Vachaspati

Vāchaspati is the 64th mēḷakarta1 in the sampūrṇa mēḷa system2. It is the fourth raga in the eleventh chakra3 (Rudra chakra). This rāga was known by the name Bhūṣāvati in the asampūrṇa mēḷa system4. The svaras5 occurring in this rāga are ṣaḍja, chatuśruti riṣabha, antara gāndhāra, prati madhyama, pañchama, chatuśruti dhaivata, kaiśiki niṣāda6. Its ārōhaṇa7 and avarōhaṇa8 are

In terms of the notes of Western music, if C is taken as the base, then the scale is

This is not an ancient rāga and emerged when the 72 mēḷakarta system was conceived of. It has been borrowed to Hindustani music. This scale is also found in Brazilian music. It is a mūrchanakāraka mēḷa9. It gives rise to three other rāgas through the process of grahabhēda or modal shift of tonic. The three rāgas are Chārukēśi from riṣabha, Gaurīmanōhari from pañcama and Nāṭakapriya from dhaivata. It offers ample scope for improvisation. It is a tristhāyi rāga, that is, it can be sung in all three octaves. All the svaras are rāgachāyā svaras10. Besides ṣaḍja and pañcama, riṣabha, gāndhāra and dhaivata are the nyāsa svaras11. R- D, G-D are pairs of vādi-samvādi svaras12. It can portray rasas13 like śṛṅgāra (romance), hāsya (joy) very effectively, just as it can convey the feeling of devotion or bhakti bhāva.

Some of the signature phrases of this rāga are

A few compositions in this rāga are-

Footnotes

1 Parent rāga

2 The rāga system formulated by Govindacharya, consisting of 72 parent rāgas.

3 The 72 parent rāgas are divided into 12 sets of 6 rāgas each, called chakras. In each chakra, the combination of

ri-ga-ma remains constant, with varying da-ni combinations.

4 The rāga system formulated by Venkatamakhin.

5 Notes

6 There are 16 varieties of svaras in Carnatic music. They are

7 Scale in ascent

8 Scale in descent

9 A mēḷakarta which gives rise to other rāgas through the process of modal shift of tonic.

10 Notes which most effectively bring out the mood of the rāga

11 The landing notes for elaboration in various stages during improvisation.

12 Consonant notes.

13 Emotions or moods.