Carnatic raga
Raga of grief and pathos.
Your guide to Mukhari
New to classical music — moods, stories, film songs and simple listening.
Press play to hear the notes of Mukhari, rising then falling.
Karuna. Traditionally heard at any time.
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Think of a raga as more than a scale: a set of rules and a personality. Mukhari 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.
Mukhari sounds dark, deep and inward, full of the lowered (komal) notes that make music sound serious or sad. Its emotional colour is tenderness and sorrow, the feeling of a sad song that still comforts you. Traditionally it can be performed at any hour, because Indian musicians believe each raga matches the feeling of a certain hour or season.
Raga of grief and pathos. The beauty of Mukhari 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.
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 melody circling back to Sa. Once you catch it, you've started to recognise Mukhari.
Mukhari 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…
Arohana (ascent) · 6 notes
S R2 M1 P N2 D2 S'
Avarohana (descent) · 7 notes
S' N2 D1 P M1 G2 R2 S
Synthesised with Sa = A3. A real performance uses gamakas, meends and phrasing that a bare scale can't capture.
| Swara | Interval from Sa | Western (Sa = C) |
|---|---|---|
| Shadjam | Unison | C |
| Chatushruti Rishabham (R2) / Shuddha Gandharam (G1) | Major 2nd | D |
| Shatshruti Rishabham (R3) / Sadharana Gandharam (G2) | Minor 3rd | D# |
| Shuddha Madhyamam (M1) | Perfect 4th | F |
| Panchamam | Perfect 5th | G |
| Shuddha Dhaivatam (D1) | Minor 6th | G# |
| Chatushruti Dhaivatam (D2) / Shuddha Nishadam (N1) | Major 6th | A |
| Shatshruti Dhaivatam (D3) / Kaishiki Nishadam (N2) | Minor 7th | A# |
Jati (Shadava–Sampurna). The ascent uses 6 distinct notes and the descent 7. Audava = 5, Shadava = 6, Sampurna = 7.
Vakra (zig-zag) movement. The scale doubles back on itself, so phrases have to follow its characteristic turns, not run straight up or down.
Parent scale. Melakarta 22 sits in chakra 4 of 12 and uses shuddha madhyamam (M1). Mukhari is a janya (derived) raga, drawing its notes from this parent.
Time (Any time). Not tied to a particular time; often placed by convention at a set point in a concert.
Karuna
Compassion, pathos and sorrow.
Each link opens a YouTube or Spotify search for this raga by the instrument or artist.
These ragas use exactly the same notes, though their phrasing and ornaments differ.
Same notes, but a different character because of emphasis, movement and phrasing.
Mukhari is associated with: Any time.
Ragas that sound most like Mukhari, and how to tell them apart.
Ragas from the same family or named after Mukhari, such as Yaman and Yaman Kalyan. They are related but each has its own rules.
No well-known Hindi film song is confidently attributed to this raga yet.
No regional film song is confidently attributed to this raga yet.
Film songs often take liberties with a raga, so treat these as "based on" rather than strict renditions.
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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, …).