Bilahari

The sound

Bilahari combines a direct, five-note ascent with a fuller descent. The return of Ni and Ma on the way down is essential: the raga is not simply Mohanam with a different name.

Scale

	Svara sequence
Ascent — arohana	S R2 G3 P D2 Ṡ
Descent — avarohana	Ṡ N3 D2 P M1 G3 R2 S

Svara key: R2 chatusruti rishabha, G3 antara gandhara, M1 suddha madhyama, D2 chatusruti dhaivata, N3 kakali nishada. Parent: Melakarta 29, Shankarabharanam.

N3 is the Ni in this basic outline. Bilahari also uses N2, Kaisiki Nishada, in particular phrases such as P D2 N2 D2 P and P D2 N2 P. This additional note does not replace N3 throughout the raga.

How to recognise Bilahari

• Ma and Ni are absent in the usual ascent but return clearly in descent.
• The descending Ṡ N D P M G R S separates Bilahari from Mohanam's pentatonic return.
• Compare the shared ascent with Mohanam, then listen for the extra notes in Bilahari’s descent.

Compositions to know

• Dorakuna Ituvanti — Tyagaraja
• Na Jeevadhara — Tyagaraja
• Sri Balasubrahmanyaya — Muttuswami Dikshitar

Related: Melakarta 29 · Svara key · Raga