Prahara

​

 

The convention that dictates the hours of performance for a raga has been presented for the first time in the Saṅgītamakaranda. (Gangoly, 1935: 80, Kaufmann, 1965: 276) According to Martínez (2001, p. 271), this convention could be related to the rules stated in the Nāṭyaśāstra concerning the specific type of songs (dhruvā) to be used with particular scenes of the drama: scene of the day, night, fight, etc.

​

Bhātkhaṇde presented his own thesis on the hours associated with the performance of a raga at the fourth All India Music Conference in Lucknow in 1925. This thesis relies on the division of all ragas into two groups, according to the position of their vādī: "From this you will see, that the proper location of the vādī note will enable you to determine whether a particular raga is to be sung between mid-day and mid-night, or between mid-night and mid-day. (As quoted by Gangoly, 1935, p. 90) According to him, the ragas having their vādī located in the first tetrachord (pūrvāṅga) are interpreted between midnight and noon and those who have their vādī in the second tetrachord (uttarāṅga) are interpreted between noon and midnight.

 

To specify the time of day or night each raga should be associated with, Bhātkhaṇde divides all ragas into three groups on the basis of their svara. The first group includes ragas having Re, Ga and Dha; it thus includes the first three ṭhāṭa, Kalyāṇa, Bilāvala and Khamāja. The second group includes ragas that have the svara re, Ga and Ni; it includes the ṭhāṭa Bhairava, Pūrvi and Māravā. The third group includes the ragas that have the svara ga and ni; it includes the ṭhāṭa Kāfī, Āsāvarī, Bhairavī and Toḍī. According to Bhātkhaṇde's observations, the ragas of the first group are traditionally interpreted during the hours following the sunrise (for the pūrvāṅga ragas) and during those following the sunset (for the uttarāṅga raga). The ragas of the second group are associated with sunrise and sunset, these ragas are qualified by the term sandhiprakāśa. As for the ragas of the third group, they are traditionally interpreted before the sunrise for the pūrvāṅga ragas) and before nightfall (for the uttarāṅga ragas).

 

Thanks to this system, it is sufficient to know the vādī of a raga to determine whether it should be interpreted between midnight and noon or between noon and midnight; and a simple analysis of the svara should indicate which specific period of day or night. Bhātkhaṇde does not give precise hours for each of the periods, those presented here are based on the times of sunrise and sunset mentioned by Gangoly (1935: 91).