Tab kahat chatur Khamaj ragini
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Khamaj |
| Form | Lakshan geet, a composed description of the raga |
| Tala | Teental, sixteen beats |
| Laya | Madhya |
Complete lyric, transliteration and meaning
The lyrics give continuous words; the score gives vowel lengths and within-beat subdivisions.
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | तब कहत चतुर खमाज रागनि | Tab kahat Chatur Khamaaj raagani | Chatur calls it the raga Khamaj |
| Sthayi | जब हरिकांभुजि मेल करत | Jab Harikaambhuji mel karat | when it takes Harikambhoji as its parent scale. |
| Antara | सुर गंधार को वादी समझत | Sur Gandhaar ko vaadi samajhat | Gandhar is regarded as its vadi note. |
| Antara | खांडव संपुरन तजत रिखब | KhaanDav sampuran tajat rikhab | Six notes ascending, seven descending, with Rishabh omitted on ascent. |
Word notes
Harikaambhuji is the historical sung name associated here with the southern mela Harikambhoji. It is not a command to sing a different Carnatic composition. Mel means a parent note collection. Raagani is a historical grammatical form in the lyric; it does not require a modern learner to adopt a rag–ragini genealogy.
खांडव denotes shadav, or six-note; रिखब means Rishabh. The six/seven-note description concerns ascent and descent; Re is not forbidden in every descending phrase.
Complete beat-aligned score
Rows begin at beat 9, in the order 9–12, 13–16, 1–4, 5–8. Sam falls in the third group. Teental has claps on 1, 5 and 13 and a wave on 9.
The initial pickup is (D)S↑ S↑ on beats 7–8, sung ta ba. It leads directly into the first row's beat 9. No extra silent cycle is prescribed.
How to read this notation
Sa is the chosen reference pitch. Note signs used in this score:
D = shuddha Dha; n = komal Ni; P = Pa; M = shuddha Ma; G = shuddha Ga; S = Sa; R = shuddha Re; N = shuddha Ni.
↑ marks the upper octave and ↓ the lower octave; an unmarked note is in the middle octave.
Each separate beat position is one matra. Joined notes fall within that beat. — continues the previous sound; · is an unsung position. Padding before an entry or after a close does not add another cycle.
Parentheses mark a grace leading into the next principal note, without adding a beat.
Within-beat durations are exact only where specified. Learn the execution of glides, graces and inflection by listening.
Within a grouped column, spaces separate beats; letters joined without spaces share a beat. The column heading states the beat numbers.
| Section / layer | 9–12 · wave | 13–16 · clap | 1–4 · sam | 5–8 · clap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi 1 | (D)n (D)n DP M |
M (D)P D M |
G — — M |
G — S S |
| Syllables | ka ha ta-a cha |
tu ra — kha |
maa — — ja |
raa — ga ni |
| Sthayi 2 | S S (G)M G |
M — (M)n D |
(D)M D n S↑ |
(D)n (P)D (D)S↑ S↑ |
| Syllables | ja ba ha ri |
kaan — bhu ji |
me — la ka |
ra ta ta ba |
| Antara 1 | (G)M G M (n)D |
— n S↑ — |
(S↑)D n S↑ — |
(S↑)M↑ G↑ R↑ S↑ |
| Syllables | su ra gan dhaa |
— ra ko — |
vaa — di — |
sa ma jha ta |
| Antara 2 | (M↑)G↑ M↑ P↑ G↑ |
(G↑)M↑ G↑R↑ (R↑)N S↑ |
N N S↑ S↑ |
(D)n (P)D (D)S↑ S↑ |
| Syllables | khaan — da va |
sam pu-u ra na |
ta ja ta ri |
kha ba ta ba |
The first sthayi row connects G through its hold toward S at beats 5–7. The joined DP in that row and G↑R↑ in the final row are within-beat groups, not separately numbered beats. The latter has an upper-Re grace before the following middle Ni. Preserve the shuddha Ni in the first half of the final sam division, alongside the komal Ni written elsewhere; this is not an all-komal-Ni exercise.
Sam and joins
The first sam is maa of Khamaaj; the next is me of mel. In the antara, vaa and ta begin the sam divisions. Both sections close on ta ba at beats 7–8. Sing the pickup, both sthayi rows, both antara rows and return to sthayi. Enter the antara on su at beat 9.
Learning sequence
- Speak the four poetic lines and distinguish parent scale, vadi and note-count statements.
- Count a cycle starting at beat 7. Locate sam in the middle of each displayed row.
- Learn the main notes slowly, then add the grace notes.
- Learn the upper-register antara and its return to middle Ni without carrying the upper-register sign forward to unmarked notes.
- Join the written rows in order and return through ta ba into the sthayi. Ask a teacher to demonstrate the connecting figure and within-beat pairs.
Common pitfalls
Do not treat the table's left edge as sam, confuse the beat-7 pickup with beat 1, or sing every Ni as komal. Do not use the phrase “omitting Rishabh” to delete Re from the raga's descent. The notation describes this composition, not the complete space of Khamaj improvisation.