Why are there exactly 72 melakarta ragas?

Because of a multiplication, not a tradition. Sa and Pa are fixed. Ma has 2 positions. Ri and Ga together have 6 valid combinations, and Dha and Ni together have the same 6. 2 × 6 × 6 = 72.

What is a chakra in the melakarta system?

A chakra is a group of six consecutive melakartas that share the same Ri and Ga, differing only in Dha and Ni. There are twelve chakras of six ragas each, named Indu, Netra, Agni, Veda, Bana, Rutu, Rishi, Vasu, Brahma, Disi, Rudra and Aditya.

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

A melakarta is a parent scale using all seven swaras in strict ascending and descending order. A janya is derived from a parent — it may skip notes, zigzag, or use different notes going up and coming down. Most ragas performed on stage are janyas.

Which melakarta do beginners learn first?

Mayamalavagowla, number 15. Its symmetrical pattern of flat Ri and Dha against sharp Ga and Ni makes the intervals easy to hear and easy to sing.

Are all 72 melakartas actually performed?

No. Perhaps twenty are heard regularly in concert, and a handful — Chitrambari, Kosalam — exist mainly as chart entries. The scheme is a complete map, not a repertoire.

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Notes · melakarta

The 72 melakarta ragas, in one table

Not 72 facts to memorise. Six choices, made twice, in a fixed order.

Published3 September 2026

Updated3 September 2026

Reading9 min

ByPramod Maringanti

The short answer

The 72 melakarta ragas are the complete set of seven-note Carnatic scales that contain Sa, Pa, one Ma, one Ri, one Ga, one Dha and one Ni in ascending order. They are generated, not collected: 2 choices of Ma × 6 valid Ri–Ga pairs × 6 valid Dha–Ni pairs = 72. The full table is below.

Why exactly 72

The melakarta scheme is not a list someone compiled. It is the complete output of a counting argument, which is why the number is exactly 72 and not 70 or 80.

A melakarta is a sampurna raga: it uses all seven swaras, once each, in strict ascending order going up and strict descending order coming down. Two of those seven never move. Sa is the tonic by definition, and Pa is fixed a perfect fifth above it. That leaves five positions to fill.

Ma has two options — M1 (shuddha madhyama) and M2 (prati madhyama). The remaining four swaras pair up: Ri with Ga, and Dha with Ni. Each pair has six valid combinations rather than nine, because of an overlap the system takes seriously.

So the count is 2 × 6 × 6 = 72. Every one of those 72 exists in the scheme, each has a number, and the numbers run in a fixed order that lets you reconstruct any scale from its position alone.

The six pairs, twice

These two tables are the whole system. The first fixes which Ri and Ga you get; the second does the same for Dha and Ni. Everything else is bookkeeping.

Group	Ri	Ga	Semitones above Sa
1	R1	G1	1 · 2
2	R1	G2	1 · 3
3	R1	G3	1 · 4
4	R2	G2	2 · 3
5	R2	G3	2 · 4
6	R3	G3	3 · 4

The Ri–Ga pairs, in the order the melakarta numbering uses. The pair changes every six ragas.

Position	Dha	Ni	Semitones above Sa
1	D1	N1	8 · 9
2	D1	N2	8 · 10
3	D1	N3	8 · 11
4	D2	N2	9 · 10
5	D2	N3	9 · 11
6	D3	N3	10 · 11

The Dha–Ni pairs, identical in structure. Within any group of six melakartas, this is the only thing that changes.

Read those two tables together and you can build any melakarta without consulting a list. Mela 15 is the third Ri–Ga group (R1 G3) at the third Dha–Ni position (D1 N3) with M1, which gives S R1 G3 M1 P D1 N3 — Mayamalavagowla.

The twelve chakras

A chakra is a block of six consecutive melakartas sharing one Ri–Ga pair. The first six chakras use M1; the last six repeat the same Ri–Ga sequence with M2. That is why mela n and mela n + 36 differ only in their madhyama.

#	Chakra	Meaning	Melas	Madhyama
1	Indu	Moon	1–6	M1
2	Netra	Eyes	7–12	M1
3	Agni	Fire	13–18	M1
4	Veda	Vedas	19–24	M1
5	Bana	Arrows	25–30	M1
6	Rutu	Seasons	31–36	M1
7	Rishi	Sages	37–42	M2
8	Vasu	Elements	43–48	M2
9	Brahma	Brahma	49–54	M2
10	Disi	Directions	55–60	M2
11	Rudra	Rudra	61–66	M2
12	Aditya	Sun	67–72	M2

Each chakra is named for something that comes in its own number — two eyes, three fires, four Vedas, five arrows, six seasons.

Reading the number out of the name

Every melakarta name encodes its own number, through a letter-to-number scheme called katapayadi. Take the first consonant of each of the first two syllables, convert each to a digit, then reverse the pair.

Series	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
ka	ka	kha	ga	gha	nga	cha	chha	ja	jha	nya
ṭa	ṭa	ṭha	ḍa	ḍha	ṇa	ta	tha	da	dha	na
pa	pa	pha	ba	bha	ma	—	—	—	—	—
ya	ya	ra	la	va	śa	ṣa	sa	ha	—	—

The katapayadi consonant groups. Four series map onto the digits 1–9 and 0.

Mayamalavagowla. ma is 5, ya is 1. Reverse 5–1 to get 15. Dheerasankarabharanam. dha is 9, ra is 2 → 29. Mechakalyani. ma is 5, cha is 6 → 65.

Two traps catch people. In a conjunct cluster it is the consonant immediately before the vowel that counts, so Ga-nge-yabhushani reads the g of “ng”, giving 3 and 3 → 33. And romanisation loses aspiration: Natabhairavi is really na + ṭha → 0 and 2 → 20, which the common English spelling hides.

All 72, with their swaras

The full scheme in one table. Swaras are given as the seven ascending notes; the descent is the same sequence reversed. Numbers 1–36 use M1, numbers 37–72 use M2.

#	Melakarta	Chakra	Swaras (arohana)	Also known as
1	Kanakangi	Indu 1	S R1 G1 M1 P D1 N1	—
2	Ratnangi	Indu 2	S R1 G1 M1 P D1 N2	—
3	Ganamurti	Indu 3	S R1 G1 M1 P D1 N3	—
4	Vanaspati	Indu 4	S R1 G1 M1 P D2 N2	—
5	Manavati	Indu 5	S R1 G1 M1 P D2 N3	—
6	Tanarupi	Indu 6	S R1 G1 M1 P D3 N3	—
7	Senavati	Netra 1	S R1 G2 M1 P D1 N1	—
8	Hanumatodi	Netra 2	S R1 G2 M1 P D1 N2	Todi
9	Dhenuka	Netra 3	S R1 G2 M1 P D1 N3	—
10	Natakapriya	Netra 4	S R1 G2 M1 P D2 N2	—
11	Kokilapriya	Netra 5	S R1 G2 M1 P D2 N3	—
12	Rupavati	Netra 6	S R1 G2 M1 P D3 N3	—
13	Gayakapriya	Agni 1	S R1 G3 M1 P D1 N1	—
14	Vakulabharanam	Agni 2	S R1 G3 M1 P D1 N2	—
15	Mayamalavagowla	Agni 3	S R1 G3 M1 P D1 N3	Maya Malava Gowla, Mayamalavagaula
16	Chakravakam	Agni 4	S R1 G3 M1 P D2 N2	—
17	Suryakantam	Agni 5	S R1 G3 M1 P D2 N3	—
18	Hatakambari	Agni 6	S R1 G3 M1 P D3 N3	—
19	Jhankaradhwani	Veda 1	S R2 G2 M1 P D1 N1	—
20	Natabhairavi	Veda 2	S R2 G2 M1 P D1 N2	Nata Bhairavi
21	Keeravani	Veda 3	S R2 G2 M1 P D1 N3	—
22	Kharaharapriya	Veda 4	S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2	Karaharapriya
23	Gourimanohari	Veda 5	S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N3	—
24	Varunapriya	Veda 6	S R2 G2 M1 P D3 N3	—
25	Mararanjani	Bana 1	S R2 G3 M1 P D1 N1	—
26	Charukesi	Bana 2	S R2 G3 M1 P D1 N2	—
27	Sarasangi	Bana 3	S R2 G3 M1 P D1 N3	—
28	Harikambhoji	Bana 4	S R2 G3 M1 P D2 N2	Harikamboji
29	Dheerasankarabharanam	Bana 5	S R2 G3 M1 P D2 N3	Sankarabharanam, Shankarabharanam
30	Naganandini	Bana 6	S R2 G3 M1 P D3 N3	—
31	Yagapriya	Rutu 1	S R3 G3 M1 P D1 N1	—
32	Ragavardhini	Rutu 2	S R3 G3 M1 P D1 N2	—
33	Gangeyabhushani	Rutu 3	S R3 G3 M1 P D1 N3	—
34	Vagadheeswari	Rutu 4	S R3 G3 M1 P D2 N2	—
35	Shulini	Rutu 5	S R3 G3 M1 P D2 N3	—
36	Chalanata	Rutu 6	S R3 G3 M1 P D3 N3	Chalanattai
37	Salagam	Rishi 1	S R1 G1 M2 P D1 N1	—
38	Jalarnavam	Rishi 2	S R1 G1 M2 P D1 N2	—
39	Jhalavarali	Rishi 3	S R1 G1 M2 P D1 N3	Jalavarali
40	Navaneetam	Rishi 4	S R1 G1 M2 P D2 N2	—
41	Pavani	Rishi 5	S R1 G1 M2 P D2 N3	—
42	Raghupriya	Rishi 6	S R1 G1 M2 P D3 N3	—
43	Gavambhodi	Vasu 1	S R1 G2 M2 P D1 N1	—
44	Bhavapriya	Vasu 2	S R1 G2 M2 P D1 N2	—
45	Shubhapantuvarali	Vasu 3	S R1 G2 M2 P D1 N3	Subhapantuvarali
46	Shadvidhamargini	Vasu 4	S R1 G2 M2 P D2 N2	—
47	Suvarnangi	Vasu 5	S R1 G2 M2 P D2 N3	—
48	Divyamani	Vasu 6	S R1 G2 M2 P D3 N3	—
49	Dhavalambari	Brahma 1	S R1 G3 M2 P D1 N1	—
50	Namanarayani	Brahma 2	S R1 G3 M2 P D1 N2	—
51	Kamavardhini	Brahma 3	S R1 G3 M2 P D1 N3	Pantuvarali, Kasiramakriya
52	Ramapriya	Brahma 4	S R1 G3 M2 P D2 N2	—
53	Gamanashrama	Brahma 5	S R1 G3 M2 P D2 N3	—
54	Vishwambari	Brahma 6	S R1 G3 M2 P D3 N3	—
55	Shamalangi	Disi 1	S R2 G2 M2 P D1 N1	—
56	Shanmukhapriya	Disi 2	S R2 G2 M2 P D1 N2	Shanmukapriya
57	Simhendramadhyamam	Disi 3	S R2 G2 M2 P D1 N3	—
58	Hemavati	Disi 4	S R2 G2 M2 P D2 N2	—
59	Dharmavati	Disi 5	S R2 G2 M2 P D2 N3	—
60	Neetimati	Disi 6	S R2 G2 M2 P D3 N3	—
61	Kantamani	Rudra 1	S R2 G3 M2 P D1 N1	—
62	Rishabhapriya	Rudra 2	S R2 G3 M2 P D1 N2	—
63	Latangi	Rudra 3	S R2 G3 M2 P D1 N3	—
64	Vachaspati	Rudra 4	S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N2	—
65	Mechakalyani	Rudra 5	S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N3	Kalyani
66	Chitrambari	Rudra 6	S R2 G3 M2 P D3 N3	—
67	Sucharitra	Aditya 1	S R3 G3 M2 P D1 N1	—
68	Jyotiswarupini	Aditya 2	S R3 G3 M2 P D1 N2	—
69	Dhatuvardhani	Aditya 3	S R3 G3 M2 P D1 N3	—
70	Nasikabhushani	Aditya 4	S R3 G3 M2 P D2 N2	—
71	Kosalam	Aditya 5	S R3 G3 M2 P D2 N3	—
72	Rasikapriya	Aditya 6	S R3 G3 M2 P D3 N3	—

Generated from the same pair tables the Raga Explorer uses, so this table and the tool can never disagree.

Which ones you will actually hear

The scheme is a complete map, not a repertoire. Perhaps twenty melakartas are heard regularly in concert as parent scales in their own right, and a handful — Chitrambari, Kosalam, Sucharitra — exist almost entirely as chart entries. The rest earn their keep by parenting janya ragas, which is where most of the performed music lives.

15 · Mayamalavagowla — the teaching scale. Flat R1 and D1 against sharp G3 and N3 makes a symmetrical shape that is easy to sing in tune.
29 · Dheerasankarabharanam — the major scale, and the parent of Bilahari, Arabhi, Begada and Athana.
22 · Kharaharapriya — Dorian, and the largest janya family in the system.
28 · Harikambhoji — Mixolydian, parent of Mohanam and Kambhoji.
65 · Mechakalyani — Lydian. The sharp M2 is its whole character.
8 · Hanumatodi and 20 · Natabhairavi — the two heavy minor-leaning parents, both older than the scheme that now files them.

That last point is worth holding on to. The melakarta system was formalised in the seventeenth century, long after most of these ragas were already being sung. It is a filing system imposed on a living practice — extremely good at telling you what is possible, and silent on what any of it sounds like.

Tools for this

Try itRaga ExplorerHear any of the 72, see its janyas, and decode its katapayadi number.Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser Try itRaga & Scale FinderGo the other way: pick notes, and see which melakarta contains them.Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser

Common questions

Why are there exactly 72 melakarta ragas?: Because of a multiplication, not a tradition. Sa and Pa are fixed. Ma has 2 positions. Ri and Ga together have 6 valid combinations, and Dha and Ni together have the same 6. 2 × 6 × 6 = 72.
What is a chakra in the melakarta system?: A chakra is a group of six consecutive melakartas that share the same Ri and Ga, differing only in Dha and Ni. There are twelve chakras of six ragas each, named Indu, Netra, Agni, Veda, Bana, Rutu, Rishi, Vasu, Brahma, Disi, Rudra and Aditya.
What is katapayadi?: A letter-to-number scheme that encodes each melakarta’s number in its own name. Take the first consonant of each of the first two syllables, convert each to a digit, and reverse the pair. Ma-ya-malavagowla gives 5 and 1, reversed to 15.
What is the difference between a melakarta and a janya raga?: A melakarta is a parent scale using all seven swaras in strict ascending and descending order. A janya is derived from a parent — it may skip notes, zigzag, or use different notes going up and coming down. Most ragas performed on stage are janyas.
Which melakarta do beginners learn first?: Mayamalavagowla, number 15. Its symmetrical pattern of flat Ri and Dha against sharp Ga and Ni makes the intervals easy to hear and easy to sing.
Are all 72 melakartas actually performed?: No. Perhaps twenty are heard regularly in concert, and a handful — Chitrambari, Kosalam — exist mainly as chart entries. The scheme is a complete map, not a repertoire.

More notes