This is the last prominent janya raga of mela ragam (1) Kanakangi; the raga is Lathanthapriya. This raga is very close to Karnataka Suddha Saveri, in the sense, it contains an additional Gandharam in the arohanam only. The notes: Aroh: S R1 G1 M1 P D1 S; Avaroh: S D1 P M1 R1 S If the Gandharam comes in avarohanam also, it becomes another janya, ‘Vaageeswari’ (not tobe confused with Bhagesree / Bageshri, which is sometimes seen mentioned as Bhageswari).
There had been controversies regarding the structure of this raga. In one instance, vid. R. Suryaprakash, during one of his concerts, announced the raga scale of Lathanthapriya, same as Karnataka Suddha Saveri and sung the Dikshithar krithi, ‘Ekamresha Nayike’. Vidushi Gayathri Girish is of a different opinion, that Lathanthapriya is derived from Mela (15) Mayamalavagoula; the notes are SRMPDS SDPMRS, and sounds very similar to Malahari. But what I could notice is that, though Malahari is janya of MM Goula, the arohanam notes are all suddha (basic) notes, giving a feel of Kanakangi, whereas only in the avarohanam, it uses the Anthara gandharam (G3), characteristic of mela (15).
This raga is one of the rarest of the rare; only the following compositions are found listed: 1. Marachithivo – Yoganarasimhan 2. Nadathinal namakku nalam perave Thillai – Chidambaram Swarnavenkatesa Dikshithar
Here is the lyrics of the composition, ‘Marachithivo’: P: maracitivO mA ramaNa A: sura krtya sAdhana mAtramA narasimha rUpamuna nannu C: surulatO vavi varamA narulapai anAdaramA vara nArasimha paradaivamA karuNincu dAsa dEvuni
meaning: [p] My Lord! have you forgotten me? [a.p] Assumed the form of narasimha, just to achieve your aim? [c] Are we in any way, related to gods? Have you no concern for humans? vara narasimha, God hereafter, be merciful to dAsa dEva
Now, let us listen to the Vishnubhatla sisters (Vid. Saraswathi and Vid. Krishnaveni) rendering the above composition of Yoganarasimhan.
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