Anandabhairavi
A curved, phrase-led raga whose note treatment matters more than a straight scale.
Anandabhairavi turns back on itself as it rises. The opening Ga–Ri–Ga and the return from Dha towards Pa make its movement visibly different from a straight seven-note scale.
Scale
A commonly taught modern outline is:
Arohana: S G2 R2 G2 M1 P D2 P N2 Ṡ
Avarohana: Ṡ N2 D2 P M1 G2 R2 S
Parent classifications include Natabhairavi, Melakarta 20, and Kharaharapriya, Melakarta 22. Neither label replaces the raga’s characteristic phrases and additional-note usages. R2 is Chatusruti Rishabha, G2 Sadharana Gandhara, M1 Shuddha Madhyama, D2 Chatusruti Dhaivata and N2 Kaisiki Nishada.
Recognising the movement
Keep the turns in G2 R2 G2 and P D2 P: straightening them removes information. Gamaka and the approach to each note are part of the identity.
The raga also has tradition-specific additional-note usages, including D1. They belong to particular phrases and compositions, not to a rule that all variants may be freely interchanged. Other ascending outlines reach upper Sa without Ni.
Compositions
Syama Sastri’s Mari vērē gati evarammā is a substantial example. Read its appeal to Meenakshi alongside the melody to encounter the raga through a composition rather than a scale formula.