Explore the 72 melakarta ragas

The Melakarta Sphere is a free 3D map of the 72 parent ragas of Carnatic music, built by Jason Zac at Nathaniel School of Music in Bangalore. Use it to see the whole janaka system in one place, then hear each raga as seven coloured swaras over a tanpura.

The 72 scales follow a strict grammar: twelve chakras of six ragas. Chakras Indu through Rutu use suddha madhyama (melas 1–36); Rishi through Aditya use prati madhyama (melas 37–72). Each chakra fixes an R–G pair; the seat inside the chakra fixes D and N. Open a raga on the sphere, or open its written guide, to see that spelling, for example the swara string printed on every parent page.

A melakarta raga is the parent. A janya raga is a child taken from it, by leaving notes out or by taking a vakra (zigzag) path. Each parent guide lists those children as links. To hear a raga at the keyboard, open its guide, set Sa to G if that is your class pitch, and press Play the scale.

How to use it

1. Stay on this page and rotate the sphere until a raga you want is under your cursor.
2. Open that raga. The seven swaras are coloured; play them over the tanpura.
3. Read the written guide for that raga (swaras, chakra, and janya ragas) from the list below or from /learn.
4. On the guide, set Sa to G if that is your class pitch, then press Play the scale.
5. Follow a janya-raga link when you want the child scale, not the parent.

Questions people type

What are the 72 melakarta ragas?

They are the 72 parent (janaka) scales of Carnatic music. Each one has seven swaras, generated by a fixed grammar: 12 chakras of six ragas, with suddha madhyama for ragas 1–36 and prati madhyama for ragas 37–72. This sphere maps every one.

How are melakarta ragas grouped into chakras?

Twelve chakras, six ragas each. The chakra fixes the R–G pair; the position inside the chakra fixes the D–N pair. The first six chakras use suddha madhyama (M1); the next six use prati madhyama (M2). The names, in order, are Indu, Netra, Agni, Veda, Bana, Rutu, Rishi, Vasu, Brahma, Disi, Rudra and Aditya.

How can I hear the swaras of a melakarta raga?

Open a raga on the sphere, or open its written guide and press Play the scale. Each guide lets you set Sa first. If your class pitch is G, tap G, then play. A tanpura drone is on the same panel.

What is the difference between melakarta and janya ragas?

A melakarta raga is a parent scale of seven notes. A janya raga is a child taken from that parent, by leaving notes out or by taking a vakra (zigzag) path. Each parent guide lists its janya ragas with links.

How can I explore Carnatic ragas on a keyboard?

Open any raga guide and use Hear it. Set Sa to the pitch you want (G if that is the class tonic), then play the scale. The same raga also opens in the 3D sphere from that page.

Is the Melakarta Sphere a singing course?

No. It is a free map of the 72 parent ragas. To study this material in class, explore intermediate piano and music theory or explore free music lessons at Nathaniel School of Music.

The 72 parent ragas

Each name is a crawlable guide: swaras, chakra, and janya ragas. The 3D sphere on this page is the instrument; the guides are the index.

Learn this properly

The strip on the sphere is the school path: class, free lessons, WhatsApp. This page is the map. When you want the same material taught in a room, explore intermediate piano and music theory or explore free music lessons.

Made by Nathaniel School of Music, founded by Jason Zac. More free music apps.