Raga Explorer

A free browser reference to 157 Carnatic ragas — 72 melakartas and 85 janyas — for students, teachers, and anyone trying to place a scale. No sign-up, nothing to install. Search by name, mela number, chakra, swara set, or western notes. Every swara is labelled three ways at once: its melakarta name, the class shorthand a teacher actually says, and its western pitch. Hear arohana and avarohana with sampled instruments over a tanpura drone, see each raga’s parent and family, and learn the melakarta system as six derivations rather than 72 facts.

How to use Raga Explorer

1. Search by whatever you know — a name however you spell it, “#29”, a chakra, “janyas of 22”, or a set of notes like “S R2 G3 P D2”.
2. Read each swara three ways at once: its melakarta name, the class shorthand, and its western pitch.
3. Press “Hear it” to play the arohana and avarohana, or tap a single swara on its own.
4. Follow the constellation and family cards to a raga’s parent, siblings, and near neighbours.
5. Open Patterns to learn the system: the two ladders of six, the 6×6 grid, and the number hidden in every name.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 72 Melakarta ragas?

They are the parent scales of Carnatic music. Each is built from two ordered choices — one of six Ri–Ga pairs and one of six Dha–Ni pairs — which gives 36, doubled to 72 by the choice of Madhyama. Every other raga, called a janya, is derived from one of them.

Why does each swara show two different names?

Because two naming systems are in daily use. The formal system has 16 swara names; many teachers work in a reduced set where Ga and Ni are numbered from their lowest usable position, so the teacher’s “ga2” is the chart’s G3. Both are shown on every swara so neither has to be translated in your head.

What is katapayadi?

A scheme that hides a melakarta’s number inside its own name: the first two consonants carry digits which, read right to left, give the number. All 72 decode — Patterns shows the working for whichever raga you are on.

What is a bhashanga raga?

One that uses a swara from outside its parent scale. The tool computes those borrowed notes from the parent rather than storing them, and draws them with a dashed gold border.