Raag Bhairavi राग भैरवी

The notes

Bhairavi takes all seven swaras. Re, Ga, Dha and Ni are komal; Sa, Ma and Pa are shuddha. No note is left out going up or coming down, so its jati is sampurna–sampurna. Ma is its most important note (the vadi), and Sa answers it (the samvadi).

Aroha आरोह

Sa Ṟe G̱a Ma Pa Ḏha Ṉi Ṡaसा रे॒ ग॒ म प ध॒ नि॒ सां

Avaroha अवरोह

Ṡa Ṉi Ḏha Pa Ma G̱a Ṟe Saसां नि॒ ध॒ प म ग॒ रे॒ सा

Pakad पकड़

Ṇ̱i Sa G̱a Ma Ḏha Pa · G̱a Ma G̱a Ṟe Saऩि॒ सा ग॒ म ध॒ प · ग॒ म ग॒ रे॒ सा

The pakad above is one common form. The NCERT textbook gives a shorter one: Ma G̱a, Sa Ṟe Sa, Ḍ̱ha Ṇ̱i Sa, coming back to Sa from mandra Dha and Ni. In Carnatic music the same scale is Hanumatodi. Carnatic music has a raga called Bhairavi too, but it is a different raga.Reading the sargamA dot below a swara puts it in the lower octave (mandra), a dot above in the upper (taar). A line under a swara marks it komal; a tick after Ma marks tivra Ma.

On the harmonium

With Sa at C♯, Bhairavi is C♯, D, E, F♯, G♯, A and B. With Sa at G♯ it is G♯, A, B, C♯, D♯, E and F♯. Set your Sa above and the keyboard lights Bhairavi’s keys from there; tap a key to hear it.

Bhairavi with Sa at C♯. Tap a key to hear it.

Swara	Name	Sa at C♯ (kali 1)	Sa at G♯ (kali 4)
Sa सा	Sa	C♯ kali ek	G♯ kali chaar
Ṟe रे॒	Komal Re	D safed do	A safed chhe
G̱a ग॒	Komal Ga	E safed teen	B safed saat
Ma म	Ma	F♯ kali teen	C♯ kali ek
Pa प	Pa	G♯ kali chaar	D♯ kali do
Ḏha ध॒	Komal Dha	A safed chhe	E safed teen
Ṉi नि॒	Komal Ni	B safed saat	F♯ kali teen

How it moves

Bhairavi gives a singer a lot of room, but a few phrases make it sound like itself. These are the ones to know first.

• Ma at the centreMa is the note Bhairavi keeps coming back to. Sa, Ma and Pa are the notes to rest on.
• G̱a Sa Ṟe SaKomal Ga and komal Re fold back to Sa. Komal Re sits just a semitone above Sa, so keep it close.
• G̱a Ma PaUp from komal Ga through Ma, coming to rest on Pa.
• Ḏha Ma Ḏha Ṉi ṠaKomal Dha leans on Ma, then climbs through komal Ni to the upper Sa.
• Ṟ̇e Ṡa Ḏha Pa, G̱a Ma Ṟe SaA way down from the top: from taar komal Re to Pa, then Ga and Ma down to Sa.
• Other notes, with careIn thumri, bhajan and film songs, Bhairavi often borrows notes from outside its scale, like shuddha Re or tivra Ma. Learn it first on its own seven notes; Sangat’s paltas keep to them.

Ragas near Bhairavi

Bhairavi’s four komal notes are shared by several ragas. These are the ones it is most often mixed up with.

Paltas in Bhairavi

Paltas walk a raga’s own line in small groups. Sangat has five in Bhairavi: pairs, triplets, fours, turns, and wide triplets from mandra Pa to taar Ma. Like the aroha, they keep to Bhairavi’s seven notes, so they are a good way to fix the four komal notes in your ear. They come with Sangat Pro; open Bhairavi in Sangat to sing them.

A first bandish

Bhairavi is one of the ten ragas in Book 1 of Bhatkhande’s Kramik Pustak Malika, the books many teachers still start from. The book gives it a sargam geet, sung on the swara names alone, and two songs, “Govind ko bhajan kar le man” and “Soch mana tu kaun ghat mein”.

Play the sargam geet

Sargam geet सरगम गीतBhairavi · Teentaal · madhya laya · 90 BPM

Sthayi

0SSa10dDha11PPa12dDha3mMa14PPa15gGa16mMa×nNi2dDha3–ऽ4SSa2–ऽ6rRe7gGa8mMa

0gGa10rRe11SSa12–ऽ3ḍDha14ṇNi15SSa16rRe×ṇNi2SSa3mMa4mMa2gGa6gGa7rRe8SSa

Antara

0ṇNi10SSa11gGa12mMa3dDha14mMa15dDha16nNi×ṠSa2–ऽ3ṠSa4–ऽ2ġGa6ġGa7ṙRe8ṠSa

0nNi10ṠSa11ġGa12ṁMa3ṖPa14ġGa15–ऽ16ṁMa×ġGa2ṙRe3ṠSa4–ऽ2ġGa6ġGa7ṙRe8ṠSa

0ṠSa10ṠSa11nNi12nNi3dDha14dDha15PPa16PPa×mMa2mMa3gGa4gGa2rRe6rRe7SSa8–ऽ

From V. N. Bhatkhande, Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati Kramik Pustak Malika, Book 1, page 52. The scan.

Practise this sargam geet in SangatLine by line in your Sa, and it tells you which notes you sang in sur. Bhairavi is part of Sangat Pro.

Book 2 adds a second sargam geet and a lakshan geet, “Bhairavi kahin man mani”: a song whose words describe the raga. They name its komal notes, Ma as the vadi, and the first prahar of the day as its time. Both are free in Sangat.

The NCERT Class XI textbook teaches Bhairavi with a bandish from the same Book 2, “Kaisi ye bhalai re Kanhai”, in Teentaal. Sangat has 23 bandishes in Bhairavi. The sargam geets and the lakshan geet are free; the rest come with Sangat Pro.

Common slips

• Komal Re sung highKomal Re is only a semitone above Sa. Sung high, it drifts toward shuddha Re, and the line stops sounding like Bhairavi. Check it against the harmonium.
• A shuddha Ga or NiEither one pulls the raga toward Bhairav’s notes. In Bhairavi, Re, Ga, Dha and Ni are all komal.
• Long stops on DhaResting on komal Dha, then on Pa, starts to sound like Asavari. Rest on Ma, Pa and Sa instead.
• Always skipping Re and PaClimb G̱a Ma Ḏha Ṉi Ṡa again and again and it starts to sound like Malkauns. Bring Re and Pa back in.

Songs in Bhairavi

Many bhajans, thumris and film songs are in Bhairavi, though film songs often bend the raga. Humming one is a quick way to get Bhairavi in your ear. Each of these is listed by the NCERT textbook or by two other sources.

• Awara Hoon (Awara, 1951)
• Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi (Awara, 1951)
• Duniya Banane Wale (Teesri Kasam, 1966)
• Bhor Bhaye Panghat Pe (Satyam Shivam Sundaram, 1978)

Questions

Facts checked on 29 October 2026 against tanarang.com, Rajan Parrikar’s essays at parrikar.org, the NCERT Class XI textbook Hindustani Sangeet: Gayan evam Vadan, ragajunglism.org and Wikipedia. The sargam geet and the lakshan geet are from V. N. Bhatkhande’s Kramik Pustak Malika, Books 1 and 2, which are in the public domain.