raagawheel

Mela 36Rutu chakraM1

Chalanata

The name is the number

Chalanata

Chaca6lala363 reversed36

English 'Ch' spells unaspirated ca = 6 (Calanāṭa), not cha = 7.

Every mela name encodes its own number — how the katapayadi sutra works.

SSR3R3G3G3M1M1PPD3D3N3N3SS (upper octave)

SS (upper octave)N3N3D3D3PPM1M1G3G3R3R3SS

How to know it

Bold, bracing and ceremonial — both vivadi pairs at once, best known through its janya Nata.

Janyas of Chalanata

Hear it in songs

  • Edayya Gathi

    Koteeswara Iyer

    The best-known concert piece in Chalanata proper, from the Kanda Ganamutham cycle covering all 72 melakartas.

    YouTube Spotify

  • Rajadhiraja

    Baluswami Dikshitar

    A varnam by Muthuswami Dikshitar's younger brother, credited with introducing the violin to Carnatic music.

    YouTube Spotify