The two terms Arohana (ārōhaṇa) and Avarohana (avarōhaṇa) are used in Carnatic Music as a terse formula/description of the order of swaras (notes) in a carnatic raga i.e. a decription of the raga’s structure. The Hindustani system calls the same terms Arohi (ārōhi) and Avarohi (avarōhi) respectively. The arohana defines the ascending order of swaras in the raga, and avarohana defines the descending order. The arohana and avarohana are orthogonal in that the ascending order and descending order can be different for a raga. In Western Music, this is rare (e.g. some versions of the melodic minor scale). In Indian classical music this is very common. I believe it is rare in Western Music perhaps owing the dominance of harmony, whereas it is common in Indian classical music owing to the dominance of melody.
The asymmetry in arohana and avarohana comes in many forms
- Different number of swaras between arohana and avarohana (e.g. sAvEri, vasanta, maNirangu etc.) – this is very common
- Same number of swaras in arohana and avarohana but different flavors (e.g. brindAvana sAranga and some interpretations of bhairavi)
Linear vs. Non-Linear arohana/avarohana: On top of this, the arohana and/or the avohana can be linear or non-linear.
- A linear arohana has the set of swaras laid out in increasing order of pitch (e.g. S R1 M1 P D1 S for sAvEri). Similarly a linear avarohana has the set of swaras laid out in decreasing order of pitch (e.g. S N3 D1 P M1 G3 R1 S for sAvEri).
- A non-linear arohana/avarohana may have zig-zag (vakra) patterns, and/or special phrases included in it. For example, SrIraga is a case that has both. Its arohana is a simple linear S R2 M1 P N2 S. The avarohana however is S N2 P D2 N2 P M1 R2 G2 R2 S. Here P D2 N2 P M1 is a special (but rare and non-mandatory) phrase, and the only one that can include dha. The M1 R2 G2 R1 is the vakra/zig-zag where while descending from ma, you cannot go to ga directly but must go to ri, then ascend to ga, and then back to ri. This is mandatory in SrIraga.
This indicates that the arohana and avarohana come in various flavors with potentially a lot of complexities implied. In fact, in complex phrase oriented ragas (e.g. nATakurinji, Anandabhairavi, rItigowLa etc.), the arohana and avarohana fall short of being fully representative of the raga structure, and thus become less useful, and also potentially misleading. There is also subjectivity and inconsistency which comes into play in these cases (e.g. are all special phrases included?).
In the simplest case of linear and symmetrical arohana/avarohana (e.g. all melakarata ragas, and ragas like mohanam etc.), as well as the simplest form of asymmetrical arohana/avarohana where both of them are linear, the terms do serve quite well.
Confusion regarding interpreting simple asymmetrical arohana/avarohana:
One of the interesting confusions some rasikas of carnatic music have is regarding the interpretation of the asymmetrical arohana and avarohana – even for the simplest case where both are linear. Let us take one such raga – sAvEri. Its arohana and avarohana is as follows:
arohana: s r1 m1 p d1 s
avarohana: s n3 d1 p m1 g3 r1 s
As you can see there is no ga and ni in arohana but both are in avarohana. Now what does this mean?
- Is s r g r allowed?
- Is the phrase d n d m allowed?
- How about the phrase n d n s?
Many rasikas look at the arohana s r m p d s and conclude that all three must be disallowed. But in truth, only #3 is disallowed. When rasikas encounter #1 and #2 in concerts (e.g. kalpanaswaras), they may conclude that “Well – sAvEri must really be a special raga whose usage defies easy representation”. Now there are indeed ragas whose arohanas/avarohanas are not fully representative, but in this case, there is actually a logical explanation that follows directly from the arohana and avarohana as to why #1 and #2 are allowed, and why #3 is not.
To get there, let me state the rules of interpreting linear (i.e. on-vakra, non-phrase-oriented) arohanas/avarohanas:
- You can ascend from a swara, if it appears in the arohana. In other words, if a swara appears in the arohana, you can ascend from it.
- You can descend from a swara if it apppears in the avarohana. In other words, if a swara appears in the avarohana, you can descend from it.
Simple isnt it? But what is the big deal? It perhaps seems obvious!
I think one of the main reason why folks (I was one some time ago) may conclude that the first phrase (s r g r) as disallowed is that they see the s r m as arohana of sAvEri, match it against s r g r – and immediately conclude that s r g combination is disallowed. For some odd reason, many of us initially seem to easily fall for this. However, this considers the half of the picture as in just arohana. The arohana does indeed says s r m – but the avarohana has m g r s and that is being left out in reaching such a conclusion! In fact, if we apply the rule above, we will find that s r g is certainly allowed as long as we descend from g after 🙂
Now let us look at these phrases and methodically apply our rule:
- #1: s r g r:
- Take the first transition i.e. s r. We are ascending from sa. This is allowed because sa is in arohana.
- Take the next transition i.e. r g. We are ascending ga here. This is also allowed because ri is in arohana.
- Take the next transition i.e. g r. We are descending from ga here. This is allowed because ga is in avarohana.
- Since all transitions are allowed, the phrase is allowed. If you are still not convinced, you may want to note that this is pretty much how the sAvEri varnam starts (as s r g r g ri <=> sa ra su . . Da)
- #2: d n d m:
- First transition d n is allowed as we are ascending from dha, and dha is in arohana
- Next is n d, which is allowed as we are descending from ni, and ni is avarohana
- Next is d m, which is also allowed as we are descending from dha, and dha is also in avarohana
- Since all transitions are allowed, the phrase is allowed. This phrase also occurs (more than once) in the sAvEri varnam.
- #3: n d n s:
- First is n d, which is allowed as we are descending from ni and ni is avarohana
- Next is d n, which is allowed as we are ascending from dha and dha is arohana
- n s is disallowed as we are ascending from ni, and ni is not in the arohana
- Since the last transition is disallowed, this phrase is disallowed – not because of n d n, but only because of n s. The n d n as such is allowed but only as long as we descend from ni after that which we did not do here.
As an exercise for the reader, see if following are allowed or not:
- For sAveri,
- s g r for sAveri (can you find a rendition which includes this phrase?)
- d G R S (capital implies tara stayi or higher octave)
- kAmbhOji , whose arohana is S R2 G3 M1 P D2 S, and avarohana is S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S (ignoring S N3 P which a rare, special phrase):
- d n d m p d n da
- nATa/nATTai whose arohana is S R3 G3 M1 P D3 N3 S. And avarohana is S N3 P M1 R3 S.
- p m g r s
- p m g m p
- p m r g m p
- p d p
Limitations of applicability of above rule:
The above rules should work for all ragas whose arohana and avarohana is linear (symmetrical or not). The non-linear world is sort of fraught with inconsistencies – but I believe for some cases (e.g. mandatory vakra as the only additional feature) logical rules can apply. I will try to post on that later.
Just thinking out aloud ... 
October 6, 2008 at 1:29 pm
saw this come up on my feed reader and the first thing I noticed was the ‘g3’ in the saveri aarohanam, and the subsequent negation as follows : “As you can see there is no ga and ni in arohana but both are in avarohana. Now what does this mean?”
dont mean to be peevish, but seemed like a typo.. adhan sonnen. 🙂 ok, now will get back to reading the rest of the post. 🙂
cheers!
Arun: OOps! Thanks man. That was a nasty typo – pretty much diametrically opposite to the point I was trying to make 🙂 !!!!
October 6, 2008 at 2:25 pm
sAveri – both phrases allowed (rendition kandu pudikaradhu konjum bulbu dhan)
kAmbhoji – allowed.
nAttai – p m g m p, p m r g m p – allowed.
p m g r s – disallowed, because the descent ‘g r’ does not conform, due to the absence of ‘g’ in the avarohanam.
similarly, p d p – disallowed, because the descent ‘d p’ doesnt conform, due to the absence of ‘d’ in the avarohanam.
Arun: All correct!
correeta?
October 6, 2008 at 3:35 pm
aaha…super! thanks a lot for sharing this info.. learnt something new today. 🙂
oh and one more correction required at the same ‘saveri’ spot.. ‘d2’ in the aaro. 🙂
Arun: Thanks – I fixed that too. I guess I rushed posting that by this much 😦
October 6, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Brilliant post..I got them all right. All credit to you! You have a wonderful carnatic music 101 going on in your blog, that people like me who are just beginning to appreciate and understand benefit a lot from..Keep it up!
Arun: Thanks and welcome to my blog!
October 7, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Got all correct as well..
Very simply put… and easy for a musically inclined novice to follow..
To quote Thiruvalluvar:
Inaroolthum Naara Malaranaiyar – katradhu unara virithuraiyadh aar
So my congrats for the lucidity of the explanation.. .
I actually came across another (much seemingly complex but isn’t) explanation a decade ago, here:
http://www.geocities.com/Krishna_kunchith/rmic/rmic.1997.07.08.html
Probably this one also touches upon the topic that you are planning to write (about the non-linear ones..); But would look forward to yours anyways.. because of the “Thiru valluvar” factor 😀
Arun: Thanks – Vicky. The clustering thing mentioned there occurred to me as well 🙂 (but it doesnt always work I think).
I am afraid that the the information from that other site is not entirely correct. It says that for bilahari, “In particular, the following transitions are forbidden: g-m, m-p, d-n, n-s”.
I believe this is not correct. Both g-m and d-n as such are allowed but only as long as one descends after them. So g m p or d n s would be disallowed but say g m g r and d n d p would be allowed. Like I said this is a common confusion/misconception among many folks.
The g m occurs even in the elementary bilahari swarajathi “ra ra vENugOpapAlA” in the 2nd charanam g p m g m g r s (pi la ci na pa lu ka vu …)
The “d n” occurs e.g. in a bilahari “svara pallavi” I have been taught where it is in the refrain itself which begins as s , , , n , d , n , p , d , p , , , … – note the descending movement after the d n.
October 8, 2008 at 2:26 am
A counterexample in garudadhwani srgmpdns-sdpgrs (non-vakra scalical raga)
dpmp or rsns could potentially be justified as per rules above that allow srgrs or dndm in saveri but dpmp or rsns in garudadhwani will NOT be accepted by musicians as being conforming to the grammar of the raga.
Arun: Thanks. The above “somewhat blind” rules are sort of at the low end of order, and are always trumped by other rules – such as avoidance of phrases that may look like allowable, but aren’t because it may tread into the melodic character of other allied (and perhaps already established) ragas.
October 8, 2008 at 6:00 am
great work. your insights on carnatic music and ragam is great . can i copy the write up on ragam and prayogam for my personal purposes?
Arun: Thanks! And sure.
October 8, 2008 at 12:00 pm
An interesting post, because I have often wondered how ragas like Nattaikurinji can be rendered accurately, given their complex aarohana and avarohana schemes.
You have not addressed the question of skipping swaras. I read somewhere that it is allowed to skip a swara once in a while, as long as it doesn’t affect the aesthetics of the song, which I don’t completely agree with. I’ve always been confused by most vakra ragas, which is why I hardly attempt them. Not to mention, I am not too good at converting solfege to an understanding of the raga – singing or playing it hands on seems to be my best way to learn it.
Based on my understanding, here are my answers:
For Saveri:
1. D…S…GR is allowed in Saveri.
2. D… GRS is also allowed in Saveri.
For Nattai, my thoughts were exactly as Zep, so I didn’t think I should rewrite the answer.
A question from me, maybe an easy one for you folks! In Khamas, is “GMGRSNPMG” allowed?
October 8, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Phil,
Almost all vakra ragas are ones which have sort of evolved based on a certain melodic character that is say more restrictive (or in some cases less restrictive) than the scale/structured implied by their respective arohana/avarohana. So these are like “go with the feel” rather than necessarily try to construct phrases based on aro/avaro. nATTaikurinji is certainly one those – and i would say the same for khamAs (see below).
Regarding skips
There are no unambiguous rules against skips – however I observe the following patterns:
1. Consecutive skips (not mandated by raga structure itself) as e.g. s g p or even s m r in any mela are very rare in cm, used very sparingly.
2. A skip (again which is not mandated by raga structure itself) is quite commonly followed by a movement back in the opposite direction but not necessarily back to the skipped swara. So you will find plenty of s g r, n g r, r p m, d r s, d g r, s m g, m n d, p s n etc. compared to say s g m, n g m, d g m, s m p or p s r. But that doesnt mean this is the case 100% of the time. But you do find e.g. d m g …. I think in general this (continuation in same direction) could be governed by raga aesthetics and hence a bit fuzzy to pin down exactly.
3. Even single skips are in general not as prevalent in cm compared to say western, but one cannot say they are rare. They do occur often enough.
On top of all this, there may be overriding fuzzy rule(s) that tell us avoid phrases that also tread into other similar ragas’ territory, also certain swaras in certain combinations may be too important to be skipped etc. So one cannot really completely trust the aro/avaro.
khamas
(I will first admit I am not very well versed in all this. So take this with a pinch of salt)
This is another raga with a vakra in it, AND one whose melodic character is not captured by aro/avaro. We all know it as:
S M1 G3 M1 P D2 N2 S
S N2 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S
But do you know that s r g r which includes “r g” (ascent from ri) is allowed? The varnam has it. Basically I think “r g m” is disallowed – so “r g” is allowed if one descends from ga. Not sure yet how that can be represented.
GMGRSNPMG in khamas
1. The phrase begins “G M ….”. I think that itself is valid only if you are descending to ga (as in M G M) – i am not 100% sure but starting a “line/phrase” with ga may not be kosher for khamas.
2. G M G R S is allowed I think.
3. S N P M looks technically allowed by struture, but one where you are skipping a swara and continuing in the same direction (rather than back towards the skip). Like I said, this is not as common, and I think it would best be avoided or modified.
4. Your phrase ends in ga – as such this could be “incomplete” in khamas (I think?) – and thus validity may further depend on where it goes from there.
Again – pinch of salt required.
Arun
October 9, 2008 at 10:42 am
Arun,
Illuminating comment. It is true that Vakra ragas can be rendered more accurately by a god understanding of how the raga “feels” when singing/playing it.
I agree that repeated skips make the raga less intelligible. I once tried repeated skips of M and D when playing Kalyani and it sounded very off. The other caveat as you have addressed seems to be “similar ragas territory” which for ragas like Karnataka Devagandhari and Abheri are very important.
Arun: When you decide to skip, depending on the raga, it may be ok to skip some swaras, but not others, and that is dependent on that fuzzy area of raga aesthetics. In kalyANi, I think it is not good to skip the “ma” because it in a way is too important to the raga’s melodic character. On the other hand, pa can be (and sometimes is) skipped in more than a fair share (you find that skipping pa is actually common – e.g in tODi and maybe more M2 ragas). Note also that in current days, abhEri and karnataka dEvagAndhari are pretty much identical. Basically today’s abhEri (which has opted for D2 in favor of original D1) has “consumed” the other raga. So skip or not, you are in the territory of both ragas 🙂 ! But perhaps you meant suddhadhanyAsi? Skips in abheri (e.g. in descent) can quickly lead you astray into suddhadhanyAsi’s territory.
Arun: (correction) I take that back about never skipping ma in kalyani. It is fine again as long as you dont overdo it. The varnam as pa m g- n da g d p m g r …. and g m p ga m n d n … – all in the first line of anupallavi 🙂 – but note that every time the skip is followed by a movement in the reverse direction of skip – and also in ma is always around in the near context.
I’d say thats a very logical analysis of the Khamas phrase. So SNPM seems to be the culprit there, indeed.
October 11, 2008 at 9:49 am
I just looked up on Abheri and you’re absolutely right. I wonder how Abheri would sound with a D1, should try that out.
And yes, I witnessed how skipping swaras in Abheri can easily lead to Shuddha Dhanyasi.
http://philramble.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/narayana-shuddha-dhanyasi/
http://philramble.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/abheri-versus-dire-straits/
(links posted for those following the comments)
October 28, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Suber ba – nice detailed explanation !
Keep’em coming !
Arun: Thanks!
October 29, 2009 at 1:20 pm
In Saveri, when we say its aarohana is ‘s r m p d S’, and we are at r, then is the rule not like this ? :
– if you ascend from r, then you should go to m
– if you descend from r, then you should go to s.
If the rules are like above, then ‘s r g r s’ is not allowed.
Arun; No, as I explain in the blog, this the common misinterpretation of arohana/avarohana.
I think probably the rules of Aarohana and Avarohana should be more elaborate like :
– Given a swara that is in Aarohana, you can ascend TO ANY swara in either Aarohana or Avarohana.
– Given a swara that is in Avarohana, you can descend TO ANY swara in either Aarohana or Avarohana.
Is that correct ? Typically, this ‘TO’ part is not explained. Ascend to what ? Descend to what ?
Arun; No, no. TO is pretty much irrelevant (except in vakra phrases mandated by a raga – we are not talking about those ragas). Basically there are no ‘structural’ restrictions on how you get TO a swara although there may be some aesthetic restrictions (as in some ragas you may not skip an important swara to get TO some swara) . So you take Da in mohanam, when ascending – you can do pa-da, as well as ga-da. In some/many mela ragas, you can do sa-pa, ri-pa ni-pa etc to get TO pa i.e. multiple ways sometimes skipping swaras.
Anyway, in aro/avaro what is conveyed is ‘Can I go UP or DOWN FROM a swara’. If the swara is in arohana, you can go UP FROM the swara. If it is the avarohana, you can down DOWN FROM that swara. Ok, you ask but UP/DOWN TO which swara? Basically any swara – although typically one does NOT skip swaras in CM that much (although certainly allowed and common) and *so most of the time* you are going TO the next swara in the raga in that direction. In completely symmetrical ragas like say all mela ragas, it would be the next. So in any mela raga, if you are going UP from ga, most of the time time it would be to ma. But it certainly need not be the case – there could be a jump/skip (like ga-da or even ga-ni – more so if the ga/da or ga/ni pair has a nice relationship e.g ga3/d2 and ga2/d1 and ga3/ni3 and ga2/ni2 etc.) So asymmetrical ragas for sAveri, more possibilities can arise – e.g you can ascend FROM ri, ‘most of the time’ it would be to ma or ga (and in the ga case you have descend after reaching).
Hopefully that clarifies matters.
October 29, 2009 at 1:23 pm
The post is good. It clarifies some typically unexplained things. If you can clarify the above too, it would be great.
December 11, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Thanks you so much. I never understood the arohanam and avarohanam till now, because I always looked at them in the *misconception* way, and I couldn’t explain the huge number of phrases that do not follow the *misconception*. The rules of arohanam and avarohanam as explained by you seem to explain atleast the majority of phrases, with limitations like you are yourself pointing out. Thank you once again.
July 29, 2010 at 1:48 am
Thanks a ton….Helped me clarify what the aarohana and avarohana are for and also went a long way in explaining the raaga structure as well.
Arun: You are welcome!
May 8, 2012 at 8:26 pm
I have a homework to do on arohana and avarohana, can you tell me how to define or find the arohana and avarohana for Amanda bhairavi, song is kamala sulochana……. I do not want the answer, but if you help me understand how to form the Ar and Ava.
May 8, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Anandabhairavi’s arohana/avarohana isnt a straight up and down i.e it has a vakra (twisted) form. For that the rules here dont apply as easily. On top, the Anandabhairavi of kamala-sulochana is probably an older form of the raga (e.g. has p d n s which isnt there in the form of Anandabhairavi you see with trinity and others). So in general the exercise here cannot be applied to your problem.
September 5, 2013 at 10:54 am
hi, I have a question… I am a total newbie to raags, but I am trying to learn.. So bear with me 🙂
#3: n d n s: you say “n s” is disallowed as “n” is ascending, but why can’t “n s” be possible as “n” can be descending and there is “s”. Is there some rule that I need to be aware of? Please let me know.
September 5, 2013 at 6:09 pm
a descent from ni to sa is a huge jump – you dont see that in carnatic music. When a “n s” is usually means “sa” that is higher to ni. (similarly if you say s r – it would mean the ri that is higher to sa.
September 6, 2013 at 6:06 am
thank you, that makes sense, I read that one of the characteristics of a rag is that it should sound pleasant, so this must be the reason, but wanted to confirm. thanks for the quick response.
Arun: I also need some help with identifying the rag and scale for a composition I have, this is off topic, but if you are interested in helping me, please let me know.
September 6, 2013 at 9:36 am
It isnt necessarily because of pleasantness (as wide jumps are employed in western music e.g.), albeit it is perhaps related to the concept of what is pleasant from a Indian cultural standpoint. IMO, it is more to do with the fact that wide jumps will destroy the raga swaroopa/identity (see my post on Ragas and Scales (https://sunson.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/ragas-and-scales/) where I have tried to present this viewpoint (pl. note this is just my viewpoint – 🙂 ).
Yes, send me a link to this composition and I can see if I can help.
April 2, 2018 at 1:31 am
Thanks for the clarification – very well written. There is one more subtlety when a note exists in avarohana but not arohana. You can ascend to that note as long as you are descending. But you can’t ascend to that note if you are staying. Eg; you can’t do the following in Kambhoji:
PDN-
MPDN-
GMPDN-
April 2, 2018 at 1:54 am
There is a further nuance to this in Bhairavi ragam. The arohana has D2 but avarohana has D1. But D2 is only used if the phrase is going towards S. So
P D1 N2 D1 P and P D2 N2 S-. I’m not sure if there are other ragas with similar nuance.
January 1, 2022 at 11:27 pm
Sir, really I’m glad as I was searching this topic for many years. Eventually, I got the answer from you. I love to learn Carnatic music. I enjoy and feel it in my day to day life. I highly value your post about arohana and avarohana. Please, your service must be continued. I always do research about music. Sir, please can you explain this same concept in a VAKRA RAGAM(I’ll be glad if it would be REETIGOWLA). I wish to learn from you sir. You’re such a resourceful person. I don’t know who you are, but really love you sir.
And there’s a kind and humble request to you. I’ll leave my details below. Please drop a message. You and your family be blessed. I’ll be waiting so eagerly…
Jebaraj Gopalakrishnan
Whatsapp :+94769291676 (Srilanka)
Gmail :jbljebaraj@gmail.com
May 27, 2023 at 10:37 pm
Such an illuminating article! So glad I found it.