Sab gunijan Iman gaat
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Yaman; the lyric uses Iman |
| Form | Lakshan geet |
| Kind | Lakshan geet: a song that describes the raga |
| Tala | Ektal, 12 beats |
| Laya | Madhya |
| Sections | Sthayi and antara; the sthayi also has two wordless swara rows |
Lyrics, transliteration and meaning
Transliteration helps read the words; the score shows sustained vowels and their durations.
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Original English rendering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | सब गुनिजन इमन गात | Sab gunijan Iman gaat | Accomplished musicians sing Iman. |
| Sthayi | तीवर सुर करत साथ | Teevar sur karat saath | They include the sharpened note. |
| Antara | सुर वादि गंधार साध | Sur vaadi Gandhar saadh | Attend to Gandhar as the vadi note. |
| Antara | समवादी कर निखाद | Samvaadi kar nikhaad | Take Nishad as the samvadi. |
| Antara | रात समय प्रथम प्रहर | Raat samay pratham prahar | Its time is the first watch of the night. |
| Antara | चतुर सुजन मन रिझात | Chatur sujan man rijhaat | It delights discerning listeners. |
Teevar means tivra Ma, not louder or faster singing. Nikhaad means Nishad. The song describes note choice, emphasis and performance time.
Reading the principal notes
Read the main-note table with the ornament map that follows it. Small grace notes do not add beats. Learn their duration and execution by listening.
Ektal divisions are 1–2 (sam/clap), 3–4 (wave), 5–6 (clap), 7–8 (wave), 9–10 (clap) and 11–12 (clap). Each row begins on sam. Sing the sections in order and return from Antara 4 to Sthayi 1 on the next sam.
How to read this notation
Sa is the chosen reference pitch. Note signs used in this score:
S = Sa; N = shuddha Ni; M^ = tivra Ma; P = Pa; G = shuddha Ga; R = shuddha Re; 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.
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.
| Row | 1–2 · sam | 3–4 · wave | 5–6 · clap | 7–8 · wave | 9–10 · clap | 11–12 · clap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi 1 | S↑ S↑ |
N N |
M^ P |
P P |
M^ G |
— G |
| Text | sa ba |
gu ni |
ja na |
i ma |
na gaa |
— ta |
| Sthayi 2 | G — |
G R |
G P |
R G |
R N↓ |
R S |
| Text | tee — |
va ra |
su ra |
ka ra |
ta saa |
— tha |
| Swara row 1 | S S |
R R |
G G |
M^ M^ |
P P |
D D |
| Swara row 2 | N N |
R↑ R↑ |
G↑ R↑ |
S↑ R↑ |
S↑ N |
D P |
| Antara 1 | P G |
P — |
D P |
S↑ — |
S↑ S↑ |
— S↑ |
| Text | su ra |
vaa — |
di gaan |
dhaa — |
ra saa |
— dha |
| Antara 2 | S↑ S↑ |
R↑ — |
G↑ R↑ |
S↑ S↑ |
N N |
D P |
| Text | sa ma |
vaa — |
dee — |
ka ra |
ni khaa |
— da |
| Antara 3 | P G |
G P |
P P |
N N |
D P |
D P |
| Text | raa — |
ta sa |
ma ya |
pra tha |
ma pra |
ha ra |
| Antara 4 | S↑ S↑ |
N N |
M^ P |
P G |
P R |
— S |
| Text | cha tu |
ra su |
ja na |
ma na |
ri jhaa |
— ta |
N↓ in the second sthayi row is lower-octave Ni. The arrow does not add a beat. A word can cross a division. Sing the swara names in the two swara rows.
Grace-note and connection map
The ornament map identifies the row and beat. X before Y means grace X leads into principal Y within that beat. A connecting curve marks a glide.
| Row | Beat(s) | Note details |
|---|---|---|
| Sthayi 1 | 1 | P before upper S↑ |
| Sthayi 1 | 4 | D before N |
| Sthayi 1 | 5 | D before M^ |
| Sthayi 1 | 7 | M^ before P |
| Sthayi 2 | 1 | M^ before G |
| Sthayi 2 | 7 | G before R |
| Sthayi 2 | 10 | Middle-register R before lower N↓ |
| Swara row 2 | 7 | N before upper S↑ |
| Antara 1 | 1 | M^ before P |
| Antara 1 | 7 | P before upper S↑ |
| Antara 2 | 1 | N before upper S↑ |
| Antara 2 | 10–11 | D grace above N, with a connecting curve toward the following D |
| Antara 3 | 1–2 | Connecting curve from P toward G |
| Antara 3 | 7 | P before N |
| Antara 4 | 4 | D before N |
| Antara 4 | 10 | G before R |
At Sthayi 2 beat 10, the grace is middle-register Re and the principal note is lower Ni. The grace adds no beat and does not change Ni’s register.
Learning sequence and checks
- Speak the text and explain its six statements before singing.
- Count one Ektal cycle. Locate the four claps and two waves; keep all twelve beats even.
- Read each main-note cell together with its ornament-map entry. Add the graces after a teacher has checked their execution; keep the middle-register Re grace distinct from the lower Ni it approaches.
- Learn the two sthayi lyric rows and then the two swara rows. Keep their order visible instead of mistaking the swara rows for an omitted antara.
- Learn the four antara rows. Observe the upper-register writing; do not force a fixed concert pitch from the notation.
- Rejoin the sections on the next sam.
What to listen for
The piece begins high in the written register rather than simply walking upward through a scale. Its swara rows make a useful contrast: one rises in repeated note pairs, while the next changes direction. The antara’s text describes Gandhar and Nishad, but textual prominence and the exact duration of an individual note are not the same thing.
The teaching aim is to hear a composition as an organised sequence of phrases inside a cycle. A raga is not exhausted by the six facts named in its lakshan song.