Raag Bhairavभैरव
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Bhairav thaat · Sampurna-Sampurna · Dawn

- Late night
- Dawn
- Morning
Swaras and phrases
Outlined: vadiVadiThe leading swara in a named raag teaching description. It helps explain note emphasis within that interpretation.Source: N2 §§2.2.6–2.2.9, pp. 17–18.More in the glossary dha · samvadiSamvadiThe swara ranked next to vadi in a named teaching account. The pair helps describe the raag’s note hierarchy.Source: N2 §§2.2.6–2.2.9, pp. 17–18.More in the glossary re
Tap a lit note to hear it · Synthesized for study — not a recording
- ArohaArohaA raag’s ascending note movement in a teaching outline. It is read alongside descending movement and characteristic phrases.Source: N2 §§2.2.3–2.2.4, pp. 16–17; §2.3 answer 1, p. 19; glossary entries 2–3, p. 20 (correcting the apparent ‘Avroha’ typo in §2.2.3).More in the glossary
- Sa re Ga Ma Pa dha Ni Sa'
Source: NIOS +2
- NIOS, printed p.4, Raga Parichay, Aroha
- Artium Academy, Raag Bhairav page, aroha
- Rāga Junglism / George Howlett, Melodic summary, Aroha
- 3 of 5 sources agree
- AvarohaAvarohaA raag’s descending note movement in a teaching outline. It may use notes or turns differently from the ascent.Source: N2 §§2.2.3–2.2.4, pp. 16–17; §2.3 answer 1, p. 19; glossary entries 2–3, p. 20 (correcting the apparent ‘Avroha’ typo in §2.2.3).More in the glossary
- Sa' Ni dha Pa Ma Ga re Sa
Source: NIOS +2
- NIOS, printed p.4, Raga Parichay, Avaroha
- Artium Academy, Raag Bhairav page, avaroha
- Rāga Junglism / George Howlett, Melodic summary, Avroh
- 3 of 5 sources agree
- PakadPakadA characteristic note phrase that helps identify a raag. A pakad is a useful cue to identity, rather than a substitute for learning the raag’s wider movement.Source: N2 §2.2.5, p. 17.More in the glossary
- Ga Ma \ re ~ ~ Sa; Ma Pa Ga Ma dha ~ Pa
Source: AUTRIM
- AUTRIM, Bhairav page, characteristic phrases
- 4 versions in 4 sources
About Bhairav
Bhairav is restrained and devotional. KomalKomalThe lowered form of Re, Ga, Dha or Ni relative to its shuddha form. It describes a swara form, not a soft playing instruction.Source: N1 §1.7, pp. 4–5. and 1 moreMore in the glossary Re and komalKomalThe lowered form of Re, Ga, Dha or Ni relative to its shuddha form. It describes a swara form, not a soft playing instruction.Source: N1 §1.7, pp. 4–5. and 1 moreMore in the glossary Dha are sung with slow oscillation. The ascent can be direct, though some performers leave out Re and Pa going up.
Learner focus
Oscillate slowly on komalKomalThe lowered form of Re, Ga, Dha or Ni relative to its shuddha form. It describes a swara form, not a soft playing instruction.Source: N1 §1.7, pp. 4–5. and 1 moreMore in the glossary Re and komalKomalThe lowered form of Re, Ga, Dha or Ni relative to its shuddha form. It describes a swara form, not a soft playing instruction.Source: N1 §1.7, pp. 4–5. and 1 moreMore in the glossary Dha. Sa, Ma and Pa are also held.
Source: AUTRIM
- AUTRIM, Bhairav page, opening description
Caution
Kalingda uses nearly the same notes but has no oscillation on Re or Dha. Ramkali adds tivra MaTivraThe raised form of Ma relative to shuddha Ma in Hindustani teaching. The other swaras do not have a tivra form in this system.Source: N1 §1.7, pp. 4–5. and 1 moreMore in the glossary and sometimes komalKomalThe lowered form of Re, Ga, Dha or Ni relative to its shuddha form. It describes a swara form, not a soft playing instruction.Source: N1 §1.7, pp. 4–5. and 1 moreMore in the glossary Ni.
Source: AUTRIM
- AUTRIM, Bhairav page, description
Study prompts
Short exercises that restate what the cited sources say.
- Sing Ga Ma, glide down to komalKomalThe lowered form of Re, Ga, Dha or Ni relative to its shuddha form. It describes a swara form, not a soft playing instruction.Source: N1 §1.7, pp. 4–5. and 1 moreMore in the glossary Re, and oscillate it slowly before Sa.
- Sing Ma Pa Ga Ma dha, oscillate komalKomalThe lowered form of Re, Ga, Dha or Ni relative to its shuddha form. It describes a swara form, not a soft playing instruction.Source: N1 §1.7, pp. 4–5. and 1 moreMore in the glossary Dha, and rest on Pa.
- Sing the ascent once in full, then once leaving out Re and Pa, as some performers do.
Based on: AUTRIM +5
- AUTRIM, Bhairav page, characteristic phrases
- NIOS, printed p.4, Raga Parichay, Aroha
- Artium Academy, Raag Bhairav page, aroha
- Rāga Junglism / George Howlett, Melodic summary, Aroha
- AUTRIM, Bhairav page, opening description
- AUTRIM, Bhairav page, tone material
Variants
- Some artists avoid Re and Pa in ascending passages.
Source: AUTRIM
- AUTRIM, Bhairav page, opening description
How the sources vote
Each field shows the version most independent sources agree on. One publisher counts once.
- ThaatAll 5 sources agree
- Jati4 of 5 sources agree
- Time5 of 7 sources agree
- Aroha3 of 5 sources agree
- Avaroha3 of 5 sources agree
- Pakad4 versions in 4 sources
- Vadi4 of 5 sources agree
- Samvadi4 of 5 sources agree
Similar raags named by the sources
Not stated in our sources yet
The sources we cite do not state: other names. RagaPedia leaves these blank rather than guess.
Film songs
Film songs where a checked source names Bhairav. Each song shows whether a musician has reviewed it yet.
Archive recordings
No archive recordings are linked to this profile yet. Browse all archive recordings.
Stories
Short accounts from the cited sources, paraphrased. Each line says whether it is documented, a named person's account, or uncertain.
A morning call to Krishna
In the Bhairav composition sung by Padma Talwalkar on AUTRIM, a devotee asks Krishna to wake after sunrise. The lyric notes describe cowherds, children and a king waiting to see him.
Documented · Source: Padma Talwalkar performance: traditional composition and lyric explanation
Sources for this profile
ThaatThaatA seven-note parent scale used to group Hindustani raags in Bhatkhande’s classification. A thaat is a classification aid rather than a complete raag to perform.Source: N2 §2.1, pp. 14–15; §2.2.1, p. 15. and 1 moreMore in the glossary, jatiJatiA classification of a raag by its note counts in ascent and descent. Audav means five, shadav six and sampurna seven; the two directions can have different counts.Source: N2 §2.2.2, p. 16.More in the glossary, time, vadiVadiThe leading swara in a named raag teaching description. It helps explain note emphasis within that interpretation.Source: N2 §§2.2.6–2.2.9, pp. 17–18.More in the glossary, samvadiSamvadiThe swara ranked next to vadi in a named teaching account. The pair helps describe the raag’s note hierarchy.Source: N2 §§2.2.6–2.2.9, pp. 17–18.More in the glossary, arohaArohaA raag’s ascending note movement in a teaching outline. It is read alongside descending movement and characteristic phrases.Source: N2 §§2.2.3–2.2.4, pp. 16–17; §2.3 answer 1, p. 19; glossary entries 2–3, p. 20 (correcting the apparent ‘Avroha’ typo in §2.2.3).More in the glossary, avarohaAvarohaA raag’s descending note movement in a teaching outline. It may use notes or turns differently from the ascent.Source: N2 §§2.2.3–2.2.4, pp. 16–17; §2.3 answer 1, p. 19; glossary entries 2–3, p. 20 (correcting the apparent ‘Avroha’ typo in §2.2.3).More in the glossary and pakadPakadA characteristic note phrase that helps identify a raag. A pakad is a useful cue to identity, rather than a substitute for learning the raag’s wider movement.Source: N2 §2.2.5, p. 17.More in the glossary show the version the most independent publishers print; the sources page lists every version and who prints it. Other facts follow the source cited beside them. No musician has reviewed this profile yet.
- Bhairav: raag profileMusic in Motion: AUTRIM (NCPA and University of Amsterdam) · cited as AUTRIMRaag profile written by Suvarnalata Rao with Wim van der Meer. Accessed 7 October 2026. Located by line in the saved page text; paraphrased.
- Hindustani Music (242), Practical Book 2, Chapter 1: Chota KhayalNational Institute of Open Schooling · cited as NIOSGovernment open-schooling course book with raag profiles (Raga Parichay). Accessed 7 October 2026. Located by printed page; paraphrased.
- OMU-001 Introduction to Hindustani Music, Block 3 Applied Theory, Unit 1 RagaIndira Gandhi National Open University (eGyanKosh) · cited as IGNOU OMU-001University self-learning material. All rights reserved: cited by locator and paraphrased, never reproduced. Accessed 7 October 2026.
- Raag BhairavArtium Academy · cited as Artium AcademyA private music academy's raag page. Its terms reserve reproduction, so it is cited and paraphrased only. Accessed 7 October 2026.
- Raga BhairavaKrsna Kirtana Songs · cited as Krsna Kirtana SongsPublic educational page. robots.txt provides a sitemap and no disallow rules; no terms/automation restriction linked from the inspected home and raga pages. Copyright is not assumed open: cite factual fields and paraphrase; full fetched text is local audit evidence only. Asterisks are the source's ati-komal/andolan qualifier, retained in rawValue; normalized pitch remains komal. Accessed 17 October 2026.
- Syllabus and Theory: Madhyama Poorna (Anjali Nandedkar)Swaranjali Music School · cited as Swaranjali Music SchoolOpen school syllabus; robots.txt returned 404 and no restrictive terms link was found on the inspected school homepage. Copyright belongs to the school/Anjali Nandedkar: factual fields are cited; prose is paraphrased; original PDF and rendered pages are local audit evidence only. Music uses a custom Latin font: ladder rawValue retains the extracted glyph codes, while normalized values were checked against rendered pages. Superscript grace notes are parenthesized in value; the source’s dot and vertical-bar octave symbols are read using its own notation guide (Praveshika PDF pp.10–11). Accessed 17 October 2026.
- Bhairav | SrGmPdNS | Hindustani Raga Index | 365+ RagasRāga Junglism / George Howlett · cited as Rāga Junglism / George HowlettOpen-access musician-authored Raga Index. robots.txt disallows filter-result paths, not this raga page; no separate restrictive terms link found on the inspected page/about page. No open reuse licence assumed. Cite factual melodic summaries; paraphrase prose. Quoted AUTRIM/Tanarang/Parrikar passages and attributed chalan are not new independent votes. Accessed 17 October 2026.
- Samay Raga – The Time Theory of RagasITC Sangeet Research Academy · cited as ITC Sangeet Research AcademyPublic academy teaching page. robots.txt returned 404; no terms/automation restriction linked from the inspected home/page. Copyright retained: time facts are cited, prose paraphrased; fetched text is local evidence. This source is added only to raags for which it was not already used. Accessed 17 October 2026.
- Vocal Music syllabus: Prarambhik to BhushanPracheen Kala Kendra · cited as PKKOfficial examination syllabus. It shows the year a raag is prescribed, not how the raag is sung. Accessed 7 October 2026. Located by printed page.
