Gaula (raga)


Gaula or Gowla is a rāgam in Carnatic music. It is a janya rāgam from the 15th melakarta scale Mayamalavagowla. It is a janya scale, as it does not have all the seven swaras in the ascending and descending scale.
Gaula is an ancient rāgam mentioned in Sangita Ratnakara, Sangita Makarandha and Sangita samayasara. It is an auspicious rāgam, which is mostly sung in the early part of the concert. It is a popular rāgam and also a ghana rāgam.

Structure and Lakshana

Gaula is an asymmetric rāgam that does not contain dhaivatam in the scale and does not contain gandharam in the ascending scale. It is an audava-vakra-shadava rāgam. Vakra-shadava means that the descending scale has 6 notes with inclusion of zig-zag movements. Its ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure is as follows:
The notes used in this scale are shadjam, ekasruti rishabham, shuddha madhyamam, panchamam and kakali nishadham in ascending scale, with antara gandharam included in descending scale. For the details of the notations and terms, see swaras in Carnatic music.

Popular compositions

There are many compositions set to Gaula rāgam. Here are some popular kritis composed in this rāgam.

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