Hamsanadam

Hamsanadam (pronounced hamsanādam) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is a pentatonic scale (audava rāgam, which means "of 5"), as it is sung in current days.^[1] It is a derived scale (janya rāgam), as it does not have all the seven swaras (musical notes), from the 60th Melakarta rāgam Neetimati.^[1]

Hamsanadam, as it is sung now-a-days, is a symmetric scale that does not contain gandharam and dhaivatam. It is called an audava rāgam,^[1] in Carnatic music classification (as it has 5 notes in both ascending and descending scales). Its ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure is as follows (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):

• ārohaṇa : S R₂ M₂ P N₃ Ṡ^[a]
• avarohaṇa : Ṡ N₃ P M₂ R₂ S^[b]

This scale uses the notes shadjam, chatusruti rishabham, prati madhyamam, panchamam and kakali nishadam.

Earlier structure of this scale were as follows:^[1][2]

• Ascending scale : S R₂ M₂ P D₃ N₃ Ṡ^[c]
• Descending scale : Ṡ N₃ D₃ N₃ P M₂ R₂ S^[d]

In the above, shatsruti dhaivatam is added in the scale compared to current usage (shadava scale with 6 notes in ascendinga and descending scale), with a vakra prayoga (zig-zag descending scale).^[1][2]

Hamsanadam's notes when shifted using Graha bhedham, yields three pentatonic rāgams, Gambhiranata, Neela and Bhupalam. Graha bhedham is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the shadjam to the next note in the rāgam. For more details and illustrations of this concept refer Graha bhedham on Gambhiranata.

Hamsanadam has a few popular compositions:

• Kalyana Rama by Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi
• Bantureethi Koluvu by Tyagaraja
• Neeye Paramukham by Papanasam Sivan
• Kripanidhe by Muthiah Bhagavatar
• Paasa Vendume by Dandapani Desikar
• Bharama Ee Baluni by G N Balasubramaniam
• Ezhiludai Hamsanaadham by Thanjavur Sankara Iyer
• Vishwa Prakashunaku by Annamacharya