Madhyamavati
Also known as: Madhyamavathi, Madhyamavathy, Madhyamavati (Madhyamādi - historical/older name per Sangita Ratnakara)
Janya raga of melakarta 22 — audava-audava
Practise Madhyamavati →A profoundly auspicious, gamaka-rich pentatonic raga whose symmetric, evenly-spaced scale (omitting gandhara and dhaivata) gives it an open, spacious quality suited to portraying bhakti and shanta/karuna rasa; it is the traditional mangalam raga that closes most Carnatic concerts, evoking a sense of completion, grace and calm.
Gamaka
| Swara | Style | Hold allowed | Oscillation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | steady | yes | — | Graha, amsa and a very frequent nyasa point; phrases and cadences (including the characteristic descent to S) repeatedly resolve here, usually held plain. |
| R | kampita | no | -45 to 45 cents | A principal jeeva/chaya swara (R2) that carries the raga's identity and is almost always rendered with a gentle sustained oscillation rather than a flat held pitch. |
| m | steady | yes | — | Shuddha madhyama (M1) acts as a calm resting note between the oscillated R2 and N2, generally taken plain to let phrases breathe. |
| P | steady | yes | — | A stable swara completing the S-P-R2 'cycle of fifths' relationship that gives the raga its symmetric feel; usually sung steady and often used to launch descents toward N2. |
| n | kampita | no | -45 to 45 cents | The other principal jeeva/chaya swara (N2); carries essential oscillation and is frequently reached by a jaru (slide) down from S, as in the characteristic S N2 P descent. |
Common pitfalls
- Singing R2 and N2 as flat, unornamented notes instead of with their essential sustained kampita oscillation, which drains the raga of its characteristic bhava.
- Letting the voice or instrument touch Gandhara or Dhaivata even lightly, which immediately confuses Madhyamavati with the closely related raga Sriragam (Sri raga uses similar-sounding phrases but retains ga and dha).
- Over-oscillating Madhyama and Panchama to match the neighboring oscillated swaras, when they are meant to be steady resting/launching points.
- Borrowing phraseology from other Kharaharapriya pentatonic janyas (e.g. Suddha Saveri) instead of Madhyamavati's own S-P-R2 / S-M1-N2 symmetric pidis and its signature S N2 P jaru-based descent.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhyamavati — Confirms arohana/avarohana, audava-audava (pentatonic) classification, parent melakarta Kharaharapriya, absence of ga/dha, and its role as the concert-closing raga.
- https://carnaticmusicexams.in/2019/12/16/madhyamavathi/ — Confirms scale, upanga/varjya classification, and identifies R2, M1, N2 as chaya/jeeva/nyasa swaras.
- https://clicksandwrites.com/2008/05/12/madhyamavati-continued/ — States the raga is strongly gamaka-oriented, requiring accurate oscillation specifically on R2 and N2, and describes its bhakti/karuna rasa and use as a mangalam raga.
- https://mahalakshmi18april.wordpress.com/2024/08/21/madhyamavathi-raga-songs/ — Independently corroborates the scale, janya status, and the raga's 'deep emotional appeal and versatility.'
- https://www.eviolinguru.com/72-lakshanas-of-raga.html — Corroborates its role as a mangalam-concluding raga and notes its older historical name Madhyamadi.
- http://carnatica.in/special/madhyamavati-ppn.htm — Direct WebFetch failed with an expired SSL certificate on the site; content (the caution against touching Gandhara/Dhaivata to avoid confusion with Sriragam, and the S-N2-P jaru-based phrasing) was obtained via a search-engine snippet of this page rather than a direct fetch, so it is treated as corroborating rather than primary evidence.
Parent scale
Madhyamavati is a janya (derived) raga of the melakarta Kharaharapriya (melakarta 22) — it draws its swarasthanas from that parent scale.
Related ragas
Ragas that share Madhyamavati's family, scale, or swaras: Brindavana Saranga · Kapi · Kharaharapriya · Sriranjani · Suddha Dhanyasi · Abhogi.