Pancham is the fifth

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 and Carnatic music. Pancham is the long form of the syllable प. For simplicity in pronouncing while singing the syllable, Pancham is pronounced as Pa (notation - P). It is also called as पंचम in the Devanagri script.

Details

The following is the information about Panchama 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 ...

: * Pancham is the fifth svara in an octave or Saptak. * Pancham is the immediate next svara of Madhyam (Ma). * The svara of Pancham is never or , it is always in any given raga just like the svara Shadja. * 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 Pa is formed from Shadja. * The frequency of Pancham is 360 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 Pa after the Ma of 640 Hz (Taar Saptak) has a frequency of 720 Hz i.e. the double of the Lower octave Pa. * There are 4 Shruti's of Pancham. Previously the main Shruti not only for Pa 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 4 Shruti's of Pa then, Previously this was the position of the main Shruti of Pa. ^ 1 2 3 4 ^ But now this position has become the main Shruti of Pa. * All the other svaras except Shadja (Sa) and Pancham (Pa) can be or 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 - Komal Svaras Ma - * Ragas where Pa is the Vadi svara - Raga

Nat Bhairav Nat Bhairav (or also written as Nut Bhairav) (Hindi: नट भैरव) is a Hindustani classical heptatonic ( Sampurna) raga of Bhairav Thaat. Traditionally it is a morning raga. It is one of the most important ragas of the Bhairav anga. Sa ...

, etc. Ragas where Pa is the Samvadi svara - Raga Brindabani Sarang, etc. * Hypothetically speaking, Pa is said to be the Praja, Praja as in, the three main gods, Bhrama, Vishnu and Shiva were first created i.e. Sakar Bhrama (Sa) and then these three gods created Rishimuni i.e. Re and then Gandharvas 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. Pa is made the acronym of Praja or the common people for showing the importance of the syllable Pa. * Pancham is said to be sourced from call of the cuckoo. * Pancham is associated with the planet

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

. * Pancham is associated with Blue or Black colour.

References

{{Reflist Hindustani music Carnatic music