Gurbani Raag Prabhati

Prabhati does not appear in the Ragmala: the nearest to it in name  Prabal. Prabhati belongs to the Bhairav thata and is often combined with Raga Bhairav. Prabhati was the setting used for some 58 hymns by Guru Nanak, Guru ,Amar Das, Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan. This is a morning raga to be performed in a slow and dignified manner.

Aroh : Sa Re Ga Pa Dha Sa

Avroh : Sa Ni Dha Ni Pa Ga Re Sa

Pakar : Pa Pa Sa, Ni Dha Ni Pa, Pa Dha Ga Pa, Dha Pa Dha

Vadi : Sa

Samvadi : Pa

Introduction :

This raga is made up of a mixture of many ragas. There is no mention of this raga in any ancient book of Indian music, though it is quite popular in the religious songs. Some authors do classify it as s a raga of Bharav thata.

This raga is not mentioned 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 , dha, sa

Avrohi (descending scale) - sa ni dha ni pa, dha ga pa, ga re sa

The vadi (most popular) note is 'sa' and samvadi (second most popular) note is 'pa'.

This raga is sung in the first part of the day i.e., 6 a.m. 9 a.m. The season of its recitation is spring (basant) i.e., during February - March. In Guru Granth Sahib it has hymns from pages 1327 - 1351 (15 pages).

The Composers:

The composers of bani (hymns) in this raga are:

Gurus

  • Nanak Dev
  • Amardas
  • Ramdas
  • Guru Arjan Dev

Bhagats:

  • Kabir
  • Namdev
  • Beni

The structure:

The sequence of the structure of compositions in this raga are:

Gurubani:

  • Shabads (2 - 4padas)
  • Ashtpadis

Bhagatbani:

  • Shabads 3-6 Padas

Matrix

VISUAL ANALYSIS

Count of the use of Managals:

  • Complete Mool Mantar = 1 at page 1319
  • Ik-ongkar Satgur Prasadh = 4

Placement and count of rahau verses:

In all shabads and ashtpadis the numbered rahau verses, but the placing varies between beginning of the shabads to the end of the first padas of the shabads in various compositions.

In the Bhagat Bani, the numbered rahau verses are placed at the end of the first padas of the shabads.

Diversification of headings & subheadings in this raga:

Page number

Heading/Subheading

1327

Raga Parbhati Vibas Mehla 1 chaupadas Ghar 1

1337

Parbhati Mehla 5 Vibas

1341

Parbhati Mehla 5 Ghar 2 Vibas

Composers Structure of Bani


 

Padas

 

 

 

 

Specialist

Ashtpadis

Specialist

Chts

Sohle**

Var

Sloaks*

Gurus

2

3

4

5

6

Titled

8 (padas)

 

 

 

 

 

Nanak Del,

 

 

13

4

 

 

7

 

 

 

 

 

Amardas

 

 

6

1

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

Ramdas

1

 

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arjan Dev

3

 

12

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

Bhagats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kabir

 

1

3

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namdev

 

1

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beni

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpts taken from:
Guru Granth Sahib: An Advance Study
Dr Sukhbir Singh Kapoor
Vice Chancellor World Sikh University, London

 
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