Chatusruti

Chatusruti is a term from Indian classical music, used primarily in the Carnatic (South Indian) system. The word comes from Sanskrit, meaning “fourfold” or “fourth.” It designates a particular intonation variant of certain swaras (notes) within the octave, identifying a raised version relative to the natural (shuddha) form but not as sharp as the highest (prati) form.

In Carnatic music, several swaras have multiple variants. Chatusruti refers to one of these higher variants, typically described in formal notation as chatusruti ri, chatusruti dha, and similar forms for other notes. For example, a note may be described as chatusruti rishabham or chatusruti dhaivatham, indicating that its pitch is a specific raised version of the note, defined with respect to the tonic Sa of the raga. The exact pitch depends on the raga’s scale and the singer’s or instrument’s intonation.

Chatusruti plays a role in ragas and melodic ornamentation (gamaka), where precise intonation of swaras is essential to the character and emotional expression of a composition. It helps distinguish closely related ragas that share the same swaras but differ in their raised variants.

In Hindustani classical music, the terminology is different; concepts of raised or lowered notes exist (such as tivra and komal varieties), but the explicit label “chatusruti” is not a standard part of Hindustani theory. The concept, however, remains part of the broader Indo-Musical tradition about microtonal variation within a scale.