Hindustani music · Raga

What Is Raga Malkauns in Hindustani Music?

Malkauns is a late-night raga of Bhairavi thaat that uses five swaras. Its swaras are Sa, komal Ga, Ma, komal Dha and komal Ni. Re and Pa are left out. Its most important swara (vadi) is Ma, and its second (samvadi) is Sa.

The swaras of Malkauns and their spacing

Malkauns is audav in both directions. Its aroha (rising line) and its avaroha (falling line) each use five swaras. With Sa on C, the swaras are C, E flat, F, A flat and B flat. The gaps between them measure three, two, three, two and two semitones.

Malkauns has no Pa. Sa and Ma lie a perfect fourth apart, and the raga is built around these two swaras. Ma is the vadi and the resting swara of many phrases. Sa is the samvadi.

How phrases move in Malkauns

A typical rising line starts on mandra komal Ni, which is komal Ni in the lower octave. It climbs through Sa and komal Ga to Ma. It continues through komal Dha and komal Ni to taar Sa (upper Sa). In the descent, Ma returns again and again, as in D_ M G_ M G_ S.

Malkauns is usually developed slowly. Much of its alap (the slow opening without a beat) stays in the lower and middle registers.

The form of Ni in Malkauns and Chandrakauns

Chandrakauns keeps the outline of Malkauns and replaces komal Ni with shuddha Ni. With Sa on C, the seventh swara becomes B natural. That Ni lies a half step below taar Sa and is easy to hear.

Listen to the step from Ni into taar Sa. A half step means Chandrakauns. A whole step means Malkauns. The pakad of Malkauns hardly uses Ni at all, while Chandrakauns stresses it.

Thaat and time of Malkauns

The Bhatkhande system places Malkauns in Bhairavi thaat. Its swaras also fit Asavari thaat, because Re is the only swara that separates the two thaats and Malkauns omits it. Some books therefore list it under Asavari.

Malkauns belongs to the third prahar (three-hour period) of the night, which covers the hours after midnight. In written answers, Pa or Re sometimes appears in its aroha by mistake. Neither swara ever appears in Malkauns.

Parichay

Thaat: Bhairavi
Vadi: Ma
Samvadi: Sa
Time: Night
Summary: Re and Pa are left out. It is a night raga.

Notes (swaras)

Sa Ga Ma Dha Ni

Sa, komal Ga, Ma, komal Dha, komal Ni.

Aaroh and avroh in sargam

Aaroh (aroha): Sa Ga Ma Dha Ni Ṡa
Avroh (avaroha): Ṡa Ni Dha Ma Ga Sa

Pakad

A phrase Malkauns is known by:

Sa Ga Ma Dha Ni Dha Ma Ga Sa

In Bhatkhande notation a line below marks a komal swara and a short vertical line above marks tivra Ma. A dot below marks the lower octave and a dot above marks the upper octave.

How it looks

This line rises from mandra komal Ni to taar Sa and falls back to Sa. Ma recurs in the descent because it is the vadi.

Feature	Malkauns	Chandrakauns
Ni	Komal Ni	Shuddha Ni
Ni with Sa on C	B flat	B natural
Step from Ni to taar Sa	A whole step	A half step
Re and Pa	Left out	Left out

Malkauns and Chandrakauns share Sa, komal Ga, Ma and komal Dha. Only the form of Ni separates their swara sets.

In exams and courses

Malkauns enters the Gandharva syllabus at Madhyama Pratham. Candidates prepare a madhya laya (medium tempo) bandish or gat with seven minutes of elaboration. At Madhyama Poorna it is one of six ragas for full study. The CBSE Class 12 vocal and melodic syllabi prescribe it with Bhairav and Bageshri.

Practice tests on this site with questions on this term:

Practice it

Ear Training. Choose the Ragas level and Malkauns, and identify its five swaras over the tanpura.
CBSE Class 12 Hindustani Vocal practice test. Answer questions on Malkauns, Bhairav and Bageshri, the ragas the Class 12 paper prescribes.
Gandharva Madhyama Poorna practice test. Answer theory questions from the level that sets Malkauns among six ragas for full study.

Flashcard

What is malkauns?

Related terms

Raga: A melodic framework of Indian classical music. It is defined by its notes, characteristic phrases, emphasized tones and mood.
Thaat: A parent scale of seven swaras used to classify Hindustani ragas. The Bhatkhande system uses ten thaats.
Komal: Flat, in Hindustani music: the lowered form of Re, Ga, Dha or Ni, a half step below the shuddha form. Bhatkhande notation marks it with a line below the swara.
Bhairavi: A raga of Bhairavi thaat, with komal Re, Ga, Dha and Ni. It is traditionally a morning raga and often closes a concert.
Pentatonic scale: A family of five-note scales used in many traditions. Its members have many distinct interval patterns.
Swara: A note of Indian music. The seven shuddha swaras are Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni.

Sources

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