Janya raga · parent: 21. Keeravani
Chandrika
Confidence: high Last verified:
Scale
Derived from the printed scale: shadava in both ascent and descent (6 notes up, 6 down); M are omitted (varjya) in both directions; upanga (only notes of its parent).
Beginner's explanation
Chandrika is a janya raga : it is derived from the melakarta Keeravani (number 21), which means it takes its notes from that parent's scale. It uses only notes of its parent, so it is an Upanga raga.
Going up, its notes are S R2 G2 P D1 N3 S'; coming down, S' N3 D1 P G2 R2 S. Its ascent and descent each use 6 different notes (Shadava ). Notes of the parent that it leaves out are Varjya : M in both directions.
If Sa is C on a keyboard, the notes it uses fall on C, D, E♭, G, A♭, B. This only shows where the notes sit: a raga is more than its notes, and its ornaments and phrases are not shown here.
A bit deeper
Its parent. Chandrika is placed under Keeravani (melakarta 21) by karnatik.com, the source for this page's parent. Of the parent's seven notes it does not use M1.
Other possible parents. Because Chandrika leaves out some notes, 2 melakartas contain every one of its notes (Keeravani and Simhendramadhyamam). Books usually pick one by convention, and different books can pick differently.
Why start here? How likely you are to meet it
●●● (rating 3 of 3: 1 = met very often)
Rating 3 of 3 (editorial, a rough guide to how often you are likely to meet this raga): it is not among the top 100 ragas in karnatik.com's tally of compositions per raga (based on a list of 38,000 songs), so a beginner will meet it less often. A 1 means met very often and 3 means met rarely. It says nothing about how hard the raga is to sing, which depends on its ornaments and is not rated here. The tally counts songs by raga name and dates from 2011.
Characteristic features
Key notes, characteristic phrases and ornaments are not recorded here yet: they could not be confirmed from two sources, and this site leaves them out rather than guess.
Where the notes sit
| # | Semitones above Sa | Short name | Full name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | S | Shadja |
| 2 | 1 | R1 | Shuddha Rishabha |
| 3 | 2 | R2 = G1 | Chatushruti Rishabha = Shuddha Gandhara |
| 4 | 3 | R3 = G2 | Shatshruti Rishabha = Sadharana Gandhara |
| 5 | 4 | G3 | Antara Gandhara |
| 6 | 5 | M1 | Shuddha Madhyama |
| 7 | 6 | M2 | Prati Madhyama |
| 8 | 7 | P | Panchama |
| 9 | 8 | D1 | Shuddha Dhaivata |
| 10 | 9 | D2 = N1 | Chatushruti Dhaivata = Shuddha Nishada |
| 11 | 10 | D3 = N2 | Shatshruti Dhaivata = Kaishiki Nishada |
| 12 | 11 | N3 | Kakali Nishada |
Related ragas
Notable compositions (titles only)
No compositions by composers covered on this site are listed yet.
How this was checked
- Sources agree: Scale of Chandrika: ascent S R2 G2 P D1 N3 S'; descent S' N3 D1 P G2 R2 S. Sources: Royal Carpet: Carnatic Ragas; List of Janya ragas. The ascent and descent printed by karnatik.com match the scale in Wikipedia's table.
- Sources agree: Chandrika is a janya of melakarta number 21, Keeravani. Sources: Royal Carpet: Carnatic Ragas; Royal Carpet: Introduction to Carnatic Raga (the melakarta ragas). Parent per karnatik.com. Consistency check: every note of the raga is in the parent's scale (the parent's own scale is confirmed in two sources).
References for this page
- Royal Carpet: Carnatic Ragas — karnATik · website · intermediate · free why useful
- Royal Carpet: Introduction to Carnatic Raga (the melakarta ragas) — karnATik · website · beginner · free why useful
- Popular ragas by number of songs — karnATik · website · beginner · free why useful
- List of Janya ragas — Wikipedia contributors · article · intermediate · free why useful