The scales of Mayamalavagowla are as follows :
Aarohanam (Ascending) : S R1 G3 M1 P D1 N3 S’
Avarohanam (Descending) : S’ N3 D1 P M1 G3 R1 S
It is 15th on the Melakarta scale.
A very peaceful raga, it is suited for all times of the day. It is the first raga taught to beginners as the swara exercises such as the sarali varisai are sung in this raga. This raga is equivalent to the Bhairav raga in Hindustani music. Some well known compositions in this raga are Tulasidala Mulache and Meru Samana by Tyagaraja, Mayatita Swaroopini by Ponniah Pillai, Pollapuliyinum by Papanasam Sivan, Aadi Kondar by Muthu Thandavar and Deva Deva by Swati Tirunal.
Tamil readers may enjoy seeing this excellent lecture-demo on the raga by Charulata Mani in her Isai Payanam series.
Note : The 12 notes in the octave are named as below. Please note that C is used as Sa for the sake of simplicity as the scale is relative in Carnatic Music. Also note that the scales paint only a superficial picture of the raga as the gamakas(ornamentations) are a very important part of a raga.
Music To My Ears 