Nishad is the seventh

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 '' ...

from 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 ...

. Nishad is the long form of the syllable नी. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Nishad is pronounced as Ni (notation - N). It is also called as निषाद 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 Nishada 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 ...

: * Nishad is the seventh svara 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 in I ...

. * Nishad is the immediate next svara of

Dhaivat Dhaivat is the sixth svara from the seven svaras of Hindustani music and Carnatic music. Dhaivat is the long form of the syllable ध. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Dhaivat is pronounced as Dha (notation - D). It is a ...

(Dha). * The

of Nishad 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 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 six notes of the music. So the svara Ni is formed from

Shadja Shadja is the first svara out of the seven svaras of Hindustani music and Carnatic music. 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 a ...

. * The frequency of Nishad is 450 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 Ni after the Dha of 900 Hz (Taar Saptak) has a frequency of 800 Hz i.e. the double of the Lower octave Ni. * There are Shruti's of Nishad. Previously the main Shruti, not only for Ni 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 Ni then, Previously this was the position of the main Shruti of Ni. ^ 1 2 ^ But now this position has become the main Shruti of Ni. * 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 - * Ragas from

Khamaj Thaat Khamaj () is one of the ten thaats (parent scales) of Hindustani music from the Indian subcontinent. It is also the name of a raga within this thaat. The Khamaj thaat can be obtained by replacing the Shuddha Nishad of Bilaval by Komal Nishad. Th ...

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 a ...

Asavari Thaat Asavari () 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 Adding a Komal Dhaivat to Kafi Thaat results in the Asavari thaat. Raga Asavari is full of ' ...

and Bhairavi Thaat have Komal Nishad, 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 scale because t ...

s have Shuddha Nishad. * Ragas where Ni is the Vadi svara - Raga Jaunpuri, Raga

Tilang Tilang is a raga in Indian classical music, that belongs to the Khamaj Thaat. Scale * Arohana (ascending scale): * Avarohana (descending scale): This raga has a Ni flat (ni komal) in the descent. Its defining characteristics are: PS'NS'n ...

, etc. Ragas where Ni is the Samvadi svara - Raga Purvi, Raga Yaman, etc. * Hypothetically speaking, Ni is said to be Nirakar Bhrama, Nirakar 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 ...

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 Dharmic 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 are ...

were created for singing and then lord Indra or Raja Indra i.e. Mahipal was created and once the Mahipal (Raja) or the king was created, the Praja or the common citizens or the people were made, and as people have their own Dharma or duty/religion, the religion was made, when religion was made the Nirakar form of Bhrama is formed i.e. Dharma created the Nirakar form of Bhrama (Ni). Ni is made the acronym of Nirakar Bhrama for showing the importance of the syllable Ni. So it started with Sakar Bhrama (Sa) and ends with Nirakar Bhrama (Ni). * Nishad is said to be sourced from the trumpeting of the

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

. * Nishad is associated with the planet

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

. * Nishad is associated with Multi colours.

References

{{Reflist Hindustani music Carnatic music Hindustani music terminology Carnatic music terminology