Gavambodhi (pronounced gavāmbōdhi, meanin ''The teacher of the cows'') is a
ragam in
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the 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, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
(musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 43rd ''
Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called or in
Muthuswami Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical ...
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]
Structure and Lakshana
It is the 1st rāgam in the 8th ''chakra Vasu''. The mnemonic name is ''Vasu-Pa''. The mnemonic phrase is ''sa ra gi mi pa dha na''.
Its structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see ''
swaras in Carnatic music'' for details on below notation and terms):
*
:
*
:
(the notes used in this scale are ''shuddha rishabham, sadharana gandharam, prati madhyamam, shuddha dhaivatham, shuddha nishadham'')
As it is a ''melakarta'' rāgam, by definition it is a
''sampoorna'' rāgam (has all seven notes in ascending and descending scale). It is the ''prati madhyamam'' equivalent of ''
Senavati
Senavati (pronounced sēnāvati) is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 7th '' melakarta'' rāgam (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Senāgrani ...
'', which is the 7th ''melakarta''.
''Janya'' rāgams
''Gavambodhi'' has a few minor ''
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 varie ...
'' rāgams (derived scales) associated with it. See
List of ''janya'' rāgams for all ''janya'' rāgams associated with ''Gavambodhi''.
Compositions
A few compositions set to ''Gavambodhi'' are:
*''Virai vagave'' by
Koteeswara Iyer
*''Vinati chakonavayya'' by Dr.
M. Balamuralikrishna
*''Namomasti geervani'' by
Muthuswami Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical ...
Related rāgams
This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam.
''Gavambodhi's'' notes when shifted using ''
Graha bhedam'', yields a minor ''melakarta'' rāgam ''
Hatakambari''. ''Graha bhedam'' is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the ''shadjam'' to the next note in the rāgam. For further details and an illustration refer ''
Graha bhedam on Hatakambari''.
Notes
References
{{Janya, state=collapsed
Melakarta ragas