Udayaravichandrika

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Udayaravichandrika, also known as Shuddha Dhanyasi, is a five-note (pentatonic) raga in Carnatic music. It uses five notes: Shadja (S), Sadharana Gandharam (G2), Shuddha Madhyamam (M1), Panchamam (P), and Kaisiki Nishadham (N2). The scale rises as S G2 M1 P N2 S and comes down as S N2 P M1 G2 S. Because it omits Rishabham (R) and Dhaivatam (D), it is a janya raga of Kharaharapriya (the 22nd melakarta), and can also be derived from other melakarta ragas by dropping R and D.

Its sound is similar to the Western minor pentatonic scale, which is why it is sometimes called the “Chinese Scale.” The Prati Madhyamam variant (M2) of this raga is Sumanesaranjani (also known as Samudrapriya), whose Hindustani equivalent is Madhukauns.

Udayaravichandrika is closely related to Suddha Dhanyasi; many performers treat them as interchangeable. Some older references say Udayaravichandrika once used Kakali Nishadam (N3), but in common practice it uses Kaisiki Nishadham (N2).

A notable feature of this raga is Graha Bhedam (re-placing the tonic). When this is applied, the same notes yield four other pentatonic ragas: Mohanam, Hindolam, Madhyamavathi, and Shuddha Saveri.