• Raag Patmanjari •

(S-rR-gG-mM-P-dD-nN-S)


Said by some to be more of a ‘performance concept’ than a single raga, ‘Patmanjari’ translates as ‘Bouquet of Five Ragas’. Debate persists over whether the form should be interpreted as an open challenge to blend five ragas of an artist’s own choosing, or whether it entails five specific ragas – and, if so, which they should be. Some renditions span the full set of 12 specific swaras, while others confine themselves to disparate ranges of subsets: e.g. Vasantrao Deshpande seems to have seen it as a mix of Nand, Kedar, Shankara, Rageshri, & Maru Bihag – whereas Subbha Rao’s 1966 Raga Nidhi volumes cite three variants (“Bilawal thaat, Kafi thaat, and a mixed type [with] Bhimpalasi, Gaud, Shankara, Malkauns, & Bilawal…it is a complicated one”). . Listed in ancient texts as a ragini of either Deepak or Bhairav, and frequently depicted in classical ragmala paintings (​​”Patmanjari is upset by the absence of her beloved, sitting with clasped hands, urging a parrot to come to her…clothed in colourful lilac, orange, blues, yellows, greens, ornate gold…”). Kumar Gandharva was known to sing a Bhatiyar-ang Patmanjari, sometimes performing it in the curious 24-beat ‘chhak taal‘. It also shares conceptual overlap with oddball entities such as Panchavati (Pannalal Ghosh’s cocktail of “five evening ragas starting with the letter B”: Barwa, Bahar, Basant, Bihag, & Bageshri) and Panch Kalyan (resurrected by Abhirang from a 1950 edition of Sangeet magazine: “created by Tansen…an amalgam of Yaman, Hameer, Hem Kalyan, Shuddha Kalyan, & Shyam Kalyan). Also see Khat (Sanskrit for ‘six’), as well as the general concept of ragamalika (‘multi-raga shuffle’).


• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग पटमंजरी
Search | Glossary | Tags
• Hindustani Raga Index •

BlackLineNARROWER

—Vasantrao Deshpande (1981)—


[motifs, e.g. 0:13] SG M(PG) G(RS)R S, M, G(MGRSNS) G(mGRSNSM) G(RSNS) G, MD(PM)P, G(MP), G(RS)R, S(NS) NS N(DN)N S; S(NS)m, (P)m(PmPm)G, P(MD) P(M)m m(Gm), m(GM)P, P(MP)D (PM)P DP(M)m, S(NS) R(GR)S, NS N(DN)N S…

Apologies to anyone experiencing page-load issues in the past few weeks: this is due to bot-scraper requests overloading the server – a fix is in the works (…if you have expertise in this area, hit me up!)
Support open-access, AI-free raga musicology by joining my PATREON. And to learn raga & global music on guitar, try some online lessons: get in touch to book a free taster session!

BlackLineNARROWER

• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

“Patmanjari Ragini, wife of Bhairava Raga, by Chetan Das” (Amer, c.1746) / “Ragini Patmanjari, from a Rajasthani folio: opaque watercolor on paper” (Jaipur, c.1760)

“Patamanjari: a lady in a pink skirt sits on a diwan, with a female attendant standing behind, and another lady sits on the ground. The backdrop displays a tent or pavilion, with a single tree visible…” (Deccan, c.1675) / “Patamanjari Ragini: depicted as a woman distraught by the absence of her lover, sitting dejectedly with her head in her hand, and being consoled by a confidante. They are seated on a porch in a palace compound, with a forlorn deer resting in the foreground…” (Bikaner, c.1725)

• Recent Raga Index Updates (Sep 2026): Melodic ‘snapshots’ of prachalit ragas • Up to 365 raga pages! Some highlights: Bayati, Basant Mukhari, Bilaskhani Todi, Chandranandan, DoGa Kalyan, Jog, Kalavati, Kaushiki, Malkauns, Maru, Meladalan, Parameshwari, Sarangkauns, Vachaspati (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)

Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas

#raga #jazzguitar #indianmusic #icm #londonmusic
E8 Boogie (Squarepusher): @sqpusher did I get them right? Tried to work out guitar voicings for this curious chord sequence in E8 Boogie (...originally at the request of a student!)

Original: Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson (from 1997’s Hard Normal Daddy)

#jungle #jazzguitar #warprecords #idm #dnb @warprecords
Raag Jaiwanti Todi (SrgmPDnS): An Ahiri-prakriti raga introduced by Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela (1904-1980): the hereditary ruler of Sanand who gained wide renown as a spiritual teacher, vocal educator, and generous patron of the nascent Mewati gharana (also the creator of Gyankali and other ragas). Sung here by his student Pandit Jasraj - a bandish I’ve always loved, especially the ferocious taan and colourful harmonium accompaniment...

—Original: Pandit Jasraj (khayal); Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium); Nizamuddin Khan? (tabla)

#raga #khayal #indianmusic #worldmusic #icm
Raag Prabhateshwari (SrgmPDnS): A mysterious raga created by Hariprasad Chaurasia, played here by his nephew Rakesh - resembling a blend of the morning Ahir Bhairav and the late night Bageshri. I was inspired to learn the raga when researching Maa Annapurna Devi’s time teaching Hariprasad (many thanks to my crack team of experts including Rupak Kulkarni, Alam Khan, George Ruckert, Suresh Vyas, Anindya Banerjee, and Gopi Shanker, who all gave valuable assistance in illuminating the raga’s origins)

—Original: Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), live at Darbar 2008 @chaurasia_rakesh @darbarfestival 

#raga #darbarfestival #indianmusic #bansuri #worldmusic

BlackLineNARROWER

• Classifiers •

Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):


Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+

Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM

Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS

Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni

Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact

Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra

Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row


Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2

Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night

Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball

Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern

Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang

Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.

BlackLineNARROWER

• Prakriti: (Basant Bahar)

BlackLineNARROWER

–Swara Geometries–
(…somewhat moot given the raga’s open conception…)

• Core form: (variable)
• Reverse: (n/a)
• Complement: (n/a)
• Imperfect: (none)
• Detached: (none)
• Symmetries: (n/a)
• Murchanas: (n/a)

• Quirks: (all 12 swaras allowable)

BlackLineNARROWER

–Global Translations–

• Carnatic: (~Ragamalika)
(S-R1-R2-G2-G3-M1-M2-P-D1-D2-N2-N3-S)
• Jazz: (Chromatic)
(1-b2-2-b3-3-4-#4-5-b6-6-b7-7-8)
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
(0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-0)
(1–1–1–1–1–1–1–1–1–1–1–1)

(o o o o o o o o o o o o o)


BlackLineNARROWER

• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Patmanjari, Pat Majari, Patmajiri, Padamanjari, Phalamanjari
• Transliterations: Hindi (पटमंजरी)

BlackLineNARROWER

—Omkarnath Thakur (~1960s)—

BlackLineNARROWER

 

• ‘Guitaragas’ | My Music •
See more raga-guitar on my Instagram

• Learn ragas & filmi on guitar! •

Share these ragas! My site is 100% reliant on organic visitors – send this page to fellow sonic searchers!

—Join my PATREON!—

The Raga Index will always remain open-access & ad-free: however, this approach doesn’t pay the bills! I put as much into these resources as time and finances allow – so, to hasten the project’s expansion, you can:

• Support the Raga Index! •

—Riyaz-focused notations & bandish—
—Resurrecting rare and ancient ragas—
—Further melodic & geometric analysis—
—Ensuring that high-quality raga knowledge will remain open to all, at no cost: free from commercial motive!—

 

—Hindustani Raga Index—

An open-ended project seeking to bring North Indian raga closer to all who approach with open ears. Combines direct input from dozens of leading Hindustani artists with in-depth insights from music history, global theory, performance practice, cognitive science, and much more besides!

–Masterlist (1000+ ragas)–
• Search: Find your new favourite •
• Tags: Classifying the ragascape •
• Glossary: Raga jargon demystified •
• Murchanas: Swara-set rotations •
• Thaat: Bhatkhande’s base scales •
• Bifurcations: Poorvangs/uttarangs •
• Ragatable: Analytical connections •
• Kaunsis: Listing 60+ Kauns ragas •
• Tanpuras: Divine overtonal drones •
• Quotes: Musings from raga artists •
• Talas: Hindustani rhythm cycles •
• Instruments: Singing sculptures •
¡Random Raga!

—Search the Raga Index—

(NEW: search by swaras/varjits)

• Feedback / Contact •

George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Homepage for more, and hit me up for Lessons!

• Projects & articles: full list •

(Get in touch for Zoom lessons!)

my site is ad-free, AI-free, & open-access