Gurbani Raag: Sarang
Sarang is reputed to have acquired its name from the famous 14th century music theorist, Sarangadeva. The Sarang raga consists of a group of seven, each of which is combined with some other raga. Today when Sarangg is given as the raga, it usually means Brindavani-Saranga, a member of the Kafi thata. Performed during the midday period, its mood is quiet and peaceful. In the Ragmala, Sarang is listed as a putra (son) of Siri Raga. Sarang is an important raga in the Guru Granth Sahib and was used extensively by Guru Arjan. However, Guru Nanak, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das and Guru Tegh Bahadur also composed sabdas to this raga and Guru Angad used it for some slokas.
Aroh : Sa Re Ma Pa Ni Sa
Avroh : Sa Ni Pa Ma Re, Sa
Pakar : Ni Sa Re, Nfa Re, Pa Nfa Re, Ni Sa
Vadi : Re
Samvadi : Pa
Introduction :
According to Indian Schools of music this raga is a very old, popular, simple and melodious raga. Its effect is very cool, so it is normally sung at noon time to give to the listeners a cooling effect. The snake-charmers also use this raga to intoxicate poisonous snakes with its melody. This raga is sung in many variations e.g.,
- Sadh Sarang,
- Madhmad Sarang
- Bindrabani Sarang
- Lankdehan Sarang
- Mia ki Sarang,
- Gaund Sarang,
- Jaldhar Sarang,
- Surdasi Sarang,
- Nur Sarang,
- Samant Sarang
- Wadhans Sarang
The scale and notes of the raga are as follows:
Arohi (ascending scale) - sa re ma pa ni sa
Avrohi (descending scale) - sa ni pa ma re sa
The wadi. (most popular) note is 're' and samvadi (second most popular) note is 'pa'.
This raga is normally sung in the second part of the day i.e., 9 a.m. 12 noon. The season of its recitation is rainy (varsha) i.e., during July - August. In Guru Granth Sahib it has hymns from pages 1197 - 1253 ( 57 pages).
The Composers:
The composers of bani (hymns) in this raga are:
Gurus
- Guru Nanak Dev
- Guru Angad
- Guru Amardas
- Ramdas
- Guru Arjan Dev
- Guru Tegh Bahadur
- Kabir
- Namdev
- Ravidas
- Parmanand
- Surdas
