What is Swar?

Musical Sound which is sweet by itself is called 'Swara'. In other words,every sound that by itself creates a charming sensation on the ear is musical and is called 'Swara' or note.

EXPLANATION : That musical sound which is sweet by itself is called 'Swara'. Pandit Sharangdeva, the writer of 'Sangeet Ratnakar', defines swara in the following manner :-

Shrutyantar Bhaviya Snighdhoanuranatmka.
Swato Ranjyati Shrotachintam sa Swara Uchyate.

EXPLANATION : Musical sound which is continuous and uniform and which by itself creates a charming sensation on the ear is called Swara.

From the above definition of 'Swara' it is clear that our Sanskrit writers have laid down two necessary conditions for the definition of 'Swara', namely, 'ANURANAN' or continuity and 'SNIGDHATA' or uniformity in the timbre of sound. Therefore, in order to understand the correct definition of Swara the following conditions must be remembered :-

(1) sound capable of being used in music.

(2)Sound must be being used in music. 

(3) Sound must be sweet by itself.

Definition of  'Swara' : That musical sound is continuous and uniform and which by itself creates a charming sensation on the ear is called 'Swara'. In, other words, that musical sound which is sweet by itself and which creates a charming sensation on the ear is called 'Swara'.
It may be noted that when the 'Shrut' is actually sung i.e. sounded and prolonged it becomes swara.
It may be said here that just as every hue or tint which produces a startling effect or dazzling impression on the eye, is treated as preferential colour, in the same way every sound that by itself creates a charming sensation on the ear is musical and is called 'Swara' or note. On the other hand hand just as every dark and heavy pigment is generally pronounced to be dull and ugly in the same way every sound which is not musical hurts the ear and is called 'Apaswara' or noise.

Having gone through the definition of 'Shruti' and 'Swara' we should know that all the writers on music, both ancient and modern, are unanimously agreed that there are twenty two 'Shrutis' in an Octave, i.e. from 'Sa' of the middle Octave to 'Sa' of the higher Octave with their well known ancient names Teevra, Kumudwati etc. And these twenty-two 'Shrutis' have been divided into seven 'Shuddha-Swaras'.

In Hindustani system of music there are seven main 'Swaras' known as Shadja, Rishabha, Gandhara, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada. These are named in practise by their syllables as 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni'. In European music these are known as "C D E F G A B" and in Italian music these are called 'Do Re Mi Fa So La Si'. Our music consists of seven 'Shuddha Swaras' and five shifted notes known as 'Vikrit-Swaras'. In other words, our complete music scale consists of seven standard notes and five shifted notes. Thus we have twelve notes in all in the complete music scale of the present day. The seven standard notes or 'Shuddha-Swaras' have been located on the twenty two 'shrutis' according to the famous Sanskrit Rule known as :

Chatush Chatush Chatush Chaio Shadja Madhyam Panchams,
Dway Dway Nishad Gandharau Tristri Rishabha dhaivatau.

EXPLANATION : The notes 'Sa', 'Ma' and 'Pa' carry four Shrutis each, Ga and Ni two 'Shrutis' each and 'Re' and 'Dha' three 'Shrutis' each.

This principle of locating the Shuddha-Swaras on the 'Shrutis' has been followed by both the ancient and modern writers. They unanimously accept the above quoted famous rule for the distribution of 'Shrutis' among the seven Shuddha-Swaras. But they differ with regard to the method of location of the notes on the 'Shrutis'. In order to understand this difference between the two we should know that our writers on music have been divided into three groups, viz.. (1) The ancient writers who flourished before the 15th century, Chief among them being Sri Bharat and Pandit Sharangdeva. (2) The medieval writers of the 15th, 16trh, 17th and 18th centuries named Lochan, Hridaya Narain Deva, Shriniwas etc. and (3) The writers of the 19th and 20th centuries, Chief among them being Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. The ancient and medieval writers fix their Shuddha-Swaras on the last 'Shruti', i.e. their notes become manifest on the first 'Shruti', while the modern writers fix their notes on the first 'Shruti'. This is the Chief difference between the two said writers as regards the location of notes on 'Shrutis'. the Shuddha-Swaras of both the ancient and medieval writers are located on the twenty-two 'Shrutis' in the following manner. 'Sa' stands on the 1st 'Shruti'. 'Re' on the 5th 'Shruti', 'Ga' on the 8th Shruti, 'Ma' on the 10th 'Shruti' 'Pa' on the 14th Shruti. 'Dha' on the 18th 'Shruti' and 'Ni' on the 21st Shruti. In other words, the ancient and medieval writers have fixed their seven Shuddha Swaras 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni' on 4th, 7th, 20th, and 22nd 'Shrutis' respectively, while the modern writers have fixed their seven Shuddha Swaras 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni' on the 1st , 5th, 8th, 10th, 14th, 18th, and 21st 'Shrutis' respectively.