In the 10 Thaat system of Pt. Bhatkhande, how many Thaats with having Teevra-Madhyam Komal-Nishad ?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4: Zero

The question requires a deep understanding of Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande's 10 Thaat system, which forms the theoretical foundation of Hindustani Classical Music. A Thaat is defined by the specific seven notes it contains. The two conditions given are the simultaneous presence of *Teevra-Madhyam* ($\text{M}^\uparrow$) AND *Komal-Nishad* ($\text{N}^\downarrow$). Upon reviewing the 10 Thaats, we find that the scales naturally divide into two distinct groups: those that contain *Teevra-Madhyam* (Kalyan, Marwa, Purvi, Todi) and those that contain *Komal-Nishad* (Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari, Bhairavi). The remaining two Thaats, Bilawal and Bhairav, contain neither. Crucially, in Bhatkhande's codification, a Thaat is either a *Shuddha-Madhyam* (natural $\text{M}$) scale or a *Teevra-Madhyam* ($\text{M}^\uparrow$) scale, but never both, and importantly, no single Thaat scale uses both *Teevra-Madhyam* and *Komal-Nishad* together, making the number of such Thaats zero.

The incorrect option is 1: Two

This option is incorrect because there are no Thaats that satisfy the dual condition of including both *Teevra-Madhyam* ($\text{M}^\uparrow$) and *Komal-Nishad* ($\text{N}^\downarrow$). Students may mistakenly count Khamaj (which has $\text{N}^\downarrow$ but no $\text{M}^\uparrow$) and Kalyan (which has $\text{M}^\uparrow$ but no $\text{N}^\downarrow$). In the structure of the 10 Thaats, the presence of $\text{M}^\uparrow$ is typically associated with *Shuddha-Nishad* or *Komal-Dhaivat*, not *Komal-Nishad*.

The incorrect option is 2: Three

This option is incorrect as it overestimates the number of scales that meet the criteria. Three Thaats contain *Teevra-Madhyam* (Kalyan, Marwa, Purvi) but they all use *Shuddha-Nishad* (natural $\text{N}$), not *Komal-Nishad* ($\text{N}^\downarrow$). The three Thaats that have Komal-Nishad (Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari) all use *Shuddha-Madhyam* (natural $\text{M}$). No combination results in the required scale structure.

The incorrect option is 3: Four

This option is incorrect because, while four Thaats contain *Teevra-Madhyam* ($\text{M}^\uparrow$)—Kalyan, Marwa, Purvi, and Todi—none of them contain *Komal-Nishad*. Similarly, four Thaats contain *Komal-Nishad* ($\text{N}^\downarrow$)—Khamaj, Kafi, Asavari, and Bhairavi—but none of these contain *Teevra-Madhyam*. Therefore, counting the groups separately leads to four, but counting the intersection (which must satisfy both) leads to zero.