1.1 The seven swaras, and what a swara is
Written from the tradition, August 2026. The swara names, the shared positions and the notes of Mayamalavagowla were checked against the references under Go deeper. Swaras are written as words throughout, because a lesson body has no typed record to say letters from; the written forms are on the topic page, where every line carries a spoken version.
What this is and why it exists
Seven syllables carry this entire music: sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, da, ni. Every exercise, every composition and every conversation about a raga uses them.
They are not quite notes in the way a piano has notes. A swara is a position, together with a way of arriving at it and leaving it. The syllable names the position; the arriving and leaving are taught, not written.
Two of the seven never move. Sa is wherever you set it, and pa sits in a fixed relation above it. The other five have alternatives, which the next lesson is about.
The vocabulary
- Swara — one of the seven, and the syllable that names it.
- Shadja — the full name of sa, the first swara.
- Rishabha, gandhara, madhyama — the full names of ri, ga and ma.
- Panchama, dhaivata, nishada — the full names of pa, da and ni.
- Arohana — the notes of a raga going up.
- Avarohana — the notes of a raga coming down.
- Solfa — singing on the swara syllables rather than on words.
The mental model
Think of the seven as a ladder with two nailed rungs. Sa is the bottom rung and pa is fixed partway up. The five between them can each sit in more than one place, and which place they take is what makes one raga different from another.
That is why sa and pa are what a tanpura sounds and what an instrument is tuned to. They are the two notes every raga agrees on.
The short syllables exist so that you can sing them at speed. Try singing "rishabha, gandhara, madhyama" four times a second and the reason becomes obvious to your mouth before it does to your head.
The work
- Say the seven syllables in order, slowly, ten times.
- Say them backwards: ni, da, pa, ma, ga, ri, sa.
- Keep saying them backwards until it needs no thought. Half of every exercise descends.
- Start a drone and sing sa on it.
- Sing pa on the drone and hear how completely it agrees.
- Write out the full Sanskrit name behind each of the seven.
- Now keep a steady beat with your hand.
- Say one swara on each beat, up and down, without the beat changing.
- Slow the beat down until nothing rushes.
What you should now be able to explain or do
Say the seven swaras up and down without thinking. Give the full name behind each syllable. Say which two swaras never move, and why an instrument is tuned to those two. Keep a beat with your hand while naming swaras on it.
Check yourself
Which two swaras are fixed?
Sa and pa. Sa is wherever you set it, and pa sits in a fixed relation above it. Every raga contains both.
Why do the syllables have short forms and long forms?
The long forms are the Sanskrit names and appear in theory. The short ones are what you can actually sing at speed.
What is a swara, if it is not the same thing as a note?
A position, together with how it is approached and left. The written page gives the position; a teacher gives the rest.
Why practise the seven descending as well as ascending?
Every exercise in this repertoire comes back down, and the descent is not automatic once you know the ascent.
Go deeper
Back to The seven swaras, and what a swara is: work through the checklist