Vasant Rāga in Eastern India: A Comparative Study of Four Traditions with Special Reference to Vyās-Saṃgīt

 

Vasant Rāga in Eastern India: A Comparative Study of Four Traditions with Special Reference to Vyās-Saṃgīt

Abstract

The raga Vasant occupies a distinguished place in the musical traditions of India, representing both seasonal symbolism and a deep emotional palette. In Eastern India—particularly Assam and Bengal—the rāga’s profile departs significantly from its “mainland” North Indian renderings. This article examines four distinct data sets on Vasant Rāga: (i) Śukladhvaja’s 16th-century Rāga-Mālitā commentary on Gīta-Govinda, (ii) Sattriya and Bargīt practice, (iii) Vyās-Saṃgīt accounts preserved in Assamese gāthā, and (iv) Śubhaṃkara’s Sanskrit Saṃgīt-dāmodara. By juxtaposing these perspectives, the study reconstructs the rāga’s technical identity and explores its affective resonances. Special emphasis is placed on Vyās-Saṃgīt as the foundational frame connecting ritual, narrative, and melodic grammar. The analysis shows how imagery, technical prescriptions, and emotional colouring converge into a distinctive Eastern Vasant : a rāga marked by madhurya (sweetness) and gambhīratā (gravity), animated by the brilliance of tīvrā madhyama and tender komal inflections.

 

 

 

Introduction

The rāga Vasant has long been celebrated in Indian musical imagination as the embodiment of spring. It is the rāga of flowering, awakening, and renewal, frequently associated with the cuckoo, the peacock, and the stirrings of love. Yet its regional profiles differ. While North Indian Hindustani traditions present Vasant in one form, Eastern India—particularly Assam—offers a variant rooted in older ritual, literary, and performative cultures. This paper explores that Eastern Vasant, drawing on four different sources which together provide a composite understanding.

Central to this exploration is Vyās-Saṃgīt, a devotional and ritualistic singing tradition preserved in Vyaspara village near Sipajhar, Assam. Vyās-Saṃgīt, named after the sage Vyāsa, combines narrative gāthā with melodic formulae, often embedding rāgas within mythic episodes. The Vasant Rāga here emerges not only as a musical entity but also as a mytho-ritual figure—born from Nāginī’s lament, bestowed by Śiva, and transmitted through Nārada. In this respect, Vyās-Saṃgīt serves as both anchor and lens through which the other three sources may be interpreted.

 

 1. Śukladhvaja’s Rāga-Mālitā (16th century)[1]

Śukladhvaja, the younger brother of King Nara-Nārāyaņa and the polymath Śaṃkaradeva’s son-in-law (niece), composed a commentary (Sāravatī-tīkā) on Jayadeva’s Gīta-Govinda. Within it appears a rāga-mālitā on Vasant, rich with poetic images:

“With Vasant  comes the delight of all six seasons; the cuckoo calls incessantly; rivers surge, fish swim upstream; even yogis’ trances are broken.”

These lines already hint at rāga-grammar. The cuckoo and bee imagery suggest a madhura sound coloured by meend and gentle oscillations, while the image of upstream-swimming fish evokes a vakra (zigzag) movement in which ascent and descent differ. The yogi’s trance being broken implies a rāga with deep gravity (gambhīratā) alongside sweetness. The mention of Rūpaka tāla further situates Vasant in a lilting medium tempo.

 From this imagery, Śukladhvaja’s Vasant is reconstructed technically as:

 

·         Āroha                 : S r G Ṁ d N Ṡ

·         Avaroha             : Ṡ N d P Ṁ G r S

·         Jāti                     : Śāḍava–Sampūrṇa (6 notes in ascent, 7 in descent)

·         Vādī/Samvādī   : Ṁ / S

·         Rasa                   : Śṛṅgāra (sweetness, erotic charm) tempered by gravitas.

 

Śukladhvaja thus encodes Vasant as simultaneously intoxicating and dignified, a soundscape of spring charged with both ecstasy and depth.

  

2. Sattriya and Bargīt Tradition [2]

Living Sattriya performance preserves Vasant in rāga-mālitā stanzas attached to Bargīt—devotional songs composed by Śaṅkaradeva and Mādhavadeva. One such rāga-mālitā describes Vasant through the metaphor of a rapt, intoxicated man adorned with a peacock crest and lush garments. Again, the imagery emphasises ornamentation, upper-register brightness, and graceful motion.

Musically, the Sattriya Vasant converges with Śukladhvaja’s profile:

 

·     Āroha                    : S r G Ṁ d N Ṡ (Pa omitted)

·     Avaroha                 : Ṡ N d P Ṁ G r S

·     Pakad                    : N r G Ṁ d N Ṡ | Ṡ N d P Ṁ G r S

·     Nyāsa                    : Ṁ, N, S.

·    Gamaka              : Meend between r–G and Ṁ–d–N; andolan on komal Dha; delicate slides.

 

Stylistically, Sattriya Vasant is danceable: phrases are ornamented yet compact, designed to support choreographic movements. It is overshadowed by devotion, but if it were sung in songs of Radha-Krishna, the tone of sringa would be predominant. It is noteworthy that Radha has no place in the Neo-Vaishnavism. Here the rāga serves as a sonic embodiment of aesthetic rapture.

 

3. Vyās-Saṃgīt: Myth and Melodic Grammar [3]

Vyās-Saṃgīt presents the richest mythological frame. The Vasant Rāga is here said to emerge from the lament of the Nāginī, born from her plaintive cry when Kṛṣṇa subdued the serpent Kāliya. The rāga then journeys to Kailāśa, where Śiva receives it and transmits it to Nārada. Such narratives elevate Vasant from seasonal symbolism to cosmic lineage.

The musical implications are explicit:

 

·         Komal Re and Komal Dha encodes plaintiveness (the serpent’s cry).

·         Tīvrā Ma embodies flowering compassion (Kṛṣṇa’s grace).

·         Śuddha Ni and Sa give luminous cadences.

·         Pa is restricted to descent, anchoring solemnity (Śiva’s gravitas).

 

Thus the Vyās-Saṃgīt grammar matches the rāga’s mythic birth: sliding, weeping meends represent the Nāginī’s lament, while deep cadences on Sa represent Shiva’s reception. This duality—plaintive and majestic—is the hallmark of Vyās Vasant.

Pakad examples from Vyās-Saṃgīt include:

 

·         `N r G Ṁ d N Ṡ`

·         `Ṡ N d P Ṁ G r S`

·         Decorative turn: `G Ṁ d N d Ṁ G (→ r) S`

 

The rasa structure here integrates Śṛṅgāra, Karuṇā, and Gambhīratā—love, pathos, and majesty—each anchored in the mythic imagery. Vyās-Saṃgīt therefore functions as the interpretive matrix through which the other traditions may be decoded.

 

4. Śubhaṃkara’s Saṃgīt-dāmodara [4]

The Sanskrit musicological text Saṃgīt-dāmodara by Śubhaṃkara offers yet another vision of Vasant. Its verses describe the rāga through classical imagery: a crest of peacock feathers, cuckoos among mango shoots, Kāma (Manmatha) wandering joyfully, and an intoxicated elephant.

From these metaphors, the rāga emerges as at once ornamental and majestic. The cuckoo and mango shoot suggest madhura sweetness and upward thrusts; Kāma implies playful seduction; the intoxicated elephant signals deep sonority. Technically, Śubhaṃkara’s Vasant converges again on the same Eastern profile:

 

·         Āroha                                 : S r G Ṁ d N Ṡ

·         Avaroha                             : Ṡ N d P Ṁ G r S

·         Vādī/Samvādī                   : Ṁ / S

·         Rasa                                   : Predominantly Śṛṅgāra, with undertones of majesty.

 

This alignment confirms that the Eastern Vasant  tradition was consistent across vernacular, devotional, and scholastic registers.

 

5. Comparative Analysis

When we place these four sources side by side, striking convergences emerge:

 

Source	Imagery	Technical Profile	Rasa
1	2	3	4
Vyās-Saṃgīt	Nāginī’s cry, Kṛṣṇa’s compassion, Śiva’s gravitas	Same āroha/avaroha; komal r, d; Pa descent only	Śṛṅgāra + Karuṇā + Gambhīra
Śubhaṃkara (Saṃgīt-dāmodara)	Peacock, cuckoo, Kāma, intoxicated elephant	Āroha: S r G Ṁ d N Ṡ; Avaroha: Ṡ N d P Ṁ G r S; Vādī: Ṁ	Śṛṅgāra + Majestic solemnity
Śukladhvaja (Rāga-Mālitā)	Cuckoo, rivers, yogi, Padmāvatī dance	Same technical frame	Śṛṅgāra + Gambhīra
Sattriya/Bargīt	Peacock crest, rapture, graceful motion	Same as above; pakad N r G Ṁ d N Ṡ	Śṛṅgāra devotional

 

Thus across 16th-century poetic commentary, living sattra performance, mythic Vyās tradition, and scholastic Sanskrit musicology, a common Eastern Vasant profile emerges:

 

Ø  Tīvrā Ma as vādī and emotional centre.

Ø  Komal Re and Dha as plaintive inflections.

Ø  Śuddha Ni and Sa as cadential anchors.

Ø  Pa de-emphasised in ascent, restored in descent.

Ø  Rasa blending sweetness and gravity.

 

Vyās-Saṃgīt provides the interpretive core: its mythic narrative explains why plaintive komals and luminous tivra Ma coexist, and why ascent avoids Pa while descent restores it.

 

6. Vyās-Saṃgīt as Integrative Basis

Why is Vyās-Saṃgīt central? Because, it unites myth, pedagogy, and practice. Its narratives (Nāginī, Kṛṣṇa, Śiva, Nārada) articulate the rāga’s emotional grammar. Its gāthā provide metrical scaffolds for melodic improvisation. And its living sattra practice preserves the actual sonic habitus—meends, andolans, murkis—that realise the imagery.

Through Vyās-Saṃgīt, the other three sources can be interpreted:

Ø  Śukladhvaja’s imagery (fish, yogi, cuckoo) corresponds to serpent-slide meends and gambhīra nyāsa.

Ø  Sattriya ornamentation echoes the Nāginī’s cry and peacock’s flourish.

Ø  Śubhaṃkara’s elephant and Kāma imagery resonate with the dual gravity and sweetness encoded in Vyās grammar.

Thus Vyās-Saṃgīt serves as both origin and explanatory matrix, rooting Vasant in a cosmology of lament, compassion, and majesty.

 

Conclusion

This study of four data sets—Śukladhvaja’s commentary, Sattriya/Bargīt practice, Vyās-Saṃgīt, and Śubhaṃkara’s treatise—demonstrates the coherence of Eastern Vasant  as a rāga distinct from its mainland relatives. Its essential grammar is clear: Śāḍava–Sampūrṇa structure, tivra Ma as vādī, komal Re and Dha for plaintiveness, Pa reserved for descent, and pakad that stress sliding ornamentation.

But more profoundly, Vasant here is not merely a scale or mode; it is a mythic-musical being, born of lament, sanctified by Śiva, and sung in spring festivals and sattra rituals. Vyās-Saṃgīt provides the conceptual foundation linking myth to practice, while the other sources corroborate and elaborate its form.

The Eastern Vasant thus embodies the fusion of mādhurya (sweetness) and gambhīratā (gravity): a rāga that intoxicates lovers, consoles devotees, and commands solemn reverence. As such, it stands as a testament to the deep intertwining of music, myth, and culture in the heritage of Eastern India.

 

 

Reference:

1.   বসন্তেৰ সমে ষড়ঋতুৰ আহ্লাদ। যুবা বৃদ্ধগণৰ মনত উনমাদ॥ ৬০ ॥ বসন্তত কোকিলে সঘনে কাঢ়ে ৰাৱ। যুবতৰ বসন্তে নিচিনে বাপ মাৱ॥ নদীত বসন্ত লাগি যোৱাৰিলা পানি। মৎস্যত বসন্ত লাগি ধৰিলা উজানি॥ ৬১ ॥ সদাগৰে নাজানে নাৱৰ উজান ভাটি। বৃদ্ধত বসন্ত লাগি হাতে ধৰে লাঠি॥ মৈৰাত বসন্ত লাগি ধৰিলা পেখান। যোগীত বসন্ত লাগি ভঙ্গ ভৈলা ধ্যান॥ ৬২ ॥ ৰাধাত বসন্তু লাগি কৰে কৃষ্ণ ৰাৱ। বসন্ত ৰাগৰ শুনা এমত প্ৰভাৱ॥ কৃষ্ণৰ গীতক জয়দেবে নিগদতি। রূপক তালৰ চেৱে নাছে পদ্মাবতী॥৬৩॥

 

2.   বসন্ত ৰাগৰ শুনা ইমত লক্ষণ। প্ৰমত্ত পুরুষ গোটা দেখিতে শোভন॥ মযূৰৰ পুচ্ছে চূড়া বান্ধি মনোহৰ। পৰিধান বস্ত্ৰ বৃক্ষপল্লব পত্ৰৰ॥ ৫৯ ॥ সুন্দৰ সুবেশমূৰ্ত্তি গতি মনোৰম। ইসব লক্ষণে ৰাগ বসন্ত উত্তম॥

3.   যি কালত কৃষ্ণ দেৱে কালীক দমিলা । ঝাম্প দিয়া কালীৰ যে শিৰত চৰিলা ।।সহস্ৰ শিৰত নাচে অঙ্গী-ভঙ্গী কৰি । দেখিয়া নাগিনী সৱ আসিলা লৱৰি ।। শিশু আগ কৰি সৱে কান্দিৱে লাগিলা । দেখিয়া কৃষ্ণৰ অতি সয়া উপজিলা ।। নাই ভয় বুলি সবাহঙ্কে আশ্বাসিলা । নাগিনী ক্ৰন্দনে বসন্ত ৰাগ ভৈলা । মূৰ্তিমন্ত হৈয়া ৰাগ কৈলাশক গৈলা । মহেশে প্ৰথমে পাই সেহি ৰাগ দিলা ।।সেই ৰাগ শিৱে পাছে নাৰদক শিকাইলা । ৰাগ শিকাই শিৱে বসন্ত ৰাগ থৈলা ।।

     4.   শিখণ্ডিৱৰ্হোচ্চয়বদ্ধচূড়ঃ পুস্পন্ পিকং চূতলতাঙ্কুৰেণ । ভ্ৰমন মুদা ৱামমনঙ্গমূৰ্তিৰ্মতঙ্গমত্তঃ স                  ৱসন্তৰাগঃ ।। তৃতীয়স্তৱক, সঙ্গীতদামোদৰ