Esiste nel Bengala un modo di dire : “Nānā Munir Nānā Mata” che vuol dire “Saggi diversi hanno opinioni diverse”. Questo calza a pennello con alcune problematiche della musicologia indostana, visto che sono varie le opinioni di vari autori che sono state accettate all'interno di questi studi, i quali spesso non combaciano con la pratica musicale odierna. A prescindere si può rinunciare a ben poco se si desidera assumere anche una coscienza storica legata alla musicologia dell'India. Ad esempio i Rāga e le Rāginī descritti nei testi classici, pur portando lo stesso nome, appaiono molto differenti. Per una volontà di omogeneizzazione culturale ad oggi la scala principale del passato corrisponde alla scala di Kāfī, mentre la diatonica maggiore Bilavāla non viene assolutamente presa in considerazione nei Śāstra come principale o scala naturale. Ciononostante a volte vi è un'ottusa tendenza a voler far dei riferimenti su Rāga contemporanei prendendo in considerazione degli scritti del passato. Perciò è bene fare un' elencazione dei Rāga facendo riferimento alla famiglia di Rāga e Rāginī, includendo 'figli e nuore'.

 

Esistono quattro Mata o quattro opinioni dei saggi: Brahmā, Bharata, Hanumanta, Kallinātha.

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(1)Brahmā – secondo questa opinione esistono sei Rāga e per ognuno di questi sei rispettive mogli o Rāginī. Non esistono tra i Śāstra, testi che possano sostenere questa opinione , ma molti riferiscono le medesime cose.

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Rāga                                               Rāginī

Bhairava                                        Bhairavī  

                                                        Gujarī   

                                                       Rāmakalī   

                                                       Guṇakalī    

                                                       Saindhavī  

                                                        Bangālī

Śrī                                                    Mālaśrī  

                                                         Triveṇī   

                                                          Gaurī   

                                                          Kedārī    

                                                          Madhumādhavī  

                                                          Pahāḍī

Megha                                              Malhārī  

                                                           Saurātī  

                                                           Sāverī    

                                                            Kauśikī   

                                                            Gāndhārī  

                                                           Haraśṛngārī

Vasanta                                            Deśī  

                                                          Devagirī  

                                                          Varāṭī  

                                                          Toḍī   

                                                           Lalitā

                                                          Hindolī

Pañcama                                         Vibhāsa  

                                                            Bhūpālī  

                                                           Karanāṭī

                                                           Varahaṁsikā

                                                           Mālavī

                                                           Paṭamañjarī

Naṭa                                                  Kāmodī  

                                                          Kalyānī

                                                          Ābherī  

                                                         Nātikā

                                                         Sārangī  

                                                         Hamīr

 

(2) Bharata-secondo quest'altra opinione esistono sei Rāga ciascuno dei quali ha cinque Rāginī, cinque Figli e cinque Nuore.

 

Rāga                                     Rāginī                                             Figli                                              Nuore                 Bhairava                          Madhumādhavī                             Bilāvala                                      Rāmakalī  

                                              Bhairavī                                       Pañcama                                       Suhāi  

                                               Bangālī                                       Deśākhya                                     Sugharāi        

                                                Barārī                                     Devagāndhāra                              Paṭamañjarī  

                                              Saindhavī                                       Vibhāsa                                          Toḍī                  

 

Mālakauśa                             Guṇakalī                                          Soma                                           Suraṭhī                       

                                               Khambāvatī                                   Parāśana                                       Triveṇī   

                                                     Gurjarī                                        Baḍaṁsa                                        Karnāṭī     

                                                    Bhūpāli                                        Kakubha                                        Āsāvarī  

                                                     Gaurī                                           Bangāla                                         Goḍagiri 

 

Hindola                                      Belāvalī                                    Rekhabahṁsa                                   Kedārā  

                                                    Deśākhī                                        Vasanta                                        Kāmodī  

                                                     Lalitā                                          Lokahāsa                                        Bihāgarā

                                                   Bhimapalāsī                              Gāndharva                                          Kāfī  

                                                      Mālavī                                         Lalita                                               Paraja         

Dipaka                                          Naṭa                                        Śuddhakalyāna                               Baḍaṁsī

                                                    Malhārī                                          Saurātha                                      Desavarāṭī  

                                                      Kedārī                                          Deśakāra                                        Vairāṭī  

                                                     Kānaḍā                                          Hamīra                                           Devagirī  

                                                    Bhārekā                                            Mārū                                              Sindharā

Śrī                                               Vāsantī                                               Naṭa                                               Śyama

                                                     Mālavī                                          Chāyānaṭa                                         Puriyā

                                                      Mālaśrī                                           Kānaḍā                                           Gurjarī  

                                                     Sahānā                                           Yamana                                         Hambīrī

                                                     Dhanāśrī                                     Sankarābharana                              Aḍānā

Megha                                        Sāranga                                          Bahādurī                                        Pahāḍī  

                                                     Bankā                                          Naṭanārāyaṇa                                  Jayantī

                                                  Gāndharva                                         Mālava                                       Gāndharī

                                                  Malhārī                                                  Jayati                                           Pūravī

                                                  Mulatānī                                             Kāmoda                                     Jayajayantī

 

(3) Hanumanta- anche per questo caso non vi sono riferimenti nei Śāstra ma in molti si riferiscono a questo sistema di classificazione. Nella Musicologia contemporanea questo Mata corrisponde al sistema di classificazione attualmente in uso.

 

Rāga                                                                                                       Rāginī

Bhairava                                                                                          Madhyamādī  

                                                                                                              Bhairavī  

                                                                                                               Bangālī  

                                                                                                               Barāṭikā   

                                                                                                             Saindhavī 

Kauśika                                                                                                    Toḍī  

                                                                                                              Khambāvatī  

                                                                                                                   Gaurī  

                                                                                                                 Gunakirī  

                                                                                                                 Kakubha

Hindola                                                                                                   Belāvalī    

                                                                                                                   Rāmakirī

                                                                                                                  Daśākhya

                                                                                                                 Paṭamañjarī  

                                                                                                                    Lalitā

Dipaka                                                                                                       Kedārī  

                                                                                                                   Kānaḍā  

                                                                                                                     Deśī  

                                                                                                                    Kāmodī  

                                                                                                                    Naṭikā

Śrī                                                                                                              Vasantī  

                                                                                                                    Mālavī

                                                                                                                    Mālaśrī

                                                                                                                Dhanyāskā   

                                                                                                                     Āsāvarī

Megha                                                                                                       Malhārī  

                                                                                                                   Deśakārī

                                                                                                                    Bhūpālī

                                                                                                                     Gurjarī

                                                                                                                        Ṭaṅka

 

 

(4) Kallinātha-  anche qui non si trovano riscontri tra i Śāstra, ma Kallinātha fu commentatore del Saṁgītaratnākara. Secondo questo sistema esistono sei Rāga e trentasei Rāginī.

 

Rāga                                                                                               Rāginī

Śrī                                                                                                    Gaurī  

                                                                                                       Kolāhala

                                                                                                       Dhavala  

                                                                                              Barorājī o Radārangī  

                                                                                                       Mālakauśa  

                                                                                                   Devagāndhāra

Pañcama                                                                                         Triveṇī  

                                                                                   Hastāntaritahā o Stambhatīrthikā

                                                                                                        Khamāicī

                                                                                                     Ābheri o Ahīrī   

                                                                                                          Kokabha  

                                                                                                             Barārī

                                                                                                           Āsāvarī

Bhairava                                                                                           Bhairavī  

                                                                                                             Gurjarī  

                                                                                                            Belāvalī

                                                                                                      Bihāga o Bādahaṁsī  

                                                                                                              Karnāṭa  

                                                                                                    Kānaḍā o Bhāṣā

Megha                                                                                                  Bangālī  

                                                                                                   Madhurā o Mudrā  

                                                                                                              Kāmodī  

                                                                                                             Dhanāśrī

                                                                                                            Devatīrthī

                                                                                                        Devalī o Tirthakī

Naṭa-Nārayaṇa                                                                          Tarabankī o Devalī  

                                                                                                           Tilangī o Tilakī

                                                                                                                    Pūrvī  

                                                                                                                 Gāndharī  

                                                                                                            Rāma o Virāma  

                                                                                             Sindhu Malhārī o Ṥuddha Malhārī

 Vasanta                                                                                                     Āndālī  

                                                                                                                     Gamakī  

                                                                                                                 Paṭamañjarī

                                                                                                                    Gauḍagiri  

                                                                                                            Dhāmakī o Ṭaṅka  

                                                                                                                      Devaśākha

 

Le limitazioni della razionalità occidentale hanno portato a considerare questo sistema di classificazione  solo una speculazione poetica, immaginazione che ha portato a raffigurare i Rāga anche pittoricamente.

Inoltre il fatto che questi Mata o opinioni, mancano di riferimenti testuali, non vuol dire che non siano credibili. Bisogna ricordare il fatto che questa, come molte altre, e' una tradizione orale il che rende l'arte viva, quindi propensa a modificazioni formali.