Equivalent (and Near-Equivalent) Ragas in Hindustani and Carnatic Music

The hindustaani equivalent of a mELaa is called a thaaT. All hindustaani ragas are classified under 10 thaaTs. Names in brackets are mELaa names. The thaaTs are as follows:

1. kalyaaN (mEcakalyaaNi) 2. bilaaval (dheera shankaraabharaNam) 3. khamaaj (harikaambhOji) 4. bhairav (maayamaaLava gowLa) 5. bhairavi (tODi) 6. asaavEri (naTabhairavi) 7. tODi (shubhapantuvaraaLi) 8. poorvi (pantuvaraaLi) 9. maarvaa (gamanaashrama) 10. kaafi (kharaharapriyaa)

What follows is a table of raagaas, which are the scales in Indian music, or the set of notes used in any given piece. First is the hindustani (north Indian) raagaa, followed by its equivalent/near equivalent raagaa in carnaaTic music. For each raga, the thaaT and the mELakartaa or mELaa scales, notations of the main or raga from which the derivative or janya raagaa is formed, are also given.

Where carnaaTic raagaas are separated by a slash , the first raga is aarOha (ascending scale) and the second raga is the avarOha (descending scale).

That Hindustani Raga Mela Carnatic Raga

10 abhOgi kAnadA 22 aabhOgi

1 adbhut kalyAN 29 nirOSTa

2 alahiya bilAval 29 bilahari

9 ambikA 59 dharmavati

1 Anandi, AnandkalyAN, nand

65 Anandi, AnandkalyANi, nand

6 asAvri 20 naTabhairavi

2 auDhava bilAval 29 LalitA

10 bAgEshrI 22 bAgEshrI

10 bAgEshrIkAnaDA 22 kAnaDA

10 bahAr 22 kAnaDA

4 bairAgibhairav 2 rEvati

4 bangalAbhairav 15 kannaDabangALA

4 basantmukhAri 14 vasantamukhAri

2 behAg 29 behAg

4 bhairav 15 mAyAmAlavagauLa

5 bhairavi 8 sindhubhairavi

2 bhaTiyAri 28 cHAyAtarangiNi, sAmA

2 bhImpalAsi 20 bhImpalAs, karnATakadEvagAndhAri

1 bhUpali, bhUp

28 mOhana

1 bhUpkalyAN 65 mOhanakalyANi

4 bibhAs 15 bibhAsu, bauLi

2 bilAval 29 dhIrashankarAbharaNa, shankarAbharaNam

10 brndAvanisArang 22 puSpalatikA

3 campak 28 balahamsa

1,3 campAkali 64 kEtakapriyA

10 candrakauns 21 kadaram

1 chAyA 29,65 bEgaDa/sAranga

8 dIpak 51 dIpaka

3 dEs 28 dEs

3 dEsgauD 28 dEsyagauLa

3 dEshAkSi 28 bilahari

2 dEshkAr 28 mOhana

4 dEvaranji 15 dEvaranji

10 dhanAshri (bhImpalAs anga) 22 karnaTakadEvagAndhAri

5 dhanAshri (tODi anga) 8 dhanyAsi

6 darbArikAnaDA 22 darbArikAnaDA

2 durgA 29 shuddhasAvEri, madhuradhvani

3 gArA 22 dhanakApi

4 gauri 15 gauri

4 girijA 17 vasantA

10 gOpikAmbhOdi 20 gOpikAvasanta

10 gauNDgiri 22 puSpalatikA, suddhadhanyAsi

1 hamIrkalyAN 65 hamIrkalyANi

2 hamsadhvani 29 hamsadhvani

1 hamskalyAN 29/65 hamsadhvani/kalyANi

2 hEmkalyAN 29 bEgaDA

2 hEmant 29 hEmant

1 hindOl sAnjh

65 sunAdavinOdini

8 indumati 51 indumati

9 jait (type 4) 53 gamanAshrama

1 jaitkalyAN 28 mOhana

10 jaijaivanti 22 dvIjavanti, jIjavanti

10 jayant 22 jayantasEnA

6 jIvanpuri, jOnpuri

20 jOnpuri, shuddhadEsi

10 jhinjOTi 28 jinjUTi

4 jOgiyA, guNakrI

15 sAvEri

3 kalAvati 16 valaji

1 kalyAN, yaman

65 mEcakalyANi, kalyANi

3 khamAj 28 harikAmbhOji

4 kamalamanOhari 27 kamalamanOhari

10 kAfi 22 kharaharapriyA

6 kOkilapancham 8 prabhupriyA

2 kEdAra 29 nIlAmbari

3 khamAjI 28 khamAjI

3 khambAvati 28 balahamsa

8 kusumaranjani 15 gauLipantu

2 lAjvanti 29 shuddhasAvEri

9 lalit 17/53 sUryalalit

4 lalitpancam 15 lalitapancama

10 madhmadsArang, madhyamadisArang

22 madhyamAvati

10 madhuranjani 36 22

gambhIranATa shuddhadhanyAsi

9 madhuvanti 59 dharmavati

5 mAlkauns 20 hindOLa

1 malarANi 60 hamsanAda

6 mAlkali 20 jayantashrI

2 mAND 29 mAND

2 manOhari 22 manOhari

1 mArgabehAg 65 shuddhakOshala

9 mArva 53 gamanAshramA

4 mEgharanji 15 mEgharanjani

7 multAni 45 gamakasAmantam

3 nAgasvari 28 nAgasvarALi

3 nArAyaNi 28 nArAyaNi

4 naTbhairav 27 sarasAngi

3 nATakuranji 28 nATakuranji

10 palAsi 22 puSpalatikA rudrapriya

5 pancam mAlkauns 20 jayantashrI

9 paraj 15 paraju, paras

10 paTadIp 22 paTadIp

10 paTamanjari 22 phalamanjari

10 pIlU 22 pIlU

9 pUria 53 hamsAnandi

9 pUriAdhanshrI 51 kAmavardhini

8 pUrvi 51 kAmavardhini

9 pUrvakalyAN 53 pUrvikalyANi

3 pratApavarALi 28 pratApavarALi

3 puNDalIka 28 nAgavalli

3 rAgEshrI 28 ravicandrikA

2 salang 29 skandamanOramA

1 sarasvati 64 sarasvati

4 saurASTrabhairav 17 saurAStra

10 shahAnA 22 ShahAnA

2 shankara 29 shankara

10 sindhUrA 22 saLagabhairavi

6 shObhAvari 20 sutAdri

1 shrIkalyAn 64 sarasvati

2 shuddha bilAval 29 shankarAbharaNa

1 shuddha kalyAN 65 mOhanakalyANi

6 sindhubhairavi 10 sindhubhairavi

9 sOhini 53 hamsAnandi

3 sOraT 28 suraTi

3 suhAkAnaDA 28 puSpalatikA

3 sUryakauns 23 kamalA

4 takkA 15 takkA

3 tilak kAmOd 27 nalinakAnti

3 tilang 30 tilang

7 tODi 45 shubhapantuvarALi

9 varaTi 52 paTalAmbari

9 vibhAvari 14 lasaki

1 yamankalyAN 65 yamunAkalyANi

Next: Close raagas

Darbaar or Naayaki?

Previous: Equivalent Raagas in Hindustani Next: Raga and Rasa

darbaar and naayaki are two of the many close raagas which have the same swarastaanas (notes) but which differ subtly from one another. Citraveena Ravikiran tells the story of a musician who was singing darbaar, but with many traces of naayaki in it. When another prominent musician complained, he quipped, "What kind of darbaar (court) would it be without naayaki (a heroine)!"

So keeping such raagas straight is not an easy task even for seasoned musicians. There are many such raagas, with the same notes but which differ slightly. Other raagas have very different swaras but strongly have the chaaya (see glossary, C) of another raaga. These can be hard to separate whether you are performing or just listening to music. We will attempt to separate a few commonly confused raagas here.

Some often confused raagas:

darbaar and naayaki

bhairavi and maanji

aarabi and shyaamaa

sudda dhanyaasi and udhaya ravi candrikaa

shree and madyamaavati

valaci and malayamaarutam

Soon, we will discuss these raagas in more detail. You will notice that some of the pairs noted above have the same swarastaanas, and others even have the same aarOhana and avarOhana. Subtleties of gamaka and stress separate these raagas.

Darbaar is separated from naayaki by the phrase g, g, r s with emphasis on the two ga's. In naayaki, one should have only m g r s or g r s. This makes a very subtle but important distinction that separates the two raagas.

Bhairavi and maanji are different subtly as well, both having the same swaras. You will find, however, that only maanji contains P M P M P, or P G R S. These can be difficult to separate but these subtle sancaarams will make the difference. Similarly, in husEni, the phrase P N2 D2 N2 is characteristic.

Aarabi and shyaamaa are also very close raagas. Aarabi often uses a nishaadam (N3) in avarOhana phrases such as S N D P, which is never used in shyaamaa. But some compositions in aarabi are nishaadam varja (no ni is performed), and in these, subtle phrases like S R G S will tell you it's shyaamaa, because aarabi does not have G in the aarOhanam. Other phrases like M D D S and D P D S are also usually restricted to shyaamaa.

Udhaya ravi candrikaa and sudda dhanyaasi are not always distinguished as raagas, and indeed are considered by some to be the same raaga. However, strictly speaking, sudda dhanyaasi's aarOhana uses S G M P N P S while the other uses S G M P N S.

Shree and madyamaavati often sound very similar. However, shree raga contains a saadhaarana G, which when it appears is distinct. It also contains da in the phrase S N P D N P M. Madyamaavati is simply S R M P N S, S N P M R S. Also, the R oscillates in madyamaavati and is usually stationary in shree.

Valaci and malayamaarutam are often confused. They have the same scales, but they are easily distinguished because valaci does not contain ri. Malayamaarutam includes sudda rishabam (R1) in both the aarOhaNam and avarOhanam.

These brief notes will help you distinguish some of the easily confused raagas, but the best training, of course, is to just listen to compositions in these raagas so you get a feel for them. It takes time but it's not that hard!

How does a raga make you feel?

Previous: Close ragas Next: Time of Day Now you know something about how to identify and distinguish ragas. But there is another, subtle, aspect of ragas: how they evoke emotion. This is called the "rasa" or "rasam" - literally the "essence" of the raga.

There are a number of rasas corresponding to various ragas. Below is a table of ragas that are associated with different rasas. Keep in mind that a single raga can evoke diverse feelings.

Rasa Meaning Ragas

adbhuta/arpuda wonder, astonishment behaag saaranga

bhayanaka fear punaaagavaraaLi

bibhatsa disgust aThaaNaa

hasya joy/laughter hamsadwani kEdaaram mOhanam

karuNaa sorrow, anguish

ghanTa kaanaDaa naadanaamakriyaa sahaanaa varaaLi

rowdra anger aThaaNaa aarabi

shaanta calm, peace shyaamaa vasantaa

shringaara love

asaavEri bhairavi husEni kaanaDaa kalyaaNi kamaas sahaanaa shuruTTi

veera courage

aThaaNaa bilahari bEgaDa dEvagaandhaari hamsadwani

Aside from these rasas, there is "bhakthi rasa," the feeling of devotion. Many ragas invoke this, most notably the ragas used in the Vedas and slokas, like kharaharapriyaa and rEvati.

Some types of songs also go with certain ragas. Lullabies typically use ragas like neelaambari or navrOj, among others. Mangalams and finishing songs use madyamaavati.

Finally, different composers may use various ragas to evoke emotions other than what is assigned to that raga. So, you may find a laali in madyamaavati, a sad song in hamsadwani. The composers define the music, so the raga itself may be adapted to the feeling that seems to suit the song!

Next: Time of Day

At what time of day should you perform a raga?

Previous: Raga Rasas Next: Introduction to Taala After finding out how a raaga can make you feel, you are not ready to perform it yet. Each raaga actually has an appropriate time to be performed!

Here is a brief compilation of the times and some raagas corresponding to them. You can find more about each time in the glossary.

Time of day Time Ragas

Early Morning before sunrise 4-6am

ghanakaala raagas bhoopaaLam bowLi

Morning after sunrise 6-9am

bilahari dhanyaasi kEdaaram

Forenoon before noon 9am-noon

asaavEri dEva manOhari saavEri

Midday noon-1pm madyamaavati maNirangu shree

Afternoon 1-4pm bEgaDa mukhaari

Evening end of day 4-7pm

ghanakaala raagas aananda bhairavi naaTTai kurinji poorvi kalyaaNi shanmugapriyaa vasantaa

Night 7-10pm kEdaara gowLa neelaambari

Sarvakaalika any time of day

bhairavi kaambhOji kalyaaNi shankaraabharaNam

The last set, the sarvakaalika raagas, are common raagas and can be performed at any time.

You'll find that compositions are also composed - many lullabies are sung at night and are therefore composed in neelaambari. Other songs are morning songs and composed in bhoopaaLam.

Performers always conclude a concert with madyamaavati. Though it is intended to be a midday raaga, it is said to appease the gods and nullify any inconsistencies in singing raagas at the wrong time.

Next: Introduction to Taala

Here is a table of the major taaLas used in Carnatic music.

Previous: Introduction to TaaLa Next: Gamakas

First we list the 16 angas (sOdashangams) and then follows the table of the 35 taalas. Please see the previous page or the glossary for a description of the terms and system of taalas.

anga name symbol aksharakaalas movement

anudrutam U 1 beat with palm

drutam 0 2 beat with palm + turn (wave)

druta viramam U 0

3 (1 + 2) anudrutam + drutam

laghu |(#) 4 (or 3,5,7,9) beat + finger counts

laghu viramam U |

5 (1+4) anudrutam + laghu

laghu drutam 0| 6 (4+2) laghu + drutam

laghudruta viramam U 0|

7 (1+2+4) anudrutam + drutam + laghu

guru 8 8 wave to left and right or circle with thumb-up

guru viramam U 8

8 (1+8) anudrutam + guru

guru drutam 08 10 (8+2) guru + drutam

gurudruta viramam U 08

11 (1+2+8) anudrutam + drutam + guru

plutam |8 12 (8+4) beat + wave to sides

pluta viramam U |8

13 (1+12) anudrutam + plutam

pluta drutam 0|8 14 (12+2) plutam + drutam

pluta druta viramam U 0|8

15 (1+2+12) anudrutam + drutam + plutam

kaakapaadam + 16 beat plus wave up and to sides

The table of the 35 taaLas is listed below. The total numbers in the laghu are given in parenthesis, ex. catushra jaati = |(4). TaaLas are named first by their jaati then by the taaLa type of the 7, as in tishra jaati Eka taaLam.

taala group jaati angas aksharakaalas

1. dhruva tisra |(3) 0 |(3) |(3) 11

2. catushra |(4) 0 |(4) |(4) 14

3. khaNDa |(5) 0 |(5) |(5) 17

4. mishra |(7) 0 |(7) |(7) 23

5. sankeerna |(9) 0 |(9) |(9) 29

6. matya tisra |(3) 0 |(3) 8

7. catushra |(4) 0 |(4) 10

8. khaNDa |(5) 0 |(5) 12

9. mishra |(7) 0 |(7) 16

10. sankeerna |(9) 0 |(9) 20

11. roopaka tishra 0 |(3) 5

12. catushra 0 |(4) 6

13. khaNDa 0 |(5) 7

14. mishra 0 |(7) 9

15. sankeerna 0 |(9) 11

16. jhampa tishra |(3) U 0 6

17. catushra |(4) U 0 7

18. khaNDa |(5) U 0 8

19. mishra |(7) U 0 10

20. sankeerna |(9) U 0 12

21. tripuTa tishra |(3) 0 0 7

22. catushra (aadi) |(4) 0 0 8

23. khaNDa |(5) 0 0 9

24. mishra |(7) 0 0 11

25. sankeerna |(9) 0 0 13

26. aTa tishra |(3) |(3) 0 0 10

27. catushra |(4) |(4) 0 0 12