Rags and sargam
Hazrat Amir Khusrau (R.A.) occupies a foundational position in the history of Indo-Persian music and literature. He is traditionally credited with shaping several musical forms that became central to South Asian devotional and classical traditions, including qaul, qawwali, tarana, and the early development of khayal.
Tradition attributes to Hazrat Amir Khusrau (R.A.) the composition or refinement of several melodic frameworks (ragas and melodic modes), many of which are described as combinations of Indian and Persian melodies. Among the ragas associated with his name are:
Among the ragas associated with his name are:
Sazgari
a raga combining Indian melodies such as Purbi, Gora, and Kangali with Persian elements; Khusrau himself refers to this raga in Qiran-us-Sadain.
Yaman (Eman)
described as a synthesis of Indian and Persian melodic structures.
Ushshak
blending elements of Sarang, Basant, and Persian Navo.
Moafiq
associated with Molol, Gori, Dugoh, and Husseini.
Zilaf
combining Qalat and Shahnoz.
Fergana
drawing upon Kangali, Gori, and Central Asian melodic traditions.
Sarparda
integrating Sarang, Bilaval, and Rost.
Bahroz
a synthesis of Jakar and Persian melodies.
Firdawst
linked with Kalyan and Persian melodic modes.
Manam
combining Kanhro, Gori, Purbi, and Persian elements.
Musicological works such as Rag Darpan (attributed to later scholars like Faqrullah Saif Khan) acknowledge Hazrat Amir Khusrau’s mastery and credit him with the creative adaptation and renaming of existing melodic forms, rather than wholesale invention. His genius lay in recomposition, fusion, and systematisation. Delhi’s musicians during the Mughal period, as noted in works like Ain-i-Akbari, regularly performed tarana and qaul compositions attributed to Khusrau, attesting to his enduring musical legacy.
