Marva (raga)


Marva or Marwa is a hexatonic Indian raga; Pa is omitted. Marva is the eponymous raga of the Marva thaat.

Aroha and Avaroha

In the Western scale this would roughly translate to: B D-flat E F-sharp A B D-flat C
Avarohana: Ni Dha Ga 'Ni 'Dha Sa
The Ma is actually Ma Tivratara, which is a perfect fourth above Re komal )

Vadi and Samvadi

The Vadi is komal Re, while the Samvadi is shuddh Dha. Notice that these do not form a perfect interval. So V.N.Paṭvardhan says "It is customary to give Re and Dha as vādi and saṃvādi, but seen from the point of view of the śāstras it is not possible for re and Dha to be saṃvādī to each other. For this reason, in our opinion it is proper to accept Dha as vādī and Ga as saṃvādī" On the other hand if Ga receives too much emphasis, it would create the impression of raga Puriya

Pakad or Chalan

Sa is omitted within a taan; it may only be used at the end of a phrase and even then is used infrequently. Bhatkhande gives the pakad as Dha Ga, Ga Ga,, Sa. Patwardan has shown the mukhya ang as Ga Dha, Dha Ga, but points out that the raga is also clearly indicated by: 'Ni Ga Dha, Dha Ga 'Ni Sa.
The chalan given by Ruckert is: 'Ni 'Dha 'Ni 'Dha 'Ni 'Dha 'Ni 'Dha Sa Ga Dha Ni Dha Ga Sa 'Ni 'Dha Sa

Organisation & Relationships

Puriya and Sohni have the same tonal material. In Puriya Ni and specially Ga are emphasised.
Komal re of Marwa is slightly higher than komal re of Bhairavi
According to O.Thakur Pūrvā Kalyāṇa is Marwa with Pa and less emphasis on komal Re. R. Jha treats Bhaṭiya as a mixture of Marwa and Maand. There is only one Author mentioning a raga Māravā Gaurī, thus Moutal does not consider this an own form. Aspects of Marwa are also incorporated in Mali Gaura
For western listeners the tone material may feel strange. As the sixth is emphasised while the tonic is omitted it may feel like playing in A Major, while the base tone is C. If the musician turns back to Sa at the end of a phrase it always comes like a surprise note.

Behaviour

Ni is not a leading note to Sa. Because Sa is omitted Ni leads to re or Dha, as in "Ḍ Ṇ r S" or "r Ṇ Ḍ S".

Samay (Time)

Sunset
5:30 pm

Rasa

Bor characterizes Marwa as "heroic". In ragamala paintings Malav is often pictured as lovers walking towards the bed-chamber.
Marwa is also characterised as quiet, contemplative, representing gentle love. According to Kaufmann is the overall mood defined by the sunset in India, which approaches fast and this "onrushing darkness awakes in many observers a feeling of anxiety and solemn expectation".
Puṇḍarika Viṭṭhala describes as follows:" The king at war always worship Maravi, whose face shines like the moon and who has long tresses of hair. With moist eyes, faintly smiling, she is adorned skillfully with sweet smelling flowers of different varieties. Her complexion gleams like gold; she is attired in red and her eyes are like those of a fawn. She is the elder sister of Mewar. In Marwa Ni and Ga are sharp, Sa is the graha and amsa and Ri and Dha are the nyasa".

Historical Information

Marwa's forerunners have different scales in the literature from the 16th century onwards. Pratap Singh writes that Marwa is the same as the ancient Mālavā, and its melodic outline is very similar to today's Marwa Also Jairazbhoy reports that Locana's Mālavā "may be the origin of modern Mārvā"

Important Recordings