Sahaana (pronounced sahānā, Sanskrit: सहाना, Tamil: ஸஹானா) is a popular rāgam (musical scale) in Carnatic music. It is a janya rāgam (derived scale) associated with the 28th Melakarta rāgam Harikambhoji. It is not related to Shahana.
It is a Ubhaya Vakra sampoorna ragam. Vakra, means crooked. Ubhaya Vakra means that the notes in both ascent and descent follow a zig zag pattern. The notes in ascending and descending scale do not follow a strict progression, but are zig-zag. Hence the note phrases contain such vakra phrases, lending a unique beauty to this rāgam. Though it is a sampoorna rāgam (contains all 7 notes), the vakra scale means it is not considered a melakarta, as melakarta rāgams must have strictly ascending and descending scales. It is also classifed as a rakti raga (ie raga with high melodic content)
Its ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows:
ārohaṇa: S R2 G3 M1 P M1 D2 N2 S
avarohaṇa: S N2 D2 P M1 G3 M1 R2 G3 R2 S
(Chathusruthi Rishabham, Antara Gandharam, Suddha Madhyamam, Chathusruthi Dhaivatham, Kaisiki Nishadham)
Its characteristic phrases are (R2 G3 M1 P), (P M1 D2 N2), (N2 S D2), (G3 M1 R2). Sahana has a distinct mood due to these phrases and characteristic gamakams and is rarely confused with other ragams.
(Source: wikipedia)
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Note: This is actually a Raga Malika, starts with Sahana though.
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