BhairavOne note apart
- Bhairav uses Pa, which Komal Re Bhairav avoids.
Hindustani raga
Komal Re Bhairav
Bhairav without Pa (sometimes called Shivabhairav).
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- Thaat
- Bhairav
- Jati
- Shadava–Shadava
- Notes
- 6 of 12
- Movement
- Krama (straight)
- Time
- Dawn
- Rasa
- Bhakti
Your guide to Komal Re Bhairav
New to classical music — moods, stories, film songs and simple listening.
Start listening
Press play to hear the notes of Komal Re Bhairav, rising then falling.
Its mood
Bhakti. Traditionally heard at dawn.
Film songs you may know ↓New to classical music?
Komal Re Bhairav, explained simply
Think of a raga as more than a scale: a set of rules and a personality. Komal Re Bhairav 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
Komal Re Bhairav 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 dawn, because Indian musicians believe each raga matches the feeling of a certain hour or season.
How to recognise it
- Listen for the gaps. Komal Re Bhairav never uses Pa, so the melody seems to skip over certain steps. This "missing note" sound is one of the quickest giveaways.
- 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.
- Hum the scale along with the play button above a few times. Once the shape of those notes is in your ear, you'll start spotting it in songs and concerts.
Its beauty
Bhairav without Pa (sometimes called Shivabhairav). The beauty of Komal Re Bhairav 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, Lalitha (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 missing Pa. Once you catch it, you've started to recognise Komal Re Bhairav.
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). Komal Re Bhairav is classified under Bhairav 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) · 6 notes
S r G M d N S'
- Devanagari
- सा रे̱ ग म ध̱ नि सा•
- Bengali
- সা রে̱ গা মা ধা̱ নি সা•
Avarohana (descent) · 6 notes
S' N d M G r S
- Devanagari
- सा• नि ध̱ म ग रे̱ सा
- Bengali
- সা• নি ধা̱ মা 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 |
| Shuddh Ma | Perfect 4th | F |
| Komal Dha | Minor 6th | G# |
| Shuddh Ni | 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. Bhairav thaat: Komal Re and Dha. Equivalent to Carnatic Mayamalavagowla.
Time (Dawn). Sung around the first prahar of the day (roughly 4–7 AM), when sandhi-prakash ragas with komal Re and Dha are traditional.
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 (Bansuri)
Sitar
Sarod
Same notes in Carnatic music
These ragas use exactly the same notes, though their phrasing and ornaments differ.
Why this time of day?
Komal Re Bhairav is traditionally sung: Dawn.
- 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.
- Flat Re and flat Dha give a serious, prayerful sound that suits the stillness of early morning, when people traditionally meditate and pray.
- 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 Komal Re Bhairav, and how to tell them apart.
BhankarOne note apart
- Bhankar uses Pa, which Komal Re Bhairav avoids.
- Bhankar uses a different number of notes going up than coming down; the other is more symmetrical.
- Mood: Komal Re Bhairav leans bhakti, Bhankar leans shanta.
KalingadaOne note apart
- Kalingada uses Pa, which Komal Re Bhairav avoids.
- They belong to different times: Komal Re Bhairav is sung in the dawn, Kalingada in the pre-dawn.
- Mood: Komal Re Bhairav leans bhakti, Kalingada leans karuna.
LalitOne note apart
- Lalit uses Tivra Ma, which Komal Re Bhairav avoids.
- They belong to different times: Komal Re Bhairav is sung in the dawn, Lalit in the pre-dawn.
- Mood: Komal Re Bhairav leans bhakti, Lalit leans karuna.
Jogiya KalingadaOne note apart
- Jogiya Kalingada uses Pa, which Komal Re Bhairav avoids.
- Jogiya Kalingada uses a different number of notes going up than coming down; the other is more symmetrical.
- Mood: Komal Re Bhairav leans bhakti, Jogiya Kalingada leans karuna.
GauriOne note apart
- Gauri uses Pa, which Komal Re Bhairav avoids.
- Gauri uses a different number of notes going up than coming down; the other is more symmetrical.
- They belong to different times: Komal Re Bhairav is sung in the dawn, Gauri in the evening.
- Mood: Komal Re Bhairav leans bhakti, Gauri leans karuna.
Linked ragas & variants
Ragas from the same family or named after Komal Re Bhairav, such as Yaman and Yaman Kalyan. They are related but each has its own rules.
Other ragas from Bhairav
Bhairav · HindustaniBibhas · HindustaniBhankar · HindustaniBhairav Bahar · HindustaniBhavmat Bhairav · HindustaniJogiya Kalingada · HindustaniHijaz · HindustaniAhir Lalit · HindustaniMangal Bhairav · HindustaniNat Bhairav · HindustaniAnand Bhairav · HindustaniShivmat Bhairav · HindustaniBairagi Bhairav · HindustaniBasant Mukhari · HindustaniGauri · HindustaniAhir Bhairav · HindustaniRamkali · HindustaniKalingada · HindustaniJogiya · HindustaniGunakali · HindustaniBairagi · HindustaniVibhas · Hindustani
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, …).