Janya raga · parent: 8. Hanumatodi

Dhanyasi

● Confidence: high Last verified: 12 Oct 2026

Scale

Derived from the printed scale: audava in the ascent and sampurna in the descent (5 notes up, 7 down); varjya: R and D in the ascent; none in the descent; upanga (only notes of its parent).

Beginner's explanation

Dhanyasi is a janya raga : it is derived from the melakarta Hanumatodi (number 8), 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 G2 M1 P N2 S'; coming down, S' N2 D1 P M1 G2 R1 S. Its ascent uses 5 different notes and its descent 7. Notes of the parent that it leaves out are Varjya : R and D going up, none coming down.

If Sa is C on a keyboard, the notes it uses fall on C, D♭, E♭, F, 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. Dhanyasi is placed under Hanumatodi (melakarta 8) by karnatik.com, the source for this page's parent. It uses all of the parent's notes.

Same notes, different raga. Asaveri, Deshyathodi, Punnagavarali and Dhanashree use exactly the same set of notes as Dhanyasi but differ in the path, the ornaments or the phrases.

Why start here? How likely you are to meet it

●○○ (rating 1 of 3: 1 = met very often)

Rating 1 of 3 (editorial, a rough guide to how often you are likely to meet this raga): karnatik.com's tally of compositions per raga (based on a list of 38,000 songs) gives it 562, one of the most-composed ragas. 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

Related ragas

• 8. Hanumatodi
• Asaveri
• Deshyathodi
• Punnagavarali
• Dhanashree

Compare with another raga

Notable compositions (titles only)

Songs listed for this raga on karnatik.com by composers covered on this site. Lists are community-compiled, so a missing song does not mean it does not exist. Talas are as the source names them; no lyrics are reproduced.

Muthuswami Dikshitar

• Mangala Devataya Tvaya Rupaka·Sanskrit
• Mayuranatham Anisham Chapu·Sanskrit
• Paradevata Brhat Kucamba Adi·Sanskrit
• Ramacandradanyam Khanda Chapu·Sanskrit
• Shri Ranganathaya Namaste Rupaka·Sanskrit
• Vedapurishvaram Bhajare Adi·Sanskrit

Papanasam Sivan

• Balakrsnan Tamil
• Gopala Sajjana Adi·Tamil
• Kamattai Jayikkadavan Tamil
• Mariyadai Tano Adi·Tamil
• Ni Inda Mayam Padavarnam Tamil
• Tiruvazhundur Tamil
• Tiruvazhundur Vazh Triputa·Tamil
• Vani Arul Tamil
• Veru Tunai Tamil

Purandara Dasa

• Adisu Ni Adi·Kannada
• Ambegalikkuda Banda Ata·Kannada
• Bannisi Gopi Adi·Kannada
• Bhangaravida Adi·Kannada
• Drsti Tagite Adi·Kannada
• Enagoppa Doreyu Kannada
• Hari Hari Hari Adi·Kannada
• Hari Krpeyali Adi·Kannada
• Hari Nine Ata·Kannada
• Isabeku Iddu Adi·Kannada
• Kage Kaka Kannada
• Kalavu Kalisidemma Ata·Kannada
• Karunakarane Ni Adi·Kannada
• Karunisu Narahari Adi·Kannada
• Krsnana Bhajipage Kannada
• Madida Enna Ata·Kannada
• Makutakke Mangala Adi·Kannada
• Manmatha Janakana Adi·Kannada
• Maye Enna Ata·Kannada
• Mosa Hodanalla Ata·Kannada
• Muddu Taro Adi·Kannada
• Musure Toleyabheku Kannada
• Nama Kirtane Adi·Kannada
• Narayana Govinda Hari Adi·Kannada
• Noduvude Kannu Ata·Kannada
• Odeya Hari Adi·Kannada
• Pankaja Mukhiyarellaru Adi·Kannada
• Pindandadolagina Adi·Kannada
• Santana Sarorava Adi·Kannada
• Yashode Ninna Adi·Kannada

Swati Tirunal

• Ha Hanta Vancitaham Pv Adi
• Kalayami Shri Ramam Rupaka
• Kulirmati Vadane
• Nace Raghunath
• Prana Nayaka J Rupaka

Syama Sastri

• Minalocani Brova Chapu

Tyagaraja

• Dhyaname Varamaina Adi·Telugu
• Endu Bayara Rupaka·Telugu
• Janaki Nayaka Adi·Telugu
• Ni Cittamu Nishcalamu Telugu
• Ramabhirama Manasu Adi·Telugu
• Shri Rama Dasa Telugu
• Shyamasundaranga Rupaka·Telugu

How this was checked

• Sources agree: Scale of Dhanyasi: ascent S G2 M1 P N2 S'; descent S' N2 D1 P M1 G2 R1 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: Dhanyasi is a janya of melakarta number 8, Hanumatodi. 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).