Janya raga · parent: 22. Kharaharapriya

Mukhari

● Confidence: high Last verified: 12 Oct 2026

Scale

Derived from the printed scale: shadava in the ascent and sampurna in the descent (6 notes up, 7 down); varjya: G in the ascent; none in the descent; vakra (zigzag) in the ascent; bhashanga (borrows D1, outside its parent).

Beginner's explanation

Mukhari is a janya raga : it is derived from the melakarta Kharaharapriya (number 22), which means it takes its notes from that parent's scale. It also uses a note from outside the parent (D1), which makes it a Bhashanga raga: that note is an foreign note to the parent scale.

Going up, its notes are S R2 M1 P N2 D2 S'; coming down, S' N2 D1 P M1 G2 R2 S. Its ascent uses 6 different notes and its descent 7. Notes of the parent that it leaves out are Varjya : G going up, none coming down. The path is Vakra (zigzag) going up: some notes are visited out of straight order.

If Sa is C on a keyboard, the notes it uses fall on C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, 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. Mukhari is placed under Kharaharapriya (melakarta 22) by karnatik.com, the source for this page's parent. It uses all of the parent's notes.

A borrowed note. Mukhari uses D1 although its parent has a different D. In theory this is what makes a raga bhashanga. No single melakarta holds all of its notes, so its parent is the one it is felt to grow from, by convention.

Same notes, different raga. Bhairavi and Huseni use exactly the same set of notes as Mukhari 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 704, 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

• 22. Kharaharapriya
• Bhairavi
• Huseni

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.

Annamacharya

• Palumaru Vutla Panduganu Adi·Telugu

Muthuswami Dikshitar

• Ekamranathaya Namaste Namaste Rupaka·Sanskrit
• Govindarajam Upasmahe Chapu·Sanskrit
• Pahimam Ratnacalanayaka Adi·Sanskrit

Papanasam Sivan

• Adimai Ennai Tamil
• Alavillaiye Desadi·Tamil
• Devi Undan Tamil
• Enda Vidamum Jhampa·Tamil
• Kana Virumbum Adi·Tamil
• Paramukham Tagumo Tamil
• Sharanam Ayyappa Tamil
• Shivakama Sundari Jagadamba Adi·Tamil
• Sollu Pappa Pappa Kanni Adi·Tamil

Purandara Dasa

• Acariyarembavara Kannada
• Andigallade Ata·Kannada
• Anjal Yatake Manave Kannada
• Arenu Maduvaru Arinda Kannada
• Aroganeya Kannada
• Aru Hitavaru Kannada
• Balavu Balave Kannada
• Bhandanadenu Kannada
• Bhase Hinara Kannada
• Candava Nodire Ata·Kannada
• Citta Suddiyillada Kannada
• Eke I Dehavanu Kannada
• Ekennolintu Kannada
• Enu Madidarenu Bhava Kannada
• Enu Madidarenu Hindina Kannada
• Enu Mya Ravana Adi·Kannada
• Hegira Beku Ata·Kannada
• Holeya Horagihane Kannada
• Hommeyadalu Bedi Kannada
• I Gramadali Ata·Kannada
• I Mahiyolage Kannada
• Innadaru Hariya Kannada
• Jnanavantage Kannada
• Kaiya Toro Adi·Kannada
• Kande Kande Svamiya Ata·Kannada
• Karunanidhiye Isha Adi·Kannada
• Karunya Murutiye Adi·Kannada
• Makkala Manikave Ata·Kannada
• Mudha Ballane Kannada
• Murkharadaru Kannada
• Musukha Tegedare Adi·Kannada
• Nalidade Enna Adi·Kannada
• Palisemma Muddu Sharade Kannada
• Papi Ballane Kannada
• Patha Nadeyadayya Kannada
• Pracina Karmavu Kannada
• Ramananillada Kannada
• Runavemba Sutakavu Ata·Kannada
• Saku Sakinnu Kannada
• Satyavantarigidu Kannada
• Shripatiyu Namage Chapu·Kannada
• Sikkadanele Jane Ata·Kannada
• Tolaladiru Ata·Kannada
• Tolu Tolu Ata·Kannada
• Vasudevana Namavaliya Kannada
• Vidhi Niseda Adi·Kannada
• Yamanelyo Kanenendu Kannada
• Yariddarenayya Kannada
• Yarige Duruveno Ata·Kannada

Swati Tirunal

• Balagopala Palaya Adi
• Bhavati Vishvaso Triputa
• Pahi Sada Padmanabha Rupaka
• Palaya Shri Padmanabha Chapu

Syama Sastri

• Palimpavamma Adi

Tyagaraja

• Cintistunnade Adi·Telugu
• Elavataram Adi·Telugu
• Muripemu Galigegada Adi·Telugu
• Sarasiruhanana Rama Desadi·Telugu
• Talaci Nantane Adi·Telugu

How this was checked

• Sources agree: Scale of Mukhari: ascent S R2 M1 P N2 D2 S'; descent S' N2 D1 P M1 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: Mukhari is a janya of melakarta number 22, Kharaharapriya. Sources: Royal Carpet: Carnatic Ragas; Royal Carpet: Introduction to Carnatic Raga (the melakarta ragas). Parent per karnatik.com. The raga borrows D1 from outside the parent, which is what bhashanga means; Wikipedia's table also names the foreign note.