The Melakartha system is the backbone of Carnatic music — a complete, mathematically elegant framework of 72 parent ragas (scales). Every raga in Carnatic music is either one of these 72 or derives from one.
Every Melakartha raga uses all 7 swaras — Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni. Sa and Pa are always fixed. Ma has 2 variants (M1, M2). The remaining swaras (Ri, Ga, Da, Ni) each have 3 variants — giving us 2 × 6 × 6 = 72 unique combinations.
The 72 ragas are organized into 12 chakras (cycles) of 6 ragas each. Within a chakra, Ri and Ga stay the same while Da and Ni cycle through their 6 possible combinations. Chakras 1–6 use M1 (Shuddha Madhyamam) and Chakras 7–12 use M2 (Prati Madhyamam).
72
Parent Ragas
12
Chakras
16
Swara Positions
Madhyamam
Filter by Swara Variant
Ri
Ga
Da
Ni
Chakras 1–6 · Ragas 1–36 · Ma = F (Natural)
Kanakangi
The first Melakartha raga. A rare and austere scale with the flattest possible swaras.
Ratnangi
Ganamurti
Vanaspati
Manavati
Tanarupi
Chakras 7–12 · Ragas 37–72 · Ma = F♯/G♭ (Sharp)
Shadjam
Shuddha Rishabham
Chatushruti Rishabham
Shatshruti Rishabham
Shuddha Gandharam
Sadharana Gandharam
Antara Gandharam
Shuddha Madhyamam
Prati Madhyamam
Panchamam
Shuddha Dhaivatam
Chatushruti Dhaivatam
Shatshruti Dhaivatam
Shuddha Nishadam
Kaisiki Nishadam
Kakali Nishadam
Dive deeper into individual ragas, listen to compositions, and explore the Melakartha chart.
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