Study on 28th Mela Harikedaragaula and its Janyas based on Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini

Abstract

The term raga denotes the melody on which Indian classical music is swivelling. Each raga has its shape and colour to make it different from others. All the ragas that existed or exist now have a great history. Various processes moulded every single raga, and that can be traced through lakshanagrandhas. The systematic computing of the ragas paved the way for the formation of 72 melas. From Vidyaranya to Govindacharya, many music scholars worked on the scheme of 72 melas promoted by Venkatamakhi. The classification of ragas under melas and the formation of the Sampurna mela system had taken several centuries, and different nomenclatures created by the musicologists show the stages it underwent. Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini of Subbarama Dikshitar occupies a unique position in Carnatic music as a Lakshanagrandha. It encompasses various branches of musicology and a vast area that deals with the notation of musical compositions and conserved the great tradition of the Dikshitar family. The thesis titled Study on 28th Mela Harikedaragaula and its Janyas based on Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini is divided in to five chapters excluding Introduction and Conclusion. The first chapter describes the formation of melas from ragas indifferent periods through the selected musical works. The second chapter explains the life sketch and contributions of Subbarama Dikshitar and the content of Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini. The third chapter concentrates on the historical background of 28th mela Harikedaragaula based on the treatises and the present position of the raga. The fourth chapter studied the krities in various features. The fifth chapter focuses on the characteristic features of the janya ragas. The melodic entity of a single raga in Sancharas, embellishments in svaras, rhetorical beauties in the lyrics of selected krities, the rhythmical importance focused are stabilises that, in Carnatic Music each raga is a treasure house.