THERAPEUTIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE 72 MELAKARTHA RAGAS of South Indian Music (Carnatic Music)

Abstract

Music has been appreciated for its medicinal values from the vedic period. Seven basic Chakra sthanas are mapped to the seven Swara sthanas. Subsequently more chakras were identified e.g., 12 chakra sthanas. As a next step, Nadis or meridian have been mapped to Chakras of the subtle human body. Sound vibration and resonance were used to identify the state of wellness or illness by our ancestors. Listening to the Ahatha (External) Shabdam has helped to appreciate the resonance and vibration of the Anahatha Shabdam (i.e., inner sound, Inner swara or Swas). These findings have been revalidated in the medieval period as well. Through the 72 melakartha system, Venkatamakhin has achieved in mapping the following:-The twelve melakartha classification are against the twelve chakras of the subtle body-The fourteen swara sthanas are against the fourteen important nadis of the chakras and,-Deriving at seventy-two melakartha ragas are to match with the Kiranas of the Vishuddhi Chakra whose governing Goddess Saraswathi.

Full text

367
   (IS SN : 23 21-984X )
Modern Thamizh Research (A Quarterly International Multilateral Thamizh Journal) May 25, 2021 - Special Issue (ISSN : 2321-984X)
International Virtual Conference on - SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC AND DANCE
Department of Music, Avinashilingam Institute For Home Science and Higher Education For Women, Coimbatore-641 043,Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
Music has been appreciated for its
medicinalvalues fromthevedicperiod.Seven
basicChakrasthanasaremapped totheseven
Swarasthanas.Subsequentlymorechakraswere
identifiede.g.,12chakrasthanas.Asanextstep,
NadisormeridianhavebeenmappedtoChakras
ofthesubtlehumanbody.
Soundvibrationandresonancewereused
toidentifythestateofwellnessorillnessbyour
ancestor s. Listenin g to the Ahatha (External)
Shabdamhashelpedtoappreciatetheresonance
andvibrationoftheAnahathaShabdam(i.e.,inner
sound,InnerswaraorSwas).Thesefindingshave
beenrevalidatedinthemedievalperiodaswell.
Through  the 72 me l a kartha syst em,
Venkata makhin  has ach ieved in mappi ng the
following:
- The twelve melakartha cl assificat ion are
againstthetwelvechakrasofthesubtlebody
- Thefourteenswarasthanasareagainstthe
fourteenimportantnadisofthechakrasand,
- Deriving atseventy-twomelakartharagas
ar e to m atch  with the Kiranas of the
Vishuddh i  C hakra whose g over n ing
GoddessSaraswathi.
Keywords:Musictherapy,Chakrasandswaras,
Chakrasandmelaragas,NadisandSwaraSthanas,
THERAPEUTICPERSPECTIVEONTHE72MELAKARTHA
RAGAS
SUGUNA.V.
ResearchScholar,AnnamalaiUniversity,Chidambaram,
72 Melaka rtha  Ragas, Carnat ic music r agas,
Venkatamakhin
Introduction
Deploymen t of music for ther apeutic
purposesisprevalentinIndiafromtheancient
period.Seventy-twomelakartharagasformthe
backbone of C a r natic mus i c of In dia.
Venkat a m a k h in’s 72 me l akartha rag as
classification  is an attempt t o m ap the kartha
ragastothenadisofhumansubtlebody.
Ther apeu t i c elements in th ese
fundamentalmusicalscalesfurtherareanalyzed
inthesectionsbelow.
Contents
AnalyzingtheVedicperiod:
Gandharva Thattv a and Ayu rveda are
menti oned  as t he Upavedas of  Atharvana,
indicating positioning of music along with
medicine.
Ri g Ve da has seventy-t wo mantr as
dedica ted t o Saraswathi (6).  Rigveda calls
Saraswathiasthedeityofhealingandpurity.
Veena is pla yed by her, which h as 24
fretsidenticaltothenumberofhumanvertebrae.
Sheproducesmusicthroughherinstrumentand
helpsinhealing.Duringthisperiod,Spinalchord
hasalsobeenrepresentedasamusicalinstrument

368
   (IS SN : 23 21-984X )
Modern Thamizh Research (A Quarterly International Multilateral Thamizh Journal) May 25, 2021 - Special Issue (ISSN : 2321-984X)
International Virtual Conference on - SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC AND DANCE
Department of Music, Avinashilingam Institute For Home Science and Higher Education For Women, Coimbatore-641 043,Tamil Nadu, India
DharuVeena
GathraVeena
Therearesevenmainchakrasnamely,
Mooladhara,Swadhistana,Manipura,Anahata,
Vishuddhi, Aj na and  Sahasr a. Sta rtin g from
mooladhara,thesevenswarasof Indianmusic
aremappedtothecorrespondingchakrasinan
ascending ma nner (3). Each of the seven basic
swaras,Sa,Ri,Ga,Ma,Pa,DaandNihaveaone-
on-onemappingwitheachofthesevenchakras
(5).Aspertheprincipleofvibrationandresonance,
listeningtotheexternalSapthaswarasleadsto
resonanceandvibrationoftheinnersound,Inner
swaraorSwas.
Chakras are the energycenters of the
subtle body and physical organs ar e mapped
aga inst each chakr a. Psych ological states  of
human beings are mapped to the petals of the
chakraswhicharedenotedaslotuses(2).
Inthemedievalperiod,
- 6thto8thcenturyapproximately,Matangain
Brihaddesistatesragacaninfluencehuman
emotions
- 7thto9thcenturyapproximately,Narada in
Sangeetha Makar anda mentions about the
Anahatha and Aha tha soun d an d time
theoryofragas
- In the 13th century, Sa r angadeva in
Sangeetha Rathn akara has also mapped
humanspinalcordtothefretsofVeena
-14thsloka of Soundarya Lahari states that
72rays(Kiranas)ofVishudhiChakra(which
isthethroatareaandthegoverningGoddess
isSaraswathi)arebestowedfromthefeetof
Para Shakthi
- RagaRaginiNadayoga(3)talksabouttwelve
chakrasinthehumanbodyasfollows.
As per Sangeetha  Kalpadrumam,
psychologicalstatesofhumanbeingsaremapped
tothepetalsofthechakras
Summarizingfromtheabove,anexample
ofthechakras,theircorresponding organs and
thepsychologicalstatemappingisgivenbelow:
SUGUNA.V.

369
   (IS SN : 23 21-984X )
Modern Thamizh Research (A Quarterly International Multilateral Thamizh Journal) May 25, 2021 - Special Issue (ISSN : 2321-984X)
International Virtual Conference on - SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC AND DANCE
Department of Music, Avinashilingam Institute For Home Science and Higher Education For Women, Coimbatore-641 043,Tamil Nadu, India
Chakras

CorrespondingPhysical
Organs
Peta
lsmappingtopsychological
state
Manipura(Ga)

Abdomen, liver, stomach,
small & large intestine,
Pancreas, Celiac plexus
etc.
The10petalsrepresentstateofdeep
sleep, likes, jealousy, malicious talk,
fear, Shame, Kindness, Liking,
confusionandsleeplessness
Anahata(Ma)

Chest, heart, lungs, food
pipe, Thymus, Cardiac
Nerveplexusetc.
The twelve petals represent
movement,suppression,cunningness,
argumentative, considerate, lack of
anxiety, thoughtfulness, liking,
general behavior, humility, maturity
andego
Inhisbook‘Theconfluenceofartand
musicon72melakartharagas,SriSRajam(4)has
men t ioned about the 12 chakra s a nd
Venkatamakhin’schakrasalongwiththegrouping
ofthemelakartharagastothesechakras.
AsperDr.S.Ramanathan,Venkatamakhin
describesthesameSwara(ShuddhaandVikruti
Swaras) to be different if its in terval from its
previousSwarais modifiedi.e., Shatshruthi Ri
and SudhaGandaraas wellas ShatshruthiDa
andSudhaNi.
Discussion
Our  a ncestors have used sound
vibration and resonance to diagnose and treat
humanphysicalandpsychologicalissues(1).
Cl a ssifica t i on of r a g a s h a s been
attemptedfromthevedictothemedievaltothe
modernperiodofCarnaticmusic.Recentattempts
being,byRamamatyaaround1550and others,
withVenkataMakhiandGovindacharyabythe
17thcentury.Alsointhemedievalperiod,withthe
gainingofmassappealfornadaupasana,different
styles o f group ing ragas,  e.g.,  Raga Ragini
structure,parentandJanyaragamapping,mela
karthaframeworketc.hademerged.
The bas is of Indi an music th erapy is
mappingthetwelveswarasthanastothetwelve
chakrasthanas.AsperShivaSamhita,nadisare
mapped to ch akras an d there are four teen
im porta nt n adi s E.g .  Eda,  Pin gala, Sur ya,
Chan dra, S arawathi  etc. Until the period of
Venkatamakhin,swarasweremappedtochakras
onlyandnottothenext/lowerlevelofnadis.
Thereare14SwarasintotalintheMela
KartasystemofVenkatamakhin.SwarasRi/Gaand
Da/Nicontainoverlappingnames for thesame
sound.Thus, from theauditoryexperienceone
canstatethatthereare12mainswarasoundsin
Venkatamakhin’sMelaKartasystemwhichcan
bemappedtothe12chakras.
The over lapping n ami ng convent ion
helpedhimtoarriveat14Swarasandatthelower
levelofnadis,i.e.,14mainnadisofthesubtle
body.
Addingtheoverlappingswarashasalso
helpedinarrivingat72kartharagas.TheHoly
number of 72 is relat ed tom usic, Saraswathi,
Vishudhi Chakra from the an cient period. The
powerof72isalsovisiblefromthefactthatthisis
mostpopularformofragaclassificationtilldate.
Similartothe14mainnadisthenbranch
out to subsequent su b nadis , Venkatama khin’s
fourteenswarasresultinto72melakartharagas
andinnumerableJanyaragassubsequently.
THERAPEUTICPERSPECTIVEONTHE72MELAKARTHARAGAS

370
   (IS SN : 23 21-984X )
Modern Thamizh Research (A Quarterly International Multilateral Thamizh Journal) May 25, 2021 - Special Issue (ISSN : 2321-984X)
International Virtual Conference on - SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC AND DANCE
Department of Music, Avinashilingam Institute For Home Science and Higher Education For Women, Coimbatore-641 043,Tamil Nadu, India
Thus, from th e state of ma pping t he
SwarastoChakras,aninitiativetomapSwaras
toNadis appears tohave been achievedbySri
Venkatamakhin.
Secon dly, appropr i a te n a ming
conventionforgroupingofmelakartharagasin
Sanskritis‘Jathi’whereastwelveclassifications
of mela- karth a ragas are called chakras by
Venkatamakhin.
KolegalSubramaniamfromtheschoolof
H.MBhagavathar,inhisexclusiveinterviewon
melakartharagastoaTVtelecastinHyderabad,
has stated that even the namin g conven tion of
the m e l akartha r agas have t herapeutic
informationwithine.g.,Thanaroopiis derived
from Santh ana roo pi. T his ragam  helps in
Santhana prapthi.
Suchevidencessubstantiatethethought
thatthereexistsaco-relationbetweenSwarasand
Mela-kartharagachakrasandragas,withNadis,
Chakrasan dth ereby human health . However,
thereisnoexplicitmentionofit.Thereasonbehind
being,
A) Itmustbeanobviousinformationduringhis
timesor
B) TantricdetailsaresharedonlyintheGuru-
Shishyarelationshipandnotintheopen.
Thus,  iden t i fyi n g th e correct mel ody or
melakartharagambasedonthechakrascan
result in music therapyas per Traditional
Indianmusictherapy.
ExperimentalStudy
- Curr ently stud ies at rand om are showing
positiveresults(7).Example,
-Mayamalavagowla or its Janya rag asare
sunginthemorning.
- Itbelongstothethirdchakra,i.e.,Nethra
an d the cor respond ing  third kundalini
chakrai.e.,Swadhistana
- Bladder,bowel,lowerintestineetc.aresome
of the organs m apped to Swadhishtana
chakra
- Experim ental studies have shown positive
results with respect to improved bowel
movementswhen15thmelakarthaorJanya
ragasaredeployedthroughactiveorpassive
musictherapy.
- Chakraactivationhasadirectimpactonthe
Bodytemperature(8).
Conclusion
Ven katamakh in who is als o a tantr ic scholar,
Srividyaupasakahascreated
- Created12groupsforragagroupingagainst
12chakrasofthesubtlebody
- Mapped14swarasto14nadis(S,R1,R2,
(R3orG1),M1,M2,P,D1,D2(D3orN1),N2,
N3,S.
- Givenoverlappingnamestoswarastoarrive
attheholynumberof72forthenumberof
melakartharagaswhichhaditssanctityfrom
theholyvedicperiod
- As per th e tantric practice, knowledge
tr ansfer  is offered throug h the Sishya
Parampar a and not by documentation .
Hencethisinformationisonlyavailablein
pa r ts fr om differen t sources of t h e
subsequent period.
- WhentheappropriatemelakarthaorJanya
ragaisfoundforanailment,curingthrough
melakartharagasinatherapeuticmanner
isfeasible.
SUGUNA.V.

371
   (IS SN : 23 21-984X )
Modern Thamizh Research (A Quarterly International Multilateral Thamizh Journal) May 25, 2021 - Special Issue (ISSN : 2321-984X)
International Virtual Conference on - SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC AND DANCE
Department of Music, Avinashilingam Institute For Home Science and Higher Education For Women, Coimbatore-641 043,Tamil Nadu, India
Moreresearchon the relationshipbetweenthe
melakartha chakraandkundaliniChakrasand
theimpactofindividualmelakartharagasonthe
humanorgansandpsychologicalstateisrequired.
LimitationoftheStudy
Everymelakartharagaisyettobetested
fortheirtherapeuticvalueaddinthephysicaland
psychologicalstateofhumanbeings.
References
1. Kumar K, Effect of Learning Mu sicas  a
PracticeofNadaYogaonEEGAlpha and
GeneralWellBeing,Researchgate,Jan2011,
P.1.
2. Muthaiah Bhagavathar  H,  Sangeetha
Kalpadrumam,KeralaGovernment,Kerala,
1942,P.23.
3. SriSriGanapathiSachidanandaswamiji,Raga
Ragi ni Na dayog a, Ra ga Rag ini Trus t,
Mysore,June2013,P.373.
4. RajamS,etal,CONFLUENCEOFARTAND
MUSICON72MELAKARTARAGAS,L&T
publication,2009,Pp.1–5.
5. Hea lin g by Music Thera p y - Ragas -
(Akhandjyoti).(2004,September).Retrieved
August 5, 2014, from http://
literatur e.awgp.org/akh an djyoti/ 2004 /
Sept_Oct/MusicTherapyRagas/
6. ShivashankariJ,ŒriMuttuswamyDikshitar’s
CompositionsonGoddessSaraswati,IOSR
JournalOfHumanitiesAndSocialScience
(IOSR-JHSS)Volume20,Issue9,Ver.V,2015,
Pp.28-32.
7. Vishwan athan P, The Effects of Classical
Musi c based Chakra Medit ation, The
InternationalJournalofIndianPsychology
ISSN2348-5396(e)|ISSN:2349-3429.P.
135
8. Sundar S, Effect  of a Single
Musica lCakr aAct ivation  Manoeuvre on
BodyTemperature:An ExploratoryStudy,
JournalList:AncSciLife,v.36(1);Jul-Sep2016
Pp.3–5.

THERAPEUTICPERSPECTIVEONTHE72MELAKARTHARAGAS