Sahana (pronounced sahānā) is a popular

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 ...

m (musical scale) in

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 ...

. It is a

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 ...

rāgam (derived scale) associated with the 28th

Melakarta Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales ( ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be generated. A ''melak ...

rāgam

Harikambhoji Harikambhoji (pronounced harikāmbhōji) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 28th ''Melakarta'' rāgam (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system. One of the first scales employed b ...

. The

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 ...

ragam ''Sahana'' is an upper-tetrachord-dominant Kanada-anga

, from the Kafi thaat, also allied with

Bageshree Raga Bageshri or Bageshree () is a Hindustani classical raga. It is a popular night raga, which is meant to depict the emotion of a woman waiting for reunion with her lover. It is said to have been first sung by Miyan Tansen, the celebrated co ...

and

Bhimpalasi Bhimpalasi or Bheempalasi (also known as Bhimpalas or Bheempalas) is a Hindustani classical raga. Raga Bhimpalasi belongs to the Kafi Thaat. Theory * Aarohana: * Avaroha: The raag has komal Ni and Ga. It is an Audava-Sampoorna jati raga, imp ...

. The shuddha Dhaivat is an important rest note (nyaas swara).

Structure and Lakshana

It is a ''Ubhaya Vakra

sampoorna raga In Indian classical music, Sampūrṇa rāgas (संपूर्ण, Sanskrit for 'complete', also spelt as ''sampoorna'') have all seven ''swaras'' in their scale. In general, the swaras in the ''Arohana'' and ''Avarohana'' strictly follow the ...

m''. ''Vakra'' means crooked. ''Ubhaya Vakra'' means that the notes in both ascent and descent follow a zig zag pattern. The notes in ascending and descending scale do not follow a strict progression. Hence the note phrases contain such ''vakra'' phrases, lending a unique beauty to this rāgam. Though it is a ''sampoorna rāgam'' (contains all 7 notes), the ''vakra'' scale means it is not considered a ''melakarta'', as melakarta rāgams must have strictly ascending and descending scales. It is also classified as a ''rakti raga'' (raga with high melodic content). 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 ''Shadjam, Chathusruthi Rishabham, Antara Gandharam, Suddha Madhyamam, Panchamam, Chathusruthi Dhaivatham'' and ''Kaisiki Nishadham''. Its characteristic phrases are (R2 G3 M1 P),(P M1 D2 N2), (N2 S D2), (G3 M1 R2). Sahana has a distinct mood due to these phrases and characteristic

gamak Gamaka (also spelled gamakam) refer to ornamentation that is used in the performance of North and South Indian classical music. Gamaka can be understood as embellishment done on a note or between two notes. Present-day Carnatic music uses at le ...

ams and is rarely confused with other ragams. Sahana has a close relationship to Malavi and to some extent Dwijawanthi/Jujavanti. While the use of Anthara Gaandharam in R2 G2 R2 makes it different from Dwijawanthi, since Dwijawanthi uses Saadharana Gaandharam, sahana has a closer relationship with Malavi which has an identical Vakra scale formation as Sahana.

The original Sahana of Carnatic music

The original Sahana is the janya ragam of

Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...

melakarta .It is "bhashanga", "sampurna", "desiya",panchama "vakra" in arohanam and suitable for singing at all times.The raga is a desiya raga meaning it made its way to theory, from practice. It was evolved in the public domain, enjoyed the airtime with listeners and musicians and then it became important enough to be inducted into the portals of our music as a formal raga, distinct in its svarupa, appeal and capable of being moulded into compositions. The jeeva swaras : - rishabham, - gandharam and - nishadam provide extraordinary ranjana. Synonyms : Chahana, Shahana, sahana. Arohanam :

Avarohana An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avaroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the descending scale of any raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The notes descend in pitch ...

m : The swaras are -Shadjam, - Chaturshruti rishabham, - Sadharana gandharam, * - Antara Gandharam, - Shuddha madhyamam, - Panchamam, - Chaturshruti dhaivatham and -Kaishiki nishadam. The ragam is bhashaga because; * - Anthara gandharam occurs sparingly. Reference
Sangita Sampradaya Priyadarshini cakram 1-4

Select compositions

There are a large number of popular songs composed in this rāgam in Carnatic Music as well as Tamil Film Music. Here are some Carnatic music compositions. *''Raghupate rama rakshasa bhima'',''Ee Vasudha'',''Giripai nelakona'', ''dEhi tavapada bhaktim'', ''oorake kalguna'', ''Emana Dichevo'' and ''Vandanamu raghunandana'' composed by

Thyagaraja Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...

*''Rama ika nannu brovara'' by

Patnam Subramania Iyer Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845 – July 31, 1902) was a composer and singer of Carnatic music. Subramaniya Iyer followed the traditions of the great composer Tyagaraja. He has left behind almost one hundred compositions. Subramaniya Iyer was bor ...

*''Manamu kavalannu'' by Muthiah Bhagavatar *''Sri kamalambikaya'' 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 ...

*''Inkevarunnaaru nannu" in Adi thalam by Annaswaami Sastri s/o Subbaraya Sastri *''Saravana Bhava'' in Adi thalam by

Thanjavur Sankara Iyer Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

*''Sri Vatapi Ganapathiye'' in Adi thalam by

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema ...

*''Kavave Kanyakumari'' by

Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (6 July 1930 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in ...

*''Karunimpa'',

Varnam Varṇam is a type of composition in the Carnatic music system consisting of short metric pieces which encapsulate the main features (patterns of notes) of a ''raga''. Varnams capture the ''raga bhavam'', ''ranjaka prayogas'' ''visesha sancha ...

Tiruvottiyur Tyaggaya Tiruvottriyur (Thiruvottiyur or TVT) is a neighbourhood in North Chennai, administered by the Greater Chennai Corporation. It is part of the Tondiarpet division, located to the north of Chennai. It is one of the fifteen administrative zones in t ...

*''Chittam Irangada'' by

*''Shanti Neelava Vendum'' by Sethumadhava Rao

In television Series

* "Thamarapoovil Vazhum" by

Berny–Ignatius Berny–Ignatius is an Indian musical duo consisting of brothers Berny and Ignatius Puthenveettil. Primarily working in the Malayalam film industry, they are best known for their work in films such as Thenmavin Kombath, Chandralekha, Kottaram V ...

('' Chandralekha'' – Malayalam) * "Chentharmizhi" by

M. Jayachandran Madhusoodanan Jayachandran is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he wo ...

(

Perumazhakkalam ''Perumazhakkalam'' (English: The season of heavy rains) is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Kamal and written by T. A. Razzaq. It stars Meera Jasmine, Kavya Madhavan, Dileep, Vineeth and Biju Menon. Notable asso ...

– Malayalam) * "Nadha Nee Varumbol" by

Alex Paul Alex Paul is an Indian music director who works in Malayalam cinema. Personal life Alex is the son of A. M. Paul, a music artist who formed the first orchestra (in Malayalam: 'ganamela') troupe in Kochi & Philomina. He is the younger brother ...

(

Vasthavam ''Vaasthavam'' () is a 2006 Indian Malayalam-language romantic political crime drama film written by Babu Janardhanan and directed by M. Padmakumar. The film revolves around a youth Balachandran Adiga (Prithviraj Sukumaran) and follows his ri ...

– Malayalam)

Language:Tamil

* "Indha Veenaiku Theriyadhu" by

V. S. Narasimhan V. S. Narasimhan (born 1943) is an Indian violinist and composer. Life Narasimhan is the son of the violinist Gottuvadyam Srinivasa Iyengar. He studied Carnatic music from age four under his father. Narasimhan also learnt Western classical mus ...

(Rail Sneham – TV Serial) * "Aanmaavin Raagam" by

Rajesh Vaidhya Rajhesh Vaidhya ( ta, ராஜேஷ் வைத்யா) (or, Vaidya), is an Indian veena player born on 14 June 1973 hailing from Tamil Nadu. Besides performing on stage, he has worked with various film music composers. He also acted in th ...

(Sahana – TV Serial) * "Jeevan Neeye" by Renjith Unni (Anbendraale Amma – Music Video)

Film Songs

Language:Tamil

Language:Malayalam

Language: Telugu

Notes

References

{{Janya

Shahana Sahana (pronounced sahānā) is a popular ragam (musical scale) in Carnatic music. It is a janya rāgam (derived scale) associated with the 28th Melakarta rāgam Harikambhoji. The Hindustani music ragam ''Sahana'' is an upper-tetrachord-domina ...

Janya ragas