Raag Hindustani
© 2011, Sādhana

Compositions in Raag Bhairavi

Raag Bhairavi has a very gentle, feminine quality to it as all its variable notes are flat. The traditional time alloted to this raga is early morning, but it is often also performed at the end of an evening of classical music as a way of winding down. This raga belongs to the Bhairavi thaat. Its vadi (most important note) is ma, and samvadi (second most important note) is Sa. Raag Bhairavi's aaroh and avaroh (ascending & descending scales) are as follows:

Scale: Bhairavi

Below is a simple composition (bandish) in Raag Bhairavi.


1. Bhairavi kahi manmani

This composition is a lakshan geet by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. A lakshan geet is a composition that outlines the main characteristics of a raga or a group of ragas. It serves as a mnemonic device for students. For instance, this lakshan geet tells you that Raag Bhairvai uses the flat variant of all the variable notes, that it is sung in the morning hours, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., that ma is its vadi and sa its samvadi, and that the mood associated with this raga is one of devotion.


Bhairavi kahi manmani (key B)

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Compositions in other ragas



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