The Marathi Ganpati aarti written by Samarth Ramdas in the seventeenth century, and the sound of Ganesh Chaturthi across Maharashtra. Musically it is unusual and instructive: it begins below Sa, jumps up a fourth, and then stays put — a whole lesson in the pickup note.
The sargam, line by line
Sa is on C. Capital letters are shuddha (natural) swaras, lowercase is komal (flat), and a dot under a letter — written here as Ṇ — means the octave below. Each ▶ plays just that line on the keyboard above; turn on 🐢 Slow while you learn.
P̣ P̣Sukh-kar-S S S S S Sta dukhharta varta vighnachiThe same notes as Western keys
| Line | Keys | Sargam |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | G G (below your Sa) | P̣ P̣ |
| Line | C C C C C C | S S S S S S |
Harmonium notes in Hindi — हिंदी में सरगम
| प़ प़ | सुख-कर- |
| सा सा सा सा सा सा | ता दुखहर्ता वार्ता विघ्नाची |
Reading the harmonium notation
Harmonium notation and harmonium notes mean the same thing — different sites use different words for the same rows of letters. What follows is sargam, the Indian system, where every note carries a name instead of a letter. The table above gives the Western key for each one.
- S R G M P D N — Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni: the seven swaras. With Sa on C they are the white keys running up from C.
- A dot under the letter — the octave below. This song uses P̣, which sits to the left of your starting Sa.
- | — a phrase break, put there so the line is readable. It is not a bar line and you do not pause on it.
Sukhkarta Dukhharta uses 2 of the twelve keys in the octave: Sa, Pa. Every note in Sukhkarta Dukhharta is a white key — no komal, no tivra anywhere in it, which is why it reads so cleanly on paper.
How to play it
- Learn the leap first. The two pickup notes sit a fourth below Sa. Play them and then Sa, over and over, until the jump lands without you aiming for it. Everything else in the line is one repeated key.
- Let the repeated Sa breathe. Six notes on the same key is where a harmonium either sounds alive or sounds like a doorbell. Re-pump between them so each syllable gets fresh air rather than a held drone.
- Then sing it. This aarti is almost always sung by a room full of people, not played solo. Play the line and sing over it — the melody is deliberately simple so a crowd can carry it.
Common questions
What are the harmonium notes for Sukhkarta Dukhharta?
With Sa on C, the opening is two pickup notes a fourth below Sa, then six notes on Sa: Ṇ Ṇ S S S S S S. Two independent published notations agree on this note-for-note.
Who wrote Sukhkarta Dukhharta?
Samarth Ramdas, the seventeenth-century Marathi saint-poet. The text has been in the public domain for centuries, which is why so many recorded versions exist.
Why does it start below Sa?
Those two notes are a pickup — an anacrusis. The line lands on Sa on the first beat, and the syllables before it lead into that landing. Starting a phrase below the tonic is common in Marathi aarti.
Is harmonium notation the same as harmonium notes?
Yes. Both names describe the same thing, and you will find Sukhkarta Dukhharta published under either one. This page gives the notation three ways so you can use whichever you read fastest: sargam, Western key names, and Devanagari. Sukhkarta Dukhharta draws on 2 of the twelve keys in the octave — Sa, Pa.
Where to go next
- Jai Ganesh Deva — harmonium notes with the same follow-along player.
- Om Jai Jagdish Hare — harmonium notes with the same follow-along player.
- Happy Birthday — harmonium notes with the same follow-along player.
- All song notes — every song we publish, each with a follow-along player.
- The harmonium notes chart — sargam, komal and tivra, and the 10-thaat system.