A ragini .of Dipak in the Ragmala, Todi is today the head of a thata. It is considered one of the most important of the north Indian ragas. Todi was used by the Gurus for 32 hymns. This is a raga for the late morning hours and the mood is gentle, with an aura of adoration. The texts composed to this raga emphasize that no matter what problems man meets or what worldly affairs distract the mind, devotion to the Lord brings one back to the path of release from worldliness. Generally used for singing praises of noble men and kings, this raga was quite popular at Akbar’s Court. Tansen sang Mian-ki-todi praise of Emperor Akbar. The Gurus, however, used this raga to sing the praises of God. Guru Arjan sang as follows:
“I have just one God, my Lord; I know no other.
The Lord’s praise is my way of life, occupation and caste;
Hearing the kirtan of the Lord, I feel great joy”[10].
Aroh : Sa Re _Ga M'a Pa _Dha Ni Sa
Avroh : Sa Ni Dha Pa NI'a Ga _Re Sa
Pakar : _Dha Ni Sa, Re Ga, Re Sa, M'a _Ga Pa M'a Ga, _Re _Ga _Re _Sa
Vadi : Dha
Samvadi : Re
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Introduction
Raga Todi, which comes under Todi that, is one of the most exalted ragas of Northern India. It is classified as a ragini of a combination of raga Dhanasri, Asawari and Khat. It is mentioned as a consort of Raga Bhairo in Nad-Binod, consort of Malkaus in Sur-Tal group, consort of raga Deepak in Budh Prakash-Darpan and consort of raga Basant in Shivmat The mood of this raga is very tender and compassionate.
In the Ragamala listed at the end of Guru Granth Sahib it is mentioned as a consort of raga Deepak.
The scale and notes of the raga are as follows:
Arohi (ascending scale) - ni re ga ma dha ni sa
Avrohi (descending scale) - ni dha pa ma dha ma ga ma ga re sa
The vadi (most popular) note is 'dha' and samvadi (second most popular) note is 'ga'
This raga is sung at the first part of the day i.e., from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. The season of its recitation is winter (shisher) i.e., during December and January. In Guru Granth Sahib it has hymns from pages 711- 718 (8 pages).
The Composers:
The composers of bani (hymns) in this raga are:
Gurus
- Guru Ramdas
- Guru Arjan Dev
- Guru Tegh Bahadur
Bhagats:
The Structure:
The sequence of the structure of compositions in this raga are:
Gurubani:
- Shabads (2, 5 ,4 padas)
- Shabads - Chhants
Bhagatbani:
Matrix
VISUAL ANALYSIS
Count of the use of Managals:
Complete Moot Mantar = 1
Ik-ongkar Satgur Prasadh = 8
Placement and count of rahau verses:
All shabads of the Gurus have a rahau verse in them, some numbered some not numbered, and all rahaus have been in the beginning of the shabads.
In Bhagat Bard the rahau verses have numerals and are placed as: first shabad at the end of the first pada, and second and third shabads in the beginning of the shabads
Diversification of headings and subheadings in the raga:
Page number |
Heading/Subheading |
711 |
Raga Todi Mehla 4 Ghar 1 |
711 |
Todi Mehla 5 Ghar 1 dopadas |
718 |
Todi Mehla 9 |
718 |
Todi Bani Bhagta ki |
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No name of a Bhagat in the title; the name of Namdev
appears in the last tuk of all the shabads.
Though the title refers to 'plural' number of bhagats but
the raga has bani of only one Bhagat. |
Composers Structure of Bani
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Padas |
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Ashtpadis |
Specialist |
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Chts |
Specialist |
Var |
Sloaks* |
Gurus |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
8 (padas) |
untiled |
Titled |
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Ramdas |
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1 |
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Arjan Dev |
25 |
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40 |
1 |
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Tegh
Bahadur |
1 |
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Bhagats |
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Namdev |
2 |
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1 |
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Excerpts taken from:
Guru Granth Sahib: An Advance Study
Dr Sukhbir Singh Kapoor
Vice Chancellor World Sikh University, London |
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