Module 4: Raga fundamentals · Lesson 2

Arohanam, avarohanam and scale shapes

● Confidence: high Last verified: 12 Oct 2026

Up and down

A raga is described by two lines of notes. The Arohanam is the upward path (ascent), from Sa to the upper Sa. The Avarohanam is the downward path (descent), from the upper Sa back to Sa. They are not always mirror images.

A raga that uses the same seven notes in both directions in straight order is a simple case. Here is one, Dheerasankarabharanam:

Counting the notes

Ragas are described by how many different notes they use in each direction:

A raga can use a different number in its ascent and in its descent, and it is then described by both, for example “audava-sampurna”.

Missing notes: varjya

A note a raga leaves out is Varjya , meaning “avoided”. The raga Mohanam has five notes and avoids Ma and Ni:

It is therefore audava in both directions, with M and N varjya.

Zigzags: vakra

Sometimes a raga does not go straight up or down. A path that bends back on itself is Vakra (“crooked”). As a made-up illustration, an ascent S R G R G M would be vakra, because it goes up, steps back, and then goes up again, instead of simply running S R G M. In real ragas, such turns are part of the character of the raga, and they are written in full in its arohanam or avarohanam.

Foreign notes and derived ragas

A raga that borrows a note from outside its parent scale (see the lesson on parent and derived ragas) is Bhashanga , and the borrowed note is an Anya swara . A raga that uses only notes from its parent is Upanga .