Bindumālini is an upāṅga janyai of the 16th mēḷakartaii Chakravāka. It is a vakra ṣāḍavaiii rāga. The svarasiv occurring in this rāga are ṣaḍja, śuddha riṣabha, antara gāndhāra, śuddha madhyama, pañchama, kaiśiki niṣāda in ascent. In addition, chatuśruti dhaivata occurs in descentv. Its ārōhaṇavi and avarōhaṇavii are
S G3 R1 G3 M1 P N2 Ṡ – Ṡ N2 Ṡ D2 P G3 R1 S.
In Western music notation, if C is taken as the base or tonic note, then the scale is
C E C# E F G A# C – C A# C A G E C# C.
It is a rakti rāga or a rāga which pleases instantaneously.
Gāndhāra, madhyama, dhaivata are rāgachāyā svarasviii. Gāndhāra and pañchama are nyāsa svarasix. Sa-ma, sa-pa, ga-da are vādi-samvādi svaras (consonant notes).
It can portray rasasx like adbhuta (wonder), karuṇā (compassion), śānta (tranquil) very effectively, just as it can convey the feeling of devotion or bhakti bhāva.
Some of the signature phrases of this rāga are
G M P N Ṡ D, P, – G, M, D P G R, – S G R G M, – P Ṡ N N Ṙ Ṡ D, P, – P N Ṡ G, – Ġ Ṁ Ṗ Ġ Ṙ, – Ṙ Ṡ Ṡ N N, – N Ṡ D, P G, – G M P Ṡ N Ṡ D P G M D D P G R, – Ṇ R S Ḍ, P̣ Ṇ, – S G M P G R Ṇ, S,
This rāga is known mostly through the following composition–
Enta muddo
Tyāgarāja
Bibliography
Hariharan, M. and Kuppuswamy, Gowri. 2011. Comparative Music- Fundamentals of Western Music. Nagercoil: CBH Publications
Keshavamurthy, R.R. 1964. Rāgalakṣaṇa mattu Rāgakōśa. Bengaluru: Gāna Viśārada Biḍāram Kṛṣṇappa Smāraka Saṅgīta Vidyālaya
Rajarao, Mysore L. 2003. Saṅgīta Śāstra Chandrike. Bengaluru: Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy
Rao, B. Subba. 1980. Raganidhi. Madras: The Music Academy
Sambamoorthy, P. 2018 (reprint of eighth edition published in 1998). South Indian Music (Volumes 1 to 6). Chennai: The Indian Music Publishing House
Web Links
Watch Shashank Subramanyam’s rendition of Bindumalini accompanied by one of India’s leading mridangam maestros, Patri Satish Kumar.
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