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Melakarta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Makarta is a collection of fundamental ragas (musical scales) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical
music). Makarta ragas are parent ragas (hence known as janaka ragas) from which other ragas may be
generated. A melakarta raga is sometimes referred as mela, karta or sampurna as well, though the latter
term is inaccurate, as a sampurna raga need not be a melakarta (take the raga Bhairavi, for example).

In Hindustani music the thaat is equivalent of Melakarta. There are 10 thaats in Hindustani music, though
the commonly accepted melakarta scheme has 72 ragas.

Contents
1 Rules for Makarta
2 History
3 Determining the Makarta
4 Makarta scale
5 Chakras
6 Table of Melakarta ragas
7 Alternate Makarta scheme
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Rules for Makarta

Ragas must contain the following characteristics to be considered Melakarta.

They are sampurna ragas they contain all seven swaras (notes) of the octave in both ascending and
descending scale[1][2]
They are krama sampurna ragas that is the sequence is strictly ascending and descending in the
scales, without any jumps or zig-zag notes[2]
The upper shadjam is included in the raga scale[2] (ragas like Punnagavarali and Chenchurutti are not
makarta as they end with nishadam)
The ascending and descending scales must have the same notes[2]

History
The ma system of ragas was first propounded by Raamamaatya in his work Svaramelakalanidhi c. 1550.
He is considered the father of mela system of ragas. Later, Venkatamakhin, a gifted musicologist in the 17th
century, expounded a new mela system known today as makarta in his work Chaturdandi Prakaasikaa.[3]

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He made some bold and controversial claims and defined somewhat arbitrarily 6 svaras from the known 12
semitones, at that time, to arrive at 72 makarta ragas. The controversial parts relate to double counting of
R2 (and similar svaras) and his exclusive selection of madyamas for which there is no specific reasoning
(also known as asampurna melas as opposed to sampurna ragas). However, today the 72 makarta ragas
use a standardized pattern, unlike Venkatamakhi's pattern, and have gained a significant following.
Govindhacharya is credited with the standardization of rules and known for giving different names for
standard ragas that have a different structure but the same swaras as those proposed by Venkatamakhi.[3]
The scales in this page are those proposed by Govindaacharya.

Determining the Makarta

A hundred years after Venkatamakhin's time the Katapayadi sankhya rule came to be applied to the
nomenclature of the makarta ragas. The sankhya associates Sanskrit consonants with digits. The digits
corresponding to the first two syllables of the name of a raga, when reversed, give the index of the raga.
Thus the scale of a makarta raga can be easily derived from its name.

For example, Harikambhoji raga starts with syllables Ha and ri, which have numbers 8 and 2 associated
with them. Reversing them we get 28. Hence Harikambhoji is the 28th Makarta rga. See Katapayadi
sankhya for more details and examples.

Makarta scale
Each makarta raga has a different scale. This scheme envisages the lower Sa (Keezh Shadja), upper Sa
(Mael Shadja) and Pa (Panchama) as fixed swaras, with the Ma (Madhyama) having two variants and the
remaining swaras Ri (Rishabha), Ga (Gandhaara), Dha (Dhaivata) and Ni (Nishaada) as having three
variants each. This leads to 72 seven-note combinations (scales) referred to as the Makarta ragas as
follows.

There are twelve semitones of the octave S, R1, R2=G1, R3=G2, G3, M1, M2, P, D1, D2=N1, D3=N2, N3
(see swaras in Carnatic music for explanation of these notations). A melakarta raga must necessarily have S
and P, one of the M's, one each of the R's and G's, and one each of the D's and N's. Also, R must necessarily
precede G and D must precede N (krama sampra rga). This gives 2 6 6 = 72 ragas. Finding
makarta ragas is a mathematical process. By following a simple set of rules we can find the corresponding
raga and the scale associated with it.

A raga which has a subset of svars from a Makarta raga is said to be a janya (means born or derived
from) of that Makarta raga. Every raga is the janya of a makarta raga. Janya ragas whose notes are
found in more than one makarta raga are assigned (or associated) parent Melakarta based on subjective
notions of similarity. This is obvious for ragas that have less than seven notes. For such ragas it can be
associated with a Makarta which has any of the different swaras in that position. For example, Hindolam
has Rishabha and Panchama missing. Hence, it could be considered a janya of Todi (also known as
Hanumatodi) which has shuddha rishabha or with Natabhairavi which has a chathushruti rishabha. It is
popularly associated with Natabhairavi.

Chakras

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The 72 Makarta ragas are split into 12 groups called chakrs,

each containing 6 ragas. The ragas within the chakra differ only
in the dhaivatam and nishadam notes (D and N), as illustrated
below. The name of each of the 12 chakras suggest their ordinal
number as well.[1][4]

Indu stands for the moon, of which we have only one

hence it is the first chakra.
Ntra means eyes, of which we have two hence it is the
second.
Agni is the third chakra it indicates three kinds of
Agni.(Dakshina,Ahavaniyam and Karshi Patyam)So agni
Melakarta chart as per Katapaydi system
indicates 3rd Chakra.
Vda denoting four Vedas is the name of the fourth
chakra.
Ba comes fifth as it stands for the five Arrows of Manmatha.
Rutu is the sixth chakra standing for the 6 seasons of Hindu calendar, which are Vasanta, Greeshma,
Varsha. Sharat, Hemanta and Shishira.
Rishi, meaning sage, is the seventh chakra representing the seven sages.
Vasu stands for the eight vasus of Hinduism.
Brahma comes next of which there are 9.
Disi Chakra indicates Ten directions(East,West,North,South,North East,North West,South East,South
West,Sky and Earth). Hence it is 10th Chakra.
Eleventh chakra is Rudra of which there are eleven.
Twelfth comes Aditya of which there are twelve.

These 12 chakras were also established by Venkatamakhi.

Table of Melakarta ragas

The 72 Makarta ragas can be divided into two parts. viz.,. suddha Madhyama and prati Madhyama
ragas. When a given suddha madhyama raga's M1 is replaced by M2, we get the corresponding prati
madhyama raga. See Katapayadi sankhya for more information on how to derive the various swaras of a
raga from its melakarta number.

See swaras in Carnatic music for explanation of the notations like R1, G2, N2, etc.

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'Makart Rgas'
'Shuddha Madhyama' 'Prati Madhyama'
No. Raga Scale No. Raga Scale
1.Indu Chakra 7. Rishi Chakra
S R1 G1 M1 P D1 S R1 G1 M2 P D1
1 Kanakangi 37 Salagam
N1 S' N1 S'
S R1 G1 M1 P D1 S R1 G1 M2 P D1
2 Ratnangi 38 Jalarnavam
N2 S' N2 S'
S R1 G1 M1 P D1 S R1 G1 M2 P D1
3 Ganamurti 39 Jhalavarali
N3 S' N3 S'
S R1 G1 M1 P D2 S R1 G1 M2 P D2
4 Vanaspati 40 Navaneetam
N2 S' N2 S'
S R1 G1 M1 P D2 S R1 G1 M2 P D2
5 Manavati 41 Pavani
N3 S' N3 S'
S R1 G1 M1 P D3 S R1 G1 M2 P D3
6 Tanarupi 42 Raghupriya
N3 S' N3 S'
2. Netra Chakra 8. Vasu Chakra
S R1 G2 M1 P D1 S R1 G2 M2 P D1
7 Senavati 43 Gavambhodi
N1 S' N1 S'
S R1 G2 M1 P D1 S R1 G2 M2 P D1
8 Hanumatodi 44 Bhavapriya
N2 S' N2 S'
S R1 G2 M1 P D1 S R1 G2 M2 P D1
9 Dhenuka 45 Shubhapantuvarali
N3 S' N3 S'
S R1 G2 M1 P D2 S R1 G2 M2 P D2
10 Natakapriya 46 Shadvidamargini
N2 S' N2 S'
S R1 G2 M1 P D2 S R1 G2 M2 P D2
11 Kokilapriya 47 Suvarnangi
N3 S' N3 S'
S R1 G2 M1 P D3 S R1 G2 M2 P D3
12 Rupavati 48 Divyamani
N3 S' N3 S'
3. Agni Chakra 9. Brahma Chakra
S R1 G3 M1 P D1 S R1 G3 M2 P D1
13 Gayakapriya 49 Dhavalambari
N1 S' N1 S'
S R1 G3 M1 P D1 S R1 G3 M2 P D1
14 Vakulabharanam 50 Namanarayani
N2 S' N2 S'

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S R1 G3 M1 P D1 S R1 G3 M2 P D1
15 Mayamalavagowla 51 Kamavardani
N3 S' N3 S'
S R1 G3 M1 P D2 S R1 G3 M2 P D2
16 Chakravakam 52 Ramapriya
N2 S' N2 S'
S R1 G3 M1 P D2 S R1 G3 M2 P D2
17 Suryakantam 53 Gamanashrama
N3 S' N3 S'
S R1 G3 M1 P D3 S R1 G3 M2 P D3
18 Hatakambari 54 Vishwambari
N3 S' N3 S'
4. Veda Chakra 10. Disi Chakra
S R2 G2 M1 P D1 S R2 G2 M2 P D1
19 Jhankaradhwani 55 Shamalangi
N1 S' N1 S'
S R2 G2 M1 P D1 S R2 G2 M2 P D1
20 Natabhairavi 56 Shanmukhapriya
N2 S' N2 S'
S R2 G2 M1 P D1 S R2 G2 M2 P D1
21 Keeravani 57 Simhendramadhyamam
N3 S' N3 S'
S R2 G2 M1 P D2 S R2 G2 M2 P D2
22 Kharaharapriya 58 Hemavati
N2 S' N2 S'
S R2 G2 M1 P D2 S R2 G2 M2 P D2
23 Gourimanohari 59 Dharmavati
N3 S' N3 S'
S R2 G2 M1 P D3 S R2 G2 M2 P D3
24 Varunapriya 60 Neetimati
N3 S' N3 S'
5. Bana Chakra 11. Rudra Chakra
S R2 G3 M1 P D1 S R2 G3 M2 P D1
25 Mararanjani 61 Kantamani
N1 S' N1 S'
S R2 G3 M1 P D1 S R2 G3 M2 P D1
26 Charukesi 62 Rishabhapriya
N2 S' N2 S'
S R2 G3 M1 P D1 S R2 G3 M2 P D1
27 Sarasangi 63 Latangi
N3 S' N3 S'
S R2 G3 M1 P D2 S R2 G3 M2 P D2
28 Harikambhoji 64 Vachaspati
N2 S' N2 S'
S R2 G3 M1 P D2 S R2 G3 M2 P D2
29 Dheerasankarabaranam 65 Mechakalyani
N3 S' N3 S'
S R2 G3 M1 P D3 S R2 G3 M2 P D3
30 Naganandini 66 Chitrambari
N3 S' N3 S'
6. Rutu Chakra 12. Aditya Chakra

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S R3 G3 M1 P D1 S R3 G3 M2 P D1
31 Yagapriya 67 Sucharitra
N1 S' N1 S'
S R3 G3 M1 P D1 S R3 G3 M2 P D1
32 Ragavardhini 68 Jyoti swarupini
N2 S' N2 S'
S R3 G3 M1 P D1 S R3 G3 M2 P D1
33 Gangeyabhushani 69 Dhatuvardani
N3 S' N3 S'
S R3 G3 M1 P D2 S R3 G3 M2 P D2
34 Vagadheeswari 70 Nasikabhushani
N2 S' N2 S'
S R3 G3 M1 P D2 S R3 G3 M2 P D2
35 Shulini 71 Kosalam
N3 S' N3 S'
S R3 G3 M1 P D3 S R3 G3 M2 P D3
36 Chalanata 72 Rasikapriya
N3 S' N3 S'

Therefore, each chakra has a different meaning/

To checkout a song in each of the melakarta type bit.ly/<raganame>.

Alternate Makarta scheme

Muthuswami Dikshitar school followed a different set of scales as the 72 Makarta ragas.[3] These were
taught by Venkatamakhin.[3] Many of the scales were asampurna (not sampurna ragas) because Dikshitar
chose to change the structure to mitigate ill-effects of usage of direct vivadi swaras in the scales.[3]

See also
Janya raga
Wikimedia Commons has
List of Janya Ragas media related to Carnatic
Illustration of the notes in Melakarta ragas in a Keyboard ragams (svg).
layout at Wikimedia commons
Katapayadi system Wikimedia Commons has
List of Film Songs based on Ragas media related to Melakarta
ragams (svg).
References
1. Ragas in Carnatic music by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications
2. A practical course in Carnatic music by Prof. P. Sambamurthy, 15th edition published 1998, The Indian Music
publishing house
3. Shree Muthuswami Dikshitar Keertanaigal, by A Sundaram Iyer, Madras Book Publications, Mylapore, Chennai
Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "dikshitar" defined multiple times with different content (see the help
page).
4. South Indian Music Book III, by Prof. P Sambamoorthy, Published 1973, The Indian Music Publishing House

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External links
The katapayadi sankhya applied to the melakarta ragas (http://members.tripod.com/~RKSanka/music
/katapaya.html)
Explanation of the two melakarta systems (http://webspace.webring.com/people/dv/vasudevanvrv
/carnatic/mela.htm)
Explanation of the melakarta and demonstration of ragas with piano keys
(http://hkhandrika.blinkk.com/music/)
Melakarta Raga Chart (http://www.carnaticcorner.com/articles/mukund_chart.htm)
Explanation of the 72 Melakartas composed by Shuddhananda Bharati (http://www.christianpiaget.ch
/photos/Pdf/Anglais/72_Melagartams.pdf)

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Categories: Melakarta Ragas Carnatic Ragas Carnatic music terminology

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