Niroshta

Niroshta scale with shadjam at C

Niroshta is a symmetric pentatonic scale (audava-audava ragam[1][2] in Carnatic music classification – audava meaning 'of 5') that does not contain madhyamam and panchamam. Its ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):

• ārohaṇa : S R₂ G₃ D₂ N₃ Ṡ[lower-alpha 1]
• avarohaṇa : Ṡ N₃ D₂ G₃ R₂ S[lower-alpha 2]

The notes used in this scale are shadjam, chathusruthi rishabham, antara gandharam, chathusruthi dhaivatham and kakali nishadham. Niroshta is considered a janya rāgam of Shankarabharanam,[1][2] the 29th Melakarta rāgam, though it can be derived from Kalyani by dropping both madhyamam and panchamam. Shankarabharanam is the Major scale of Western music.

Muthiah Bhagavatar is credited with creating this scale, due to the fact that the King of Mysore had a bee sting in his lip and could not sing the Panchama and Madhyama notes, since the notes touch the lip while pronouncing it. His melodious composition Raja Raja Radhite set to Rupaka tala (3/4 beat) also does not use the syllables Ma and Pa. Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan, a disciple of Ramanathapuram C. S. Sankarasivam, who in turn is a disciple of Muthiah Bhagavatar has composed a thillana in Niroshta "tanana dhirana" in Adi Tala. Tanjavur. S. Kalyanaraman has composed a varnam "Kanin Maniye" in this raga. Other compositions include giri-putrika gaura-varni by Bangalore S Mukund in rupaka talam, jayati jayati jayashankara by Ashok R Madhav in rupaka tala.

This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam.