Hamsadhwani

Also known as: Hamsadhvani, Hansadhwani, Hamsadhwni, Hansdhwani

Janya raga of melakarta 29 — audava-audava

Hamsadhwani ("cry of the swan") is a bright, auspicious pentatonic (audava-audava) raga evoking joy, grandeur and vigour (vira rasa); as a rakti raga it is prized for instant appeal and is traditionally sung to open concerts or invoke Lord Ganesha.

Gamaka

Swara	Style	Hold allowed	Oscillation	Notes
S	steady	yes	—	Shadja is sung as a plain, steady tonic that anchors phrases and serves as the resting point at both the lower and upper octave.
R	jaru	yes	—	Chatusruti Rishabha is characteristically entered with a jaru (slide) from Gandhara in ascent (Sa-Ga-Ri) rather than struck plainly, though it can be briefly sustained as an important resting note.
G	jaru	yes	—	Antara Gandharam, one of the raga's two jeeva (life) swaras, is typically approached with a slide from Panchama (Pa-Ga, sometimes doubled as Pa-Ga-Pa-Ga); because Hamsadhwani is a svasthana-visada raga its identity is clear even when Ga is sung plain.
P	steady	yes	—	Panchama, cited as the vadi (most prominent) swara in Carnatic lakshana sources, is rendered plainly and acts as a strong pivot connecting the lower and upper halves of the scale.
N	jaru	yes	—	Kakali Nishadham, the raga's other jeeva swara, is approached with a slide from Panchama in ascent (Pa-Sa-Ni, jumping past Sa) and given a light Sa-Ni movement in descent, producing the raga's bright, characteristic close.

Common pitfalls

Singing Rishabha and Nishada as flat, gamaka-less pitches instead of sliding into them from Gandhara/Panchama, which makes the raga sound thin and generic.
Letting the voice or instrument imply a 'ghost' Madhyama or Dhaivata while moving between Gandhara and Panchama (or Nishada and Shadja) — both Ma and Da are completely absent from this scale, so the G-to-P and N-to-S jumps must be direct.
Lingering too long or resting (nyasa) heavily on Gandhara or Nishada in a way that pulls the phrase toward the parent scale Shankarabharanam (or toward Kalyani, since Ma/Da are missing from both), blurring Hamsadhwani's distinct identity.
Over-applying heavy kampita oscillation to every note; since Hamsadhwani is a svasthana-visada raga, Shadja and Panchama in particular are meant to be sung plainly, and only Ri/Ga/Ni carry the characteristic slides.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsadhvani — Confirms arohana S R2 G3 P N3 S / avarohana S N3 P G3 R2 S, the pakad G-P-N-S-N-P-G, and the Carnatic vadi=Panchama/samavadi=Rishabha assignment.
https://carnaticguitar.blogspot.com/2016/05/ragam-hamsadhwani.html — Gives per-swara gamaka detail used for the gamaka_profile: Ri as Sa-Ga-Ri (ascent) / Ga-Ri-Ga-Ri (descent), Ga as Pa-Ga or Pa-Ga-Pa-Ga slide, Ni as Pa-Sa-Ni (ascent) / Sa-Ni-Sa-Ni (descent); notes optional gamaka on Ga.
https://sujamusic.wordpress.com/hamsadhwani/ — Corroborates the auspicious, beginning-of-concert character and common Ganesha-themed compositions (Vatapi Ganapatim, Gam Ganapathe).
https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2283 — Independent corroboration of the bright, joyful character and its typical use as a concert-opener rather than an elaborate alapana raga.
https://sangeetapriya.com/raga-container/raga-hamsadhwani/ — Hindustani-tradition source; conflicts with the Carnatic vadi/samvadi assignment by listing vadi=Rishab/samvadi=Pancham (a Bilaval-thaat, Hindustani convention). This claim was excluded from the Carnatic gamaka_profile/vadi determination above as a tradition-specific outlier, though the scale notes and general 'soothing/joyous' character it reports agree with the Carnatic sources.

Parent scale

Hamsadhwani is a janya (derived) raga of the melakarta Dheerasankarabharanam (melakarta 29) — it draws its swarasthanas from that parent scale.

Related ragas

Ragas that share Hamsadhwani's family, scale, or swaras: Arabhi · Bilahari · Dheerasankarabharanam · Chitrambari · Latangi · Mechakalyani.