रागः

देशनामानि

Three regions are prominently seen in raga names -Karnāṭa (Karnataka), Baṅgāḷa/Gauḍa (Bengal) and Gurjara/Saurāṣṭra (Gujarat). So we find raga names such as Gurjari, Saurāṣṭra, Suraṭi, Baṅgāḷa, Śud’dha baṅgāḷa, kannaḍa, Sindhu kannaḍa, Kannaḍa gauḷa, Kannaḍa baṅgāḷa, Māruva kannaḍa etc. While it is impossible to say why or how these names have come to use, it is a good guess that such ragas became popular in those regions and then spread to other parts of India.

… In musical works from around the 14th century, the words Karnata and Kannada have been used interchangeably. For example the same raga has been called Kannaḍa baṅgāḷa or karnāṭaka baṅgāḷa; kannaḍa gauḷa or karnāṭa gauḍa indicating the interchangeability of the words.

मेलविभागः

इतिहासः

The early examples of such classification of ragas into several mēḷas (groups) can be seen in the 14th century work of Vidyāraṇya. We learn that Vidyāraṇya classified 50 popular ragas into 15 mēḷa groups. Although the complete text of Saṅgīta Sāra of Vidyāraṇya is not available, we get to see excerpts from this work cited in later texts. In the following centuries the mēḷa scheme was further expanded by Paṇḍarīka viṭhala. He wrote works on both Karnāṭaka saṅgīta, and Hindustani saṅgīta ragas while he was at Akbar’s court. Bayakāra Rāmāmātya, the minister of Aliya Ramaraya, the last king of Vijayanagara has also described another system of mēḷa classification. The final form for the mēḷa system was classification which is still used today was given by Veṅkaṭamakhi who was a minister of the Nayaka kings of Thanjavur. Veṅkaṭamakhi tells that he is a Kannada speaking person in his Chaturdandi Prakashika. The 72 mēḷa scheme envisioned by Veṅkaṭamakhi, which he prophetically claimed as one that would be able to classify any of the ragas in vogue at his time and any future ragas, has turned out to be very true.