is the information about Shadja and its importance in

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

: * Shadja is the first

in an octave or

Saptak Saptak means "gamut" or "the series of eight notes". It denotes the set of swaras i.e. Ṣaḍja (Sa), Ṛiṣabha (Re), Gāndhāra (Ga), Madhyama (Ma), Panchama (Pa), Dhaivat (Dha), Niṣāda (Ni), Sadja (Sa) which comprise a musical scale ...

. * Shadja is also the first and the main svara in a

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

. (Not always but mostly it is. ) * The svara that is played on the

Tanpura The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...

for the singer is Shadja. It is played to know that one is singing on the right pitch and octave. * Shadja is the base or basic svara. It is a very fundamental svara in Classical music. * It is fascinating to know that after one raga is sung or played, and when one more raga is to be performed, then the svara Sa is played so that there is no confusion in mixing of svaras in both the ragas that are performed. (Specifically in ragas of the same svaras but different Chalan or movement.) * The svara of Shadja is never or , it is always Shuddha in any given raga. * 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 language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

. So basically the translation is : षड् - 6, ज -जन्म . Therefore, it collectively means giving birth to the other 6 notes of the music. * The frequency of Shadja is 240 Hz. The frequencies of the seven 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 Sa after the Ni of 450 Hz has a frequency of 480 Hz i.e. the double of the Lower octave Sa. * There are four Shruti's of Sadja. Previously the main Shruti not only for Sa but for all the other svaras was on the last Shruti but now it is considered to be on the first Shruti. For example, if these are the four Shruti's of Sa then, Previously this was the position of the main Shruti of Sa. ^ 1 2 3 4 ^ But now this position has become the main Shruti of Sa. * All the other svaras except Shadja (Sa) and Pancham (Pa) can be or svaras 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 - Ma - * It will be fascinating for you to know that Sa is the only svara which cannot be omitted in a particular raga. So Sa can't be Varjit in any of the ragas. Hence Sa is the most important svara in the

or in any

Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

. * For some ragas where Sa is the Vadi or Samvadi svara, Sa is played repeatedly. But for ragas where Sa is not a Vadi or a Samvadi svara, it is still played repeatedly since it the main svara. * Ragas where Sa is the Vadi svara - Raga

Malkauns Malkauns, known also as rag Malkosh, is a raga in Indian classical music. It is one of the oldest ragas of Indian classical music. The equivalent raga in Carnatic music is called Hindolam, not to be confused with the Hindustani Hindol. Accordi ...

, etc. Ragas where Sa is the Samvadi svara - Raga Kedar. * Hypothetically speaking, Shadja is said to be the Sakar Bhrama , Sakar Bhrama as in the three main gods,

Bhrama Bhrama (Sanskrit: भ्रम), in the context of Hindu thought, means – error, mistake, illusion, confusion, perplexity. But, it literally means – that which is not steady; and refers to error etc., caused by defects in the perceptive syste ...

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. Sa is made the acronym of Sakar for showing the importance of the syllable Sa. * Shadja is said to be sourced from the cry of a

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

. * Shadja is associated with the planet

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

. * Shadja is associated with

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

colour.

References

{{Reflist Hindustani music Carnatic music