Maestro Ilaiyaraaja's Panchamukhi is a raga with 5 faces. Thats how the maestro has conceived it.
The basic notes of the raga go like S R2
M1 D2 N3 S'. This is the first face of the raga, the basic structure.
Then, the other 4 faces (4 other ragas) are arrived by shifting the shadjam from Sa to R2, M1, D1 and N3. Thus leading to other ragas.
You can refer this video (from 21:50 to 24:10) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8-i8PJQTSo to see how the maestro describes the five faces of the raga.
Here it how this works.
Face 1 - Panchamukhi ragam
- S R2 M1 D2 N3 S'. This is the first face (mugham)
Face 2 - Irandavathu Mugam – Using R2 as the Shadjam - S
G2 P D2 N2 S
Face 3 - Moondraavthu mugam – Using M1 as the Shadjam - S
G3 M2 P D2 S
Face 4 – Naangavathu Mugam – Using D2 as the Shadjam - S
R2 G2 M1 D1 S
Face 5 – Ainthavathu mugam – Using N3 as the Shadjam - S
R1 G2 M2 N2 S
See the infographics to appreciate this better.
