Dhēnuka is the 9th mēḷakartai in the sampūrṇa mēḷa systemii. It is the third raga in the second chakraiii (Nētra chakra). This rāga was known by the name Dhunibhinnaṣaḍja in the asampūrṇa mēḷa systemiv. The svarasv occurring in this rāga are ṣaḍja, śuddha riṣabha, sādhāraṇa gāndhāra, śuddha madhyama, pañcama, śuddha dhaivata, kākali niṣādavi. Its ārōhaṇavii and avarōhaṇaviii are
S R1 G2 M1 P D1 N3 Ṡ – Ṡ N3 D1 P M1 G2 R1 S.
In Western music notation, if C is taken as the base or tonic note, then the scale is
C C# D# F G G# B C – C B G# G F D# C# C.
It is a mūrchanakāraka mēḷaix and gives rise to Chitrāmbari from riṣabha, Ṣaṇmukhapriya from madhyama, Śūlini from dhaivata through the process of grahabhēda or modal shift of tonic.
Gāndhāra, niṣāda are rāgachāyā svarasx. Madhyama, pañcama and niṣāda are nyāsa svarasxi. Sa-ma, sa-pa, ri-da, ga-da are vādi-samvādi svaras (consonant notes).
It can portray rasasxii like 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
D P M G, – R G R S Ṇ – S R G M, – G, R S Ṇ Ḍ, – Ḍ Ṇ S R G R, S, – R G M P D N, D, – D N Ṡ Ṙ Ṡ Ṙ Ṡ, – Ṙ Ṙ Ṡ N D N, – Ġ Ġ Ṙ Ṙ Ṡ N – Ṡ Ṙ Ġ Ṁ Ġ, Ṙ Ṡ N, – Ṡ Ṗ Ṁ Ġ, Ṙ Ṡ N D, – N N D D Ṡ Ṡ N N Ṙ Ṙ Ṡ N D P M, – G M D P M G, R S Ṇ Ḍ, – Ḍ Ṇ S R G R R S S,
A few compositions in this rāga are-
Teliyalēru
Tyāgarāja
Chidambarēśwaram
Muttuswāmi Dīkṣitar
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
Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh performs Raga Dhenuka on the Saraswati veena, as well as Raga Shuddha Seemantini.
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