It is because of these sequences that smaller divisions, known as Janya or Child Ragas are adapted and sung - which is why they are termed as Parent Ragas. Now you may ask why are these ragas termed as Parent Ragas? It’s because, these ragas include all the seven musical notes or the swaras (‘Sa’- ‘Ri’ - ‘Ga’ - ‘Ma’ - ‘Pa’ - ‘Da’ - ‘Ni’) in a systematic, ascending (aroh) or descending (avaroh) sequential order. While all Melakarta Ragas fall under Sampoorna Ragas - it’s not the same case, the other way round. It is from this set of ragas that various note combinations are formed. Melakarta RagasĪlso known as Parent Ragas in Carnatic music, Melakarta ragas are the main point of the musical notes or swaras in Carnatic music. This particular musical framework has all the seven musical notes (swaras) present and is the basis of the classification of ragas.īut these ragas are only classified on the number of notes they have - they should be 7 to fall into the category.Ī classic example of a Sampurna Raga is the Raga Bhairavi - which has all seven musical notes but has different singing patterns. The word ‘Sampurna’ stands for complete and that is exactly what Sampurna Ragas denote. Ragas are classified in different ways in Carnatic music: When the notes are arranged likewise in a descending fashion, they are in an avaroh pattern. These ragas when either arranged in ascending order of their notes/swaras are in an aroh pattern. Well, Ragas are musical frameworks of keynotes - a set of notes or swaras put together in a singing pattern - denote them. Ragas can be very complicated for learners initially and so we bring you a simple breakdown of the different ragas in Carnatic music.īut before we proceed, let’s break down what does a Raga exactly means? What does it stand for? It is also the genre of music in India that introduced legendary Carnatic veterans like GN Balasubramanium, Alathur Brothers, and Vasundhara Devi.Ī very important aspect of Carnatic music is Ragas - they are the integral pillars to the music, the rhythm as well as the words in a song.īut as a layman - when you surf the internet to know what exactly ragas are, how much do you grasp immediately ?ĭo you wonder how many types of ragas are out there? How many can be picked up by beginners? Carnatic Music, also known as the classical music of South India - is a very renowned and popular genre of music.