Kalyani

It is the 65th Melakartha and arguably the queen of ragas. It is the most important Pratimadhyama raga. It is also known as Mecha Kalyani to conform to the Katapayadhi system (More on Katapayadhi later). It's scale is

Arohana: S R2 G3 M2 P D2 N3 S'
Avarohana: S' N3 D2 P M2 G3 R2 S

Looking at the scale it looks like it differs from Shankarabharanam only in M. However, the swaraprayogas of Kalyani are very different from that of Shankarabharanam and they are poles apart in their distintive ways. Kalyani is also considered a very auspicious raga and a evening raga in general. This corresponds to Rag Yaman in Hindustani and to the C Lydian scale in Western Classical Music (Thanks Rajesh for pointing this out).


Here's a link to a mandolin rendition of Kalyani Varnam Vanajakshi
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/jUI0qkU-Wd.As1NMvHdW/

Here's a link to a very beautiful Krithi in Kalyani
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/b4p23skYgd.As1NMvHdW/