GamanashramaOne note apart
- Gamanashrama uses Panchamam, which Hamsanandi avoids.
- They belong to different times: Hamsanandi is sung in the evening, Gamanashrama in the any time.
- Mood: Hamsanandi leans bhakti, Gamanashrama leans varies.
Carnatic raga
Hamsanandi
Hexatonic raga, cousin of Sohini.
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- Melakarta
- 53 Gamanashrama (janya)
- Jati
- Shadava–Shadava
- Notes
- 6 of 12
- Movement
- Krama (straight)
- Time
- Evening
- Rasa
- Bhakti
Your guide to Hamsanandi
New to classical music — moods, stories, film songs and simple listening.
Start listening
Press play to hear the notes of Hamsanandi, rising then falling.
Its mood
Bhakti. Traditionally heard at evening.
Film songs you may know ↓New to classical music?
Hamsanandi, explained simply
Think of a raga as more than a scale: a set of rules and a personality. Hamsanandi has its own notes, its own favourite phrases, its own time of day and its own mood, the way a person has a recognisable voice and way of talking.
How it feels
Hamsanandi sounds mostly bright, with a few shadowed notes that add a bittersweet tint. Its emotional colour is prayer and devotion, like music in a temple. Traditionally it is traditionally performed in the evening, because Indian musicians believe each raga matches the feeling of a certain hour or season.
How to recognise it
- Listen for the gaps. Hamsanandi never uses Pa, so the melody seems to skip over certain steps. This "missing note" sound is one of the quickest giveaways.
- It uses tivra (sharp) Ma, a note a little higher than you'd expect. It gives the music a lifting, yearning quality, as if it's leaning upward.
- It uses komal (flat) Re, the note just above the home note. Sliding off Sa onto this very close note creates tension right at the start of phrases.
Its beauty
Hexatonic raga, cousin of Sohini. The beauty of Hamsanandi comes from patience: a good performer doesn't rush through the scale but lingers, bending into notes and letting each phrase breathe, so the mood builds slowly until it fills the room.
What makes it different
- Across the North–South divide, Marwa (Hindustani) and Puriya (Hindustani) uses the same notes. Listening to both side by side shows how the two traditions shape the same material differently.
- In Carnatic music, notes are rarely held still. They wobble, slide and bend (called gamakas), and those shakes are as much a part of the raga's identity as the notes themselves.
Listening exercise: Try this: press "Full scale" above, then open one of the recordings below. In the first few minutes, see if you can hear the missing Pa. Once you catch it, you've started to recognise Hamsanandi.
History & evolution
Hamsanandi is a janya (derived) raga, drawing its notes from its parent melakarta. Janya ragas often existed long before the melakarta system and were later fitted into it.
The Carnatic Trinity of the 18th–19th centuries (Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri) gave lasting shape to most popular ragas through their compositions. Their kritis remain the standard reference for how each raga should move.
Looking for more history…
Scale
Arohana (ascent) · 6 notes
S R1 G3 M2 D2 N3 S'
- Devanagari
- स रि₁ ग₃ म₂ ध₂ नि₃ स•
- Tamil
- ஸ ரி₁ க₃ ம₂ த₂ நி₃ ஸ•
- Telugu
- స రి₁ గ₃ మ₂ ద₂ ని₃ స•
- Kannada
- ಸ ರಿ₁ ಗ₃ ಮ₂ ದ₂ ನಿ₃ ಸ•
Avarohana (descent) · 6 notes
S' N3 D2 M2 G3 R1 S
- Devanagari
- स• नि₃ ध₂ म₂ ग₃ रि₁ स
- Tamil
- ஸ• நி₃ த₂ ம₂ க₃ ரி₁ ஸ
- Telugu
- స• ని₃ ద₂ మ₂ గ₃ రి₁ స
- Kannada
- ಸ• ನಿ₃ ದ₂ ಮ₂ ಗ₃ ರಿ₁ ಸ
Synthesised with Sa = A3. A real performance uses gamakas, meends and phrasing that a bare scale can't capture.
Notes on the octave
S
C
r
C#
R
D
g
D#
G
E
M
F
M#
F#
P
G
d
G#
D
A
n
A#
N
B
| Swara | Interval from Sa | Western (Sa = C) |
|---|---|---|
| Shadjam | Unison | C |
| Shuddha Rishabham (R1) | Minor 2nd | C# |
| Antara Gandharam (G3) | Major 3rd | E |
| Prati Madhyamam (M2) | Augmented 4th | F# |
| Chatushruti Dhaivatam (D2) / Shuddha Nishadam (N1) | Major 6th | A |
| Kakali Nishadam (N3) | Major 7th | B |
Omitted (varjya) swaras: Pa.
Character
Jati (Shadava–Shadava). The ascent uses 6 distinct notes and the descent 6. Audava = 5, Shadava = 6, Sampurna = 7.
Krama (straight) movement. Notes are taken in order going up and coming down.
Parent scale. Melakarta 53 sits in chakra 9 of 12 and uses prati madhyamam (M2). Hamsanandi is a janya (derived) raga, drawing its notes from this parent.
Time (Evening). Sung at twilight or evening (roughly 4–9 PM), when sandhi-prakash and Kalyan-family ragas are favoured.
Bhakti
Devotion and surrender to the divine.
Listen
Each link opens a YouTube or Spotify search for this raga by the instrument or artist.
Vocal
Flute (Venu)
Veena
Violin
Nadaswaram
Same notes in Hindustani music
These ragas use exactly the same notes, though their phrasing and ornaments differ.
Why this time of day?
Hamsanandi is associated with: Evening.
- In Carnatic music, the time of day is a gentle custom rather than a strict rule. Most ragas can be sung at any concert, and the time linked to a raga usually comes from temple rituals and old practice.
- Hamsanandi is linked with the evening, when temple lamps are lit and concerts traditionally begin.
Close ragas & how they differ
Ragas that sound most like Hamsanandi, and how to tell them apart.
PoorvikalyaniOne note apart
- Poorvikalyani uses Panchamam, which Hamsanandi avoids.
- Poorvikalyani uses a different number of notes going up than coming down; the other is more symmetrical.
- Mood: Hamsanandi leans bhakti, Poorvikalyani leans karuna.
RohiniOne note apart
- Rohini uses Shuddha Madhyamam (M1), which Hamsanandi avoids.
- They belong to different times: Hamsanandi is sung in the evening, Rohini in the any time.
- Mood: Hamsanandi leans bhakti, Rohini leans varied.
PatalambariOne note apart
- Hamsanandi uses Kakali Nishadam (N3), which Patalambari does not.
- They belong to different times: Hamsanandi is sung in the evening, Patalambari in the any time.
- Mood: Hamsanandi leans bhakti, Patalambari leans varied.
AlankariOne note apart
- Hamsanandi uses Shuddha Rishabham (R1), which Alankari does not.
- They belong to different times: Hamsanandi is sung in the evening, Alankari in the any time.
- Mood: Hamsanandi leans bhakti, Alankari leans varied.
MechakangiOne note apart
- Mechakangi uses Panchamam, which Hamsanandi avoids.
- They belong to different times: Hamsanandi is sung in the evening, Mechakangi in the any time.
- Mood: Hamsanandi leans bhakti, Mechakangi leans varied.
Other ragas from 53 Gamanashrama
Film songs in this raga
Bollywood (Hindi)
No well-known Hindi film song is confidently attributed to this raga yet.
Other Indian films (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi)
No regional film song is confidently attributed to this raga yet.
Top Bollywood songTop Tamil songTop Telugu songTop Malayalam songTop Kannada songTop Bengali songTop Marathi song
Film songs often take liberties with a raga, so treat these as "based on" rather than strict renditions.
Discussion
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Notation: Hindustani komal notes are lowercase (r g d n), M# = tivra Ma, ' = upper octave. Carnatic numbers mark swara variants (R1, G3, …).