Vanaspati (meaning the lord of the forest) is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 4th melakarta rÃÂgam in the 72 melakarta rÃÂgams of Carnatic music, following the Katapayadi sankhya system. In the Muthuswami Dikshitar school of music, this raga is called BhÃÂnumati.
Vanaspati is the 4th rÃÂgam in the 1st chakra Indu of the melakarta system. Its mnemonic name is Indu-Bhu. Its mnemonic phrase is sa ra ga ma pa dhi ni. Its ' structure is as follows (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on this notation):
Shuddha rishabham, shuddha gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, chathusruthi dhaivatham and kaisiki nishadham are the swaras used in this scale. As it is a melakarta rÃÂgam, by definition it is a sampoorna rÃÂgam (has all seven notes in ascending and descending scale). It is the shuddha madhyamam equivalent of Navaneetam, which is the 40th melakarta rÃÂgam.
BhÃÂnumati is the 4th Melakarta in the original list compiled by Venkatamakhin. The notes used in the scale are the same, but the ascending scale is different. It is a shadava-sampurna raga (6 notes in ascending scale, while full 7 are used in descending scale).
RasÃÂli is one of the better known of few janya ragams (derived scales) associated with Vanaspati. See List of janya rÃÂgams for full list of rÃÂgams associated with Vanaspati.
This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rÃÂgam.
Vanaspati's notes when shifted using Graha bhedam, yields a minor melakarta rÃÂgam Mararanjani. Graha bhedam is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the shadjam to the next note in the rÃÂgam. For further details and an illustration refer Graha bhedam on Vanaspati.