literally a garland of Ragas, is a very popular form of composition
in Carnatic music. These are delightful compositions, where the various segments are set to different
Ragas, with a smooth and melodious flow of music during the transition from one
Raga to the next.
The choice of Ragas, as well as the order in which they appear in a Ragamalika, are based solely on aesthetic
considerations. The main point is that a feeling of abruptness or a gap should be avoided when shifting between
Ragas and the flow of music should be very smooth. Also, closely allied Ragas
do not generally appear
in the same composition. Ideally, consecutive Ragas should possess distinct melodic character.
In medieval period, this musical form was known as Raga Kadambakam, Kadamba
being a garland of different flowers. Ragamalikas have been
employed not only in strict kriti formats, but they also appear in numerous other types of compositions, including
Varnams, Swarajatis, Jatiswarams, Slokas, Viruttams, Tillanas and the concluding
On the rhythmic side, a parallel form of composition is a Talamalika. Here, the various segments of the
music are set to different Talas, but the entire piece may or may not be in a
single Raga. These types of
compositions usually find place in dance recitals. Yet another form, a happy blending of a
Ragamalika and a Talamalika is known as a Ragatalamalika. Here each segment is set to a different
Tala, and rendered in a different Raga. It is customary to incorporate the name of the
Raga, i.e., the Raga-mudra as well as the name of the Tala (Tala-mudra) in each segment of the composition through some ingenious
devices such as Slesham (double meaning). This is very helpful, and invariably all
Ragamalikas feature some sort of Raga-mudras for each segment.
Since Carnatic music system is a treasure-house of thousands of Ragas and hundreds of
composers have exploited this feature and have literally flooded the field with numerous
The number of Ragas employed in any single piece can vary anywhere from two to seventy two, and sometimes more,
the longest so far being 108!
In this article, we survey the contributions of various prolific composers to Ragamalika.
Ramaswami Dikshitar (1735 -1817) could aptly be called a Ragamalika
Chakravarti (King of Ragamalika). He was also the inventor of the magnificent pentatonic
Raga Hamsadhwani. Ramaswami Dikshitar composed many Tana Varnams and Pada
Varnams and he will be remembered for the
many lengthy Ragamalikas in which he was very proficient as a composer.
All his Ragamalikas were in Telugu language, and every one of them featured the Raga-mudra
employed in each segment. One of his Ragamalikas is 'Manasa Verutarula',
48 Ragas and in Adi Tala, on Lord Venkateswara. A second one, 'Sivamohanasakti
nannu' on Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai is set in 44 Ragas in Roopaka Tala. Yet another one,
'Samajagamana ninnu korinadira' is set in 20 Ragas, Adi Tala, and is dedicated to King Amarasimhan.
The crown jewel of all his work is the longest composition in Carnatic music,
nay, in all music,
the 'Ashtottara Shata Raga-Tala malika', commencing with the phrase 'Natakadi'. As the
name signifies, this magnum opus is a Ragatalamalika ostensibly containing 108
Ragas and set in 108 Talas, one for each line. However, the original text is unfortunately not available in complete
and only 61 Ragas and 61 Talas have come down to us. The text that is presently available can
be found in Subbarama Dikshitar's encyclopedic treatise, Sangeeta Sampradaya
The text of this Ragatalamalika employs all the Ghana Ragas - Nata, Gowla,
Varali, Sriragam and Arabhi. Also, all important Melakarta Ragas appear, namely,
Todi, Mayamalavagowla, Sankarabharanam, Kalyani, Pantuvarali and
Gamakakritya. Many Upanga and Bhashanga Ragas have also been employed,
e.g. Sama, Mohanam, Manirangu, Bilahari, Saveri, Punnagavarali, Kurinji,
Surati, Begada, Devagandhari etc. The Pratimadhyama Ragas
used are Ramakriya, Kalyani, Saranga, Yamankalyani and Gamakakriya. While most of the
Talas used are known and precisely defined
in musical literature, no clue is available for the anga-s of the Talas with the names
Lali, Lakshana, Srimatkirti, Akshara and Kala, that appear in the text. Ramaswami
this monumental work and a few other pieces in praise of his patron,
Venkatakrishna Mudaliar of Manali. The vaggeyakara-mudra (signature of the composer) Venkatakrishna
is used in all his work.
Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776-1834 AD), son of Ramaswami Dikshitar, is part of
the Trinity of composers in Carnatic music. He was a composer par
excellence, who chose to sing in praise of various deities in temples
that he visited during his extensive pilgrimages. About 480 of his compositions are
available in print. These gems furnish a complete musical
pilgrimage of the various temples, not only from South India, but as far north as
Badrinath, and Kathmandu in Nepal. Most of his compositions, particularly his
Ragamalikas feature the Raga-mudra, as well as Guruguha, his own
mudra or signature.
Only four Ragamalikas of Muthuswami Dikshitar are currently in vogue and are
also available in print. They are:
- SrI Viswanatham Bhajeham in fourteen
Ragas, set to Adi Tala. The sequence of fourteen Ragas that appear in this
Ragamalika are Sriragam, Arabhi, Gowri, Nata, Gowla, Mohanam, followed
by viloma swaras (rendering of swaras in the reverse order of Ragas).
The second half contains Sama, Lalita, Bhairavam, Saranga,
Sankarabharanam, Kambhoji, Devakriya, Bhoopalam, followed again by viloma
swaras, and finally ending
in the commencing Raga, Sriragam. This composition is in praise of Lord
Viswanatha, of the temple located in the village Kulikkarai, near
Tiruvarur, Tamilnadu. (You can find the lyrics for this Ragamalika in
- Madhavo mampatu in ten Ragas, set to
Roopaka Tala. on the Dashavaratam or the ten incarnations of Lord
- Simhasanasthite in four auspicious
Ragas, namely Sowrashtra, Vasanta, Surati and Madhyamavati, set to Roopaka
Tala in praise of Devi Parvati.
- Poornachandrabimba vadane in six Ragas
- Poornachandrika, Narayani, Saraswatimanohari, Suddhavasantam,
Hamsadhwani and Nagadhwani - also set in Roopaka Tala, on Goddess
Kamalamba of the mammoth Tiruvarur temple. I have come across a recent book (published in
Srirangam), that gives two
additional lines of text, in Ragas Kedaram and Bilahari, rendering it an Ashta
Ragamalika rather that a Shad Ragamalika.
Dr. P P Narayanaswami