Ganamurti
Carnatic music |
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Ganamurti (pronounced gÄnamÅ«rti, meaning the idol of music) is a rÄgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 3rd Melakarta rÄgam in the 72 melakarta rÄgam system of Carnatic music.
It is called GÄnasÄmavarÄḷi in Muthuswami Dikshitar school of Carnatic music.[1][2]
Structure and Lakshana

It is the 3rd rÄgam in the 1st chakra Indu. The mnemonic name is Indu-Go. The mnemonic phrase is sa ra ga ma pa dha nu.[1] Its Ärohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):
- Ärohaṇa: S R1 G1 M1 P D1 N3 S
- avarohaṇa: S N3 D1 P M1 G1 R1 S
The notes used in this scale are shuddha rishabham, shuddha gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, shuddha dhaivatham, kakali nishadham.
As it is a melakarta rÄgam, by definition it is a sampoorna rÄgam (has all seven notes in ascending and descending scale). It is the shuddha madhyamam equivalent of Jhalavarali, which is the 39th melakarta.
Asampurna Melakarta
GÄnasÄmavarÄḷi is the 3rd Melakarta in the original list compiled by Venkatamakhin. The notes used in the scale are the same, but the ascending scale is different. It is an shadava-sampurna raga (6 notes in ascending scale, while full 7 are used in descending scale).[3]
- Ärohaṇa: S R1 M1 P D1 N3 S'
- avarohaṇa: S N3 D1 P M1 G1 R1 S
Janya rÄgams
Ganamurti has a few minor janya rÄgams (derived scales) associated with it. See List of janya rÄgams for full list of rÄgams associated with Ganamoorti.
Compositions
- GÄnamoorthe sri krishna by Thyagaraja is a popular composition sung in concerts, set to Ganamurti.
- PÄhi JagadÄ°swarÄ by Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna in Ä€di Tala
- Brihadiswara rakshatuma in Eka tala by Muthuswami Dikshitar is a composition set to GÄnasÄmavarÄḷi scale.
Related rÄgams
This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rÄgam.
Ganamurti's notes when shifted using Graha bhedam, yields 2 other melakarta rÄgams, namely, Vishwambari and Shamalangi. Graha bhedam is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the shadjam to the next note in the rÄgam. For further details and an illustration refer Graha bhedam on Ganamurti.
References
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