Sapta Swaras: The 7 swaras of Carnatic Music

A swara refers to a tone or a musical note on an Octave. Now assume this to be a building including floors. The beginning point is the Shadja known as Tonic. Measuring upto certain heights from the ground level, there are the positions of other notes

The 7 fundamental notes

Carnatic Music is ruled by 7 octave musical notes. These Sapta Swaras are believed to have originated from “Dumru” (Musical Instrument) of Lord Shiva. 7 musical notes (Swaras) are the following:
 

• Sa – Shadjama (Tonic)
• Ri – Rishabha
• Ga – Gandhara
• Ma – Madhyama
• Pa – Panchama (Perfect Fifth)
• Da - Dhaivata
• Ni – Nishada

 
Full names of these notes follow sounds with which they are being sung. As per Shruti – Notes Sa (Tonic)& Pa (Perfect Fifth) stay fixed always once you have settled on the Tonic. They are known as “Prakriti Swaras”. The other 5 notes feature 2 variants each. And so they are named as “Vikruthi Swaras”. So the equation goes in the following way:
 
= 2 + (5*2)
= 12
 
So, you have 12 positions in the musical notes.

Origin of Sapta Swaras

 As we have seen the Sapta Swaras and their full names, now it is time to know from where they have come from. Swaras are being said to have originated  from the sounds of animals and birds. In Sanskrit, all these Sapta Swaras have some inner meanings. Have a look at the table below:

​The interesting thing to note here are:
 

• Bird Sounds – “Sa, Ma & Pa”
• Animal Sounds – “Re, Ga, Dha & Ni”

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