raagawheel

Mela 14Agni chakraM1

Vakulabharanam

The name is the number

Vakulabharanam

Vava4kuka141 reversed14

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

SSR1R1G3G3M1M1PPD1D1N2N2SS (upper octave)

SS (upper octave)N2N2D1D1PPM1M1G3G3R1R1SS

How to know it

An exotic, plaintive colour familiar to Western ears as the Phrygian dominant sound of flamenco and Middle Eastern music.

Hear it in songs

  • E Ramuni Nammitino

    Tyagaraja

    YouTube Spotify

  • Nambinen Aiyya

    Koteeswara Iyer · Adi

    From Kanda Ganamutham, his 72-melakarta cycle on Muruga.

    YouTube Spotify

  • Prasanna Venkateswaram Bhajare

    Muthuswami Dikshitar

    Dikshitar's school calls this mela position Vativasantabhairavi, its asampurna form.

    YouTube Spotify