Category: Hindustani Music Explained

Japa, Tapa, and Dhyaana in Hindustani Classical Music

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For definitions and pronunciations, go here.

Indian classical music, whether Vocal or instrumental, has great meditative qualities.

The word meditation is not limited to do explanation of physical being trying to get one with the divine spirit or getting peace through a certain way of breathing, or closing your eyes and sitting with erect spine or in a particular Asana for sometime and thinking nothing. The mere word ‘meditation’ can be an explanation of many things in general but nothing in particular.

It doesn’t explain what sort of Kriya1 (task) we are trying to perform, and what we want to achieve by performing that kriya, since, there are different steps and different ways to achieve the state of spirituality, divinity, and oneness with the universe, and further feeling our own breaths, or to be in the process of self-realisation, and so on.
There are different ways & methods chosen by self to upgrade ourselves towards the path of Redemption & Salvation. They are Japa Tapa, Dhyaana and Shoonya Samadhi2.

Japa Tapa Dhyaan and Shoonya Samadhi Explained

Every stage or step can be understood as complete in its own way. We may take Japa and sail through life, but with Japa we may get to the state of Tapa. With Tapa we get to Dhyaan and we attain Shoonya Samadhi a state or way in which we distance ones self from body, Here we engage in a process which is conscious but non- purportedly to create a distance between our body and mind to achieve peace and stability.

Japa

(Pronounced: Jaap)

To chant regularly either complete mantra or any syllable keeping focus on One (the point of focus) like Om, Ek Omkaar Sat Naam, Waheguru, Ram, Hare Krishna, Namyo horenge kyo etc.

It is the process of uninterrupted focus and the repetition of it that occupies the superficial levels of our consciousness. Through concentration, we transcend the fluctuations of the mind to a place of mental clarity.

Tapa

(Pronounced: Tapp)

To do Tapasya, which is derived from the Sanskrit root word ‘tapa’ meaning heat or energy, has roughly been translated as austerities or penances. And a tapasvi, the one who engages in tapasya, has often been called an ascetic.

It refers to certain spiritual practices of self-regulation undertaken for purification of the body and the mind. As lustre of the gold increases in fire, similarly the practice of tapasya makes one morally strong.

Bhagavad Gita has described three kinds of tapas:

  • Tapas of the body
  • Tapas of the speech
  • Tapas of the mind

Reverence to the devas, to the dvija, to the guru and to the pragya; and also cleanliness, straightforwardness, continence and non-violence – all these have been declared to be the tapas of the body. A tapasvi worships devas – the heavenly, divine beings who are the providers of knowledge and also various physical resources. The devas like Surya devta, Indra devta are benevolent supernatural beings who impact the human life in their set ways.

Dhyaana

(Pronounced: Dhyaan)

This state is penultimate to Samadhi or “absorption.” Unfortunately, the word dhyana is usually translated as meditation, implying a state of abiding calm.

Earlier to practicing dhyana, the relevant steps of Yoga, namely, Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, and Dharana should be practiced. The details of these steps are explained in many books dealing with the aphorisms of Sage Patanjali.[1] Yama is to abstain from violence, falsehood, theft, sensory overactivity, and acquisitiveness. Niyama is practicing purity, contentment, austerity, study of scriptures, and surrendering to a higher principle. The next two steps of asana and pranayama are well known with body postures and breathing facilitating proper gross and subtle fluid flow (blood, lymphatic, chi, and pranic flow) in the body. While practicing asana, concentration on a particular principle (e.g. infinite void) is recommended. While practicing pranayama, one should be in a state of dharana (one pointed attention). Pursuing the above limbs of Yoga, the practitioner realizes the changes in the physical and mental makeup. Pratyahara is stopping the flow of information from outside by turning the mind inward. Dharana is maintaining a single focus in the mind’s eye.

What exactly is meditation

Meditation is a generic word stretching from sitting quietly to deep inward focus as practiced in many traditions.

Meditation techniques include specific postures, focused attention, or an open attitude toward distractions. People use them to increase calmness and relaxation, improve psychological balance, cope with illness, or enhance overall health and well-being.

Thus, Japa (repetition of a sacred formula) and Prarthana3 (intense dedication) are the necessary prerequisites for Dhyana.

Samadhi: Patanjali explains that Samadhi is a state of meditative absorption, attained by the practice of Dharana4 (focused attention) and Dhyana (effortless meditation) when the True Essential Nature is known, without the distortion of the mind. It can be thought of as the culmination of your meditation process.

How We do Japa Tapa and Dhyaana In Music

While practicing Indian classical music, from the very first time you sit, you start observing Japa.
Which means we start reciting same notes or Note patterns number of times everyday. Which trains our mind to distinguish notes one from another, it trains our mind to keep focused, the frequency of musical Notes have their own therapeutic effects on brain and all the benefits we actually attain by Japa.
Musical practices turns in Tapa when we sit longer times to attain the desired effect. Tapna in hindi means to burn yourself or consume your energy to attain the goal you aim at. Same happens in Riyaaz (practices).
After we do Tapa we automatically find ourselves inthe zone of Dhyana.
With Dharana or focused attention at notes and different melodic structures called ragas, we create an abstract picture os raga in our mind and visualise it in order to make it alive. This process brings colours to your mind and we put life to the notes of that particular Raga. This why we define raga as “Ranjayati iti Raga”, meaning a particular musical progression of notes which colours the minds of the musician and the listener is Raga.
So to aim the of the creation of the music we go through Japa. Tapa, Dharna and Dhyana. The result of this is ultimate or sublime pleasure called Rasa.

Rasa is as good as nectar which brings mind to the state of colourfulnesses and ecstasy. The result is spiritual growth and attainment of the Sublime which is the state of one with Universe. This is Dhyaan Yog.

So we can say that music can help us grow spiritually. It brings happiness and satisfaction to us even if we don’t get to the final stage. We may be peaceful at Japa state more detached and attain Nivritti or state of turning inward. So every stage is equally helpful and important. We may choose to go to the extent we want or keep ourselves at any particular stage.

Definitions & Pronunciations

  1. Kriya: (Pronounced: Kriya) A task, or a doing, and the doer is called a Karta.
  2. Shoonya Samadhi:
  3. Prarthana: (Pronounced: Prarthana)
  4. Dharana: (Pronounced: Dharan)

What Sitar to Buy – An 18 Point Sitar Buying Guide

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When it comes to buying your first sitar, or a third one, a few questions come to mind. This article answers to most such questions that may arise when you go to buy a Sitar. Before you read further, there are a few things I would like you to do:

  • If you are a first time Sitar buyer, I’d like you to read my article about the parts of a Sitar to get some knowledge about what the instrument is made of, and to better understand what’s written in this blog.
  • Sign up to my email list and get latest updates on new blog posts.

Unlike most other mass produced instruments, in Sitars quality can plummet just to increase short term profits, therefore you need to be sure of what you’re buying and know the specifics of whether you’re getting what you’re paying for. Buying a Sitar in person supersedes every online purchase however, if you do end up buying one online, take note of the following things to look for in a Sitar to take your purchase from normal to excellent.

I will first begin this article with guesswork on how you may have been inspired, and the types of Sitars prevalent in Indian Classical Music today. Following which will be a 14 point list of things to consider and look for in a good Sitar. Followed by a conclusion and help topics. Feel free to reach out if you need any help buying a Sitar. I charge a USD 25 per guidance fee.

Examine, play and connect with the instrument before you take one out of the store. If it’s tone does not sit well with the artist inside you, you might end up never playing it.

Types of Sitar

The instrument Sitar comes in three types. A Kharaj Pancham and a Gandhar Pancham, and Flat Toomba Sitar sometimes called the Travel Sitar or an Electric Sitar. The Ravi Shankar style of playing involves the Kharaj Pancham Sitar while the Vilayat Khan style of playing involves the Gandhar Pancham

Key differences include:

  1. A second resonation toomba in the Kharaj Pancham Sitar
  2. The school of thought behind the two styles of Sitar: Kharaj Pancham or Laraj Kharaj Sitar and Gandhar Pancham Sitar, and the number of strings in them.
  3. The flat wood toomba sitar electric or acoustic. In a flat toomba sitar, the resonator is made of wood while the other two sitars have a gourd resonator.

What to look for in a Sitar – An 18 Point Guide

  1. The first thing you should be doing is visually inspecting a Sitar. There should be no cracks in the sitar body at all. It’s made of wood and any cracks could mean that the wood used is weak or unseasoned.
  2. When inspecting the Sitar visually check to ensure that the Fretboard is built of a single piece of wood. Poor or cheap built sitars will use multiple pieces of wood joint together to make a fretboard.
  3. The Toomba should be aligned with the fretboard. There should be no forward, backward, right or left tilt in the fretboard with respect to the Toomba. If there is a tilt, leave that Sitar behind.
  4. Look for white or other (ivory colored plastic, or wood) marquetry around the sitar. If there’s too much, It will not be a very long lasting sitar since the marquetry digs into the already thin wood around the bridge of the Sitar compromising it’s strength.
  5. You may find hand polished, or Polyurethane coated Sitar. 
  6. A grommet encircles the sympathetic strings at the entrance into the fretboard, the grommet is called ‘Tarab ka Mogra‘. Cheap sitars usually miss these small things and eventually, the Sympathetic string eats into the wood.
  7. Toomba does not necessarily need to be very round, it’s made of gourd and can be a little disproportionate here and there.
  8. In case of an electric travel sitar look for quality string tuning pegs on the Sitar. Most cheap travel Sitars will come with low quality plastic tuning pegs that will not last very long.
  9. Sitar tuning is done with wooden pegs (Khoonti) which are not geared therefore not very accurate to achieve perfect tune. To do this, there are beads at the Langot of the Sitar. Any sitar missing beads will barely ever stay in tune.
  10. Check for string action. A very high string action is not very comfortable to play. It is however different for both sexes. Females need a lower string action than males. Also keep in mind that smaller sitars do not have a very high string action, if they do, avoid them.
  11. Stay away from very huge Sitar if you’re below 12 years of age.
  12. All frets should be made of Brass. That’s how purists like it.
  13. Check for Tuning Peg slippage when bending strings, if that happens, the pegs are small in size of diameter than the hole that hold them. Get bigger, better fitting ones.
  14. Look for a Sitar with optimal fretboard width according to your hand. Do not buy a sitar that has a wide fretboard for you. Sitars come in different fret widths. You could find such options with good luthiers.
  15. Buy a Sitar in teakwood if possible. it lasts longer. If not teakwood, go for toon or cedar wood.
  16. The sound of Sitar is born with its body structure just like human body. The culture of that sound is done by taking care of several measures like Jawari, the breath of the groove, length of string from back of the bridge to the nut, where it is tied and how it sits on the bridge table.
  17. Look for a bronze clip, tied to the last fret counting from the side of bridge. This clip can hold the two base strings in Kharaj Pancham Sitar.
  18. You may find the curve of face plate or Tabli slightly tilted towards one side. This you may not count as a fault.

What not to Buy when buying a sitar

I would recommend staying off Amazon, Ebay, Gumtree, Olx, and such classifieds websites for Sitar Deals.

When buying in India, stay away from cheap sitars anywhere below GBP 150, USD 220, or INR 18000

When buying anywhere outside India, do not buy a Sitar just because it’s cheaper than the average Music store price in your area. For instance, USD 350 could be the minimum buying price you begin looking at.

Some good examples of what not to buy:

  1. Advertised as Ravi Shankar Style, Images contain Vilayat Khan Style – 1
  2. Advertised as Ravi Shankar Style, Images contain Vilayat Khan Style – 2
  3. Read the Reviews on this

Conclusion

A Sitar’s tone may vary based on the type of wood used, tuning of the strings, type of strings used, type of bridge materials, tuning of the bridge and so on. If made well, all these things come together to make a marvelous instrument. In the end, it comes down to what suits your playing style. Sit with your sitar seller and experiment playing with the instrument for about half an hour or maybe an hour if schedule allows.

Good Luck.

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10 Parent Scales or Thaats and Their Parallels in Western Music

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We are pretty familiar with the seven basic modes or scales in western music theory, considered useful in composing music. These seven modes are: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian. This post indicates the resemblance of these modes with Indian Ragas. But Before that, I would like to exhibit a chromatic an octave table in both (Indian & Western) disciplines.

Western NotesCC#/DbD  D#/EbEFF#/GbGG#/AbAA#/BbBC
Indian NotesSrRgGMM’PdhDHniNIS

In the Indian Classical discipline, flat notes are represented in lower case, the sharp note is with apostrophe and natural notes are in upper case. Therefore, there are four flattened notes i.e. komal swaras r,g,dh,ni and one sharp (also termed “teevra“) swara M

‘W’ means whole step and ‘H’ means moving on to half step. All my explanations are in the key of C as it is more approachable and understandable.

1.  Ionian Mode (W-W-H-W-W-W-H)

W  W  H  W   W  W   H
(All natural notes are found in Ionian mode)		C- D- E- F- G- A- B  
Similar to Bilawal Thaat(scale)


This mode is exactly similar to  Bilawal which also consist of all the natural or pure notes : S-R-G-M-P-Dh-Ni

2. Dorian (W-H-W-W-W-H-W)

Western – Similar to  KAFI Thaat
C- D- D#- F- G- A- A#
KafiS- R- g- M- P- Dh- ni

Thaat Kafi consist of all natural seven notes except g and ni. Notes ‘ni’ and ‘g” are flat in this Thaat.

3. Phrygian (H-W-W-W-H-W-W)

Western – Similar to BHAIRAVI ThaatC- C#- D#- F- G- G#- A#
Bhairavi
In Bhairavi, notes re, ga, dha ni, are komal or flat.		S- r- g- M- P- dh- ni

4. Lydian (W-W-W-H-W-W)

Western – Similar to  KalyanC- D- E- F#- G- A- B
Kalyan S R G M’ P DHA NI

5. Mixo-lydian (W-W-H-W-W-H-W)

Western : Similar to Thaat KHAMAJC- D- E- F- G- A- A#
KHAMAJS- R- G- M- P- Dh- ni

6. Aeolian (W-H-W-W-H-W-W)

Western – ASAWARI Thaat
C- D- D#- F- G- G#- A#
Asawari
(as ga,dha, ni swaras are komal (flat))		S- R- g- M- P- dh- ni- SA

7. Locrian (H-W-W-H-W-W-W)

Western – TODI Thaat
C- C#- D#- F- F#- G#- A#
TodiS- r- g- M- m- P- dh- ni


Almost all the notes are used in Locrian and Thaat Todi too.

In this way, these various modes resemble the 10 basic scales or Thaats. These thaats are also considered as parent scales of Ragas and play a vital role in the classification of all the numerous ragas according to day, time, nature, persona in Raag Dhyaan.

Ten Scales Or ‘Thaat’

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Ten Parent Scales

There are a total of twelve main pitches (Shruti) in an octave, and to create a musical theme, specific frequencies from those twelve are chosen. These chosen pitches determine whether a song is sad/happy, slow/fast, and so on.

Since melody is prime and central to Indian music, we always look for pitch combinations that offer significant melodic potential. These are called ragas, and we know of about 500 ragas in the Indian Classical tradition.

Looking for the explanation in terms of western music? Find it here.

Ragas | Raga classification

Ragas are classified in various ways. One system is to classify them under Ten Parent Scales, known as “Thaat”. These are similar to modes in ancient Greek music. Unlike ragas, which are more flexible in the number of notes they can include, Parent Scales are always heptatonic and must include one each of the seven notes (swara) – sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni. Variations arise due to the different variants (natural, flat, or sharp) used.
In Bhatkhande’s system, the basic mode of reference is that which is equivalent to the Western Ionian mode or major scale (called Bilawal thaat in Hindustani classical music). The flattening or sharpening of pitches always occurs with reference to the interval pattern in Bilawal thaat. This is how ten parent scales or Thaats are created. Each thaat contains a different combination of altered (vikrit) and natural (shuddha) notes. In any seven-tone scale (starting with Shadaj, Re, Ga, Dha and Ni can be natural (shuddha, lit. “pure”) or flat (komal, lit. “soft”) but never sharp, whereas the Ma can be natural or sharp (tivra, lit. “fast”) but never flat, making twelve notes as in the Western chromatic scale. The sharp tones are called Tivra Vikrit and flat tones are called Komal Vikrit swara (vikrit, lit. “altered”). Selecting seven tones in ascending order, where Sa and Pa are always natural whereas five other tones (Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni can be present only one of their two possible forms, results in 32 modes which are known as thaats. Out of these thirty-two possibilities, Pt. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande ji chose to highlight only ten Thaats or scales.
In effect only heptatonic scales are called thaats. Pandit Bhatkhande ji applied the term thaats only to scales that fulfil the following rules:

  1. A thaat must have seven tones out of the twelve tones [seven natural, four flat (Re, Ga, Dha,Ni), one sharp (Ma)]
  2. The tones must be in ascending sequence: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni.
  3. A thaat cannot contain both the natural and altered versions of a note
  4. A thaat, unlike a raga, does not have separate ascending and descending lines
  5. A thaat has no emotional quality (which ragas, by definition, do have)
  6. Thaats are not sung but the ragas produced from the thaats are sung
    One can arbitrarily designate any pitch as Sa (the tonic) and build the series from there. While all thaats contain seven notes, many ragas (of the audav and shadav type) contain fewer than seven and some use more. A raga need not to use every tone in a given thaat; the assignment is made according to whatever notes the raga does contain
    Note that Thaats only give a rough structure of the raga that gives the ‘Chalan’ or way of singing of the raga.

The Ten Thaats (Scales)

  1. Bilawal: All pure notes
    S R G M P D N
  2. Kalyan: Madyam tivra or the higher variant of Madhyam. Rest are pure notes. S R G M’ P D N
  3. Khamaj: Komal Nishad or Lower variant of Nishad. All other six are pure notes. S R G M P D n
  4. Bhairav: Rishabh and Dhaivat are Komal. Rest are pure.
    S r G M P d N
  5. Kafi: Komal Gandhar and Nishad or the lower variants of Gandhar and Nishad. Rest are pure.
    S R g M P D n
  6. Asavari: Gandhar Dhaivat and Nishad are Komal. Rest are pure notes.
    S R g M P d n
  7. Bhairavi: Rishabh, Gandhar, Dhaivat and Nishad are Komal. Rest are pure.
    S r g M P d n
  8. Marwa: Rishabh Komal and Madhyam Teevra.
    S r G M’ P D N
  9. Poorvi: Rishabh, Dhaivat Komal and Madhyam Teevra.
    S r G M’ P d N
  10. Todi: Rishabh, Gandhar, Dhaivat are Komal and Madhyam Teevra.
    S r g M’ P d N
    PS: Lower case alphabet denotes the lower variants of a specific note eg R – Shudh R
    r- Komal R Teevra M is denoted as M’
    .

The Octave, The Saptak, and The Indian Classical Music

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Sapta is a Sanskrit word which means seven. So a saptak in Hindustani music means comprising of seven notes. It is a Sanskrit word for an Octave. In saptak or Octave there are 7 natural or pure notes along with their 5 low and high variants. The sevan pure notes and their 5 variants make 12 in all. If we see roughly, they are only the seven notes with their variants hence the word Saptak.

Saptak

‘Do’ ‘Re’ ‘Mi’ ‘Fa’ ‘So’ ‘La’ ‘Ti’ – English

OR

‘Sa’ ‘Re’ ‘Ga’ ‘Ma’ ‘Pa’ ‘Dha’ ‘Ni’ – Hindi

Octaves In Indian Classical Music

There are mainly three octaves used in Hindustani classical music.

Madhya Saptak (Middle or the 4th Octave)

This octave starts with C4, the ‘Scientific Pitch‘, termed as the ‘Shadaj‘ or ‘Sa‘ which has frequency of 256Hz.
The notes on the scale after that are placed accordingly.
Middle Ocatve Pure notes are denoted as
Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni

Mandra Saptak (lower Octave or the 3rd octave)

In the lower Octave the frequency of notes is 2x lower (1 octave lower) than in the Madhya Saptak (middle octave). While writing these notes in notation, they are denoted bearing a dot below them:

SaReGaMaPaDhaNi
● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Mandra Saptak Notation

Taar Saptak( Upper or the 5th octave)

Taar Saptak or Upper Octave:
In the upper Octave the frequency of the notes is 2x higher (1 octave higher) than in the Madhya Saptak (middle octave).
In notation these notes are denoted bearing a dot above them:

● ● ● ● ● ●●
SaReGaMaPaDhaNi
Taar Saptak Notation

In addition to these Octaves, Indian classical vocalists and instrumentalist use Ati Mandra saptak or the 2nd octave while singing or playing instruments.

Parts of Sitar

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introduction – Parts of sitar

The sitar is comprised of various parts handmade and embedded/fixed onto a log of wood and a piece of sometimes a pumpkin/gourd attached to that wood to create the resonation that creates the sitar’s marvellous sound. For a detailed explanation of the sitar strings and their location, see How many strings does a Sitar have.

Toomba

It comprises the main body of sitar. Made from the shell of dried ash-gourd or kaddu. It is fragile and subject to be taken full care of, as it is hollow inside.

PARTS OF THE SITAR

Dand/ Dandi (Fret/fingerboard)

Made from teak or tun wood it is hollow from inside. Frets are tied on the dand. Made from single piece of wood, it can twist over a period of time. So, whether extremities or neglect of resting position of sitar may lead to its damage.

Gullu/Joint

A neck shaped piece which serves as a joint between toomba and dand. Gullu is usually decorated with engraved floral designs which adds an extra beauty to sitar.

Tabli/The Face Plate

Traditionally made from teak or toonwood, this is a thick piece made to cover toomba. This combined with toomba serves as a resonator. The quality of sound of sitar to a major extent depends on the Tabli and the quality of wood used in its making. It is a very crucial part of the body of the sitar as ghoraj is placed on it.

Ghoraj/Ghodi (Bridge)

Bridge is made from dead animal bone, ebony, or polyoxymethylene plastic (Delrin). This is a table like structure which has feet of wood on two sides and rests on the Tabli.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF SITAR BRIDGES

  • Bada Ghoraj (Big Bridge) – it serves as stool to let the strings pass over it. All the six or seven main strings pass over it to reach the pegs (Khoonti).
  • Chota Ghoraj (Small Bridge) – has the same purpose as of the big bridge. It lets the sympathetic strings to pass over it to be tied to Khoonti or Pegs.

Jawari

A comb like structure on the posterior part of the bridge from where all the strings get a passage towards both the ends of sitar. The level part and the jawari part of the bridge calls for work of skilled craftsmanship.

Khunti (Pegs)

The tuning pegs, made of wood to wind and hold the strings. They are crucial to sitar as all tuning is done by turning (rotating) the khuntis. These are made of wood. These days some sitar makers use steel pegs in sitar (as used in guitar), which help in tuning sitar comfortably and accurately and without hazard of snapping.

Parda (Fret)

Convex shaped metallic rods tied on the dand or Fingerboard. They are 17 to 23 in number, but should not be less than 17 in number. They are movable so as to provide certain flat notes. Certain ragas demand pure or flat notes have to be on their one higher or lower shrutis. Movability of frets in sitar supports that.

Taanti/Taant

A tying string made of Polyvinyl used to tie frets to the dand or the wooden Fingerboard.

Taar Gahan

A strip made of animal bone each has small holes and is affixed to the end part of the Dand or fretboard. The holes in ‘Taar Gahan’ help strings to pass through them, rendering vibrations to happen.

Meru or Atti

A strip of animal bone or Ebony which has cuts on it. It is placed parallel to ‘Taar Gahan’. Strings from Taar Gahan holes pass through the cuts towards the upper pegs or khuntis. They are specially made of animal bone because if the strip is made of wood the strings may make a deep mark which may have a bad effect on the vibrations rendering the sound to dampen.

Tuning beads

These allow minor adjustments, which need to be made without having to go to the large tuning pegs. They are threaded in the strings of the sitar especially in the Baaj and Jod strings.

Langot

This is the tail piece attached to the posterior end of the sitar on Toomba. There are mainly 3 nails or keel affixed on langot or the tail piece, made of animal bone on which the strings are tied.

Palak

Before the chikari string reaches khunti it has to pass through a tiny pillar shaped structure made of animal bone.

Mogra

Before the chikari string reaches khunti it has to pass through a tiny pillar shaped structure made of animal bone called mogra.

Tarab ka mogrA

They are the dandis protective grommets for the sympathetic strings.

Sitar Strings

There are mainly two schools or styles of sitar playing. Keeping that in view Sitars are crafted accordingly. Both schools differ in their main strings.

The main strings are those which run above the curved threats to stop these things are placed on the big bridge or Bada Ghoraj, and the Tarab/Sympathetic strings can be 12-13 in number. Run under the frets and are placed on the small Bridge or Chhota Ghoraj. Their purpose is only to serve as resonators to the note which is played on on the main string. So they are tuned to the notes according to a particular melody or Raga.

You may buy the Gandhar Pancham strings here and the Kharaj Pancham strings here.

KHARAJ-PANCHAM SITAR

This style of sitar has 7 main strings.

Main Strings
  1. Baaj
  2. Jod
  3. Pancham
  4. Kharaj
  5. Pancham Chikari
  6. Chotti Chikari
  7. Badi Chikari

GANDHAR PANCHAM SITAR

This style of sitar has 6 main strings.

Main Strings
  1. Baaj
  2. Jod
  3. Steel string(Tuned to third major or minor as per the the tonic or the keynote is determined)
  4. Steel Pancham Chikari
  5. Chotti Chikari
  6. Badi chikari