Bilaval


Bilaval or Bilawal is a raga and the basis for the eponymous thaat in Hindustani classical music. Raga Bilaval is named after Veraval, Gujarat. The Indian national anthem Jana gana mana is sung in Bilaval.
Bilaval had become the basic scale for North Indian music by the early part of the 19th century. Its tonal relationships are comparable to the Western music C major scale. Bilaval appears in the Ragamala as a ragini of Bhairav, but today it is the head of the Bilaval thaat. The Ragamala names Bilaval as a putra of Bhairav, but no relation between these two ragas is made today. Bilaval is a morning raga to be sung with a feeling of deep devotion and repose, often performed during the hot months. The Bilaval thaat is equivalent to the Carnatic melakarta raga, Dheerasankarabharanam, as well as the Western Ionian mode and contains the notes S R G M P D N S'. The pitches of Bilaval thaat are all shuddha, or natural. Flat or sharp of pitches always occurs with reference to the interval pattern in Bilaval thaat.
Bilaval is one of the raags that is in the Sikh tradition from northern India, and is part of the Sikh holy scripture, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Every raga has a strict set of rules which govern the number of notes that can be used; which notes can be used; and their interplay that has to be adhered to for the composition of a tune. In the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, there are a total of 31 raga compositions. Bilaval is the sixteenth raga to appear in the series. The composition in this raga appear on a total of 64 pages from page numbers 795 to 859.

Aroha and Avaroha

Avrohana: Sa' Ni Dha, Pa, Ma Ga, Ma, Re Sa

Vadi and Samavadi

Samavadi: Ga

Pakad or Chalan

Ga Re, Ga Ma Dha Pa, Ma Ga, Ma Re Sa
Ga Re Ga Pa, Ni Dha Ni Sa'
Sa' Ni Dha Pa Ga Ma Re Sa

Samay (Time)

Morning: First pahar of the day