Anandabhairavi or Ananda Bhairavi (pronounced ÃÂnandabhairavi) is a very old melodious ragam (musical scale) of Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). This rÃÂgam also used in Indian traditional and regional musics. ÃÂnandam (Sanskrit) means happiness and the rÃÂgam brings a happy mood to the listener.
It is a janya rÃÂgam (derived scale) of the 20th Melakarta rÃÂgam Natabhairavi.
Its structure is as follows (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on the notations used):
(chathusruthi rishabham, sadharana gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, Chatusruthi dhaivatham, kaishiki nishadham)
It is a sampoorna rÃÂgam â rÃÂgam having all 7 swarams, but it is not a melakarta rÃÂgam, as it has (zig-zag notes in scale) and uses (external note) in comparison with its parent rÃÂgam. The anya swaram is the usage of shuddha dhaivatham (D1) in some phrases of the rÃÂgam. Anandabhairavi ragam is also a rÃÂgam, since it uses more than one anya swaram. Anya swaram of a rÃÂgam is the swaram which does not belong to the arohana or avarohana of its melakarta (parent rÃÂgam), but it is sung in (phrases used in , kalpanaswarams). It is also classified as a "rakti" raga(a raga of high melodic content).
The three of are (G3), (D1) and kakali nishadham (N3). All of these anya swaras occur only in (not in ). "G3" occurs in "ma pa ma ga ga ma", and "D1" occurs in "ga ma pa da". Subtler than the first two, "N3" occurs in "sa da ni sa."
It is said that Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar do not use any of the in their compositions.
Anandabhairavi also has unique swara patterns both in manodharma (impromptu improvisations by performer) and in its compositions. The popular patterns are "sa ga ga ma", "sa pa", and "sa ga ma pa". The musician isn't allowed to stay long on nishadam, this characteristic distinguishes it from Reetigowla. Few allied ragas (similar) to this are Reetigowla and Huseni.
Anandabhairavi is one of the favourite ragams of Syama Sastri. He is said to have made this a popular rÃÂgam and also to have given the present form for this rÃÂgam. More or less Anandabhairavi's synonym is "Marivere gati" by Syama Sastri. In "Mariverae" and in "O Jagadhamba" Syama Sastri uses the anya swara "ga(2)".
Musicologist N. Mammathu identifies the song Yaadhum Oore from the album by composer Raleigh Rajan as a defining illustration of Anandabhairavi, because it explores a wide range of phrases, rules, and exceptions characteristic of the ragam.ÃÂ
A very life changing incident is said to have happened in Tyagaraja's life. Once he is said to have attended a Kuchipudi Bhagavata artists dance-drama recital, a ballad between mythological characters Radha and Krishna, and he is said to have highly praised their performance, especially a particular song Madhura Nagarilo(Javali), which was again set in Ananda Bhairavi. Tyagaraja wanting to acknowledge them offered to give them a gift, of anything that they may desire, that he could possibly give. After much thought they demanded him the Ragam Ananda Bhairavi itself as a gift (meaning that he would accept to never sing in that Ragam ever again in his life), so that when someone in the near future spoke of Tyagaraja or Ananda Bhairavi's legacy they would also remember the Kuchipudi dancers too.