Hamsadhvani


Hamsadhvani also spelled as Hansadhwani, is a rāga in Carnatic music. It is an audava rāgam. It is a janya rāga of the Melakartha raga, Dheerasankarabharanam but according to Hamsadhvani's prayoga or the way it is sung it is said to be the janya of Kalyani.
Hamsadhvani is also extensively used in Hindustani music and said to be borrowed into it from Carnatic music. It was created by the Carnatic composer Ramaswami Dikshitar, father of Muthuswami Dikshitar, and brought into Hindustani music by Aman Ali Khan of the Bhendibazaar gharana. It has become popular due to Amir Khan.

Structure and Lakshana

Hamsadhvani does not contain madhyamam or dhaivatam. It is a pentatonic scale. Its structure is as follows :
The notes used in this scale are shadjam, chatushruti rishabham, antara gandharam, panchamam and kakali nishadam. In Hindustani music, it is associated with Bilaval thaat.

Compositions

Hamsadhvani rāgam lends itself for elaboration and exploration and has many compositions in both classical music and film music. It is usually sung at the beginning of a performance. There are many kritis in praise of Lord Ganesha set in this musical scale.

Related rāgas

''Graha bhedham''

Hamsadhvani's notes when shifted using Graha bhedam, yields another pentatonic rāgam, Nagasvaravali. Graha bhedam is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the shadjam to the next note in the rāgam. For more details and illustration of this concept refer Graha bhedam on Hamsadhvani.

Scale similarities


RāgamŚruti
Tonic		CDEFGABC
HamsadhvaniCSR2G3PN3S'
AmritavarshiniCSG3M2PN3S'
GambhiranataCSG3M1PN3S'



RāgamŚruti
Tonic		CDEFGABC
HamsadhvaniCSR2G3P-N3S'
MohanamCSR2G3PD2-S'
NiroshtaCSR2G3-D2N3S'

In Hindustani music

Vadi & Samavadi

Samavadi: Pa

Pakad or Chalan

Re Ga Re Ni Pa Sa Re Sa
The Pakad is the one where one can identify to which raga does the composition belongs.

Organization & Relationships

Time

Second quarter of night.

Important Recordings