Samya – A Raga Created by Mahesh Mahadev
Saamya is a rāgam created by Mahesh Mahadev in Carnatic music & Hindustani Music (musical scale of South & North Indian classical music). The raga Saamya is indeed named after Lord Chitragupta, also known as Chitraguptha, who is believed to be the god of accounts and records, often referred to as the “Divine Accountant.” Chitragupta is the attendant of Lord Yama, the god of death, and is responsible for maintaining the records of every individual’s deeds and actions during their lifetime. This ragam Saamya meaning “Justice” in Sanskrit language is attributed to Lord Chitraguptha who is often associated with justice and fairness, as he impartially judges the deeds of every soul without any prejudice.
The creation of this raga took place a day before the Chitra Pournami or Chaitra Purnima day also known as the Full Moon day in the month of Chaitra, which signifies the importance of righteousness and the significance of leading a virtuous life.
During the recording session of a song, Mahesh Mahadev and Playback Singer Priyadarshini experienced a remarkable occurrence. They unexpectedly came across a profound shloka about Lord Chitragupta which inspired their creative process, resulting in a harmonious composition of Mahesh Mahadev skillfully tuning the shloka in couple of minutes which evolved into a unique fusion of musical notes and Priyadarshini recording the vocals of this divine verse. This spiritual collaboration between the two artists, guided by a divine influence resulted in the birth of a new raga, blending their talents and the divine influence into a harmonious and innovative musical creation.
This ragam is a janyarāgam (derived scale) from the 16th melakarta scale Chakravaham. It is a janya scale, as it does not have all the seven swaras (musical notes) in the ascending & descending scale. It is a pentatonic – hexatonic scale. Mahesh has named the equivalent of Saamya in Hindustani music also as Saamya. Saamya belongs to the Bhairav thaat of Hindustani music. The first composition in this raga is ‘Chitraguptham Maha Pragnam’ composed by Mahesh Mahadev, from the Single track ‘Chitraguptham Maha Pragnam’
STRUCTURE AND LAKSHANA IN CARNATIC MUSIC
Chaitra Purnima is an asymmetric rāgam that does not contain dhaivatham in both ascending & descending scale. It is a shadava-shadava rāgam (meaning hexatonic scale). Its ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows:
- ārohaṇa : S R1 G₃ P N2 Ṡ
- avarohaṇa : Ṡ N2 P M1 G₃ R1 S
The notes used in this scale are shadjam, Shuddha rishabham, antara gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, panchamam and kaisiki nishadham in ascending with addition of Shuddha Madhyamam in its descending scale.
IN HINDUSTANI MUSIC
Samya is an asymmetric that does not contain dhaivat in both ascending & descending scale. It is an audav-shadav rāg (meaning pentatonic-hexatonic scale). Its āroh-avaroh structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows:
The notes used in this scale are Shadj, Komal Rishabh, Shuddh Gandhar, Pancham and Komal Nishad in its ascending order with Shuddh Madhyam added to its descending scale.
ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS
- ‘Chitragupth Maha Mantra’ sung by Priyadarshini & Mahesh Mahadev