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Bhashanga Carnatic raaga

Mukhāri

The classic raaga of grief and pathos, Tyagaraja's 'Entani Ne'; famed for its power to move listeners to tears.

pathos, sorrow, karuna (also shanta and bhakti)

Mukhāri is a bhashanga raaga in the Carnatic tradition.

in the raaga jeeva (life note) nyasa (resting note)
or tap any lit note to hear it

arohana / ascending

S R2 M1 P N2 D2 S

avarohana / descending

S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R2 S

How to hear it

Life notes / jeeva
Rishabha (R2), Madhyama (M1) and Nishada (N2) are the ragachaya (character-defining) svaras; stress falls on Madhyama (e.g. S R M G R S) and shifts to Rishabha (e.g. P D S R). Sources use 'ragachaya svara' rather than the literal 'jiva svara'.
Resting notes / nyasa
Rishabha (R2) and Madhyama (M1) are the stated nyasa svaras; Chatusruti Dhaivata (D2) functions as an alpa-nyasa (concluding without stress) in tara-sthayi phrases like S n d and R S n d.
Signature phrases / prayoga
Signature phrases: S R M G, R S (stress on Madhyama); P D S R (stress on Rishabha); sa-ri-ma-ga-ri; pa-da-Sa-Ri; pa-dha-Sa. Chatusruti Dhaivata (D2) in ascent, Shuddha Dhaivata (D1) in descent; Sadharana Gandhara (G2) appears only in avarohana (M G R).
Ornament / gamaka
Gamaka is central to Mukhari's identity though no source gives a swara-by-swara breakdown. A rakti raga best sung very slowly, each note and gamaka enunciated clearly with precise swara positions to avoid meandering into neighbouring ragas. Bhashanga raga with two dhaivatas: chatusruti dhaivata (D2) in ascent, shuddha dhaivata (D1) in descent.

Easy to confuse with

Bhairavi (esp.), Huseni, Salagabhairavi, Kokilavarali, Maanji (allied ragas)

Listen for it

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◐ Draft: the reference facts on this page are compiled from public sources and are pending review by a musician. Corrections welcome via GitHub.