Vakra Raaga ?

What is a Vakra raaga ?

If the arohana or avarohana or both take zig-zag course or twist for a particular raaga , then that raaga is termed as a vakra raagam.

Vakra ragas are further classifed into:

1. Sampurna vakra if arohana and avarohana are sampurna (with all seven notes present)

2. Vakra varja if they have less than seven notes.

Vakra ragas also are classified into:

Ekaswara vakra
Dviswara vakra,
Triswara vakra
Chatusswara vakra
based on number of vakra swaras in the raga (one, two, three and four respectively). Four is the maximum number of vakra swaras that a raaga can accommodate.

Examples of vakra raaga :
Suposhini Aa : Sa re sa ma pa ne da sa Avo : Sa da pa ma re ma sa - Dviswara Vakra
Nilambari Aa : Sa re ga ma pa da pa ne sa Avo : Sa ne pa ma ga re ga sa - Ekaswara Vakra