MalaviSame notes
- Both use exactly the same notes, so the difference lies in how they move and which notes they dwell on.
- Going up: Jaitsri climbs S G M# P N S', while Malavi climbs N r G M# P N S'.
Hindustani raga
Jaitsri
Dusk raga of the Purvi family.
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- Thaat
- Purvi
- Jati
- Audava–Sampurna
- Notes
- 7 of 12
- Movement
- Krama (straight)
- Time
- Sunset
- Rasa
- Karuna
Your guide to Jaitsri
New to classical music — moods, stories, film songs and simple listening.
Start listening
Press play to hear the notes of Jaitsri, rising then falling.
Its mood
Karuna. Traditionally heard at sunset.
Film songs you may know ↓New to classical music?
Jaitsri, explained simply
Think of a raga as more than a scale: a set of rules and a personality. Jaitsri 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
Jaitsri sounds mostly bright, with a few shadowed notes that add a bittersweet tint. Its emotional colour is tenderness and sorrow, the feeling of a sad song that still comforts you. Traditionally it is traditionally performed in the sunset, because Indian musicians believe each raga matches the feeling of a certain hour or season.
How to recognise it
- 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.
- The melody goes up with 5 notes but comes down with 7, so the climb and the descent sound noticeably different.
Its beauty
Dusk raga of the Purvi family. The beauty of Jaitsri 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
- Puriya Dhanashree, Shree, Basant use the very same notes. Ragas aren't just scales: the difference lies in which notes are stressed, which phrases are used and how the melody moves. That's why two ragas built from the same notes can feel completely different.
- Across the North–South divide, Kamavardhini (Carnatic) and Purvi (Carnatic) uses the same notes. Listening to both side by side shows how the two traditions shape the same material differently.
- In Hindustani music, a raga usually unfolds slowly. The performance often begins with a long, beat-less exploration (alaap) where the musician reveals the raga one note at a time.
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 Jaitsri.
History & evolution
Hindustani ragas mostly developed through oral tradition, passed guru to disciple. Medieval treatises such as Sangita Ratnakara (13th c.) and the later Raga-Ragini systems grouped them into 'families'.
In the early 20th century, V. N. Bhatkhande organised Hindustani ragas into ten thaats (parent scales). Jaitsri is classified under Purvi thaat. The thaat is a modern classification, not necessarily the raga's historical origin.
Each gharana (school) interprets ragas slightly differently, so a raga's phrasing has kept evolving through the 19th and 20th centuries, and further through recordings and radio.
Looking for more history…
Scale
Arohana (ascent) · 5 notes
S G M# P N S'
- Devanagari
- सा ग म॑ प नि सा•
- Bengali
- সা গা মা॑ পা নি সা•
Avarohana (descent) · 7 notes
S' N d P M# G r S
- Devanagari
- सा• नि ध̱ प म॑ ग रे̱ सा
- Bengali
- সা• নি ধা̱ পা মা॑ গা রে̱ সা
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) |
|---|---|---|
| Sa | Unison | C |
| Komal Re | Minor 2nd | C# |
| Shuddh Ga | Major 3rd | E |
| Tivra Ma | Augmented 4th | F# |
| Pa | Perfect 5th | G |
| Komal Dha | Minor 6th | G# |
| Shuddh Ni | Major 7th | B |
Character
Jati (Audava–Sampurna). The ascent uses 5 distinct notes and the descent 7. Audava = 5, Shadava = 6, Sampurna = 7.
Krama (straight) movement. Notes are taken in order going up and coming down.
Parent scale. Purvi thaat: Komal Re, Dha and tivra Ma. Equivalent to Carnatic Kamavardhini.
Time (Sunset). Sung at twilight or evening (roughly 4–9 PM), when sandhi-prakash and Kalyan-family ragas are favoured.
Karuna
Compassion, pathos and sorrow.
Listen
Each link opens a YouTube or Spotify search for this raga by the instrument or artist.
Vocal
Flute (Bansuri)
Sitar
Sarod
Same notes in Carnatic music
These ragas use exactly the same notes, though their phrasing and ornaments differ.
Ragas with the same notes
Same notes, but a different character because of emphasis, movement and phrasing.
Why this time of day?
Jaitsri is traditionally sung: Sunset.
- Hindustani music follows the samay chakra, a 'clock of ragas'. Musicians noticed over centuries that certain combinations of notes match the feeling of certain hours, and teachers passed these timings on as a rule.
- It is a sandhi prakash raga: a 'twilight' raga for the moment when night turns to day or day turns to night.
- Its komal (flat) Re together with shuddh (natural) Ga is the classic twilight sound. The tense, unsettled flat Re mirrors the in-between light of dawn or dusk.
- Its sharp (tivra) Ma is typical of evening ragas. The raised Ma gives a glowing, lamp-lit brightness that suits lighting the evening lamp.
- These are traditions, not physics. Today, recordings and concert schedules mean ragas are often heard at other times, but many musicians still honour the samay chakra.
Close ragas & how they differ
Ragas that sound most like Jaitsri, and how to tell them apart.
Puriya DhanashreeSame notes
- Both use exactly the same notes, so the difference lies in how they move and which notes they dwell on.
- Going up: Jaitsri climbs S G M# P N S', while Puriya Dhanashree climbs N r G M# P d N S'.
- Jaitsri uses a different number of notes going up than coming down; the other is more symmetrical.
ShreeSame notes
- Both use exactly the same notes, so the difference lies in how they move and which notes they dwell on.
- Going up: Jaitsri climbs S G M# P N S', while Shree climbs S r M# P N S'.
- Mood: Jaitsri leans karuna, Shree leans bhakti.
ParajSame notes
- Both use exactly the same notes, so the difference lies in how they move and which notes they dwell on.
- Going up: Jaitsri climbs S G M# P N S', while Paraj climbs N S G M# d N S'.
- They belong to different times: Jaitsri is sung in the sunset, Paraj in the late night.
- Mood: Jaitsri leans karuna, Paraj leans shringar.
MadhukaliSame notes
- Both use exactly the same notes, so the difference lies in how they move and which notes they dwell on.
- Going up: Jaitsri climbs S G M# P N S', while Madhukali climbs S G M# P d N S'.
- They belong to different times: Jaitsri is sung in the sunset, Madhukali in the evening.
BasantSame notes
- Both use exactly the same notes, so the difference lies in how they move and which notes they dwell on.
- Going up: Jaitsri climbs S G M# P N S', while Basant climbs S G M# d S'.
- They belong to different times: Jaitsri is sung in the sunset, Basant in the spring / night.
- Mood: Jaitsri leans karuna, Basant leans shringar.
Other ragas from Purvi
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, …).