Carnatic raga
A Ghana raga with an unusual, poignant scale.
Your guide to Varali
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Press play to hear the notes of Varali, rising then falling.
Karuna. Traditionally heard at evening.
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Think of a raga as more than a scale: a set of rules and a personality. Varali 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.
Varali sounds a mix of light and shade, sliding between bright and dark notes. Its emotional colour is tenderness and sorrow, the feeling of a sad song that still comforts you. Traditionally it is traditionally performed in the evening, because Indian musicians believe each raga matches the feeling of a certain hour or season.
A Ghana raga with an unusual, poignant scale. The beauty of Varali 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 missing Ga. Once you catch it, you've started to recognise Varali.
Origin
A Ghana raga whose Pancharatna kriti is 'Kana Kana Ruchira'. Superstition says a guru should not teach Varali directly to a disciple.
The 72-melakarta system was devised by Venkatamakhin in his treatise Chaturdandi Prakasika (c. 1660). It is a mathematical grid that lists every possible seven-note scale built from Carnatic swara variants.
The melakarta names used today, encoded with the Katapayadi system so each name reveals its number, were standardised later by Govindacharya in the 18th century. Many melakartas existed only on paper until composers like Muthuswami Dikshitar and later Koteeswara Iyer wrote pieces in all 72.
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) · 7 notes
S G1 R1 G1 M2 P D1 N3 S
Avarohana (descent) · 7 notes
S N3 D1 P M2 G1 R1 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 |
| Shuddha Rishabham (R1) | Minor 2nd | C# |
| Chatushruti Rishabham (R2) / Shuddha Gandharam (G1) | Major 2nd | D |
| Prati Madhyamam (M2) | Augmented 4th | F# |
| Panchamam | Perfect 5th | G |
| Shuddha Dhaivatam (D1) | Minor 6th | G# |
| Kakali Nishadam (N3) | Major 7th | B |
Omitted (varjya) swaras: Ga.
Jati (Sampurna–Sampurna). The ascent uses 7 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 39 sits in chakra 7 of 12 and uses prati madhyamam (M2). Varali is a parent (melakarta) scale with all seven notes in strict order.
Time (Evening). Sung at twilight or evening (roughly 4–9 PM), when sandhi-prakash and Kalyan-family ragas are favoured.
Karuna
Compassion, pathos and sorrow.
Each link opens a YouTube or Spotify search for this raga by the instrument or artist.
Same notes, but a different character because of emphasis, movement and phrasing.
Varali is associated with: Evening.
Ragas that sound most like Varali, and how to tell them apart.
Ragas from the same family or named after Varali, 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, …).