Bani Bhagat Surdas Ji

Rag Sarang
Of the thirty-one principal rags in the Guru Granth Sahib, Rag Sarang, a musical mode, has been designated the twenty-sixth place in the sequence. The Bani of six Gurus and four Bhagats is recorded under this rag from pages 1197 to 1253 of the Guru Granth Sahib. This includes thirty-eight Sabads by Guru Nanak Sahib, nine by Guru Angad Sahib, twenty-six by Guru Amardas Sahib, fifty-four by Guru Ramdas Sahib, one hundred and forty-seven by Guru Arjan Sahib, four by Guru Teghbahadar Sahib, three each by Bhagat Kabir Ji and Bhagat Namdev Ji, and one each by Bhagat Surdas Ji and Bhagat Parmanand Ji.

Rag Sarang is a calm, simple, melodious, and popular rag. It has been popular in Hindustani music for centuries. In the Guru Granth Sahib, two-word forms are used for this rag: ‘Sarang’ and ‘Sarag.’ It is loved by the folk singers of Panjab and Rajasthan. It is said that even the snake-charmers play tunes of this rag on instrument, and the melodies of many folk songs are based on this rag. For example, in the folk-songs below, the description of this rag is clear:
māhīā! maiṁ lauṁg gavā āī āṁ. sohṇīe! nī kitthe gavā āī eṁ?

māeṁ nī māeṁ terī lāḍalī, nī terī bālaṛī, calī mār uḍārī.

In the Hindustani music tradition, this rag is also called Brindabani Sarang. Some believe Rag Sarang is very popular in Brindavan (Mathura), which is known for Krishna’s plays, thus giving this rag the name Brindavani Sarang. In Hindustani music, many rags that have developed from this rag are used, for example, Shudh Sarang, Gond Sarang, Mian Ki Sarang, Vadahans Sarang, Madhmad Sarang, Mant Sarang, Lankadhan Sarang, Sur Sarang, etc.

In Gurmat Sangit (Sikh Devotional Music), while it is traditionally obligatory to sing Rag Basant during kirtan from mid-January (Maghi) to mid-March (Hola-Mohalla), other traditions contradict this idea.

The origin of Rag Sarang is considered to be from the Kafi that. Although some scholars regard it as a rag of the Khamaj that, the view associating it with the Kafi that is more widely accepted. Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha has also classified Sarang as an aurav-sharav jati (class) rag of the Kafi that. In the ‘Ragmala’ of the Guru Granth Sahib, it is considered the son of Srirag:
sālū sārag sāgarā aür goṁḍ gambhīr. asṭ putra srīrāg ke gunḍ kumbh hamīr. -Guru Granth Sahib 1430.

In contemporary times, Sarang is regarded as a rag of the aurav-aurav jati, originating from the Kafi that. Prof. Tara Singh, Bhai Avtar Singh Bhai Gurcharan Singh, Dr. Gurnam Singh, and the Rag Nirnayak Committee have provided the widely accepted aurav jati form of this rag, which is as follows:

Description of Rag Sarang
That: Kaphi.
Svar (notes): Both Ni, the rest of the notes are shudh (natural).
Varjit Svar (forbidden notes): Ga and Dha.
Jati (class): aurav-aurav.
Vadi (prominent note): Re.
Samvadi (sub-prominent note): Pa.
Aroh (ascending scale): Sa, Re Ma Pa, Ni Sa (tar saptak - upper octave).
Avroh (descending scale): Sa (tar saptak - upper octave) Ni (komal - flat) Pa, Ma Re, Ni (mandar saptak - lower octave) Sa.
Mukh Ang/Pakar (main part): Ni (mandar saptak - lower octave) Sa Re, Ma Re, Pa Ma Re, Ni (mandar saptak - lower octave) Sa.

Singing time
The third quarter of the day.