Nata

Also known as: Nattai, Naatai, Natta

Janya raga of melakarta 36 — shadava-shadava

Nata (popularly Nattai) is a bright, brisk, mangala raga carrying Veera and Bhakti rasa (heroism tempered by devotion); it is traditionally used to open a concert or a Ganesha-invocation piece. Its close-set "vivadi" intervals around Rishabha-Gandhara-Madhyama give it an intense, almost martial edge, which is offset by a slow, sweeping oscillation on Rishabha that gives the raga its majestic sway.

Gamaka

Swara	Style	Hold allowed	Oscillation	Notes
S	steady	yes	—	Shadja is the tonic anchor, held flat as a full nyasa point at the start and close of phrases.
g	kampita	yes	-60 to 55 cents	Rishabha (R3) is the raga's jeeva swara and signature note, rendered with a slow, wide, dirgha (elongated) kampita described by sources as giving Nata its majestic swaying character.
G	nokku	no	10 to 25 cents	Gandhara (G3) sits in close vivadi proximity to both Rishabha and Madhyama, so it is given a brief push/touch in transit rather than held or lingered on.
m	jaru	no	—	Madhyama (M1) is a jeeva swara that anchors the raga's characteristic vakra (zigzag) descent phrase P-M-G-M-R, approached with a glide rather than sung flat.
P	kampita	yes	-45 to 45 cents	Panchama is a resting/nyasa point taken with a gentle kampita before the melody turns into the signature zigzag descent.
N	kampita	yes	-45 to 45 cents	Kakali Nishada (N3) is a jeeva swara and nyasa point rendered with kampita; sources flag it as needing strong breath support in the lower octave.

Common pitfalls

Flattening or under-oscillating Rishabha (R3) into a thin, quick shake instead of the slow, wide, majestic kampita that defines the raga.
Lingering on Gandhara (G3) as a resting note; it is a brief vivadi-tension touch point in transit, not a nyasa swara.
Weak breath support on the lower-octave Nishada (N3) and Rishabha (R3), causing the pitch to sag under the required kampita.
Smoothing over the characteristic P-M-G-M-R vakra (zigzag) descent into a plain linear phrase instead of articulating each note distinctly.
Assuming Nata always includes Dhaivatam in the ascent (as in some classical/textbook renderings of the parent scale, Chalanata's janya); the commonly practiced form used here omits Dhaivatam entirely, giving a shadava-shadava (6-note both ways) scale.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nata_(raga) — Confirms Nata=Nattai, janya of 36th melakarta Chalanata, vivadi classification, and auspicious early-concert usage; its listed classical arohana includes Dhaivatam (D3) with avarohana omitting both G and D, which is a stricter textbook variant than the shadava-shadava (no-D) scale used here.
https://anuradhamahesh.wordpress.com/carnatic-raga-appreciation/14-naatai-the-raga-with-an-intoxicating-melody/ — Gives arohana S R3 G3 M1 P N3 S and avarohana S N3 P M1 G3 M1 R3 S matching this raga's scale exactly (no Dhaivatam); states jeeva swaras are R, M, N; describes Rishabha's dirgha kampita as the raga's majestic signature; notes Veera/Bhakti/Vatsalya bhava and the breath-control pitfall on lower Nishada/Rishabha.
https://www.octavesonline.com/post/from-amari-kabari-to-jagadanandakaraka-your-journey-through-nattai-ragam — Independently corroborates the R3-kampita signature, the M1-G3-M1 zigzag in the descent, and the Veera/Bhakti rasa character, agreeing with the anuradhamahesh source.
https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6803 — Forum thread titled 'Nattai Ragam - Arohana, Avarohana and the contradiction' discussing disputes over whether Dhaivatam belongs in the arohana at all, and noting some old paatantaras omit Dhaivatam entirely (aligns with the no-D scale used here); direct fetch returned HTTP 503, content obtained via search-result snippet only.

Parent scale

Nata is a janya (derived) raga of the melakarta Chalanata (melakarta 36) — it draws its swarasthanas from that parent scale.

Related ragas

Ragas that share Nata's family, scale, or swaras: Chalanata · Gangeyabhushani · Shulini · Arabhi · Bilahari · Dhatuvardhani.