raagawheel

Mela 1Indu chakraM1

Kanakangi

also known as Kanakambari

The name is the number

Kanakangi

Kaka1nana010 reversed1

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

SSR1R1G1G1M1M1PPD1D1N1N1SS (upper octave)

SS (upper octave)N1N1D1D1PPM1M1G1G1R1R1SS

How to know it

A stark, austere scale built entirely of the lowest variety of every swara — heard more in lecture-demonstrations and mela cycles than in mainstream concerts.

Hear it in songs

  • Kanakangaka Sukha Guha

    Koteeswara Iyer · Adi

    From Kanda Ganamutham, Koteeswara Iyer's Tamil cycle on Muruga covering all 72 melakartas; the raga mudra 'Kanakangi' is woven into the opening words.

    YouTube Spotify

  • Kanakambari Karunyamrita Lahari

    Muthuswami Dikshitar · Rupakam

    Dikshitar followed the asampurna mela scheme, so this kriti names the mela 'Kanakambari' rather than Kanakangi.

    YouTube Spotify