What are Janya Ragas in Carnatic music?

Before understanding Janya rāgas, it is recommended to first understand Melakartha Rāgas. You can read about the same here. 

Janya Rāgas are rāgas derived from the 72 Melakartha Rāgas. Or we could say a rāga becomes a Janya rāga if it deviates from the strict Melakartha framework in one or more of the following ways:

  1. Is not a Sampoorna rāga
  2. Is a Vakra rāga
  3. Contains an Anya Swara
  4. Uses different variants of a swara in Ārohana and Avarohana
Classification of Janya Rāgas:
1. Based on number of swaras:
  1. Swarānthara – Rāgas with only 4 swaras. Ex: Mahathi
  2. Audava – Rāgas with only 5 swaras. Ex: Mohana. 
  3. Shādava – Rāgas with only 6 swaras. Ex: Shreeranjani
  4. Sampoorna – Rāgas with all 7 swaras (even if vakra or bhāṣāṅga). Ex: Shahana, Bhairavi. 

Since Ārohana and Avarohana can independently contain different numbers of swaras, mixed classifications are possible. There can be combinations of these major classifications, leading to:

  1. Audava Sampoorna – Rāgas that have 5 swaras in Ārohana and 7 in Avarohana. Ex: Bilahari. 
  2. Sampoorna Audava – Rāgas that have 7 swaras in Ārohana and 5 in Avarohana. Ex: Sāramathi
  3. Shādava Sampoorna – Rāgas that have 6 swaras in Ārohana and 7 in Avarohana. Ex: Poorvi Kalyāni
  4. Sampoorna Shādava – Rāgas that have 7 swaras in Ārohana and 6 in Avarohana. Ex: Neelāmbari
  5. Audava Shādava – Rāgas that have 5 swaras in Ārohana and 6 in Avarohana. Ex: Malahari
  6. Shādava Audava – Rāgas that have 6 swaras in Ārohana and 5 in Avarohana. Ex: Bahudāri, Mālavi
Based on Arrangement/Order:
  1. Vakra – A rāga in which the swaras do not follow strict ascending or descending order in its Ārohana or Avarohana. In simpler terms, a rāga that has swaras in jumbled order in its Ārohana or Avarohana. Ex: Nalinakānta
  2. Krama – This is the opposite of a Vakra Rāga. A rāga in which the swaras follow strict ascending order in its Ārohana and descending order in Avarohana. Ex: Hamsadhwani
Based on inheritance:
  1. Upānga – A janya rāga that uses only the swaras of its parent rāga. Ex: Malahari
  2. Bhāshānga – A janya rāga that uses swara(s) other than its parent rāga. And the swara which is not from its parent rāga is called as Anya swara. Ex: Khāmbhoji, Bhairavi, Bilahari, etc. 

A Janya rāga may belong to multiple classifications at the same time. 

For example:

Mohana = Audava + Upānga + Krama

Bhairavi = Sampoorna + Bhāṣāṅga + Vakra

You can use the Carnatic Raga app to explore the Ārohana and Avarohana of the rāgas mentioned above.

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