Which one of the following Carnatic music ragas is similar to Raga Bilawal in Hindustani music?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Dheera Shankarabharanam
Bilawal is the Hindustani scale in which all seven notes are shuddha (natural). The Carnatic scale with exactly these notes is Dheera Shankarabharanam, the 29th melakarta, so the two are treated as equivalents (both match the Western major scale).
- ✓ (d) Dheera Shankarabharanam, the 29th mela, uses the same natural notes as Bilawal; the NIOS Carnatic music course names Shankarabharana as Bilaval's equivalent.
- ✗ (a) Natabhairavi (20th mela) has flat ga, dha and ni, so it corresponds to the Hindustani Asavari thaat, not Bilawal.
- ✗ (c) Hanumatodi (8th mela) uses flat re, ga, dha and ni; its Hindustani counterpart is the Bhairavi thaat.
Remember · Bilawal thaat (all shuddha notes) = Dheera Shankarabharanam, 29th melakarta = Western major scale.
Sources
- NIOS, Carnatic Music (243), Book 1, Lesson 4: Introduction to Abhyasa Gana ↗ · reference work “In Hindustani music raga Bilaval (equivalent to raga Shankarabharana in Carnatic music) is used for Abhyasa gana.”
- NIOS, Carnatic Music (243), Book 2, Tarangam ↗ · reference work “Ragam : Bilahari Janya of 29th mela Dhira Sankarabharanam Arohanam : S R2 G2 P D2 S”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·