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BILAVAL (ancient name Velavali) Bilaval had become the basic
scale for North Indian music by the early part of the 19th century. Its tonal
relationships are comparable to the Western C- major scale. Bilaval appears in the
Ragmala as a ragini of Bhairava, but today it is the head of the Bilaval thata.
The Ragmala gives Bilaval as a putra (son) of Bhairav, but no relation between
these two ragas is made today. Bilaval is a morning raga to be sung with a feeling
of deep devotion and repose, often performed during the hot months. Over 170 hymns
were composed to this raga by Guru Nanak, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan
and Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Literally,Bilaval means ‘delight’
and therefore this raga
is often sung in the spring season. Guru Arjan sings
of the bliss which spiritual fulfilment brings:
“I am blessed with great destiny for my God is
my Bridegroom.
In His court plays the spontaneous celestial strain.
Night and day, I abide in bliss, listening happily to musical instruments;
Disease, sorrow and pain harass not here, nor is there birth or death”.
Aroh : Sa Re Ga, Ma Pa, Dha, Ni Sa
Avroh : Sa Ni Dha, Pa, Ma Ga, Re Sa
Pakar : Ga Re, Ga ~la Dha Pa, Ma Ga, Ma Re Sa
Vadi : Dha
Samvadi : Ga
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Introduction
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This raga is a popular raga of Bilawal thaht. It has many forms e.g., Yamni
Bilawal,
Shukal Bilawal, Sarparda Bilawal, Dkumb Bilawal, Devgiri Bilawal and Nut Bilawal etc.
This raga is mentioned as a son of rag Bharav in the Ragamala listed at the end of
Guru
Granth Sahib.
The scale and notes of the raga are as follows:
Arohi (ascending scale) - sa re ga ma pa dha ni sa
Avrohi (descending scale) - sa ni dha pa 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 spring (basant) i.e., during February and March. In Guru Granth Sahib it has
hymns
from pages 795 - 858 (64 pages).
The Composers:
The composers of barn (hymns) in this raga are:
Gurus
- Guru Nanak
- Guru Amardas
- Guru Ramdas
- Guru Arjan Dev
- Guru Tegh Bahadur
Bhagats:
- Kabir
- Namdev
- Ravidas
- Sadhna
The Structure:
The sequence of the structure of compositions in this raga are:
Gurubani:
- Shabads (2,3,4, and 5 padas)
- Shabads (8 padas Ashtpadis)
- Shabads (Chhants)
- Shabads (Specialist compositions)
- Shabads (var)
Matrix
VISUAL ANALYSIS
Count of the use of Managals:
- Complete Mool Mantar = 1 at page 795
- Ik-ongkar Satgur Prasadh = 30
Placement and count of rahau verses:
First 80 shabads of the Gurus have numbered rahau verses placed at the end of the
first
padas of the shabads; next 52 shabads (including 3 shabads of Guru Tegh Bahadur) have numbered
rahau
verses in the beginning of the shabads.
The ashtpadis which follow have numbered rahaus both in the beginning of the first
padas and at the end of the first padas of the ashtpadis.
Specialist compositions 'Thithe' and 'Var sat' have one verse of numbered rahau at
the
end of the first pada.
The Bhagat Bani has rahau verse with numerals and is placed both at the end of of
the
first padas of the shabads and the beginning of the shabads.
Diversification of headings & subheadings in this
raga:
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Page number
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Heading/Subheading
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795
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Raga Bilawal Mehla 1 chaupadas Ghar 1
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806
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Raga Bilawal Mehla 5 Ghar 4 dopadas
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820
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Raga Bilawal Mehla 5 chaupadas dopadas Ghar 6
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830
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Raga Bilawal Mehla 5 Ghar 13 Partal*
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Where tal is changed again and again during singing.
Composers Structure of Bani
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Padas
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Ashtpadis
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Specialist
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Chts
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Specialist
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Var
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Sloaks*
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Gurus
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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8 (padas)
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untiled
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Titled
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Nanak
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4
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2
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Thithe
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2
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2
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Amardas
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5
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1
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1
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war sat
2 shbds
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24
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Ramdas
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7
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6
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2
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1
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1
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Arjan Dev
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73
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54*
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2
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2
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5+1
(Chhnat
mangal)
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13
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Tegh
Bahadur
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2
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1
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| Bhagats |
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| Namdev |
1 |
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| Ravidas |
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2 |
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| Sadhna |
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1 |
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- Pds= padas
- Chts = Chhants
- One chaupada shabad of Guru Arjan has a recommended tune for its singing, page
802
shabad 4/1/4.
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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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