Bhairav or Bhairon Raag

Bhairav , or Bhairon, is a raga in
Hindustani classical music that
was for centuries considered to
be the most important raga. Its
modern form with an important
komal rishabh is, however, very
different from that described in
the old texts. Bhairav has its
name from Bhairava, an
incarnation of Shiva, and was
historically associated with glory
and awe, but became identified
with peace and devotion. Raga
Bhairav is sometimes linked to
raga Bhairavi via Bhairavi's
association with the consort of
Bhairav (as aspect of Shiva) of the
same name; Hijaz Bhairav is an
example of this. There are
several allied ragas such as Ahir
Bhairav, Bairagi , Gunkali, Hijaz
Bhairav, Nat Bhairav, Ramkali ,
Jogiya and Kalingda.
This raga corresponds to
Mayamalavagowla in Carnatic
music .
Sikh tradition
Bhairon appears in the Sikh
tradition from northern India and
is part of the Guru Granth Sahib .
Every raga has a strict set of rules
which govern the number of
notes that can be used; which
notes can be used; and their
interplay that has to be adhered
to for the composition of a tune.
In the Guru Granth Sahib , the
Sikh holy Granth (book) there are
a total of 31 raga compositions
and this raga is the twenty-
fourth raga to appear in the
series. The composition in this
raga appear on a total of 43
pages from page numbers 1125
to 1168.
Bhairav was an important raga at
the time of Guru Nanak and has
continued to retain its
significance and popularity.
Bhairav (not to be confused with
Bhairavi) appears in the Ragmala
as husband/wife of Bhairavi and
four other raginis. Today it is the
head raga for one of the ten
thatas. The "Raga Sagara", a
journal of circa 8th century,
describes this raga as awe-
inspiring and as expressing the
"fulfilment of the desire to
worship." Mesakarna (1509) calls
this morning melody of the
autumn season one of awesome
grandeur. Performed before
sunrise, this raga was used by
Guru Nanak , Guru Amar Das,
Guru Ram Das , and Guru Arjan
for 99 hymns.
Aroha: 'N S G M P G M, P G M
(N)d, G M (N)d, (N)d N S'
Avroha: N S' (N)d N d P, P G M
P G M (G)r S
Vadi: Dha
Samvadi: Re
The vadis are performed with a
slow, wide vibrato which may
begin with the vadi itself or the
highest limit to which it will
extend. In descent the vibrato
must begin with upper limit.
Otherwise Bhairav has few
characteristic phrases.