Chakravakam or Chakravaham is a rāgam in Carnatic music. It is the 16thMelakarta rāgam in the 72 melakarta rāgam system. According to the Muthuswami Dikshitarschool, this rāgam is called Tōyavēgavāhini. Chakravakam is similar to Raga Ahir bhairav in Hindustani music. Chakravakam is a raga that is known to incite feelings of devotion, sympathy and compassion in the listeners.
Structure and Lakshana
It is the 4th melakarta in the 3rdchakra- Agni. The mnemonic name is Agni-Bhu. The mnemonic phrase is sa ra gu ma pa dhi ni. Its structure is as follows :
Arohana| :
Avarohana| :
The notes in this scale are shadjam, shuddha rishabham, anthara gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, panchamam, chathusruthi dhaivatham and kaisiki nishadham. It is a sampoorna rāgam - rāgam having all 7 swarams. It is the suddha madhyamam equivalent of Ramapriya, which is the 52nd melakarta. Chakravakam is different from Mayamalavagowla in some ways, while playing. The Ri Ga ma notes are played a bit flatter than Mayamalavagowla, making it sound more restrained than Mayamalavagowla. The Da and Ni are played somewhat like Hari Kambhoji, giving the overall tune, to be restrained and devotional essence
Asampurna Melakarta
Tōyavēgavāhini is the 16th Melakarta in the original list compiled by Venkatamakhin. The notes used in the scale are the same and the ascending scale and descending scale are same.
Janya rāgams
Chakravakam has quite a few janya rāgams associated with it, of which Bindumalini, Malayamarutam and Valaji are popular. See List ofJanya Ragas for a full list of its janyas.
Popular Compositions
Etula Brotuvo teliya and Sugunamule by Thyagaraja, Kānakkankoti vendum by Koteeswara Iyer are also sung in concerts. Gajānanayutham is a popular composition in Tōyavēgavāhini, by the maestro Muthuswami Dikshitar, which is sung in a brisk tempo, unlike other compositions set to Chakravakam. KalamSei Kove, an ancient Tamil SangamKuṟuntokai poetry was set to Chakravakam in the international music album Sandham- Symphony Meets Classical Tamil by Composer Rajan. Maharaja Swathi Thirunal also contributed a lot to this raga. His composition Sarojanabha is a famous krithi in this raga which is about Sree Padmanabhaswamy. Kalyani Varadarajan has composed a melodious kriti in this ragam - Sri Amruta Phalâmbike There are a number of popular compositions that have recently been set to tune inAhir bhairav, one of the most well known ones being Pibare Rāmarasam in Sanskrit, by Sadasiva Brahmendra.
Film Songs
"Albela Sajan" from "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam", "Poochho Na Kaise Maine Rain Bitai" from "Meri Surat Teri Ankhen" and "Raakkili Than" from "Perumazhakalam".
This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam. Chakravakam's notes when shifted using Graha bhedam, yields 2 other major melakarta rāgams, namely, Sarasangi and Dharmavati. Graha bhedam is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the Shadjam to the next note in the rāgam. For an illustration refer Graha bhedam on Dharmavati.
