Carnatic Music Theory for Beginners: Melakarta and Shankarabharanam

The 72 melakarta ragas come from fixing Sa and Pa, choosing one of two Ma notes and one of six Ri-Ga and six Dha-Ni pairs (6 × 6 × 2 = 72); raga 29, Shankarabharanam, uses the same notes as the Western major scale.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Beginner · 22 min

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This lesson is the third part of a beginner series on Carnatic music theory, presented by NSM alumnus Raghavan Subramanian. It explains how the melakarta system works, why there are exactly 72 parent ragas, how they are numbered, and how several important ragas line up with scales and modes you may already know from Western music. Everything is shown on the keyboard with C as Sa.

A Periodic Table of Ragas

The melakarta classification is often compared to the periodic table. The ragas already known at the time were placed in their slots, and the empty slots pointed to scales that should exist but had not yet been used. Only a small number of the 72, around 19 by the presenter's recollection, were in common use before the system was drawn up. The rest were created to fill the table. Some became popular through compositions; others remain obscure, either because they are less pleasing to the ear or because few pieces have been written in them.

Why There Are Only 72

Every melakarta raga uses all seven swaras in a straight ascending and descending order. With C as Sa:

• Sa and Pa are fixed: C and G never change.
• Ma has two options: F (the lower Ma) or F# (the higher Ma). This alone doubles the number of ragas.
• Ri and Ga: pick any two of C#, D, D# and E. The lower note is Ri and the higher is Ga. That gives six combinations: C#-D, C#-D#, C#-E, D-D#, D-E and D#-E.
• Dha and Ni work the same way using G#, A, A# (Bb) and B: G#-A, G#-A#, G#-B, A-A#, A-B and A#-B.

So the total is 6 Ri-Ga choices × 6 Dha-Ni choices × 2 Ma choices = 72 ragas.

How the Numbering Works

1. Start with the first Ri-Ga pair (C#, D) and the lower Ma (F). Run through the six Dha-Ni pairs: these are ragas 1 to 6.
2. Move to the second Ri-Ga pair (C#, D#) and run through the six Dha-Ni pairs again: ragas 7 to 12.
3. Continue until all six Ri-Ga pairs are used with the lower Ma, which gives ragas 1 to 36.
4. Repeat everything with the higher Ma (F#) for ragas 37 to 72.

Raga 1, Kanakangi, pushes every note as low as possible: C C# D F G G# A. With so many semitone gaps, it sounds cramped and is rarely used. Raga 72, Rasikapriya, pushes everything as high as possible: C D# E F# G A# B.

Finding Shankarabharanam (29)

Take away four groups of six from 29 (24) and you are on the fifth Ri-Ga pair, D and E. The remainder, 5, points to the fifth Dha-Ni pair, A and B. With the lower Ma, that gives C D E F G A B: exactly the major scale.

The Plus-36 Rule

Two ragas that are 36 apart differ only in Ma. Add 36 to 29 and you get 65, Kalyani (Mechakalyani): C D E F# G A B, which matches the Western Lydian mode.

Ragas and Western Scales

• Kharaharapriya (22) = Dorian mode: C D Eb F G A Bb. A hugely important raga with many compositions.
• Harikambhoji (28) = Mixolydian mode: the major scale with a flattened seventh, C D E F G A Bb. It sits just before Shankarabharanam because only Ni differs.
• Natabhairavi (20) = natural minor (Aeolian): C D Eb F G Ab Bb. Its plus-36 partner is 56, Shanmukhapriya, with F#.
• Keeravani (21) = harmonic minor: like the natural minor but with B instead of Bb.
• Gourimanohari (23) = melodic minor: the major scale with Eb. Its partner 59, Dharmavati, is often used to express longing.

Janya (Child) Ragas

Janya ragas break the strict melakarta rules: notes can be omitted, the order can zigzag, and notes from outside the parent can be borrowed. Upanga ragas use only the parent's notes; bhashanga ragas, such as Bhairavi and Kambhoji, also touch a foreign note. Even these excursions are disciplined: a performer establishes the raga's boundaries and then explores freely within them.

How to Practise

Play each scale above from C on the keyboard and listen to its character. Then test yourself: pick a melakarta number, work out its Ri-Ga and Dha-Ni pairs and its Ma, and play it.

Questions about this lesson

Why are there exactly 72 melakarta ragas?

Sa and Pa are fixed, Ma can be one of two notes, and Ri-Ga and Dha-Ni can each be chosen in six ways from four available notes. Multiplying 6 × 6 × 2 gives 72.

Why is Shankarabharanam number 29?

After four groups of six (24), raga 29 falls in the fifth Ri-Ga pair (D, E) and the fifth Dha-Ni pair (A, B), with the lower Ma. That gives C D E F G A B, the major scale.

Which raga is the same as the Lydian mode?

Kalyani, melakarta 65. It is Shankarabharanam (29) plus 36, so the only change is F becoming F#.

What is the difference between a melakarta and a janya raga?

A melakarta uses all seven swaras in straight order, while a janya raga is derived from it and may omit notes, move in a zigzag or borrow notes. Janya ragas that borrow outside notes are called bhashanga; those that do not are upanga.

Practise it

• Melakarta SphereNavigate a three-dimensional map of the melakarta system.
• Solfa StudioPractise scales, solfège and swaras with visual and musical context.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• Carnatic Music Theory for Beginners: Scales and Western SimilaritiesIn Carnatic music, the C major scale (C D E F G A B C) corresponds most closely to the raga Shankarabharanam, melakarta number 29, because it contains Sa (C), Ri (D), Ga (E), Shuddha Madhyamam (F), Pa (G), Da (A) and Ni (B).
• Scale vs Key vs Mode vs Raga: Finally ExplainedA key is the root note everything is heard against, a scale is the set of intervals chosen from that root, a key signature is how a major or relative minor scale is written in notation, a mode is the same set of notes heard with a new leader (relative) or borrowed on the same root (parallel), and a raga adds rules such as different ascending and descending notes and glides.
• Carnatic Ragas Meet Western Chords: Harmonizing Melakarta Ragas on PianoTo harmonize a Melakarta raga on piano, write out its seven notes (Sa and Pa fixed, plus one choice each of Re, Ga, Ma, Dha and Ni), then stack thirds on every note of the raga to get its triads and seventh chords, including unusual ones such as augmented and flat-five chords.
• Truly Understand Modes From 2 Easy PerspectivesYou can understand modes in two ways: treat each mode as its own scale built from one root by changing intervals, or keep one key signature, such as F major with Bb, and start on each scale degree to get Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian.