Dēvagāndhāri is a bhāṣāṅga janyai of the 29th mēḷakartaii Dhīraśaṅkarābharaṇa. It is an auḍava-sampūrṇaiii rāga. The svarasiv occurring in this rāga are ṣaḍja, chatuśruti riṣabha, śuddha madhyama, pañchama, chatuśruti dhaivata in ascent. In addition, kākali niṣāda and antara gāndhāra occur in descentv. Kaiśiki niṣāda, which is not present in its own parent rāga Dhīraśaṅkarābharaṇa, occurs in some phrases. Its ārōhaṇavi and avarōhaṇavii are
S R2 M1 P D2 Ṡ – Ṡ N3 D2 N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S.
In Western music notation, if C is taken as the base or tonic note, then the scale is
C D F G A C – C B A A# A G F E D C
It is a rāga which has existed since olden times. It is a rakti rāga or a rāga which pleases instantaneously.
Riṣabha, gāndhāra, dhaivata are rāgachāyā svarasviii. Riṣabha, pañcama, dhaivata are nyāsa svarasix. Sa-pa, ri-da, ri-pa, are vādi-samvādi svaras (consonant notes).
It can portray rasasx like vīra (valour) very effectively, just as it can convey the feeling of devotion or bhakti bhāva.
Some of the signature phrases of this rāga are
Ṡ N D N2, D P, – P, D N2 D P M G R, – S, R G R S Ṇ Ḍ, – Ṇ S R, – M P D, – N Ṡ Ṙ Ġ Ṁ, Ġ, Ṙ Ṙ – D Ṙ, Ṡ, – Ṡ,ṘṠ N,ṠN D,N2D P,DP M G, R, – M, G R, – Ṡ, N D – Ṁ, Ġ Ṙ, – Ṡ N D N2, D P M D, – D Ṙ, Ṡ,
A few compositions in this rāga are-
Vinarādā nā manavi
Tyāgarāja
Kṣīra sāgara śayana
Tyāgarāja
Karuṇāsamudra
Tyāgarāja
Tuḷasamma
Tyāgarāja
Koluvaiyunnāḍē
Tyāgarāja
Nā morālagimpa
Tyāgarāja
Kṣitijā ramaṇam
Muttuswāmi Dīkṣitar
Swāmiki sari evvarē
Mānambuchāvaḍi Veṅkaṭa Subbayyar
Ennēramum undan
Gōpālakṛṣṇa Bhārati
Śāradē vīṇāvādana viśārade
Pāpanāsam Sivan
Bibliography
Keshavamurthy, R.R. 1964. Rāgalakṣaṇa mattu Rāgakōśa. Bengaluru: Gāna Viśārada Biḍāram Kṛṣṇappa Smāraka Saṅgīta Vidyālaya
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
Sudha Ragunathan presents a Kriti in Raga Devagandhari.
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