The Dogri inscription in the header identifies the melody by the variant spelling of “Kubha Ragaputra, son of Shri Raga.” Kumbha (or Kubha) Ragaputra is the eighth son of Shri Raga in the variant ragamala (garland of melodies) classification system known as Meshakarna’s system (developed by Meshakarna, a court priest from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, in his Ragamala of 1570), which was typically followed in Pahari ragamalas. Meshakarna’s system has six males (ragas), each of whom who has five or six wives (raginis) and eight or nine sons (ragaputras). The melodies are also compared to a sound in nature or a human activity. Kumbha Ragaputra is likened to the sound of water streaming from a jug. It is envisioned as a crowned prince with a golden pot (kumbha).
In this and commonly in other Pahari ragamalas, however, the melody is personified as a village woman drawing water from a well with a pot for a nobleman. For example, see a Kumbha Ragaputra attributed to Bahu (formerly to Kulu), circa 1710 in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (IS.70-1953).
