Raga Yaman – The King of Ragas

I will never forget the day when after my initial months of training in Hindustani Classical music my Guruji announced that we would be learning Raga Yaman. I was excited and couldn’t wait to begin – my first Raga! I was given a little introduction saying that Yaman was the King of Ragas and that we would be spending extra time on it because it was an extremely important Raga. I nodded my head in approval and waited intently for the start of the lesson. I have come a pretty long way since then and have learnt numerous other Ragas but, I keep coming back regularly to Raga Yaman and at each revisit it offers me something new to learn and discover. Its’ possibilities are limitless and this one Raga is a universe in itself.

A little bit of history and some technical information. The origins of Raga Yaman are not very clear. It is thought to be of Persian origin but it is difficult to ascertain this. Let’s look at the make up of the raga.

Raga Yaman continues to be the starting point of every music student’s entry into the world of Hindustani Classical music and also remains the focal point of their training throughout their musical career. But, it is also a raga to which each sincere musician returns to, no matter how experienced, because it truly is a king of ragas. The true test of a musician’s capability is judged by how well he plays Raga Yaman. 


Thaat: Kalyan Thaat
Jati: Sampurna ( Uses all seven notes in the ascent as well as in the descent)
Aroha (ascent): ni re ga ma# pa dha ni sa
Avroha (descent): sa ni dha pa ma# ga re sa
Pakad (main phrase of the Raga):
ni* re ga re sa, pa ma# ga re sa
Vadi: ga
Samavadi: ni
Mood: Devotion
Time: First hours of the night