The Pentatonic Ragas of Carnatic Music
The Mela-karta classification system has served the Sampurna Ragas well. However, the Janya Ragas are still a wilderness; they deserve a Periodic Table of their own. Without further ado, here is one for the Audava-Audava ragas (AAR):
| Group | MHN | Suddha M | Prati M | |
| 0 | SRGMP | |||
| 1 | SRGM D | 33 | Abhogi | |
| 2 | SRGM N | 22 | Megharanjani | |
| 3 | SRG PD | 11 22 23 33 44 53 | Bhupalam Revagupthi Rasikaranjani Sivaranjani Mohanam [43] Mohanangi | |
| 4 | SRG P N | 44 | Hamsadhwani | |
| 5 | SRG DN | |||
| 6 | SR MPD | 44 | Suddha Saveri | |
| 7 | SR MP N | 11 33 44 | Revathi Madhyamavathi - | Hamsanadam [35'] |
| 8 | SR M DN | |||
| 9 | SR PDN | |||
| 10 | S GMPD | 44 | Nagaswaravali [43] | |
| 11 | S GMP N | 33 34 44 55 | Suddha Dhanyasi [31] Srothaswini Gambhira Nata | Saudhamini Amrthavarshini |
| 12 | S GM DN | 11 12 21 44 | Hindolam [31] Chandrakauns Sallabham | Sunadavinodini |
| 13 | S G PDN | 43 | Valaji | |
| 14 | S MPDN | |||
I have considered only the AARs with the same aroha-avaroha and with monotonically increasing (or decreasing) notes.
MHN stands for "Mela-karta Hexal Number," which is the Mela-karta number of the father-raga expressed in the base-6 number system. The first digit of the MHN specifies the pre-madhyama swara positions and the second, post-madhyama.
| Digit | Swara position as in |
| 0 1 2 3 4 5 | Kanakangi Thodi Mayamalavagaula Kharaharapriya Sankarabharanam Chalanata |
So, the MHN for Harikambhoji would be 43 and for Shanmukhapriya 31' (prime indicates Prati Madhyama). For more details on MHN, read The Hexal System and the Melakarta Ragas.
I have assumed some license in naming some of the janaka-ragas. The father of both Mohanam and Nagaswaravali is officially Harikambhoji, but I have instead named Sankarabharanam. For Hindolam, you will find Thodi instead of Natabhairavi. I have also taken some liberties with the scale of Hamsanadam - it is strictly not a pentatonic raga, due to the presence of Shadsruti D. However the occurrence of this note is rare, so I have considered it a foreign one.
Please do let me know if I have left out any known ragas, or if there are any errors.