Shuddha Saveri


Shuddha Saveri or śuddha sāveri is a ragam in Carnatic music and Yakshagana music. It is an audava rāgam. It is a janya rāgam of the Melakarta ragam Dhīraśaṅkarābharaṇaṃ which is 29th Melakarta raga. In Hindustani music it is called Durga. According to the school of Muthuswami Dikshitar, this rāgam is called Devakriya. Karnataka Shuddha Saveri, a janya rāgam of 1st melakarta ''Kanakangi, is called Shuddha Saveri by the Dikshitar school. Devakriya'' in the Tyagaraja school of music is a different Raga, which is a Janya of Natabhairavi.

Structure and Lakshana

Shuddha Saveri is a symmetric rāgam that does not contain gāndhāram or nishādam. It is a pentatonic scale. Its structure is as follows :
  • [Arohana|] :
  • [Avarohana|] :
It is a scale that uses the following variants of the swaras – chatushruti rishabham, shuddha madhyamam, panchamam and chatushruti dhaivatam.
Shuddha Saveri is considered a janya rāgam of Sankarabharanam, the 29th melakarta rāgam, though it can be derived from other melakarta rāgams, Kharaharapriya, Gourimanohari or Harikambhoji, by dropping both gāndhāram and nishādam.

Popular compositions

Here are some popular kritis composed in Shuddha Saveri.Darini telusukonṭi, Neeku Evvari Bodhana, Lakshanamulu, Orula Naduko and Kalaharaṇamelara Hare by Tyagaraja in TeluguSamajavarada Niku by Poochi Srinivasa IyengarTaye tripura sundari by Periyasaamy ThooranJanani pahi sada and Sahasika Danuja by Swathi ThirunalĀnalekara, by Purandara Dasa which is set to this rāgam, is one of the first few geetams taught to beginners. It is Purandara Dasa's first composition.Dharma Shravana By Purandara DasaEe Muddu Krishnana By Vadiraja TirthaShri Guruguha Tharayashu Mam, Sri Vatukanatha Shiva, Lalithambikam, Sandhya Devim and Sri Madhuramba Samrakshathu by Muthuswami Dikshitarsarvajīva dayākarī by Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi kamala-vilochani by Hari Sundareswara sharmashankara gangadhara shrikantha and shrimat simhasaneshvari by Muthiah BhagavatarVeedhula Veedhula by AnnamacharyaAda Pogona, Elladi Bande By SripadarajaHyange Madalayya By Gopala DasaSadhasiva Kumara and Kalpagambikai Undu by Papanasam SivanGudhithu Odi Vaaraai by Ambujam Krishna

Related rāgams

This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam.

''Graha bhedam''

Shuddha Saveri's notes when shifted using Graha bhedam, yields 4 other major pentatonic rāgams, namely, Mohanam, Hindolam, Madhyamavati and Udayaravichandrika. Graha bhedam is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the shadjam to the next note in the rāgam. See Graha bhedam on Mohanam for more details and illustration of this concept.

Scale similarities

  • Ārabhi is a rāgam which has the ascending scale of Shuddha Saveri and descending scale of Shankarabharanam. Its structure is S R2 M1 P D2 S : S N3 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
  • Jana Ranjani is a rāgam which has the ascending scale of Shankarabharanam and descending scale of Shuddha Saveri. Its structure is S R2 G3 M1 P D2 N3 P S : S D2 P M1 R2 S
  • Karnataka Shuddha Saveri of Dikshitar school has Shuddha Rishabham in place of Chatushruti Rishabham and Shuddha Dhaivatam in place of Chatushruti Dhaivatam. Its structure is S R1 M1 P D1 S : S D1 P M1 R1 S.
  • Yadukulakamboji is a rāgam which has the ascending scale of Shuddha Saveri and descending scale of Harikambhoji. Its structure is S R2 M1 P D2 S : S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S