Sur sangat raga-vidya
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Tilak Kamod |
| Form | Khayal bandish with a music-pedagogic text |
| Tala and laya | Rupak, seven beats; madhya |
Complete text, transliteration and meanings
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | सुर संगत, राग-विद्या संगत | Sur saṅgat, rāga-vidyā saṅgat | In accord with pitch and with knowledge of raga… |
| Sthayi | प्रमान जो कंठ कर दिखाये | Pramān jo kaṇṭh kar dikhāye | …one who demonstrates that knowledge through the singing voice… |
| Sthayi | वाको जाने गुनी-ज्ञानी | Vāko jāne guni-jñānī | …is recognised as skilled and knowledgeable. |
| Antara | अनु द्रुत लघु गुरु प्लुत ताल | Anu druta laghu guru pluta tāl | Attend to the traditional measures of musical time named in the lyric; read anu druta with the technical explanation below. |
| Antara | मूल धर्म राखिये | Mūl dharma rākhiye | Preserve the underlying principles. |
| Antara | सु-अंछर सुध बानी ज्ञानी | Su-añchhar sudh bānī jñānī | Clear syllables and clear utterance belong to the knowledgeable musician. |
Word notes
Across the line break, tāla mūla dharma can be read together as “the root principle of tala”; the separate written lines need not imply separate ideas.
Word notes
The first three lines connect knowledge with audible skill. Kanth means throat or singing voice, guni accomplishment, añchhar letter or syllable and bani utterance.
The six tala angas are anudruta, druta, laghu, guru, pluta and kakapada. Anu is not a separate anga; anu / druta is a sung syllable division. The composition remains in seven-beat Rupak.
Complete seven-beat score
Each row is one complete Rupak cycle, grouped 3 + 2 + 2. Beat 1 is both sam and the wave; claps are at 4 and 6. The phrase column is a sung-text guide, not a claim of one syllable per beat. Words can begin near one row's end and continue across the following sam. Follow the explicit joins below.
How to read this notation
Sa is the chosen reference pitch. Note signs used in this score:
G = shuddha Ga; R = shuddha Re; P = Pa; M = shuddha Ma; S = Sa; N = shuddha Ni; D = shuddha Dha.
↑ 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 | 1–3 · sam / wave | 4–5 · clap | 6–7 · clap | Sung phrase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi 1 | G R (P)M |
G — |
S — |
Sur sangat |
| Sthayi 2 | G R PM |
G — |
S — |
Raga-vidya |
| Sthayi 3 | (P)M G — |
S N↓ |
— — |
Sangat |
| Sthayi 4 | N↓ P↓ — |
(P↓)S — |
S — |
Pramana |
| Sthayi 5 | (S)N↓ S G |
— R |
P (P)M |
Jo kanth kar |
| Sthayi 6 | P (P)G — |
S — |
N↓ S |
Dikhaye; va-ko begins on beats 6–7 |
| Sthayi 7 | (M)R (P)M P |
D M |
GR G |
Jane |
| Sthayi 8 | S (G)R P |
(P)D M |
(P)G S |
Guni-gyani |
| Antara 1 | M P N |
N S↑ |
S↑ N |
Anu druta laghu; gu- begins at beat 7 |
| Antara 2 | S↑ S↑ — |
S↑ S↑ |
— S↑ |
Ru pluta tala |
| Antara 3 | S↑ — S↑ |
S↑ — |
P P |
Mula dharma |
| Antara 4 | P (P)D M |
G — |
G R |
Rakhiye; su-an begins at beats 6–7 |
| Antara 5 | G S N↓ |
G R |
P — |
Chhara sudha ba- |
| Antara 6 | P (P)D M |
(P)G — |
S — |
Ni gyani |
Pickups, sam and section joins
Both sections begin on sam. Sthayi 1 carries sur across beats 1–2 and begins sangat at 3. Sthayi 2 begins raga on sam and vidya at beat 4. Sthayi 3 completes sangat; the held lower Ni belongs to that cycle.
Sthayi 4 begins “pramana”; Sthayi 5 begins “jo”, with “kanth” starting at beat 2 and “kar” at beat 6. Sthayi 6 begins “dikhaye”, then introduces “va-ko” on beats 6–7. Sthayi 7 continues with “jane”; Sthayi 8 closes with “guni-gyani”. Do not force “vako” onto the next sam merely to align the continuous lyric lines.
In Antara 1, anu occupies beats 1–2, druta 3–4, laghu 5–6, and gu- begins at 7. The following sam finishes guru on ru. Pluta starts at beat 2 of Antara 2; tala starts at beat 4. Antara 3 carries mula dharma and drops from upper Sa to middle Pa at beat 6. Antara 4 begins rakhiye, then su-an at beats 6–7; añchhar continues into Antara 5. Bani crosses from ba at beat 6 of Antara 5 to ni on the final row's sam. Gyani follows from beat 4. After the last held Sa, return to the opening Ga on the next sam.
Ornaments and learning sequence
Glide from Ga to Sa and from upper Sa to middle Pa in the antara. Learn the shape by listening. (P)M is a Pa grace into Ma; PM is two principal notes in one beat. In sthayi 4, distinguish the lower Pa grace before Sa from middle Pa graces.
- Recite Rupak's seven beats with wave–clap–clap and keep sam audible in your count.
- Speak the connected lyric sentences, especially the words split across cycles.
- Learn the eight sthayi rows, first on swara syllables and then with the text. Keep the low Ni–Pa area separate from middle-register notes.
- Learn the six antara rows, sustaining the upper register without carrying its octave into the middle Pa descent.
- Join the two sections and return to the opening on sam. Add expressive details through demonstrated teaching, not by substituting a generic Tilak Kamod scale.
Common pitfalls
M is shuddha Ma and M^ is tivra Ma. A parenthesized grace adds no beat. Phrase labels do not add a melody, and a word may cross a division. Learn phrasing by listening.