Gurbani Raag Sarang


Sarang is reputed to have acquired its name from the famous 14th century music theorist, Sarangadeva. The Sarang raga consists of a group of seven, each of which is combined with some other raga. Today when Sarangg is given as the raga, it usually means Brindavani-Saranga, a member of the Kafi thata. Performed during the midday period, its mood is quiet and peaceful. In the Ragmala, Sarang is listed as a putra (son) of Siri Raga. Sarang is an important raga in the Guru Granth Sahib and was used extensively by Guru Arjan. However, Guru Nanak, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das and Guru Tegh Bahadur also composed sabdas to this raga and Guru Angad used it for some slokas.

Aroh : Sa Re Ma Pa Ni Sa

Avroh : Sa Ni Pa Ma Re, Sa

Pakar : Ni Sa Re, Nfa Re, Pa Nfa Re, Ni Sa

Vadi : Re

Samvadi : Pa

Introduction :

According to Indian Schools of music this raga is a very old, popular, simple and melodious raga. Its effect is very cool, so it is normally sung at noon time to give to the listeners a cooling effect. The snake-charmers also use this raga to intoxicate poisonous snakes with its melody. This raga is sung in many variations e.g.,

  • Sadh Sarang,
  • Madhmad Sarang
  • Bindrabani Sarang
  • Lankdehan Sarang
  • Mia ki Sarang,
  • Gaund Sarang,
  • Jaldhar Sarang,
  • Surdasi Sarang,
  • Nur Sarang,
  • Samant Sarang
  • Wadhans Sarang

This raga is mentioned as a son of raga Sri in the Ragamala listed at the end of Guru Granth Sahib.

The scale and notes of the raga are as follows:

Arohi (ascending scale) - sa re ma pa ni sa

Avrohi (descending scale) - sa ni pa ma re sa

The wadi. (most popular) note is 're' and samvadi (second most popular) note is 'pa'.

This raga is normally sung in the second part of the day i.e., 9 a.m. 12 noon. The season of its recitation is rainy (varsha) i.e., during July - August. In Guru Granth Sahib it has hymns from pages 1197 - 1253 ( 57 pages).

The Composers:

The composers of bani (hymns) in this raga are:

Gurus

  • Guru Nanak Dev
  • Guru Angad
  • Guru Amardas
  • Ramdas
  • Guru Arjan Dev
  • Guru Tegh Bahadur

Bhagats:

  • Kabir
  • Namdev
  • Ravidas
  • Parmanand
  • Surdas

The structure:

The sequence of the structure of compositions in this raga are:

Gurubani:

  • Shabads (2, 4, 5padas)
  • Ashtpadis
  • Chhant
  • Var

Bhagatbani:

  • Shabads (2-5 padas)

Matrix

VISUAL ANALYSIS

Count of the use of Managals:

  • Complete Mool Mantar = 1 at page 1197
  • Ik-ongkar Satgur Prasadh = 21

Placement and count of rahau verses:

All shabads of both the Gurus and the Bhagats, and Ashtpadis of the Gurus have numbered rahau verses placed in the beginning of the first padas of the compositions.

Diversification of headings & subheadings in this raga:

Page number

Heading/Subheading

1197

Raga Sarang Chaupadas Mehla 1 Ghar 1

1200

Sarang Mehla 4 Ghar 3 dopadas

1209

Sarang Mehla 5 dopadas Ghar 4


Composers Structure of Bani

 

Paths

 

 

 

 

Specialist

Ashtpadis

Specialist

Chts

Sohle**

Var

Sloaks*

Gurus

2

3

4

5

6

Titled

8 (padas)

 

 

 

 

 

Nanak

Dev

 

 

3

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

33

Angad

Dev

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

Amardas

 

 

 

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

23

Ramdas

7

 

4

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

35

pauris

6

Arjan

Dev

122

 

16

1

 

 

2

 

1

 

1 pauri

in var

M: 4

3

Tegh

Bahadur

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bhagats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kabir

1

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namdev

2

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parmanand

 

1

 

 

r

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surdas

One

tuka

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpts taken from:
Guru Granth Sahib: An Advance Study
Dr Sukhbir Singh Kapoor
Vice Chancellor World Sikh University, London