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86 ragas and devotional collections to return to. Browse by time of day or emotional colour, with recordings and classical sources close at hand.
Prahar Time of day
Showing 86 of 86 collections
A dawn raga of the Bhairav thaat that joins Bhairav's komal Re to a komal Ni traditionally traced to Ahiri folk melody. Serene and prayerful, sung in the first prahar as the day begins.
Sources draw on Sangita Ratnakara, Natya Shastra, and Bhatkhande’s Sangeet Paddhati. Dosha mappings from Charaka Samhita / Ashtanga Hridaya.
A pentatonic dawn raga of ascetic stillness (bairagi — renunciate): komal Re and komal Ni around Sa-Ma-Pa. Popularized in the twentieth century by Pt. Ravi Shankar and now a dawn staple; attributions follow modern pedagogy.
Among the oldest ragas of the tradition and head of the Bhairav thaat — the archetypal sunrise raga. Komal Re and komal Dha taken with slow, wide andolan give it an austere, purifying gravity; sung in the first prahar at dawn.
The 'queen of ragas' — a sampurna morning raga of the Bhairavi thaat using komal Re, Ga, Dha and Ni. So flexible that all twelve swaras may appear in practice; sung in devotion and surrender, and traditionally offered to close a concert.
A daybreak sandhi-prakash raga of the Marwa family with Bhairav touches, sung as night gives way to dawn. It blends both madhyams and a vakra, wandering sanchara into a solemn, awakening mood. (Treatment varies by gharana.)
A rare Bilawal-anga morning raga preserved mainly in dhrupad and temple singing. Its note-forms are taught with real variation across gharanas, so the scale is left unstated here rather than fixed wrongly.
A dawn raga (prabhat = daybreak) drawing on the Bhairav family — komal Re and Dha lend a prayerful, meditative serenity to the first light. A less widely codified name; this metadata reflects its Bhairav-family dawn character.
A gentle pentatonic raga of first light — komal Re and Dha with shuddha Ga, omitting Ma and Ni (this common Bhairav-anga form; a Marwa-anga variant with shuddha Dha also circulates). Sung as the sky brightens.
The defining raga of the Asavari thaat, an emblem of renunciation and inward resolve. A pentatonic ascent (omitting Ga and Ni) opens into a full descent coloured by komal Ga, Dha and Ni — grave, introspective, sung in the late morning.
Head of the Bilawal thaat and the archetype of the all-shuddha scale, sung in the second prahar of the morning. The common concert form is Alhaiya Bilawal, which omits Ma in ascent and touches komal Ni in descent.
A Carnatic-origin scale (the 26th melakarta) embraced in Hindustani music. Its shuddha lower tetrachord (S R G M) sounds bright and major, while komal Dha and Ni in the upper half turn poignant and yearning — a uniquely bittersweet morning mood.
A forenoon raga of the Asavari family with an earthy, folk-rooted character — both dhaivats appear in practice and its chalan is highly vakra, varying by gharana, so the scale rows are left unstated rather than over-specified.
Miyan ki Todi's Pa-varjit sister — the same komal Re, Ga, Dha around tivra Ma, but with Pa omitted in both directions, deepening the raga's austere pathos. Sung in the late morning.
One of the six ancient principal ragas — the raga of the swing (hindola), pentatonic on Kalyan swaras with tivra Ma, omitting Re and Pa. Sung in the morning and associated with spring festivity.
A late-morning raga of the Asavari thaat, close kin to Asavari but with Ga omitted in ascent and a livelier movement. A staple of the second prahar; much loved for bhajan and kirtan of earnest supplication.
The quintessential karuna raga of the late morning and head of the Todi thaat — komal Re, komal Ga and komal Dha around tivra Ma, with Pa omitted in ascent. Its plaintive tenderness is proverbial; ragamala paintings show Todi charming deer with her veena.
The great vakra raga of midday — Kalyan-thaat swaras taken in curling, never-straight phrases (the signature S-G-R-M-G ascent). Both madhyamas appear; sung in the third prahar when the sun is high.
The simplest of the midday Sarang family — pentatonic, omitting Ga and Dha, with shuddha Ni rising and komal Ni falling. Vrindavani Sarang's plainer sibling for the sun's peak hours.
The midday Sarang taken with both madhyamas and no Ga — tivra Ma rising, shuddha Ma falling. Bright and poised, sung in the third prahar with the Sarang family's noon associations.
A Kanada-anga midday raga of the Kafi thaat, the traditional companion of Suha and often sung as the compound Suha-Sughrai. Finer attributions vary by gharana; vadi and jati are left unstated.
A Kanada-anga raga of the Kafi thaat sung at midday, traditionally paired with Sughrai — komal Ga taken with the curved Kanada treatment in descent, Dha omitted. A connoisseur's raga whose finer attributions vary by gharana; vadi and jati are left unstated.
Midday Sarang-family raga carrying the bhava of Vrindavan — Krishna playing among the gopis. One of the rare day-time ragas in this library.
Deeply emotive afternoon raga, widely performed for its devotional bhakti-shringara bhava. Kafi-family with audava aaroha, sampurna avaroha.
A twentieth-century raga now firmly in the concert canon — komal Ga with tivra Ma over shuddha Re and Dha, sweet and faintly wistful ('madhu' — honey). Sung in the late afternoon; its attributions follow modern pedagogy rather than old shastra.
The definitive fourth-prahar raga of the Todi thaat — komal Re and Dha touched only in descent, tivra Ma blazing at its centre. Austere and inward, it carries the heat of late afternoon turning toward evening.
Afternoon raga of gentle reflection. Uses komal Ga (distinguishing from Patbihag) but shuddha Ni in ascent.
One of the simplest and most universal pentatonic ragas — found in Hindustani, Carnatic (Mohanam), and folk traditions across Asia. Evening raga of devotional stillness.
Carnatic-origin raga widely adopted in Hindustani concerts; radiant evening raga often used to open a performance. Pentatonic (omits Ma + Dha).
Head of the Marwa thaat, sung at sunset — komal Re and tivra Ma with Pa omitted entirely and Sa touched only sparingly, leaving the melody suspended without resolution. The classic dusk atmosphere of yearning and renunciation.
A major sandhi-prakash raga of the Purvi thaat sung at dusk — komal Re, komal Dha and tivra Ma give it a rich, intense sweetness that gathers the mind for evening worship.
The dusk raga that joins Puriya's poorvanga (komal Re, tivra Ma) to Kalyan's uttaranga (shuddha Dha-Ni) — sung just after sunset between Marwa's austerity and Yaman's warmth. Vadi conventions vary by gharana and are left unstated.
Head of the Purvi thaat and a solemn raga of the sunset sandhi-prakash — komal Re and Dha, both madhyamas, moving with deliberate stillness as day turns to night.
The quintessential sunset (sandhi-prakash) raga of the Purvi thaat. Komal Re and Dha paired with tivra Ma, on a vakra movement around Sa–Re–Pa, produce a grave, devotional twilight mood revered for its depth.
A stately raga of the early night joining Shyam's Kafi-anga echoes to Kalyan — both madhyamas, Re and Pa as pillars, Ga and Dha skipped while rising. Its name endears it to Krishna-bhakti; sung in the Yaman hours.
Foundational Hindustani raga taught first to students. Sandhya-kala (twilight) raga of devotional longing; full-octave sampurna jati with characteristic tivra Ma.
A beloved night raga of the Bilawal thaat, serene and romantic in mood. It moves on shuddha Ma in ascent and touches tivra Ma in descent (the signature M'-P-G phrase), omitting Re and Dha while rising.
A grand night raga joining the shades ('chhaya') of Nat to Kalyan — shuddha swaras with tivra Ma flashing in descent, the leap from Pa to Re its signature. Sung in the first prahar of night.
A beloved night raga of the Khamaj thaat associated with the monsoon — shuddha Ni rising, komal Ni falling, Ga and Dha omitted in ascent. Carries shringara and the fragrance of rain; the melody of countless thumris and of Vande Mataram.
Powerful, composed night raga (not to be confused with Mata Durga stuti songs). Pentatonic, omits G + N.
A grand night raga of the Khamaj thaat using both gandhars and both nishads — the signature R-g-R-S phrase gives a tender, regal joy. Sung in the second prahar of night; also honoured as a raga of the Guru Granth Sahib.
A sweet light raga of the Khamaj thaat rooted in folk melody — shuddha notes rising, komal Ni falling. A favourite of thumri, dhun and kirtan singers; vadi attributions vary and are left unstated.
A powerful night raga that plays shuddha and komal Ga against each other and omits Re and Dha. Famous for its dramatic, almost blues-like descending resolution (G-M-g-S); intense and heroic.
Pentatonic evening raga of romantic sweetness, omits Re and Ma. Attributed to modern composers but widely performed.
A serene night raga of the Kalyan thaat built on the Sa-Ma axis, moving vakra through both madhyams with Ga nearly absent. Beloved of bhajan singers — Meera's 'Payoji maine Ram Ratan' is traditionally sung in Kedar. Its vakra chalan resists a simple jati label.
Head of the Khamaj thaat, a light-classical night raga beloved of thumri and bhajan — shuddha Ni in ascent, komal Ni in descent, Re omitted while rising. Many kirtan and bhajan melodies rest on its easy sweetness.
Late-evening Kalyan-family raga combining both shuddha and tivra Ma. Romantic and longing in mood.
A vigorous night raga of the Bilawal thaat named for Shiva — vakra, upper-tetrachord-dominant phrases (G-P-N-D-S') carry its heroic energy. Vadi/samvadi attributions vary across sources and are left unstated.
Also called Bhoop Kalyan — ascends pentatonically like Bhoopali and descends with Kalyan's Ni and tivra Ma carried in meend. Sung in the first prahar of night; grave and consoling.
Popular thumri-style evening raga with a playful, darting sanchara. Frequently closes a Hindustani concert.
A light pentatonic raga of the Khamaj thaat omitting Re and Dha — shuddha Ni in ascent, komal Ni in descent. A favourite of thumri, bhajan and kirtan, and honoured as a raga of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Pentatonic night raga of Carnatic origin, now standard in Hindustani repertoire. Meditative and clear, omits Pa and Ni entirely.
Late-night raga of viraha (longing in separation). Softly insistent, with the M-vadi carrying the weight of loneliness.
Modern variant of Malkauns with shuddha Ni (instead of komal n), evoking moonlit stillness. Deep meditation raga.
The signature raga of the Kafi thaat (komal Ga and komal Ni), and the seat of light-classical thumri, dadra and Holi songs. Tender, amorous and folk-rooted; associated with the spring (vasanta) season.
A deep-night jod raga that joins Malkauns' meditative frame with Darbari Kanada's curved komal-Ga treatment. Its blended chalan varies by gharana, so jati and vadi are left unstated.
Carnatic melakarta 21 (Kiravani) adopted wholesale into Hindustani concert practice, especially by instrumentalists — the harmonic-minor scale. Its late-night placement is modern performance convention, not an old-text prahar assignment.
The grand raga of the rains, attributed to Miyan Tansen. A Kafi-family monsoon (varsha) raga using komal Ga and both nishads, with a characteristic rocking meend; sung at night to invoke and celebrate the monsoon. Legend credits Malhar with the power to summon rain.
A tender raga of the deep night, Bageshri's near twin with shuddha Ga in place of komal — Pa omitted entirely, komal Ni in both directions. Sung after midnight in the Bageshri hours.
A Kanada-anga night raga (Shahana) with a richly vakra, ornamental gait; a Carnatic ragam of the same name is its cousin. Hindustani codification is loose and gharana-bound, so the scale rows are left unstated.
A pentatonic late-night raga on the Kafi thaat's komal Ga — Bhoopali's frame with the third flattened, turning calm into ache. Its codification is comparatively recent (it flowered in twentieth-century light-classical and film music), so time and vadi attributions are conventional rather than ancient — vadi/samvadi are left unstated here.
The definitive deep-night raga of the Mughal court tradition, attributed to Tansen. Slow, grave, and meditative; Kanada-family.
Sacred pre-dawn raga using BOTH shuddha and tivra Ma — creating characteristic emotional tension. Omits Pa. Among the most profound sandhiprakasha ragas.
One of the most ancient and powerful Hindustani ragas. Deep-night pentatonic; said to summon spirits and grant boons in legendary accounts (e.g. Tansen).
The raga of the night's last watch — Marwa thaat, Pa and Re omitted in ascent, soaring in the upper octave with komal Re touched only in descent. Carries the viraha longing of the Sohni-Mahiwal legend.
The hymn to the heart of Aditya, taught by the sage Agastya to Rama on the battlefield before he faced Ravana, and preserved in the Yuddha Kanda of Valmiki's Ramayana. Aditya is the son of Aditi; the stotram praises Surya as the one light standing behind every deity. It is a stotram, not a codified raga — the melodic material varies by reciter, so no thaat, aaroha, vadi or chakra is claimed here. Sung above all on Ravivara, Sunday, the day of the Sun, and on Ratha Saptami (Magha Shukla Saptami), which marks Surya's northward turn. The nakshatra pins are the three ruled by Surya in the Vimshottari scheme: Krittika, Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha. Hasta and Punarvasu were considered and set aside — their claim runs through the presiding deity (Savitr, the Sun, for Hasta; Aditi, mother of the Adityas, for Punarvasu) rather than through Surya's lordship, and mixing the two criteria would blur a distinction the classical scheme keeps separate.
A beloved Carnatic ragam, janya of Natabhairavi (mela 20), rich in gamaka and considered deeply auspicious — sung at weddings and in devotional music. Carnatic practice assigns it no fixed hour, and its gamaka-borne svarupa resists Hindustani scale notation, so scale and prahar are left unstated.
The raga of spring in full bloom ('bahar'), Kafi-thaat with both nishads and a leaping, budding movement. Basant's lively companion — sung at night in season and freely through vasanta, so it carries a ritu rather than a prahar.
The ancient raga of spring (vasanta), Purvi-thaat, rising straight to the upper tonic where it blossoms. Traditionally sung at night in season — and at any hour once spring arrives — so like Megh it carries a ritu rather than a prahar.
Always-on ambient and lo-fi streams for thinking, work and study — a calm, unintrusive backdrop rather than a classical raga. Home for live focus-music streams.
Invocations to Ganapati — Vighnaharta, remover of obstacles, invoked before any beginning. Sung above all on Chaturthi, his tithi, and through Ganesh Utsav in Bhadrapada. These are bhajans and traditional compositions, not a single codified raga; the melodic material varies by singer, so no thaat, aaroha or vadi is claimed here.
Stotras and bhajans to Shri Hanuman — Mahavira, Anjaneya, Pawanputra — above all the Hanuman Chalisa of Tulsidas. These are stotras and bhajans, not a single codified raga; the melodic material varies by singer, so no thaat, aaroha, vadi or prahar is claimed here. Tuesday and Saturday are both firmly his, but on different grounds: Mangalavara for Mangala, whose vigour he shares as Bajrangbali and against whose affliction he is invoked; Shanivara on the Ramayana episode in which Hanuman freed Shani from Ravana's captivity, after which Shani pledged to spare his devotees. His birth nakshatra is genuinely disputed between regional traditions rather than uncertain within any one of them: the North Indian reckoning places his birth at Chaitra Purnima just after sunrise on a Tuesday, in Chitra nakshatra with Mesha lagna, while Tamil Nadu and Kerala hold that he was born in Mula nakshatra at the Margazhi amavasya. Both are pinned. Chitra sits a little ahead only because that reckoning is the more widely observed and is internally consistent with the Tuesday association — not because the southern tradition carries less authority. Chaitra Purnima takes the tithi pin for the same reason. Rama's own marks are carried at reduced weight — Sunday, Navami and Punarvasu — because the Chalisa is Rama-saturated and is sung on his days, but those are Rama's marks and not Hanuman's.
Continuous Hare Krishna mahāmantra kirtan — not bound to a single raga, but sung in flowing melodic medleys for sankirtana and japa. Suitable at any time of day.
Devotional bansuri (flute) renderings in the spirit of Krishna's vamshi — meditative alaap not announced under a single raga name. Restful at any time of day.
Invocations to Devi Lakshmi — Shri, goddess of prosperity, beauty and auspiciousness, who arose from the Kshira Sagara at the samudra manthan. Sung on Fridays (Shukravara, the day of Shukra and of the Devi) and on the nakshatras traditionally held dear to her. These are stotras and bhajans, not a single codified raga; the melodic material varies by singer, so no thaat, aaroha or vadi is claimed here. The nakshatra association is Puranic and muhurta tradition rather than a single codified list: Pushya has the firmest footing (Guru-Pushya and Ravi-Pushya are the classical yogas for Lakshmi puja and for buying gold); Dhanishta is named for dhana, wealth itself; Shravana belongs to Vishnu, whose consort she is, and carries Varalakshmi Vratam; Rohini is the Moon exalted, the nakshatra of abundance; Purva Phalguni's deity is Bhaga, the Aditya of fortune; Purva Ashadha's is Apas, the waters she rose from. Swati is included at reduced weight — its link is by way of Diwali Lakshmi Puja and is contested, some traditions assigning it to Saraswati. Bharani is deliberately excluded despite being Shukra-ruled: it is Yama's nakshatra, avoided for auspicious rites.
An ancient raga of the Malhar family that invokes the monsoon cloud — pentatonic, with heavy meend on Re and komal Ni. Tradition allows it at any hour during varsha, so no single prahar is assigned here.
Not a codified raga but a folk dhun of the Himalayan foothills adopted into light-classical and devotional singing — a Bhoopali-like pentatonic frame taken with free, song-like liberties. Dhun and kirtan singers love its open sweetness; suitable at any hour, so it sits outside the prahar rotation.
A light raga of the Kafi thaat that freely admits nearly all twelve swaras in mishra fashion — the home of countless thumris, dadras and bhajans. Its time conventions are loose (often heard in the afternoon), so no prahar is fixed here.
Braj kirtan and bhajan to Shri Radha and Krishna, the divine couple of Vrindavan, sung in the Gaudiya and Braj devotional streams — whether addressed to the pair together or to either of them alone. These are bhajans and kirtans, not a single codified raga; the melodic material varies entirely by singer, so no thaat, aaroha, vadi or prahar is claimed here. The calendar association is Puranic and sampradaya tradition rather than a codified list, and is graded accordingly. On Krishna's side the firmest footings are Ashtami, his birth tithi (Janmashtami), and Rohini, his birth nakshatra; Ekadashi follows as the great Vaishnava vrata tithi, though it belongs to Vishnu broadly rather than to Krishna alone, and Purnima is included for Sharad Purnima, the night of the Maha Raas. Wednesday (Budhavara) is the weekday given to Krishna in popular North Indian practice — widespread, but not codified the way Shukravara is to Shukra — and Thursday (Guruvara) follows at reduced weight as Vishnu's own day, firm for Vishnu but indirect for Krishna as Krishna. On Radha's side, Vishakha carries real weight as the nakshatra given to her in Gaudiya tradition and the name of her principal sakhi; this is sampradaya tradition and not Vedic nakshatra lore, whose presiding deities for Vishakha are Indra and Agni. Anuradha is deliberately excluded despite the appeal of its name reading as anu-Radha, 'following Radha' — that link is folk etymology, and the nakshatra's deity is Mitra. Shravana is shared ground, belonging to Vishnu. The Lakshmi weights carried here — Friday and her nakshatra set — are inherited from the lakshmi-vandana bucket by choice, on the Gaudiya understanding that Shri Lakshmi is an expansion of Radha's own splendour; that is a theological reading of the sampradaya, not a muhurta rule.
Prenatal (garbh-samvad) recording intended for the mother to play to the child during the monsoon Rakshabandhan festival. Not a raga; included here so the audio and metadata live alongside the rest of the library.
An invocation to Devi Saraswati — goddess of knowledge, music, speech and wisdom, the presiding deity of this very art. Sung in the morning before study, on Fridays (the Devi's day), and above all on Panchami, her tithi (Vasant Panchami).
Modern ambient instrumentals in an Indian-classical idiom made for romance and rest — sitar, sarangi and drone textures over long, slow arcs. Not codified ragas: no raga is named and the pieces follow mood rather than grammar, so they sit outside the prahar rotation as anytime shringara listening.
A light raga of the Kafi thaat beloved of thumri, tappa and Bengali naam-kirtan (often announced simply as 'Raag Sindhu'). Its svarupa follows song convention rather than strict grammar, so scale and prahar are left unstated.
Bhajans and kirtans to Shri Sita and Rama — Janaki and Raghunandan — from the Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas devotional streams. These are bhajans, not a single codified raga; the melodic material varies by singer, so no thaat, aaroha, vadi or prahar is claimed here. The calendar association rests on unusually firm ground for a devotional bucket. Navami is the birth tithi of both, so it is pinned once and serves them together: Rama on Chaitra Shukla Navami, Sita on Vaishakha Shukla Navami (Sita Navami, also called Janaki Navami). Punarvasu is Rama's birth nakshatra as recorded in the Balakanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, which places his birth at noon in Punarvasu with five planets exalted; Pushya is the nakshatra traditionally given for Sita's birth. Sunday (Ravivara) is Surya's day and Rama belongs to the Suryavamsha, the solar line of Ikshvaku — a dynastic association rather than a muhurta rule, and named here as such. One thing is deliberately not claimed: a wedding nakshatra. Vivaha Panchami, the day of their marriage, is fixed by tithi (Margashirsha Shukla Panchami) and not by any nakshatra tradition agrees on, so none is pinned for it.
Meditative sitar in the contemplative, healing idiom of the 'Sitar for Mental Health' tradition — devotional and folk-bhajan-rooted improvisation not announced under a single classical raga. Restful at any time of day.
The 64th Carnatic melakarta adopted into Hindustani concert practice (like Kirwani and Charukeshi) — Kalyan's body with komal Ni. Hindustani convention assigns it no settled prahar, so it is left untimed here.
The Sri Venkatesha Stotram — 'Kamalakucha choochuka kunkumato…' — is the second movement of the four-part dawn liturgy of Tirumala: Suprabhatam, Stotram, Prapatti, Mangalasasanam, attributed to Prativadi Bhayankaram Annangaracharya (15th c.). It is offered at the Suprabhata Seva, the first seva of the temple's day, to wake Sri Venkateswara — Srinivasa, Balaji — the form of Vishnu who stands upon the Tirumala hill. These are stotras, not a single codified raga; the melodic material varies by singer, so no thaat, aaroha or vadi is claimed here, and no ritu either, since the hymn belongs to every dawn rather than to a season. Of the weekdays, Saturday is Venkateswara's own across the whole of India and carries full weight; Thursday is Guruvara, Vishnu's weekly day, but it belongs equally to every Vaishnava hymn and so is pinned at half. The nakshatra is Shravana alone, at full weight: Shravana's presiding devata is Vishnu himself, and Tirumala tradition holds it as Venkateswara's janma nakshatra, keying the monthly abhishekam to it. No second nakshatra has comparable footing — Uttara Ashadha belongs to the Vishvedevas, Punarvasu to Aditi, Rohini to Prajapati. None of them is Vishnu's, and none is claimed here.