MELAKARTHA SYSTEM IN CARNATIC MUSIC

SEVENTY TWO MELAKARTHA SYSTEMS IN INDIAN CARNATIC MUSIC
Indian classical carnatic music is very ancient. It is the complete music. If you know carnatic music perfectly, you would be able to handle any type of music. There are many special aspects in our Indian carnatic music. Gamakas is one of the important aspects of carnatic music. There are two types of scales or raghas in our Indian carnatic music. The first one is melakartha and the second one is janya ragha.
When a scale has all the seven swaras arranged perfectly in the ascending order of the scale and in the same seven notes are arranged perfectly in the descending order is a melakartha.
The melakarthas have many names, such as mother raghas, base root raghas and others. If you listen to a particular ragha, either it should be a mother ragha or a child ragha. The melakartha system is very interesting and very systematic. There are seventy two melakarthas in our Indian carnatic music system. The first thirty-six melakarthas are suddha madhyama melakarthas and the second thirty-six melakarthas are prithi madhyama melakarthas. All the seventy two melakarthas have been divided into twelve chakras. First six chakras are suddha madhyama chakras and the second six chakras are prithi madhyama chakras. Each chakra has six melakarthas and in total, we derive seventy two melakarthas. If you want to know clearly, first you have to understand the names of the notes or swaras in Indian carnatic music system.
The notes or swaras in our Indian carnatic music:
1. Shadjam
2. Rishabham
3. Gaandhaaram
4. Madhyamam
5. Panchamam
6. Daivatham
7. Nishaadham
These seven notes are also called as sapthaswaras.
Shadjam and panchamam are constant notes. All the other five swaras have different positions. The following are the twelve notes in our Indian carnatic music system.
1. Shadjam
2. Suddha Rishabham
3. Chathusruthi Rishabham
4. Saadharana Gaandhaaram
5. Anthara Gaandhaaram
6. Suddha Madhyamam
7. Prithi Madhyamam
8. Panchamam
9. Suddha Daivatham
10. Chathusruthi Daivatham
11. Kaisiki Nishaadham
12. Kaisiki Nishaadham
These twelve swaras are called as suddha swaras. Apart from these suddha swaras, there are four more notes in our carnatic music system. They are known as vivaadhi swaras. They do not have separate positions for them. That is, they take the same four positions of the suddha swaras.
The names of the vivaadhi swaras:
1. Shadsruthi Rishabham
2. Suddha Gaandharam
3. Shadsruthi Daivatham
4. Suddha Nishaadham
Shadsruthi Rishabham is Saadharana Gaandhaaram
Suddha Gaandhaaram is Chathusruthi Rishabham
Shadsruthi Daivatham is Kaisiki Nishaadham
Suddha Nishaadham is Chathusruthi Daivatham
So, in total, we have sixteen notes in our Indian carnatic music system. With the help of these sixteen swaras, we derive seventy two melakarthas.
The first melakartha is formed with the help of all the lowest positioned swaras and the seventy second melakartha is formed with the help of all the highest positioned swaras.
This is just the introduction of seventy two melakartha system. We will be dealing the same in detail in future.