Swara (Sanskrit: स्वर) or svara[1] is an Indian classical music term that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, a note, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave, or saptanka. More comprehensively, it is the ancient Indian concept of the complete dimension of musical pitch.[2][3] At its most basic comparison to western music, a swara is, essentially, a "note" of a given scale. However, that is but a loose interpretation of the word, as a swara is identified as both a musical note and tone; a "tone" is a precise substitute for sur, relating to "tunefulness". Traditionally, Indian musicians have just seven swaras/notes with short names: sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, which they collectively refer to as saptank or saptaka. This is one of the reasons why swara is considered a symbolic expression for the number seven. In another loose comparison to western music, saptak (as an octave or scale) may be interpreted as solfège, e.g. the notes of a scale as Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti (and Do).

Origins and history

Etymology

The word svara (Sanskrit: स्वर) is derived from the root svar- which means "to sound".[4] To be precise, the svara is defined in the Sanskrit nirukta system as:

  • svaryate iti svaraḥ (स्वर्यते इति स्वरः, does breathing, shines, makes sound),
  • svayam rājate iti svaraḥ (स्वयं राजते इति स्वरः, appears on its own) and
  • sva rañjayati iti svaraḥ (स्व रञ्जयति इति स्वरः, that which colours itself in terms of appealing sound).

The Kannada word svara and Tamil alphabet or letter suram do not represent a sound, but rather more generally the place of articulation (PoA) (பிறப்பிடம்), where one generates a sound, and the sounds made there can vary in pitch.

In the Vedas

The word is found in the Vedic literature, particularly the Samaveda, where it means accent and tone, or a musical note, depending on the context. The discussion there focusses on three accent pitch or levels: svarita (sounded, circumflex normal), udatta (high, raised) and anudatta (low, not raised). However, scholars question whether the singing of hymns and chants were always limited to three tones during the Vedic era.[4][5]

In the general sense svara means tone, and applies to chanting and singing. The basic svaras of Vedic chanting are udatta, anudatta and svarita. Vedic music has madhyama or ma as principal note so that tonal movement is possible towards lower and higher pitches, thus ma is taken for granted as fixed in any tonal music (madhyama avilopi, मध्यम अविलोपी).

One-svara Vedic singing is called ārcika chanting, e.g. in chanting the following texts on one note:

  • aum aum aum / om om om
  • hari om tatsat
  • shivoham shivoham
  • raam raam raam raam
  • raadhe raadhe
  • siyaa-raam siyaa-raam

or the like. Two-svara Vedic singing is called gāthika chanting, e.g. in chanting the following text on two notes:

omshaan-tih,omshaan-tih,omshaan-tih, ...
MM----P-M,MM----P-M,MM----P-M, ...or
PP----D-P,PP----D-P,PP----D-P, ...or
SS----R-S,SS----R-S,SS----R-S, ...

The musical octave is said to have evolved from the elaborate and elongated chants of the Samaveda, based on these basic svaras.[6] Siksha is the subject that deals with phonetics and pronunciation. Naradiya Siksha elaborates the nature of svaras, both Vedic chants and the octave.

In the Upaniṣads

The word also appears in the Upanishads. For example, it appears in Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana section 111.33, where the cyclic rise and setting of sun and world, is referred to as "the music of spheres", and the sun is stated to be "humming the wheel of the world".[7] According to the philosopher Ananda Coomaraswamy, the roots "svar", meaning "to shine" (whence "surya" or sun), and "svr", meaning "to sound or resound" (whence "svara", “musical note”) and also in some contexts "to shine", are all related in the ancient Indian imagination.[7][8] This connection, however, is not supported by linguistic evidence and mere speculative (cf. William Dwight Whitney: The Roots, Verb-Forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language entry sub svar-, footnote. He states that because of close formal similarity between these two distinct roots it is hard to tell them apart. So it is a case of homophony. More recent linguistic research points out that svar- „sun” is related to the proto-indo-european root *sóh₂wl̥-, whereas svar- „sound“ is related to pie. *swer-.)

In Śāstra literature

The concept of a svara is found in Chapter 28 of the text Nāṭya Śāstra, estimated to have been completed between 200 BCE to 200 CE.[9] It names the unit of tonal measurement or audible unit the śruti,[10] with verse 28.21 introducing the musical scale as follows:[11][12]

Natya Shastra – 28.21[13][9]

This text contains the modern names:

[Here are the] swaras -
Shadaj, Rishabha, Gandhara, Madhyama,
Panchama, Dhaivata, [and seventh] Nishada.

These seven svaras are shared by both major raga systems of Indian classical music, that is the North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic).[14]