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Bani Mahala 9 - Rag Dhanasari

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Rag Dhanasari
Out of the thirty-one principal rags
Bani Footnote A rag is a melodic framework for improvisation and composition in Hindustani music akin to a melodic mode in western music. It consists of a specific set of notes and their combination used in a particular order to produce a melody. A rag also provides a framework of rules with the help of which a musician can improvise to produce different melodies by infinitely reordering a given set of notes specifically prescribed for that particular rag. Every rag has an array of melodic structures with musical motifs that is capable of evoking distinct emotions. [https://www.britannica.com/art/raga]
in the Guru Granth Sahib, Rag Dhanasari
Bani Footnote At three places in the Guru Granth Sahib, ‘dhanasari’ is also found to be written as ‘dhanasiri.’ For example: rāgu dhanāsirī mahalā 3 gharu 4, Guru Granth Sahib 666.
(a musical mode) has been designated the tenth place in the sequence. Under this rag, the Bani of five Gurus and seven Bhagats is recorded from page 660 to 695 of the Guru Granth Sahib. It includes fourteen Sabads each by Guru Nanak Sahib and Guru Ramdas Sahib, nine by Guru Amardas Sahib, sixty by Guru Arjan Sahib, four by Guru Teghbahadar Sahib, five each by Bhagat Kabir and Bhagat Namdev, three by Bhagat Ravidas and one each by Bhagat Trilochan, Bhagat Pipa, Bhagat Dhanna, and Bhagat Sain.
Bani Footnote Bhai Joginder Singh Talwara, Bani Biura, part one, page 80.
The well-known Bani ‘Arti’ revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib is also recorded in this rag. Besides this, more Sabads with similar gist, revealed by Bhagats, are also found in this rag, like:
nāmu tero ārtī majanu murāre. -Guru Granth Sahib 694.
dhūp dīp ghrit sāji ārtī. -Guru Granth Sahib 695.

‘Dhanasari’ is a melodious rag of the Hindutani musical tradition, originating from the northern region of modern India. It is mentioned as a prominent rag in Hindustani Music. In ancient musicology texts, the names of Dhanasari are given as Dhanasi, Dhanayasi, Dhanashri, etc. According to Prof. Piara Singh Padam, ‘Dhanasari’ was the name of a western part of Panjab, and this rag originated from a local tune of this region.
Bani Footnote Piara Singh Padam, Guru Granth Sanket Kosh, page 208.


In Hindustani music, Pundrik Vithul considers Dhanasari to be a ragini
Bani Footnote A derivative melody acquired by the modification of a rag (musical mode) in Hindustani music. Its form is closely related to and associated with the rag it has been derived from. In Indic mythology it is personified as the wife of that particular rag.
of Shudh Bhairav ​​rag as per the rag-ragini classification.
Bani Footnote Prof. Kartar Singh, Gurmati Sangit Darpan, part one, page 240.
According to Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Dhanasari is a sampuran ragini of Kafi that
Bani Footnote A ‘that’ is a group of notes. Its primary function is to provide a basis for the creation, organization and classification of rags in the Hindustani music.
.
Bani Footnote Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Mahan Kosh, page 660.
In this verse of the Guru Granth Sahib as well, Dhanasari has been mentioned as a ragini:
dhanāsarī dhanvantī jāṇīai bh āī jāṁ satigur kī kār kamāi. -Guru Granth Sahib 1419.

In the ‘Ragmala’ recorded at the end of the Guru Granth Sahib also, it has been mentioned as a ragini.
Bani Footnote dhanāsari e pācaü gāī. māl rāg kaüsak saṅgi lāī. -Guru Granth Sahib 1430.
In this context, Sant Tahil Singh’s statement is worth noting that when the verses or hymns are composed for singing, they are recorded under the title ‘rag.’ The rag, ragini etc., classification is only used in ‘Ragmala.’

But some modern day Sikh scholars argue that only the word ‘rag’ is used in the titles of the Guru Granth Sahib, and the word ‘ragini’ is not written anywhere. Therefore, there is no ragini in the Guru Granth Sahib. They believe that there is no place for the rag-ragini classification in Gurmat Sangit (Sikh music).

According to Dr. Gurnam Singh, "Because all the rags employed in the Guru Granth Sahib have a specific doctrine, they can only be made the subject of study from a scientific perspective based on music. To give a direction to the multi-layered rhetoric of the rag-ragini classification prevalent in the Middle Ages, the Guru has used only the word 'rag' for all the rags.”
Bani Footnote Dr. Gurnam Singh, Gurmati Sangit Parbandh Te Pasar, page 80.
At the same time, it is worth mentioning here that in all texts on Hindustani music, there was a tradition of calling and writing the rag-raginis as ‘rag.’ When a rag was described or explained, it was also categorized as rag/ragini at the same time.

According to Bhai Avtar Singh and Bhai Gurcharan Singh,
Bani Footnote Bhai Avtar Singh Bhai Gurcharan Singh, Gurbani Sangit Prachin Rit Ratanavali, part one, page 331.
Dhanasari is sung in four different ways: Kafi ang, Multani ang, Puria ang and Bhairavi ang. There is no difference in the ascending (aroh) and descending (avroh) scale of these variations of Dhanasari; the difference is only in notes.

Hindustani music experts have mentioned three different forms of Dhanasari. Raghunath Talegavakar and Acharya Krishan Narayan Ratanjanakar have mentioned Kafi that, Pandit Bhatkhande and Pandit Ram Krishan Vyas have mentioned Kafi and Bhairavi that, and Vimalkant Rai Chaudhary has mentioned Kafi and Bhairavi that in addition to another that.
Bani Footnote Prof. Kartar Singh, Gurmati Sangit Darpan, part one, page 241.


Some old artists of Hindustani Music assume Dhanasari to be Puria Dhanasari belonging to Purabi that. But the artists associated with the musical tradition of Panjab sing Dhanasari in two separate forms of Kafi that and Bhairavi that, of which the Dhanasari of Kafi that is more popular.
Bani Footnote Dr. Gurnam Singh, Gurmati Sangit Parbandh Te Pasar, page 102.


According to Prof. Kartar Singh, scholars have mostly described the following form of Rag Dhanasari that has originated from Kafi that.
Bani Footnote Prof. Kartar Singh, Gurmati Sangit Darpan, part one, page 241.
The same form has been accepted by the Rag Nirnayak Committee,
Bani Footnote Principal Sukhwant Singh, Guru Nanak Sangit Padhati Granth, part-1, page 29.
which is as follows:

Description of Rag Dhanasari
That: Kafi.
Svar (notes): Ga and Ni are flat (komal), rest all notes are normal/natural (shudh).
Varjit Svar (forbidden notes): Re and Dha in aroh (ascending scale).
Jati: aurav-sampuran.
Vadi: Pa.
Samvadi: Sa.
Aroh (ascending scale): Sa Ga (komal - flat), Ma Pa, Ni (komal - flat) Sa (tar saptak - upper octave).
Avroh (descending scale): Sa (tar saptak - upper octave) Ni (komal - flat) Dha Pa, Ma Pa Ga (komal - flat), Re Sa.
Mukh Ang/Pakar (Main Part): Ni (komal - flat of mandar saptak - lower octave) Sa Ga (komal - flat), Ma Pa, Ni (komal - flat) Dha Pa, Ma Pa Ga (komal - flat), Re Sa.

Singing Time
Third quarter of the day.