Abstract

Ra̅gas are the foundation of Indian music. This foundational system often faces the challenge of being compared to the western music concept called scale. This paper argues that such an equivalence is musicologically flawed. A Ra̅ga is more than a scale and it is multifaceted. This study points out the three major ways in which the two concepts differ: the relational nature of s̀ruti, the melodic movements called gamaka and different types of notes such as ji̅va svara, amsa svara etc,. The scale in western music acts as a collection of fixed intervals. A ra̅ga is much more flexible. This difference must be established because this is a foundational theory concept and this will represent both the systems more accurately.