Gourimanohari

Gourimanohari (pronounced gourimanōhari, Devanagari गौरिमनोहरि, Tamil கௌரிமனோகரி) is a rāgam (musical scale) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). It is the 23^rd Melakarta rāgam in the 72 melakarta rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is also referred as Gowrimanohari in English transliterations, to imply pronunciation of "how", "now" or "cow".

Hindustani music does not have an equivalent to this rāgam, where the purvanga (first half of the scale) is like Kafi thaat, while the uttaranga (second half) is like Bilaval thaat "Raganidhi" by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras] .

Structure and Lakshana

It is the 5^rd melakarta in the 4^th chakra "Veda". The mnemonic name is "Veda-Ma". The mnemonic phrase is "sa ri gi ma pa dhi nu" "Ragas in Carnatic music" by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications] .

Its IAST|ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):
*IAST|ārohaṇa: S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N3 S
*IAST|avarohaṇa: S N3 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S(Chathusruthi Rishabham, Sadharana Gandharam, Suddha Madhyamam, Chathusruthi Dhaivatham, Kakali Nishadham)

It is a sampoorna rāgam - a rāgam that has all seven swaras (notes).

Janya Rāgams

It has a few minor janya rāgams (derived scales) associated with it. See List of Janya Rāgams for full list of rāgams associated with it.

Popular Compositions

The following are a few popular compositions in this rāgam.
*"Guruleka etuvanti" by Thyagaraja
*"Panchanadeesa pahimam" by Thyagaraja
*"Sarasa sama mridu pada" by Swati Tirunal

Related rāgams

This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam.

Gourimanohari's notes when shifted using Graha bedham, yields 3 other major Melakarta rāgams, namely, "Vachaspati", "Natakapriya" and "Charukesi". Graha bedham is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the Shadjam to the next note in the rāgam. See further details and an illustration of Graha bedham on Vachaspati.

References