History & Origins
Vrindavani Sarang is named for Vrindavan, the sacred grove on the banks of the Yamuna where Krishna is said to have spent his childhood. The raga belongs to the Sarang family but is entirely pentatonic in both ascent and descent (the same five notes going up and coming down) which gives it an unusual purity and simplicity. It is associated with pastoral imagery and Vaishnava devotional traditions.
The Notes of Raga Vrindavani Sarang
Raga Vrindavani Sarang is a Audava-Audava raga, meaning it uses audava-audava notes. The ascending and descending movements of the raga are defined below. In Indian classical notation, lowercase letters indicate flattened (komal) notes, and t superscript indicates a sharpened (tivra) note.
The Characteristic Phrase (Pakad)
The pakad is the signature melodic gesture of a raga: the phrase that immediately identifies it to an experienced listener. For Raga Vrindavani Sarang, the pakad is:
Performance
The pentatonic symmetry of Vrindavani Sarang (the same five notes ascending and descending) gives it a meditative quality unusual in a primarily joyful raga. The musician has only five notes to work with in any direction, which concentrates attention on how those notes are approached, ornamented, and related to each other. At the highest level of performance, the simplicity becomes inexhaustible.
Spiritual Significance
Vrindavani Sarang is among the most devotionally significant of the midday ragas: its association with Vrindavan makes it specifically a raga of bhakti in the Vaishnava mode. Krishna's flute sound in the forest at noon: this is the image the raga evokes. Its shringara is the love between the divine and the devotee, at its most immediate and pastoral.
Notable Performers
- Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute: especially resonant for this raga)
- Pandit Jasraj
- Ustad Vilayat Khan
- Pandit Ravi Shankar
Famous Compositions
- Devotional compositions of the Vaishnava tradition
- Flute compositions in the midday repertoire