Janya raga · parent: 17. Suryakantam

Sowrashtram

◐ Confidence: medium Last verified: 12 Oct 2026

Scale

Derived from the printed scale: sampurna in both ascent and descent (7 notes up, 7 down); vakra (zigzag) in both directions; bhashanga (borrows N2, outside its parent).

Beginner's explanation

Sowrashtram is a janya raga : it is derived from the melakarta Suryakantam (number 17), which means it takes its notes from that parent's scale. It also uses a note from outside the parent (N2), which makes it a Bhashanga raga: that note is an foreign note to the parent scale.

Going up, its notes are S R1 G3 M1 P M1 D2 N3 S'; coming down, S' N3 D2 N2 D2 P M1 G3 R1 S. Its ascent and descent each use 7 different notes (Sampurna ). The path is Vakra (zigzag) in both directions: 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, B♭, 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. Sowrashtram is placed under Suryakantam (melakarta 17) by karnatik.com, the source for this page's parent. It uses all of the parent's notes.

A borrowed note. Sowrashtram uses N2 although its parent has a different N. 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.

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 458, 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

• 17. Suryakantam

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

• Suryamurtte Namostute

Tyagaraja

• Allakallola Adi·Telugu
• Deva Rama Rama Rupaka·Telugu
• Emani Neranammu Triputa·Telugu
• Ememo Teliyaka Triputa·Telugu
• Ennado Rakshincite Adi·Telugu
• Entanucu Varnintune Triputa·Telugu
• Ghuma Ghuma Ghumayani Triputa·Telugu
• Melu Melu Adi·Telugu
• Meluko Dayanidhi Rupaka·Telugu
• Nerama Rama Desadi·Telugu
• Nive Nanneda Telugu
• Pahi Mam Hare Rupaka·Telugu
• Pahi Pahi Jhampa·Telugu
• Rama Rama Govinda Adi·Telugu
• Rara Nannelukora Telugu
• Vinayamu Kowshikuni Telugu

How this was checked

• Sources agree: Scale of Sowrashtram: ascent S R1 G3 M1 P M1 D2 N3 S'; descent S' N3 D2 N2 D2 P M1 G3 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: Sowrashtram is a janya of melakarta number 17, Suryakantam. Sources: Royal Carpet: Carnatic Ragas; Royal Carpet: Introduction to Carnatic Raga (the melakarta ragas). Parent per karnatik.com. The raga borrows N2 from outside the parent, which is what bhashanga means.