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JANYA
RAGAS
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first case evidently refers to the melakartas themselves and does
not generate any janya ragas. The example of Bilahari belongs to the
5th or oudava - sampoorna case. Using the sampoorna -
shadava case as an example, there are 72 sampoorna arohanams and six
shadava avarohanams for each, leading to total of 432 janya ragas of
this type. By the same argument, there are 432 janya ragas of
shadava - sampoorna type. Following this procedure, one can arrive
at a total of about thirty thousand independent janya ragas.
However, a large number of these are not in use since they do not
have distinct raga swaroopas. This brings us to the important
observation that it is not just mathematical jugglery that produces
ragas. As the saying goes, 'Ranjayathi ithi Raga' - that which is
beautiful is a raga. Ragas are produced through experimenting with
the possible combinations, looking for distinct swaroopas.
This process has been conducted for centuries by composers and
musicians to arrive at the few hundred or so janya ragas
currently in use. |
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