Janya Ragas: The Beautiful Children of the Melakarta
By Mataji Laxmi · 25 July 2026 · 5 min read
The parent gives the notes. The child gives the personality.
My dear child, if the seventy-two Melakarta ragas are the parents of our music, then the janya ragas are their children, and there are hundreds upon hundreds of them. Here is the lovely part: nearly every song you will ever learn to sing lives not among the parents, but among the children.
Let me show you how a child raga is born.
What is a janya raga?
Janya simply means born from. A janya raga takes its notes from a parent Melakarta raga, and then departs from it in some way. It may leave out a note or two. It may take a winding path rather than a straight one. It may ascend one way and descend quite differently. Each departure gives the child its own distinct character, quite unlike its parent.
The three ways a child differs
It may use fewer notes, leaving some out entirely. It may follow a winding path, zigzagging rather than moving straight up or down. Or it may be uneven, taking one route ascending and another descending.
You already know several of them
Here is something that may surprise you. Some of the most beloved ragas in all of Carnatic music are janya ragas, not parents at all. Mohanam, with its warm and open sound. Hamsadhwani, bright and celebratory, often used to begin a concert. Abhogi, tender and inward. All children, every one of them, and all treasured far beyond many of their parents.
The parent gives the notes. The child gives the personality.
Did you know?
Mohanam uses only five notes rather than seven, and yet it is among the most loved ragas in the entire tradition. Fewer notes did not make it lesser. If anything, the restraint gave it a clarity and sweetness all its own.
Why this matters to a student
When you understand that a raga has a parent, something shifts. You begin to hear family resemblances, to notice that two ragas share a lineage even when they sound quite different. The music stops being a long list of names to remember and becomes a family tree you can actually feel your way around.
The gift this brings
A sense of connection. Your child stops learning ragas one by one in isolation and starts seeing how they relate to one another. Understanding always arrives more gently than memorisation, and it stays far longer.
🎧 Simply notice, gently
There is nothing to study at home. This understanding grows quietly through the songs learned in class over time.
If you wish, you might ask your teacher which parent a favourite raga comes from. Purely out of curiosity, never as a task.
Come and meet the family
The janya ragas are where the heart of our repertoire lives, hundreds of children, each with its own face and feeling. Come to class, sing them, and let them slowly become familiar to you, the way family always does.
Words to know
Janya raga, a child raga derived from a parent Melakarta raga.
Janaka raga, a parent raga, another term for Melakarta.
Audava, a raga using only five notes, such as Mohanam.
Shadava, a raga using only six notes.
Vakra, a crooked or winding raga, where notes do not move in strict order.
Mohanam, a much loved five note janya raga, warm and open in character.
Your questions, answered
What is a janya raga?
A janya raga is a child raga derived from one of the 72 parent Melakarta ragas. It differs from its parent by leaving out notes, following a winding rather than straight path, or ascending and descending differently.
How is a janya raga different from a Melakarta raga?
A Melakarta raga must contain all seven swaras in strict ascending and descending order. A janya raga departs from that in at least one way, which is precisely what gives it its own distinct character.
Is Mohanam a janya raga?
Yes. Mohanam is a well known janya raga that uses only five notes rather than seven, and it remains one of the most beloved ragas in Carnatic music despite, or perhaps because of, that restraint.
Are there more janya ragas than Melakarta ragas?
Far more. There are exactly 72 Melakarta parent ragas, but hundreds of janya ragas derived from them, and most of the songs performed in Carnatic music are set in janya ragas.
Wish to meet these ragas properly?
Send us a message on WhatsApp, and we will lovingly help you or your child begin, online, or here with us in Puchong.
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Mataji Laxmi
Mataji Laxmi is the founder and guiding guru of Laxmi Music Academy in Puchong. A lifelong devotee of Carnatic music, she has nurtured generations of students with warmth and devotion, keeping this beautiful tradition alive for the young.
